Breitmann Tuning » he said hes been reading critical comments

PITTSBURGH -- Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said he sat awake in his hotel bed Saturday night, thinking about his bullpens recent problems. He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. "We had to have that one," Gibbons said. McGowan (2-1) allowed one run, striking out five and throwing 101 pitches. It was the second consecutive quality start for McGowan, a diabetic who started wearing an insulin pump on the mound in his last start. "My blood sugar still gets erratic sometimes," he said. "But thats part of the game for me. With the adrenaline going and everything, it does what it wants to do. I cant control it sometimes." McGowan eclipsed the 100-pitch mark for the first time since June 27, 2008. "Thats two outings wearing that pump," Gibbons said. "Maybe theres something to that." It was just the fourth win in 13 games for Toronto, which prevented the Pirates from completing their first series sweep of the season. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and first base coach Rick Sofield were ejected by plate umpire Greg Gibson at the end of the fourth inning for arguing a called third strike on Jordy Mercer. The strikeout stranded two runners and ended the inning. "I think it was pretty apparent that the low strike wasnt going to come into play," Hurdle said. "But the fact of the matter was it got to a point where I felt a pitch that hadnt been called a strike all day got called a strike in, for me, a very pivotal at-bat for us." Rasmus connected in the second inning for his fourth career slam. He also doubled and singled. The Blue Jays held on to this early lead. Toronto wasted a 5-3, ninth-inning edge in the series opener and a 5-0, fourth-inning advantage on Saturday night. Josh Harrison hit two triples for the Pirates. Edinson Volquez (1-3) gave up six runs and seven hits in five innings. He also allowed six earned runs in his last outing April 21 against St. Louis. Volquez pitched himself into a jam in the second inning before Rasmus stepped to the plate, issuing walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco to start the inning. Brett Lawrie reached on an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Rasmus hit a full-count curveball about 10 rows deep in the right-field seats for his seventh home run of the season, giving the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead. Rasmus said he was not necessarily looking for an offspeed pitch in that situation. "I was just trying to be out over the plate and throw my hands at anything because hes got a good changeup, good curveball and a good two-seamer, and he already tried to thumb me a couple in," he said. "I was just trying to be ready to put something in play." The slam negated an early lead the Pirates built on Neil Walkers groundout, scoring Harrison after his triple. Harrison also tripled in the eighth and scored on Andrew McCutchens sacrifice fly. Torontos Jose Bautista walked in the fifth to reach base in his 31st consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors. But he went hitless, snapping a career-best 13-game hitting streak. Cabrera had three hits, and extended Torontos lead to 6-1 with a two-run homer off Volquez in the fifth. Rasmus scored another run in the eighth on an RBI single by pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro. NOTES: Highly regarded Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman made his big league debut, allowing one earned run and one hit while getting two outs. The Blue Jays selected the 23-year-old Stroman Triple-A Buffalo and optioned OF Anthony Gose. ... The Pirates plan to recall LHP Jeff Locke to start against San Francisco on Monday night. An All-Star last year, Locke struggled in the second half of 2013 and did not make the Pirates opening day roster. ... J.A. Happ (0-0, 4.15) is scheduled to pitch for the Blue Jays at Philadelphia on Monday night. Mike Singletary Womens Jersey .Y. - Referee Ed Hochuli referred to replay official Tom Sifferman by his nickname Jungle Boy, which was heard on the in-stadium microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers NFC wild-card game Saturday. Jim McMahon Womens Jersey . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_Tom-Waddle_Bears_Jersey/ . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. Walter Payton Womens Jersey . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Mike Ditka Youth Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Kobe Bryant isnt happy about spending Christmas Day on the sideline, unable to help the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Its a place hes unaccustomed to being on the holiday. Bryant leads the NBA with a record 15 appearances on Christmas Day, but hes out an expected four to six weeks with a fracture in his left knee. "Its strange to be coming in on Christmas and not playing," he said before the Lakers hosted the streaking Miami Heat on Wednesday. "Its a foreign feeling, but Im here to support my guys." LeBron James and Co. has won five in a row; the Lakers have dropped two straight. "We need you tonight," Lakers guard Nick Young told the crowd before tipoff. Bryants injury was diagnosed last week, his second major one of the season. He didnt play his first game until Dec. 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Then he got hurt again Dec. 17 at Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights. "I was fortunate that it was not a meniscus," he said. Initially, Bryant didnt think he was seriously hurt against Memphis. He went down late in the third quarter, but returned to finish out the victory in which he logged a season-high 21 points in 32 minutes. "I didnt know it was fractured," he said. "I was expecting a bone bruise more than anything else. I thought (the doctor) was joking when he told me." Bryant has been limited to riding a bike; he isnt supposed to put any pressure on hiis knee.dddddddddddd "Its just been slow in terms of laying off it and letting it heal," he said. "When you dont have activity, you got to watch the other parts like nutrition." Typical of Bryants attention to detail, he said hes been reading critical comments that suggest he wont return this season. "Its the same old tune, just being sung a little more loudly now," he said. "These type of things just help me lock in more." Asked if theres any chance he wont be back, Bryant replied, "Not that Im aware of." Los Angeles signed the 35-year-old guard to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension in November. James, along with other NBA players, tweeted out well wishes to Bryant, although the two superstars havent talked. "Especially games like today, you want to have the best guys out there," James said. After the Achilles injury, Bryant expressed rare self-doubt. He hasnt felt any this time. "The knee is not really a concern to me," he said. "The biggest question was would the Achilles respond to my game. It felt fine. It was strong." Bryant was looking forward to playing against the defending NBA champions as a way to see where he was physically with his Achilles. "This was a really big measuring stick," he said. Instead, he sat at the end of the bench wearing a black suit and print T-shirt. "My spirits are fine," he said. "I feel more locked in now than my entire career." ' ' '