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CINCINNATI -- Archie Bradley has been good at pitching out of threats lately. Wholesale Tigers Jerseys . With two runners aboard, he couldnt keep one away from Joey Votto, and it cost him a game.Votto extended his post-All Star break surge with a three-run homer off Bradley, and Dan Straily pitched six innings on Friday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-2 victory over the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks.The Reds got the better in a matchup of last-place clubs. The Diamondbacks began the day with second-year manager Chip Hale hearing reports that the team had considered changing managers. Arizona has dropped 16 of 20.Hales only comment: I would just say youre never surprised in this game about anything.Votto connected in the first inning off Bradley (3-6), who had a rough time on a hot, humid night. He lasted five innings, walked five and threw only 59 strikes out of 105 pitches.I think theres only one inning out of my last three starts where I went the whole inning out of the windup, Bradley said. Thats a lot of stress, a lot of high-pressure situations.Its the walks. They say if youre going to play with fire, youre eventually going to get burned. Tonight I did. Time after time, I keep putting myself in bad situations.Votto has hit safely in all seven games since the All-Star break, going 12 for 23 with a double, three homers, eight RBI and seven walks.Tucker Barnhart added a solo homer in the sixth off Randall Delgado. Brandon Phillips later singled home a run, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Zack Cozart had an RBI double in the eighth as the Reds got four walks, a single, a double and a homer off Arizonas young relievers in three innings.There are places where guys without a great amount of experience are getting some experience, Hale said.Straily (5-6) made his fourth straight quality start, settling down after a rough first inning. Jean Segura opened the game with a homer, and Michael Bourn doubled and scored on Welington Castillos sacrifice fly. Straily gave up five hits in six innings.Bradley gave the lead right back with an even worse opening inning. Billy Hamilton singled, Cozart walked, and Votto followed with his 17th homer before the Reds made an out. Cincinnati had three hits, two walks and a hit batter during the inning.Hamilton singled twice and stole three bases off Bradley in the first two innings.The game got heated in the third inning. In his next at-bat following his homer, Segura was plunked in the lower back by Strailys first pitch. Segura motioned toward the mound with his left hand and said something to the pitcher. Plate umpire Carlos Torres got between Segura and catcher Barnhart and restored calm.BIG CHANGEHamilton opened the Reds first with a single and was called out at second base on a steal attempt. A video review showed he got his hand on the base before Seguras tag, and the call was overturned. Hamilton scored on Vottos homer.STATSThe Diamondbacks have won eight of their last 11 against the Reds. They had won five straight at Great American Ball Park before the loss on Friday. ... Bradley had a 1.57 ERA in his four previous road starts. ... It was Seguras fourth career leadoff homer, his third this season. ... Hamilton is 9 for 22 during a five-game hitting streak. His three steals gave him 30 for the season. His career high is 57 last season.TRAINERS ROOMDiamondbacks: RHP Zach Greinke will have a full bullpen session on Saturday and the Diamondbacks will decide whether hes ready to pitch in a simulated game. Greinke has been on the DL since July 3 with a strained left oblique.Reds: RHP Homer Bailey will make another minor league rehab start on Monday and the club will decide if hes ready to be activated. Bailey had Tommy John surgery a year ago.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (5-8) pitched seven shutout innings in a win over the Dodgers in his last game. Hes faced the Reds one other time, taking the loss last year while giving up three runs in six innings.Reds: RHP Keyvius Sampson (0-1) makes his first start of the season after seven relief appearances. Hes 2-6 career as a starter with a 6.66 ERA.---Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay Detroit Tigers Gear . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Tigers Jerseys 2019 . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. When the NHLs 31st franchise opens its inaugural season in 2017-18, bringing in a new era for hockey in Las Vegas, Bob Strumm will be there. And there wont be a greater authority in the building that night when it comes to Las Vegas hockey.As the general manager of the Las Vegas Thunder of the now-defunct International Hockey League, Strumm oversaw what was, until the NHLs expansion announcement on June 22, hockeys golden age in Sin City. For six seasons during the 1990s, the Thunder blended star power with distinctive Las Vegas flair. And as with the city itself, anything could -- and often did -- happen.We finished first in our first year in the IHL and the third year we finished first overall, said Strumm, who was the Columbus Blue Jackets director of pro scouting for 12 years. We didnt win a championship but we had some great teams and great players and great personalities.The team was the brainchild of the father-son duo of Hank and Ken Stickney, who made their bones owning several successful minor-league baseball teams. Selling Vegas to hockey players