CLEVELAND — Cody Allen is one of the least acclaimed yet most productive closers in the major leagues. On Friday night. when the Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the Oakland A’s
Chris Herndon Color Rush Jersey , Allen will be in uniform at Progressive Field for the first time as the Indians’ career saves leader.
In pitching the ninth inning of a 3-2 Cleveland win in Kansas City on Wednesday, Allen posted his 140th career save, breaking Bob Wickman’s franchise record of 139, which had stood since 2006.
“He means so much to all of us,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said of Allen. “This is a kid who was drafted in the 16th round, but through being a consummate professional, he’s now the Indians’ all-time leader. That’s pretty awesome. It’s a big accomplishment, and he’s not close to being done.”
Allen (2-3, 3.38 ERA) ranks seventh in the American League this year with 18 saves, but his year-in, year-out consistency has been his trademark. He has had at least 30 saves in each of the last three seasons. Only two other closers in the majors can say that: the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Boston’s Craig Kimbrel.
“This is something I’m extremely proud of,” Allen said of passing Wickman as the club’s saves leader. “It’s something I get to hang my hat on for my career. It’s very cool.”
The A’s (48-39) come to Cleveland with nearly the same record as the Indians (48-37), but what a difference a division makes. The first-place Indians lead the AL Central by 11 1/2 games. The A’s are in third in the AL West, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.
The A’s won two of three games from the Indians last weekend in Oakland. That was part of a longer streak in which the A’s have won eight of their last nine. Since June 16, Oakland is 14-3.
“I think we’re having a lot of fun
Jessie Bates III Jersey Bengals ,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman told MLB.com, “and no matter what the score is, I don’t think we count ourselves out. There’s no panic in the dugout. We just keep playing our game. We trust that we’re a good team.”
On Friday night, the A’s will send Paul Blackburn (2-2, 6.46 ERA) to the mound. In his last start on June 29 in Oakland, Blackburn baffled the Indians, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in a 3-1 victory.
Blackburn has started five major league games this year. In the one against Cleveland, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .150. In the other four starts, he’s 1-2 with an 8.83 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .324. In two career starts against the Indians, Blackburn is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA.
Cleveland will counter with Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.24), who will make his first start since June 16, a 9-3 loss to Minnesota in which he was knocked out of the game in the second inning after getting hit in the right arm by a line drive off the bat of Joe Mauer.
Carrasco was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day with a right elbow contusion. He made one rehab start at Double-A Akron on June 30, pitching four scoreless innings and giving up one hit with four strikeouts and one walk.
Carrasco’s last legitimate start was his best start of the year, a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on June 11. In that game
Cheap Dalton Schultz Jersey , he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts.
In six career appearances, including five starts, against Oakland, Carrasco is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA.
The chemistry between Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo keeps blossoming to spectacular effect, infusing the New Orleans Pelicans with confidence as they head into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak.
”When he’s going, he’s got a high motor, pushing the basketball,” Davis said of Rondo. ”If we want shots, we have to run with him. He’s making sure we’re making the effort to get back into the offense and get some assists for him.”
Davis had 22 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and three steals, Rondo had 19 points and 14 assists and the Pelicans captured the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 122-98 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night.
Rondo set up all three of Davis’ dunks – including a soaring roundhouse jam on a cut to the basket in the first half and a reverse alley-oop in the fourth quarter that drove the crowd wild.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray each scored 11 points for the Spurs, who were already playoff bound but went to the locker room after their loss in New Orleans knowing they’d be at best a seventh seed, and that’s where they ended up. With his team struggling to keep pace with the Pelicans
Cheap Richard Rodgers Jersey , Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled his regulars early in the fourth quarter, limiting all of his key players to fewer than 30 minutes on the court.
Popovich didn’t sound at all concerned about whether his club entered the playoffs with momentum.
”I think that is all psycho-babble,” he said. ”We have been on both ends of everything for all of these years, so, you just go play.”
Spurs veterans also downplayed their late-season stumbles, which included an eight-game road losing streak.
”We got in and now it is time to fine-tune things and try to get better,” Aldridge said. ”There is no pressure on us, so we’ve just got go play and be better and just be locked in.”
