INFO » from there." Santos survives ninth Sergio Santos got the

SPOKANE, Wash. - Paul Bittner had a hat trick as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Spokane Chiefs 5-3 on Friday night in Western Hockey League action.Oliver Bjorkstrand scored once and added three assists for Portland (22-18-3) and Anton Cederholm also scored.Adam Helewka struck twice for the Chiefs (22-15-3), with Liam Stewart adding his 14th of the season.Goaltender Adin Hill turned away 27 shots for the win as Garret Hughson made 31 stops in the loss.The Winterhawks were scoreless on three power plays while Spokane scored once on five chances.---OIL KINGS 4 PATS 1REGINA — Brandon Ralph had a goal and an assist as Edmonton downed the Pats for its fourth-straight win.Davis Koch, Tyler Robertson and Lane Bauer also scored for the Oil Kings (20-16-5).Pavel Padakin answered back in the second period for Regina (25-13-3). The Pats entered the game having gone 5-0-1 in their last six games.---SILVERTIPS 6 WARRIORS 2MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Dawson Leedahl had a pair of goals and added an assist as Everett scored four times in the second period to beat the Warriors.Montreal Canadiens prospect Nikita Scherbak, Kohl Bauml, Ben Betker and Jordan Wharrie also chipped in for the Silvertips (25-12-4).Tanner Eberle opened the scoring on the power play for Moose Jaw (17-22-4). Brett Howden also scored for the Warriors, who dropped their third straight.---RAIDERS 4 BRONCOS 3 (OT)PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Reid Gardiner scored his second goal of the game at 1:05 of overtime as the Raiders edged Swift Current.Austin Glover and Kris Schmidli also scored for Prince Albert (18-23-1).Jordan Thomson, Cavin Leth and Jake DeBrusk had goals for the Broncos (20-17-5).---REBELS 3 ICE 1CRANBROOK, B.C. — Jeff de Wit and Presten Kopeck scored in the first period to lead Red Deer past the Ice.Riley Sheen added a power-play goal in the third period to round out the Rebels (22-14-5) attack.Cale Fleury replied with his first of the season in the third period for Kootenay (21-19-1).---HURRICANES 4 BLADES 1LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Giorgio Estephan had a three-point night — including two goals — as the Hurricanes scored four straight to beat Saskatoon.Tyler Wong and Kade Jensen rounded out the Lethbridge (10-23-6) attack. The win snaps its four-game losing streak.Cameron Hebig scored midway through the third period for the Blades (9-29-3).---ROCKETS 2 BLAZERS 1 (SO)KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Dillon Dube and Nick Merkley scored in the shootout as Kelowna beat the Blazers for its fourth-straight win.Edmonton Oilers prospect Leon Draisaitl tied the game for the No. 2 nationally-ranked Rockets (33-6-3) in the third period to force extra time.Luke Harrison found the back of the net with his eighth of the season for Kamloops (14-23-6).---AMERICANS 4 THUNDERBIRDS 3 (SO) KENNEWICK, Wash. — Richard Nejezchleb had the only goal in the shootout and started the comeback in regulation as the Americans slipped past Seattle.Nejezchleb and Brian Williams scored 29 seconds apart late in the third period to tie the game and force overtime for Tri-City (20-19-2). Tyler Morrison also scored in the first period.Defenceman Shea Theodore had a three-point night for the Thunderbirds (19-16-5) in his return from Canadas gold medal world junior team. Theodore scored twice and Jerret Smith added the other for Seattle.---ROYALS 3 COUGARS 2 (OT)VICTORIA — Tyler Soy scored 1:03 into overtime as the Royals edged Prince George.Brandon Magee led the Victoria (21-19-3) offence with two goals.Chase Witala and Aaron Boyd both scored short-handed goals for the Cougars (20-22-1).---GIANTS 5 TIGERS 3VANCOUVER — Matt Bellerive had a power-play goal in the first period for the Giants, as they scored three times in the opening period to beat Medicine Hat.Dalton Sward, Jesse Roach, Dakota Popoff and Mason Geertsen rounded out the Vancouver (19-20-2) attack.Markus Eisenschmid, Cole Sanford and Trevor Cox all scored for the No. 7 Tigers (28-10-2), who had their four-game winning streak halted.--- Wholesale Nike Shoes For Sale . While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. Wholesale Nike Shoes Online . The club was unable to retain hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who is bound for Atlanta. Seitzer replaces Greg Walker, who was assisted by Scott Fletcher this season as the Braves finished 79-83. http://www.wholesaleshoesnike.com/ .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. Wholesale Nike Shoes China . Pominville scored in all three of Minnesotas games last week to help the Wild (8-4-3, 19 points) earn four out of a possible six points. His best performance was in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Friday, where he posted a season-high three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal. Cheap Nike Shoes China Free Shipping . