NEWS » ries need a bit of irony.There was a villain as wel

LONG POND, Pa. -- Juan Pablo Montoya finds himself in a different place as the IndyCar Series returns to Pocono Raceway. With four races left in the season, hes not the man to beat.Heading into Sundays race at Pocono, the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Justin Wilson after a freak accident at the 2.5-mile track, Montoya sits 12th in the standings, the last of Roger Penskes four cars. The other three -- Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, and Helio Castroneves -- are 1-2-3, with Pagenaud and Power separated by just 58 points and Josef Newgarden 120 points behind Pagenaud in fourth.The gap to a different competitor from a different team is bigger (than last year). It might just come down to Simon and Will, Montoya said. I think well be much better prepared going into the last race to make sure we all work together, and so we can win the championship as a team. Well see what happens.A year ago, Montoya led in points much of the season before losing the series title in the season finale to Scott Dixon, unable to make one last pass for position on the final lap to secure the championship. Dixon dominated a race worth double points to tie Montoya and was declared the champion because he had one more victory than the hard-driving Colombian.It sucks, but it is what it is. Move on, you know, Montoya said.Montoya seemed poised to make amends for his heartbreaking title loss when the new season began. He started on the second row and won the season opener at St. Petersburg. He was still third in the standings after two top-fives in the ensuing four races, then watched his season begin to unravel at the Indianapolis 500. Montoya lost control of his car on lap 64, crashed into the wall and finished last in a race he had won the previous year for the second time.He rebounded with a third-place finish at Belle Isle but has since had 20th-place finishes in the second race at Belle Isle, Iowa and Toronto, along with an 11th at Mid-Ohio to fall out of contention. He had contact at Belle Isle, mechanical problems at Iowa with his Chevrolet and strategy bit him at Toronto and Mid-Ohio.Its been tough because weve had cars fast enough to be there, he said. Race pace is really, really good. Im not really struggling. Weve been making the wrong calls. At Iowa I was the fastest team car. When you go every week and youre competitive and things just go wrong, theres nothing you can do.Montoya returned to IndyCar two years ago after a 14-year stint in NASCAR, won at Pocono, and finished fourth in the championship. His contract with Penske is up after the season, and he said he is looking at three options, trying to decide the best fit for him personally.Theyre going to wait until after the season to make a decision. Well see what happens, Montoya said of Penske. I think Ive done a really good job. I won the Indy 500 for them last year. They hadnt won it since `09. I nearly won the championship, but as a team we didnt execute well enough.Personally, I think we have the potential to keep going doing nice things. This year, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.Barring a miracle, history isnt likely to follow recent form in the open-wheel series. Including Pagenaud this season, a driver from Team Penske has led the championship with four races to go four times in the past six years -- Power (2010), Castroneves (2013 and 2014), and Montoya -- and none won the title that season.---Online: AP Auto Racing Website: www.racing.ap.org---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 Thomas Delaney Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Axel Witsel Dortmund Jersey .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids-Julian-Weigl-Jersey/ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Achraf Hakimi Jersey .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Sergio Gomez Dortmund Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". LOS ANGELES -- Ichiro Suzuki tripled off the wall for his 3,000th hit in the major leagues, becoming the 30th player to reach the milestone as the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 10-7 Sunday.The 42-year-old Suzuki got his big hit in the seventh inning. He became the first player born in Japan to reach 3,000, and joined Paul Molitor as the only players to hit the mark with a triple.Giancarlo Stanton hit his 24th homer and Christian Yelich and Mathis had three hits and three RBI each for the Marlins. Nolan Arenado homered twice and drove in five runs for Colorado. Arenado leads the NL in home runs (29) and RBI (87).Adam Conley (8-6) allowed six runs in five innings. Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his first save since coming to Miami on June 30 and 18th overall.Jon Gray (8-5) was roughed up for eight runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.Suzuki was hitless in his first three at-bats of the game before he tagged Chris Rusin.Suzuki launched a long drive to right field that carried just beyond the reach of leaping Gerardo Parra, and breezed into third standing up.Suzuki is in his 16th season in the majors. He had 1,278 hits while playing nine years in Japan before becoming the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP with Seattle in 2001.YANKEES 3, INDIANS 2NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka rebounded from two rocky outings, Didi Gregorius homered and New York held off Cleveland after announcing that Alex Rodriguez will play his final game in pinstripes this week.Mark Teixeira, two days since disclosing his own plans to retire at the end of the season, hit an RBI double and dove toward first base to complete a crucial play on defense. Dellin Betances got four outs for his second save as New York took two of three from the AL Central leaders.Cleveland, which remained two games ahead of Detroit, has dropped five of seven. Cleanup hitter Mike Napoli was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett after getting called out on strikes in the eighth inning.Hit hard by the Mets in a Subway Series loss last week, Tanaka (8-4) was lifted with a 3-0 lead following Rajai Davis leadoff double in the seventh. Carlos Carrasco (7-6) also bounced back from a poor outing and turned in seven solid innings for the Indians, who tried to rally late.About two hours before the first pitch, the 41-year-old Rodriguez and the rebuilding Yankees announced the slumping slugger will play Friday night against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium and then be released. After that, he plans to become a special adviser and instructor with the team next year.ORIOLES 10, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO -- Manny Machado became the second player in major league history to homer in the first, second and third innings, driving in a career-high seven runs in a victory over Chicago.Machado hit a two-run homer in the first and a three-run shot in the second off James Shields (5-14). Shields allowed four homers while getting four outs.Machado hit another two-run homer in the third off Matt Albers. According to STATS, the only other player to do that was Carl Reynolds of the White Sox on July 2, 1930, at the Yankees.Chris Davis followed Machados second homer with his own and J.J. Hardy added a two-run shot before Shields left to boos. The Orioles have hit a major league-best 168 homers this season.Dylan Bundy (5-3) stuck out a career-high nine in six innings.CUBS 3, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kyle Hendricks pitched into the eighth inning for his fifth win since June and Chicago beat Oakland to complete a three-game sweep.Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler homered off As starter Sean Manaea (3-7). Bryants home run was his 27th this season, one more than the two-time All-Star had in 2015 when he was the NLs rookie of the year.The Cubs seventh straight win improved them to a major league-best 69-41 and marked their 10th series sweep this season. That topped their mark from a year ago, and increased their lead in the NL Central to 11 1/2 games over St. Louis.Hendricks (11-7) was dominant against an As team that had dropped seven of eight going into the day. Chicagos right-hander allowed three hits over 7 1/3 innings, struck out four and retired 17 straight before Marcus Semiens one-out home run in the eighth.Pedro Strop retired two batters and Aroldis Champan pitched the ninth for his third save since arriving in a trade from the New York Yankees on July 25.NATIONALS 1, GIANTS 0WASHINGTON -- Tanner Roark and the Washington bullpen outdueled Madison Bumgarner, and Wilson Ramos homered to lift the Nationals over San Francisco in a matchup of NL division leaders.Washington won twice in the three-game series. Last weekend, the Giants took two of three at home.Bumgarner (10-7) gave up just two hits, including Ramos 18th homer in the seventh inning.Roark (12-6) gave up five hits in seven innings. His last pitch came with runners on second and third, and center fielder Ben Revere made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder catch to rob Brandon Belt.Shawn Kelly retired the Giants in order in the eighth, and Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his 31st save. Melancon converted his first save opportunity since he was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh on July 30.DODGERS 8, RED SOX 5Rob Segedin set a Dodgers record with four RBI in his major league debut, Adrian Gonzalez hit his 300th career home run and Los Angeles beat Boston.With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, Segedin hit a 2-0 pitch from David Price (9-8) over center fielder Mookie Betts head for a two-run double, his first big league hit in his second at-bat.Segedin came up again with two outs in the fifth and the bases loaded, and he lined a single to right to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead. He was lifted in a sixth-inning double switch.Jesse Chavez (1-0) got the win with 1 1/3 innings in relief. Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 34th save.Howie Kendrick and Justin Turner added solo homers for Los Angeles.METS 3, TIGERS 1DETROIT -- Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the top of the ninth, and New York beat Detroit to avoid a series sweep.The Mets were victimized by some bad luck when the Tigers tied it with back-to-back infield singles in the seventh, but after escaping the eighth thanks tto a Detroit baserunning blunder, New York retook the lead when Walker went deep off Francisco Rodriguez (1-2).ddddddddddddAnibal Sanchez pitched eight impressive innings for the Tigers, and Jacob deGrom was strong for the Mets in the finale of this three-game series. Addison Reed (3-2) got the win in relief, and Jeurys Familia pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 39th save in 41 chances.Michael Conforto homered for the Mets in the seventh.RANGERS 5, ASTROS 3, 11 INNINGSHOUSTON -- Ian Desmond hit a tiebreaking single in the 11th inning and Texas beat Houston for the 11th time in 13 meetings this season.Texas took two of three in the