Nikola Mirotic had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 19 points and E’Twaun Moore added 13 points for the Pelicans, who led by double-digits throughout the second half, with their largest lead topping out at 25.
The Pelicans finished with 78 points in the paint and shot 59.1 percent (52 of 88). New Orleans also had 32 points on fast breaks, compared to 17 for the Spurs.
”In transition, with Rondo leading us, and A.D. running the floor, and we got E’Twaun on the wing and Niko shooting 3s – I feel like we’ve got a pretty good chance
Harold Landry Jersey Elite ,” Holiday said.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes each scored 10 points. … Remained without Kawhi Leonard, who wound up playing in only nine games during the regular season because of a lingering right quadriceps injury. His availability for the playoffs remains unclear. … Finished 14-27 on the road, where they’ll start the playoffs.
Pelicans: Won the season series against San Antonio, 3-1. … Mirotic hasn’t scored fewer than 21 in any of New Orleans’ past five games. …. New Orleans’ 48 victories is the third most in franchise history, which officially dates back to the NBA’s return to the city in 2002-03. When Chris Paul played in New Orleans, the club won 56 games in 2007-08 and 49 in 2008-09.
GETTING SEPARATION
The game was competitive until 4:32 remained in the second quarter, when Pau Gasol sank a short turnaround to cut New Orleans’ lead to 42-39.
Soon after, New Orleans began clamping down on defense and ramping up its tempo in transition, closing the second quarter on a 19-4 run that earned the Pelicans a standing ovation as they walked off the floor at halftime with a 61-43 lead.
Mirotic scored seven points during the spurt, all on layups set up by Rondo, including one as he was fouled by Gasol.
”We want to play fast. They want to play slow. We wanted to try to dictate the tempo of game and I thought we did that, especially in the second quarter,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said ”We got out and ran and had good ball movement.”
UP NEXT:
Spurs: Open the playoffs against defending champion and second seed Golden State.
Pelicans: Start their postseason in Portland.
—
.
CLEVELAND — Cody Allen is one of the least acclaimed yet most productive closers in the major leagues. On Friday night. when the Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the Oakland A’s
Chris Herndon Color Rush Jersey , Allen will be in uniform at Progressive Field for the first time as the Indians’ career saves leader.
In pitching the ninth inning of a 3-2 Cleveland win in Kansas City on Wednesday, Allen posted his 140th career save, breaking Bob Wickman’s franchise record of 139, which had stood since 2006.
“He means so much to all of us,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said of Allen. “This is a kid who was drafted in the 16th round, but through being a consummate professional, he’s now the Indians’ all-time leader. That’s pretty awesome. It’s a big accomplishment, and he’s not close to being done.”
Allen (2-3, 3.38 ERA) ranks seventh in the American League this year with 18 saves, but his year-in, year-out consistency has been his trademark. He has had at least 30 saves in each of the last three seasons. Only two other closers in the majors can say that: the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Boston’s Craig Kimbrel.
“This is something I’m extremely proud of,” Allen said of passing Wickman as the club’s saves leader. “It’s something I get to hang my hat on for my career. It’s very cool.”
The A’s (48-39) come to Cleveland with nearly the same record as the Indians (48-37), but what a difference a division makes. The first-place Indians lead the AL Central by 11 1/2 games. The A’s are in third in the AL West, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.
The A’s won two of three games from the Indians last weekend in Oakland. That was part of a longer streak in which the A’s have won eight of their last nine. Since June 16, Oakland is 14-3.
“I think we’re having a lot of fun
Jessie Bates III Jersey Bengals ,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman told MLB.com, “and no matter what the score is, I don’t think we count ourselves out. There’s no panic in the dugout. We just keep playing our game. We trust that we’re a good team.”
On Friday night, the A’s will send Paul Blackburn (2-2, 6.46 ERA) to the mound. In his last start on June 29 in Oakland, Blackburn baffled the Indians, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in a 3-1 victory.
Blackburn has started five major league games this year. In the one against Cleveland, he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .150. In the other four starts, he’s 1-2 with an 8.83 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .324. In two career starts against the Indians, Blackburn is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA.
