Kritik und Anregungen » Series champions, are 51-57 after a 2-6 road tri

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb will take the mound in the big leagues on Friday for the first time in 23 months.Its been a long road back from Tommy John surgery for Cobb, who will face the Toronto Blue Jays in the series opener.Cobb hurt his elbow in last years spring training and had his surgery in May, hopeful he could make a summer return to the rotation. Instead of July, its September, so the return means that much more to him.It wasnt like it was smooth, Cobb told the Tampa Bay Times. Some people just pick up a ball and theyre like, OK, the pains gone. With me, it was like, this kind of hurts a little more than before I got the surgery.Cobbs rehab was longer than expected -- he had to be activated Monday per rehab guidelines, and hes in position to get five starts in September to give him confidence for a return to health.Cobb had an ERA under 3.00 in each of his last two seasons, posting a 10-9 mark with a 2.87 ERA in 2014 after going 11-3 with a 2.76 in 2013. Much has changed since his last outing in 2014 -- the Rays changed managers, and much of the lineup around him has changed as well.The Rays (56-76) come home having dropped four of six games on a road trip, and they face a Toronto team leading the American League East at 76-57 and having won five of six games. Tampa Bay actually has a 7-6 edge in the season series, although the Jays took two of three in the most recent series.Toronto has a new pitcher to throw at the Rays in left-hander Francisco Liriano, who was acquired from the Pirates. Hes 7-12 with a 5.22 ERA for the season, but in four starts since joining the Blue Jays, hes 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA. For his career against the Rays, hes 2/3 with a 4.93 ERA.The Blue Jays for now are moving forward with a six-man rotation, which is less taxing on key arms late in the season but takes starters out of the rhythm and the routine theyve kept for months. Theyre trusting their leaders on the call.If it helps us get to the World Series I could care less, 41-year-old R.A. Dickey told the Toronto Star on Wednesday. I just have to do a professional job of getting myself ready to pitch and do my job when its my turn.For this weekend at least, that challenge is having a first-place team beat a last-place team, something theyve failed to do more often than not this season.Toronto holds a two-game lead on Boston and a four-game advantage on Baltimore, so the margin of error between winning a division and missing the playoffs is as little as one bad series. Cheap College Basketball Jerseys . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Wholesale NCAA Basketball Jerseys . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. http://www.cheapcollegencaajerseys.com/ . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Cheap College Jerseys From China . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Cheap College Jerseys Football . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. TORONTO -- Francisco Lirianos first start for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday against the Kansas City Royals would be interesting enough under normal circumstances.The deadline trade to acquire him from the Pittsburgh Pirates is a gamble.The left-hander struggled this season with the Pirates, going 6-11 with a 5.46 ERA. The Blue Jays hope that being reunited with catcher Russell Martin will be a factor in turning around Liriano.Martin and Liriano worked well together with Pittsburgh in 2013-14. Liriano has a 2.92 ERA with Martin catching. I think were pretty much on the same page, Liriano said. We have a pretty good connection.Adding to the interest is that the start also comes during the on-going quandary of what to do with Aaron Sanchez, who has performed so well in his first full season as a major league starter that some in upper management are concerned about limiting his innings.A temporary compromise was reached Thursday when it was decided to go with a six-man rotation for the time being. The Blue Jays had said Sanchez would be going to the bullpen after his next start, a move that Martin and other players openly opposed.It takes some heat off Liriano for now. He is not being asked to replace a starter who is 11-1 with a 2.71 ERA. When general manager Ross Atkins visited Houston to clarify the situation with Sanchez, Liriano offered to go to the bullpen if necessary.Liriano still must show better than he did with the Pirates this season, however. Sanchez will start Saturday in the middle contest of the three-game series at Kauffman Stadium instead of Friday. Liriano is 6-5 with a 4.55 ERA in 17 games (14 starts) against the Royals.Atkins discussed the situation with the starting pitchers and found a favorable reception to using a six-man rotation instead of moving Sanchez to the bullpen.The biggest thing is input from different people after something was more concrete, or closer to it, and the fact that Francisco Liriiano was so open to everything, Atkins said.dddddddddddd Then the more we thought about the potential of a six-man rotation not just benefiting Aaron but benefiting the others in the rotation at this point in the season.The Blue Jays got the 15th win of the season Thursday from left-hander J.A. Happ in a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros, They won three in a row from the Astros after dropping the opener of the four-game series in 14 innings. The Blue Jays are 19-9 since July 1 and are a percentage point behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.The struggling Royals, who lost 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday on a three-run homer against reliever Joakim Soria in the eighth inning, start right-hander Dillon Gee (3-5, 4.66 ERA) on Friday. The bullpen is without Luke Hochevar and closer Wade Davis who are on the disabled list.Were to a point with our bullpen -- if we could get to a four-out save -- we might have used Kelvin (Herrera) there, manager Ned Yost said after the game Thursday. But we just never got there. ...Were just real thin down there.The Royals, the 2015 World Series champions, are 51-57 after a 2-6 road trip. They are 6-14 since the All-Star break.Gee makes his eighth start and 22nd appearance of the season. He suffered his third straight loss when the Texas Rangers defeated the Royals 5-3. He allowed seven hits (including two home runs), one walk and four runs in six innings against Texas, his longest outing of the season.He was with the New York Mets in 2012 when he made his only career start against the Blue Jays, a 6-5 win when he allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings.Just get us through five and keep us in the game, Yost said. Hes done that. Thats what we need from him. He got us through six innings last time and kept us in the game, and gave us a chance to win. ' ' '