Dein erstes Forum » e sees as a big advantage for Sam Allardyces me

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are doing very little well lately.Thanks to a torrid stretch in which they have dropped 18 of 21 games, the last-place Rays (34-50) are now 15 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. They are also seven games behind the team directly ahead of them, the fourth-place New York Yankees.However, the Rays are consistently hitting the ball well against lefties. They are batting .283 against left-handers as opposed to .229 against right-handers, and they are 11-9 against lefties, 23-41 against righties.Thus, if there is any optimism for Tampa Bay headed into the series finale against the Angels on Thursday, wrapping up a homestand that currently stands at 3-7, it is that the Rays get to face Los Angeles left-hander Hector Santiago.Santiago (5-4, 4.93 ERA) owns a career 8.38 ERA against Tampa Bay, including a 9.00 ERA in one previous start this season.The Rays counter with a young lefty of their own, rookie Blake Snell, who is 1/3 with a 3.86 ERA. He is making just his sixth career start, his first against the Angels.Los Angeles (35-50) were in a 2-12 tailspin after dropping the series opener at Tropicana Field on Monday. The Angels responded a 13-5 win Tuesday and a 7-2 victory Wednesday for their first two-game winning streak in 17 days.Wednesday was another game in which so much went wrong for the Rays early that it mattered little that the bullpen stepped up with five scoreless innings, including three innings of one-hit ball from Matt Andriese, who has pitched well since transitioning from the rotation.By the fifth inning, however, the Rays trailed 7-0, done in by three errors, matching their season high, and another ineffective outing by right-hander Drew Smyly, who is 0-6 in his last nine starts.Were not playing well. Were not pitching well, said Smyly, who said he cant wait for the All-Star break and a chance to reset things from his current slump. Hopefully the second half will go better for us.The Angels are swinging hot bats right now. They are averaging 8.7 runs per game on their current road trip while hitting .336, including a .383 average with runners in scoring position. Wednesday brought a rare bright spot from their pitching to match that, holding an opponent to two runs or fewer for just the second time in 16 games.If youre a team that wants to reach your goal, you need quality innings, said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, pleased with Jered Weaver, who held the Rays to one run on four hits over seven innings. You need a pitcher to go out and throw 200 quality innings, which is something a pitcher strives for. Thats what important. You can give a guy the ball, let him go out and get beat up and give you 200 innings, and thats going to have a minimum positive effect on the outcome of your season.Both teams have one more series before the All-Star break. The Rays go to Boston, hoping to find some positive momentum to take into the break, while the Angels go to Baltimore, aiming to close out their road trip with more hitting and more wins. Ty Lawson Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Arron Afflalo Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. https://www.cheapnuggets.com/147y-byron-beck-jersey-nuggets.html . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Chauncey Billups Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Sarunas Marciulionis Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me.Thierry Henry and Jamie Redknapp discuss the Premier League relegation battle and predict a fight to the finish for Norwich, Newcastle and Sunderland. The two sides from the north east drew their respective games this weekend, with the Magpies coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Liverpool and the Black Cats holding Arsenal to a stalemate on Super Sunday.Norwich were not in action this weekend but did drop into the bottom three after Sunderlands result, both sides holding a game in hand over Newcastle. The current positions and run-in for the bottom three of the Premier League With just one point separating the three clubs, the Sky Sports pundits were unable to choose between the sides with Redknapp calling the relegation fight a lottery.Its very difficult. I think if youd said to Alex Neil at the start of the weekend that neither Newcastle nor Sunderland would win, I think hed have taken that, Redknapp said on Super Sunday. Jack Colback earned Newcastle a 2-2 draw at Liverpool Hell be looking at those fixtures and thinking, Watford at home, Everton away - if we can go and get four points, maybe weve got a good chance.Its not been too bad a weekend for Norwich. Theyve got Arsenal next - its not an easy game but if they defend well, you never know. Its a lottery, its a toss of the coin, it really is. Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce thought his side did enough in the second half to win their game against Arsenal but is happy witth a vital point following Crystal Palace now have an FA Cup final to look forward to.dddddddddddd Newcastle are also playing against an Aston Villa side that are down and have given up.Theyll also be hoping Tottenham have nothing to play for - it could be a bit after-the-Lord-Mayors-Show, that game. Newcastle have it all to do but Ive been down in that position - you try to predict results and the one you expect to win, you dont. Could Crystal Palaces FA Cup date give Newcastle an advantage? Henry identified the recent run of Sunderland and Newcastle as crucial for their survival, and also pointed to what he sees as a big advantage for Sam Allardyces men.Its a tough one. The only thing Id say is that momentum is with Sunderland and Newcastle with their results, the former Arsenal striker added. Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez was delighted with his team after they came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 with Liverpool You could say that Crystal Palace and Aston Villa are easier games for Newcastle - theyve less to play for than some of the other opponents.But you have to mention the goal difference of Sunderland - its minus 18 compared to the other two (seven better than Norwich, eight better than Newcastle). That could be massive.Who will stay up? Leave a comment if youre reading on skysports.com or Tweet us @SkyFootball... Also See: Sunderland out of bottom three Newcastle rally for point Defoe: I was born to score Newcastle fight delights Rafa ' ' '