r Martins 3 cut Indianas lead to 86

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CLEARWATER, Fla. Gregory Polanco Pirates Jersey . -- Jose Bautista hit a long home run off Roberto Hernandez three batters into the game, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Wednesday in rain-shortened spring training opener for both teams. Bautistas home run landed outside of the ballpark at Bright House Field. The game was called in the middle of the seventh inning. "It felt pretty good, I cant deny that," Bautista said. "More importantly I felt like I was seeing the ball great. I havent been playing for a while so thats a positive." Bautista missed the last six weeks of the season with a hip injury, the second straight year in which he ended the season on the disabled list. He hit 28 home runs in 2013 after reaching 27 the year before. He was 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs scored Wednesday. Ryan Howard and Marlon Byrd each had run-scoring singles off former Phillies left-hander J.A. Happ in the bottom of the first. STARTING TIME Phillies: Hernandez, making his Phillies debut, allowed two runs on four hits in two innings. He is the front runner for the fifth starters job after signing a one-year, $4.5 million contract as a free agent this winter. "When I face him I try to throw changeups and sinkers down," Hernandez said of the home run to Bautista. "But today I got down in the count and had to throw it down the middle. I missed up." Blue Jays: Happ struggled in his only inning against his former team. Although he ended up striking out the side, he gave up four hits and a walk in facing eight batters. Happ finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2009, when he went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA. Happ was 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 18 starts with the Blue Jays last season. TRAINERS ROOM Philadelphia left-hander Cole Hamels threw off the mound for the first time this spring. The 30-year-old Hamels entered camp behind the rest of the pitchers after experiencing biceps soreness in November. Hamels will throw another side session on Saturday and isnt likely to pitch in a Grapefruit League game for another two weeks. HOWARDS END Howard got off to a fast start, singling in a run in the bottom of first. The Phillies first baseman played only 80 games last year because of knee problems. Manager Ryne Sandberg is impressed with Howards progress. "I really like Howards aggressiveness early in the count with men on base," Sandberg said. KNUCKLED Cliff Lee will make his first start of the spring on Thursday, when the Phillies take on the Blue Jays for the second straight day, this time in Dunedin. But several Phillies regulars will not be in the lineup, including Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Toronto is starting knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey. But Sandberg says hes not sitting his regulars because of Dickeys unusual pitch. "I dont think that comes into play that much," Sandberg said. "If they keep it simple, it comes down to see the ball and hit it." Andrew McCutchen Authentic Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Kent Tekulve Pirates Jersey . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. http://www.officialpiratesonline.com/authentic-roberto-clemente-pirates-jersey/ . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. ATLANTA -- Its over. This time, the Indiana Pacers had a successful regular-season trip to Atlanta. David West scored 22 points, Paul George added 18 and the NBA-leading Pacers beat the Hawks 89-85 on Tuesday night. "This has been a tough place for us, but I thought we came in with the right motivation tonight," West said. "They blitzed us the last time we were down here." The Pacers most recent win in Atlanta came last May in the clinching Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. But Indiana (38-10) had dropped its last 12 regular-season games at the Hawks, including a 97-87 decision on Jan. 8. "I dont have to answer questions about it anymore, so thats good," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "Weve had some struggles here, but its not anything we were losing sleep over." Atlanta (25-22) failed to place a starter in double figures. It had won two straight and five of seven. Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver had nine points apiece for the Hawks. All-Star forward Paul Millsap went 2 for 11 from the field and finished with seven points. Teague made a 3-pointer to give Atlanta a 41-35 lead with 1:06 left in the second quarter, but the Hawks were outscored 38-16 over the next 17 minutes. Cartier Martins 3 cut Indianas lead to 86-84 with 14.9 seconds left. C.J. Watson and Danny Granger then combined for three free throws to help the Pacers hold on for the win. "Offensively, it just wasnt one of our better nights," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I think you have to give Indiana and their defence credit for that." Elton Brand, a 14-year veteran, had 12 points and was the only Hawk to score in double figures before Mike Scott scored nine oof his 15 points in the fourth quarter. Gerrit Cole Authentic Jersey. Scott said its no surprise that Atlantas offence couldnt get much going against a defence that holds opponents to just 90.2 points a game, lowest in the NBA. "Theyre very good," Scott said. "Thats why theyre the best team in the league defensively. We just missed open shots and couldnt get it in." The Pacers had not won in the regular season at Philips Arena since Dec. 22, 2006. "I thought our resolve took over," West said. "We were really precise with our movement and what we wanted to do. And we made plays when we needed to make plays." Ian Mahinmi gave Indiana its biggest lead of the game with a tip-in that made it 73-57 with 8:10 left. Pacers guard Lance Stephenson hit the floor hard on a layup at the 7:56 mark of the third, falling over Millsap in the lane and landing on his left shoulder and hip. Stephenson then converted the three-point play to make it 55-47, but he sat out the last 16 minutes. George stole the ball from rookie point guard Dennis Schroder late in the fourth and scored a fast-break layup to make it 82-74. "Our guys buckled down on the defensive end," Vogel said. "(Atlanta) made a few shots in the last minute or two, but for the most part we held a pretty explosive team down to 85 points. Thats a pretty good effort." NOTES: Indiana improved to 23-0 when holding opponents under 90 points. ... The Pacers are 10-3 since the loss in Atlanta on Jan. 8. ... Korver extended his NBA record to 116 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. Korver began his streak last season in Atlantas second game -- a win at Oklahoma City. ... The Pacers are 15-8 on the road, best in the Eastern Conference. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '