Interleague play has been a boon for Major League Baseball. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Graham-Glasgow-Draft-Jersey/ . For the Blue Jays, not so much. This weekend, battling to get back over the .500 mark, John Gibbons and company kick off a stretch of seven straight games against the National League. They start with three at Pittsburgh against the struggling Pirates and then follow up that series with two at Philadelphia before returning home the next night to kick off a two-game set at Rogers Centre with the Phillies. After salvaging the final game of their three-game set at Kansas City on Thursday night with a 7-3 victory, the Jays sit at 13-15 but thanks largely to the injuries and flaws of the other teams in the AL East, they are still just two-and-a-half games back of the first place Yankees. Still, if the Blue Jays are going to keep it that close, theyve got to start beating the National League clubs with more regularity. Since interleague play came into being in 1997, the Blue Jays have compiled a record of 143-160. The first 16 years, the games were compressed into a small portion of the schedule when school was out in June and early July for the most part. Last season, with Houston moving to the American League, there were 15 teams in each league so there pretty well had to be at least one interleague game each and every day of the season. Last season, the first year under the new format, the Jays actually had a winning record against the National League clubs at 11-9. But overall, the Jays interleague record pales to those of the Yankees and Red Sox. The Yanks are 179-123 over the 17 years heading into this season. Boston is right behind them at 175-128. It isnt just the big boys who have success in interleague play, though. The Angels, who havent won a World Series since 2002, are 174-130 against the senior circuit over that span. The White Sox are 171-132 and even the Minnesota Twins are 165-137. If you average it out over 17 seasons, the Blue Jays have cost themselves about two games per season versus the Yanks and Red Sox in the East by struggling in interleague play. The American League has dominated this annual showdown between the two leagues, having the better record in 13 of the 17 seasons. Oddly enough, though, in the beginning the National League was up four winning seasons to three over the first seven interleague plays. The American League has dominated ever since. Nine American League teams are above .500 in the crossover play to just five National League clubs. The top National League club in interleague play is Atlanta at 148-131, followed by St. Louis at 135-120. Miami has done surprisingly well at 149-141. Luckily for the Blue Jays, the two teams they are playing against over the next seven days havent traditionally done well against the American League. Pittsburgh is the worst at 106-143 and the Phillies are 127-158. The Pirates have really had their troubles this season. After making the playoffs last season for the first time since 1992, the Bucs are 10-18 this time around. They lost one of their top pitchers in A.J Burnett in the offseason as a free agent to the Phillies, while lefty Wandy Rodriguez is recouping from a knee injury. But the Pirates real problem has been cashing in runners. They stranded 28 men in dropping a day/night doubleheader to Baltimore Thursday. On top of that, their number one catcher, Russell Martin of Montreal, is on the disabled list. The Pirates are in a virtual tie for last in the NL Central with the Cubs. The Phillies are only marginally better. They are 13-13, tied with Miami for last in the AL East. Yes the Phillies were stung by the retirement of Roy Halladay in the offseason but like the Pirates, their problem is run production. If you can believe it, their outfielders have only 15 extra base hits and the season is a month old. These are teams the Blue Jays must beat. Anything less than five out of seven will be a failure. One thing to remember about the Phillies is that they won a World Series in 2008; just six years ago. Yet this year, they lost 6,000 season ticket holders and their average attendance drop from a year ago, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, is 9,129 per game. This, for a team that has known recent success and has a pretty new and fan-friendly ballpark. The inclement weather of April likely plays a major part in the Phillies drop-off, but it just shows fans wont put up with mediocrity forever. I was more than a bit surprised that the team with the second biggest drop-off is Detroit at 5,493 per game. This, for a Tigers team that seems to win the AL Central nearly every year and has been to the World Series, albeit, hasnt won twice in the last eight seasons. You might have missed it but the Dodgers franchise reached a milestone on Wednesday, winning its 10,000th game. The only others to reach that magic figure are the Giants, the Cubs and the Braves. And of those four, the Cubs are the only teams to have played their entire existence in one city. The Dodgers Zack Greinke is putting up some obscure but impressive stats, nonetheless. Hes off to a 5-0 start this season and has made 18 straight starts where he has pitched five innings or more and given up two or fewer runs. That hasnt happened in 100 years -- since 1914. The last time Greinke started a season 6-0, he won the Cy Young Award in 2009 while in the American League. Adam Lind isnt close to returning to the active roster yet. Hes still rehabbing his back. But when he is healthy again, the Blue Jays could face an interesting dilemma if Juan Francisco keeps hitting the way he is. There is no way the Jays can carry Edwin Encarnacion, Lind and Francisco on the same roster. Francisco has one edge over Lind in the versatility department in that he can also play 3rd base in a pinch. Linds not in any kind of jeopardy, but this situation will be interesting to watch. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Quandre-Diggs-Draft-Jersey/ . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Matthew-Stafford-Draft-Jersey/ .com) - Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will sit out Thursdays game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with left knee soreness. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Deshawn-Shead-Draft-Jersey/ . The result means Atletico Madrid now tops the table, with Madrid level on points in second and Barcelona a point behind in third with nine games remaining as the title race shapes up to be the closest in years.TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan had zero intention of losing to the Golden State Warriors for a second time this season. DeRozan had one of his best games of the season as he scored 32 points to lead the Raptors past the Warriors 104-98 on Sunday afternoon, with the memory of Toronto giving up a 27-point lead to Golden State in December still lingering in his mind. "It was a big win, big win against a great Western Conference team," DeRozan said. "Especially with the way we lost at their place. The way that we lost was definitely tough, we understood that coming into tonight so it was definitely a big win." Acknowledging that the December loss was something Raptors players had thought about coming into Sundays contest, DeRozan downplayed his own stellar offensive output. "I just got out and played, to be honest," DeRozan said. "Just try to go out there and play to win. I understand that every game we go out and play, how important it is and everybody in this locker-room really wants to make the playoffs so Im just going out there doing whatever I can." DeRozan did more than just play on Sunday afternoon. He won the efficiency battle against Stephen Curry to give Toronto its first victory against the Warriors with Golden States all-star guard in the lineup. While Curry finished with 34 points on 13-for-27 shooting, DeRozan put in an all-star performance, scoring his 32 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the floor and 11-for-12 from the line. He also recorded four rebounds, six assists and a steal. Kyle Lowry added 13 points and eight assists for Toronto (33-26), while Patrick Patterson had 12 points and five rebounds. Currys 34 points for Golden State (36-24) were a game-high. David Lee added 20 points and 11 rebounds. While DeRozan was quiet about his own big night, he was effusive in his praise of his point guard. "Whatever I say about Kyle is an understatement," DeRozan said. "We go off him to be honest, man. We just ride off him, thats a hell of a player right there. Hes there reason why Im getting 30 points." Golden State went ahead by five points early in the fourth quarter before the Raptors reeled off an 11-0 run to take a 92-86 lead with less than six minutes remaining. Torontos fourth quarter scoring attack was led by DeRozan who scored 12 of his 32 in the quarter. "We just lost our composure on the offensive end a little bit and didnt play solid enough on the other end in the last five minutes," Curry said. "We had a five-point lead with eight minutes left, they went on aan 11-0 run and we didnt have an answer for it. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Taylor-Decker-Draft-Jersey/. ." The game was close throughout, with Toronto holding a five-point lead at halftime. Things remained tight in the third with Curry scoring 14 in the quarter. The Warriors took a three-point advantage into the final quarter, ahead 78-75. Toronto shot 57 per cent through the first quarter, but found themselves behind by three at the end of one. Terrence Ross missed the game for the Raptors after spraining his ankle in the first half of Torontos triple-overtime loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Landry Fields started in his place. It was the second start for Fields this season and he made his presence felt early, scoring six points in the opening quarter. After the game, Fields was singled out by coach and teammates for stepping up when he was needed. Casey said he went with Fields in the starting lineup because of what he could bring to the floor defensively. "He got switched off on Curry a few times and I thought his length helped us," Casey said. "Im a defensive guy and if guys are willing to play defence theyre going to have a big advantage over guys who are not defensive minded. Landry has done that for us and I commend him on his professionalism. Not playing at all, he was ready to go when his number was called." Lowry echoed the words of his coach. "Landrys just being professional," Lowry said. "He hasnt played in a while and he comes in tonight, unbelievable defensive effort. Saved me a few times by cutting backdoor, just being there and being athletic the way he can play. Hes been through a lot and youre just happy for him as a player, as a teammate. Youre happy for the opportunity and the things he was able to do tonight." For a team that has continued to say that they are 15 players deep, seeing a teammate step up meant a lot to the Raptors locker room. "Weve got great 15, 14, 13 guys. Weve got guys, Julyan (Stone), (Dwight) Buycks, Landry (Fields), Steve (Novak), theyve been true professionals. People dont see it from the outside looking in, but theyre as big a part as this team as anybody." Jermaine ONeal was not available for the Warriors after the team discovered he was missing his passport. ONeal had been with the team for their previous game against New York and head coach Mark Jackson said the team would meet him in Indiana for their Tuesday night game against the Pacers. Former NHLer and star of the 1972 Summit Series Paul Henderson was in attendance as was current Toronto Maple Leaf Joffrey Lupul. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '