NEW YORK – Colby Rasmus returned from a 33-game absence on Wednesday night and manager John Gibbons was eager to get another big bat in the lineup to provide his club a threat near the bottom of the order. cheap jerseys . “He gives us another power threat,” said Gibbons. “We havent had a whole lot of power lately.” The slumping Blue Jays, losers of seven of 10 entering Wednesdays play, activated Rasmus from the disabled list and sent his replacement, Anthony Gose, back to Triple-A Buffalo. It was a long road to recovery for Rasmus, whod been on the disabled list since May 13 with tightness in his right hamstring. Rasmus initially thought the injury would heal in a matter of days. “Its always a learning experience,” said Rasmus. “Pushing yourself too quick or too slow. Every injury is different. This is a different injury and I just had to learn what I did and, hopefully, next time Ill be able to correct it faster. But Im here now and ready to play.” Rasmus is one of the games streakier hitters. When hes hot, he hits home runs in bunches. When he slumps, he swings and misses a lot and strikes out often. In 37 games this season, Rasmus is hitting .222/.266/.489 (.755 OPS) with nine home runs. Twice this season, he has hit three home runs in a span of four games (April 10-13 and May 1-4), which account for six of his nine long balls. Still, Rasmus has struck out in 32.8 per cent of his plate appearances this season, compared to 29.5 per cent last year and 24.6 per cent for his career. “Yeah, I mean hes always been that way,” said Gibbons. “You wish it wasnt so often but, you know, I mean he can run into some balls too and make a difference that way.” LIND CONFIDENT HELL AVOID DISABLED LIST On Wednesday, the Blue Jays played a third consecutive game without the services of designated hitter/first baseman Adam Lind. Linds been down since fouling a ball off his right foot in Saturdays loss at Baltimore. He suffered a deep bone bruise and, on Sunday, was using crutches and wearing a walking boot. Hes since come out of the boot and hit off a tee on Wednesday afternoon. “Theres been improvements every day,” said Lind. “Now, were just working on a tape job to try and relieve as much stress or pain on my foot as we can so I can get in the lineup.” Lind wasnt sure whether he could pinch-hit on Wednesday night. Manager John Gibbons has a three-man bench, not including Lind, and the Blue Jays may be hesitant to use Lind in case he ultimately requires a trip to the disabled list. A DL stint, if needed, could be made retroactive to Sunday (making Lind eligible to return on June 30) as long as he doesnt appear in a game. Based on the progress hes made, Lind isnt planning on being placed on the disabled list. “Its not constant,” said Lind of the pain in his foot. “When I sit still it doesnt hurt. I have a tape job right now and its helped a lot. I hit with spikes, it wasnt so well. I hit with turfs and it was much better. If I pinch hit, Ill be in my turfs.” POWER OUTAGE The Blue Jays are slumping after winning 15 of 17 games. Theyve dropped seven of their last 10, thanks in part to a significant decrease in the number of home runs theyve been hitting. Toronto leads the major leagues with 93 home runs but has hit only four in the last 10 games. Jose Reyes (June 9, June 17) has two of them. The other two were hit by Edwin Encarnacion (June 9) and Juan Francisco (June 13). The Blue Jays won the June 9 game, 5-4 over Minnesota and the June 13 game, 4-0 over Baltimore but lost the June 17 game, 3-1 to New York. Entering Wednesdays play, Jose Bautista was without a home run in 10 games, his longest drought of the season. PRAY FOR NO RAIN The five-day forecast for New York City suggests the Yankees wont have a rainout during their three-game weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles. Thats important to the Blue Jays because right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, who beat Toronto on Tuesday night to improve his record to 11-1, is scheduled to start on Sunday. Naturally, the Blue Jays would like Tanaka to pitch against another divisional opponent. Add to that the fact the Yankees visit Toronto for three games starting on Monday. If the Yankees have a rainout this weekend, Tanakas start could be pushed back into the series with the Blue Jays. As it stands, Toronto is due to miss Tanaka next week. The Yankees are 12-2 in games Tanaka starts and 24-31 otherwise. TWO MORE DRAFT PICKS SIGN The Blue Jays formally announced the signings of third-round pick, left-handed pitcher Nick Wells (83rd overall) and sixth-round pick, left-handed pitcher Grayson Huffman (174th overall). Wells is 18 years old. Huffman is 19 years old. cheap nfl jerseys . The International Ice Hockey Federation says Russia is looking for a new coach before the world championship in May in Belarus. The IIHF says Russian hockey federation officials agreed to Bilyaletdinovs departure after meeting with him on Wednesday. jerseys from china . -- The Erie Otters won their eighth straight game with a four-goal outburst in the third en route to an 8-4 win over the Sarnia Sting in Ontario Hockey League play Saturday.Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Jabril Trawick scored 10 points and anchored Georgetowns stifling defense as the Hoyas limited No. 4 Villanova to 33.3 percent shooting and took down the Wildcats, 78-58. Isaac Copeland had a career-high 17 points while Trawick added three steals and a pair of blocks. It was the second straight game that the duo made their impact felt. The Hoyas (13-5, 5-2 Big East) were coming off a 61-59 win over Butler. Trailing by a point late in regulation, Trawick drove the lane and kicked to Copeland, who was pure with a 3-ball from the left wing. DVauntes Smith-Rivera, who blocked a shot at the other end to seal that Butler win, also gave 17 points in this one. Joshua Smith and Paul White contributed nine apiece. Ryan Arcidiacono had 16 points to lead Villanova (17-2, 4-2), which stumbled out of the gate and never recovered. Final Score: (5) Duke 79, Pittsburgh 65 Durham, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Freshman Tyus Jones tied his season high with 22 points and No. 5 Duke beat Pittsburgh 79-65 on Monday for coach Mike Krzyzewskis 999th career win. Jahlil Okafor added 14 points, Rasheed Sulaimon scored 13 and Quinn Cook had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (16-2, 4-2 ACC), who have won two in a row. Krzyzewski, the all- time Division I leader in wins, could get No. 1,000 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday when DDuke plays St. wholesale nfl jerseys. . Johns. Jamel Artis scored 21 points to lead Pitt (13-6, 3-3), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Chris Jones chipped in 13 points and Michael Young scored 11. Final Score: (11) Kansas 85, (19) Oklahoma 78 Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Kelly Oubre, Jr. posted 19 points to go with nine rebounds, as No. 11 Kansas put together a late rally to subdue 19th- ranked Oklahoma, 85-78, in a battle of long-time conference rivals from Allen Fieldhouse. Perry Ellis totaled 16 points and eight boards for the Jayhawks (15-3, 4-1 Big 12), while Cliff Alexander contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds for the hosts. Buddy Hields game-high 26 points wasnt enough for the Sooners (12-6, 2-4). Isaiah Cousins had 18 points and Ryan Spangler picked up 13 with 10 rebounds in defeat. Final Score: (17) Texas 66, TCU 48 Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Javan Felix tallied 15 points off the bench and 17th-ranked Texas defeated TCU, 66-48, on Monday. Isaiah Taylor and Myles Turner scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Longhorns (14-4, 3-2 Big 12). Kenrich Williams was the only Horned Frog in double figures with 10 points. TCU (14-4, 1-4) has dropped four of its last five after a 13-0 start to the season. The Horned Frogs kicked off a seven-game stretch in which they will play teams in conference currently ranked in the Top-25. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
