Off Topic » hangeup combination. Its the lack of a breaking pitch

LOS ANGELES -- Bud Norris is soaking up his time with the surging Los Angeles Dodgers.Norris pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers held off the Tampa Bay Rays for a 3-2 win on Tuesday night.Ive had some down years in my career, but this is what it is all about, winning baseball games and being in a pennant race, Norris said.Norris (6-9) allowed two hits and walked two in 6 1/3 innings in his longest outing since he was acquired in a June 30 trade with Atlanta. Yasmani Grandal homered against Chris Archer in the seventh as Los Angeles (57-44) won for the fourth time in five games to remain 2 1/2 back of NL West-leading San Francisco.I knew it was gone, Grandal said. When you hit a ball on the sweet spot and the guy is throwing 96 or 97 miles per hour you pretty much know the ball is gone.Tampa Bay scored two runs in the eighth, but the rally fizzled from there. Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his 30th save in 35 chances.Archer (5-14), a potential trade target for contenders ahead of Mondays non-waiver deadline, struck out eight while pitching seven solid innings. He was charged with three runs, one earned, and four hits.It was a good outing but we lost, Archer said. Its hard for me to look at personal performances when you lose. I could have done better.Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said it was Archers best start of the season.He attacked the strike zone and threw 71 percent strikes, he said. Hes definitely not a 5-14 pitcher. We made mistakes and they took advantage of it.Los Angeles used two errors to grab a 2-0 lead in the third.Joc Pederson reached with one out when first baseman Steve Pearce dropped second basemans Logan Forsythes throw. Pederson advanced on Norris sacrifice and went to third when Chase Utley reached on Archers high throw to first.Corey Seager and Justin Turner then hit consecutive RBI singles. Seager extended his hitting streak to nine games.Earlier in the year we werent winning games like this, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. For us as a team to win that one-run game is obviously a huge lift.Brad Miller hit an RBI double and Logan Forsythe scored on a wild pitch to trim Los Angeles lead to 3-2 in the eighth. Luis Avilan got Kevin Kiermaier to pop up with the tying run on third to end the rally.Los Angeles left fielder Howie Kendrick went 0 for 3, stopping his 16-game hitting streak. The Rays dropped to 5-16 in July.TRAINERS ROOMRays: RHP Chase Whitley (Tommy John surgery) is scheduled for a minor league rehab start on Saturday.Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig did not start for the fifth consecutive game due to a hamstring strain. Andrew Toles replaced Puig in right field and went 0 for 3.MILESTONENorris struck out Kiermaier in the fourth inning for his 1,000th career strikeout.UP NEXTRays: LHP Matt Moore (6-7, 4.31 ERA) will start Wednesdays game.Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 1.61 ERA) will pitch in the series finale Wednesday. In his last outing, McCarthy gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings. Starling Marte Jersey . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Adam Frazier Jersey . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Jordy-Mercer-Kids-Jersey/ . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Felipe Vazquez Jersey . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Francisco Cervelli Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim.TORONTO - When he takes the ball on Tuesday night in Chicago, recently-signed Chien-Ming Wang will become the 12th pitcher to start a game for the Blue Jays this season. He will be the 29th pitcher - relievers included - the club has used overall. A back-to-back 19-game winner for the Yankees in 2006-2007, Wang provides experience for the back end of a rotation absent Brandon Morrow and J.A. Happ. "Seven innings a lot, a lot of strikes, lot of ground balls, hes not going to strike too many guys out but hes going to induce early contact and should pitch deep into the game if hes having some success," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "Keep the ball on the ground." The Blue Jays have been eyeing Wang in recent weeks. Scouts have been at his starts, for the Yankees Triple-A affiliate in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and have liked what theyve seen. The numbers back them up. Wang is 4-4 with a 2.33 ERA in nine starts for the Railriders. Hes thrown 58 innings, an average of six and a half per outing. Anthopoulos whittled his choice down to two: Wang or Chad Jenkins, who made three generally effective starts for the Blue Jays, the most recent of which was on May 31 in San Diego. "In this scenario, we get to option Chad and keep him, because right now he would be the next starter," said Anthopoulos. "We get to see if Wang might be an upgrade there. If things dont work out with Wang, Chads still here and Chad could come right back up. But if Chad makes that start (Tuesday) and something happens to some other starter, or Chad doesnt perform, I dont know who the next guy would be right now." Half a decade ago, Wang had worked himself into one of the premier pitchers in the American League. His .754 winning percentage from 2006-2008 (46-15) was the highest in that three-year span. Wangs 2008 season was cut short by a right foot injury. In a game in June of that season, Wang tore his Lisfranc ligament and partially tore a muscle near his fibula running the bases in interleague play. Hip and shoulder issues plaguedd Wang in 2009.dddddddddddd He missed all of 2010 and split the 2011 and 2012 seasons between the Washington Nationals and their various minor league affiliates. "We hope he makes a lot of starts for us but we dont want to go in and promise x-number amount of starts," said Anthopoulos. "Hopefully, he does well and we catch lightning in a bottle with him. But he understands, his agent understands, that if things dont work out, we have the right to turn the page." Jenkins, 25, was 1-0 in three starts for the Blue Jays. He went five innings in each, getting a win in Boston and no decisions in a home win over Baltimore and in a road loss at San Diego. Having only one minor league start prior to his recall, Jenkins relied mostly on a fastball-changeup combination. Its the lack of a breaking pitch Jenkins can turn to that has the organization wanting more time for development. "His last start (in Buffalo) was okay - five innings, five runs, he was hit hard a little bit," said Anthopoulos. "Itd be nice to see him go on a roll. Again, when we called him up, we had a need. He had made one start in New Hampshire, did well, and did a good job for us. But itd be nice to get some more innings under his belt and have him get on a bit of a roll before he comes back." NOTES - After Sundays 6-4 loss to Texas, the Blue Jays activated reliever Darren Oliver (shoulder) from the disabled list. Right-hander Thad Weber was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. - Barring a setback, Jose Reyes is about 10 days away from going on a minor league rehab assignment. The shortstops sprained left ankle is making progress. Reyes is now running the bases as part of his pre-game routine, a benchmark exercise in his recovery because of the torque base running puts on the ankle. - Brandon Morrow (strained forearm) will throw a bullpen session in Chicago. Hell need two, maybe three, minor league rehab starts before he returns to the Blue Jays. Morrow is eligible to come off the disabled list next Sunday but wont be ready by then. ' ' '