Hilfestellungen » of 2015, we are still yet to see Rosberg

CLEVELAND -- Justin Verlander recently watched videotape of his 2011 season, when he was the ALs MVP and noticed he wasnt pitching the way he had back then -- dominating, overpowering, nearly unhittable. Verlander made an adjustment. And made the Indians look silly. Verlander toyed with Clevelands lineup for eight innings and Don Kelly hit a three-run homer off Justin Masterson, leading the Detroit Tigers to their 10th straight win, 5-1 over the Indians, who cant seem to beat the one team theyre chasing. "Thats the Justin Verlander we know," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. Verlander (12-8) allowed one run and four hits as the Tigers won their second straight in this four-game series and beat the Indians for 10th time in 11 games to open a five-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. Kelly connected in the fifth inning off Masterson (13-8) and Miguel Cabrera picked up his 100th RBI as the Tigers improved to 11-3 against their nearest division rival. "Every games a big game but especially against the guys who are chasing us," Verlander said. "Theyve been playing extremely well. We know its going to be a battle this series. Its not over yet but winning the first two is a great start." The Indians, who are 24-10 against the Centrals three other teams, have to win the next two over Detroit just to gain a split. To do that, theyll have to beat Doug Fister and Max Scherzer. "Detroit has four aces, which is why they are so good," Indians manager Terry Francona said before the game. Although Scherzer leads the AL with 16 wins and is the front-runner to win the Cy Young this season, Verlander remains the Tigers top gun and the one they turn to when things get tough. He has struggled at times this season, but has now found his old form. "The adjustment that I made obviously made not just a little impact but a pretty big impact," said Verlander, who explained he altered his motion toward the plate. "Everything Ive been searching for I was able to find it today. Thats a huge stride in the right direction." Verlander gave up an RBI groundout in the second, but otherwise handled the Indians with ease. When Cleveland threatened in the sixth with two on and none out, Verlander turned up the heat. He retired Nick Swisher on a deep fly to right before blowing a 100 mph fastball past All-Star Jason Kipnis for strike two and then locked him up with an 84 mph changeup. Verlander then got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground out on another fastball then hit the century mark on the radar gun. As he headed toward the dugout, the right-hander pumped his fist knowing he had probably put the Indians away for good. "We had a couple chances and he seemed to find another gear tonight, that weve unfortunately seen in the past," Francona said. "When he starts hitting 100 at the knees, thats tough." Masterson had one bad inning, and it cost him. Kellys three-run shot highlighted Detroits five-run fifth off the right-hander, who hurt himself by hitting two batters during the inning. First, he plunked No. 9 hitter Ramon Santiago, who had squared to bunt before getting drilled. Austin Jackson followed with a single and Torii Hunters RBI groundout brought in Santiago to tie it 1-all. Cabrera, who missed three games with a hip injury, then sent a drive off the centre field wall for a go-ahead RBI double, arriving at second with a slow-motion slide. One out later, Masterson hit Victor Martinez on the right foot. Detroits DH hopped around in obvious pain and Cabrera even left third base to check on his teammate, who limped to first but stayed in the game. Kelly followed by drilling a 1-1 pitch into the Tigers bullpen for his fifth homer to make it 5-1. Kelly owns Masterson. Hes now 11 of 24 (.458) with two homers and eight RBIs. On June 9, he hit a three-run homer off Masterson in Detroits 4-1 win. "If I was Superman, hed be my Kryptonite," Masterson said. "Theres always a guy. He salivates when Im up there." Like his teammates, Masterson struggles with the Tigers. He dropped to 0-3 with a 7.23 ERA against Detroit this season. The Indians got some bad news even before losing their second straight game in this crucial four-game series as starter Corey Kluber was put on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right middle finger. The team said Kluber injured his finger on Monday night when he pitched 7 1-3 shutout innings. There is no timetable on Klubers injury, but Indians starter Zach McAllister recently missed seven weeks with a similar ailment. "Im disappointed for him," Francona said. "It makes it harder for us." The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the second on Verlander, who despite his gaudy numbers against most teams, came in just 16-14 in his career against Cleveland. Asdrubal Cabrera led off with a double and Michael Brantley followed with a single. Cabrera got caught in a rundown between third and home for the first out, but Ryan Raburn came through with an RBI groundout against his former teammates. Masterson pitched himself into and out of trouble in the second. He walked Prince Fielder and Martinez to open the inning and then gave up a single to Kelly. However, the right-hander buckled down and struck out Alex Avila and Jose Iglesias before getting Santiago to bounce into a force at second. NOTES: The Tigers have won 14 of 18 against the Indians dating to Sept. 5 last season. Detroit has outscored Cleveland 109-62 in those games. ... Indians rookie RHP Danny Salazar will make his second career start Wednesday. Ubaldo Jimenez was pushed back for Salazar, who took a no-hitter into the sixth in his debut on July 11. ... Tigers 2B Omar Infante (sprained left ankle) began a minor league rehab assignment for Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday. ... Tigers RHP Octavio Dotel (sore elbow) will began a rehab assignment at Class-A Lakeland (Fla.) Wednesday. Hes been out since April 20.Nahuel Guzman Jersey .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Diego Maradona Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. http://www.argentinasoccerauthentic.com/Lionel-Messi-Copa-America-Jersey/ .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Marcos Rojo Jersey . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Mariano Andujar Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge.Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg look more closely matched than ever before in their time as Mercedes teammates. A title battle that seemed to be drifting towards an inevitable fourth crown for Hamilton has been shaken up since the summer break by a hat-trick of wins for Rosberg, who now leads the championship by eight points.With the 150 points on offer over the remaining six races of 2016 set to decide who will be champion, ESPN looks at how the two men have fared in the closing stages of the season since being paired together three years ago.2013Rosberg: 7th, 8th, 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 5th (Points: 55)Hamilton: 5th, DNF, 6th, 7th, 4th, 9th (Points: 38)Hamilton and Rosbergs first season together coincided with a more competitive Mercedes package -- the team claimed eight pole positions in the first 11 races but did not have the race pace to compete regularly with Red Bull. Before the summer break Nico Rosberg claimed two wins (Monaco and Great Britain), before Lewis Hamilton claimed his first win for the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix.For all the optimism of the first half of the season, the team dropped off in the closing stage of the year. Lewis Hamilton endured a frustrating end to 2013, failing to make the podium during the run-in and banging wheels with Valtteri Bottas at the finale to end his season on a low note. Despite being revitalised at Mercedes and claiming five pole positions, Hamilton had never looked completely happy with the car in 2013 -- admitting after the finale he was glad the season was over and that he had failed to live up to his own expectations.For Nico Rosberg, the story was different. Though he finished the season as second best of the two Mercedes drivers he had the strongest finish and, crucially, scored back-to-back podiums in India and Abu Dhabi which helped the team beat Ferrari to second in the championship.2014Hamilton: 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st (Points: 143) Rosberg: DNF, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 14th (Points: 79)A lot changed in a year -- Hamilton and Rosberg were now equipped with the class-leading Mercedes W05 and were engaged in a bitter duel for the world title. Coming into the final six races, the momentum had just changed hands. After their collision in Belgium -- for which Mercedes blamed and punished Rosberg -- Hamilton had forced his teammate into a mistake in Italy, giving him the race win. It was a sign of things to come -- Rosberg looked like a beaten man from the moment Hamilton found his form again.That Italy win was the first of five in a row for Hamilton, who had been 29 points down on Rosberg after Belgium. That gap soon evaporated when Rosberg encountered race-ending problems in Singapore, before the German crumbled under pressure from Hamilton in the rain at Suzuka a week later. A clumsy lunge for the lead in Russia at Turn 1 ended his chances of victory, before the season-defining moment at Austin -- Hamilton forcing his way past Rosbergs weak defence in Austin to snatch the lead and victory from his title rival.Rosberg finally returned to the top step in Brazil, leading Hamilton in a Mercedes one-two, leaving him 24 points behind with Abu Dhabis controversial double-points finale to come. As it turned out, the derided points format would never be an issue -- Hamilton beat Rosberg off the line and into the lead at Turn 1. Rosberg, who needed Hamilton to finish outside the top two to have any chance, then suffered an ERS failure which soon dropped him out of contention and out of the points. Memorably, late in the race Rosberg was advised to retire the car but respoonded by saying he wanted to take the car to the end, but the day, and the championship, was Hamiltons.dddddddddddd2015Hamilton: 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd (Points: 129) Rosberg: 2nd, DNF, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st (Points: 111)Coming into the final six races in 2015 Hamilton was in a much more comfortable position, leading by 41 points. Mercedes had just mysteriously dropped off the pace in Singapore but bounced back in style in Japan, with Hamilton leading Rosberg home in a comfortable one-two. Having claimed pole position in Sochi a fired up Rosberg led the early stages of the Russian Grand Prix, only to encounter a throttle problem on lap seven which ended his race and all but ended the championship fight.Hamilton would claim the win and the title at the U.S. Grand Prix, which saw Rosberg make a mistake while leading late on. Infamously, Rosberg threw his cap back at Hamilton after the race as they waited to take the podium, hinting at lingering problems between the two after another bitter campaign. The bad blood continued in Mexico, with Hamilton taunting Rosbergs claim that a gust of wind had led to his costly error in Austin. With the title secured, Hamilton seemed to take his eye of the ball -- in the days before Mexicos return race he was involved in a minor car accident in Monaco -- and Rosberg returned to the top step.Seemingly revitalised from that victory, Rosberg led Hamilton across the line in Brazil, where the latter grew frustrated at Mercedes decision not to put him on an alternate strategy. Rosberg then rounded off the season with a dominant victory over Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. Though much was made of Hamilton losing motivation after his title win the three-race streak gave Rosberg renewed confidence he could beat the three-time world champion, and he would go on to win the next four races of 2016.2016 verdictNico Rosberg looks readier than ever to win his first world championship. Though Hamiltons problems gift-wrapped him a win in Belgium before the Brits slow start in Monza helped Rosberg to another, he looked in commanding form last time out in Singapore. It is also important to note that, for whatever argument there is for Hamilton going off the boil after winning last years title, Rosbergs strong finish last year carried into 2016 and meant he always had the points in the bank to make this year a genuine fight.But what the last three years have proven is how dangerous Hamilton can be with a little momentum, while 2014 proved his ability to take wins and a championship from another driver. Six races is ample time to get a run of form going again but he will be fully aware he went eight without a win across the end of 2015 and 2016. However, looking at the tale of the tape, it is hard to look past a fourth world title for Hamilton.For all his impressive drives this year and at the tail-end of 2015, we are still yet to see Rosberg snatch a win from another driver. The last two seasons are hardly ringing endorsements of his ability to win a title: he crumbled in 2014 and only got a run of form together in 2015 when there was nothing left to play for. His attitude has seemed to swing between one of supreme confidence and lingering self-doubt in 2016. However if Rosberg has learned the lessons of the last two years, with momentum and the points gap crucially on his side this time around, it could finally be the year he joins his father Keke in the pantheon of F1 champions.? ' ' '