German_Force » missing the playoffs

The past month on the mound for Chicago’s Dylan Covey was mostly forgettable. Lots of hits. Lots of runs allowed. Very little success.

All of which made his performance on Saturday night stunning Bears Cheap Jerseys , allowing two hits in 8 1/3 innings in the White Sox’s 5-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

In his five starts before the All-Star break, Covey was battered. He was 0-4 with an 11.70 ERA and six home runs allowed. Yet he baffled the Mariners, picking up his first win since June 13 against Cleveland.

”Definitely just mixing up speed. The curveball was probably the best it’s been the past two years or so and it was just another pitch to get them off my fastball,” Covey said. ”The last couple of outings I haven’t been mixing up speeds enough and they’ve been getting to me the second time through.”

There was no getting to Covey in this outing. Covey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Dee Gordon singled with one out. He retired the next nine batters until Jean Segura’s one-out single in the ninth ended his night.

Covey (4-5) was lifted after throwing 105 pitches. He had never pitched beyond the seventh inning in a major league start and in his past three road starts, Covey had allowed 18 earned runs and opponents were hitting .380.

”After the second inning ended, the third and fourth, I started to pick up some steam and started to pour in some strikes,” Covey said. ”It really worked out for me.”

He struck out five and got help from solid defense on the infield with 12 ground-ball outs. Shortstop Tim Anderson made a pair of difficult plays to get Gordon and Ben Gamel in the early innings and Yolmer Sanchez robbed Nelson Cruz of a hit in the seventh with a backhanded stop.

Leury Garcia added one more defensive gem to keep the shutout intact Youth Frank Ragnow Jersey , robbing Mitch Haniger of a two-run homer for the second out of the ninth inning with a leaping catch at the wall in left field.

Avisail Garcia provided the big blow with his 10th home run of the season off Seattle starter Felix Hernandez. Chicago got four runs in the fourth inning after Hernandez was dominant the first time through the lineup.

Hernandez (8-8) recorded six straight outs via strikeout in the second and third innings, the only hiccup a walk to Omar Narvaez. But it all fell apart in the fourth. Sanchez opened the inning with a sharp single, Jose Abreu was hit by a curveball that didn’t break and with one out Garcia hit a changeup out to deep center field.

”I was looking for something slow because that is how he struck me out the first time,” Garcia said.

FELIX’S RETURN

Hernandez was activated off the disabled list to make the start after suffering lower back stiffness. He lasted just five innings for the fourth time in his last five starts. Hernandez was limited to about 90 pitches, having not thrown since July 6.

Despite the big inning, Seattle manager Scott Servais thought the outing was an overall improvement for Hernandez.

”Definitely a step forward. I thought his stuff was much crisper, looked much better than it had the last two or three starts. (I’m) encouraged by that,” Servais said.

MAKING MOVES

White Sox: Garcia was activated from the 10-day disabled list before the game. Outfielder Ryan LaMarre was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to clear the roster spot. Garcia had been on the DL since July 10 with a strained right hamstring. Saturday’s game was just his 36th this season after missing nearly two months earlier in the season with a hamstring injury.

Mariners: Outfielder John Andreoli was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to clear the roster spot for Hernandez. Andreoli was with the club for only one day after being called up on Friday.

UP NEXT

White Sox: Reynaldo Lopez (4-7) will make his 20th start of the season Mike Gesicki Dolphins Jersey , trying to rebound from two poor outings before the All-Star break. Lopez is 0-2 with a 5.84 ERA in his past two starts.

Mariners: Lefty Marco Gonzales (10-5) looks to build on his impressive first-half performance. Gonzales has won his last three starts, including a 3-0 win over the Angels in his last outing on July 11.

Time is running out for the St. Louis Blues to make the playoffs.

Only two games remain in the regular season for St. Louis (43-31-6), which is on the outside looking in when it comes to the Western Conference playoff race. The Blues have a chance to move past the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild-card berth, but they cannot afford to stumble in the next 48 hours.

In other words, the pressure will be squarely on the Blues’ shoulders Friday night when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

St. Louis trails Colorado by one point for the second wild-card spot with a game in hand after the Avalanche lost at San Jose 4-2 on Thursday. The clubs meet Saturday in Denver with a victory by the Blues over the Avalanche putting them in the playoffs. There could be other scenarios for St. Louis to reach the postseason pending Friday’s result in Chicago.

The Blackhawks (33-37-10) already have been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in a decade. But it is safe to assume that a pride-filled Chicago roster — not to mention a raucous crowd — is energized at the possibility of crushing the postseason hopes of its longtime division rival.

“It’d be nice to see them miss the playoffs,” Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane said to the Chicago Sun-Times this week. “So it’d be nice to have a hand in that.”

The animosity was apparent Wednesday night as Chicago stormed back from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory over St. Louis. Defenseman Duncan Keith scored in the final seconds to complete the comeback and weaken the Blues’ playoff chances.

St. Louis goaltender Jake Allen took the blame for the loss. Other Blues players said nerves might have played a role.

“If you’re going to play nervous, then you better play smart,” St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The team vowed to perform better on the back end of its home-and-home series with Chicago.

“It (stinks) Seahawks Sebastian Janikowski Jersey , but at the end of the day, we have to stay positive,” Blues center Brayden Schenn said. “Two-game winning streak here to get into the postseason.”

Allen is expected to get another chance in net Friday for St. Louis. The 27-year-old is 27-24-3 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 58 games (55 starts) on the season. He is winless in his last four contests.

In 14 career games against Chicago, Allen is 8-5-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .915 save percentage.

The Blackhawks most likely will counter in net with Jean-Francois Berube, who made 31 saves during Wednesday’s victory. Berube is 3-5-1 with a 3.84 GAA and .893 save percentage on the season. He has made three career appearances against the Blues (1-0-1, 3.39 GAA, .901 save percentage).

The game could mark the final appearance at the United Center for Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp, whose contract expires at the end of the season. The 36-year-old has avoided specifics when asked about his future plans. He won three Stanley Cup championships with Chicago in 2010 Durham Smythe Jersey Dolphins , 2013 and 2015, and has scored 249 goals in 747 games with the franchise.

Although Sharp’s future is up in the air, coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman definitely will be back. Team president John McDonough announced Thursday that he planned to retain both despite missing the playoffs.

“We might have to reinvent ourselves a little bit,” McDonough said to The Athletic. “We might have to be a little bit creative. We might have to dial it up a little bit more. But I’m confident this is a group that’s going to do it. I’m certainly disappointed where we are right now.”

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