Tips und Tricks » Save percentage for James Reimer in place of Jonathan

DENVER -- The Milwaukee Brewers are on such a roll away from home not even playing imperfect baseball can stop them. Aramis Ramirez homered and drove in two runs, and the Brewers continued their road dominance with a 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. It wasnt the prettiest series win for the Brewers, who gave up 19 runs in the three games and allowed 15 hits on Sunday. But they found a way to win all weekend. Now they head back to Milwaukee for a seven-game homestand, including four against Colorado starting Thursday. "We play pretty good at home, too," Ramirez said. "Weve played pretty well on the road but youre always looking forward to go home. We just finished a great road trip and were looking for a great homestand." Milwaukee swept the Rockies to finish 6-1 on a road trip that started in Arizona. The Brewers 27-15 record and .643 winning percentage away from home is the best in the majors. Oakland (.622) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (.615) are the only other teams close to matching Milwaukees success. Kyle Lohse (9-2), who allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings to win consecutive starts for the first time in a month. "It was a great road trip, certainly with the wins," manager Ron Roenicke said. "We made some mistakes, there were plays we didnt make the right way. If we continue to win we have to play cleaner baseball." Colorado couldnt take advantage when Milwaukee was sloppy. The Rockies squandered several scoring opportunities and missed a chance to rally in the ninth when an overthrow led to the first out of the inning. With Milwaukee leading 6-4, Corey Dickerson led off the bottom of the inning with a triple off the wall in right. The throw from the centerfielder Carlos Gomez got past Ramirez at third and Dickerson hesitated before heading down the baseline. He fell halfway to home, giving Ramirez enough time to throw him out at the plate. "He was going to score on that play," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "His legs gave out and he stumbled there between third and home." Wilin Rosario followed with his eighth homer of the season, but Francisco Rodriguez settled down to get his 25th save in 27 chances. "I guess when you are good things go good," Ramirez said, "If that guy doesnt fall, Rosario hits the homer and its a tie ballgame." Rodriguez tweaked his left ankle on an earlier pitch to Dickerson but stayed in the game. Ryan Braun also rolled his ankle going back for a ball in right field but kept playing. "Its not serious but I dont know about tomorrow," Roenicke said of Braun. Rosario finished with four hits and had three RBIs for Colorado, which has lost six straight and fell to 6-14 in June. After winning 16 of their first 23 home games the Rockies have lost 10 of 13 at Coors Field, where they have been swept twice in June. Rockies rookie right-hander Tyler Matzek (1-2) was roughed up in the second before setting down 11 straight. He ran into trouble after retiring the first two batters of the fifth and the game tied at 3-3. With runners on first and second, Jonathan Lucroy singled to right, scoring Rickie Weeks from second. Lucroy was caught in a rundown between first and second and Braun was able to score from third to make it 5-3. "Theyre a good-hitting team," Matzek said. "I just tried to pound the zone and just kept leaving it up." The Rockies made it a one-run game in the eighth on Drew Stubbs RBI triple to right but Lyle Overbay led off the ninth with a pinch-hit home run to restore the two-run cushion. Gomez extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a leadoff single in the second and Ramirez followed with a two-run homer, his 10th, to make it 2-0. Consecutive singles put runners on first and third for Milwaukee, and a double-play grounder by Lohse scored Khris Davis to make it 3-0. The Rockies rallied to tie it with a run in the second and two in the third on Rosarios double to right-centre. NOTES: Sundays win was Roenickes 300th as a manager. ... Gomez has reached base in 35 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... Rockies C Michael McKenry will leave the team Monday for a three-day bereavement leave. Jackson Williams will serve as Rosarios backup for the series against St. Louis. ... Rockies RHP Christian Bergman will have an MRI on his left hand Monday, head trainer Keith Dugger said. Bergman still has swelling from getting hit by a line drive on the base of the hand during Fridays start. ... The Rockies recalled RHP Rob Scahill from Triple-A. Javy Guerra Nationals Jersey . While Minnesota takes aim at its eighth win of November, the Canadiens will try to post just their third victory in nine games this month. Washington Nationals Shirts . Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. https://www.cheapnationals.com/967r-wand...