weekend series and extended its AL West lead to 7 1/2 games over the Astros. Houston went 2-5 on its and has lost eight of its last 10 games.After Shin-Soo Choo led off the 11th with a double, Desmond followed with a single against Chris Devenski (0-4). Rougned Odor later hit an RBI double. Matt Bush (5-2) pitched the 10th, then struck out George Springer with runners on the corners in the 11th.TWINS 6, RAYS 3ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Miguel Sano homered twice and drove in four runs and Minnesota beat Tampa Bay to take two of three in the series between the teams with the ALs worst records.Sano put the Twins up 3-1 on a three-run shot off Matt Andriese (6-3) in the third and added a solo drive during the ninth against Ryan Garton. Sano also became the first player to hit a ball off the roof at Tropicana Field, which opened in 1998, in the first when his pop fly hit 210 feet above the playing surface before being caught by third baseman Evan Longoria.Kyle Gibson (4-6) gave up two runs, six hits and walked four over five innings. Brandon Kintzler, the Twins fourth reliever, pitched the ninth for his ninth save.Nick Franklin and Longoria homered for the Rays.PHILLIES 6, PADRES 5SAN DIEGO -- Pinch-hitter Tommy Josephs had a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning, and Philadelphia turned the first triple play in Petco Park.Rookie shortstop Jose Rondons throwing error on Cesar Hernandezs grounder leading off the seventh against Brad Hand (3-3) allowed the Phillies hitter to reach second base safely. Hernandez scored the tiebreaking run two outs later on Josephs single to left.The Padres were gifted two walks to open the bottom of the seventh. But then pinch-hitter Jabari Blash hit into the ballparks first triple play. Blash smoked a grounder to third baseman Maikel Franco, who stepped on the bag and fired to second baseman Hernandez to erase Rondon, and Hernandezs relay to first beat Blash by a step. It was the Phillies first triple play since 2009.Jerad Eickhoff (7-12) pitched six innings, surrendering five runs and five hits with five strikeouts. Jeanmar Gomez worked the ninth for his 29th save.Ryan Schimpf capped the Padres three-run sixth with a game-tying 326-foot, two-run homer. Dickersons seventh homer of the year in the fourth pulled the Padres to 5-2.BRAVES 6, CARDINALS 3ST. LOUIS -- Mike Foltynewicz worked six strong innings, and Nick Markakis and Erick Aybar had two RBI apiece to help Atlanta beat St. Louis.Matt Kemp added two hits and an RBI for the Braves. They took two of three games from St. Louis, outscoring the Cardinals 19-8 the last two games. Atlanta has the worst record in the majors at 41-70, but has won seven of its last 11 overall.Foltynewicz (5-5) gave up a run and six hits. In his previous three outings, he allowed 14 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings. Jim Johnson earned his eighth save in 11 chances.Adam Wainwright (9-6) had a rare off-day against Atlanta, surrendering three runs in the first and second.REDS 7, PIRATES 3PITTSBURGH -- Major league steals leader Billy Hamilton swiped four bases, had three hits and scored three runs, leading Cincinnati past Pittsburgh.Hamilton helped the Reds avoid a series sweep. The center fielder with 43 stolen bases this season also made a leaping, backhanded catch that drew applause from the Pittsburgh fans.Dan Straily (7-6) gave up two earned runs and three hits in six innings, walking none and striking out four. Straily didnt allow a hit until Matt Joyce hit a 442-foot homer in the fifth. Josh Harrison later homered off Straily. Gerrit Cole (7-7) fell to 0-6 lifetime against the Reds.MARINERS 3, ANGELS 1SEATTLE -- James Paxton took a four-hitter into ninth inning before he was forced from the game after being hit on the left arm by a line drive, and Seattle beat Los Angeles.Mike Freeman, making his Mariners debut after being called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Tacoma, had his first two major league hits, including an RBI single to cap a three-run fourth inning.Paxton (4-5) was on the verge of his first career complete game when he was hit with one out in the ninth by the line drive from Andrelton Simmons, who reached on the infield single.Tom Wilhelmsen got the final two outs for his first save. Paxton struck out six with one walk in 8 1/3 innings. Matt Shoemaker (6-12) was the loser.ROYALS 7, BLUE JAYS 1KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Yordano Ventura pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Kendrys Morales hit a grand slam, and Kansas City beat Toronto.Ventura (7-9) was 0-5 in seven starts since a June 17 victory over Detroit. He limited the Blue Jays to one run and five singles in 6 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out four.Morales third career grand slam and his first since July 30, 2012, while with the Los Angeles Angels came off left-hander Brett Cecil with two out in the eighth.Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman (8-5) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings.DIAMONDBACKS 9, BREWERS 3PHOENIX -- Jake Lamb and Phil Gosselin each hit two-run homers during a five-run fifth inning to help Arizona beat Milwaukee.Lamb got his 24th homer for a 5-3 lead against starter Jimmy Nelson (6-11), and Gosselin delivered a pinch-hit homer off reliever Michael Blazek to make it 8-3. The Diamondbacks matched the single-inning club record for extra-base hits with five.Daniel Hudson (2-2) won by getting the final out in the fifth in relief of starter Archie Bradley. ' ' '