Allgemeines Forum! » where he wanted to be all along. Cassels familiarity

MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Mauer hit a two-run double that just missed reaching the seats and Kevin Correia pitched a smooth six innings to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox for the third straight game, 4-3 on Saturday. Glen Perkins pitched another tenuous ninth inning but got his 19th save in 22 tries after giving up two runs to blow one the night before. Adam Eaton led off with a triple and scored on Gordon Beckhams sacrifice fly. Pinch-hitter Paul Konerko then smacked a single up the middle, but Perkins struck out Jose Abreu and Adam Dunn to end it and punctuated the final swing and miss with a big pump of his left arm. With the Twins trailing 2-1, Mauers drive in the fifth inning soared over left fielder Alejandro De Aza and landed about halfway up the wall. Kendrys Morales hit the next pitch for an RBI single against Andre Rienzo (4-5), who lost his fifth straight start. Correia (4-8) gave up five runs or more in five of his first 12 starts, sliding toward replacement in the rotation, but the 33-year-old right-hander has pitched superbly in three turns since. In 18 innings, Correia has allowed a total of two earned runs and walked only four. He surrendered his share of sharp drives on this picture-perfect first-day-of-summer afternoon, but the defence behind him didnt do him any favours. Centre fielder Sam Fuld tried to dive for a two-out sinking liner by Conor Gillaspie in the first inning, but the ball skipped in front of and past him for a triple and Abreu followed with an RBI single. Then third baseman Eduardo Escobar bungled a routine ground ball by letting it slide between his legs to start the second inning. The White Sox only needed a single, a walk and a two-out hit-by-pitch to produce the unearned run. Correias 3-1 bases-loaded fastball bounced off Beckhams elbow and hit catcher Kurt Suzuki in the throat, but he was all right to stay in the game. Escobar committed a second error on a similar play the next inning, but Correia escaped trouble with a double-play groundball by Dayan Viciedo. The Brazilian-born Rienzo, who debuted for the White Sox last summer, was 4-0 after his first six starts following the rotator cuff injury that knocked Felipe Paulino out of action. Rienzo has struggled badly since, though, by finishing the fifth inning in only two of his last five turns. His ERA during the losing streak is 8.87. The Twins hit three straight two-out singles in the second inning to load the bases, and Fuld walked to force in the first run. Then Rienzo hit Brian Dozier with a pitch to put two runners on for Mauer in the fifth inning, setting the struggling six-time All-Star and three-time batting champion up for just his fourth multi-RBI game this season. Two of those have been in this series. The White Sox have hung around the pack in the American League Central all year, never losing or winning more than four games in a row, but this has been a rough start to an 11-game road trip. They fell a season-high five games under .500 and back into last place. The Twins took a five-game losing streak into this series. Their starters have a 2.41 ERA over the last 11 games. NOTES: Mauer has 18 of his 20 RBIs this season at Target Field. ... Gillaspie went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .340, but he doesnt have enough at-bats to qualify yet for the league batting lead. In his last 30 games, Gillaspie is batting .366. ... Twins RF Oswaldo Arcia is hitless in his last 27 at-bats. ... The White Sox will send John Danks (6-5, 3.97) to the mound for the series finale Sunday, and Phil Hughes (7-3, 3.09 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. Danks has a 5.70 ERA in six road starts this season. Hughes gave up three HRs in his last home start, the only time a team has taken him deep in his last eight turns. ... White Sox manager Robin Ventura successfully challenged a call in the third inning, when Brian Dozier originally led off with a double. Replays showed Beckhams tag grazed Doziers foot before it landed on the base. Wil Lutz Saints Jersey .A. Happ. The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to improve the starting rotation ahead of next season and pitchers like Happ have a chance to show they belong as the disastrous 2013 campaign draws to a close. TreQuan Smith Youth Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Chauncey-Gardner-Johnson-Jersey/ . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Wil Lutz Womens Jersey . "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. Cameron Jordan Womens Jersey . You can watch coverage on TSN, TSN2 and CTV beginning today at 3pm et/Noon pt. The championships will feature approximately 250 of Canadas best figure skaters in senior, junior and novice as they vie for spots on the national team, international assignments and will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic qualification process.MINNEAPOLIS -- Matt Cassel was one day away from hitting the free agent market and fielding offers from other suitors. Then the Minnesota Vikings swooped in at the last minute. The Vikings agreed to terms with Cassel on Friday on a deal that will keep him in Minnesota, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. Terms of the deal, which was first reported by NFL Network, were not immediately available. The move helps solidify the Vikings shaky quarterback situation. The team used a musical chairs approach to the position last season, rotating Christian Ponder and Cassel, and even starting Josh Freeman for one game during a miserable 5-10-1 season. Cassel was by far the most effective of the three, going 3-3 in his six starts and being on the field at the end of all five of the teams victories. He completed 60.2 per cent of his passes for 1,807 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions after signing as a free agent from the Kansas City Chiefs. But he opted out of the final year of his two-year deal in February, and there was concern Cassel would choose to move to another team after he was forced to split time with the ineffective Ponder. New head coach Mike Zimmer said Thursday he "would love to have Matt Cassel back if Matt Cassel wants to be back." But the coach was also bracing for the likelihood Cassel would at least test free agency before giving the Vikings an answer. "Hes got a bunch of pretty girls looking at him right now," Zimmer said then.dddddddddddd "And he wants to explore and see whats best for him. I dont blame any of these guys. In free agency, I think thats why they have the rules is that they get a chance to go see what their markets worth. Then if they find a better situation than what they think is here, then I think thats everywhere." It appears Cassel knew where he wanted to be all along. Cassels familiarity with the teams offensive players -- Adrian Peterson, Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph among them -- and the way the team responded to Cassels leadership on the field were among the big reasons the Vikings wanted him back. The agreement would appear to make Cassel the front-runner to be the starter when the 2014 season opens with new offensive co-ordinator Norv Turner calling the plays. Ponder is still on the roster, but his performance over his first three seasons has inspired little confidence among his teammates. The Vikings have the eighth overall pick in the upcoming draft, and there remains a strong possibility they will select someone to be the teams quarterback of the future. But keeping Cassel in the fold will reduce the pressure on the team to start a rookie. "It all depends, but what I want to do is play the best guy," Zimmer said. "I dont care if hes a rookie, if hes a veteran, if hes a returner. It doesnt matter to me who the quarterback is if he can win games, and thats really what its about, winning football games and figuring out how to do that." ' ' '