Ich suche » "Somewhere between 127 and where he was at last time,

MINNEAPOLIS -- The script for Glen Perkins hasnt always gone so smoothly. Sure, there have been hiccups. Life is never perfect. Rare, though, are the occurrences in sports that come together as marvelously as this for the Minnesota closer: taking the mound for the American League All-Star team and pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning in front of his roaring, adoring home fans. When Perkins jogged out of the bullpen on Tuesday night at Target Field, he was taken aback by how loud the crowd became. "I wasnt fighting back tears, but it was an overwhelming moment to hear," Perkins said. "It was a moment like that where you realize why you play the game and what makes the game so fun, and its the fans in the stands." His All-Star status and salary of more than $4 million this season put him in the societal elite, but in many ways Perkins is a lot alike many of those fans in the stands. He grew up in a Twin Cities suburb, Stillwater, and lives year-round in Minnesota, a rarity for Twins players. Boating and fishing are two of his favourite pastimes. Hes regularly on social media, with a sharp sense of humour and down-to-earth perspective that further endear him to the masses. Minutes after finishing one of his shakiest saves of the season, at Milwaukee last month, Perkins posted on Twitter: "I just did my best Ron Davis impression," alluding to the Twins closer of the mid-1980s prone to wild pitches and blown leads. Perkins has proven to be far more effective than Davis, though, putting himself on track to approach Joe Nathan franchise-leading all-time saves total. At age 31, under contract through at least 2017, Perkins isnt going anywhere. The Twins have an option on his deal for 2018 that would be a market bargain at $6.5 million if he stays healthy and productive. Perkins was the one who approached the front office during spring training about an extension, willing to take a contract that couldve been richer. He started the year as the 17th-highest paid closer in the majors. Thats fine by him. Becoming an All-Star for his hometown Twins has been beyond his grandest goals. "Hearing how loud the fans were, it makes me want to get to the playoffs," said Perkins, who made one appearance in the 2006 first-round series as a rookie but wasnt on the post-season roster in either 2009 or 2010. The Twins went 5-2 on their road trip before the All-Star break and have generally been more competent and competitive than their last three teams that each lost 96 games or more. Still, theyre 10 1-2 games out of first place. Their starting pitchers, despite progress by Kyle Gibson and the upgrade with Phil Hughes, have a 4.86 ERA, the third-worst mark in the majors. Veterans on expiring contracts like Suzuki, left fielder Josh Willingham and starting pitcher Kevin Correia could be traded in the coming weeks. The players, of course, are opposed. "I know how the business side of it is, the long-term stuff," second baseman Brian Dozier said. "But its our job to make those decisions hard for them. To be honest with you, I want to contend. I believe we can. Weve got the people to do it. Im not saying we dont need a couple of extra pieces, but I think were going to be just fine. We just have to get on a roll." The Twins start their post-break schedule with 10 straight games at Target Field. Manager Ron Gardenhire joked last week about being home enough to actually help his wife, Carol, mow the lawn. Danny Santana will come off the disabled list Friday, and ideally Joe Mauer will join him soon after. Perhaps prospects Trevor May or Alex Meyer will get a promotion from Triple-A to boost the rotation. "We think if we can get healthy and pitching again, thats pretty good. We still have to find some consistency there. Our offence, I think that will come if we get all the pieces back we hope for," Gardenhire said. One place the manager isnt worried about is the back of the bullpen. Perkins has that taken care of. Cheap MLB Jerseys Nike 2020 . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Discount MLB Jerseys . People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . Jagr had a goal and two assists, Andy Greene scored 43 seconds into overtime and Marek Zidlicky had two goals as the Devils rallied past the Washington Capitals 5-4 Saturday night. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. Clearance MLB Jerseys .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.CHICAGO -- Gordon Beckham homered, Conor Gillaspie singled home another run and the Chicago White Sox outlasted the Cleveland Indians 2-1 despite the departure of ace Chris Sale after just three innings in a game twice delayed by rain Tuesday night. Beckham finished 2 for 4, adding a double in the first inning. Chicago has won eight of 12 to get back to .500 (27-27). The White Sox are 6-3 against Cleveland this season after losing 17 of 19 to their American League Central rival in 2013. Mike Aviles went 1 for 2 with a walk and drove in Clevelands run. Scott Carroll (2-3) worked three scoreless innings in relief to get the win. Ronald Belisario worked a perfect ninth for his third save in five chances. The anticipated matchup between Sale and Justin Masterson was cut short. The game began 41 minutes late because of rain and then was stopped again after the third inning. That delay lasted 1:58 and neither starter was able to continue. Sale, in his second start following a month on the disabled list with a flexor strain, seemed headed for another special outing after allowing just one hit in six scoreless innings last week against the Yankees. He was nearly perfect in his three innings, with the only blemish a one-out walk to Aviles in the third inning. The ace left-hander needed just 40 pitches record nine outs..dddddddddddd His potential pitch count was a topic of conversation in the pregame media session when manager Robin Ventura was asked for a number. "Somewhere between 127 and where he was at last time," Ventura joked. Sale threw 127 pitches April 17 in his last start before going on the DL. He threw 86 pitches against the Yankees last week. Masterson (2-4) was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. The White Sox then touched him up for a run in the third inning when Gillaspie drove in Adam Eaton with a single to centre. Beckham made it 2-0 after the rain delay when he cranked solo homer leading off the fifth. Cleveland got on the board in the seventh when Aviles hit into a fielders choice to score Lonnie Chisenhall. NOTES: INF Jason Kipnis (strained right oblique) ended his rehab assignment Monday and rejoined the Indians before Tuesdays game. He could have played, but the decision was made not to activate him until Wednesday. . White Sox RHP Felipe Paulino, who has been on the DL since April 19, was pulled off from his rehab assignment at Class AAA Charlotte because of shoulder soreness. . Indians OF Michael Brantley singled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 13 games . Clevelands T.J. House (0-1) takes on Hector Noesi (0-4) in the series finale Wednesday. ' ' '