Kritik und Lob » You might think the Daytona 500 winner would

TORONTO -- Mark Buehrle was a man in a hurry. The Blue Jays starting pitcher had a Tim McGraw concert he wanted to attend with his wife Thursday night, so he made quick work of the Houston Astros and got on his way. In tossing a two-hit shutout, Buehrle led the way as Toronto ended its seven-game losing streak with a much-needed 4-0 victory at Rogers Centre over the team with the worst record in baseball. Buehrle insisted his postgame plans werent on his mind as he mowed down the Astros with remarkable efficiency. The lefty threw 108 pitches over nine innings, striking out nine and wrapping things up in a clean 2 hours and 18 minutes. "He was just marvelous," Adam Lind said. "He threw the heck out of that baseball tonight." Buehrles domination couldnt have come at a better time for the struggling Blue Jays, whose bullpen had been taxed during a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mixing his pitches and keeping counts low, the 34-year-old rarely got into trouble and dazzled the Astros. "It was typical Buehrle: When hes on, when hes hitting spots, when hes got that good change-up," manager John Gibbons said. "I thought he did a really good job of hitting some of the right-handers inside tonight to keep them honest. It came along at the time when we definitely needed it because our bullpens kind of tired." The bullpen never stirred because Buehrle (6-7) was always in control. He didnt allow a hit until Justin Maxwells single with two outs in the fifth, and he didnt flinch after J.D. Martinezs double in the seventh as the Blue Jays clung to a one-run lead. "I had everything working," Buehrle said. "Obviously velocity wasnt there. I was making pitches when I had to, movement was good and keeping the guys off balance. ... It was just one of those days that I had everything going for me." Perhaps because he didnt overthink the ramifications -- either of the Blue Jays skid or their fatigued relievers, who combined to throw 13 1/3 innings in the previous three games. Gibbons made it clear his team needed a strong outing from Buehrle, but that didnt cause undue stress. "In your mind you know that the bullpens been worn out and been used a lot," Buehrle said. "But if they have 10 days off, Im going out there trying to go as deep in the game as I can. If the guys say, Hey I need to get an inning today, Im still trying to go seven, eight innings every time Im out there. I dont put any more pressure or look at the situation like that." Pressure could have come from pitching in a tight game, as Houston starter Erik Bedard managed to hold the Blue Jays to just one run on three hits through five innings. Limiting the damage to an RBI double by Edwin Encarnacion, the Navan, Ont., native was forced to exit after 95 pitches, and Toronto took advantage of reliever Lucas Harrell to provide Buehrle some insurance. Jose Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind and Maicer Izturis combined to put three runs on the board in the seventh. Buehrle didnt need the extra run support, but it sure didnt hurt, especially one night after the Blue Jays failed to build on their lead and watched it slip away. "We saw what happened last night when we couldnt score an additional insurance run, but thats baseball," said Lind, whose opposite-field double drove in Bautista. "It just makes things a lot easier tonight for our starting pitcher or your bullpen when you can add one or two extra runs." Izturis two-run double made it 4-0, more than enough of a cushion for Buehrle, who rarely even got to a full count against an Astros lineup that features left fielder Chris Carter as its only real power threat and shortstop Jonathan Villar as its only hitter above .300. But he didnt want this victory to be discounted because of the opponent. "Im sure theres going to be a lot of people saying that obviously this is the worst team in baseball and record-wise theyre not very good," Buehrle said. "But in my mind theyre still big-league hitters. If you make a mistake, theyre going to make you pay for it. I did make a few mistakes -- I got lucky and got away with them." Nine strikeouts were the most for Buehrle since 12 on April 16, 2005. But he didnt react like picking up Torontos first win since July 13 was anything special. "I think it was just like any other game weve won," Buehrle said. "I dont think its any bigger that weve lost seven in a row and we finally won a game as opposed to winning three or four in a row. Guys were happy, musics playing." Minutes later Buehrle was off to watch McGraw, even though he didnt request that music to play in celebration. "He couldve played whatever he wanted tonight," Lind said. Air Max 720 Uomo Saldi .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Air Max 97 Silver Saldi http://www.airmaxscarpescontate.it/ .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Nike Air Max Sconti . