Baltimore, Maryland August 19, 2014 - After the Orioles salvaged a key win on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, after dropping the first two games of the series, they blew into Chicago Monday night and whacked the Chisox, 8-2. Bud Norris earned his eleventh win against seven losses, and J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and Jonathan Schoop all homered to lead the Birds. With the Yankees and Blue Jays both idle, the Baltimore lead is now 7 and one-half over New York, 8 over Toronto and 10 and one-half over Tampa Bay. On Sunday, Kevin Gausman gave up only one run and two hits in six strong innings, and a bullpen trio of Darren O'Day, Andrew Miller and Zach Britton surrendered no runs or hits over the last three innings, and the Birds got critical RBI hits from J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis, and insurance home runs from Steve Pearce and Jonathon Scope to beat Cleveland, 4-1. The Orioles actually trailed in the game, 1-0, when they failed to score in a third inning in which they produced two doubles, and then the Indians pushed across a run in the fourth. But Baltimore struck for two runs in the sixth, thanks to Hardy's two-out single, followed by Davis' second double of the game. The Oriole strong man led off the third with a double but managed to get picked off the base when the next hitter, Nick Hundley, smoked a line drive that induced Davis to run with the crack of the bat. But Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis caught the batted ball and easily doubled up Davis. Pearce homered in the seventh to increase the Baltimore lead to two runs, and Schoop's blast in the ninth to straight-away center further padded the Oriole lead. Baltimore now moves to Chicago for something that is still a baseball rarity: two consecutive series in the same city. Baltimore plays three against the White Sox starting Tuesday, and three more against the Cubs beginning Friday.
The Premier League started over the weekend, and the long-awaited showdown between powerful Chelsea and newly promoted Burnley produced a whale of a game. On a cold night at the started of a very cold week, the homestanding Claret, playing at jam-packed Turf Moor, grabbed the lead in the 14th minute when Scott Arfield launched a rocket past the visitor's keeper, Thibaut Courtois. Sadly for the 20,899 fans packed sardine-like inside the historic venue, the Burnley lead last only three minutes. Chelsea leveled the affair on a goal by Diego Costa (later booked controveially for a dive). Four minutes after that, the Blues had the lead when Andre Schurrle beat Tom Heaton. Before the shot made it to the net it nicked one Burnley defender and went through the legs of another. And thirteen minutes after that, Chelsea scored a third goal on a shot by Branislav Ivanovic. After that, Heaton and his defensive mates stabilized and throughout the smartly played second half Burnley took numerous shots trying to edge back in. It didn't happen, however, prompting Sean Dyche to remind fans that the season is a marathon and this but the first step. The best opportunity that the Claret had to get within a goal was when Arfield intercepted a clearing kick attempted by Chelsea's Gary Cahill and drilled a slicing shot that Courtois saved with extreme effort.
Burnley will wait only until Saturday to get back in action. Then, they are to take the drive to Wales to play the lads from Swansea City, a winner in week one against Manchester United. Terrific, right? Three days after that, the Claret open their try at the Capital One Cup when they collide with Sheffield Wednesday. In weekend action, Leicester City made their return to the Premier a memorable one, battling powerful Everton to a 2-2 draw. Another upset saw Swansea beating Manchester United, 2-1. Also, Manchester City beat back Newcastle, 2-0; Liverpool upended Southhampton, 2-1, Hull ruined QPR's return to the Premier, 1-0; Aston Villa stopped Stoke, 1-0; Sunderland and West Bromwich battled to a 2-2 draw; Tottenham Hotspur stopped West Ham, 1-0; and Arsenal opened with a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace. In the Championship League, Charlton surprised Wigan, 2-1; Norwich crushed Watford, 3-0; Leeds beat Middlesbrough, 1-0; Birmingham, which missed relegation by a late fluke goal, upended playoff participant Brighton, 1-0; Blackburn upended Blackpool, 2-1; AFC Bournemouth downed promoted Brentford, 1-0; Cardiff City got by Huddersfield Town, 3-1; Millwall surprised demoted Fulham, 1-0; Reading, denied a chance to play off for promotion on the last day of the regular season in May, started on the right foot by beating back Ipswich, 1-0; newly promoted Rotterham United scored late to defeat the newly demoted Wolverhamption Wolves, 1-0; and Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County played a scoreless draw. There are a whole raft of matches tonight in the Championship, while on Wednesday Fulham and Wolverhampton will have a chance to right their respective ships when they tangle.
The Ravens' better players were all gone shortly after halftime Saturday night in Dallas, but that was plenty of time for Baltimore to smash up the Cowboys regulars. After the Ravens first drive of the second half, they led the Cowboys, 34-10. Touchdowns were spread all around, and included a 103 yard kick return by Deonte Thompson, a 25-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by second-year linebacker Courtney Upshaw, and a beautiful over the shoulder catch of a beautiful pass from Joe Flacco by Torey Smith. Ray Rice continued to look wonderful. He only carried twice before bruising his shoulder, an injury not considered to be at all serious, but picked up 21 yards, including an outstanding 18-yard burst. If Rice can run like that beginning in week three - he is suspended for the first two games - the Ravens' journey back to the playoffs will be wonderful to behold. The Ravens play the Redskins Saturday night in a game that will serve as the final tune-up for the starters, who never play in the last pre-season game.
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