01-04-2020, 08:10 AM
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Kevin Correia threw three hitless innings and a split squad of Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-2 Monday. Correia, who was 9-13 last year, permitted just one walk. "Trying to get command of all my pitches," he said. Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ struggled, walking four and giving up a double and single while getting only one out. Six Toronto pitchers combined for eight walks. "Couldnt throw strikes," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "We were allergic to the strike zone today on the mound." He indicated Happ was not excessively wild. "It wasnt like he was scattered all over," Gibbons said. "He was close. So, you got to keep it on the zone. Let them hit the ball. Thats the approach you got to have. looking for contact." Happ said hes ready to put this outing behind him. "Just anxious to get out there and do it again," he said. "I felt like I was making good pitches," he said. "The ones they took were just off and I wasnt as sharp with my fastball command as I need to be." Jermaine Mitchell homered for the Twins. He went 3 for 3 with a double and drove in four runs. Brian Dozier hit two doubles. Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer for Toronto. He hit 36 homers last season. "We dont worry about Edwin," Gibbons said. The game featured the first review under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system. Gibbons asked umpires to review a play in the sixth. Chris Rahl was called safe at first base when Toronto shortstop Munenori Kawasakis throw pulled Jared Goedert off the bag. After a wait of 2 minutes, 34 seconds, the call was upheld. In the eighth inning, replay confirmed another Twins runner was safe at first. STARTING TIME Twins: Minnesota won its other split-squad game, with starter Vance Worley tossing three shutout innings in a 9-2 win over Baltimore. Manager Ron Gardenhire went with the team to Sarasota while bench coach Terry Steinbach stayed in Fort Myers. "No complaints about our pitching," Steinbach said. DOUBLE TROUBLE Twins second baseman Brian Dozier hit doubles in each of his first two at-bats. He had 33 doubles last year. BUS LEAGUES The Blue Jays 132-mile ride to Hammond Stadium was the longest of the spring for Toronto, four miles more than the one to JetBlue Park, the Fort Myers home of the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays shortest trip is three miles to Clearwaters Bright House Field, the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Twins return the bus trip favour on Saturday when they make the long trek to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays. Tom McNeill Jersey . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. Terron Armstead Jersey . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom...2732e.html. Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Patrick Robinson Jersey .com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Rickey Jackson Jersey . When the Dallas Mavericks needed to stop a Golden State rally in the fourth quarter, they looked for defensive help from the rookie point guard playing in just his sixth game.TORONTO -- The artistry Justin Mapp displayed in scoring Montreals lone goal drew rave reviews from even Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen on Wednesday night. Mapp danced through Torontos defence to score on Montreals only shot on net as the Impact salvaged a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship against a TFC side missing star striker Jermain Defoe. "Hes a lovely man, he goes about his business quietly," Nelsen said of Mapp. "That was a classy classy goal, to tell you the truth, and the only way I think really they were going to score, to break us down. "Sometimes you have to tip your hat." Defender Doneil Henry scored the lone goal for Toronto. The draw could be considered a victory for Montreal, since road goals carry more weight. If next Wednesdays second leg in Montreal was to end in a 0-0 tie, the Impact would win based on Mapps goal at BMO Field. "Coming away, the first leg, you score an away goal, its very important," said Impact coach Frank Klopas. "But also I felt we finished the game the second half, we played some good soccer, we had some good opportunities, and so its a good result on the road. But nothings done yet." The draw was the latest chapter in a Canadian Championship battle between these two teams. Toronto has won four of the six titles, Montreal has won the other two, including the inaugural tournament in 2008, and then last year. The winner earns the right to represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League. Toronto dominated possession for most of the night, and had five shots on net to the Impacts one in front of 18,269 mostly red-clad TFC fans at BMO Field. Nelsen sat Defoe because the former Tottenham Hotspur star was feeling "a wee bit tight." The coach admitted that, with the lineup he fielded, he was looking ahead to Saturdays Major League Soccer game against the visiting Columbus Crew. "But in saying that, I put out the team that I thought should have won that game," Nelsen said. "We gave a lot of guys a chance to prove themselves, and it looked a bit like they hadnt played together, sometimes it wasnt pretty. But they worked hard." Henry leapt to head home a corner from Daniel Lovitz in the 20th minute, a blistering shot from the top of the six-yard box that Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush had little chance of stopping. The goal was a positive -- finally -- for Henry, whos been mired in negatives lately. Most recently, in Torontos 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City, a foul by the Toronto defender inside the box cost the team a Kansas City penalty shot. "For Doneil, he showed his character," Nelsen said. "Obviously hes had a couple of tough ones that everybody likes to remind him of. Its the ability to get back on the horse and get back in the arena that I love about the kid." Mapp tied the game in the 70th, dribbling through Torontos back line and beating a lunging Steven Caldwell to fire a shot past keeper Joe Bendik. "Just collected it on thhe right side, started driving toward the top of the box.dddddddddddd . . ultimately nobody put pressure on the ball and I found myself at the top of the 18 and just had a go. Snuck in," Mapp said. "Nice of him to say," he added, when told of Nelsens praise. "Just trying to stay consistent and do my job each week. Its been tough for us, just trying to play my part, and hopefully it continues." "Tough" is an understatement for a Montreal team that has been struggling mightily this MLS season, looking nothing like the squad that made the playoffs last season. Montreal sits dead last in the league with one win, six losses and four draws. Toronto FC is 4-4-1. But the Impact picked up their pace in the second half, and are in the drivers seat heading into Wednesdays game. "It was tough, (Toronto) had a little more bite (in the first half), winning all the second balls, the soccer really wasnt pretty from either team," Mapp said. "But its Toronto-Montreal Cup final and at halftime, we just said Look, leave it all out there, and good or bad, you just dont know when youll have this chance again." Klopas raged about the refereeing in his post-game news conference. "For me to come here again and complain with the referees. Two clear hand balls in the box, for me its embarrassing. Its embarrassing," he said. "It was a good game played by both teams. . . but me the referees, to be talking about two clear hand balls. . "If youre going to have a final, at least let the players decide, not the referees making calls like this. For me, its an embarrassment." Nelsen said he had little sympathy for the opposing coach. "Talk about bad calls, weve been on the back end of a few of them this season, so Im not going to feel too bad for Frank," Nelsen said. Toronto controlled possession for much of a game that saw few scoring chances by either side. Dwayne De Rosario, who is tied for the tournaments all-time lead in goals with four and won back-to-back tournament MVP honours (2009 and 10), almost put Toronto up by two goals in the 58th minute when he rung a hard shot off the crossbar from about 25 yards out, drawing groans from the crowd. DeRosario sat on the turf in disbelief at his bad luck. De Rosario had another great chance in the 70th, lobbing a high ball over the head of Bush, who was well out of his net. But Heath Pearce was there to head the ball off the goal-line. De Rosario would have a third chance in the 84th minute, when Toronto was awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, but he fired it high of the net. Lovitz had perhaps the best opportunity in the first half, one-timing a rebound off a beautiful cross from Ashtone Morgan. But he launched it well over the top of the crossbar. Toronto, which is 7-1-3 all-time against the Impact in Canadian Championship action, defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps to make the final, while Montreal edged second-division side FC Edmonton to earn its spot. ' ' '