Allgemeines » Jones considers Kellys rise up the depth chart a

TORONTO -- Munenori Kawasaki had one thing going through his mind as he rounded the bases after his first home run in Major League Baseball: nothing. Kawasaki had a RBI single in the fifth inning and a key at-bat in the ninth to help the Blue Jays edge the Baltimore Orioles 7-6 on Friday and stretch Torontos win streak to nine games. But its his seventh-inning homer that tied the game 6-6 that is memorable -- even if it was a little hazy for him. "I just tried to hit the ball," said Kawasaki through Yasushi Kikuchi, a reporter from the Kyodo News who offered to translate after the game. Kawasaki added through his volunteer translator: "I didnt expect to hit the home run at the time. It was like a dream. I was dreaming. In my head was just nothing." Kawasakis home run to shallow right field cashed in third baseman Maicer Izturis and brought the 35,472 Blue Jays fans in attendance to their feet. The raucous crowd demanded a curtain call from the Japanese infielder, chanting "KA-WA-SA-KI!" as he repeatedly bowed in gratitude. "Very happy," said Kawasaki, reading from a small notebook of Japanese-to-English translations. "Thank you, appreciate. Yeah. Thank you. Appreciate." Rajai Davis hit a game-ending single to cap Torontos (36-36) ninth inning rally as the Blue Jays reached .500 for the first time all season. Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind also had home runs for Toronto, while closer Casey Janssen earned the win, salvaging a weak start by knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (6-8). Dickey earned a no decision after throwing seven-plus innings, striking out five but giving up six earned runs with two walks. "It was the crappiest, best game Ive pitched, if thats possible," said Dickey. "I had a pretty good knuckleball going into the game and threw a couple hangers up there and they got punished in bad situations but, gosh, what a team. "To be a part of a team that really, yknow, were starting to become a family and its showing." Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty all had home runs for Baltimore (42-32). Orioles starter Jason Hammel (7-4) fanned seven over six innings, giving up four earned runs and four hits with one walk. Reliever Brian Matusz took the loss. Trailing 6-4, Torontos seventh began with promise as Izturis singled off reliever Tommy Hunter. Josh Thole flied out to left field and Emilio Bonifacio struck out, bringing Kawasaki to the plate for his fateful homer. "I would say that its no surprise, but that home run was a surprise," said Dickey. "The legend grows. The Kawasaki legend grows, and rightfully so." Melky Cabrera then singled to keep the Blue Jays rally alive, chasing Hunter from the game. Davis, running for Cabrera, stole second with slugger Jose Bautista at bat, but Darren ODay struck out the all-star right-fielder to end Torontos inning. Baltimores eighth inning was brief, as Nick Markakis was called out on strikes and Adam Jones popped out to centre field. Rajai Davis got the third out by making a sprinting catch on Chris Davis in left-centre field. The Blue Jays also had a quick eighth, as Encarnacion, Lind and Colby Rasmus flied out to left, right and centre field respectively. Janssen followed with a three up, three down ninth inning retiring Matt Wieters, Hardy and Flaherty in quick succession. Izturis started the Blue Jays ninth with a single to right field. He then advanced on Tholes sacrifice bunt down the third-base line. Matusz intentionally walked Toronto pinch hitter Mark DeRosa -- in for Bonifacio -- bringing Kawasaki to the plate. The crowd alternated between chants of "Lets go Blue Jays!" and "KA-WA-SA-KI!" as the Japanese infielder worked up to an eight-pitch 2-2 count, grounding out to second but advancing both Izturis and DeRosa. When asked about the chants after the game, Kawasaki spoke through his translator, saying: "I was just flattered and my leg was shaking." He then cut in and said himself: "I was nervous. I was nervous." Davis took full advantage of having runners in scoring position, driving in Izturis with a single to left field that ended the game. "We got to give credit though to Kawasaki, he had some big hits with men on base," said Davis. "My hit doesnt even happen without those big hits." Lind opened the scoring for Toronto in the first inning, driving in Encarnacion with a home run over the right-field fence to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. Orioles manager Buck Showalter was ejected from the game in the second after Chris Davis was called out swinging. Home plate umpire Angel Hernandez originally ruled that Davis had tipped the ball and that Thole had failed to control it. Toronto manager John Gibbons came out to argue the call and, after a discussion among the officiating crew, it was ruled a strikeout. Showalter was tossed from the game by Hernandez after a lengthy debate along the first-base line. The Orioles manager