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Air Max 90 Outlet Italia . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The quarterfinal round -- or as NASCAR calls it, the Round of 12 -- of the Chase for the Sprint Cup could be called the half-and-half round.Half of the field of 12 are former champions: Matt Kenseth (2003), Kurt Busch (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013), Brad Keselowski (2012), Kevin Harvick (2014) and Kyle Busch (2015).Half of the field of 12 have never won a title: Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Austin Dillon.Elliott and Dillon have never even won a Cup race. Johnson leads all drivers with 77 career wins.By manufacturer, its fairly even: Five Toyotas, five Chevrolets and two Fords.Heres a look at their chances of advancing to the Round of 8 as every driver left starts even with 3,000 points:1. Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row Racing No. 78 ToyotaFirst-round wins: 2First-round points: 2,131 (1st)Why he will advance: Simple. Hes been the most dominant driver as of late, having won three of the past five races.Why he wont: Remember all those near-wins and bad luck he had in the first 24 races? It can return in an instant.2. Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas Racing No. 4 ChevroletFirst-round wins: 1First-round points: 2,075 (12th)Why he will advance: The closer knows how to get it done.Why he wont: This team certainly isnt immune to bad pit stops, mechanical failures and a fuel-mileage miscalculation.3. Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs Racing No. 18 ToyotaFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,125 (2nd)Why he will advance: This team is quietly running well. Wait, that was last years comment at this time. Still works.Why he wont: There always is a chance of getting caught up in a mess at Talladega, and no one knows that better than Busch, who in 2014 seemed comfortably in the semifinal round only to get turned from behind while running in the back.4. Matt KensethJoe Gibbs Racing No. 20 ToyotaFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,114 (4th)Why he will advance: Kenseth is determined not to have a repeat of 2015. And he has a better chance to win Talladega than a year ago.Why he wont: This team has been streaky this year with three or four top-10 races and then three-race stretches outside the top-10. He posted top-10 finishes in each race of the first round.5. Joey LoganoTeam Penske No. 22 FordFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,108 (5th)Why he will advance: He wont do anything to beat himself.ddddddddddddWhy he wont: Ford is just not there this year.6. Chase ElliottHendrick Motorsports No. 24 ChevroletFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,106 (6th)Why he will advance: He didnt crack under the pressure of the first round, so no reason to think he will this round. He had top-10s at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega earlier this year.Why he wont: Sometimes experience matters, and in this situation, it does.7. Brad KeselowskiTeam Penske No. 2 FordFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,125 (3rd)Why he will advance: He knows when to make the move he needs at the critical moment.Why he wont:?He thinks he knows when to make the move he needs at the critical moment -- and it costs him.8. Kurt BuschStewart-Haas Racing No. 41 ChevroletFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,093 (10th)Why he will advance: Busch has a way of getting the job done when you dont think he will.Why he wont: This team has not seemed to capture the strength and speed that Harvick has.9. Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing No. 11 ToyotaFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,103 (8th)Why he will advance: Hes done it twice before.Why he wont: You might think the Daytona 500 winner would have an advantage at Talladega, but he finished 31st and 17th, respectively, in the two restrictor-plate races since that big win.10. Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs Racing No. 19 ToyotaFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,095 (9th)Why he will advance: Edwards and crew chief Dave Rogers have enough experience to rebound from a poor first round.Why he wont: Because of their experience, Edwards and Rogers will out-think themselves and tune themselves out of races.11. Jimmie JohnsonHendrick Motorsports No. 48 ChevroletFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,105 (7th)Why he will advance: He has returned pretty much to form, having led 208 laps in the first round.Why he wont: The team beat itself twice in the first round and recovered. It wont be so easy in this round to overcome errors.12. Austin DillonRichard Childress Racing No. 3 ChevroletFirst-round wins: 0First-round points: 2,085 (11th)Why he will advance: Sometimes destiny just goes your way.Why he wont: Hasnt had the performance necessary to show he will be in the top eight. ' ' '