Tagebuch » , beating the Memphis Grizzlies 86-77.

Last Wednesday in St. Petersburg, R.A Dickey tossed a two hit shutout as the Blue Jays blanked Tampa Bay 3-0 to savage the final game of the three-game set at Tropicana Field. It was the Blue Jays first shutout and first complete game of the season. That seemed unusual to me, even for a team that is sitting in the basement in the A.L. East at 40-41. Going back to last season - when the Jays starting rotation was devastated by injuries - they had five complete games for the entire season, and four shutouts. Brandon Morrow had three of each for a team that finished 73-89. Safe to say the Blue Jays are well on pace to have their worst totals in both categories ever. Complete games have been on the downswing for years and it is a rare year indeed when even one pitcher in all of baseball hits double figures in the category. James Shields of the Rays was the last to accomplish the feat in the American League when he hurled 11 in 2011. In fact, since the Blue Jays last World Series title in 1993 only four American League pitchers - including Shields - have had 10 or more complete games in a season. The other three were Angels lefty Chuck Finley, Scott Erickson of the Orioles and current Blue Jays bullpen coach Pat Hentgen. The last to do it in the National League was Randy Johnson in 1999. In 1970, 19.65 per cent of all American League games were complete games. As recently as 2007, that figure had dropped to 2.82 per cent in the American League and 1.85 per cent in the NL. Dave Stieb was the first Blue Jays pitcher to lead the league in complete games with 19 in 1982. Hentgen led with 10 in 1996. The following season, the Blue Jays had co-leaders in the American League, with Roger Clemens and Hentgen each having nine. The interesting thing about 1997 is that it was the final year of Cito Gastons first stint as Manager of the Jays. They had a horrible season, despite getting that kind of quality pitching from Clemens and Hentgen. Lefty David Wells led in complete games in both 1999 and 2000 with seven and nine, respectively. Then we get to the incredible run of one Roy Halladay. He tied for the American League lead in 2003 with nine complete games. Then he held the lead outright in 2005 (five), 2007 (seven), 2008 (nine) and 2009 (nine). In Philadelphia, "Doc" topped the National League the next two seasons with nine and eight in 2010 and ‘11 respectively. But - perhaps as a harbinger of things to come - he had no complete games last season. It marked the first year without one in a decade. He is sidelined right now, rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Halladay wont be back ‘til August at the earliest and there is a chance he wont pitch at all for the Phillies for the rest of the season. The game has changed so much over the past 20 years, with pitch counts, increased specialization and reliance on relievers and of course the designated hitter thats been around 40 years. Its hard to discern, what the decrease in complete games really means. In more cases than not, if youve got a pitcher who can take the ball from first out to last, youve got a leader and youve got an ace. A Blue Jays pitcher has led the league or tied for the league lead in complete games 10 times over their 36 year history. They also employed former league leaders in Jack Morris, Dave Stewart and Phil Niekro. Oddly enough, in the five years they won the American league East, pitchers from other teams led in complete games. The fewest number of complete games to lead a league in any individual year is five, a record shared by Halladay (2005) and Dickey (in his 2012 NL Cy Young season). For the record, Clevelands Justin Masterson is leading the American League so far this season with three complete games while Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals is leading the National League with four. Cleveland enters Monday tied for first in the A.L Central with Detroit, while the Cardinals are second in the NL Central, two games back of Pittsburgh. There is no question July is make-or-break for the Blue Jays. They play 26 games: 17 at home and nine away. Its by no means an easy schedule since they have three-game sets with Baltimore and Tampa Bay, a three-gamer with Oakland and their current four-game set with Detroit. Just the same, with the heavy load of home games this month, the Blue Jays must make up a lot of ground in the Wild Card race, if the games in August and September are going to mean anything. Starling Marte Jersey .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament. Adam Frazier Jersey . Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Kent-Tekulve-Kids-Jersey/ . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Bill Mazeroski Jersey .com) - Lloyd Sam struck in stoppage time on Wednesday as Red Bull New York hung on for a crucial 1-0 win over Atlantic Cup rivals D. Barry Bonds Jersey . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday.OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder became familiar with Memphis grind-it-out defensive style while losing to the Grizzlies during last seasons NBA playoffs. On Monday night, the Thunder beat Memphis at its own game. Kevin Durant had 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder continued their home dominance, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 86-77. Oklahoma City (39-11) had a 10-game winning streak snapped Saturday at Washington, but the Thunder moved to 21-3 at home while winning their seventh straight game at Chesapeake Energy Arena. In doing so, the Thunder posted its second-best defensive outing of the season. Oklahoma Citys inside quartet of Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams and Nick Collison combined to limit Memphis potent frontcourt duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol Meanwhile, Thabo Sefolosha limited Memphis Courtney Lee -- who scored 24 points in the last meeting between the teams -- to 11 points. Memphis finished 2 of 16 from 3-point range. "I thought we did a good job of playing tough defensive basketball throughout the game," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "One of the strengths of our team, obviously, is our versatility. I think tonight it showed that sometimes you have to play different styles of basketball to get a win." Randolph had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Gasol added 13 points for Memphis (26-21), which lost for the second time in 13 games. The Grizzlies had won six straight games, the NBAs longest winning streak entering Monday. "We didnt play the basketball that we normally play," Randolph said. "We made bad decisions at important times of the game. There were a lot of turnovers, including myself, but youve got to be smart. And weve got to hit shots." Coming off a remarkable January during which he averaged 35.9 points per game on 54.9-per cent shooting, Durant finished 11 of 21 from the field. Ibaka went 10 of 17 from the field and posted his 19th double-double of the season while helping lead the Thunders interior defence. Oklahoma City finished with nine blocked shots, four of those by Adams, a career high for the rookie from New Zealand. "Steven only had three points and five rebounds and Perk only had one point and eight rebounds, but both impacted the game," Brooks said. Memphis, which trailed by 177 points late in the first half, pulled within three points three times in the final 6:45, the last time at 78-75 after Lees driving 5-foot jumper with 4:54 left.dddddddddddd Durant answered with a 14-foot jumper, then after an exchange of empty possessions, Sefolosha swished a 3-pointer and Durant followed with a steal and layup to give Oklahoma City an 85-75 cushion with 2:54 left. "That gave us a boost when he hit that shot," Durant said. The Thunder managed only one point after that, but the Grizzlies couldnt take advantage, scoring only on a follow shot by Randolph with 1:12 left. The Thunder used an 18-2 run near the end of the first half to take a 51-36 halftime lead. By halftime, Ibaka already had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. "We started the game great defensively and we built off of that," Durant said. "Offensively we played a little slow but we picked it up in that second quarter and built some momentum going into the second half." With a lineup of reserves, Oklahoma City didnt score for almost three minutes to start the fourth quarter, causing Brooks to reinsert Durant with 9:41 left. Durant promptly drew a foul on James Johnson and hit 1-of-2 free throws, then swished a 14-foot jumper from the left wing to put the Thunder up 72-63. "We played from too far behind," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "We gave them 51 points, lots of layups, in the first half. . It was very difficult for us. When you come back, you have a very small margin for error." Reggie Jackson started the game with two airballs but eventually finished with 12 points for Oklahoma City. Mike Miller added 11 points for Memphis. Notes: With starting point guard Mike Conley out with an ankle injury, Memphis signed G Darius Morris to a 10-day contract on Monday. Morris averaged 4.2 points and 1.6 assists in 22 games this season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers. ... Memphis had a six-game road winning streak snapped. .. The Thunder recorded its 113th straight regular-season sellout, although there were some empty seats visible in the lower sections of Chesapeake Energy Arena. ... Joerger was named as the Western Conference coach of the month for January, beating out Brooks. Memphis went 12-3 in January, compared Oklahoma Citys 13-5 mark. ... At least twice, Joerger complained about the volume level in the arena. 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