the floor. The Panthers made 13 of 26 3- | Forum

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays replaced the Baltimore Orioles in first place in the American League East on Saturday. Detroit Tigers Shirts .As soon as Sunday, the positions could be reversed. That is how close the race is, with the Boston Red Sox within easy striking distance.The Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 9-1 on Saturday behind the 11-strikeout pitching of left-hander J.A. Happ. That gave the Blue Jays a half-game lead over the Orioles in the division.If the Orioles can end a five-game losing streak Sunday and avoid being swept by the Blue Jays, they will return to the top by a half-game margin.Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin, who hit a two-run double in a seven-run fifth on Saturday, realizes there is a long way to go, but that reaching first has some significance.It means that were playing good baseball, Martin said. Theres still a lot of baseball left, but I feel were starting to play good ball. Were swinging the bats well, were playing good defense and were pitching well.But the thing I like about this team is the consistency of our starting pitching. I feel like its been that way all year. If youre going to have a winning team thats kind of the one thing you want to have is pitching, and we have that so were feeling pretty good about it.The pitching figures to be good Sunday in the series finale.The Orioles will start right-hander Chris Tillman (14-3, 3.47 ERA) against Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez (11-1, 2.72 ERA), who has not lost since April 22.Everythings about pitching here at this level, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. They catch the ball well. Theyre a good team. Were a good team. Well put it behind us and go out there 1/8Sunday 3/8.Theyre a good starting pitching team. Theyve got good people in the bullpen. Thats why they, Boston and us are where we are, so youve got to trust your players and just dont throw everybody under the bus because youve had a tough couple of games.Said Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo: We could come out and throw up 20 hits (Sunday), outfielder Mark Trumbo said. Who knows what is going to happen? You kind of assume when you go up against these guys its going to be a tight game and youre going to have to play smart baseball and take advantage when you can.Because you are going to need those runs. They have a really good offense. Weve got to do our part to try to counter them.Sanchez is 10-0 with a 2.58 ERA in 16 starts since his last loss. The Blue Jays are 12-4 in those starts. He is 3-2 with a 5.34 ERA in 10 career games, including five starts, against the Orioles.Tillman is 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last five starts, with the loss coming Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies when he allowed nine hits and six runs in five innings. He is 5-10 with a 5.71 ERA in 22 career starts against the Blue Jays and is 1-0, 4.91, in two starts against them this season.The Blue Jays are on a 16-6 roll, while the Orioles have lost 12 of their last 17 games on the road. Toronto leads the season series 7-5. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Tigers Jerseys 2020 . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. PITTSBURGH -- Plenty of the numbers from Pittsburghs breezy 99-80 victory over Gardner-Webb looked pretty.And none of them mattered to coach Kevin Stallings. Sure shooting 54 percent and never being challenged on Monday night was nice, especially three days after needing double-overtime to hold off Eastern Michigan in Stallings coaching debut with the Panthers. Yet Stallings is more concerned about whether his team is ready for a far sterner test on Thursday against SMU at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Classic.You look at our defensive numbers, they were indicative of a team that was not really wired into play, he said. Thats my fault. Thats my job.Cameron Johnson scored 18 points and made all four of his 3-point attempts for Pitt (2-0). Michael Young put up 18 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes after being held out of the starting lineup for only the second time in his career due to a minor violation of team rules. Sheldon Jeter added 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.Still, the Panthers led the Runnin Bulldogs trade baskets early in the first half and for long stretches in the second. Stallings wonders if his players are getting a little too caught up in the free-flowing offense Stallings brought with him from Vanderbilt.Maybe Ive sent the wrong message about tempo and offense and things like that, Stallings said. Were not ready to beat anybody thats equivalent to us in terms of talent because we dont sustain any type of defensive intensity.At one point in the first half, Stallings pulled the entire starting five off the floor in frustration.I think he just wanted more effort and energy, Johnson said. He cited a lack of focus for that.Not that much was required over the final 30 minutes after a 10-0 burst that included a pair of 3-pointers by Johnsoon to give the Panthers a 30-14 lead that was never threatened. Detroit Tigers Store. RUNNIN WITH THE PANTHERSLaQuincy Rideau finished with a career-high 23 points for Gardner-Webb (0-2) while adding eight rebounds and six assists. David Efianayi scored 20 points and Liam OReilly chipped in 14. The Runnin Bulldogs spread the floor to provide Rideau with room to slice his 6-foot-1 frame through the lane.I felt there was little more space where maybe we could attack the paint off the dribble, Gardner-Webb coach Tim Craft said. The problem is we werent converting. Some of the finishes were a little wild.BIG MAN DEBUTPitt junior Rozelle Nix made his long-awaited debut after missing last season with a foot injury. The 6-foot-11, 300-pound Nix entered with just over 4 minutes left and finished with four rebounds and on emphatic block on Gardner-Webbs DJ Laster that sent Nixs teammates erupting off the bench.He got me once like that once, Jeter said. Im not ashamed to admit it. Im not afraid to admit it.BIG PICTUREGardner-Webb: After managing just 44 points in a lackluster loss to SMU in the opener last week, Gardner-Webb was happy to try and keep pace with Pitt in what Craft called a learning experience for a young team that will rely on Rideau and Efianayi -- both sophomores -- to carry some of the scoring load.Pitt: Despite the defensive issues, the Panthers seem to have quickly embraced what Stallings wants to do on the other end of the floor. The Panthers made 13 of 26 3-pointers and finished with 29 assists on 35 field goals.UP NEXTGardner-Webb: plays Eastern Michigan in Indianapolis on Friday.Pitt: faces SMU on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. ' ' '