pointed to each member of the umpiring crew and pantomimed throwing them out of the game before leaving the field. Wieters then struck out, but Hardy hit a home run to deep left to make it 2-1. Izturis began Torontos fifth with a walk, advancing to second on Tholes groundout to Flaherty. Izturis made it to third on Bonifacios pop fly to deep right field along the first-base line. Kawasaki then cashed in the Blue Jays third baseman with a single to centre field. Cabreras swinging strikeout ended Torontos inning, with the Blue Jays holding a 3-1 lead. Dickey struggled in the sixth, giving up a hit to Nate McLouth. Toronto got an out when Manny Machado popped to right, but Dickey walked Markakis and Jones drove in McLouth with a single. Chris Davis then cleared the bases with a homer to deep left -- his 27th of the season -- to give Baltimore a 5-3 lead. Encarnacion crushed the 10th pitch he faced in the sixth inning, with the ball landing in the Rogers Centres second deck. That was all the offence Toronto got in the sixth with the score 5-4. Baltimore immediately responded in the top of the seventh, with Flaherty smashing a home run to deep right field to put the score at 6-4 and set the stage for Kawasakis heroic home run. Notes: A foul tip by Thole in the second inning flied up over the backstop and into the suite occupied by Blue Jays president Paul Beeston. He tossed the ball to the seats beneath his box. Adidas NMD Mens Sale . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Adidas NMD XR1 For Sale . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/ .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Adidas NMD R2 Sale . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Cheap NMD Online .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessees John Kelly started making an impression on his teammates before he ever got a chance to deliver an impact on the playing field.Those same teammates have no doubt that Kelly will capably fill the giant hole that Alvin Kamaras injury and Jalen Hurds departure have created in Tennessees rushing attack.In my opinion, hes one of the best backs in the SEC, Tennessee offensive tackle Brett Kendrick said.Thats a pretty bold statement about someone who has never started a college game. Kelly, who has 73 career carries in two seasons, is expected to make that first start Saturday when Tennessee (5-3) hosts Football Championship Subdivision program Tennessee Tech (3-5).Kelly was overshadowed much of the season by Tennessees running back tandem of Kamara and Hurd. Kamara will miss a second straight game this week with an unspecified injury, and Tennessee coach Butch Jones announced Monday that Hurd had informed the team of his intent to transfer.That leaves Kelly as Tennessees main running back for the time being as the Vols attempt to snap a three-game losing streak .Jones says Kelly had emerged as a team leader well before this opportunity arose.Hes one of those individuals that has kind of been a behind-the-scenes, in-the-locker-room, on-the-sidelines type (of) leader, Jones said.Kelly already made quite a statement last week in a 24-21 loss to South Carolina . The sophomore from Detroit rushed for 94 yards on 14 carries that night. His teammates combined to run for 42 yards on 23 carries.I know my coaches trust me, no matter what the situation is, Kelly said after the South Carolina game. When Im out there, Im just out there playing the game tthat I always play.dddddddddddd So its really nothing new to those guys.Indeed, the Vols say theyve been impressed with Kelly ever since his arrival on campus. Jones considers Kellys rise up the depth chart a testament to the sophomores resolve and perseverance.Hes kind of the heart and soul of toughness, Jones said.Defensive end LaTroy Lewis recalled how he watched practices in the summer of 2015 while recuperating from an injury. Lewis naturally paid attention to Kelly because they both wear No. 4, and he immediately noticed the running backs tenacity.He just ran so hard, whether it was a negative play that he was making (into) a 2-yard gain or he was busting out a 30-yard gain, Lewis said.Kelly displayed that same approach against South Carolina.Hes a very passionate runner, quarterback Joshua Dobbs said. He wants the ball in his hands. He does a great job of getting yards after contact, breaking tackle, just getting the ball north and south and not running east and west. Thats exactly what we need.He also plays with the type of verve that motivates his teammates. Kendrick loves talking about how Kelly continually took hits last week and then bounced right back up and got ready for his next carry.Ive never seen anyone run as angry as John Kelly, Kendrick said.Kelly also uses the word angry to describe his running style and says that was a feature of his game long before he ever got to Knoxville.I just feel like Im just running the way Ive been running since I was a kid, Kelly said.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '