There were eight misses in two separate weeks las

MINNEAPOLIS -- James Paxton was cruising along for the Seattle Mariners, as hes done often this season. Then Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and the middle of the Seattle Mariners batting order order broke out.Cano had four hits and two RBI, Cruz added a two-run homer among his four RBI and the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 10-1 on Friday night to stay on pace in the AL wild-card race.Nice to see the middle of our lineup come together, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. We havent had a game like that in a while. ... Those guys are huge in the middle. Theyve carried us all year. Nice to see them get going again.Seattle trailed Detroit by two games for the second wild card but passed Houston.Paxton (5-7) struck out nine and allowed one run on five hits. Seattle, which scored six runs in the seventh inning, entered Friday averaging just 2.88 runs per game while Paxton was on the mound.Feels good, Paxton said of pitching well while in the playoff race. This is what we need. We need to win right now. Guys are playing hard and were doing our best to stay right there, and try to climb up in the wild-card standings.Kyle Gibson (6-10) gave up two runs, five hits and four walks for Minnesota, which lost its seventh straight and fell to 99 losses, its most since 2011.Its tough to be too satisfied with a game where you only went five innings, threw a hundred pitches and your team loses 10-1, Gibson said. I think theres some positives but its hard to focus on those at that time.With a biting curveball at his disposal, Paxton allowed just three hits, two on infield singles, before waiting through the long top of the seventh. The only blemish on his night was Miguel Sano leading off the seventh with a triple off the wall in right field and scoring on Kennys Vargas single.He was in total control, Servais said. It was great to see. Fun watching him go like that because he gets on those rolls and the release points very consistent.Seattle supplied Paxton with the most run support hes received in a start this season.Cano and Mike Zunino had RBI bloop singles in the third and fourth before a big inning against three relievers.Cano drove in a run with an infield single. Cruz followed with a two-run double, Kyle Seager had an RBI double and Zuninos single led to two runs when left fielder Robbie Grossman committed two errors. Grossman let the ball bounce off his glove and then kicked the ball as he went to retrieve it.Byron Buxton made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cruz of at least extra bases in the third, but Cruz hit his 38th homer in the eighth, a drive off the stone facing above the batters eye in center field. MLBs Statcast said the ball would have traveled 454 feet had it landed unimpeded.Seattle had scored two runs or fewer in six of its previous seven games.The start was delayed by 35 minutes due to rain, marking the 14th delay or postponement in Minnesota this season.HOLLANDERSeattle announced Friday that Justin Hollander has been hired as the teams director of baseball operations.Hollander, 37, was the Los Angeles Angels director of player personnel. He was hired by Los Angeles in 2008, serving multiple roles, where he worked under Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto.Hollander steps into the role left behind by Caleb Peiffer, who left the team to attend law school.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: RF Max Kepler was out of the lineup but was cleared to play after leaving Thursdays doubleheader with a mild neck strain from hitting the wall awkwardly. . 1B Joe Mauer was out of the lineup for the third straight game as he deals with sore quadriceps. He hasnt started since Sept. 17.UP NEXTSeattle LHP Ariel Miranda (5-1, 3.88 ERA) hopes to keep his surprising run going on Saturday. Minnesota will send RHP Tyler Duffey (8-11, 6.39) to the mound. Miranda has gone 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his last four starts with 20 strikeouts in 25 innings. Duffey has allowed at least five earned runs in three of his last four outings. Dirk Nowitzki Mavericks Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. Steve Nash Mavericks Jersey . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. http://www.officialmavericksfanstore.com/kids-jason-kidd-mavericks-jersey/ . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Jalen Brunson Jersey . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Jose Juan Barea Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. NFL place-kickers failed on 12 extra point attempts Sunday, breaking a post-merger NFL record and continuing a midseason spike that has highlighted the leagues efforts to make the kick more difficult.The unsuccessful attempts bring the leagues two-week total to 18 and counting. Place-kickers failed on six in Week 10.The previous record for one week of play was 10, set most recently in 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.The NFL moved the kick from the 2-yard line to the 15 at the start of the 2015 season. The move has resulted in pockets of magnified intensity: There were eight misses in two separate weeks last season.Overall, however, the rule change has caused a drop in about 5 percentage points on the NFL conversion rate. It has also prompted teams to go for two points at about double the rate as before the change, and teams also have been incenntivized to seek new strategies for blocking them and -- in three cases -- returning them for two-point conversions.ddddddddddddDespite the chaotic display on Sunday, the 2016 season has progressed almost exactly as 2015. Entering Sundays games, the conversion rate was 94.8 percent. The rate also was 94.8 after 10 weeks of the 2015 season.Here is the list of the 12 unsuccessful kicks on Sunday:?? Cincinnati Bengals Mike Nugent (twice)??Chicago Bears Connor Barth? Detroit Lions Matt Prater?Jacksonville Jaguars Jason Myers? Minnesota Vikings Kai Forbath? New York Giants Robbie Gould (twice)??Cleveland Browns Cody Parkey??New England Patriots Stephen Gostkowski??Seattle Seahawks Steven Hauschka? Washington Redskins Dustin Hopkins ' ' '