Cleveland will counter with Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.24), who will make his first start since June 16, a 9-3 loss to Minnesota in which he was knocked out of the game in the second inning after getting hit in the right arm by a line drive off the bat of Joe Mauer.
Carrasco was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day with a right elbow contusion. He made one rehab start at Double-A Akron on June 30, pitching four scoreless innings and giving up one hit with four strikeouts and one walk.
Carrasco’s last legitimate start was his best start of the year, a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on June 11. In that game
Cheap Dalton Schultz Jersey , he pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up two hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts.
In six career appearances, including five starts, against Oakland, Carrasco is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA.
The chemistry between Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo keeps blossoming to spectacular effect, infusing the New Orleans Pelicans with confidence as they head into the playoffs on a five-game winning streak.
”When he’s going, he’s got a high motor, pushing the basketball,” Davis said of Rondo. ”If we want shots, we have to run with him. He’s making sure we’re making the effort to get back into the offense and get some assists for him.”
Davis had 22 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and three steals, Rondo had 19 points and 14 assists and the Pelicans captured the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 122-98 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night.
Rondo set up all three of Davis’ dunks – including a soaring roundhouse jam on a cut to the basket in the first half and a reverse alley-oop in the fourth quarter that drove the crowd wild.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray each scored 11 points for the Spurs, who were already playoff bound but went to the locker room after their loss in New Orleans knowing they’d be at best a seventh seed, and that’s where they ended up. With his team struggling to keep pace with the Pelicans
Cheap Richard Rodgers Jersey , Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled his regulars early in the fourth quarter, limiting all of his key players to fewer than 30 minutes on the court.
Popovich didn’t sound at all concerned about whether his club entered the playoffs with momentum.
”I think that is all psycho-babble,” he said. ”We have been on both ends of everything for all of these years, so, you just go play.”
Spurs veterans also downplayed their late-season stumbles, which included an eight-game road losing streak.
”We got in and now it is time to fine-tune things and try to get better,” Aldridge said. ”There is no pressure on us, so we’ve just got go play and be better and just be locked in.”
Nikola Mirotic had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 19 points and E’Twaun Moore added 13 points for the Pelicans, who led by double-digits throughout the second half, with their largest lead topping out at 25.
The Pelicans finished with 78 points in the paint and shot 59.1 percent (52 of 88). New Orleans also had 32 points on fast breaks, compared to 17 for the Spurs.
”In transition, with Rondo leading us, and A.D. running the floor, and we got E’Twaun on the wing and Niko shooting 3s – I feel like we’ve got a pretty good chance
Harold Landry Jersey Elite ,” Holiday said.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes each scored 10 points. … Remained without Kawhi Leonard, who wound up playing in only nine games during the regular season because of a lingering right quadriceps injury. His availability for the playoffs remains unclear. … Finished 14-27 on the road, where they’ll start the playoffs.
Pelicans: Won the season series against San Antonio, 3-1. … Mirotic hasn’t scored fewer than 21 in any of New Orleans’ past five games. …. New Orleans’ 48 victories is the third most in franchise history, which officially dates back to the NBA’s return to the city in 2002-03. When Chris Paul played in New Orleans, the club won 56 games in 2007-08 and 49 in 2008-09.
GETTING SEPARATION
The game was competitive until 4:32 remained in the second quarter, when Pau Gasol sank a short turnaround to cut New Orleans’ lead to 42-39.
Soon after, New Orleans began clamping down on defense and ramping up its tempo in transition, closing the second quarter on a 19-4 run that earned the Pelicans a standing ovation as they walked off the floor at halftime with a 61-43 lead.
Mirotic scored seven points during the spurt, all on layups set up by Rondo, including one as he was fouled by Gasol.
”We want to play fast. They want to play slow. We wanted to try to dictate the tempo of game and I thought we did that, especially in the second quarter,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said ”We got out and ran and had good ball movement.”
UP NEXT:
Spurs: Open the playoffs against defending champion and second seed Golden State.
Pelicans: Start their postseason in Portland.
—
.
