PHOENIX — Give Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray an “A” in self-evaluation.
Ray won his final six regular-season decisions in 2017 after missing a month with a concussion suffered when he was struck in the head by a line drive in St. Louis on July 28. Then last Wednesday http://www.officialcanucks.com/authentic-adidas-henrik-sedin-jersey , he spun six scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory over Florida in his first start after missing 58 days with an oblique injury.
Ray will face the Cardinals again on Monday, in the first game of a three-game series at Chase Field. Right-hander Carlos Martinez will start for the Cardinals.
“Obviously, I’m not going to go out there if I don’t feel 100 percent,” said Ray, a first-time All-Star in 2017.
“There is a constant line of communication between me and Torey (manager Lovullo). He was open with me. He wanted me to make another rehab start. I made it clear that I felt like I was ready. It felt good to be back on the mound and to be good to put up some zeroes for this team and help us win.”
Both Arizona and St. Louis enter the series after being swept, the Diamondbacks losing three to NL West rival San Francisco and the Cardinals dropping three to NL East-leading Atlanta.
That was only a slight hiccup for the Diamondbacks, whose 19 victories in June tied for the most in the majors. They led the majors with 11 triples and were second in runs in the month. Starting pitchers had 15 victories, also the most in the majors, capped by wins by Ray and Zack Greinke in the final two games of a four-game series in Miami early last week.
The D-backs have lost only two of their last 10 series, both to San Francisco, while recovering from a 2-15 skid in May.
“You are going to have ups and downs,” Ray said. “That was a little bit of an extended down, but good teams find a way to break out of that. I feel like we’ve done that this month.
“It’s another thing we have going on. The dynamic in this clubhouse Braydon Coburn Jersey , we are never down on ourselves. Guys were in here playing music every single day. Nothing has changed. We understand that there is a process, and you have to stick with it. The second that you start changing who you are and over-analyzing a little bit, it can weigh on you.
“We just come in there every day like it’s a new day. We prepare every day the same way, and we don’t change anything.”
The Cardinals have been careening a bit. They have lost four in a row after winning four straight, a run that ended another three-game losing streak. They have lost 12 of 18 since peaking at eight games over .500 on June 11.
St. Louis has scored 11 runs in their last four games after clobbering Cleveland’s Corey Kluber, scoring six runs off his in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest outing of his major league career.
Martinez (4-4) won that game, his first in five starts since returning from the disabled list, giving up two runs with eight strikeouts in six innings. He had a 1.62 ERA in eight starts before going on the disabled list and has 6.75 ERA in five starts since returning. His issue has been walks, 43 in 72 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals have considered moving first baseman Jose Martinez to the outfield in an attempt to increase their run production, but Martinez started at first again Sunday.
“The bat has to be (in the lineup),” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters over the weekend. “You’ve got a guy who’s been as consistent as anybody we’ve had all season. So you’ve got to find a place for him.
“We’ve never ruled out the outfield. None of that is out of the question. We haven’t featured that yet but it’s something that has been in the conversation. He’s been doing work out there, too. But Antti Niemi Jersey , right now, it’s how do we improve at first base?”
Carlos Martinez has had good success against Arizona, with a 2.88 ERA in eight appearances. That ERA ranks 20th among active major leaguers with at least 30 innings against the Diamondbacks. Martinez has been even more successful at Chase Field, with a 2.11 ERA, fifth among those with at least 20 innings.
Martinez has given up one homer against the Diamondbacks, that coming to Gerardo Parra in their first meeting. Since then, he has gone 33 1/3 innings without giving up a homer to them.
Ray (3-0) is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals. He was removed after being struck by Luke Voit liner in the second inning of the July 28 start last season.
When veteran Todd Desgrosseilliers was recovering from battle wounds, he went back to a boyhood love: fly fishing. The organization he now leads has 8,500 participants, one of whom was so inspired by Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing that he told Desgrosseilliers: ”This program saved my life.”
Desgrosseilliers’ group for disabled veterans is one of many receiving funding though the Bob Woodruff Foundation , which this week secured an agreement with the NFL to support such initiatives.
”The Bob Woodruff Foundation provides us with a grant each year that supports one of our largest programs, rod building,” Desgrosseilliers says. ”We had over 900 veterans participate in it as part of a larger core of activities we have that include fly fishing education and outings.
”When our participants are able to come to the meetings Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jersey , the rod building provides them with an activity that kind of brings them together, creates camaraderie.”
Such pastimes create more than that. For Desgrosseilliers, who learned to fly fish with his great-grandfather and grandfather in Maine, it has been an effective therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and vertigo he suffered after a traumatic head injury in combat.
There are 222 programs nationwide under the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing umbrella. They stage local and regional events as well as national destination trips; 400 members will go on a variety of excursions this year, including to Alaska or the Florida Keys.
”It’s a group of disabled veterans coming together with folks who care about them, and they are involved in an activity that is fun,” Desgrosseilliers says. ”We partner our programs with fly fishing organizations to provide the (3,500) volunteers who know how to do the fly fishing basics.”
The Woodruff Foundation was founded in 2006 after reporter Woodruff was hit by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. To date, the foundation has invested more than $55 million to find, fund and shape programs that have empowered veterans, service members and their families.
Its $2 million affiliation with the NFL announced this week will bolster the grant work done by the foundation.
”The NFL is such a prominent American brand and one that has a longstanding commitment to the veteran community,” says Marshall Lauck, the foundation’s chief growth and marketing officer. ”This is not something new to them; their history with supporting veterans and active military members is strong. This is a time with increased interest on their part in how they can most effectively support the veteran community (through nonprofits).
”Our expertise can be very helpful for the NFL in its goals in supporting these communities.”
One program receiving grants from the foundation is Hire Heroes USA. Hire Heroes provides individualized personal assistance to transitioning veterans and military spouses Womens Josh Anderson Jersey , helping them with interview coaching, resume coaching or finding the right fit for a veteran entering the workforce.
That group recently passed the 25,000 mark for veterans being hired.
Another organization, Bunker Labs, helps veterans with entrepreneurship opportunities.
There are some similarities to NFL players transitioning from the sport into the ”real world” and veterans adjusting after leaving the service.
”I think the challenge we had with the NFL was in putting together what is mutually beneficial in finding that common ground,” says Anne Marie Dougherty, executive director of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. ”We can meet what their organization and brand priorities are. There’s not only affirmation of the need in this space, but also an investment in the solution.
”One of the uphill battles we continue to have working in this space is we have been a nation at war for the longest time in our history. And there is a sense for something to get media coverage it can be … not positive. This is a really important time for us. We will put this money to good use.”
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29.09.2018 07:51
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