Bewerbungen » seven in a row when the Pirates visit the Hokies.T

DETROIT -- Two starting pitchers Detroit was counting on to be rotation mainstays entering the season have been relative non-contributors the last two months but the Tigers are counting on one of them, Mike Pelfrey, to give them a chance to win a game Thursday that will keep them in the playoff hunt.Pelfrey (4-9, 4.76 ERA) hasnt started since July 31 due to a bad back. He was activated to pitch out of the bullpen Sept. 5 but has not been in a game since his last start.He cant throw many more than 60 or so pitches, manager Brad Ausmus said Wednesday. So thatll definitely be a game that involves the bullpen.Pelfrey was signed by Detroit to a two-year deal worth $11 million as a free agent after Minnesota let him go last winter.He has faced the Twins three times in his career with a 1-0 record and 5.28 ERA. Two of those starts came with the Tigers this season but he didnt win or lose either game.Zimmermann has made just two starts for Detroit since the end of June and both were bad.But three pitchers acquired by former GM Dave Dombrowski at the trade deadline in 2015 -- Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd -- have firmed up Detroits rotation.To me the most surprising part of our season, Ausmus said, is that for a good chunk of the year weve had three rookies in the rotation and we have 18 games left and were playing for a playoff spot.That is not a recipe, generally, for playing for a playoff spot, having three rookies in the rotation.Minnesota counters with left-hander Hector Santiago (11-8, 4.75 ERA). Santiago has made seven of his previous 29 starts this season with the Twins after being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels.He pitched against Detroit on May 31 while with Los Angeles, allowing six runs in 6 2/3 innings. Lifetime, Santiago is 1-4 with a 3.09 ERA in nine starts and seven relief appearances.The Twins hope to have first baseman Joe Mauer, a career .303 hitter against the Tigers, available for action for the afternoon game.Mauer hasnt played since Saturday due to a sore quad.Joe could have pinch-hit, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said after the Twins blew a 5-2 lead and lost, 9-6, to Detroit on Wednesday. I was going to use him there in a one- or two-run game, depending on how it was going to come up.But when it got to three I decided to hold on just in case we got a couple baserunners. (Eddie) Rosario was available too.The last three or four weeks I have had to back off three or four times, Mauer said.Both Mauer and Rosario could be back in the lineup Thursday. Authentic Custom Hawks Jersey . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Wholesale Custom Hawks Shirts . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. http://www.customhawksjersey.com/custom-dominique-wilkins-jersey-large-78b.html . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Hawks Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Custom Hawks T-shirts . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Week 4 of the college football season has the Southeastern Conference in the spotlight as a couple teams try to break long losing streaks to their opponents, and a few coaches face referendum games with their fanbases.BEST GAMENo. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 17 Arkansas at Arlington, Texas.No. 14 Tennessee-No. 19 Florida probably has the most pressure on one team -- hello, Volunteers. No. 12 Georgia-No. 23 Mississippi has star power with Nick Chubb, Chad Kelly and the potential for a bunch of points. But well go Razorbacks and Aggies, who have gone to overtime each of the last two seasons.Its very early, but the winner has to feel as if it could be the team in the SEC West to push Alabama. Thats especially the case of the Aggies, who could come out of this 2-0 in conference with both wins coming away from College Station.A game inside the game to watch: Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, maybe the best defensive player in the country, against Arkansas left tackle Dan Skipper, a 6-foot-10 NFL prospect. Garrett gets moved around and the Aggies other end, Daeshon Hall is good, too. Itll be interesting to see if the long reach of Skipper helps can fend off Garrett, who has three sacks.HEISMAN WATCHChubb is averaging 121 yards rushing per game and has scored three touchdowns. Solid work, but not exactly stuff that will get him into the Heisman Trophy conversation.He has a good chance to grab attention in Oxford, Mississippi. The Rebels run defense ranks near the bottom of the SEC at 4.99 yards allowed per carry, but Kelly and the Rebels are hard to slow down.The Bulldogs, who have won 10 straight against Ole Miss dating to 1997, are going to need to score some points and control the ball. No doubt coach Kirby Smart took note of how Alabama ran for over 300 yards against the Rebels last week. Its a perfect setup for Chubb to go off and re-enter the Heisman discussion.NUMBERS TO KNOW8 -- Number of consecutive games of at least 200 all-purpose yards by Stanfords Christian McCaffrrey.dddddddddddd Also, the seventh-ranked Cardinal have beaten UCLA eight straight times. Stanford visits the Bruins in the Rose Bowl.11 -- Tennessees losing streak to Florida. If the streak reaches 12, with the Gators set to start a backup quarterback in Knoxville, the locals might be ready to run coach Butch Jones right out of town.24 -- The number of plays 20 yards or more that Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is responsible for in three games. He has six runs of at least 20 yards, tied for second most in the nation, and 18 passes of 20 yards or more, third-best in the country. Jackson and the third-ranked Cardinals travel to Marshall.OFF THE RADAREast Carolina will try to run its winning streak against Virginia Tech to three games and its streak against Atlantic Coast Conference opposition to seven in a row when the Pirates visit the Hokies.The Pirates already have one ACC victory this season. They beat North Carolina State. ECU also has the nations second-leading receiver in Zay Jones, who caught 22 passes -- one short of the NCAA record -- last week against South Carolina.COACH IN NEED OF A WINAuburn has lost seven straight home games against Power Five competition, the second-longest streak in the nation to Kansas nine straight. Any time your team is mentioned with Kansas football, things are not great -- thats where Tigers coach Gus Malzahn is right now.The Tigers host No. 18 LSU and are in danger of falling to 1/3 overall and 0-2 in the SEC while playing all the games at home. Malzahn needed to improve on last years 7-6 record, so this is no way to start.And if Malzahns team can spring the mini-upset, the temperature rises for LSU coach Les Miles, who will have a team that was considered a serious playoff contender with two losses before October.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAPwww.Collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '