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Bruce Chen can relax a bit -- hes in the win column

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Posted by: Saturday 14th July 2012, 3:54am

Bruce Chen can relax a bit -- hes in the win column

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Ken Griffey Jersey . -- Bruce Chen can relax a bit -- hes in the win column. Chen, the Royals opening day starter, picked up his first victory of the season Wednesday night as Kansas City held off the Boston Red Sox 4-3. Alcides Escobar drove in the go-ahead run as the Royals solved Jon Lester for the first time in a while. Jonathan Broxton worked around a leadoff single and walk in the ninth inning for his seventh save in eight opportunities. The Royals were winless in Chens first six starts this year, although he had been pitching deep into games. \"You try not to think about it,\" Chen said. \"You try not to let it bother you, but at the end of the day you have no wins and its almost the middle of May. \"I know Ive been pitching well. I didnt worry. I didnt try to do too much. I trust my stuff, my teammates. Today was a huge win. Even though its in the win column for me, but I feel like the whole team contributed.\" The Royals finished 4-3 on their homestand against Boston and the New York Yankees. The Red Sox have lost seven of eight. Chen (1-4) gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings while striking out five and walking none. \"Thats the first time in a long time I felt like we were firing on all cylinders, facing a guy thats been extremely tough on us,\" Royals manager Ned Yost said. \"Clutch hitting, clutch pitching. I thought Bruce threw a tremendous game. They had seven hits and five were off the end of the bat or jam shots that just found holes or hit the line. And to get four runs off Jon Lester was huge. It was good to finally beat him. Hes a guy who has handled us for a long time,\" he said. The Royals beat Lester (1-3) for the first time since Aug. 8, 2006. The left-hander came into the game with a 5-1 record and 1.30 ERA in seven career starts against Kansas City, including a no-hitter in 2008. Escobars double in the fourth Irving Falu, who led off the inning with a double, to put the Royals ahead 4-3. Lesters pitch count rose early with a 38-pitch first inning, but 12 of those were after centre fielder Marlon Byrds error led to three unearned runs. Lester was pulled after 108 pitches and five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk. In the first inning, Byrd misjudged Johnny Giavotellas two-out liner and the ball ricocheted off his glove as he jumped for it. The misplay allowed Billy Butler, who had walked, to score. Brayan Pena then hit a two-run double to left-centre that Cody Ross nearly caught. Ross had his glove on the ball, but it came loose and hit the wall. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine debated Ross held onto the ball long enough -- the umpires held a conference on the field, but did not change the ruling. \"It hit his glove, then popped out and bounced off the wall,\" Valentine said. \"Its not a catch unless you get it out of the glove voluntarily.\" \"The ball on Marlon really took off on him. It was tough on Jon -- they scored three runs. Cody went a long way, caught it and popped out of his glove. Hes frustrated. He battled. He wanted to go out and pitch the sixth.\" Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run double in the Boston third, driving in Byrd, Ryan Sweeney and Dustin Pedroia. Pedroias single extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. NOTES: Chen had not beaten the Red Sox since July 9, 2005, while with Baltimore. ... The Royals called up Giavotella, who was hitting .483 in May and .331 in 31 games with Triple-A Omaha. They placed LHP Jonathan Sanchez on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. ... 1B Eric Hosmer, who is hitting .111 in the past 11 games, was not in the Royals lineup for the first time this season. ... Boston 3B Kevin Youkilis, who is on the disabled list with a lower back strain, is penciled in for some baseball activity Thursday when the Red Sox return home. ... OF Jeff Francoeur, who has no home runs and five RBIs, batted cleanup for the Royals for the first time this season. Satchel Paige Jersey . The Carolina Hurricanes are one of them. They could have had a deal done for Ray Whitney with the L.A. Kings but that didnt work because of contract issues. Wade Davis Jersey . PAUL, Minn. fivefinger shoes outlet . - It took just one quick practice session for Tony Stewart to assess the tires Goodyear brought to Bristol Motor Speedway. Kurt Suzuki Jersey . In that regard, there may not be a more important area on a team than having the two goalies work in a cohesive partnership. For the Ontario Hockey Leagues Owen Sound Attack, the pairing of Jordan Binnington and Scott Stajcer has worked well enough to lead them to the top spot in the OHL Western Conference. Mitch Moreland Jersey . Little did they know that 4-year-old Cole Carroll would be the one to provide it. Jamey Carroll had his first two hits with Minnesota, including the go-ahead single in the seventh, and Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer to lift the Twins to their first victory of the season, 6-5 over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.PHOENIX -- Christine Sinclair scored in injury time Tuesday as Canadas womens soccer team capped its Arizona training camp with a 2-1 victory over Sweden. The 12-day camp, culminating with the closed-door friendly against the No. 5 Swedes, was part of Canadas preparations for Januarys CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver. \"It was a really strong performance from Canada, and thats not being overly biased,\" said Canadian coach John Herdman, whose team is ranked ninth in the world. \"I think Canada pretty much controlled the game, the tempo, the flow, and imposed themselves well physically.\" Jessica Landstrom scored the lone goal for Sweden in the 44th minute. The Canadians replied in the 75th when Chelsea Buckland scored her first goal for the senior side, firing in a rebound off a driving shot off the post from Kaylyn Kyle. \"I think to go in 1-0 at halftime, the corner kick from Sweden just before the halftime whistle didnt really reflect the game, and I think that got the girls even more angry coming out into the second half when they really put their foot down,\" Herdman said. Sinclairs goal came in the 91st minute, lifting Canada to a record of 14 wins, four draws and six losses this season. Emily Zurrer got her head on a corner kick from Kyle, sending the ball back across the goal, before it bounced off Sinclairs stomach and in. \"Its not the prettiest goal youll ever see, but well take it,\" Sinclair said. The Canadians were coming off a gold-medal performance at the Pan American Games last month in Guadalajara, Mexiico, and Herdman said the teams confidence and optimism continues to rise. Nate Washington Jersey. Herdman was hired in September to replace Carolina Morace, who resigned after Canadas disastrous first-round exit at this summers womens World Cup. \"I think its just a growing approach with the team. I think what theyve sort of established (is) a greater clarity in what theyre asked to do on the pitch and I think some players have shed an old skin,\" Herdman said. \"When we look at the stats backwards we can say, yeah, there is progression and the confidence is building. But theres still a hell of a lot of work to do. And I think the players are committed to improving to a level where were not just comfortable winning these games, were comfortable consistently winning these games.\" Herdman will gather his team together next month for one final fitness camp, and perhaps another friendly, before the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, Jan. 19-29. Hes confident thats enough time to have his team ready to book a berth in the 2012 London Games. \"I think to get through the qualifying campaign you can spend every day of the week and become obsessive about the time,\" Herdman said. \"Weve got more than enough time and having time away is important as well, theyve had a couple of weeks off (since Mexico), theyve been able to be able to come back nice and fresh and refocused and all we do is a quick recap and then we look forward for our new goals for this tour. \"Its been very rewarding this period, and the game has just topped it off.\" ' ' '

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