Thursday Sports

A small schedule in both sports on Thursday, starting off with the four hockey games. These started with...

The New York Rangers hosting the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Henrik Lundqvist played goal. Atlanta got in front with Rob Schremp in the second period, his 13th of the season coming off of Andrey Zubarev and Anthony Stewart. Fifteen seconds later, the Thrashers extended their lead with Andrew Ladd notching his 28th of the campaign, thanks to Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little. Eric Boulton made it 3-0 for Atlanta with his sixth of the year, assisted by Johnny Oduya and Schremp. This would be the final, with Pavelec (29 save shutout), Schremp, and Ladd getting the three stars.

Up to Ottawa, where the Senators hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Auld opposed Craig Anderson. Montreal took the first lead in the second period with Brian Gionta netting his 27th of the season, courtesy of Mathieu Darche and James Wisniewski. Ottawa tied it in the third period with Jason Spezza recording his 21st of the year, with help from Colin Greening and Bobby Butler. Butler put the Senators on top with his ninth of the season, made possible by Spezza and Chris Phillips. With eleven seconds in regulation left, Michael Cammalleri found the equalizer for the Canadiens on his 19th of the year, helped in by Andrei Kostitsyn and Wisniewski. Ottawa topped Montreal 3-2 in the overtime period with Filip Kuba potting his second of the campaign via Butler and Ryan Shannon. Butler, Spezza, and Kuba earned the three stars.

Down to Texas, where the Dallas Stars hosted the Colorado Avalanche. Brian Elliot and Kari Lehtonen played in front of the cages. Tom Wandell put Dallas out front first with his seventh of the season, an unassisted goal. Loui Eriksson added on for the Stars with his 26th of the year, courtesy of Jamie Benn and Brad Richards. Brandon Yip put Colorado on the board in the second period with his tenth of the season, assisted by Philippe Dupuis and Matt Duchene. Dallas answered that with a power play goal from Brenden Morrow, his 31st of the year, powered by Eriksson and Mike Ribeiro. The Avalanche pulled close again with Mark Olver's second of the season, guided in by Ryan Wilson and Duchene. Ruchards secured a 4-2 victory for the Stars with his 27th of the year, fueled by Benn. Eriksson, Stephane Robidas and Wandell were the three stars.

Finishing the hockey games in Vancouver, where the Canucks hosted the Minnesota Wild. Niklas Backstrom and Roberto Luongo got the starts. Vancouver led off with Mason Raymond sinking his 14th of the season, with a lone assist by Jannik Hansen. Ryan Kesler had the next two Canucks goals, his 38th and 39th of the year, the earlier one coming from the Sedin twins on the power play (Henrik and Daniel, although anyone who's remotely close to enjoying hockey should know that), and the second period tally coming unassisted. Raymond would tack on another goal for Vancouver, his second of the game and 15th of the season, with Daniel and Kevin Bieksa grabbing the helpers. Kesler finished his hat trick in the third period with his 40th of the year, thanks to Chris Higgins, prompting Jose Theodore to come on in relief and bringing the 5-0 Canucks final. Kesler, Luongo (29 save shutout), Raymond had the three stars.

Over to the Diamond...

The Cleveland Indian opened up the day by hosting the Boston Red Sox. Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona took the starts. Cleveland got the game's only run in the eighth inning as Asdrubal Cabrera sacrificed to score Adam Everett. Daniel Bard was stuck with the loss, Rafael Perez got the win, and Chris Perez got the win. Marco Scutaro and Shelley Duncan were the game's top batters. The Indians swept the three game series.

Heading across the state to Cincinnati, where the Reds hosted the Houston Astros. Brett Myers and Sam LeCure were handed the ball. Houston opened the scoring in the first inning with Hunter Pence grounding out but scoring Jason Bourgeois. Cincinnati replied with Edgar Renteria doubling in the next inning to bring around Jonny Gomes. The Astros took the lead back in the fourth inning with a Brett Wallace groundout, which provided safe passage for Carlos Lee. The Reds retied it again in the seventh inning as Scott Rolen sent a ball out of the yard for one run. Houston defeated Cincinnati on a Matt Downs double, bringing around Wallace for a 3-2 final in the ninth. Fernando Abad took the win, Brandon Lyon made the save, and Nick Masset took the loss. Downs and Renteria were the top batters. Cincinnati took the series 2-1.

Up to Toronto, with the Blue Jays hosting the Oakland Athletics. Trevor Cahill and Ricky Romero were the dueling pitchers. Toronto was the first to dent the scoreboard with a sixth inning single by Jayson Nix, bringing around J.P. Arencibia. Oakland answered with Andy LaRoche reaching home on a Coco Crisp strikeout on a wild pitch, which brought Crisp on to the basepaths. After two steals and then a Conor Jackson single, Crisp made it 2-1 for the Athletics, a decisive score. Cahill took the win, Brian Fuentes made the save, and Jason Frasor suffered the loss and a blown save in the odd game. Jackson and Nix were the top batters. Toronto did take the series 2-1.

Into the Big Apple, where the New York Yankees hosted the Minnesota Twins. Francisco Liriano and A.J. Burnett were on the mound. New York was the first on the board in the third inning with Nick Swisher hitting a sacrifice fly to bring in Brett Gardner. Minnesota replied the next inning with Jim Thome doubling to score Justin Morneau before Jason Kubel did the same for Thome himself. The Yankees answered in the bottom of the inning with Andruw Jones' double that scored Alex Rodriguez, Russell Martin grounding out for a Robinson Cano run, and Jones coming around on a Gardner single. The Twins got within a run as Denard Span grounded out to provide a route for Alexi Casilla, but they could not muster another run to tie, and New York grabbed a 4-3 win. Liriano was pinned with the loss, Burnett took the win, Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano got holds, and Mariano Rivera punched out the ninth for another save. Thome and Derek Jeter were the top batters. New York took the rain-shortened series 2-1.

Moving along, the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the Colorado Rockies. Esmil Rogers and Paul Maholm were the starting pitchers. Colorado opened up in the first inning with Carlos Gonzalez reaching on a Neil Walker error, which allowed Dexter Fowler to score, and followed it with Troy Tulowitzki sacrificing himself to score Gonzalez. Pittsburgh answered in the bottom of inning with Andrew McCutchen grounding out to score Jose Tabata. The Rockies retook the lead on a solo shot by Tulowitzki. Gonzalez singled in the sixth as well, with Ryan Spilborghs benefiting from the hit, and Tulowitzki brought him back around once more, with a double, but he failed to safely reach third on the greedy baserunning play. Colorado rolled on in the seventh with Spilborghs singling for a run by Rogers, and Gonzalez bringing Fowler in with his sacrifice fly for a 7-1 score, the eventual final. Rogers was the winning pitcher, and Maholm was the loser. Tulowitzki and Tabata were the best hitters.

Over to Milwaukee, where the Brewers hosted the Atlanta Braves. Tommy Hanson and Shaun Marcum played from the mound. Milwaukee got on the board in the first with a two run homer by Ryan Braun, also scoring Carlos Gomez. Martin Prado answered with a two-RBI single in the second inning, with Freddie Freeman and Matt Young crossing home safely. The Brewers replied in the bottom of the inning with Nyjer Morgan scoring on a fielder's choice reach by George Kottaras. Milwaukee got another run in the seventh inning with Prince Fielder reaching on a fielder's choice (no pun intended, these are only the facts), forcing in Rickie Weeks. The 4-2 score was the final, with Hanson losing, Marcum winning, holds being awarded to Mitch Stetter, Sergio Mitre, and Kameron Loe, and the save converted by John Axford. Prado and Braun were the top hitters. Milwaukee took the series 3-1.

