that Im just going to hit it into the shift and then they thro

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Roenis Elias came through with another positive start to follow up his first complete game. Elias won his second consecutive start, Dustin Ackley drove in three runs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 on Saturday. Elias (5-4), coming off a three-hit shutout over Detroit last Sunday, was chased after giving up a two-run homer in the eighth to Evan Longoria that cut the Mariners lead to 7-4. The left-hander allowed four runs and five hits over 7 2-3 innings. "I felt really good out there," Elias said through an interpreter. "Im doing what Im capable of doing. Im working hard to keep that going." Elias struck out five and walked two. "I really liked what I saw today," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Probably left him in a little bit too long." Ackley hit a three-run double off Alex Cobb (1-4) during a four-run fifth that put the Mariners ahead 7-2. Willie Bloomquist added an RBI double in the inning. "Thats huge," Ackley said of getting Elias the five-run lead. "At point hes throwing the ball well anyway. To have that kind of insurance definitely helps him." Fernando Rodney, the former Rays closer, pitched the ninth to get his 17th save in his first appearance at Tropicana Field since joining the Mariners as a free agent in February. James Loney homered for the Rays, who had a stopped a 10-game losing streak by beating Seattle 4-0 Friday night. The Rays celebrated the life of senior adviser Don Zimmer before the game. Zimmer died Wednesday night at 83. Joe Torre, Jim Leyland and Tommy Lasorda, along with more than 20 family members were present. "It was very emotional," said McClendon, who played for Zimmer on the 1989 NL East champion Chicago Cubs. "I thought it was very on." Bloomquist had an RBI single and Endy Chavez hit a sacrifice fly during the fourth. Cole Gillespie hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot in the second. It was Gillespies first homer since Sept. 28, 2011, while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Seattle has won five of six. Cobb gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 0-3 in four starts since returning from a strained left oblique. "They had some really good at bats working and they just beat us up," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Just not Cobbs day." Loney had a solo shot and Ali Solis drove in a run with a sacrifce bunt as the Rays went ahead 2-1 in the second. NOTES: Ackley had two RBIs in his previous 16 games. ... Seattle 1B Justin Smoak (sore left leg) and OF Michael Saunders (sore right shoulder) were both out of the lineup. Smoak entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... The Rays designated reliever Josh Lueke for assignment and recalled RHP Kirby Yates from Triple-A Durham. Yates entered in the seventh and threw 1 1-3 shutout innings in his big league debut. ... Seattle 2B Robinson Cano singled in the fifth and has a 16-game road hitting streak. ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellckson (elbow) and C Ryan Hanigan (hamstring) started minor league rehab assignments with Single-A Charlotte. Hellickson gave up two hits in three shutout innings and Hanigan hit a two-run homer against Tampa. ... Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez (8-1) and Tampa Bay RHP Chris Archer (3-3) are Sundays scheduled starters. Anfernee Simons Blazers Jersey . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. Brandon Roy Jersey .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Brandon-Roy-Blazers-Jersey/ . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning. Terry Porter Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. Jusuf Nurkic Blazers Jersey . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster.BALTIMORE – Jose Reyes ran the bases while Casey Janssen threw a bullpen session at Oriole Park on Saturday afternoon. Both men are close to being ready to play in minor league rehabilitation games. This is the one time when manager John Gibbons cant wait to see his starting shortstop and his closer leave the team. "The plan is theyre probably going to fly to Florida (on Sunday)," said Gibbons. "I know Reyes will probably start playing a game on Monday. Casey … its probably Monday or Tuesday." Janssen simulated a game situation during his side session. He warmed up like he normally would and then had hitters stand in the batters box to provide a game-like feel. He estimates he threw 35 pitches in total. "I think I threw pretty much as hard as I could without facing a hitter," said Janssen. "There wasnt any holding back or any questioning is it going to hurt type of stuff." While Janssen feels the worst is behind him, including the pain of his abdominal strain, theres still something there, although he struggles to describe it. "I feel stuff," he said. "It doesnt hurt. They say youre going to feel stuff and as long as it doesnt hurt well keep on going forward and thats what Ive been doing. Ive been able to do everything theyve asked me to do to this point and the next part of the progress is a game." Reyes, like Janssen, simulated game situations on the base paths. He reported feeling "good," much the same as when he first ran sprints before Fridays game. The plan, at the moment, is for Reyes and Janssen to play their rehab games for Single-A Dunedin, due to weather concerns surrounding both higher minor league affiliates in Buffalo and New Hampshire. While no firm timetable is set for either players return to the big league team, the Blue Jays have six games scheduled between Minneapolis and Cleveland through to next weekend. The air is still cool in both cities at this time of year. "I dont care about that," said Reyes. "If Im ready to play in Cleveland Im going to play." Dealing with the shift Every time Adam Lind steps into the batters box, he looks up and sees an exaggerated defensive shift to his pull side. Lind wonders if the man sometimes credited with inventing the sport is rolling over in his grave. "They said it in spring training, what would Abner Doubleday think? "He wouldnt even recognize it," said Lind. Very rarely will you see hitters change their approach to deal with the shift, which is typically applied against the dead pull power hitters. If they run into one, theyll elevate the ball but if they hit the ball on the ground, the defence will scoop it up.dddddddddddd "It depends on the pitcher," said Lind. "If its someone that I dont feel, that Im consistently late with then I just try to hit it to the left side." "Sometimes you get them tinkering with it and trying to flip balls the other way, I mean it does you a favour in a lot of ways, it takes them out of what their game is," said manager John Gibbons. "The only thing, we have concerns at times doing it, there are a couple of guys out there that will lay down a bunt on you. They dont have to be good bunters. Say its a tight ball game, leading off an inning, not a one-run game but like a two-run game, you fear somebody might drop it down, it doesnt have to be a good bunt, they beat it out to get an inning going." In the scenario Gibbons just illustrated, youll see the shortstop cheat in on the grass to discourage the bunt. Colby Rasmus is another grip it and rip it left-hander in the Blue Jays lineup. He said in spring training he doesnt like to be considered a dead pull hitter anymore but old habits die hard. It used to be a hitter like Rasmus could get a read on the type of pitch and pitch location based on the defensive alignment but thats out the window with the shift. "I try not to even pay attention to it because then you start thinking about where theyre going to play you, where theyre going to pitch you, thinking maybe theyre going to shift so maybe theyre going to throw me in, thinking that Im just going to hit it into the shift and then they throw you everything away," said Rasmus. Lind says the part of the shift thats affected him most is when the opposition places its shortstop in line with the pitcher behind second base. On Friday night, against Chris Tillman in the second inning, Lind lined out to the shortstop, who positioned himself right where Lind hit the ball prior to the pitch. If its anytime earlier in the at-bat, the ball gets through. Lind understands. "Youve got to do it," he said. "Like, if you show patterns, whats the point of having the third baseman there if you never hit it there?" BB-Bautista Jose Bautista walked three more times on Saturday night, spiking his major league-leading total to 16 on the young season. "Theyre not going to give him anything to hit until Eddie gets going," said manager John Gibbons. "Right now, my guess, theyre going to make Eddie beat them. When he gets going, then its a little bit different." Encarnacion singled in the second inning and went 1-5 on Saturday night. Hes hitting .160 through the first 12 games and is still looking for his first home run of the season. ' ' '