-nationals.html. Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Aaron Barrett Jersey . -- Valentin Zykov scored in overtime as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar rallied to a 3-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Spencer Kieboom Nationals Jersey .C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson.NEWARK – The Maple Leafs are teetering on the edge of another late season collapse. Five straight losses (and six in the past seven) now dot the schedule – matching their longest skid of the year – after they fell again in New Jersey on Sunday night, topped 3-2 by Cory Schneider and the Devils. Playoff fortunes that once appeared secure have slipped into a more precarious state with a troubling tumble in the past week. All-too-recently fighting for second spot in the Atlantic division, Toronto has fallen to the edge of the playoffs, now in the second wild card position – mere inches ahead of Washington and Columbus – with only nine games to play. “The bottom line,” said head coach Randy Carlyle after the latest loss, “is its a results-orientated sport and we have to find a way to stop the bleeding here and do everything in our power to regroup with this hockey club and get them playing to a higher level.” If not playing entirely badly these days, the Leafs are doing just enough to lose, be it through sluggish starts, highly visible defensive breakdowns, and ordinary goaltending. On this night they fell behind for the seventh straight game, allowed a pair of goals via odd-man rush and breakaway, and had their backup goaltender struggle again to come up with a timely save. “I dont think were playing that bad,” said Phil Kessel, who scored his 36th of the year in defeat, crashing into the goal-post in doing so. “[But] its a tough stretch Ill tell you that much.” Tough stretch, indeed. It was only 11 days earlier, after James Reimer stole victory in Los Angeles, that the Leafs appeared in prime position for their second straight playoff spring. They sat three points up on the Lightning and Canadiens, 10 on the Capitals, nine on the Red Wings, seven on the Flyers, and six on the Rangers and Blue Jackets. Five of the seven has since passed them over, only Columbus and Washington trailing – just barely, mind you, with games in hand. Its been a remarkable spiral in a very short window, different in that way from the infamous 18-wheeler collapse of 2012 which cost Ron Wilson his job. The Leafs couldnt emerge unscathed from that storm, but can they find a way out of this one? Pressure is building, time is ticking, and the race is kicking into high gear with the Blues, Flyers and Wings all on deck in the coming week. Concern was evident as they exited the visitors dressing room, one by one at Prudential Center, keen to the reality of whats at stake. “We lost five in a row here right so its building here,” said Kessel of the pressure. “Obviously we need some wins.” Five Points 1. The Struggle Continues His confidence all but shattered at this point, Reimer was yanked for the sixth time this season. He yielded three goals on 10 shots, his save percentage in relief of the injured Jonathan Bernier dipping to .889 in six appearances. The 26-year-old has not won a start in more than two months (Jan. 21). Of that sunken confidence, Reimer concurred. “Its never high after a loss obviously and getting pulled,” he said. “[But] as crazy as it sounds I know Im becoming a better goalie and obviously a better person.” Ever the optimist, Reimer explained why. “Its been a ton of adversity in many different forms,” he said. “And so when you can weather it and keep your chin up you just get better.” Appearing in just his fifth NHL game, Drew MacIntyre stopped all 14 shots he faced in place of Reimer. Where that leaves the Leafs crease with St. Louis on deck is unclear. Carlyle didnt know if Bernier (groin) would be available for the Tuesday affair. If hes not for the sixth straight game, its not hard to envision MacIntyre getting his first NHL start. 2. Finger Pointing The Leafs have been a poor defensive team all year, requiring fantastic goaltending most nights from Bernier to have success. Theyve not gotten such heroics in relief with Reimer. His days in Toronto soon to be numbered, Reimer could not fend off an odd-man rush late in the opening frame – Morgan Rielly caught up ice, Nazem Kadri stuck on a bad line change – beaten glove-side by Damien Brunner. Faked out by Patrik Elias when he snuck behind the defence on the second Devils goal, Reimer then yielded a late squeaker that ultimately drove the hook from Carlyle. “We havent helped him out one bit,” said Tyler Bozak, charged in his defence of Reimer. “Obviously its easy to pick on the goalie when things are going bad for a team. But its a team game. We win and lose as a team. We havent been playing near well enough to win