News & Neuigkeiten » compensate for some of the loss of NGolo Kan

PHOENIX -- Maybe Jake Lamb deserved more write-in votes as one of five NL players in the Final Vote lineup for the All-Star Game.The Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman finished fourth in the voting, but won the battle Saturday against an actual All-Star, Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.Lamb later delivered another key hit that helped the Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 2-1 in 12 innings Saturday night.Brandon Drurys single drove in Lamb with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th after Lamb had sent the game into extra innings with a tying double off Jansen in the ninth. Lamb then opened the 12th with a triple into the right field corner.Im not afraid to fail, Lamb said after a three-hit night. He (Jansen) has dominated me. I dont think Ive ever gotten a hit off him.Lamb got the triple off Dodgers reliever and losing pitcher Casey Fien (1-1).I hit it hard enough to get through. I just put it in the right spot. So that was nice, he said.After two intentional walks to load the bases, Drury laced a single through the drawn-in infield off Fien, ending the Diamondbacks five-game losing streak. It was Drurys first career game-ending hit.I was just trying to stay inside the ball, Drury said. I have really learned to focus just on the ball and not on the situation.The Dodgers had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the 12th, but Randall Delgado (2-1) retired Yasiel Puig on a groundout to end the threat. The Dodgers stranded 15 runners on base.They still were in position to win with Jansen on the mound and a 1-0 lead with two outs in the ninth. But Lamb lined a two-strike double to drive in Michael Bourn, who had singled and stole second base.Of Lambs 63 runs batted in this season, 11 have come in the ninth inning.Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy struck out eight in six scoreless innings. McCarthy, a former Diamondbacks pitcher making his third start since returning from major elbow surgery that cost him most of last season, held Arizona to three hits in his longest outing of 2016.Diamondbacks starter Archie Bradley allowed a run on six hits, walked three and struck out three.The Dodgers bullpen, which entered Saturday with the lowest ERA in the majors, got scoreless innings from Adam Liberatore and Joe Blanton before Jansen blew his fourth save chance of the season. Jansen had not allowed a run in 14 previous games.Diamondbacks relievers held the Dodgers scoreless for six innings. Well before that, Justin Turner drove in the games first run with a soft single in the third inning, driving in Chase Utley, whod led off with a double.The Dodgers lost a chance to add to the lead in the seventh when Howie Kendrick, who was 3 for 3 up to that point, struck out against reliever Jake Barrett with the bases loaded.The offense, we had opportunities. We just couldnt get that big hit tonight but we had been doing a lot of good things offensively going into the break and (Friday) night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. It was just one of those nights where those guys made pitches and hung in there.Jake Lamb is a great ballplayer and he got a big hit against one of the best closers, Roberts added. We expect Kenley to be perfect. Its not going to happen.INJURED UMPIREHome plate umpire Dale Scott left the game in the bottom of the first inning after taking a foul ball to his chin. The umpiring crew went to three men, with Lance Barrett moving behind the plate from first base after about a 12-minute delay.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: LHPs Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood threw to live hitters for the first time in their rehabilitations from injuries Saturday at Dodger Stadium, Kershaw throwing 60 pitches. Wood threw 30 to 40 pitches, Roberts said. If Kershaw feels fine on Sunday he could pitch as soon as next week at Washington or St. Louis. Kershaw (back) has been on the DL since July 1 and Wood (elbow) on the 60-day DL since May 31. ... OF Trayce Thompson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with lower back irritation and OF-IF Zach Walters was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. ... OF Joc Pederson (sprained AC joint) got a hit and walked twice in four at-bats Friday night in a rehab game for Oklahoma City. Hes been on the disabled list since June 29.Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Greinke is still dealing with oblique tightness and may not be ready to make a start this month. ... C-OF Chris Herrmann (hamstring) had an MRI Saturday morning but appeared as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning.UP NEXTDodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (7-6) is the scheduled starter against the Diamondbacks. Maeda has a win in two starts against Arizona this season.Diamondbacks: Sunday starter Robbie Ray (4-8) is 2-2 with a 2.40 ERA in five career starts against the Dodgers. Denver Nuggets Shirts . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Denver Nuggets Gear .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. https://www.cheapnuggets.com/147y-byron-beck-jersey-nuggets.html . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. George McGinnis Jersey . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Emmanuel Mudiay Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. It has already been a trying December for Pep Guardiola, and it will get no easier between now and when the calendar finally turns to 2017.Without at least three key players for the short term, he and Manchester City face a daunting task in trying to regroup Saturday at King Power Stadium, where title-holders Leicester City are facing desperate times in their bid to simply stay out of the drop zone.The talk of Guardiola as Manchester Citys saviour after winning his first 10 matches in all competitions has given way to whether his side has the bottle to mount even a Premier League title challenge after being humbled by front-runners Chelsea 3-1 at home last Saturday.The Citizens had taken the lead right before halftime via an own goal by Chelsea defender Gary Cahill. However, the London side ran rampant in the final 30 minutes as their 3-4-3 formation tore apart Citys defence -- the long-established weakness of this team with or without talisman Vincent Kompany -- and got goals from Diego Costa, Willian and Eden Hazard in the final half-hour.In the boxes we are not strong enough, especially here at home said Guardiola, rueing a string of missed opportunities throughout the first half and Kevin De Bruynes effort off the crossbar shortly before Costas equaliser. The opponents, when they arrive they score, when we arrive sometimes not, mentally thats tough.The match then turned ugly after Hazards goal in the 90th minute, with striker Sergio Agueros reckless challenge on David Luiz -- somewhat in retribution for a physical challenge Luiz made earlier in the match that went without a card -- triggering a wild fracas in which Aguero received a red card as did midfielder Fernandinho for putting Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas in a chokehold and driving him over the advertising boards.Aguero, who leads Manchester City with 10 goals and 16 overall, will miss at least the next four matches since this is his second suspension of the season. He was given a three-match ban retroactively for elbowing West Hams Winston Reid on Aug. 28, and Fernandinho was handed a three-match suspension. To further add to Guardiolas backline woes, Nicolas Otamendi will not be available for this match after picking up his fifth yellow card.For all the talk of Citys attack, and with good reason, it has been the defence that causes worry. The Citizens (9-3-2) have recorded just two clean sheets in league play. Central defender John Stones has yet to show a comfort level marshalling the backline without the injured Kompany. Until Guardiola finds wing backs who can bomb forward to augment his 3-5-2 formation, he likely will tinker with a rotating cast of bodies throughout the next two months and perhaps find reinforcements in the January transfer window.Those tinkerings began in earnest Tuesday with Citys dead rubber versus Celtic to close out group play in Champions League. The match ended in a 1-1 draw as Kelechi Iheanacho canceled out a goal by City loanee Patrick Roberts in the first eight minutes, and Guardiola included 16-year-old midfielder Phil Foden to the match-day roster. For Iheanacho, it was his first goal since Oct. 23, and the Nigeria international is hopeful Guardiola will call on him to help replace Aguero up front.I have a responsibility to be the striker for the team, replacing Sergio when he is not around, said Iheanacho, who has 13 goals in 18 starts, to Citys official website. I have to prove myself, give my best and work hard for the team and make sure wwe get the wins we need.dddddddddddd(Aguero) is telling me I should do very well and they are words of encouragement from him. So Im going to do it.Leicester City, meanwhile, are looking for any signs of encouragement that will help their domestic form come anywhere near their Champions League success. But even that silver lining didnt materialise this week in their dead rubber at Porto, where an understrength side missing both Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were overrun 5-0.The Foxes had already clinched the top spot in Group G, but the malaise in England -- where they have just one win in nine league matches (1-3-5) spread to their play on the continent, where they had conceded just one goal in while going unbeaten in the previous five contests.I have no regrets because I wanted to give an opportunity to all my players, said manager Claudio Ranieri, who made 10 changes to his starting lineup from their 2-1 defeat last weekend at Sunderland. If I needed to win or draw, I would bring all my first team to fight. But when you know there is another difficult match Saturday against Man City and you are top of the group, why not give a chance to players who say why dont I play? We are losing in the Premier League, give me a chance.Midfielder Danny Drinkwater picked up a knock in the heavy defeat, but he is suspended for this match as he completes a three-match ban for elbowing Watfords Valon Behrami in a 2-1 loss to the Hornets on Nov. 19.Ranieri rightly left his two superstars home in the Midlands to get extra rest ahead of this match, which takes on plenty of urgency since the Foxes (3-4-7) are in 16th place, own a minus-7 goal difference and are just two points above the relegation spots. Its a far cry from last season, when Leicester had 29 points through 14 matches and sported a plus-9 in the scoring columns.Vardys goal-scoring drought for Leicester has reached 16 matches since bagging one against Liverpool on Sept. 10, and while Mahrez leads the team with seven goals in all competitions, five have come from the penalty spot. The Foxes have totaled just 26 goals in their 21 matches, and Kasper Schmeichels injuries have done them no favours on the other side of the ball as theyve shipped 34 overall.But with both Guardiola and Ranieri needing to tinker with their lineups, the midfield will all but certain be where this match is decided. Nampalys Mendy played the full 90 minutes Wednesday in his first action since injuring his ankle against Arsenal on Aug. 20, and the former Nice midfielder who was counted upon to compensate for some of the loss of NGolo Kante to Chelsea may be primed for his first Premier League start this weekend since that injury for Leicester.The Foxes took four points off Manchester City last season, playing to a cagey scoreless draw in the corresponding fixture last season before blowing the doors of the Citizens 3-1 at the Etihad in February. That win removed the last doubts over whether Leicester had any staying power and also that Manchester City were just not good enough to overtake them.It also ended a seven-match winless spell against Manchester City (0-3-4) in all competitions since a 3-0 road victory in 2003. Leicester City are also winless in seven all-time home matches (0-3-4) against the Citizens in the Premier League era, getting outscored 5-2 while going 0-2-3 in the regular season. ' ' '