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week.ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Its been almost seven years since the Blue Jays last won a series at Tropicana Field. Theyll have to capture both Wednesday and Thursday nights games to break the unbelievable skid, which has reached 19 consecutive series either lost or tied. Manager John Gibbons, who was in his first tenure as Blue Jays manager the last time the club took a series from the Rays in St. Petersburg, from April 6-8, 2007, has taken to calling the barren stadium his teams "House of Horrors." "Weve seen some crazy things happen here," said Gibbons. "They open the door. I dont know what it is. Its something and they expect it over on the other side. Theyve done it so many times, they expect it." The Blue Jays were waxed, 9-2, on Opening Day Monday, a game in which Murphys Law applied. Everything that could go wrong did, from R.A. Dickeys unimpressive outing to Jose Reyes pulling up lame with a recurrence of the hamstring inflammation that plagued him late in spring training. Even Tuesdays 4-2 victory, a game in which Toronto led 4-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth, was a nail-biter at the end. The Rays had the tying run in scoring position with two out in the ninth and the winning run at the plate. "You know its tough to win here and it usually takes nine tough innings," said Gibbons. While it may sound like an obvious, generalized comment, first baseman-designated hitter Adam Lind believes its important to play with the lead against the Rays and the sooner, the better. "Its hard to come from behind against Tampa," said Lind. "When youre in the lead, theyre out of their comfort zone and when youre running out of innings or wherever they want to be with their pitching staff where they can just tack on a run here or a run there. Its paramount to get a lead against these guys because even when its 1-0, theyre definitely in the drivers seat." There are teams that are harder to prepare for than others. There are teams that are harder to play against than others. "Its tough, man," said Lind. "You just tell by how they pitch, (pitching coach) Jim Hickey, its like we play them every game how they pitch us. They get excellent execution from their pitching staff and their whole defensive side of the ball is probably the best in the game." Challenges with the challenge Adam Lind offered the line of the season so far on the topic of managers challenges and the ramifications of the new rule. "Weell, I know Bud Seligs worked his whole career to get the pace of play up and now were just back to square one," said Lind.dddddddddddd "I enjoy that theyre going to have the calls right but I dont think anyone saw the whole, are we going to do it or not going to do it?" The issue is the stalling. Both John Gibbons and Joe Maddon have emerged from their dugouts to politely dispute a call – thats another problem, the intensity of the manager-umpire argument is all but taken away – while their video coaches review the footage. Theyre waiting for a signal from the dugout on whether to challenge. "I think thats just the way the game is going to go now," said Lind. "I guess the higher ups didnt think about that before the whole walk-out but youre going to do whatever you can to get outs or get people safe. Just like (Tuesday) with Gibby, if you still have a challenge left, you might as well use it." Happ throws a bullpen J.A. Happ, on the disabled list with a back injury, threw a bullpen session on Wednesday at Tropicana Field. "Hes feeling much better, definitely feeling good, played catch (Tuesday), threw a light side today and really feels no ill-effects from the issues with the back right now and hell progress accordingly," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Well discuss now what the next step is, if its to get him in a game, when that will be, and progress him from there." Santos survives ninth Sergio Santos got the save in Tuesdays 4-2 win but not before the Rays put a scare into the Blue Jays. Tampa Bay brought the winning run to the plate with two out, in the person of Yunel Escobar, and had the tying run on second base after a double steal on the first pitch of the Escobar at-bat. Santos didnt bother with the base runners. Why? It all goes back to a conversation he had with Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera in 2011. "My whole thinking is Escobars the only guy that can hurt me," said Santos. "Whether there are runners on first and second or second and third, to me, in that situation is irrelevant because I know if I get my job done, which is getting the hitter out, it doesnt matter what base theyre on. "That was one of the things that Mo had stressed was not to be so preoccupied with whos on the bases and what theyre doing because the second you give some of your attention on the base runner and youre not fully with the hitter, thats when bad things can happen." ' ' '