games. It hasnt been him at all.” “Usually in this type of playoff atmosphere youve got to find a way to knuckle down and play a tighter brand of defensive hockey,” Carlyle ssaid.dddddddddddd“We seem to be able to give up those opportunities early and then we seem to tighten up as the game goes on.” 3. Season Gone Wrong Just a night before his first game back in New Jersey as a member of the Leafs, David Clarkson barely saw the ice. He played just eight minutes and 54 seconds in the 4-3 loss to Montreal, his lowest total (save for injury) since Nov. 5, 2010. A season gone wrong has seen no signs of let-up for the 29-year-old, who left the Devils last summer for a seven-year deal with the Leafs worth more than $36 million. From suspension to injuries to suspension to struggles to find a role, Clarkson has had few, if any, positives this season. “The way this years gone I could never imagine it,” said Clarkson, before facing his former team. His four goals and 10 points are matched by Dave Bolland, who missed nearly five months with an ankle injury, and Troy Bodie, who has garnered half the ice-time in 13 fewer games. Barring an unforeseeable late season surge, Clarkson would set career-lows in goals, points and shooting percentage (he missed 21 games) – his previous low for points coming in the 2010-11 season when he posted just 18 in 82 games, including only two on the power-play. And if there is one similarity to that year in Jersey to his first in Toronto its the power-play and his opportunity on it. When Clarkson exploded for 45 goals and 70 points in the two seasons which preceded his signing in Toronto he did so in large part because of the power-play. About a third of his production came that way in fact, the Mimico native totaling 14 power-play goals (31 per cent of the total) and 24 power-play points (34 per cent). His ice-time had not surprisingly sky-rocketed from where it had been previously (up to nearly four minutes per game a year ago). This season, that opportunity has tumbled back downward. Buried behind the more skilled likes of Kessel, van Riemsdyk, Bozak, Kadri, Lupul and Raymond, Clarkson has rarely seen the power-play – about 54 minutes total – and thusly has just two points from it. Combine that with a considerable drop in shot attempts and shooting percentage, far less crash and bang and an unending search for a clear-cut role and the season has simply evolved into a nightmare for the former Devil. He played 10 minutes on this night, stuck without a point for the 22nd time in the past 24 games. 4. Falling Behind When Brunner beat Reimer he gave the Devils a 1-0 lead and handed the Leafs their seventh straight deficit to start a game. They fell behind 2-0 for the fifth time in those seven games when Elias snuck by Rielly at the Toronto blue-line before faking out Reimer on the breakaway goal. Sluggish starts continue to be a problem for the Leafs. “Weve been playing from behind a lot lately and just been running out of time I guess you could say,” said Bozak. “Gotta have better starts and try and get a lead early.” The Leafs are now 8-19-4 when they trail after a period and 11-23-4 when their opponent scores first. Bozak and Kessel scored to slice the 3-0 deficit to one, but like their failed comebacks in each of the previous four losses, it was not enough. “Theres no easy way when youre down three on the road to think that youre going to consistently come back in the hockey game,” said Carlyle. 5. JVR Accountability Speaking after the game, James van Riemsdyk made sure to shoulder some of the blame personally for the Leafs failings. Though he had five shots and multiple opportunities on Schneider in a career-high 26 minutes, van Riemsdyk failed to score for the 10th time in the past 11 games. “Its my job to score goals and obviously right now its not good enough,” he said unprovoked on the subject. “Were not winning games, Im not scoring goals, and Ill have to be better.” Stats-Pack 1-6-0 – Leafs record in their past seven games. 7 – Consecutive games in which the Leafs allowed the first goal. 8-19-4 – Leafs record this season when trailing after the first period. 1 – Goal for James van Riemsdyk in the past 11 games. 10:00 – Ice-time for David Clarkson in his first game back to New Jersey. 26:14 – Ice-time for van Riemsdyk, a career-high. 36 – Goals for Phil Kessel, one off matching a career-high. .889 – Save percentage for James Reimer in place of Jonathan Bernier (six appearances). Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-4 Season: 20.8% (T-3rd) PK: 2-2 Season: 78.7% (28th) Quote of the Night “I think everyones just got to relax a little bit and give him some breathing space because we know James is a great goaltender.” - Nazem Kadri, on recent criticism of James Reimer. Up Next The Leafs return home to face one of the leagues top teams with the Blues visiting the ACC on Tuesday. ' ' '