Off Topic » alley-oop to Dekker in the second half

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tanner Scheppers felt discomfort in his pitching elbow long before the Texas Rangers went to spring training with a plan to turn the right-hander into a starter. Scheppers finally said something after the fourth start of his big league career, and now hes headed to the disabled list with elbow inflammation. Texas made the move Friday, a day after Scheppers gave up six runs in the shortest of his starts -- 2 1-3 innings in an 8-6 win over Seattle. General manager Jon Daniels said an MRI showed inflammation in the muscle and no structural damage to the ligament. Scheppers will take 10 days off, then start a throwing program. Scheppers said the elbow didnt feel right as far back as the end of last season, when he led the team with 76 appearances in his second season in the bullpen. "Its something that hasnt gotten better the way that we would like," said Scheppers, who is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA. "Right now we just want to step back, get healthy, because theres no point in pushing through something like this." Texas replaced Scheppers by selecting the contract of left-hander Aaron Poreda from Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers made room for Poreda on the 40-man roster by designating infielder Andy Parrino for assignment. Scheppers was Texas opening-day starter because Yu Darvish had a neck strain. Scheppers gave up six runs in the second inning of that game against Philadelphia and surrendered six in the third inning against the Mariners on Thursday. Daniels said Scheppers was examined after reporting soreness during spring training. He was cleared at the time, but now Daniels wonders how healthy he was. "I think it might be connected, that he wasnt feeling 100 per cent, probably wasnt performing at 100 per cent because of it," Daniels said. Scheppers fastball has averaged 93.7 mph this year, according to fangraphs.com, down from 96.3 mph last year. While his velocity was better against the Mariners, six of the first seven hitters reached in the third. Robinson Cano and Corey Hart had back-to-back homers. "My pitches arent doing what they normally are or what they should be doing," Scheppers said. "Its something that could build up and you dont get the results that you want." Daniels said the Rangers had yet to discuss what Scheppers elbow issue will do to his role as a starter. Left-handers Matt Harrison and Joe Saunders could be close to returning when Scheppers is eligible to come off the disabled list May 3. Scheppers was an effective setup man for closer Joe Nathan last year, going 6-2 with a save and a 1.88 ERA. "We will talk about it," Daniels said. "But we havent made any decisions at this point." Given a chance to start, Scheppers was one of the best Texas pitchers in spring training. Filling in for Darvish, he became the first major league to make his first career start on opening day since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. "I really dont think it has anything to do with me starting pitching," Scheppers said. "Its just Im doing something that I havent done in a long time." Anthony Bennett Jersey .com) - Eric Fehr and Marcus Johansson each registered a pair of goals, as Washington spoiled the head coaching debut of Peter Horachek by picking up a 6-2 victory in Toronto on Wednesday. Trevon Duval Rockets Jersey . - Jayden Hart scored once and set up two more as the Prince Albert Raiders downed the host Red Deer Rebels 5-3 on Tuesday to clinch the final Western Hockey League playoff berth. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/James...Edition-Jersey/. A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups. PJ Tucker Rockets Jersey . He scored two highlight-reel goals in a three-minute span -- the second on a sideways bicycle kick in the 78th minute -- to give the Whitecaps a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers before a crowd of 20,303 at B. Clint Capela Jersey . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said.MADISON, Wis. -- Prairie View A&M coach Byron Rimm said his team was just trying to work on a few things against No. 4 Wisconsin. Now its time for the Panthers to get home for conference play. Prairie View wrapped up a nine-game road swing Saturday with its eighth loss on the trip, 80-43 against the No. 4 Badgers. The Panthers fell behind early and never really challenged Wisconsin. "I hate to say it, but its almost like a glorified practice for us to see if we can get some stuff done," Rimm said. "We are still trying to win the game, but weve got to be realistic at a game like this." The Badgers, meanwhile, are turning their focus toward the Big Ten, starting Thursday at Northwestern, and Frank Kaminsky said his expectation is a conference title. "I think you talk to anyone in our locker room, theyll say the same thing," Kaminsky said. "We were so close last year. To not come away with it in the Big Ten tournament left a sour taste in our mouths. We really want it this year, and were going to do everything we can to get that." That may have seemed like bold talk heading into the season with Wisconsin needing to replace its entire starting front line after the departures of Jared Berggren, Mike Bruesewitz and Ryan Evans. But Saturdays win improved Wisconsins record to 13-0, the Badgers best start since the 1913-14 squad went 15-0. Playing for the first time in two weeks, the Badgers were a little rusty from 3-point range. But everything else was working as they dominated at the free throw line and on the boards while committing just two turnovers. Prairie View (2-10) went to a zone defence early, which helped slow down the Badgers somewhat offensively as they shot just 9 of 27 from behind the arc. They averaged making better than 40 per cent of their 3-pointers coming in. But that defensive approach also seemed to open up holes in the Panthers defence when it came to the boards. Wisconsin outrebounded Prairie View 42-25 while turning 16 offensive rebounds into 19 points. "Sometimes, a zone will allow that to happen, not that it tries to," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said.dddddddddddd "But again, we did have a height advantage, but that doesnt always mean youre going to rebound. But we were opportunistic. We moved our feet. I thought we got in good position to get the misses that were out there." Rimm said he thought the Panthers could use their lack of size to drive against the Badgers. But that didnt translate to the free throw line, where they were just 3 of 4 compared to Wisconsins 21 of 28. Though the Panthers werent terribly sloppy with the ball, committing 13 turnovers, Wisconsin turned those mistakes into 17 points. Prairie View only had two points off the Badgers two turnovers. Montrael Scott scored 14 to lead the Panthers, who return home Jan. 4 to take on Southern in the Panthers conference opener. The Badgers opened the game by outscoring Prairie View 23-6 over the first 10 minutes and were never challenged. Sam Dekker scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his third career double-double, to lead the Badgers, while Ben Brust added 11. Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes each scored 10 points apiece with Kaminsky adding seven rebounds and Hayes three blocks. Still, it was Hayes alley-oop to Dekker in the second half that had the players buzzing after the game. With the two of them on a fast break, Hayes lofted the ball over a defender and well off the rim to Dekker, who reached back with one hand fully extended to slam it down. Ryan said he caught "a lot of eyes looking up at the replay thing while we were sitting there at the timeout" that followed the dunk, adding he had no idea how Dekker was able to catch the ball. Hayes, somewhat in jest, said there was a reason behind the somewhat off target pass, saying if he put it close to the rim for a Dekker dunk, the best the highlight would have done was the nightly news in Wisconsin. "If I throw the ball high, almost out of bounds, behind the backboard, Sam dunks it, were talking SportsCenter top 10," Hayes said. "So, you know, all credit to Sam. Thanks for making me look good." ' ' '