INFO » t two months, leaving Madrid in command and waiting to

NEW YORK -- The old guard took care of this one for the Phillies -- with both their bats and their brains. Ryan Howard had four hits, including a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, and Jimmy Rollins homered and scored four times to lead Philadelphia past the slumping New York Mets 5-4 on Saturday night. Chase Utley drove in two runs for the Phillies, who have won the first two games of the series against their NL East foes after dropping four straight to Toronto. Rollins, Utley and Howard, the All-Star core of Phillies teams that won five straight division titles and a World Series championship from 2007-11, combined to go 9 for 12 with four RBIs. "Yeah, it felt good. It felt like old times out there," Howard said. "If we can get everybody going all at the same time, itll be a force to be reckoned with." David Wright hit his first home run since opening day, ending the longest drought of his career, and had three RBIs. But the Mets wasted another great chance to score in the late innings, losing their season-worst fifth straight and eighth in nine games. Following some confusion in the eighth, Philadelphia reliever Mike Adams (2-1) escaped a major jam by retiring pinch-hitter Bobby Abreu on a bases-loaded comebacker to keep it tied. "Obviously, I had to make him swing the bat," Adams said. "I threw a two-seamer that ran down and made him hit my pitch." With runners on second and third earlier in the inning, the Phillies held a meeting at the mound and threw an intentional ball to Eric Campbell in his second major league plate appearance. Thats when Utley and catcher Carlos Ruiz noticed the 40-year-old Abreu, cut by Philadelphia near the end of spring training, getting ready in the dugout. Utley and Ruiz persuaded Adams to go after Campbell before Abreu had a chance to bat. "We decided to change our minds," Utley said. "We saw him coming up there. We try to see everything, but we dont always." Adams said the chat pumped him up, and Utley is "always on top of it." The intentional walk was called off and Campbell eventually took strike three. "That was pretty neat to watch," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. Rollins drew a two-out walk from Kyle Farnsworth (0-3) in the ninth and went to third on Utleys single. Howard followed with a line-drive single to centre. Jonathan Papelbon worked a hitless ninth for his 11th save in 12 chances. With a runner on second, he retired Wright on a foul popup to end it. A frustrated Wright held his bat above his head most of the way back to the dugout, then lingered on an otherwise empty bench for a few minutes with the lumber still in his hand. "The frustrating part is losing," Wright said. "An inning here, an inning there is costing us multiple games over the last few weeks." After the start was delayed 39 minutes by rain, the Phillies wasted no time jumping on Dillon Gee, who had a 7.46 ERA in nine previous starts against them. Philadelphia began the game with consecutive singles and a stolen base before Utleys sacrifice fly ended Gees career-best scoreless streak at 16 innings. Domonic Brown blooped an RBI single, but Gee dodged additional damage when Cody Asche lined out with the bases loaded. Wright tied it with a two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch from Kyle Kendrick, snapping a streak of 136 at-bats without a homer since March 31 against Washington. "I dont build my game around hitting home runs, so it wasnt too much of a monkey at all," Wright said. Rollins homered off the facing of the second deck in right to put Philadelphia ahead 3-2 in the second. Kendrick retired 14 of 15 batters after Wrights long ball and took a two-hitter into the sixth, when he walked leadoff man Juan Lagares. Daniel Murphy singled and Wright plopped an RBI double into right field, just beyond a diving Marlon Byrd. Campbell, with his parents taking pictures in the stands, was sent up to pinch-hit for his big league debut. He gave the Mets a 4-3 lead with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly against lefty reliever Jake Diekman -- and was all smiles while receiving a high-five from Murphy and congratulations in the dugout. "It was a real up and down day," Campbell said. Rollins legged out an infield single in the seventh and advanced on Scott Rices wild pitch. Utley doubled off the centre-field fence to tie it at 4. NOTES: Kendrick, hurt by poor run support, is 0-8 in 14 starts since beating the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 6 last season. ... Howard is 9 for 18 against Gee with six homers and 14 RBIs. Rollins is 11 for 22. ... Ben Revere made a terrific, tumbling catch in deep centre to rob Travis dArnaud of extra bases. ... LHP Cole Hamels (0-2, 7.02 ERA) will try again for his 100th career win when he makes his fourth start of the season Sunday in the series finale against LHP Jonathon Niese (2-2, 1.82). Hamels was hit hard in a 6-1 loss to Niese at home on April 29 and is 7-14 with a 4.65 ERA in 27 starts against New York. Air Max Goedkoop Online . After Mondays comments by Coach Claude Noel that its work first and skill second, and that more “A” games are needed, the Jets responded with a 47-shot effort. If not for terrific goaltending by Braden Holtby the Jets would have had two points in regulation. Air Max Shop Nederland . Canada wasnt in the game from the outset. Head coach Dan Church left Calgary in the morning without addressing the players. He told The Canadian Press he felt the organization lacked confidence in his ability to defend the Olympic gold medal in February. http://www.airmaxsalenederland.com/ . -- The Oakland Raiders added a veteran presence to their young receiving group by signing free agent James Jones to a three-year contract Monday. Air Max Schoenen Sale . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Air Max Bestellen Goedkoop . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the Maple Leafs have trade offers on the table for the 26-year-old, but none have been deemed acceptable by the team.TORONTO – The first-place Blue Jays hit the halfway mark of the season with 45 wins and a two-game lead on Baltimore in the American League East, territory unfamiliar to a franchise still waiting for its first playoff game since October 23, 1993, the night Joe Carter walked off Mitch Williams into World Series lore. "Im proud of the way the guys played," said manager John Gibbons. "It was kind of a so-so start and we kicked it in there in the month of May and put ourselves in a good position. Now, you know, we just need to do that again in the second half or even improve on that but Im very, very happy with the effort and the way the guys have been playing baseball. Its that simple." You wont find a Mission Accomplished banner hanging in the clubhouse. The expectation is much greater. "Has it met it yet? No," said Casey Janssen. "Our expectation is to make the playoffs and win the World Series and were not there yet. Weve got a long way to go. I think everyone believed we could be this type of team but were not throwing a party yet, we know that. We know theres a ton of talent here and its the AL East so anything can happen." Despite a recent downturn in offensive production, through 81 games Toronto continues to sit in the top seven of most major categories. The club sits first in the majors with 104 home runs. Its fourth with a .262 batting average and .331 on-base percentage. The on-base plus slugging percentage of .767 ranks third and its 272 walks are seventh. The most pleasant surprise and biggest disappointment reside on the same spot: the pitchers mound. The pleasant surprise: Blue Jays starters lead the American League with 35 wins (a number not reached until the 135th game last season) and the staff ERA of 3.87 is best in the AL East. The biggest disappointment: the bullpen, the ray of sunshine in a stormy 2013 season, has compiled baseballs fourth-worst ERA (4.48). Its a target for improvement. "I think there are some times when weve got to be better in the bullpen," said Gibbons. "Weve got to shore that up a little bit. Its like anything, consistency over the whole pitching staff and hopefully you stay healthy enough." The Blue Jays have been fortunate to remain relatively healthy, dealing with injuries theyve been able to cover. Maicer Izturis was a backup infielder. Brandon Morrow wasnt pitching well when he got hurt. Colby Rasmus missed 33 games with a hamstring strain and the Jays got by with an Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar platoon in centerfield. The medical staff is now doing the dance with Jose Bautista as he deals with a hamstring probleem, which could be made worse if rushed.dddddddddddd Bautista will run sprints on Saturday morning and depending on how he feels, could be available to at least pinch hit on the weekend. QUIET TIME FOR JANSSEN Wondering where closer Casey Janssen has been these days? Hes around. He just hasnt pitched much due to a lack of save opportunities. Since notching his 12th save of the season on June 15 in Baltimore, Janssen has appeared twice. He mopped up the epic, 14-9 comeback win on June 20 in Cincinnati. He threw the ninth inning of a 6-6 game against the Yankees on June 24 and got the win when the Blue Jays walked off. It can be difficult for relievers when they go through a period without consistent work. "I feel like saves come in bunches at times," said Janssen. "You get opportunities to pitch maybe in a lopsided game one way or another if it gets to be too long. Sometimes there are times when you dont get in but you get up. Im one of those guys that always has relied on my command and I guess it comes a little more natural to me than others." Janssen has 12 saves in 14 opportunities this season. "Sometimes the rest is good, knowing that the tough stretch is going to come at some point," said Janssen. Expect Janssen to get into a game before the weekend is over, regardless of whether Toronto has a lead of three or less. Janssen speaks to pitching coach Pete Walker about his schedule, who relays the message to manager John Gibbons. If Janssen goes four or five days without action his arms reaction to its diminished workload becomes less predictable. "You wonder if your arms going to be a little cranky or if its going to be super fresh," said Janssen. "Sometimes you feel great when you get the rest and sometimes youre kind of knocking the dust off a little bit." Remember that Janssen had an abbreviated spring training thanks to stiffness in the back of his pitching shoulder. He didnt appear in a Grapefruit League game until the final week of March. Then, in Montreal, he strained his left oblique and didnt make his season debut until May 12. Its been a build for Janssen, who anticipates being able to pitch on three consecutive days, if needed, as the importance of each game ramps up. "I feel like Id love to do it and Id love to have the opportunity to do it," said Janssen. "I think a lot of those three in a rows depend on how the first two went and the stress level of those innings. My goal is to be able to pitch in every opportunity possible, especially as the season gets further along and as this division and the race gets tight and everything like that." ' ' '