Blackboard » its difficult to name even one that the Jays got burned

SEATTLE -- Something about Safeco Field is bringing out the best in Kyle Seager. While most hitters find Seattles park frustrating, the Mariners third baseman is thriving at home this season. Seager had an RBI double in the first inning and hit a three-run homer in the fifth off Boston starter Jake Peavy as the Mariners won their fifth straight, 8-2 over the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Seattle matched its longest winning streak of the season thanks to another offensive outburst making up for a shaky performance from starter Erasmo Ramirez. One night after putting up 12 runs on the Red Sox, Seattle hit two homers and handed Boston its fifth loss in six games. And Seager continued a hitting tear at home. Through 37 games at Safeco Field, Seager is hitting .328 with 10 of his 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. Seagers run at home has helped make up for his miserable first three weeks of the season. "Its one of those things where you get feeling good, you go through your little runs and they have been at home for me," Seager said. Mike Zunino followed Seager with a solo shot as part of Seattles four-run fifth inning. It was Zuninos 10th home run. The victory was Seattles 15th in June and secured consecutive winning months for the first time since 2012. The Mariners (42-36) are six games over .500 for the first time this season. "There is a really good feeling in the clubhouse," Seager said. "We know what we have in here. We feel good about it and we feel like well be able to sustain it." Seattle has mostly been winning with pitching but the bats have shown up against the Red Sox. Logan Morrison had the big blows in the series opener with two home runs. Seagers double in the first scored Endy Chavez and Morrison followed with a sacrifice fly for an early 2-0 lead. Chavez tripled for the second straight night in the second inning to score Brad Miller for a 3-0 lead. It was Seagers turn again in the fifth. Robinson Canos single with one out put runners on the corners and Seager turned on an inside pitch from Peavy just inside the right-field foul pole and off the windows of the cafe in the outfield. Seager was barely back in the dugout when Zunino lined his homer into the Mariners bullpen, nearly hitting reliever Danny Farquhar for a 7-2 lead. "Were not trying to go out there and do too much. ... Its just a trust and a confidence that I think is growing and hopefully can stay that way," Zunino said. Joe Beimel (2-1) got four outs in relief of Ramirez to get the victory. Ramirez again failed to get deep into the game and was done after 4 1-3 innings. Control was again the problem for Ramirez. He ran his scoreless innings streak to 19 1-3 before giving up a two-run homer to Brock Holt in the fourth inning. But it was five walks and a number of long at-bats that ended his night early. While not giving up many runs, Ramirez pitched more than five innings only once in his past five starts. Peavy (1-6) has allowed 16 homers in 16 starts this season. He was pulled after the fifth and the seven earned runs were a season high. Peavey has lost six straight decisions, his only win this season coming on April 25 against Toronto. In the 11 starts since his victory, Peavy has left the mound with the lead only once. "Its not fun. There is nothing fun about getting beat especially when you dont do your job," Peavy said. "Its frustrating and there is no other way to say it." NOTES: Beimel was the first of four relievers used by Seattle. ... Boston RHP Clay Buchholz (knee) will come off the 15-day DL to start Wednesdays series finale. Buchholz last pitched for the Red Sox in late May. ... Ramirezs scoreless innings streak is the longest for any Seattle pitcher this season. Custom Washington Capitals Jerseys . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. http://www.officialcapitalsfanstore.com/ . A criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court said his girlfriend told police they got into the argument early Thursday at his suburban Minneapolis home. Evgeny Kuznetsov Jersey . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. John Carlson Jersey . Returning to Davis Cup tennis, Federer cruised past Ilija Bozoljac, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in less than two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served well but still was no match for his Swiss opponent.While waiting with anxious anticipation to see if the Blue Jays pull off any deals between now and the August 31 waiver deal deadline, I decided to look back and see just how many swaps they have pulled off during the "Dog Days" month and how fruitful the deals have been. So far, a week into the fifth month of their 38th season, I can tell you the Blue Jays have only made 25 deals during August. There are 11 franchises of the other 29 who have never pulled off a trade in August including the Tigers, Cubs, Marlins, Astros, Angels, Twins, Giants, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Montreal/ Washington. Some of deals were straight cash transactions, such as when the Jays sold Pedro Hernandez to the Yankees years ago, the only August deal between the two teams. Most were inconsequential shuffling of body swaps, but there were some keepers. On August 31, 1987, the Blue Jays picked up lefty Mike Flanagan from Baltimore for a pair of relievers, Jose Mesa and Oswaldo Peraza. Flanagan gave the Blue Jays a big boost down the stretch in their race with the Tigers for first place and although the Jays came up short, Flanagan was an invaluable leader and pitched one of the greatest games Ive ever seen on the second-last day of the season at old Tiger Stadium against Jack Morris. Both men lasted into extra innings. Neither figured in the decision in a game the Tigers ultimately won. Earlier, that same month in 1987, on August 9 to be exact, the Jays picked up knuckleballer and future Hall of Famer Phil Niekro from Cleveland for Darryl Landrum and Don Gordon. Unfortunately for the Jays, "Knucksie" had little or nothing left and after a handful of starts, they released him, likely increasing the urgency for the Jays to acquire Flanagan. Beyond the Flanagan deal, the Blue Jays have made three trades that stand out above the rest. Two figured in their first World Series victory in 1992, and one brought them one of the greatest power hitters in franchise history. On August 9, 1991, the Blue Jays made their one and only August deal with Milwaukee, sending youngsters William Suero and Bob Wishnevski to the Brewers for veteran outfielder Candy Maldonado. The "Candy Man" was in left field in Atlanta in 1992 the night the Blue Jays clinched their first World Series title and he was a great presence in the clubhouse. But even bigger than that deal was the one Pat Gillick pulled off on August 27, 1992, just four days before the post-season rosters had to be set. The Blue Jays sent future star and now-Hall of Famer canddidate Jeff Kent along with outfielder Ryan Thompson to the Mets for right-hander David Cone.dddddddddddd It was the kind of trade that Oakland just pulled off to get lefty Jon Lester from Boston, and Detroit made in landing David Price from Tampa Bay. Though he turned out to be a rental after Cone signed with Kansas City as a free agent in the off-season, he nevertheless was the man who pushed the Jays over the top. Veteran reliever Dan Plesac, then with the Brewers, told me that once that trade was made Milwaukee players knew the race in the A.L. East was over. What appeared to be a run of the mill deal on August 21, 2008 turned out to be the best of J.P. Ricciardis tenure as Blue Jays GM and one of the greatest swaps in franchise history. The Blue Jays sent catcher Robinson Diaz to Pittsburgh for a journeyman outfielder by the name of Jose Bautista. Incidentally, the team the Blue Jays have dealt with the most frequently in August is Texas. Three of those 25 trades have been with the Rangers. No blockbusters, but they did ship Maldonado to the Rangers in a conditional deal on August 31, 1995. They also picked up veteran DH Cliff Johnson from Texas on August 28, 1985 to help the stretch run on the way to their first division title. To land "Heathcliff" they gave up three youngsters in Greg Ferlenda, Matt Williams and Jeff Mays. Going over the 25 trades, its difficult to name even one that the Jays got burned on, and if you throw in the Johnson swap, there are four deals that any GM would hang his hat on. Not just saying this because I picked them to be a Wild Card team this year, but as tightly as Kansas City, the Blue Jays, the Yankees and Mariners are bunched, the Royals have to be considered the favourites right now for that second Wild Card slot. Right now they are a half-game up on the other three clubs. But consider this. Of the Royals remaining 49 games, 27 are at home at pitcher-friendly Kauffman Stadium. On top of that, 32 of those remaining 49 are against teams with records below .500. They have solid starting pitching, a great bullpen and as John Gibbons conceded the other night, alongside Baltimore are probably the best defensive outfit in the American League. If thats not enough, the Royals are off to a 5-1 start this month. The four-game set at home this weekend will be an acid test for Ned Yosts crew though. K.C. could certainly use another bat before the deadline, but even without it, they still look like the strongest team with the most favourable schedule. ' ' '