Talk » five pitches into his last start

DALLAS -- Saturday night wasnt kind to either the Minnesota Wild or the Dallas Stars, which makes the meeting between these Central Division rivals Monday night at American Airlines Center even more interesting.Minnesota (9-7-1) had a two-goal lead after 40 minutes against the Colorado Avalanche at XCel Energy Center. However, the Wild coughed up that edge and ended up losing 3-2.I need more from a lot of guys, Wild first-year coach Bruce Boudreau told the media postgame. When was the last time any of us had a multi-point game? You cant win every night in this league 1-0, 2-1.The Wild was without forward Zach Parise (illness) on Saturday. Parise, who also missed six games with a foot injury earlier this season, practiced Sunday in the Twin Cities and appears likely to play against Dallas, although the club recalled forward Christoph Bertschy from Iowa of the American Hockey LeagueMinnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who saw a 156-minute shutout streak end with Colorados first goal, sounded shell-shocked after the loss.We stopped playing, Dubnyk said. I dont know what happened. That is not like us. ... We just stopped playing in our end.The Stars (7-7-5) allowed the first four goals to Edmonton on Saturday night in Dallas and ended up losing 5-2 as Oilers phenom Connor McDavid delivered a hat trick.Dallas will conclude its four-game homestand on Monday and the first three games, in which the Stars are 1-1-1, have been a mixed bag.On Tuesday, Dallas lost 2-1 to New Jersey in overtime and followed that with a 3-2 win against Colorado on Thursday, a game where the Stars nearly blew a 3-0 lead.Against Edmonton, veteran forward Patrick Eaves scored, giving him goals in a career-best five consecutive games. Eaves currently is tied with Dallas captain Jamie Benn for second on the Stars with 15 points.Eaves also leads Dallas with nine goals and five power-play goals.Benn has also done his part so far this season, but he is the first to take responsibility for the Stars maddeningly inconsistent play so far this season, whether a rash of injuries to key players is to blame or not.We just have to come together as a team more, play for each other and keep each other accountable, Benn said after the loss to Edmonton. I dont think were playing as a team right now. We really need to do better, and that starts with myself.Veteran forward Patrick Sharp saw his first action in nearly a month. Sharp, fifth on the Stars with 55 points last season, was up and down in his first game since Oct. 20 against Los Angeles, when he sustained a concussion.I thought that there were times he really skated well, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said of Sharps performance against the Oilers. I just think its going to be a little bit of time. I saw him in the training room in between periods so its going to be a bit up-and-down and thats why I kind of mixed the lines and tried to find who was going the best.Dallas, which is 4-3-2 at home, did not practice on Sunday due to a mandatory day off.Last spring, the Stars drew the Wild in the opening round of the playoffs and eliminated them in six games, Dallas first playoff series win since 2008.However, Minnesota has a new coach in Boudreau and on Oct. 29, the Wild blitzed Dallas 4-0 in St. Paul.Both teams made considerable changes from the squads which faced one another in the playoffs. Dallas biggest changes came at the blue line as the Stars jettisoned three of their most experienced defensemen, trading Alex Goligoski while letting Jason Demers and Kris Russell leave in free agency.Dallas added veteran defenseman Dan Hamhuis, but otherwise the plan has been to give what is a pretty young defensive corps the chance to step up, a strategy which, like the Stars season thus far, has produced results on both sides of the ledger.The Stars have allowed 64 goals, second-most in the NHL. Only the Philadelphia Flyers, who lead the league with 67 goals allowed, have conceded more goals than Dallas.And thats a number Ruff knows must improve.Weve got some young defensemen who I think, when the going gets tough, their vision narrows, Ruff said after Saturdays loss. That will come with more experience. Thats hard right now. We made some good plays and had some better options (against Edmonton), which was encouraging. There was still some plays that we just left out there.That defensive depth will be put to the test again. On Sunday afternoon, Dallas placed veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya on injured reserve after he sustained a lower-body injury on Saturday.Dallas recalled Julius Honka and Esa Lindell from AHL Texas. Honka, the 14th pick in the 2014 NHL draft, figures to make his long-awaited NHL debut while Lindell made his debut last season and appeared in 10 games for Dallas before being sent to the AHL last Thursday.NMD R1 Mens Australia .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. NMD Australia Sale . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/ . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. NMD R2 Australia . 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. Wholesale NMD . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Doug Fister and catcher Jason Castro came up with a game plan before beating the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, and it wasnt complicated.Were going to attack these guys, the right-hander said.The strategy worked to perfection, as Fister pitched seven strong innings and Jose Altuve continued his torrid hitting as the Houston Astros defeated the As 7-0.Fister (10-6) struck out five and allowed four hits and two walks as he continued his mastery of Oakland. Hes 3-1 with a 0.99 ERA in four starts against the As this season.Seeing them a lot, they know what we do and we know what they do, Fister said. It just comes down to execution, and I was going to fill the zone up.The As, who had won four of five since the All-Star break and took their second straight series, failed to advance a runner past second base against Fister.They moved just three runners into scoring position (one on a two-base error).Obviously his repertoire matches up OK with these guys but its still about executing pitches, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.When he executes it really doesnt matter what the other lineup is.Altuve was 2 for 3 with two walks. Baseballs leading hitter is 12 for his last 17 in his last four games.Hes really the centerpiece of our lineup now that hes batting third, in the sort of famous position that baseball loves, Hinch said, noting that Altuves improving in every area, including his leadership.Hes a truly a superstar in this game that I think more people are getting to know the more we play well.The Astros, who had lost three of four, scored two runs in the second with two outs and nobody on base when five batters reached safely against As starter Daniel Mengden (1-5).Mengden struck out five and allowed three runs, five hits and five walks in five innings. He recovered from a shaky start, blanking the Astros over the last three innings.Hes still trying to find his rhythm again, As manager Bob Melvin said of Mengden. It was better the last couple of innings, but command has been his issue. Basically with all (four of) his pitches we saw him really fine.I think hes getting behind and still trying to jam all four pitches in there as opposed to trying to establish one or two early. Certainly when everything is going well its easy to do. When its not maybe you have to simplify a little bit.ddddddddddddFister is 9-3 over his last 15 starts going back to May 1. The Astros are 12-3 over that stretch.Carlos Correa, whos settling into his role as the Astros cleanup hitter, was 1 for 2 with three walks and three RBI.Jake Marisnick and George Springer both had two hits including a double and Castro added a run-scoring triple as the Astros combined for 10 hits.Josh Reddick had two of Oaklands four hits and Daniel Coulombe allowed no hits in two shutout innings in relief of Mengden.BAD STARTS:The Astros and As rank at or near the bottom in virtually every meaningful offensive category out of the designated hitters spot. The Astros .186 and the As .205 batting averages going into Wednesday were the leagues two worst. The As DHs were tied with the Chicago White Sox with the fewest home runs (8) and alone at the bottom with 33 RBI. Houstons DHs ranked third- and fourth-worst in the league with 38 RBI and 11 home runs.ROSTER MOVE:The As recalled utilityman Arismendy Alcantara from Triple-A Nashville before Wednesdays game and in a corresponding move optioned LHP Dillon Overton to Nashville.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: DH Evan Gattis was pulled after getting hit by a pitch in the right hand in the fifth. X-rays were negative and Gattis said hes day to day but no fracture.Athletics: LHP Rich Hill, removed five pitches into his last start on Sunday after a blister on his left middle finger burst, is doubtful for Sundays game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the next open spot in the As rotation with Overtons demotion, Melvin said.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Lance McCullers pitches a series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. McCullers has lost three of his last four decisions. Hes 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in five career starts against the Angels, allowing one run in a 5 2/3 innings in his only start against the Angels this season.Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray (4-8, 5.12) snapped a career-worst seven-game losing streak in his most recent start and will hope to build on that momentum on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Gray is 2-1 with a 3.11 ERA in six career starts against the Rays and 2-2 with a 7.01 ERA in five starts against the Eastern Division this year. ' ' '