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Having picked themselves off the mat at the foot of the Premier League, Stoke City try to make it seven unbeaten Saturday when they host Bournemouth at bet365 Stadium.The Potters (3-4-4) endured a ghastly start to the season with one point from their first five matches, shipping 14 goals in the process. But Mark Hughes made some needed adjustments to the defence, and Stoke have claimed 12 points from their last six matches to climb to 12th in the table, trailing Southampton and West Bromwich Albion on goal difference.The first five games or however long it was, we didnt really show how well were capable of doing in the games, midfielder Glenn Whelan told Stoke City Player. We just werent getting the luck that we needed but we knew that we were a good side.Weve got good players and we knew itd turn; people are talking now about us being six unbeaten and its really good. It goes to show how good a squad weve got and how food we are as a dressing room to turn things around.It also helps when players are bagging goals two at a time.Prior to their 1-1 draw against West Ham United before the international break, Joe Allen, Xherdan Shaqiri and Wilfried Bony all had braces to power the Potters to victories. While it didnt happen against the Hammers, it is clear theyve improved their game on both sides -- Stoke have outscored opponents 10-4 during their purple patch.One player, however, who has yet to find his bearings is striker Marko Arnautovic, who sat out the West Ham match due to yellow card accumulation. After leading Stoke City with 12 goals in all competitions last season, the Austria international has one goal in league play, two overall and has failed to score in his last six matches for club and country following a qualifier against Ireland and a friendly versus Croatia during the break.Bournemouth (3-3-5) are nipping at Stokes heels in 13th place, one point back, but unlike the Potters, the international break came at an ideal time for the Cherries. After a splendid two-match spell in which they smashed Hull City 6-1 and held Tottenham Hotspur to a scoreless draw, Eddie Howes men stumbled with back-to-back losses to Middlesbrough and previously winless and last-place Sunderland.Having lost back-to-back games, it could be a good time for us to reflect and work hard on the training ground to try and put some things right, captain Steve Francis said. But make no mistake, we would have loved to get some points from the last two games because theres some tough games coming up.Following this match, the Cherries travel to London to face Arsenal before hosting table-toppers Liverpool on Dec. 4, and also play reigning champions Leicester City in a midweek clash Dec. 13 after playing at Burnley three days prior.While much has been made of Jack Wilshires impact on the team following his arrival from the Gunners before the close of the transfer window, getting forward Joshua King going would also prove beneficial to Bournemouth. He has goals in his last two appearances for Norway but has gone without one in four Premier League contests since netting versus Watford on Oct. 1.The break in league play also led to midfielder Harry Arter making his first competitive appearance for Ireland as they defeated Austria in a qualifier Saturday.It was nice to get away to a bit of a different environment for a while. It took my mind off the disappointing results weve had in the last few games, he told Bournemouths official website. To get the win with Ireland gives you that extra boost of confidence. Im looking forward to the weekend and hopefully we can get back on track at Stoke.The Cherries are 6-6-12 on the road since earning promotion for last season but winless in their last seven (0-2-5) outside Vitality Stadium since beating hapless Aston Villa 2-1 on April 9.The Potters did the double over Bournemouth last season, including a 2-1 victory in the corresponding fixture as Mame Dioufs goal seven minutes from time proved to be the match-winner. Stoke also ran out 3-1 winners in the most recent fixture in February, getting goals from Giannelli Imbula, Ibrahim Afellay and Joselu before Matthew Ritchie pulled one back for the Cherries. Custom Jerseys Sale . 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Cheap Custom Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Raul Mondesi celebrates his 21st birthday Wednesday and almost certainly will be in the Kansas City Royals lineup for the season series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.The 2015 World Series champion Royals should also celebrate that they wont have to play the Angels again this year after Wednesday. They are 0-5 against the Anaheim club. The Royals won five of six last year from the Angels and swept the Angels in the 2014 ALDS, but this is a different club.The Royals want to take an extended look at Mondesi, who was their top prospect in the minors, the rest of the season.Time to bring him up, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Weve been getting spotty offensive production out of that second base spot. You know hes a tremendously rangy kid. He has tremendous range, strong arm, good athletic instincts.Entering the game Tuesday, the Royals had started three different players at second base -- Omar Infante, 38 games, Whit Merrifield, 38, and Christian Colon, 22. They had combined for a .629 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, which ranked last in the majors. They hit .247 with 20 doubles, two triples and two home runs with 29 RBI in the first 98 games. They owned a .298 on-base percentage and a .331 slugging percentage.If the Royals had not acquired Ben Zobrist at the trading deadline last July, they probably would not have won the World Series. Zobrist, however, bolted for the Chicago Cubs after the season.While Mondesi played mostly shortstop in the minors, he will play primarily second base the remainder of the season with Alcides Escobar remaining at shortstop.Hes a guy thats going to be part of our organiization for years and years to come, Yost said.dddddddddddd. Hes just beginning his tenure. We feel like hes ready and we want him to come up and get some valuable experience.The Royals will start left-hander Danny Duffy for the series finale Wednesday. Duffy has been the Royals most dependable starter lately, winning his past five decisions after starting the year in the bullpen.In his past 36 innings, he has struck out 34 and walked only four. His 8.50 strikeouts-to-walks ratio since June 27 ranks the best in the American League.The Angels will counter with right-hander Matt Shoemaker, who is 5-10 with a 3.99 ERA. He has made seven starts this season when he has allowed two runs or less without getting a win. That includes his prior start, yielding two runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts in a 6-2 loss at Houston.Left-hander Tyler Skaggs was impressive in his first big league start since July 31, 2014, and undergoing Tommy John surgery. He threw seven scoreless innings and allowed three singles as the Angels routed the Royals 13-0. Skaggs threw only 88 pitches, 63 for strikes.He had seven strong innings and (was) very pitch-efficient, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.The Angels can only imagine what a healthy Skaggs would have meant to their rotation for the past 18 months.It was a long one, to say the least, Skaggs said of the rehabilitation process. There were a lot of trials and tribulations. I think its made me stronger mentally. Im looking forward to the rest of the season. ' ' '