Crawford had his best month in January

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DUNEDIN, Fla. Mike Cameron Jersey . -- Jonathan Diaz, taking off from second base, beat a throw to the plate to complete a 10th-inning Toronto comeback as the Blue Jays rallied to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in Grapefruit League play Sunday. Toronto needed a run in the ninth and two in the 10th to stave off the Orioles, who led 2-1 going into the bottom off the ninth and then went ahead 3-2 in the 10th thanks to Dariel Alvarezs solo homer off reliever Arik Sikula. Toronto pinch-hitter Erik Kratz doubled with one out in the 10th and moved to third on a wild pitch. Diaz walked and Dan Johnson singled in Kratz to tie it at 3-3. Josh Thole, who was three-for-17 at the plate, then grounded out to Buck Britton at second base but Diaz beat the throw to home from first baseman Michael Almanzar. Diaz said third base coach Luis Perez deserved kudos for the play "It was 3-1 (count) and we were just going on the pitch," said Diaz, a slick-fielding shortstop who had come on earlier as an outfield replacement. "I give all the credit to Luis. Hes the one that saw the play and sent me. "And I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could. Luckily I was the winning run. Thats exciting." The win snapped a four-game spring losing streak for the Jays (7-10), who had looked poised to end that slide in the ninth inning. Toronto outhit Baltimore 15-10 in a game that started slow but ramped up at the end. While hardly a classic -- the two teams combined to leave 20 men for base -- it had its moments. The game, played on a 26-degree day at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium with a stiff wind blowing in from right field, drew a crowd of 4,605. Sikula, a 23-year-old minor-leaguer, ended up with the win after looking like he was going to take the loss. Toronto sent it to extra innings with a run in the ninth after loading the bases with no outs off reliever Ryan Webb through singles from Johnson, Dioner Navarro and Chris Getz. Munenori Kawasaki then hit an RBI single to tie it at 2-2. But the promising rally ended all too quickly. Baltimore (10-6) brought in left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz, who retired Moises Sierra via a sharp lineout. Kevin Pillar then hit a double-play ball back to the pitcher to end the uprising. And the Orioles made the Jays pay -- at least briefly -- in the 10th with the homer. De La Cruz took the loss while Webb was tagged with a blown save. The Orioles went ahead 2-0 in the fourth on RBI doubles by Steve Clevenger and Ryan Flaherty after Adam Jones got on board on an infield hit and moved to second on a Todd Redmond wild pitch. Toronto pulled one back in the bottom of the fourth. On the plus side, the Jays continued to display good defence with Brett Lawrie handling hot shots at third in the second and fourth innings and Colby Rasmus tracking down a high ball in the wind in the third. Melky Cabrera gunned down Almanzar from left field in the seventh as he tried to come home from second on a single. Chunky catcher Navarro, however, was thrown out at the plate to snuff out a Jays rally in the seventh. Redmond, the Jays starter, scattered four hits over five innings, giving up two runs. He struck out four and walked one. He gave way to 2010 first-round draft choice Aaron Sanchez, whose fastball hit 97 m.p.h. on the speed gun during a Houdini-like appearance that saw the 21-year-old live dangerously but somehow survive. Sanchez loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth but escaped with a double play that removed the lead runner and a groundout. In the seventh, he kept the Orioles from scoring after putting two men on base. Redmond came into the game having given up seven earned runs and 11 hits in four spring outings for an ERA of 7.00. The 28-year-old right-hander is out of options, meaning another club could pick him up if the Jays sent his down. Redmond had 1-2-3 innings in the first, third and fifth but had traffic on the bases in the second and fourth. "My last two outings (have been) definitely in the right direction," said Redmond, hoping to stick with the big league team. Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez, who went 11-8 last season with a 3.78 ERA, retired 10 straight between first and fourth inning before running into some trouble. He exited after four innings, yielding one run on five hits with three strikeouts. Singles by Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind and Cabrera with two outs in the fourth produced a Jays run, with Jones throw from centre making it close at the plate. Lawrie made it four singles in a row to load the bases but the five-foot-nine 205-pound Navarro grounded out to end the rally. The Jays looked to do it again with two singles in the fifth against reliever Alfredo Aceves but second baseman Jemile Weeks snuffed out the charge with an acrobatic catch of an Encarnacion broken bat hit. The Jays have an off-day Monday before travelling to Lakeland to face a Detroit Tigers split squad on Tuesday. Ricky Romero is slated to start in his continued bid to win back a place in the Jays rotation. Dave Niehaus Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Erik Swanson Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. https://www.cheapmariners.com/1045k-pat-borders-jersey-mariners.html . Plata blasted a rising shot to the upper left corner for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. He got the kick after referee Allen Chapman ruled Chris Tierney fouled John Stertzer in the penalty area.LOS ANGELES -- Just as he has to wait to come into games, Jamal Crawford had to be patient about receiving the NBA Sixth Man Award. The 34-year-old guard was honoured on Thursday, a week later than usual. The delay was caused by the controversy involving team owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life by the NBA after a recording surfaced in which he made racist comments. "Weve known it for a while, but obviously with all the stuff going on we decided to try to let it die down before we gave him the award or he would never be able to talk about the award," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Im glad were finally able to do this." Crawford became the oldest recipient and the first to win with different teams. He also was honoured as the leagues best player off the bench while with the Atlanta Hawks in 2009-10. "Its pretty cool," he said during a presentation at the teams practice facility, with teammates including Chris Paul and Blake Griffin cheering him and poking fun of his suit and tie. "I didnt know what a family was on the court until I got with these guys," an emotional Crawford said. "Ive been on a lot of teams and usually guys, they go their own way. But with us, everybody is included, everybody is a part. They make everybody feel like family." Crawford led the leagues reserve players in scoring this season, averaging 18.6 points. He came off the bench in 45 of 69 games he played in, helping the Clippers to a 57-25 record, their best regular-season mark in franchise history. Crawford went so far as to say he hopes to spend the rest of his career with the Clippers, an organization roiled by Sterling telling his friend V. Stiviano that he didnt want her to bring black people to Clippers games. "As long as Im with this group of guys and with Doc leading us, everything else will work itself out," Crawford said. The Clippers had a 31-14 record when Crawford came off the bench this season. Crawford set the single-season franchise record for 3-pointers made witth 161. Dee Gordon Jersey. That surpassed his record from last season, his first in Los Angeles, when he was runner-up for the Sixth Man award. "He can score in his sleep," Rivers said. "Ive never seen a guy that can sit for 15 minutes and literally be on the floor for a half-second and they swing him the ball and hes ready to shoot and make some shots." Rivers even made an exception to his policy of not running a play for someone when they first enter the game. "Hes a lethal scorer, but he adds more value when he does other things," the coach said. Rivers was among those in the NBA who knew Crawford by reputation, a player who only wanted to score and not defend. But Crawford put that to rest this season, especially when Paul was injured. "This year hes ran the point guard position, hes been my best passer at times when C.P. was out," Rivers said. "Hes been our defender, hes in the right spots. Hes been a complete team guy, so Im really happy for him." Crawford received 57 first-place votes and 421 total points from a panel of 125 sports writers and broadcasters throughout the U.S. and Canada. He joined Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf as two-time winners. Taj Gibson of Chicago finished second with 395 points and San Antonios Manu Ginobili was third with 138. Crawford had his best month in January, scoring in double figures in 15 of 16 games and helping the Clippers go 12-4 that month. On Jan. 25, he had 37 points and 11 assists in a win over Toronto -- the most points he scored off the bench in his career and his most with the Clippers. It was the second time this season he had that many points and assists; he totalled those numbers against Sacramento on Nov. 29. Crawford missed 13 games in March and April because of a sore Achilles tendon, but rallied to return in time for the playoffs. The Clippers and Thunder are tied 1-1 in their Western Conference semifinals series. The award sponsor Kia will donate a 2015 vehicle to a charity of Crawfords choice. ' ' '