Kritik und Anregungen » t poses too great of a challen

NEW YORK -- Mariano Rivera stood on the mound, looking down at his cleats. Somehow, hed let yet another lead slip away. Never before had baseballs all-time saves leader blown three straight chances. Silenced by a pair of Detroit home runs, the fans at Yankee Stadium soon perked up. Brett Gardner homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the New York Yankees over the Tigers 5-4 Sunday for their first series win in more than a month. Rivera has a record 643 saves, but had never failed three in a row in 1,087 previous relief appearances. His troubles began in Chicago, where he gave back a lead to the White Sox. "At least its the first time, you know what I mean?" Rivera said. "I just try to go out there and do my job. The last three opportunities, I havent done it. So we have to continue battling and get better. Have to keep working and eventually it will happen." Rivera blew both save chances in this series. Gardner provided the winning hit in both games. "Mos bailed us out a few times," Gardner said. "It didnt matter if it was me or somebody else, we just needed to get a win today and Im glad we made it happen." Rivera (3-2) gave up another homer to a limping Miguel Cabrera, plus a drive to Victor Martinez in the top of the ninth. The solo shots made it 4-all and turned Alex Rodriguezs first homer of the season into a footnote. But Gardner connected off Jose Veras (0-5). The feisty centre fielder flipped his batting helmet to A-Rod just before reaching the plate, then jumped into a cluster of teammates at home. "To Martinez, that ball was just laying right flat up. And also with Miguel," Rivera said. "Youre facing professional hitters. If you dont put the ball where you need to, youre going to get hit." On Friday night, Rivera gave up a two-run shot to Cabrera, who fouled two balls off his leg before launching the tying drive. Gardner won it in the 10th with a single. Manager Joe Girardi is hardly going to start worrying now about the 43-year-old pitcher generally regarded as the best closer ever. "Its not like you forget how to pitch in a week," Girardi said. "Its impossible." Alfonso Soriano homered for his 2,000th hit in the fourth inning. He connected off Justin Verlander, as did Rodriguez. "All great pitchers have one thing in common: they attack you and throw strikes," Rodriguez on why hes had success against Verlander -- four homers in 28 at-bats. Rodriguez, who has missed most of the year while coming back from hip surgery, hit a leadoff homer in the second. His 648th career home run pushed him past Stan Musial for fifth on the RBIs list with 1,951. "It was a tremendous homer by A-Rod," Pena said. "Justin Verlander threw a great inside pitch and he used his hands and sometimes you just have to credit the hitter." Lustily booed Friday night in his season debut at Yankee Stadium, he quickly turned fans around Sunday with a soaring shot to left field that made it 1-all. Rodriguez drove in one more run with a single down the first base line in the third. "Felt good to get the first one out of the way," Rodriguez said. "Today was a step in the right direction." Late lineup-addition Brayan Pena homered in the eighth off Yankees setup man David Robertson, cutting Detroits deficit to 4-2. Pena played for Alex Avila, who was placed on the 7-day concussion list after the game. Avila was hit in the mask by a foul ball Thursday but played Saturday. He was in the initial lineup Sunday. On a glorious August afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees avoided dropping to .500 for the first time since April 13, improving to 59-57. Taking two of three from the AL Central leaders gave New York its first series win July 5-7 after an 0-5-3 stretch. Gardner started a long-distance double play to end the eighth inning by leaping against the centre field wall to catch Torii Hunters fly and preserve the 4-2 lead. Prince Fielder had an RBI single in the first off Andy Pettitte, the eighth straight game the lefty allowed a run in the opening inning. Thats the longest such streak by a Yankees pitcher, according to STATS research back to 1920. Rodriguez made a stellar play in the eighth when he reached deep behind third base on Austin Jacksons grounder and threw to second to nail Jose Iglesias for the first out. Tigers manager Jim Leyland disputed the call, and TV replays appeared to back him up. Leyland was back on the field one batter later. Shaken after catching Hunters fly, Gardner flipped the ball to Soriano. The left fielder threw the ball to shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who tossed it to second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano easily tagged Austin Jackson, who stood confused on second base. "As I lowered my head as I rounded back to make sure I stepped on second base, I saw the ball on the ground so I thought it hadnt been caught," Jackson said. "Sometimes you have no way of telling whats going on behind you. It happens sometimes. He made a great catch." Half the team met Gardner at the dugout steps to congratulate the centre fielder. They all pounced on him after his homer. NOTES: Verlander gave up seven hits and four runs in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked one. ... Rodriguez was given an error in the third on Martinezs slow roller that he ran in for but couldnt scoop with his glove. ... Rodriguezs two hits were his first off a right-hander in 25 at-bats dating to last years playoffs. ... The Tigers recalled C Bryan Holaday from Triple-A Toledo after the game.Custom Dallas Stars Jerseys . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Cheap Stars 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. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Dallas Stars Gear .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw.Monday brings us a healthy slate of games with 18 teams in action. That means there are myriad ways to construct your lineups with high-priced stars and affordable value plays. Our experts are here to help you decide whom to use and fade.Todays panel includes ESPN Fantasys Kyle Soppe and Joe Kaiser, plus DFS expert Renee Miller.Players to build aroundKyle Soppe -- John Wall, Washington WizardsI gave him to you on Thursday with promises of a double-double, and he delivered with 23 points and 11 dimes! Given the time of year, Im thankful for him producing at the level that the numbers suggested possible, and Im going right back to it. Wall is a top-five player in terms of usage this season, a trend that Ill take to the bank against a Suns team that operates at the leagues fastest pace. Wall is a tough cover on the perimeter, and with him shooting 48.1 percent ... fuhgedaboutit. The Wizards are averaging 106.4 points over their last seven games, and if that trend continues, Wall is worth every penny tonight.Joe Kaiser -- Kevin Durant, Golden State WarriorsPaul George has already been ruled out for tonights game against the Warriors, leaving Glenn Robinson III to fill in, and that creates an opportunity for Durant to put up huge numbers. Its a night with several tantalizingly low-priced options, such as Robinson, Phoenix center Alan Williams and Dallas point guard Deron Williams, but I think theres a good chance all three could under-perform. Instead, Im paying up for Durant.Renee Miller -- Affordable wing: Josh Richardson, Miami Heat, and/or Glenn Robinson III, Indiana PacersOn big slates with a lot of star power, I often choose to start building my lineups around affordable players in good situations. I expected a better second start from Robinson last night, and he delivered in a big way in an overtime win over the Thunder. Tonights contest is another fast-paced, high-scoring affair with the visiting Warriors, and I think Robinson will have no problem exceeding value with George out again. Richardson has been terrific over the past three games in a utility role for the Heat, and theres no reason to expect him to slow down tonight. He gets a top matchup with Philadelphia, wheree he should enjoy a bump in pace and little resistance from the field.dddddddddddd Pairing these guys with top options like James Harden, Hassan Whiteside or Durant makes for a high-upside, but less-risky lineup than we might otherwise end up with.Players to fadeKyle Soppe -- DeMar DeRozan, Toronto RaptorsDeRozan has ascended into the elite class of scorers, and that is no fluke, but I want no part of him tonight. The Raptors are traveling and on a back-to-back; a rough combination that gets even more unappealing when you consider that the Clippers are among the most efficient defenses in basketball this season. Guards are shooting under 40 percent against the Clips this season, and even if DeRozan exceeds that mark, it is difficult to see him approaching the 50 percent plateau that hes been at for most of the season. Since the beginning of last season, DeRozan has topped 10 assist-plus-rebounds less than 20 percent of the time, so if his scoring stroke isnt there, youre looking at a poor investment. Look for DeRozan to continue to do big things for the Drakes this season, but dont count on him carrying your Monday DFS roster.Joe Kaiser -- Eric Gordon, Houston RocketsGordon has put up some decent numbers lately, but Detroit poses too great of a challenge to pay more than $5,000 for Gordon. The Pistons enter Monday ranked No. 7 in defensive efficiency and have a wiry athlete in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who can use his length to harass Gordon all night. Im going with other options at shooting guard. Even someone like the red-hot Nik Stauskas has a good chance to out-produce Gordon at a fraction of the cost.Renee Miller -- John Wall, Washington WizardsThe Wall fade for me is all about price and a different spending plan on tonights busy slate. Walls numbers reflect a high floor but also a relatively low ceiling, given his salary is among the top two priciest among point guards on both sites. I feel like I can get similar production for less with Kyle Lowry or Jeff Teague tonight and would prefer to spend up at other positions, like forward or center. ' ' '