Dein erstes Forum » dddI hope so, he saidWho knows what goes on

ATLANTA -- Justin Upton was still the main man for Atlanta, even when the Braves finally had all their sluggers together. Upton gave Atlanta the lead with a sixth-inning grand slam and the Braves finally unveiled their full-strength lineup, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 on Friday night. Upton drove in five runs hitting behind Jason Heyward, who had two hits with a RBI and scored two runs in his first game back after having his appendix removed April 22. The homer was Uptons majors-leading 14th of the season, a high shot that appeared bound for the upper deck before landing deep in the left-field seats. "I got that one pretty good," he said. Just pretty good? "As soon as he took that swing, I knew that ball was going to be out of the ballpark," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "That was one of the prettiest swings Ive seen put on a baseball." It was the first time this season the Braves had Heyward in the lineup along with catcher Brian McCann, who missed the first 30 games while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. Atlanta also had first baseman Freddie Freeman miss two weeks in April with a strained oblique. "Weve played 40 games and its the first time weve had the lineup we talked about all winter," Gonzalez said before the game. Scott Van Slyke hit two homers for the Dodgers, who led 4-2 before Uptons third career grand slam. Los Angeles had won four of its previous five games -- the teams best stretch since early April. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was disappointed by his pitching staffs seven walks and errors by third baseman Luis Cruz and left fielder Carl Crawford -- each on line drives hit by Andrelton Simmons -- that led to three unearned runs. "Too many walks. Giving too many free runners," Mattingly said. "And weve got to catch the baseball. Thats all there is to it. Youve got to catch the baseball." Paul Maholm (5-4) allowed eight hits and four runs -- two earned -- in six innings, and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 12th save. Uptons grand slam made Maholm a winner. "Ill take it every time I start," said Maholm of Uptons big homer. "Ill have to make sure I compensate Justin pretty well for that." Dodgers rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu overcame a career-high five walks to give up only two runs in five innings, but relievers Matt Guerrier and Poco Rodriguez (0-2) quickly blew the 4-2 lead in the sixth. After Guerrier gave up a single to pinch-hitter Jordan Schafer, Cruz couldnt handle Simmons sharp liner, an error that left runners on first and second. Rodriguez walked Heyward to load the bases before Uptons homer deep into the left-field seats. Crawford missed Simmons line drive for another error during Atlantas two-run seventh. Ramiro Pena, who hit a two-out triple, scored on the error and Heyward added a run-scoring single off Ronald Belisario. Ryu failed to last at least six innings for the first time in nine starts. He gave up five hits with five walks and five strikeouts. "All day today I was just a little off-balance," Ryu said through an interpreter. "I personally feel bad that I couldnt go longer as a starter. I feel bad for my teammates that I couldnt stay out there a little longer. ... Unfortunately my balls werent going in the zone today." A.J. Ellis doubled and scored on Dee Gordons fielders choice grounder for the Dodgers in the second. Crawford and Ryu had run-scoring singles in the fourth. Ryu had strong defensive support in the fifth. Van Slyke, making his first start of the season in right field, had a sliding catch of Chris Johnsons fly ball near the foul line. Matt Kemp then made a diving grab of McCanns fly ball in the left-centre gap. Mattingly said he didnt second-guess his decision to replace Ryu, who needed 100 pitches to make it through five innings. "I feel fine with it," Mattingly said. "He was done. He was at 100 and he struggled the whole day. That wasnt a decision. It wasnt a tough one to make. At 100, hes pretty much out of gas." Slumping Braves centre fielder B.J. Upton was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, dropping his batting average to .141 as he hit eighth for the first time this season. He drew scattered boos when he popped out to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in the second inning and an even louder serenade when his bases-loaded popup to Punto at second base ended the third inning. Kemp, who grounded out to end the game, was 0-for-5, ending his 14-game hitting streak, which began on April 30. NOTES: Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron attended batting practice. ... Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, watched the game from their usual seats near the Braves dugout. ... Dodgers INF Jerry Hairston Jr., on the 15-day DL with a left groin strain, was examined by a doctor in Arizona on Friday for a sore left knee. Mattingly called the problem "a little bit of a setback." ... RHP Jordan Walden was placed on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation to clear a spot for Heyward. ... Braves RHP Kris Medlen and Dodgers LHP Chris Capuano each will look for his second win as the series continues on Saturday night. Medlen is only 1-5 but has a 3.44 ERA. Texas Rangers Gear . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Cheap Rangers Jerseys . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Rangers Jerseys 2019 . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Rangers Jerseys 2020 . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Wayne Bennett has begun the rugby league mind games in earnest ahead of the Four Nations, according to someone who knows the supercoach better than most, Sam Thaiday.Despite months of speculation he would select turncoat Australian players for his England side, coach Bennett did the opposite on Monday, when he picked only born-and-bred locals for his 24-man squad.Bennett was named as England coach in February after missing out on the Australian job in December to Mal Meninga.And Thaiday said he would have been planning the sometimes quirky ins and outs of his Four Nations campaign then.He is the best at those mind games - that is why he does it, Thaiday told AAP on Wednesday.He probably had a vision in his mind of what he wanted to do from the start and he was probably throwing people off in saying that.I know he spent a bit of time over in England this year watching a few games and that is why he went with the team he picked and that whole picking of turncoat players was probably a throw off to get people off his back.The speculation upset some within the Australian camp, including skipper Cameron Smith, who expressed their concerns about Bennetts possible motivation.But Thaiday, playing NRRL under Bennett at Brisbane, said it would have also been aimed at igniting passion within his England squad.ddddddddddddI hope so, he saidWho knows what goes on in Waynes backwards mind? But that is probably another reason why he is doing it - to fire up and inspire those English boys - to first of all play well for their clubs so that he can pick them for the national team and then getting them playing well for England.Wayne will want to go over there and be successful. He is not going to want to take up the English job like he has and come home with his tail between his legs.He will be doing everything right now to make sure they are fighting fit and ready to go.Thaiday said Bennetts selection policy was a good thing for international rugby league.If we want to grow our game and make our game even bigger, you need to keep your local stars local wherever they are, whether they are New Zealand players, English players or Australian players, Thaiday said in Perth ahead of Saturdays Test against New Zealand at nib Stadium.Wayne has gone down the right path there. ' ' '