NEWS » in northwestern Spain is known for the hig

BOSTON -- The Detroit Tigers earned a hard-fought victory over the Boston Red Sox on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park.Then again, every victory for the Tigers has been hard-fought in the eyes of manager Brad Ausmus -- and he expects more of the same Tuesday night.I dont think its ever easy, or rarely easy, Ausmus said Monday after Detroits 4-2 victory over Boston.Justin Verlander pitched six one-run innings and Jose Iglesias burned his former team with his first career homer at Fenway as Detroit (52-48) bounced back from a rough day Sunday.The Tigers lost a pair of one-run contests Sunday to the White Sox in Chicago -- 4-3 in the completion of a suspended game from Saturday, then 5-4 in the regularly scheduled contest.The Monday victory brought Detroit within 5 1/2 games of the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians and within four games of the second AL wild-card spot.Boston, meanwhile, fell 2 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles.The Red Sox (55-42) still have a half-ame lead for the first wild card thanks to a 13-6 July record.Detroit looks to clinch the series in Boston when it sends out Mike Pelfrey (3-9, 4.78 ERA) for a Tuesday start.The right-hander has permitted exactly one run in three of his past four starts, with the outlier being a five-run defeat July 16 against the Kansas City Royals.Last Thursday, Pelfrey limited the White Sox to one run on eight hits and a walk with one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings. He got the win as the Tigers held on for a 2-1 decision.Pelfrey is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA in three starts lifetime against the Red Sox, but 0-1 with a 1.93 mark in two starts at Fenway. He took a hard-luck loss June 2, 2015, in Boston, holding the Red Sox to one run on five hits in a 1-0 defeat.Red Sox utility man Michael Martinez, who faced Pelfrey as a member of AL Central-rival Cleveland, is 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run and four RBI against him.Hanley Ramirez hasnt been as lucky, going 10-for-53 (.189) with a homer, three RBI and eight strikeouts vs. Pelfrey.Boston will turn to Steven Wright (12-5, 2.67 ERA) to be the stopper for a team that has lost three of four.The knuckleballer has been one of two aces -- the other being Rick Porcello -- on a Boston staff that hasnt gotten much from highly paid lefty David Price.Wright has pitched especially well this season at Fenway, going 7-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 10 home starts.He picked up a victory there Thursday against the Minnesota Twins, throwing eight innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out a career-high-tying nine.My goal is just to go as deep as I can until they tell me Im done, Wright said Thursday.Wright has made one career start against the Tigers, surrendering four runs on five hits in a 4 1/3-inning loss last July 25. Nick Castellanos (1-for-2 versus Wright) had a two-run double against him in that game.Iglesias is also 1-for-2 with a double, Victor Martinez is 1-for-1 with a walk and James McCann is 0-for-2, but he has an RBI against Wright.Jarrod Dyson Diamondbacks Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Matt Szczur Jersey . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondbacks-jake-lamb-jersey/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Zack Greinke Diamondbacks Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Matt Andriese Diamondbacks Jersey . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left.MADRID -- Atletico Madrid cruised into the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey by defeating third-division Guijuelo 4-1 on Tuesday for a 10-1 win on aggregate.Atletico secured the victory in its final match of 2016 with first-half goals by Nicolas Gaitan, Angel Correa, Juanfran Torres and Fernando Torres.It was important to win our last game of the year here in our stadium, Atletico defender Stefan Savic said. Its always important to win and hopefully we will keep this momentum going into next year.Antonio Pino scored a consolation goal in the 80th minute for Guijuelo, which played a man down from the 33rd minute after defender Raul Luiz was shown a second yellow card at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.The second half included an incredible miss by Fernando Torres, who was just a few paces from the goal line when he tried to fire home in the 63rd minute.The city of Guijuelo in northwestern Spain is known for the high quality of its ham, and the teams players had the picture of a huge ham leg on the front of their jerseys on Tuesday.Atletico has struggled this season and is only sixth in the Spanish league going into the winter break, nine points behind leader Real Madrid, which has a game in hand.ddddddddddddhe round of 16 of the Copa del Rey will begin in the first week of January.--ELSEWHEREMalaga became the first top-flight team to be eliminated after a 4-3 home loss to second-division club Cordoba, going out 6-3 on aggregate.Real Sociedad drew 1-1 with second-division team Valladolid to advance 4-2 on aggregate, while Villarreal beat third-division Toledo 4-1 over two legs after a 1-1 draw at home, with Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato scoring Villarreals goal.Las Palmas beat second-tier Huesca 2-1, advancing with a 4-3 win on aggregate.Barcelona will be without Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar -- who were given time off to rest -- when it hosts third-division Hercules on Wednesday. The teams drew 1-1 in the first leg.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni ' ' '