was easy, but building the franchise wasnt, especially considering Nevada had just a single ice sheet when the Stickneys were awarded their IHL franchise. Located at the Santa Fe Casino, that ice served as a practice facility, offering players free breakfast and quality slot machine time. After UNLVs Thomas and Mack Center was retrofitted to accommodate hockey, the Thunder were a Vegas favorite.They treated us like we were [players in the] NHL, said goaltender Clint Malarchuck, who played for the Thunder from 1993-1997. I was up on a billboard in lights at the Showboat Casino. On weekends wed get 10,000-12,000 fans.That fan turnout provided a great home-ice advantage. But there was also the added value of playing in a city with countless late-night distractions.As a local team, you hope the visiting team does go out and have some fun, said defenseman Kerry Toporowski, a fourth-round draft pick in 1991 of the San Jose Sharks who played for the Thunder for parts of the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. I definitely remember guys saying, Hey, take it easy on me tonight. It was a rough one last night.A veteran of 338 NHL games, Malarchuk was among the Thunders first star players before assuming coaching and front-office roles with the franchise. But he wasnt the only name player drawn to Las Vegas. Several established NHLers joined the Thunder as full-time players, including Sergei Zholtok, Randy Burridge,?Pokey Reddick, Jim Kyte, Paul Dipietro and Greg Hawgood. The Thunder even had a Gretzky --?Brent Gretzky, Waynes younger brother who was a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992 and played a season for the Thunder.When NHL stars were embroiled in a bitter holdout, it didnt take long to convince them to join an independent pro team in Vegas. During their respective contract squabbles, for at least a few weeks, Alexei Yashin, Curtis Joseph,?Petr Nedved?and Pavol Demitra all brought star power to the team. Even trailblazing womens goaltender Manon Rheaume played two games for the Thunder.It seemed like there was always a big name, Malarchuk said. A lot of it was the way we were treated. Bob Strumm was the mastermind behind getting big names.Strumms shrewdest move might have been signing top prospects from Eastern Euurope. Tigers Jerseys 2020. Just a few years after the Berlin Wall fell, Strumm signed Czech star Radek Bonk. Despite being only 17 and unfamiliar with Western culture, Bonk became an instant star before being taken third overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1994 NHL draft.Vegas is a good spot for scouts to come and watch games, Strumm said. And we had lots of scouts at the games. It certainly brought a lot of attention to our team. And the kid handled it terrifically. He played well.With Bonk setting the precedent, other prospects came to Las Vegas, including Ruslan Salei and Robert Dome, who were each drafted in the first round after developing with the Thunder.For all that star power, the real attraction might have been Vegas itself. When it came to marketing the team, there was no shortage of local color in the arena. We said yes a lot, unless it was illegal, Ken Stickney said. We pushed the edge on just about everything. The focus was just on having a good time. We wanted to win, we wanted to lead the league in scoring and we wanted to lead the league in penalty minutes every year.Accompanied by lasers, smoke and the sound of AC/DCs Thunderstruck, the Thunder entered the ice through a giant slot machine. A marching band often paraded across the ice during breaks in play and groups such as the Village People performed during intermission. A former semi-pro player who had adopted a new Vegas career as a celebrity impressionist occasionally sang the national anthem ... as Neil Diamond.When Malarchuk had his number retired, the team brought a horse onto the ice as a gift for the lifelong ranch hand.Naturally, the team partnered with several local businesses, including a couple of prominent gentlemens clubs, which often resulted in dancers from these establishments attending games. When the women were shown on the Thomas and Mack scoreboard, the capacity crowd would go wild. Except for the time when one dancers attempt to execute a sultry maneuver resulted in her throwing out her back and being taken out of the arena on a stretcher.Probably the only time I went down to ice level, other than to argue with the referees, was to watch the bikini contest, Strumm said. I cant say any more than that.With the Thunder contending with a tricky arena lease and other IHL teams joining the American Hockey League, the party ended in 1999. (The IHL folded two years later.) But not everyone left town.Malarchuk still lives in Northern Nevada while Reddick has spent years developing hockey around Las Vegas. Burridge and Strumm still live there and two former players, Rod Buskas and Jeff Sharples, got pilot licenses and gave tours of the neighboring Grand Canyon before becoming commercial airline pilots. Darcy Loewen and Ken Quinney work as firefighters in the area.There have been times weve ended up on the same calls. Its funny, Loewen said. You just kind of bump elbows and give each other a little wink, a little smirk and carry on about your business.Led by Strumm and some of his former players, there should be a healthy Thunder contingent in attendance when the NHL comes to Vegas in 2017. Theyll no doubt be thinking about how they were the citys original hockey stars. ' ' '