MIAMI -- Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez heard a teammate yell and realized he had been caught by surprise. Desperate for a run, the Tampa Bay Rays were attempting a delayed steal. So Alvarez wheeled toward second base and threw yet another strike. The right-hander had good command all night long, needing only 88 pitches to toss an eight-hitter for his third shutout this year. He beat Tampa Bay 1-0 on Tuesday, sending the reeling Rays home after a winless eight-game trip. "Henderson took that game over," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "That was fun to watch." The only run scored when Christian Yelich walked on a 3-2 slider with two out and the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Alvarez (3-3) struck out five and walked none in his third consecutive scoreless outing, a stretch covering 19 innings. He retired his last five batters to close out the win in 2 hours, 10 minutes. "My sinker was working, and thankfully the batters were swinging early," Alvarez said through a translator. "That determines the brevity of the game. I was attacking the strike zone, and they were attacking as well." Alvarezs three shutouts lead the majors. He had been 0-5 in five previous career starts against the Rays, but this time he faced a team in a miserable slump. Kevin Kiermaier had the Rays only extra-base hit when he tripled with two out in the third. They went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and are hitless in their past 22 at-bats in those situations. Theyve scored six runs in their past six games. "Were just not able to find that hole," Evan Longoria said. "We just have to keep going, keep fighting, stay positive through the tough times." The Rays eight-game losing streak is their longest since 2009. Theyve lost 10 consecutive road games while being outscored 52-19. Tampa Bay hit into three double plays -- one on a sacrifice attempt -- and had two runners caught stealing, including Yunel Escobar on the delayed steal attempt in the fifth. He singled with one out and took off for second when Alvarez had the ball on the mound before the next batter stepped to the plate, prompting catcher Jeff Mathis to holler at his pitcher. "Escobar caught me by surprise," Alvarez said. "What alerted me was Mathis scream. An easy out. A gift." Chris Archer (3-3) allowed only five hits in seven innings, but Rays starters remained winless in the past 16 games, mostly because of poor run support. Alvarezs past four victories have been shutouts, including a no-hitter on the final day of the 2013 season. He left his previous start last Wednesday after five innings because of a sore elbow, but he had only the Rays feeling any pain Tuesday. Alvarez said his arm felt fine, and he allayed any concerns with excellent velocity from start to finish. His final pitch was a 95 mph fastball. "We could tell early on that he had great stuff and was feeling good," Redmond said. Alvarez helped himself with six assists. The biggest came after a leadoff single in the eighth, when catcher Jose Molina bunted into a 1-6-3 double play. The Marlins needed three singles -- one by Alvarez -- and a walk to score the games only run. After they loaded the bases, Yelich fell behind 0-2 but got a walk when Archer missed with a 3-2 breaking ball. "A great at-bat by Yeli," Redmond said. "I dont know how he laid off a couple of those sliders. For a young kid like that, thats an amazing at-bat." Archer hopped off the mound in dismay at the call, but a TV replay showed the pitch was wide. "Instead of executing a pitch and letting him put it in play, I put it in the umpires hands, and it turns out he made a great call," Archer said. "I should have thrown it over the plate." The four-game, home-and-home series continues with two games in St. Petersburg beginning Wednesday. The Rays play 18 of their next 21 games at home. NOTES: After the game, the Marlins optioned 2B Derek Dietrich to Triple-A New Orleans. ... 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The redshirt freshman finished the regular season with nearly 3,500 passing yards, and 35 touchdowns with another three on the ground while leading the Seminoles to the top of the BCS Rankings.TSNs Three Man Weave close out the first month of 2015, diagnosing if the Raptors have cured their January blues, explore All-Star robbery and snobbery and the return to glory of the Slam Dunk Contest. Hosts of TSN 1050s 1 On 1 with Will & Duane, Will Strickland and Duane Watson receive some crisp passes from Ray Bala, author and authority of The CanBall Report, as they also question if Jason Kidd has already run away with Coach of The Year honours. Are the Raptors finally over their January blues? Strickland: All signs point to that being the case. But even on the tails of a five-game losing strike, there are whispers and fears about the elite-level readiness of this squad. These perceived issues can either be an odd discomfort or a cause for real concern. Winning aside, the play has been loose and sloppy vs. relatively underwhelming competition. Yet and still, the Raptors possess the franchises best record ever in its 20-year existence before the All-Star break at 32-15, 17 games above .500. Odd discomfort, indeed... Bala: Maybe, but it will probably be the February blahs if they play like they did this month. With the exception of Brooklyn and New York, every other club on the schedule is currently playoff bound and though New Orleans is not, their record ties them for sixth in the East. The Raps need to have a short memory and play like its November. Watson: Yes, particularly when its more important on how you finish than how you start. A five-game win streak to close out the month with some attention to defence and, more importantly, a DeMar DeRozan who has found his rhythm are a cure all. Coach Caseys next challenge is to get them to ride this momentum into All-Star break. Damian Lillard was robbed as a