Down to Chicago, where the White Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. David Price and Edwin Jackson were the hurlers. Chicago opened with a first inning double by Alex Rios scoring both Juan Pierre and Gordon Beckham. In the third inning, Rios scored on a Paul Konerko double. Tampa Bay got on the board in the eighth inning with Reid Brignac singling to drive in Felipe Lopez. The White Sox finished up the scoring in the bottom of the eighth with Brent Lillibridge singling to score Alexei Ramirez before completing his trip on a Pierre single. Price took the loss in the 5-1 game, as Jackson got the win. B.J. Upton and Rios were the top batters.

Back east, the Philadelphia Phillies hosted the New York Mets. Jonathan Niese was the unlucky foe to Roy Halladay. Shane Victorino opened the scoring in the third inning with a single to score Wilson Valdez, and he reached second on a throwing error from Angel Pagan, and then came home on a Placido Polanco double. The Phillies kept it going in the fourth inning with Carlos Ruiz's single driving in Ben Francisco, Valdez's double knocking in Raul Ibanez, and Polanco driving in both Ruiz and Valdez. Valdez knocked in a pair of runs in the fifth inning as well, with his deep double good enough for Ryan Howard and Ibanez, although the greedy baserunner was caught at third. Ibanez added a two-run tater for Philadelphia in the seventh inning, scoring Howard again. The Phillies made it 11-0 on an eighth inning fielder's choice by Polanco, securing a path for Valdez to come home again. Halladay easily took the win, as easily did Niese with the loss. Jose Reyes and Valdez were the top batters. The Phillies snagged a 2-1 series victory.

Also, the Baltimore Orioles hosted the Detroit Tigers. Brad Penny and Chris Tillman were on the mound. Detroit opened in the first inning on a Miguel Cabrera single, scoring Austin Jackson, and Victor Martinez tacked on his own single to score Brennan Boesch. Baltimore replied in the second with a solo shot from Vladimir Guerrero and a single by Mark "K" Reynolds to bring in Adam Jones. The Tigers got back to business in the fifth inning, with a solo homer by Alex Avila and a double from Boesch to drive in Will Rhymes. The Orioles replied back with a two run homer by Jones, scoring Luke Scott as well. Detroit wouldn't have any of it, with Jackson doubling for Avila's safe passage to home. In the bottom of the seventh, Baltimore exploded with Guerrero singling to bring in Brian Roberts, and then reaching second and pushing Nick Markakis to third on a fielding error by Don Kelly. Jones would hit a sacrifice fly to push Markakis the last 90 feet, and Reynolds provided a double for Guerrero and Felix Pie to score safely. Cesar Izturis capped off the five run inning with a  single to bring Reynolds back around. This put the score at 9-5, which would end up as the final. Brad Thomas took the loss, and the blown save went to Enrique Gonzalez, while Jim Johnson gathered the win. Boesch and Jones were the best of the hitters. Baltimore grabbed the series 2-1.

Lastly, the Florida Marlins hosted the Washington Nationals. John Lannan and Josh Johnson took the mound as starters. Florida opened in the first inning with a Hanley Ramirez double to score Chris Coghlan, and a Gaby Sanchez groundout providing space for Omar Infante to score. Washington got a solo home run by Jayson Werth in the fourth inning. The Nationals kept it going with Danny Espinosa grounding out and scoring Wilson Ramos in the fifth inning. Ryan Zimmerman also produced an Ian Desmond run for Washington in the sixth inning with an RBI-single. The Marlins got an equalizer in the bottom half of the inning as Emilio Bonafacio grounded out to score John Buck. The tie lasted into the eleventh inning, as Adam LaRoche hit a two run tater for a 5-3 lead that would hold up. Tyler Clippard took a blown save, but Todd Coffey got the win and Sean Burnett picked up a save, while Edward Mujica had the loss. LaRoche and Ramirez were the top batters. Despite the loss, the Marlins took the series 2-1.

That's all. Trying to get a jump on Friday's games in at least one sport so I can work elsewhere for the weekend.