Pirate Galaxy » It had to be somebody elses fault

DENVER -- Chris Archer appreciated Tim Beckhams big day at the plate. He valued the infielders encouraging words even more.Archer struck out 11 over six innings for his first win since June 6, Beckham had a career-high five hits and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Colorado Rockies 11-3 on Wednesday.During the game, Beckham had a little conversation with Archer, who has been in a bit of a funk.He kept telling me, `Hey man, we go as you go -- attack, attack, Archer recounted. Out of the five hits he had, that was the nicest thing he did for me, personally.Archer helped out a cameraman during his postgame interview by informing him his light suddenly went out.A win and a save. Now thats quite a day.I felt like I had good stuff, Archer said. We put some runs on the board. I was able to breathe.He also took some inspiration from rookie Blake Snell, who pitched a gem the night before. Archer (5-13) went out and tried to duplicate it.Nearly did, too.Archer allowed two runs and four hits to halt a slide in which he had lost six of seven starts.Just showed what were capable of, Archer said. Were a talented team.Evan Longoria kept up his hot hitting with two doubles as the Rays took two of three to capture their first road series since June 6-8 at Arizona. Longoria turned in a big series with two doubles, two triples, a homer and five RBI.Jorge De La Rosa (6-7) lasted only four innings and gave up nine runs, seven of them earned. He usually fares well at Coors Field -- with a better home ERA (4.27) than on the road (4.38) since joining Colorado.Everything was bad, De La Rosa said. I threw pitches where I dont have to throw them.Tampa Bay trailed 2-1 before breaking open the game with three runs in third and five more in the fourth.Former Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson had three hits, including a triple, to increase his career average in this park to .360. He was traded to the Rays last January for reliever Jake McGee.With two doubles Wednesday, Longoria has 50 extra base hits this season. Only one other Tampa Bay player, Aubrey Huff in 2003, had that many through 94 games.Longoria is playing well as the Aug. 1 deadline approaches for trades without waivers. Archer doesnt want to picture a lineup missing Longoria at third base and batting third.Since the Rays have been relevant, hes been the key guy, Archer said. That would be missed for sure. I dont think thats a realistic possibility. Thats just people floating things out there, just to have some click bait.Archer allowed two runs in the second but quickly settled into a groove. He struck out the side in the fourth and the sixth -- his last pitch a 96 mph fastball that Mark Reynolds couldnt hit.The Rockies were outscored 25-11 in a series against a last-place team.We understood that we were going to face a team that is having a tough time, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. We are in a situation where weve got to make things happen -- and it didnt happen.TRAINERS ROOMRays: RHP Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday. ... OF Kevin Kiermaier got the day off.FEELING PRESIDENTIALRockies manager Walt Weiss is playfully campaigning for his man: Gerardo Parra.Weiss wore a Parra for President T-shirt before the game. The shirts were created as a joke before the season and Parras teammates constantly wear them.More pressing than getting Parra into the White House is getting him back on the field. The outfielder is on the disabled list with a sprained left ankle.THIS & THATRockies hitting coach Blake Doyle was throw out early in the game for something he said from the dugout to home plate umpire Paul Emmel concerning the strike zone. ... There was review over a tag at home plate in the second inning that lasted 6 minutes, 28 seconds, and had players just standing around. Archer threw warmup pitches.UP NEXTRays: Lefty Matt Moore (5-7) starts a four-game series Thursday in Oakland. Hes gone at least six innings in eight straight starts.Rockies: Righty Chad Bettis (7-6) makes his 20th start of the season when Colorado opens a four-game series against Atlanta. Andre Drummond Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Markieff Morris Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. https://www.pistonsrookiesshop.com/Khyri-Thomas-City-Edition-Jersey/ .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Jerry Stackhouse Pistons Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Joe Dumars Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . CHASKA, Minn. -- Two days before the Ryder Cup, Phil Mickelson went back 12 years to drive home a point that the Americans are prepared to play their best golf.And along the way, he disparaged yet another former captain.This time, his target was Hal Sutton.Mickelson was the catalyst for change at the last Ryder Cup when he publicly questioned Tom Watsons heavy-handed style -- with Watson sitting at the same table -- after another American loss at Gleneagles. That led to the PGA of America creating a task force allowing for player involvement.When you look back on what the difference is, when players are put in a position to succeed, more often than not they tend to succeed, Mickelson said. And when they are put in positions to fail, most of the time they tend to fail.In a conversation Wednesday on how much a captain matters in the Ryder Cup, Mickelson looked across the room and said, Let me give you an example, if I may.He went back to 2004 when the Americans suffered their worst loss ever in the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. Nothing illustrated their failure more than when U.S. captain Hal Sutton put Mickelson and Tiger Woods together for the first time. They lost two matches in one day.Mickelson was lampooned that week for practicing on an adjacent course as he tried to adjust to the golf ball used by Woods.We ended up not playing well. Was that the problem? I mean, maybe, Mickelson said. But we were told two days before that we were playing together, and that gave us no time to work together and prepare.Mickelson said having to learn how to hit a different golf ball forced him to abandon his own preparations to get sharp.In the history of my career, I have never ball-tested two days prior to a major, Mickelson said. It doesnt allow me to play my best. What allows me to play my best is to learn the course, sharpen my touch on the greens, sharpen my chipping out of the rough and ball-striking and so forth. Instead, Im taking four or five hours, and Im out trying to learn another ball to allow us to play our best.Mickelson said he wasnt trying to knock Sutton. He said he liked how decisive Sutton was that week.But thats an example of starting with the captain. That put us in a position to fail. And we failed monumentally, absolutely, he said. But to say, `Well, you just need to play better, that is so misinformed. Because you will play how you prepare.Sutton was bemused that Mickelson would bring that uup now.ddddddddddddMy God, somebodys got to be the fall guy, he told Golfweek magazine. If it needs to be me, I can be that. I dont have anything to say to that. My God. The world saw what happened. They saw it. I didnt have to cover it up. ... I find it amusing that thats an issue at the 2016 Ryder Cup. I think Phil better get his mind on what he needs to have it on this week instead of on something that happened 10 years ago. ...It couldnt be their fault, he said. It had to be somebody elses fault. It had to be Hal Suttons fault. Had to be.U.S. captain Davis Love III said Mickelson was only trying to set the record straight because some analysts just keep bringing it up over and over and over again, though Mickelson mentioned Oakland Hills unprompted in his news conference.And Mickelson failed to mention that he switched equipment from Titleist to Callaway a week before the matches.Hal was an incredible captain, said Love, who played on that team and went 1-3-1. I think Phil is looking forward to whats happened over the last year and weve learned a lot from all of our past captains on how we need to do this together.He said Sutton was with the U.S. team on Tuesday night and it was an inspiration to see him.Mickelson is more optimistic than ever that the Americans can end two decades of futility against Europe, which has won eight of the last 10 times. Mickelson is playing his record 11th straight Ryder Cup, qualifying for every one of those teams, yet he has been on the winning side only twice.Two years ago, he was visibly angry after the loss at Gleneagles about the U.S. getting away from what worked under Paul Azinger in a rare 2008 victory, and what seems to work every year at the Presidents Cup against an international team that is not nearly as formidable as Europe.Love was captain at Medinah in 2012 when the Americans had a 10-6 lead going into singles, only to win three of the 12 singles matches as Europe rallied to win. Mickelson and Woods were part of that task force that agreed to bring Love back.This is a year where we feel as though Captain Love has been putting us in a position to succeed, Mickelson said. Hes taken input from all parties. Hes making decisions that have allowed us to prepare our best and play our best, and I believe that we will play our best. ' ' '