Sonstiges » had a reputation as a poor defender but has quickly

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians open a seven-game homestand Monday night with the first game of a three-game series against Detroit. The Indians are coming off one of their better road trips in recent years, going 8-2 on a 10-game trip to Detroit, Atlanta and Toronto.It was an eventful trip to say the least, as the Indians ran their franchise-record winning streak to 14 games, but then got clobbered in the last two games of the trip, losing two in Toronto by a combined score of 26-7. That included a 17-1 walloping on Sunday.The Indians are still reeling from the last win in their winning streak, a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays in 19 innings on Friday, a game in which manager Terry Francona had to use nine pitchers, including starter Trevor Bauer, who pitched five innings of relief.That loss left the bullpen in disarray, which contributed to losses the next two days. It got so bad that the final pitcher in Sundays loss was backup catcher Chris Gimenez.We knew there would be repercussions from that game. Thats why we wanted to win it so bad, Francona said of the Indians 19-inning victory.You expend so much energy on your club trying to come away with win. The next thing is to protect your bullpen and we tried do the best we could, said Francona, who had to use nine pitchers on Friday, five on Saturday and four more on Sunday, plus a catcher being used as a pitcher.To bolster their overworked bullpen, it seems likely that the Indians will make one or more roster moves prior to Mondays game with the Tigers.On the bright side for the Indians, their Monday starter will be Danny Salazar, who is 10-3 and leads the American League with a 2.20 ERA. Salazar, the American League Pitcher of the Month in June, is 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last six starts.After winning 14 in a row, the Indians have lost their last two, but in Detroit they will be facing an opponent they have dominated this year. The Indians are 9-0 versus Detroit and have outscored the Tigers 60-20 in those two games.We havent played our best against Cleveland, Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler told MLB.com. Thats one team. We still have a lot of games to play. Weve been playing really good baseball lately.In the series opener, the Tigers will start Daniel Norris, who in three appearances (two starts) since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA. In 11 starts at Toledo prior to his recall he was 4-6 with a 4.68 ERA.The Tigers come to Cleveland riding a six-game winning streak that has allowed them to climb past Kansas City and into second place in the AL Central, 5 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland.The Tigers havent lost since getting swept by the Indians in a three-game series in Detroit June 24-26. Prior to that series the Tigers won four in a row, and since that Cleveland sweep the Tigers have won six in a row, sweeping a two-game series with Miami and a four-game series with Tampa Bay.We have been streaky so far, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander told MLB.com, but I think we are starting to find ourselves as a team.The Indians made a roster move Sunday, optioning pitcher Shawn Morimando to Triple-A Columbus and activating outfielder Abraham Almonte off the restricted list. Almonte is back after receiving an 80-game suspension for performance-enchancing drugs.Cesar Cedeno Astros Jersey . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Jack Mayfield Astros Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. https://www.cheapastros.com/1213o-jose-altuve-jersey-astros.html . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Francis Martes Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Roberto Osuna Jersey .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center.The Boston Celtics have built an identity the last few years under Brad Stevens as a tough-minded defensive team.His offensive brilliance with a mismatched roster without a star has always had the stout defense as a backdrop.To take that next step, Boston added Al Horford to Isaiah Thomas, hoping they would propel the club to the top of the Eastern Conference. They believed Horford would only bolster their defense.Horford has indeed helped, notwithstanding the failed tip-in at the buzzer against the Houston Rockets on Monday. Boston is sitting at 12-9 and in third in the packed Eastern Conference.The defense, though, has been slow to develop.In 2015, the Celtics finished 12th in defensive rating on their way to a surprise playoff berth. Last year, Boston finished fourth in that metric.This year, however, Boston is 17th in defensive rating, giving up 105.1 points per 100 possessions. Boston is still winning, but the team has struggled to bring its defense to the elite level that it one of the rising teams last year.The defense has improved recently. In the last 10 games, the Celtics are 11th in defensive rating, giving up 104.8 points per 100 possessions. Boston is still carving out an identity with the new players on the roster.The Celtics opponent Wednesday, as they wrap up a three-game trip, has found that identity in the laast month.ddddddddddddWhile the Celtics have been trying to elevate their defense, the Orlando Magic have become one of the top defenses in the league.Orlando had given up just 94.3 points per 100 possessions in 10 games before a 124-116 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The Magic have risen to third in the league as defense has become a key part of their identity.No player has embodied that improvement more than Nikola Vucevic, who had a reputation as a poor defender but has quickly become one of the biggest defensive stalwarts for the Magic this season.Everybody has been really so hard on my defense, Vucevic told the Orlando Sentinel. I think there is no player in this league that does everything. So there are areas that I do really well defensively (and) some areas that I need to improve, and I think I did improve on those this year. I never felt like my defense was that big of an issue. It was just all the media making a big deal out of it.The Celtics will hope to get their defense back on track against the Magic. They may have to do it without Thomas. The All-Star point guard missed Tuesdays practice with a pulled groin, but he told The Boston Globe he still hopes to play Wednesday. ' ' '