Touted prospect Mookie Betts made his major league debut for Boston in rig

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins starting rotation has been the biggest reason the franchise has plummeted to the big league basement with four straight seasons of at least 92 losses. nike vapormax plus greece .The groups monumental struggles have caused the fan base to clamour for a fresh voice from outside the organization to fill the role of pitching coach on new manager Paul Molitors staff. After filling several spots candidates who have strong ties to the Twins, Molitor and general manager Terry Ryan went with an unfamiliar face for arguably the most important position.Neil Allen, the pitching coach for Tampa Bays Triple-A affiliate in Durham for the past four seasons, was appointed as Twins pitching coach on Tuesday. Hes never been a pitching coach in the majors but did play a big role in helping to shepherd several of the Rays top prospects up to the big leagues, including Alex Cobb, Chris Archer and Matt Moore.We decided to start fresh, and I think this is an opportunity for both parties involved, Ryan said. I think this is an opportunity to kind of pave our new way here. It will be a challenge, we know that. Weve got issues here, we know that. We know Neils not afraid of it. And were not afraid to have him at the helm of our pitching staff.The team also hired former Twins closer Eddie Guardado as the bullpen coach and Joe Vavra, who has been an assistant on fired manager Ron Gardenhires staff since 1996, as the bench coach.When Molitor was hired to replace Gardenhire, he said hiring the right pitching coach was essential, given his own background as a Hall of Fame hitter.Coming from the Tampa Bay organization, certainly Neils got a resume and a reputation over there, Ryan said. Not only has he helped them become who they are, individually there are some very impressive guys that have come through him. ... I liked the tone. I liked the energy. I liked his answers, as did Paul.The 56-year-old Allen was the bullpen coach for the Yankees in 2005 and pitched for the Mets, Cardinals, Yankees, White Sox and Indians during an 11-year big league playing career. Allen said Molitors lack of managerial experience did not deter him from the job, nor did the Twins rotation, which has an ERA that has been at the bottom of the majors for most of the past four years.I think Im very well-groomed and ready for this opportunity, Allen said. Ive been a pitching coach for almost 20 years now and have been on bus rides all around the country, so Ive learned a lot. My philosophy is I want to get to know these guys the best as I can and get them to execute to the best of their abilities. I want them to get to be comfortable with me and what I expect out of them.Guardado spent 12 of his 17 seasons as a reliever with the Twins and figures to bring a fiery edge to a team that has been criticized for lacking competitiveness.Eddie has a lot of the attributes were looking for, Ryan said. Were looking forward to him and Neil working in unison. He has the type of mentality were looking for. He had a great career, most of which was here. And hes familiar with our staff because hes been in camp, which doesnt hurt any.Allen, Guardado and Vavra join hitting coach Tom Brunansky, assistant hitting coach Rudy Hernandez and third base coach Gene Glynn on Molitors staff. Ryan expects to soon hire a first base coach but said previous coaches Terry Steinbach and Scott Ullger would not return.The Twins also announced that right-hander Anthony Swarzak, who spent the last five seasons, was assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. Swarzak can decline and elect to become a free agent. nike vapormax Ελλαδα . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall. nike vapormax greece . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. http://www.vapormaxgreece.com/ . They probably ruined Tim Duncans hopes of a career change, though. Duncan wants to be a point guard, coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that wont be granted.NEW YORK -- Playing in prime time on national television against an AL East rival, the big names in the middle of Bostons lineup delivered. David Ortiz hit his 450th homer, a colossal three-run drive, and Dustin Pedroia had three RBIs during his second consecutive three-hit game to lead the Red Sox over the New York Yankees 8-5 Sunday night. "To get to where we want to be, those guys are going to have to drive the bus," winning pitcher John Lackey said. "You need the parts to do well, too, but theyre kind of the engine that runs this thing." Lackey (9-5) laboured through five innings before four Red Sox relievers pitched shutout ball the rest of the way. Held to two runs in the first two games of the series, Boston took two of three anyway to finish a 4-6 road trip and improve to 6-13 away from home this month. "Anytime you win a series on the road, particularly against a team thats ahead of us, these are key," manager John Farrell said. Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran (three hits) homered for the Yankees, who have dropped six of eight. Rookie right-hander Chase Whitley (3-2) struggled for the second straight start, allowing five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings, as six New York pitchers combined for eight walks. "Youre behind in the count, youre walking people and giving them extra baserunners, it usually leads to damage," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Koji Uehara worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 19 attempts. After averaging 2 hours, 45 minutes in the first two meetings this weekend, the longtime rivals were back to their usual plodding ways in a game that took 3:38. Pedroia made a diving play at second base to limit a Yankees rally, and centre fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. threw out Beltran at the plate to keep the score 8-5 in the sixth. It was Bradleys ninth assist of the season. "Changed the momentum of the game," Farrell said. Pedroia bounced a hit-and-run single through the right side in the third, and Ortiz was booed by the sellout crowd of 48,124 as he stepped to the plate. The slugger answered with a long drive well into the raised bleachers in right-centre to make it 4-0. Ortiz tossed his bat aside and took his time on a wide trot around the bases, saluting his family in the stands as he approached third base. "My son, he always eenjoys watching daddy go deep. nike vapormax plus Προσφορες. He was dancing," Ortiz said. The home run put Big Papi in sole possession of 37th place on the career list, two behind Adam Dunn and Red Sox Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. "Pretty cool," Ortiz said. Handed a comfortable cushion, Lackey grew frustrated and shook his head as Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter fouled off pitch after pitch in the third. They combined to see 21 pitches in consecutive at-bats, and Lackey screamed, cursed and gestured wildly when Jeter grounded an RBI single to right. "Thats going to take its toll," Farrell said. Perhaps worn down a bit, Lackey gave up solo homers to Teixeira and Beltran in the fourth, cutting it to 4-3. Whitley and reliever Shawn Kelley threw 10 straight balls to begin the fifth, combining to walk the bases loaded with none out. Pedroia blooped a two-run single and later stayed in a rundown long enough for Daniel Nava to score from third. "Im most frustrated with the pitch to Ortiz, obviously, and the walk to Bradley that set up the fifth. That was unacceptable," Whitley said. Ichiro Suzuki tripled to spark a two-run rally in the bottom half. He scored on Gardners double. Pedroias sacrifice fly made it 8-5 in the sixth. Mike Napoli doubled to start the second and scored on a single by slumping Stephen Drew, his second RBI in 57 at-bats this season. Touted prospect Mookie Betts made his major league debut for Boston in right field. With his parents and fiancee in the stands, the 21-year-old Betts grounded into a double play his first time up but singled in the fourth for his first hit. Jeter tossed the souvenir ball to a Red Sox bat boy, and Betts was promptly caught stealing. "It was great," Betts said, acknowledging he felt some jitters during his first at-bat. "Im not one to put any extra pressure on myself." NOTES: Rookie SS-3B Xander Bogaerts, in a 2-for-35 slump, was left out of the Red Sox lineup. ... Boston is 27-26 at the current Yankee Stadium, the best winning percentage for any visiting AL team. ... Red Sox RHP Jake Peavy (1-6, 4.93 ERA) starts Monday night at Fenway Park against Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (4-1, 2.05). ... Before this weekend, the last time the Yankees and Red Sox played consecutive games in 2:47 or less was April 2001. ' ' '