ove made three straight 3s to start the game as Minnesota opened

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers are in rare territory, putting up jaw-dropping numbers while piling up victories and commanding a 7 1/2-game lead in the NL West. Ahead or behind, against NL or AL teams, the Dodgers are rolling merrily along, owning an eight-game winning streak and undefeated in their last 16 series. They open a seven-game road trip at Philadelphia on Friday, when theyll try to equal the clubs longest winning streak since winning nine in a row from May 9-18, 2010. "Were coming in with great attitude and a little bit of swag," utility player Nick Punto said. That wasnt the case nearly two months ago for a team whose $215 million opening day payroll carried huge expectations. They were 30-42 on June 22 and manager Don Mattingly was on the hot seat. Since that date, the Dodgers own the majors best record at 40-8. Its the franchises best 48-game run in the modern era and the tops in the majors since the 1942 Cardinals went 41-7 from Aug. 11-Oct. 1. Los Angeles is 70-50 overall. "It doesnt matter who theyre throwing or what lineups Donnie has made," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "We have confidence." It shows, especially in one-run games. The Dodgers have won a franchise-record 12 in a row, going 19-11 in such contests this season. They havent lost a one-run game since June 10 against Arizona. The team rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Mets 5-4 on Wednesday. A franchise that has missed the playoffs for the last three years and hasnt been in the World Series since winning it in 1988 has been installed by Las Vegas bookmakers as the favourite to win it all. "Theyre playing great defence, theyre pitching like crazy and theyre coming up with big hits," said Mets manager Terry Collins, whose team got swept on Wednesday. "And you dont have to play much better if youre doing all those things." Five reasons the Dodgers have turned themselves into a first-place team: 1. PUIG AND RAMIREZ: The teams improbable run began about three weeks after outfielder Yasiel Puig got called up in early June. He leads the club with a .368 batting average, and has 11 homers and 27 RBIs. The 22-year-old Cuban defector has imbued the Dodgers with a passion, on and off the field, that they sorely lacked to start the season. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez is close behind, hitting .360 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs. He returned Wednesday for the first time since hurting his shoulder against the Cubs on Aug. 4. 2. PITCHING: Ace Clayton Kershaw and veteran Zack Greinke are leading the rotation, with South Korean Hyun-Jin Ryu putting up solid numbers, too. Kershaws 11-7 record is merely average due to a lack of run support (the team has scored just 10 runs in those losses), but his stellar ERA of 1.88 leads the majors. Greinke is 7-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 10 starts since June 22, when the Dodgers tied for the fourth-worst record in baseball. Ryu is quietly making a bid for rookie of the year, with the left-hander ranking among the NL leaders in wins (12), winning percentage (12-3, .800) and ERA (2.91). 3. DEEP BENCH: The bench includes veterans who have played on championship teams but now dont get to play every day. Punto filled in for Ramirez and hit .450. Jerry Hairston Jr., Skip Schumaker and Juan Uribe serve as reliable pinch hitters or double switch candidates. Their voices have gotten louder in the clubhouse as theyve grown comfortable in their roles, even if its just providing comic relief at times. "Theres a lot of characters in this clubhouse," Punto said. "Theres a lot of ribbing going on all day long." 4. BULLPEN: Closer Kenley Jansen has stabilized the bullpen, converting 12 consecutive save chances although he allowed a run Tuesday against the Mets for the first time since July 23. The reliever corps is 11-1 with 18 saves in 19 opportunities since June 22. Ronald Belisario, Brandon League, new Dodger Carlos Marmol and Paco Rodriguez have all played key roles in setting up Jansen. 5. WAITING IN THE WINGS: The Dodgers have extra firepower just waiting to join them. Newly signed reliever Brian Wilson should be with the club by the weekend after rehabbing in the minors. Slugger Matt Kemp could be back by the end of the month from a sprained left ankle. Hes played in just 11 games during the Dodgers historic run, and only one since the All-Star break because of injuries that have resulted in three stints on the disabled list. Cheap Shoes From China . Russia has spent about $51 billion to deliver the Sochi Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, making them the most expensive games ever, even though as a winter event it hosts many fewer athletes than summer games do. Wholesale Shoes Authentic . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. https://www.wholesaleshoesusa.com/ . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Discount Shoes For Sale .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . He left in the 4th inning of Saturdays game against the Tigers after experiencing tightness. Reyes and the team still hope that he will be ready for Opening Day in Tampa Bay in one week.OAKLAND, Calif. - Stephen Curry had 32 points and 15 assists, and the reeling Golden State Warriors rallied from 19 points down in the first half to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-120 on Monday night. After learning that centre Andrew Bogut could miss extended time with a fractured right rib, the Warriors (50-31) withstood a strong start by Kevin Love to secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They finish the regular season Wednesday at Denver before beginning the post-season at the Los Angeles Clippers or Oklahoma City this weekend. Love scored 22 of his 40 points in the first quarter. He finished with 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Timberwolves (40-41), who will need to win at Utah on Wednesday to clinch the franchises first non-losing season since 2004-05. Draymond Green added 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 20 for the Warriors, who were playing their fourth game in five nights — and after learning of a big blow to their chances of advancing in the playoffs. The team announced before the game that an X-ray on Bogut revealed a fractured right rib. The injury could keep Golden States starting centre out for the start of the playoffs — and possibly all of the post-season. The Warriors also overcame a nothing-too-lose Timberwolves team that has been surging to the finish. In April alone, Minnesota has won at Miami and at Memphis and also beaten San Antonio and Houston at home. In the end, the Warriors cleaned up their mistakes and made all the big plays that the Timberwolves coulldnt.dddddddddddd Minnesota committed 21 turnovers, while the Warriors had 15. After Loves 3-pointer moved Minnesota within three, the Warriors leaned on Curry once again. He banked in a left-handed floater and hit a step-back 3-pointer over Corey Brewer during a 6-0 spurt to put the Warriors up 126-116 with 1:25 to play. Curry walked to the bench during the timeout flexing his muscles as the white-shirt wearing sellout of 19,596 roared to their feet in the final home game of the season. Love and Curry controlled most of the game, especially in the first half. Love made three straight 3s to start the game as Minnesota opened a 16-2 lead behind his could-not-miss stroke. He finished the first quarter with 22 points and eight rebounds to put the Timberwolves up 42-28. After Minnesota went ahead 51-32 early in the second quarter, Curry brought the Warriors back. Curry capped a 23-4 spurt with consecutive 3-pointers before finding a cutting Thompson for a layup to tie the score at 55. Minnesota moved ahead 64-62 at the half. The teams traded scores for most of the third quarter. The Warriors built a 104-96 lead early in the fourth quarter and held off the Timberwolves in the closing minutes. NOTES: The Warriors last won 50 games when they finished the 1993-94 season with a 50-32 record. ... Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf sat out to rest his right knee. ... The Warriors set the second-highest total attendance in franchise history for the season with 803,436 fans. The team sold out all 41 home games and has a streak of 79 consecutive sellouts. ' ' '