Gäste Forum » Olympics will touch the people struggling to

HOUSTON -- R.A. Dickeys knuckleball was working Tuesday night, and the Blue Jays got just enough offense to pull out a win.Dickey threw seven solid innings, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion homered and Toronto beat the Houston Astros 2-1.Dickey (8-12) allowed a run and six hits with five strikeouts.A lot of swing and miss, Toronto manager John Gibbons said. He had good life on his knuckleball. Its one of those things that it comes and goes with him. He was aggressive with it and he threw a ton of strikes. Thats the key.He had allowed 18 runs -17 earned -- over his last three starts, all losses.Dickey said he was on top of a lot of knuckleballs Tuesday night, with different movement and different speeds.Ive been feeling great, Dickey said. Ive been feeling strong. My knuckleball velocities have been great, and I have been able to change speeds a lot. I think one of the differences tonight was fairly dramatic for me was just my command with it.Bautista hit his 300th career homer in the third to put Toronto up 1-0.Its always a friendly reminder that youve been doing this a long time and enjoyed some success, Bautista said about the milestone. You get happy about that. No doubt, but right now I think we have more important things to worry about. Ill get to enjoy that in the offseason.Encarnacion launched his 29th home run to lead off the fourth -- a monstrous shot that bounced off the railroad tracks at Minute Maid Park before landing in left field.Danny Barnes pitched the eighth before Jason Grilli pitched the ninth for his second save with Toronto and his fourth overall. The win snapped Torontos eight-game losing streak at Houston.Evan Gattis cut the lead to 2-1 with an RBI single in the seventh. Jose Altuve had three hits for Houston, which lost for the fourth time in five games.We have been in an offensive lull for a few games now, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. Obviously, Dickey had his good knuckleball going tonight, and his ball was moving all over the place. The hitters were coming back and remarking on how much action he had on his pitches.Lance McCullers (6-5) allowed two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings before leaving with discomfort in his right elbow. He will be evaluated Wednesday.We dont really know, McCullers said about the injury. Were just going to follow protocol and take it step by step and see where we are tomorrow. I felt a little discomfort, and out of precaution, I just had to get out of there.McCullers was replaced by Joe Musgrove, who struck out eight in 4 1/3 shutout innings. The eight strikeouts tied a major league record for strikeouts by a reliever making his big league debut set by Barry Jones for the Pirates on April 20, 1986.TRAINERS ROOMBlue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki (thumb) swung off a tee Tuesday and was feeling better, Gibbons said.Astros: RHP Luke Gregerson was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 28 with a left oblique strain. The Astros recalled IF A.J. Reed from Triple-A Fresno. ... OF Carlos Gomez (right hamstring) was back in the lineup Tuesday after missing the last four games. He went 1 for 4.ROSTER MOVESBlue Jays: Toronto recalled RHP Mike Bolsinger, who was acquired Monday from the Dodgers, and Barnes from Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays optioned INF Ryan Goins and RHP Bo Schultz to Buffalo.Astros: Houston will recall RHP James Hoyt from Triple-A Fresno on Wednesday, and RHP Doug Fister will go on the three-day paternity list.UP NEXTBlue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (6-4) will look for his second straight win Wednesday in the third of four games against the Astros. Estrada allowed four runs in his last outing Friday against Baltimore, the most runs he had allowed since May 14 when he was tagged for five runs.Astros: RHP Collin McHugh (7-7) will look to rebound after being tagged for eight runs on 10 hits in 1 2/3 innings Friday at Detroit.Maury Wills Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Julio Urias Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/685h-willie-davis-jersey-dodgers.html .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Enrique Hernandez Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Dennis Santana Dodgers Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm.ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Over the next few weeks, after long days of training camp on the practice fields of Missouri Western State University, Cairo Santos will return to his dorm room and hunker down in front of a TV.He will flip the channel to the Rio Olympics and get lost in the pageantry.You see, the only Brazilian playing in the NFL is as eager as anybody to see what kind of show his country puts on this August. The kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs knows better than most the many hurdles that have been overcome and the opportunity that Brazil has on the world stage.Unfortunately, Brazil has had that image of corruption for such a long time, Santos said in an interview with The Associated Press. But we are a country that has a lot of potential to be a great country, and were a country thats fighting to be on the right track.The run-up to the Rio Olympics has been dominated by negative news: organized doping by Russian athletes, fears over the Zika virus, polluted water, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, venue and housing issues, a noticeable uptick in crime across the seaside city.Many of these issues, Santos said, have been part of Brazilian life long before Rio was awarded the first Olympics in South America. Its just that now the worlds attention is on the city, a glossy facade portrayed by tour operators has been pulled back to reveal a less savory underbelly.Unemployment is a problem. So is homelessness, organized crime and other social issues.Security is the main concern, said Santos, who spent time this past offseason in Rio and Sao Paulo, where his family lives and some of the Olympic soccer matches will take place.I wouldnt suggest being by yourself, at night especially, he said. The Olympic villages, near Copacabana and stuff, theres Olympic sites everywhere. Thats where the action is. Just being around there is the best place, where the police will be -- where the crowd will be.Like most Brazilians, Santos grew up playing soccer. He didnt start playing football until he moved to Florida as a foreign exchange student and his high school needed a kicker, and then he played the Maddeen video game so he could learn the rules.ddddddddddddHe was so good at kicking oblong balls through uprights that he earned a scholarship to Tulane.After winning the Lou Groza Award as the nations best college kicker, Santos was signed by Kansas City. The 24-year-old went to training camp in 2014 and competed against Ryan Succop, the most accurate kicker in Chiefs history, before eventually winning the starting job.In his first two seasons, he has made 55 of 67 field-goal attempts and missed just two extra points.Santoss success has quickly endeared him to Kansas City fans, but it also has made him a hero in Brazil. Very few people follow the NFL, but those who manage to catch games on satellite TV generally root for the Chiefs because of their kicker.Santos was mobbed everywhere he went during his trip home this offseason: his elementary school in Brasilia, the local TV stations where he was interviewed, his first Cairo Camp in Sao Paulo.He even hobnobbed with Brazilian mixed martial arts star Jose Aldo.Most of his trips took him to the glitzy areas of Brazil, but Santos knows well what the living conditions are like in the many slums -- called favelas -- that dot the countryside.He wonders how much of the Olympics will touch the people struggling to make ends meet.Those images probably wont show up when he flips on the TV at night at training camp. Instead, he will see the best of Rio -- Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, the panoramic vistas.Asked what he is most interested in, Santos gave a predictable answer: Im always curious about the soccer team. Theyve never gotten gold. Hopefully redeem ourselves from the World Cup fiasco (where Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the semifinals, then lost the third-place match to the Netherlands).But Im also excited to see how theyll deal with having the entire worlds attention on us, Santos said, and how were going to organize such a beautiful event like that. Its a good opportunity for our country to grow and change our image. ' ' '