CHICAGO r12; Jon Lester may be having the best season of his career and the timing couldnr17;t have been better for the Chicago Cubs.
While the starting rotation has experienced its share of issues and the Cubs have struggled to find consistency Anthony Beauvillier Jersey , Lester has been more than steady. Lester takes a 10-2 mark into his 17th start of the season Sunday when the Cubs attempt to finish off a three-game sweep of the Minnesta Twins at Wrigley Field.
Lester has won six straight starts and allowed four runs in his five starts in June, which bodes well for a team that won its third straight game after Saturdayr17;s 14-9 back-and-forth victory over the Twins.
Lester threw 119 pitches r12; a sign that at age 34 he has plenty of good work left in him r12; two starts back. He had thrown 106 pitches in six innings when manager Joe Maddon elected to keep Lester on the mound.
r0;At that point, whatr17;s 15 or 20 more pitches,r1; Lester told reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Said Maddon: r0;Jon gave what we needed.r1;
Lester has provided consistency while fellow starters Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood have struggled and Yu Darvish has battled injury. Lester will attempt to keep rolling Sunday against the Twins, against whom he is 3-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 career starts.
The Twins continued to struggle Saturday and lost for the seventh time in their last nine games. For the second straight day, Minnesota blew leads as the Cubs rallied from behind twice before scoring five runs in the seventh inning to snap a 9-9 tie.
Minnesotar17;s bullpen allowed 10 runs and for the second straight day the Twins were unable to match the Cubsr17; offense Jake Rudock Jersey , which pounded out 20 hits on a day when the temperatures were in the 90s and the heat index registered 107 degrees.
The Twins lost left fielder Eddie Rosario, catcher Bobby Wilson and outfielder Max Kepler during the game to heat illness. Cubsr17; center fielder Albert Almora, Jr. also left with cramping because of the conditions.
r0;When the conditions are like that, you do the best you can to prepare them with nutrition and hydration and all those things, but it overtook three of our guys today,r1; Twins manager Paul Molitor told reporters. r0;So it was just tough.r1;
Twins right-hander Lance Lynn will take the mound against a team he is familiar with from his days with the St. Louis Cardinals. Lynn enters Sundayr17;s start with a 5-6 record and a 4.81 ERA. He allowed five runs (four earned) and struck out eight in his last start against the Chicago White Sox.
Lynn is 6-6 with a 4.06 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) against the Cubs.
Lynn will try to bounce back from an outing in which he had a lead but couldnr17;t pitch out of trouble in his final inning.
r0;Itr17;s frustrating, especially with the way things had been going all night. I had eight strikeouts in five and your17;ve got 8-9 up, bases are loaded Youth John Kelly Jersey , even though itr17;s been kind of a funky inning, you want to have that chance,r1; Lynn told the teamr17;s official website. r0;But with the way things had unfolded that inning, you get it. Wer17;re trying to win the game.r1;
The Miami Dolphins appear ready to move on without their defensive anchor.
Miami is discussing releasing five-time Pro Bowl tackle Ndamukong Suh when the NFLr17;s new year begins Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation said Monday. The person said nothing has been finalized, and confirmed the conversations to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins have not commented.
The Dolphins are also expected to release veteran linebacker Lawrence Timmons, the person said.
Suhr17;s release is anticipated unless he agrees to a significant contract restructuring, which is unlikely. He signed a $114 million Joe Flacco Jersey , six-year deal with the Dolphins when he joined them in 2015, and his base salary this year would be $17 million.
r1;Stay tuned,r1; Suh said in a video posted on Twitter. r1;There will be some exciting news going on.r1;
The 305-pound Suh clogs the middle and usually draws double teams, but her17;s not a playmaker and has had only 15 sacks in three years with Miami. He has a reputation for needless penalties and dirty play, while his aloof personality raised questions about his leadership.
His anticipated departure would be the latest move in an attempt to change the locker room culture under Adam Gase, who heads into his third season as coach.
Running back Jay Ajayi was traded last season, and receiver Jarvis Landry was traded last week. Gase clashed at times with both.
And then therer17;s Timmons. He joined the Dolphins a year ago, went AWOL on the eve of the opener Taven Bryan Jersey , was briefly suspended and returned to have a poor season.
Suh, 31, has never won a playoff game, and with him last year, Miami finished 14th in run defense and 26th in sacks last year. He had 4 1/2 sacks and 48 tackles for the Dolphins, who went 6-10.
Suh was the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2010 by the Detroit Lions. He has been a model of durability, missing only two games in his eight-year career.
