Hilfestellungen » restrictor plate will change by 1/64th of an inch. Ther

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It has not been a smooth rookie season for right-hander Jose Berrios, the Minnesota Twins top pitching prospect.Berrios, who turned 22 in May, starts Friday against the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals.Berrios has not pitched since Aug. 11 when he yielded six runs (five earned) and eight hits in two innings in a loss to Houston.The last outing was not very well, Berrios said Thursday on the eve of his eighth career start.In the extra time between starts, he has been working with pitching coach Neil Allen and bullpen coach Eddie Guardado.They helped me a lot, Berrios said We throw sides the past ten days, so, we do a couple of adjustments, (on the) release point and rhythm, and so I think Ill be prepared for tomorrow.In his past two starts -- both defeats, Berrios surrendered 10 runs, 14 hits and two walks while striking out five in seven innings.Those two starts ballooned Berrios ERA to 9.32 in 28 innings. Batters are hitting .331 off him with a .410 on-base percentage, a .593 slugging percentage and a 1.004 OPS.Berrios, a 2012 first-round draft pick out of Puerto Rico, started for the World Team in the 2014-15 Futures Games, pitching a scoreless inning in each. He made four early starts for the Twins, but was demoted after retiring only two Tigers and giving up seven runs May 16.Berrios pitched well for Triple-A Rochester, 10-5 with a 2.44 ERA, earning an Aug. 1 recall. There is a learning curve for most rookies, even one as talented as Berrios that the Twins hope to build future rotations around.Now, I can learn every day and everybody here tries to help me, Berrios said. But its my first year. I have the ability. A couple of the outings have been rough, but I learn from that. I do adjustments. I keep the good things and the bad things I try to dont do it again. Thats what I do right now, learn about that.Veteran Royals right-hander Edison Volquez, who starts Friday, has a 2/3 record in his previous nine starts, but has pitched at least six innings in eight of them. Volquez is 6-3 with a 4.04 ERA at home this season.Volquez has a successful history against the Twins, a 5-1 record with a 2.29 ERA in eight career starts and one relief appearance. Volquez is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts against them this season, allowing six earned runs in 18 1/3 innings.The Royals rotation has a 1.61 ERA in a five-game winning streak. Pitching can be contagious, said right-hander Dillon Gee, who allowed one run over seven innings Thursday in the 8-1 victory over the Twins.I think so, Gee said. I think energy alone is contagious. I think guys feed off each other. Good results tend to feed down. You watch those guys go out and there and put up the games theyve been putting up. It makes me want to do the same thing and provide for this team like they are.The only run off Gee was a leadoff home run to Brian Dozier.You just cant make mistakes to that guy, especially heaters up in the zone, Gee said. I was glad I could come back and settle down after that.With the club over .500 for the first time since July 22, Gee senses the club kicking into a higher gear to make a bid to return to postseason.Were having a lot of fun right now, he said. The guys on the bench are having a blast and keeping it loose. Guys are just having a good time out there and the results are starting to show the way weve been playing. NMD Store . PAUL, Minn. NMD China . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. https://www.cheapnmdoutlet.com/ . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. NMD Discount .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. NMD Fake . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. TALLADEGA, Ala. -- About the only change to NASCAR Sprint Cup cars since their last trip to Talladega Superspeedway is the addition of 20 pounds.The addition of the weight, theoretically, could have a small -- very small -- impact on whether a 3,300-pound stock car gets airborne, one of the concerns of drivers as they left the track in May. The changes arent made to keep the cars on the ground but to protect the drivers who hit the wall.The weight is part of a new construction of the footbox area, which includes a new design plus foam and is meant to protect a drivers lower extremities. Kyle Busch missed 11 races when he broke his right leg and left foot in an Xfinity Series accident at Daytona in 2015.The new floorboard chassis requirements go into effect in 2017 for restrictor-plate tracks and 2018 for all tracks. Teams have the option to use it at Talladega this weekend. The four Joe Gibbs Racing cars, the Furniture Row Racing car and the Roush Fenway Racing car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are among the cars with the changes.It would make sense that drivers are very aware of whether they have the added protection in their cars for the race Sunday. But at least some drivers mired in Chase cutoff drama didnt know.Carl Edwards appeared puzzled when asked about it after practice Friday.We focused 100 percent on Kansas and then [on the test this week at] Homestead and now Talladega and so, yeah, Im not up to speed on it, Edwards said. I should be.There was one superspeedway race -- I believe it was here -- where I actually ran into a car that was pulling off of pit road and I hit that car so hard and went up in the air that looking at it afterwards, seeing what could have possibly happened with that foot box, Im really excited to have more shielding there.Joey Logano didnt know whether his car had the new components. He does not.I focus on things that I can affect and things that involve me, Logano said. Yes, you can make an argument that involves me quite a bit, but it doesnt have an effect on the way Im going to approach this race ... so I didnt really get in the middle of that.Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin were aware their cars had the changes. They couldnt tell the difference when driving. Hamlin conceded he only knew because there was some talk about it at the drivers council meeting last week at Kansas.ddddddddddddWere focused on doing everything inside the car to go faster, Hamlin said. I didnt notice any difference. ... Hopefully I wont see the difference because I wont be hitting anything on Sunday.That is typical driver talk. They try not to think about the dangers until it, literally, hits them.You cant tell any difference unless you get under there and really look at it, Truex said. Everything is fine from what I can see and obviously the weight is not a big deal here either.Hopefully we wont have to test the safety features of that new panel, but glad to know its in there for sure.The weight is the main concern of teams, who wouldnt even think about using the new construction -- it has to be certified by NASCAR because it is so different from the 2016 chassis -- until NASCAR mandated that all cars at Talladega must have the extra 20 pounds for the cars that are running the 2016 package. Where the weight is located in the footbox area, though, is different from where teams would put the weight in the 2016 chassis. At other tracks where weight distribution is more important, teams cant afford to make the change and be at a competitive disadvantage.Among other safety improvements NASCAR will implement next year: All drivers will have roof hatches in their cars for 2017 restrictor-plate races. And the size of the holes in the restrictor plate will change by 1/64th of an inch. There will also be a change to the steering column so that it wont come back into the drivers lap as forcefully as in recent crashes such as Danica Patricks at Talladega in May.It makes us feel a lot better in the cars to know they go in that direction, said Tony Stewart, whose car does not have the changes. Its a lot of weight theyre adding to the car, but Id rather have safety than weight [savings].Will the weight help cars from getting airborne?Its not going to hurt it, keeping it down for sure, but ... Im fairly certain that they can already pick them up [in the air] with 3,300 pounds; 20 probably isnt going to be a big deal, Stewart said. ' ' '