DS Talk » eak with the absence of Bengals middle lineback

LOS ANGELES -- The Arizona Diamondbacks kept within striking distance all game, but when the big hit was needed, they came up short again and again. The Diamondbacks had the tying run in scoring position and only one out in both the eighth and ninth innings, but couldnt score and fell 4-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. "We got a couple hits and had some good A-Bs, we just couldnt get anything going with runners in scoring position," Arizona shortstop Chris Owings said. "We were in it the whole game. We just needed that big hit and couldnt get it tonight." The Diamondbacks tagged Dodgers pitching for 13 hits, but it wasnt enough to prevent their third straight loss. Clayton Kershaw held them down for seven innings, allowing eight hits but only one run with seven strikeouts. It was a redemptive outing for the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner after Arizona ripped him for seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings the last time they met. He had won his last three starts since that outing. "You hope to not have any of those clunkers in a season but it happens obviously," he said. "I dont know if Im on a roll or whatever but its been going well." The Diamondbacks rallied as soon as Kershaw left the game. Three of their first four batters in the eighth singled against reliever Brian Wilson, including a one-out RBI single by Tuffy Gosewich that brought them within one. But J.P Howell entered and struck out David Peralta and got Miguel Montero to fly out to end the threat. Justin Turner extended the Dodgers lead in the bottom of the inning with a pinch-hit RBI single to right to score A.J. Ellis from second. The knock extended Turners modest hitting streak to six games and would prove valuable when the Diamondbacks once again staged a rally in the ninth against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. Gerardo Parra got the comeback attempt started with a one-out single, Paul Goldschmidt walked and Aaron Hill followed with a single through the left side to score Parra and cut the deficit to 4-3. Jansen buckled down and escaped further damage though, striking out Martin Prado and inducing Cody Ross to fly out to right to end the game and record his 18th save. The Diamondbacks stranded 12 runners on base in the contest and were just 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position. "You look at it and it was a one run game the whole way," Owings said. "We just couldnt get it done." Matt Kemp got the scoring started when he crushed a 2-1 changeup deep into the bleachers in left-centre field in the second to put the Dodgers up 2-0. The blast, measured at 402 feet, was Kemps first home run since May 10. "That was big for us," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Weve struggled to score early and been getting behind a lot early here at home. It was good for us to get out to a lead." Aaron Hill cut the deficit in half in the top of the third, smacking a grounder down the third-base line just under the glove of a diving Chone Figgins for an RBI double. After that Kershaw went into lockdown mode. He allowed only four baserunners the rest of the game, none of which passed second base. "I think hes been pretty good except (for one start this year)," Mattingly said. "Hes the same old Clayton, right where we want him to be." The Dodgers win spoiled Diamondbacks rookie Chase Andersons bid to make history. Anderson (5-1) was trying to become just the second National League pitcher since 1914 to win his first six career starts. Instead, he suffered his first career loss after allowing five hits and two runs in five innings, with four walks and four strikeouts. NOTES: The Dodgers reinstated C A.J. Ellis from the DL before the game and optioned C Tim Federowicz to Triple-A Albuquerque. .The Diamondbacks recalled OF Tony Campana from Triple-A Reno and placed OF Ender Inciarte on the 7-day concussion DL. . A video tribute commemorating the career of former Dodgers RHP Bob Welch was shown before the game. Welch, who pitched for Los Angeles from 1978-1987, passed away Tuesday at the age of 57. Air Jordan Shop Italia . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench. Nike Roshe Run Scontate .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. http://www.airjordanshopitalia.it/air-jordan-scarpe.html. The 57-year-old Tietjens has coached New Zealand to nine IRB World Sevens titles and to four Commonwealth Games gold medals as its only coach in the professional era. New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the re-signing was made with a focus on 2016 when sevens will be in the Olympics. Nike Air Max 2016 Scontate . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. Nike Roshe Run Saldi Online .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.(SportsNetwork.com) - A lot of people love heading south this time of year but for the Miami Dolphins, a trip due south in the AFC East standings has been anything but fun. A 3-0 start for the Dolphins is now all but forgotten as Joe Philbins team returns home in an attempt to halt an ugly four-game skid against the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals on Halloween Night. Miami hasnt tasted victory since Sept. 22 just as the Bengals have gotten red-hot, winning four straight to take a 2 1/2-game lead over Baltimore in their division. The Dolphins thought they had solved their problems early on in Foxborough last Sunday but the game turned out to be a tale of two halves, as New England rebounded to completely dominate things after intermission en route to a 27-17 victory over Miami at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots managed a meager 59 yards in the first 30 minutes and trailed by 14, then scored 24 unanswered points -- highlighted by a pair of touchdowns in a span of less than two minutes that tied the game. "We dug a big hole for ourselves at halftime. We really havent played good in the third quarter all year but we did today," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We got it from all three phases of the game. We had contributions from everyone in the second half." Tom Brady struggled through his worst first half in 10 years and finished with just 116 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-22 passing but New England overcame that to beat Miami for the seventh straight time. Ryan Tannehill threw for 192 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions for the Dolphins, who are now 2 1/2 games in back of the Pats in the AFC East. A trio of turnovers and two missed Caleb Sturgis field goals -- one that hit an upright and another that was blocked -- in the second half led to disaster for Miami. "They clearly deserved to win the game, they played better than we did," said Philbin. "We didnt play well in the second half. We didnt make stops, we turned the ball over." The Bengals, on the other hand, kept rolling on Sunday thanks to a breakout performance from second-year receiver Marvin Jones. Jones caught a franchise record four touchdown passes in Cincinnatis 49-9 rout of the New York Jets at Paul Brown Stadium. "Hes had the potential since hes been here," QB Andy Dalton said when talking about Jones. "I think hes just comfortable with everything that were doing and everything that were asking him to do." Dalton threw for 325 yards and five scores on 19-of-30 throws in just three quarters. He found Jones eight times for 122 yards, while A.J. Green added 115 yards on just three catches. "We knew we were going to have to take some shots," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals defense also took back two Geno Smith interceptions for touchdowns. "That was ugly, to say the least," said Jets coach Rex Ryan. "Were fortunate it only counts for one loss because you get your butt kicked like that, youre fortunate thats all it is." Miami leads its overall series with the Bengals by a significant 15-5 margin, with the Dolphins winning the last two contests. The most recent meeting was a 17-13 Miami victory on Oct. 7, 2012 in Paul Brown Stadium. The Dolphins are also a perfect 5-0 when playing on Halloween. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Dalton and the Bengals have been firing on all cylinders recently, piling up 103 points in their last three games. Over that span, the third-year signal caller has thrown for at least 325 yards in each contest and tossed 11 TD passses, becoming the first Bengal ever to throw that many in a three-game stretch.dddddddddddd "This is where I want to be," said Dalton. "This is how I want to be playing." Its not all about offense with Cincinnati, though. In fact the Bengals defense remains the strength of the team led by All-Pro interior lineman Geno Atkins. Cincys D is currently ranked eighth in the NFL, allowing 322.5 yards per game and its even better in scoring defense, coming in at No. 5 by giving up only 18 points per contest. That shapes up as trouble for Miamis young quarterback Tannehill, who has plenty of talent but remains a very inconsistent player from down to down never mind game to game. Tannehill can wow you with the big play (hes thrown five TD passes over the prior two games) but also make the game-changing mistake (seven of his nine interceptions have come during the Dolphins current skid). He has been particularly ineffective in the guts of a game, amassing an awful 60.9 fourth- quarter passer rating, something that has contributed mightily to the fact that Miami has been outscored 67-24 in the second half of their losing streak. Apologists for Tannehill point to his shaky offensive line, which has allowed the Texas A&M product to be sacked a league-high 32 times. The Dolphins tried to address that issue by trading for veteran left tackle Bryant McKinnie before the New England game and the former Vikings and Ravens starter did prove to be a significant upgrade on short notice. Miami will also get a bit of a break with the absence of Bengals middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who will not play in Thursdays game after spraining his left knee against the Jets. The fifth-year pro is expected to miss multiple weeks. Cincinnati will also be without a few other defensive contributors. Cornerback Leon Hall (torn Achilles) and safety Taylor Mays (shoulder) were each placed on injured reserve in the last couple of days, while backup tackle Devon Still has also been ruled out due to an elbow injury. Miamis offense will also be hampered by the season-ending knee injury receiver Brandon Gibson suffered against the Patriots and the fact that former left tackle Jonathan Martin reportedly went AWOL this week, something the Dolphins have labeled as an undisclosed illness. Despite all of Miamis problems, however, Lewis is still worried on a short week. "Weve got to be the best team Thursday night, plain and simple," the Cincinnati coach said. "Its us and the Dolphins and, weve got to be the best team. Theres no other challenge. We knew the schedule. Thats the way it is. Theres no ifs, ands or buts about it. You come, be ready to go." Philbin, meanwhile, is staying positive in an effort to get his team back in the win column. "I have a lot of faith in our guys," he said. "I believe in them. I think well get this thing right and fixed. We have to do it quickly; this is a good team coming in here on Thursday night." OVERALL ANALYSIS The Dolphins current four-game hiccup is their worst since a seven-game slide to open the 2011 season while Cincinnati is coming off its most lopsided victory in Lewis 11-year tenure. "Obviously we arent at an all-time high right now," Tannehill said. "But weve got to get back on track. Thats the only option we have with a short week." Its also an unlikely option. These are teams heading in polar opposite directions and expect that to continue on "Thursday Night Football." Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Bengals 27, Dolphins 20 ' ' '