Pirate Galaxy » Sunday in the space of four batters and y

NEW YORK -- Tyson Ross, an All-Star pitcher for San Diego two years ago, was among 35 players who became free agents when their teams declined to offer them 2017 contracts on Friday.Washington outfielder Ben Revere and Philadelphia outfielder Cody Asche also were cut loose, along with Arizona catcher Welington Castillo and pitcher Rubby De La Rosa; Baltimore pitcher Vance Worley; and Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Louis Coleman.Milwaukee first baseman Chris Carter and Pittsburgh pitcher Jeff Locke were non-tendered as well; their teams had already designated them for assignment earlier this week.Teams cut players at the tender deadline to avoid committing to salary arbitration, in which about one-sixth of next seasons salary is guaranteed.Ross, a 29-year-old right-hander, was 13-14 with a 2.81 ERA in 2014 and 10-12 with a 3.26 ERA the following season. He was limited to one major league appearance this year and had surgery in October for thoracic outlet syndrome. Recovery time was expected to be four to six months, and the Padres deemed him too pricy for arbitration after he earned $9,625,000 this year.Asche, 26, was designated for assignment earlier Friday to clear a roster spot for left-hander David Rollins, claimed off waivers from Texas. Asche hit .240 with 31 homers and 125 RBI for the Phillies during 371 games in the past four seasons and would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time.The 28-year-old Revere was acquired from Toronto in January for reliever Drew Storen but strained his right oblique in his first at-bat of the season, left after four innings and went on the disabled list. Revere returned May 6, hit just .217 with two homers and 24 RBI in 103 games and would have been on track for a raise from his $6.25 million salary.Castillo batted .264 with 14 homers and 68 RBI and would have gotten a big raise from his $3.7 million salary.Thirteen players agreed to deals ahead of the deadline, including Colorado reliever Jake McGee ($5.9 million), Oakland first baseman Yonder Alonso ($4 million), Chicago White Sox second baseman Brett Lawrie ($3.5 million) and outfielder Avisail Garcia ($3 million), Minnesota infielder Eduardo Escobar ($2.6 million) and New York Mets catcher Rene Rivera ($1.75 million).Milwaukee reached deals with second baseman Scooter Gennett ($2,525,000) and outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis ($900,000 in majors, $257,000 in minors).Pittsburgh agreed to an $800,000, one-year contract with left-hander Wade LeBlanc that includes a $750,000 salary next year and a $1.25 million team option for 2018 with a $50,000 buyout.San Francisco struck deals with right-hander Cory Gearrin ($1.05 million) and infielder Ehire Adrianza ($600,000 in majors and $300,000 in minors).Atlanta agreed to contracts with catcher Anthony Recker ($800,000) and left-hander Paco Rodriguez ($637,500).Among players who were already free agents, left-hander Brian Duensing agreed to a $2 million, one-year deal with the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.Nikita Zadorov Jersey . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Teemu Selanne Avalanche Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-colin-wilson-avalanche-jersey/ . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Nathan MacKinnon Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Rene Robert Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta.DENVER -- San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy can only hope that the Giants offense, which has been faltering for weeks, might have bottomed out Monday when they were shut out at, of all places, Coors Field.The Giants were held to two hits by Chad Bettis, who threw a complete game Monday as the Colorado Rockies won the series opener 6-0.Since the All-Star break, the Giants are a major league-worst 16-31, a tailspin that includes 18 losses in their past 25 road games. The Giants are hitting a mere .219 (91-for-416) with runners in scoring position in the second half. According to STATS Inc., this is the first time the Giants have been held to four or fewer hits in five straight games since 1913.We have to find a way to come out of this, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. We couldnt generate the energy level up to get the offense going. Their guy pitched great. Ill give him that, but at the same time, weve been in this for a little while. Its time for us to wake up here.Were looking for that magic wand. We are looking for someone to get us going ... to see if somebody can jump start us and get this offense going. We are better than this. This thing is contagious. It has been here awhile, too long.Catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford -- the Giants top three home-run hitters -- have combined for 243 at-bats since one of them last hit a home run -- 142 at-bats by Posey, 71 by Belt and 30 by Crawford, the last of that group to go deep when he homered Aug. 27.The boys have to get their confidence back, no question about that, Bochy said. These things are hard to explain. Crawford, Belt, Posey, the guys that normally have a few more home runs -- but the last thing you can do in this game is start thinking about it and trying for it. Now youre going to get really out of synch. You try to go up there and get a good swing off and see what happens.Jeff Samardzjia will start Tuesday for the Giants. Hes 11-9 with a 4.06 ERA and wasnt involved in the decision Thursday at Chicago when he allowed three runs on five hits in four innings as the Giants lost 5-4 to the Cubs. Samardzjia threw a career-high 47 pitches in the first inning and finished with 87 pitches. In two starts this season against the Rockies, Samardzjiaa is 1-1 with a 2.dddddddddddd30 ERA. In his lone start this season at Coors Field, he allowed two runs in eight innings April 12 and was the winning pitcher in the Giants 7-2 victory.Left-hander Tyler Anderson will start for the Rockies. Hes 5-5 with a 3.43 ERA, which is the lowest in franchise history by a Rockies starter in his first 15 career starts. Anderson has allowed three or fewer runs in 12 outings, including Wednesday when he worked 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the first game of a doubleheader against the Dodgers and won 7-0. In his lone start against the Giants on July 4 at San Francisco, Anderson allowed three runs on four hits, including homers by Angel Pagan and Posey, in six innings and took the loss as the Rockies fell 3-1.Bettis magnificent start Monday gave the Colorado bullpen a day off. Going forward, Rockies manager Walt Weiss will pick his spots to restore the confidence of Carlos Estevez, a 23-year-old rookie with a fastball that can easily touch 100 mph and sits at 97-98 mph. On Sunday against Arizona, Estevez, who is 3-7 with a 5.14 ERA in 56 games with 23 walks, 54 strikeouts and 42 hits allowed in 49 innings, gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. He had hit two batters in his previous 55 appearances before hitting two Arizona hitters Sunday in the space of four batters and yielding a two-run single.Estevez had a 3.66 ERA in his first 42 appearances but has since allowed 15 hits and 12 runs in his past 9 2/3 innings.I think every players confidence gets shaken in this league, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Its what you do with it, because everybody fails. For Carlos, hes going through some of that right now. Some of its mechanical, and were working on that because it comes down to command. He obviously has major weapons.Its about commanding the ball, staying in good counts. If you cant get in (good) counts and use the weapons, its a tough league to pitch in. Nothings changed for me as far as what I think about Carlos. I think hes got a tremendous future. Hes supremely gifted, and hes a great kid. Hes going to be fine -- just working through some things like every player has to. ' ' '