Dein erstes Forum » Morata said. We had to win this game.Cristiano R

Detroit manager Brad Ausmus wondered aloud Friday about Michael Fulmers case for the All-Star game. Fulmer didnt make it, but his 9-2 record and 2.11 ERA certainly deserve mentioning.At that pace, hed be in the Cy Young discussion if he kept it up for a year, Ausmus said.For now, Fulmer will have to settle for being a top candidate for American League Rookie of the Year honors. In a season where not everything has gone as planned for the Tigers, hes been perhaps the biggest reason theyre still very much in the mix for a postseason spot. When Detroit acquired Fulmer last year in the deal that sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets, the Tigers were hoping he could make a significant impact, but as with many prospects, there was no way to know it would happen so quickly.We saw him in spring for the first time and we knew he had electric stuff. He just had a little command issue in spring, teammate Jordan Zimmermann said. He came up, hes been throwing strikes and now hes got a changeup to go with his fastball and slider that are both `plus pitches. Hes been dominant the whole time. Hes fun to watch.Detroits rotation has been in a tough spot of late because of Zimmermanns injury problems and Anibal Sanchezs ineffectiveness. Fulmer, however, has been outstanding since making his debut in late April. Since May 27, hes made eight starts and gone 6-1, allowing only three earned runs in 50 1/3 innings.A lot of young guys come up and theyre throwers and not really pitchers. They have the velocity but they dont really know where its going, Zimmermann said. I feel like hes got the velocity and knows where its going. Usually the control comes later in your career. It seems like hes got it.Here are a few other rookies who have impressed during the first half of the season:COREY SEAGER and KENTA MAEDA, DODGERSSeager was impressive in a shorter stint with the Dodgers last year, and the talented shortstop has lived up to expectations in 2016, hitting .299 with 17 home runs and 41 RBI heading into Fridays games.Maeda turned 28 five days after making his major league debut in April. The Dodgers signed him to an incentive-laden, eight-year contract in the hope that his success in Japan would translate to the Los Angeles rotation. Hes done just fine so far, posting a 7-6 record with a 3.07 ERA.TREVOR STORY, ROCKIESStory was quite the phenomenon when he hit seven home runs in his first six big league games back in April. Needless to say, the Colorado shortstops pace has slowed a bit, but his batting line -- .261 with 21 homers and 55 RBI -- is still pretty remarkable for a 23-year-old. A note of caution: Hes also on pace for about 200 strikeouts.Story, Seager and St. Louis Aledmys Diaz have turned this into quite a season for rookie shortstops in the National League.SEUNG HWAN OH, CARDINALSThe 33-year-old South Korea native came to St. Louis with quite a reputation -- he led the Japanese Central League in saves in 2014 and `15 and had earned the nicknames Final Boss and Stone Buddha. Hes already appeared in 43 games for the Cardinals, posting a 1.64 ERA.JUNIOR GUERRA, BREWERSGuerra bounced all over the minors and even played professionally in Italy before finally making his big league debut for the Chicago White Sox at age 30 last year. He pitched only four innings for the White Sox in 2015, and Milwaukee claimed him off waivers in October.The right-hander has come out of nowhere to go 6-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 12 starts for the Brewers this year.NOMAR MAZARA, RANGERSA 21-year-old outfielder playing regularly for a first-place team, Mazara is hitting .284 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI. Mazara was 16 when the Rangers signed the Dominican prospect and gave him a $5 million bonus. Hes progressed quickly enough to help Texas withstand injuries to Shin-Soo Choo and Josh Hamilton this year.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Brett Gardner Jersey . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Jackie Robinson Yankees Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. https://www.cheapyankees.com/1961g-chad-green-jersey-yankees.html .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Aroldis Chapman Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Phil Rizzuto Jersey . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. MADRID -- Barcelona didnt show any signs of missing Lionel Messi on Saturday, cruising past Sporting Gijon 5-0 in its first Spanish league game without the injured playmaker.Neymar and Luis Suarez took over in Messis absence, and by the end of the day Barcelona was only one point behind Real Madrid, which drew at Las Palmas 2-2 after conceding a late equalizer.Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored for Madrid, which twice relinquished its lead.Neymar scored two goals and Suarez one for Barcelona, while Rafinha and Arda Turan added the others at El Molinon Stadium in Gijon.Athletic Bilbao won its fourth in a row to be third, two points behind Madrid.Fifth-place Atletico Madrid hosts Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.BARCELONA 5, SPORTING GIJON 0Messi hurt his groin in the draw with Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou last week, and will miss another La Liga game, one Champions League match, and Argentinas World Cup qualifiers against Peru on Oct. 6 and Paraguay on Oct. 11.Coach Luis Enrique filled the midfield with Turan, Rafinha, and Andre Gomes, resting Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic. He also didnt play Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba ahead of the Champions League game at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday.I have different kinds of players and that gives me a lot of options, Luis Enrique said. Depending on who we are playing and the players I have available, Ill pick the ones that I think are right for the situation.Sporting played with 10 men from the 74th as captain Alberto Lora was sent off for a second yellow card after a hard sliding tackle on Sergi Roberto.Barcelona struggled in the first 30 minutes but took control of the match after the first two goals, and the game opened up even more for the Catalan club after Loras red card.The result doesnt reflect what happened, Luis Enrique said. It looks like it was an easy win but Sporting played an intennse game.ddddddddddddThe red card changed everything and from then on we were able to score another three.Sporting, which dropped to 12th in the standings, also lost 5-0 at Atletico Madrid two rounds ago.LAS PALMAS 2, REAL MADRID 2Substitute Sergio Araujo scored an 85th-minute equalizer as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to its second consecutive draw.Marco Asensio opened the scoring, and Tana evened the match before halftime. Benzema put the visitors ahead again in the 67th, but Araujos shot ricocheted off goalkeeper Kiko Casilla and twice bounced off the Argentine striker.We lost two points that are needed to win the league, Madrid striker Alvaro Morata said. We had to win this game.Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a goal disallowed because of offside in the 56th, appeared to be upset by his substitution in the 72nd.ATHLETIC BILBAO 3, SEVILLA 1Athletic Bilbao won its fourth in a row.Mikel San Jose scored in the first half, and Samir Nasri equalized for Sevilla in the 55th, but Mikel Balenziaga put the hosts ahead again in the 66th, and Aritz Aduriz sealed the victory by converting a 90th-minute penalty kick at San Memes Stadium.Following losses in its first two games, including to Barcelona at home in the second round, Athletic was coming off wins over Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia and Granada.Sevilla, which was yet to lose after five games, dropped to fourth place.STRONG SUPPORTBarcelonas victory came a day after Arnold Schwarzenegger paid a visit to the squad. The actor and former California governor was in town for a bodybuilding event, and met with players such Neymar, Sergio Busquets, and Javier Mascherano.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '