News & Neuigkeiten » Erick Aybar extended his hitting streak to 1

INDIANAPOLIS - It was just before 2pm local time when the Raptors landed on game-day, five hours prior to tipoff and 38 hours after they were originally scheduled to touchdown in Indianapolis. Creatures of habit, the Raptors were expecting to fly out after their previous game - a hard-fought loss in Miami on Sunday - practice on Monday and shoot around ahead of an already daunting match-up with the league-best Pacers, a team they had defeated at home a week earlier. Instead, Mother Nature threw them a curveball and they had no choice but to adjust. A major snowstorm and frigid temperatures in Indianapolis resulted in the altered itinerary, a reasonable excuse for a team that has vowed to stop making excuses, and to their credit they refused to take the bait. "We can have all the excuses in the world, but in a game like this you have to man up and bring it," Dwane Casey said after his road-weary club dropped Tuesdays sluggish rematch with the Pacers 86-79 in snow-covered Indianapolis. "Its a mans league. I expected us to have a little bit of a hangover with the bullcrap with the travel but I thought we put ourselves in a position to win. Now weve got to close the deal." Not one Raptor player would use the teams travel nightmare as justification for the loss; they would barely even acknowledge it in the visitors locker room post-game. It was the type of easy out they used to fall back on, almost routinely. This time they did what winning teams do. They owned it. "[We] had the opportunity, but didnt make shots," said Kyle Lowry, who had 16 points to go along with just two dimes, his lowest assist total since November 11th. "They beat us. We were a little bit off, schedule off, routine, but still had a chance to win, so cant really say it messed us up too much." The loss was just their fifth in 15 games since the trade, dropping a game below the .500 mark. "We came out a little sluggish, had a couple turnovers at the beginning, shots werent falling for us and we got out-rebounded," said Amir Johnson, coming off his worst outing of the season. "Theres your ball game." More often than not, the Raptors were a step slow against a team that prides itself on pounding opponents into submission, especially at home, where theyve suffered just one loss. Toronto was out of sync, looking nothing like the club that stunned the Pacers at the Air Canada Centre last week. The Raptors managed just 18 assists, failing to reach 20 dimes for only the fourth time in the last 15 games. They were out-rebounded by 17 and bested by 14 in the paint, 11 in second-chance points. True to character they nearly made something out of nothing, cutting their deficit - once as big as 17 - to six down the stretch before eventually succumbing to the home teams punishing brand of basketball. "Guys were just a little bit off from their rhythm," Lowry said. "Not making shots, just the timing of everything was just a little off tonight." DeMar DeRozan scored the teams final 17 of the third quarter and finished with 28 and Patrick Patterson - playing in place of Johnson - had 11 of his 20 points in the fourth. Johnson was not himself, finishing scoreless on five attempts in just over 20 minutes of action. Battling a cold on top of the travel snafus, the Raptors forward struggled through fatigue, looking out of breath on a couple of occasions in the first half. With Patterson playing well, Casey opted to ride the hot hand and sit Johnson in the fourth. Jonas Valanciunas also had an off night, held to just four points in 32 minutes and outplayed by Pacers centre Roy Hibbert on both ends of the floor. The team checked in and out of its Miami hotel three times before eventually taking off for Indianapolis at 11:30am Tuesday morning. There, they spent less than an hour at the hotel before boarding three busses to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, skipping shoot around and putting a dent into most of their game-day routine. "Youve just got to get your body going," Johnson said before the game. "After sitting down for a couple of hours, youve got to [stay active]." "Adversity sometimes comes in different ways," Casey said. "Its a good character builder for us. You hate to be against the best team in the conference but it is what it is." Wholesale Sneakers . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. Cheap Sneakers Free Shipping . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. http://www.cheapsneakersfromchina.com/ . Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. China Sneakers For Sale . According to USA Today the Finns have tapped forwards Jarkko Immonen and Sakari Salminen to replace injured forwards Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula at the Sochi Games. Cheap Sneakers Fast Shipping . - 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.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- While everybody else in the Los Angeles Angels rotation has dealt with serious injuries and wild inconsistency this summer, Matt Shoemaker has been unshakable for two months. His teammates provided the rookie with far more support than he required in his latest milestone win. Mike Trout had an RBI double and Albert Pujols added a two-run single during Los Angeles five-run fourth inning, and the Angels regained sole possession of the majors best record with an 8-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night. Shoemaker (13-4) yielded two hits over seven scoreless innings as the Angels (78-53) moved one game ahead of the AL West rival Oakland Athletics, who lost to Houston. Five days after Shoemaker took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Fenway Park, he walked two and struck out six while holding his seventh straight opponent to fewer than two earned runs. "Its confidence from consistent hard work," the heavily bearded Shoemaker said. "I want to go out there and use every pitch I can, and be aggressive every time." Trout slowed his August slump with three hits, and Efren Navarro drove in two runs as the Angels pounded out 16 hits in their 10th victory in 14 games. "We had a couple of great at-bats tonight from everybody," Trout said. Six Angels drove in a run as their lineup bounced back from a poor series opener, but Los Angeles won with another outstanding start from its 27-year-old rookie right-hander. Shoemakers emergence has steadied a rotation that lost Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs to season-ending injuries. "You just cant ask for a better game," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Today there was no doubt we needed some length from Matt. Getting into the seventh is huge." With his fourth straight win, Shoemaker passed the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka for the major league victories lead among rookies. Nathan Eovaldi ((6-9) gave up 10 hits in 3 1-3 innings while dropping his third straight start for the Marlins, who have lost four of six.dddddddddddd The Angels chased Eovaldi after their first six batters reached base in the fourth. Pujols then delivered a 6-0 lead on reliever Sam Dysons first pitch. "My arm feels great," Eovaldi said. "Its probably the best Ive felt in my career. No issues. Its extremely discouraging and real frustrating. Im just going through a rough little rut right now, so I have to keep grinding and work through it." Miami didnt get a runner to second base until Garrett Jones two-out, two-strike double in the ninth. Jarrod Saltalamacchias ensuing RBI double allowed the Marlins to avoid their first shutout loss since June 21. Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. EVERYDAY ERICK: Erick Aybar extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his sixth straight multi-hit performance, matching his career best. He is batting .465 (20 for 43) during his hit streak and .379 in interleague play this season. SHOEMAKER SUPERLATIVES: Shoemaker is the first undrafted, American-born rookie to win at least 13 games since John Montefusco won 15 for the Giants in 1975. He also became just the fourth pitcher in Angels history to make consecutive starts with at least 7 shutout innings and two or fewer hits, joining a group including Nolan Ryan. TRAINERS ROOM Marlins: Reliever Bryan Morris was sent back to Miami after feeling discomfort in his right hip. Angels: The Angels designated LHP Wade LeBlanc for assignment and recalled reliever Yoslan Herrera to add fresh arms to their weary bullpen. Herrera pitched the ninth, giving up both Miami runs. UP NEXT Marlins: Henderson Alvarez (10-5, 2.57 ERA) pitches the series finale. Angels: Hector Santiago (3-7, 3.38) attempts to add to his late-season surge in his first career start against the Marlins. ' ' '