reserve on the Western Conference All-Star team, whose place should he have on the roster? Strickland: Ouch! Robbed? Despite getting ethered by 2014 All-Star Game MVP and 2015 East All-Star reserve Kyrie Irving for 55 big ones recently, Lillard got all up in his feelings and let us know how he felt about the selection slight. He deserves to be on the team, but the criteria for selection after the fans popularity vote seems to shift with the wind. If combinations of personal numbers plus team record are the standard measures, Big Game Dame seems to fit the bill, averaging 21.6 PPG and 6.3 APG on a fourth-place team at 32-15 in the West. If anyone should be mad, though, it is the perennially underrated Michael Alex Conley, Jr. of Memphis Grizzlies. Bala: People will probably call this blasphemy, but Kevin Durant. I know that hes the reigning MVP, superstar and that the Thunder were 9-17 without him but hes missed half of the teams games. The All-Star player criteria should be treated like baseball stats - minimum amount of games to qualify - and that should apply here. Of course, we could keep KD on the roster and replace Carmelo Anthony with Lillard since the Knicks are just horrible. Watson: While we talk of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade receiving legacy votes, Chris Paul is still collecting them every year. Paul is on the downside, while Lillard is on the upside, even though their team records are similar. While Adam Silvers office has a fleeting memory that Lillard competed in five events at All-Star Weekend in 2014 - Rising Stars, Skills Competition, 3-Point shootout, Slam Dunk Contest and the All-Star Game – he receives no love, no respect and no thanks. The NBA Dunk Contest has reverted to its original format. Who do you like in this years contest? Victor Oladipo, Mason Plumlee, Zach Lavine or Giannis Antetokounmpo? Strickland: Unless there is a meltdown of epic proportion or a Chuck Hayes sighting as a late entry, Minnys Zach Levine should win easily. His bungees are banoodles and on Valentines Day, hell be handing out dunkks bordering on the absurdative, breaking the hearts of his fellow contestants.dddddddddddd. The setup for a showdown with his T-Wolves teammate Andrew Wiggins in 2016 for the All-Star festivities in Toronto would all be in place! Bala: Truthfully, I havent really jazzed about the dunk contest for years, but if I had to pick one it would have to be Zach Lavine. Lets see if his hops make for creative show dunks. Watson: Always bet on the little guy. Historically, you can look at shorter dunkers like Spud Webb or Nate Robinson who have captured the judges attention due to the distance they have to get to the rim. Oladipo is just that, a 64 package of power, creativity, springs and athleticism. Brady Heslip was showing out in the D-League but opted to move across the water to play in Europe. Would he have had a realistic shot at a call-up this season? Strickland: Yes, but only to be a practice player filling due to injury. At 62, 180 lbs., Heslip doesnt possess the size, speed, handle, defensive capabilities and necessary wrinkles in his game to be an everyday NBA player. There may be mannequins out here somewhere who can beat Brady off the bounce. All jokes aside, all the best to him in his overseas endeavors. Bala: Even though I love Brady Heslip as a player and he was torching guys for 24.5 per game, I dont think he would have been called up. What can he offer to a team outside of that? Even though he could be a great benefit as an outside shooter to open up courts, hes not quick enough to defend an NBA point guard and not big enough to defend an NBA two, two big issues. I think he made the right choice right now. Watson: Heslips shooting and scoring were proving undeniable to notice by league front offices, however his role at the next level would definitely be more situational than rotational. Hes a professional and due credit to him for starting his career, getting playing time and being compensated accordingly. Jason Kidd: NBA Coach Of The Year? Strickland: Oh, indeed! The sexy, early season frontrunner, Golden States Steve Kerr, basically inherited Mark Jacksons solid teams and gave them more structure to improve their standing in a fairly dramatic way. Bud Ball is all the rage in the ATL as former San Antonio Spurs assistant-turned Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer leads a cohesive veteran group who has won 32 of their last 34 after a slow 7-6 start to impress many. But what in the wide, wide world of wins witchcraft and hoops wizardry is happening with the very surprising Milwaukee Bucks? At 24-22, the Bucks have exceeded last seasons win total of 15 and have done so mostly without mercurial centre Larry Sanders and the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft Jabari Parker, all the while pushing point guard Brandon Knight to borderline All-Star status. The answer, Jason Kidd happened. Bala: That is a pretty good choice right now. The Bucks are playing incredibly despite missing Jabari Parker and Larry Sanders for big chunks and having a lineup that could really be role players on any other team. They are beating teams they should and losing close games to teams they shouldnt be beating, so Id say this kind of improvement needs serious consideration. If it doesnt go to him, it better go to Derek Fisher for setting the Knicks up for one epic season of futility. Watson: Jason Kidd, coach of mediocrity. There isnt any lower to go when youre at the bottom, and Kidds transformation of a lottery team to a playoff team has been great. However, his means to get there were more than unscrupulous and Steve Kerr has the Warriors on pace for a franchise-best season that could soar as high as 60 wins. Kerr gets my vote. Follow them on twitter: Will Strickland @WallStrizzle1, Duane Watson @duanewatson and Ray Bala @CanBallReport ' ' '
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