MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins had the right formula for successfully playing through the cold: a guy named Kyle Gibson. Wholesale Football Jerseys China . Unfazed by the subfreezing temperature at first pitch, Gibson pitched a career-high eight scoreless innings for the Twins in a 7-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday that opened a day-night doubleheader. Gibson (3-0) took the mound for the coldest start for an outdoor game in Twins history, 31 degrees, and breezed through a Blue Jays lineup that totalled 20 runs in the previous two games. He walked one, struck out four and scattered four singles. All he was missing was the ninth. He lobbied for 10 more pitches, but 105 were plenty for the Twins. "This early in the season were not going to mess with that kids arm. But that was a great performance," manager Ron Gardenhire said. Gibson had a rough rookie year in 2013, but the 2009 first-round amateur draft pick has been the early stalwart of the rotation that stumbled through the first two turns. He lowered his ERA to 0.93. "Especially toward the end, I was thinking about going nine innings. I wasnt thinking about the cold," said Gibson, recalling a couple of snow-covered games in college at Missouri. His parents travelled from Indiana to watch him play Thursday, and the 6-foot-6 right-hander was throwing first-pitch strike after first-pitch strike. "I know theres some Twins fans that dont like the pitch to contact, but if my sinkers sinking then Im doing myself a disservice by throwing ball one," Gibson said. Josmil Pinto highlighted a five-run fifth inning against R.A. Dickey (1-3) with a two-run double, missing a grand slam by a few inches. Trevor Plouffe also had two RBIs. But the story of the game was Gibson. "His fastball was sneaky and jumping on you pretty good," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. Gibson went 2-4 with a 5.63 ERA in 10 starts last season but has earned his spot back. "He was confident, really confident, and he showed that from day one of spring training. It wasnt like he was out there on a mission. He was just going his thing," Gardenhire said after the Twins beat the Blue Jays for just the fifth time in their last 22 meetings. After wintry weather forced postponement of Wednesdays game, workers scrambled all morning to melt snow and ice from the seating areas, and the grounds crew dried the warning track. The Twins even sent out a company-wide memo asking for help. Slush still sat along the edges of the plaza behind right field, and the highest seating level was closed off because it wasnt cleared in time, giving those customers an unexpected upgrade. The announced paid attendance was 20,507, but the actual number of people present was probably half of that at most. The previous lowest first-pitch temperature the Twins played in was 32 degrees on May 2, 1967, at Metropolitan Stadium. Their home was the covered, climate-controlled Metrodome from 1982-09. Dickeys knuckleball was moving all over the place. Needing 112 pitches to get 13 outs, Dickey didnt finish the fifth inning when the Twins batted around. His ERA rose to 6.26, after he allowed seven hits, five walks and five runs while striking out four. Jason Kubel, Kurt Suzuki and Chris Colabello also drove in runs for the Twins. "They did a good job of laying off really good pitches. I thought I got squeezed a couple of pitches, but outside of that it was one of those days where you werent putting the whole game together," Dickey said, adding: "Im traditionally a slow starter so hopefully I can get on track next time." NOTES: The last Twins pitcher to win each of his first three starts as a member of the opening day rotation was Livan Hernandez in 2008. ... Dickey is 1-3 with a 6.58 ERA in six career starts against the Twins. ... The Twins recalled former Yankees SS Eduardo Nunez, acquired via trade last week, from Triple-A Rochester to play 3B for the second game as the 26th man. The Blue Jays added OF Anthony Gose from Triple-A Buffalo. Fake Football Jerseys From China . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Football Jerseys China .com Tours Nova Scotia Open. The 27-year-old Sloan, a former Texas-El Paso player from Calgary matched first-round leader Rodriguez at 10-under 132 on Ashburn Golf Clubs New Course. https://www.fakefootballjerseys.com/ .com) - Lloyd Sam struck in stoppage time on Wednesday as Red Bull New York hung on for a crucial 1-0 win over Atlantic Cup rivals D.TORONTO - Given the conditions, Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen said the game would be decided by "a scrappy goal or a moment of quality." Unfortunately Colorado (3-1-1) scored the scrappy goal while Toronto midfielder Kyle Bekker came oh so close to two late moments of brilliance Saturday. "To tell you the truth, in the second half I thought there was only going to be one team that was going to win that game," said Nelsen. "The cruelty of football isnt it when you hit the post and 30 seconds later they score at the other end." Former Toronto forward Edson Buddle decided the game with his 99th career MLS goal, from close range in the 77th minute, as the visiting Rapids edged an injury-ridden Toronto side 1-0 before an announced sellout of 22,591. Colorado, which had been on its heels earlier in the second half, took advantage of a Toronto defensive letdown to secure the three points. Toronto (3-2-0) was without five starters including star striker Jermain Defoe (hamstring) and midfielder Michael Bradley (quadricep and groin), whose combined salaries are almost US$13 million this season. Also missing were midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Alvaro Rey (both hamstrings) and central defender Doneil Henry (knee). "I think their depth was tested today," said Colorado defender Drew Moor. "Id be lying if I said when we saw the team sheet that it didnt make us a little more hungry." While Nelsen wanted to talk about those players who were on the pitch rather than the ones missing, he couldnt resist point out that any team would struggle without "five very influential players." "Especially a young team like us." Adding to Torontos woes was the fact that attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who was subbed out in the 67th minute, was walking with a limp after the game with what Nelsen called a muscle injury. Toronto plays in Dallas next weekend and then has a bye to regroup. The club could well opt to have some of the injured players skip the Dallas game to give them more time to recover. Bradley had been a question-mark for Saturday and failed to recover in time. Nelsen said Bradley faced being out for "several weeks, pushing on months" if he had played and aggravated his injuries. The star midfielder played for both the U.S and Toronto last week, with his body paying the price. Colorado was missing leading scorer Vicente Sanchez, who did not make the trip because his wife is expecting their first child. The drab game reflected the conditions: grey skies and a stiff wind blowing on a bumpy pitch. "There was only a few spells of decent soccer being played out there," said Colorado coach Pablo Mastroeni. "The rest of it was grit, rolling up your sleeves, second balls and battles. Thats what I said to the guys going in. This game is not going to be about soccer, its going to be about determination and will and fight and getting those second balls and shieldding and putting balls in dangerous spots. Replica Football Jerseys. " That is exactly how the goal happened. Austrian defender Thomas Piermayr found Dillon Serna in the penalty box with a long ball from the right flank, Serna drove it back into the box, Deshorn Brown got his head to it and the ball found its way back to Serna as the Toronto defence struggled to keep up. Serna passed to Dillon Powers who drove into the box, attracting two Toronto defenders before raking a short ball back to an unmarked Buddle in front Seconds earlier, Bekker had bent a free kick round the wall and off the goalpost. Bekker hit the woodwork again in stoppage time. Asked what he thought after hitting both free kicks, Bekker replied: "Goal." "I thought he was brilliant today," Nelsen said of the 23-year-old Canadian. "Absolutely brilliant, one of our standout players." Colorado had lost all six of its previous games at BMO Field against Toronto although it did win the MLS Cup here in 2010, beating FC Dallas. Torontos bench was young and green with 18-year-old Jordan Hamilton, 21-year-old Nick Hagglund, 22-year-old Gale Agbossoumonde, 23-year-old Ashtone Morgan, 24-year-old Joe Bendik and Andrew Wiedeman, and 25-year-old Ryan Richter. Just having Morgan on the bench was a surprise. The fullback was listed as being out with a hip flexor strain, which might explain why he took virtually no part in warmup. Nelsen said later Morgan could not have played, but was on the bench to be part of the team. The pitch was an improvement from the home opener three weeks ago but still cut up quickly. The bumpy surface and stiff cross-field wind did not help the quality of the game, with giveaways galore early on. Colorado looked for a patient buildup while Toronto opted for a more direct approach. Neither produced much of note although there were chances as the first half wore on with Colorado recovering from a slow start to come back at the home side. Gabriel Torres shot wide and Buddle was stopped in close by Toronto keeper Julio Cesar. At the other end, a header from a sliding Gilberto was just wide of the post after a nice cross from Mark Bloom. But for a team missing so many regulars, Toronto kept it together. Bekker looked calm in central midfield and his influence began to grow in the game. Toronto began to press in the second half. A Mark Bloom cross flew invitingly through the Colorado box. Then a De Rosario header popped just over the bar as Toronto pressed around the 60-minute mark. Three former TFC players started for Colorado — Nick LaBrocca, Nathan Sturgis, and Buddle — with Marvell Wynne on the bench. The 32-year-old Buddle played just 10 games for Toronto in 2007, failing to score. "Bitterly disappointing," was Toronto captain Steven Caldwells assessment of the game. "We just feel if we put in performances like that, were going to win a lot more games than were going to lose," he added. ' ' '  |
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