BOSTON - Max Scherzer will have to make at least one more start before reaching 20 victories. Joe Nieuwendyk Jersey . Bostons Jon Lester outdueled Scherzer as the Red Sox edged Detroit 2-1 on Tuesday night, ending the Tigers right-handers chance to become just the second pitcher to open a season with a 20-1 record. "Weve got two of the top teams in the American League. Weve got great pitchers on both sides going at it. This is whats going to happen," Scherzer said. "Unfortunately I made one mistake and it cost us." Will Middlebrooks hit a two-out single in the fifth, driving in the only runs Boston scored all game. It was just enough offence for Lester (13-8), who allowed one earned run and eight hits with a season-high nine strikeouts and no walks over seven innings. Scherzer (19-2), who won his first 13 decisions, lost for the first time since July 13 when the Texas Rangers beat him 7-1. On Tuesday, he allowed two runs and five hits, three of which came in the fifth inning. He struck out eight and walked three. "He pitched terrific. Early on, I thought he was as sharp as hes been all year," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. Roger Clemens is the only pitcher to start off at 20-1 and ended up 20-3 with the New York Yankees in 2001. Rube Marquard was the only other pitcher with a 19-1 record, but lost his next decision in 1912 with the New York Giants. Jose Iglesias doubled in a run in the second in the matchup of division leaders. Koji Uehara pitched the ninth for his 17th save in 20 opportunities and extended his scoreless streak to 25 innings as Boston won for the eighth time in 10 games. The Tigers lost for the second time in six games despite the return of Miguel Cabrera, who missed three games with abdominal and groin problems. Last years Triple Crown winner and this years AL leader in batting average and RBIs went 0 for 4. Scherzer rebounded from his worst start of the season before leaving with runners at first and second and no outs in the eighth. In his previous outing, he avoided his second loss when Torii Hunter hit a game-ending three-run homer for a 7-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Scherzer allowed a season-high six runs in five innings. On Tuesday, he struck out the side in the first, allowed a single in the second and then pitched two perfect innings. He started the fifth by striking out Mike Carp before Jonny Gomes singled. Stephen Drew followed with a ground-rule double that went into Bostons bullpen in right-centre field on one hop. Scherzer struck out David Ross for the second out, but Middlebrooks then put Boston ahead 2-1 with a single to centre. "Its how you pitch with runners on base," Scherzer said. "I was able to get a big strikeout in that situation, but I wasnt able to get out of that inning and thats what cost the game." The Tigers got base runners against Lester in four of the first six innings, but he worked out of three of those jams. In the second, Omar Infante singled and reached third on a two-out single by Brayan Pena. Iglesias then lined a double to left-centre that drove in Infante, but Pena was thrown out easily when he tried to score. Lester retired the next seven batters, four on strikeouts, before Pena reached first on a fielding error by third baseman Middlebrooks with one out in the fifth. Iglesias struck out before singles by Austin Jackson and Hunter loaded the bases. But Cabrera grounded to shortstop Drew for a force out at second. "He was totally different than the first time we faced him," Hunter said. "He was a little stronger. He was the Jon Lester of old." Detroit threatened again in the sixth when Prince Fielder singled and took second on a one-out single by Infante. But Lester struck out Matt Tuiasosopo for the third time and retired Pena on a fly out. NOTES: Boston starters have allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of its past 14 games. ... Detroits Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the eighth. ... Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury missed the game with a sore thumb. ... Rick Porcello (11-7) pitches for Detroit against Ryan Dempster (7-9) in the finale of the three-game series on Wednesday night. Mike Vernon Flames Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Sean Monahan Flames Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4.http://www.hockeyflamesfanshop.com/ . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. PORTLAND, Ore. -- The semifinal victory over the rival Seattle Sounders was barely over when Portland Timbers supporters started chanting "Beat Salt Lake!" Making their first trip to the playoffs, the Timbers held off the late-charging Sounders 3-2 Thursday night to advance to Major League Soccers Western Conference final. The Timbers, who won the semifinal series against the rival Sounders 5-3 on aggregate, will face Real Salt Lake in the first of the two-leg conference final on Sunday in Salt Lake. RSL defeated the two-time defending MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Thursday night to win the series 2-1 on aggregate. "Now were locked in," Timbers midfielder Will Johnson said. "Were in the zone." The victory extended Portlands winning streak at Jeld-Wen Field to 16 games. The Timbers went 11-1-5 at home in the regular season with their lone loss on March 9 to Montreal. They had an MLS record 11 shutouts at home this season. Portland pressured Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning from the start. Rodney Wallace booted a shot that went just wide in the third minute, and Darlington Nagbe came close but went wide again in the 15th. Portland broke through when Johnson converted a penalty kick in the 29th minute to go up 1-0. Diego Valeri, who had appeared to injure his shin when he was fouled hard by Seattle defender Marc Burch, came back a few minutes later to score from a seemingly impossible angle just before the break. Valeri, who blew kisses to the crowd after his goal, was Portlands top scorer this season with 10 goals and 13 assists. "We were hoping to get out of the first half at 0-0," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. "That one coming right before halftime, the goal right before halftime, the goal right after halftime, is what killed us at the end of the day. For the first 45 minutes, hats off to them, they were much better than us." Futty Danso added a header for Portland in the 47th minute. The Sounders put up a fight, and DeAndre Yedlins goal in the 74th minute avoided the shutout. Eddie Johnson aadded another three minutes later to close the gap. Miikka Kiprusoff Flames Jersey. The Sounders have been to the playoffs in each of the last five seasons. The Timbers, who joined MLS in 2011, are making their first trip. "Were getting closer," Portland coach Caleb Porter said. "And this team genuinely believes we have a realistic shot at this." The intense rivalry between the two clubs dates to 1975 when both were part of the North American Soccer league. For nearly a decade the teams have battled with the Vancouver Whitecaps for the supporter-created Cascadia Cup. While it was sweet to defeat the Sounders, Johnson said the Timbers didnt pay much attention to the hype. "To us, it was just another team that was in our way of getting to the next round," Johnson said. In the opening game on Saturday in Seattle, Ryan Johnson flicked in a header early in the first half and Nagbe added a goal in the second for the Timbers. Osvaldo Alonso scored late for the Sounders, who needed to win Thursday by at least two goals to become the fourth team to accomplish the comeback since the league went to the two-leg, aggregate-goal format for its conference semifinals in 2003. Seattle was without forward Lamar Neagle due to yellow card accumulations, but Yedlin started despite an ankle injury and forward Obafemi Martins was listed as a reserve after struggling with a groin injury. The Timbers finished the regular season in first place in the Western Conference at 14-5-15 overall. Their 23-point improvement from last season is the biggest turnaround in MLS history. The Sounders, who were 15-12-7, defeated the Colorado Rapids in the knockout round to advance to the semifinals. Schmid said he was aware that some Seattle supporters were calling for a coaching change. "I dont want to walk away. I know theres probably people out there that would like me to walk away," he said. "I think theres a good base of talent, theres a good base of people we can work with next year, but theres improvements, and theres changes we have to make." Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap Soccer Jerseys ' ' '
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