what he is is a player who was available and willing to listen to Toronto

PHILADELPHIA -- Key contributions from bench players helped the Philadelphia Phillies put a winning streak together. Pinch-hitter Reid Brignac lined a tiebreaking, two-run double in the sixth inning, John Mayberry Jr. hit a three-run homer and the Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 to complete a three-game sweep Thursday in a game played in steady rain. Brignac, whose three-run homer in the ninth sent the Phillies to a 3-0 victory a night earlier, hit a drive off Dale Thayer to the gap in left-centre for a 4-2 lead. Mayberry connected an inning later off Alex Torres. Making a spot start for Ryan Howard, Mayberry also doubled twice. "Its definitely a game of momentum and I think with the way weve played these last few games, that can definitely carry over." Mayberry said. "I think from top to bottom, weve pitched well, had timely hitting and played good defence. Hopefully we can continue." Kyle Kendrick (2-6) allowed one earned and seven hits, striking out five in six innings. He earned his second win in 20 starts, dating to last year. The Phillies have their first three game-winning streak since May 17-20 and recorded just their second series sweep this season. Ken Giles made his major league debut for the Phillies with two outs in the ninth. He threw a 100 mph fastball on his first pitch before Yasmani Grandal hit an opposite-field homer on a 3-1 pitch. "I just go out and pitch. Whatever it says, it says," Giles said of the radar gun. As for the homer, Giles said: "It looked like a routine fly ball to the warning track to me." Welcome to hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, kid. Padres starter Eric Stults (2-8) allowed four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. Mayberry is batting .324 (12 for 37) with five doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs against lefties. Howard is hitting just .206 (12 for 63) with one double, four homers, 15 RBIs and 30 strikeouts vs. lefties. Manager Ryne Sandberg may have to consider a platoon at first, even though Howard is making $25 million per season through 2016 with a $23 million team option for 2017. "I see it pretty well (against lefties)," Mayberry said. "I think traditionally righties hit left-handers better obviously. Im just trying to take the same approach into every at-bat." Mayberry led off Philadelphias sixth with his second double. Domonic Brown lined a single to right on an 0-2 pitch, chasing Stults. Thayer came in to face Will Nieves, who hit a bouncer to third baseman Chase Headley. His high throw to the plate was in time to get Mayberry. Sandberg challenged the call, but a video review confirmed catcher Grandal tagged Mayberry before his foot touched the plate. Thayer then struck out pinch-hitter Howard. But Brignac followed with a shot to the wall to give the Phillies a two-run lead. Mayberry made it 7-2 with his fifth homer of the season in the seventh. Padres manager Bud Black won a replay challenge in the third inning when a video review showed Ben Revere was out at first base following a drag bunt. Jimmy Rollins hit an RBI single in Philadelphias first to move within two hits of breaking Mike Schmidts franchise record of 2,234. The Padres jumped on Kendrick for two runs in the first. Will Venable led off with a single and Everth Cabrera followed with a single, snapping an 0-for-23 slump. After Seth Smiths groundout, Headley hit an RBI double. Smith scored when right fielder Marlon Byrd bobbled the ball for an error and Headley went to third. Kendrick has a 9.00 ERA in the first inning and batters are hitting .393 against him. "I dont have an answer," Kendrick said. "Ive tried everything. Maybe next game I wont warm up." NOTES: Howard wasnt in the starting lineup vs. Stults, even though hes 2 for 2 with two homers off him. ... Kendrick became the first Phillies pitcher to draw a walk. ... The Padres lost for only the 12th time when having a lead at any point in a game. ... The Phillies open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday night. Roberto Hernandez (2-4, 4.35) faces Chicagos Jake Arrieta (1-1, 2.50). ... The Padres open a three-game set at the Mets. Andrew Cashner (2-5, 2.13) goes against New Yorks Bartolo Colon (5-5, 4.31). Jordan Lyles Jersey .com) - Ames, IA (SportsNetwork. Bill Mazeroski Pirates Jersey . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/Jameson-Taillon-pirates-jersey/ . Canada Day is here and with it comes Free Agent Frenzy as the NHLs 30 teams storm out of the gate for signing season. Francisco Cervelli Jersey . All of 46 seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 victory over Alex Ovechkins struggling Washington Capitals, Crosby assisted on Chris Kunitzs goal. Jordan Lyles Pirates Jersey . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest. DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche are back in the post-season. But they may have to move on without Matt Duchene. If Semyon Varlamov continues his breakout season, the Avalanche might not miss their leading scorer. Varlamov had a season-high 47 saves and Colorado clinched its first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Center John Mitchell had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who moved past Chicago into second place in the Central Division with 100 points in what might have been a costly victory. Duchene suffered a left knee injury on the opening shift Saturday when he collided with teammate Jamie McGinn near the Sharks blue line. He fell to the ice and then gingerly skated to the bench. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday. "Well know more after that," coach Patrick Roy said. "Its not good news for him and its not good news for us. Its the way its been all year." Despite the injuries -- Colorado has lost top-six forwards Alex Tanguay and P.A. Parenteau -- the constant has been Varlamov. He came through again against the relentless Sharks, who threw 74 shots at him. Colorado blocked 25. "Im guessing he was the first star," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said of Varlamov. "He should be." Down a player, Varlamov made up for it with an outstanding performance. He stopped 20 shots in the third period, many during the final minutes when the Sharks were trying to get the equalizer. His 37 wins are the most in the NHL and a big reason the Avalanche reached 100 points for the first time in 10 years. "Hes been tremendous," captain Gabe Landeskog said. "I think its safe to say we wouldnt be here without him." Colorado was a mainstay in the playoffs when the franchise moved to Denver in 1995. After winning the Stanley Cup for a second time in 2001, the Avalanche reached the Western Conference finals the following season before heading into lean times. Now they have a chance to return to the glory years with a young, eager group. "Were certainly not satisfied with just squeaking into the playoffs, we want to do damage," Landeskog said. Mitchell moved upp to centre Colorados top line, and came through with a big power-play goal to give Colorado a 3-1 lead at 6:32 of the second period.dddddddddddd "It came right to me slow enough so I could get a forehand shot and I just one-timed it into the back of the net," Mitchell said. "I was just at the right place at the right time." Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod also scored for Colorado. Varlamovs strong play beforehand helped Colorado maintain a 2-1 lead. The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 11-3 in the second, many of those coming early when they were trying to tie it. Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle scored for the Sharks, who are 1-2-2 in their past five games but still hold a slim lead for first place in the Pacific over Anaheim. Goalie Alex Stalock had 19 saves for San Jose before being pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute. "I thought we played extremely well, thought we generated a lot of chances," Joe Thornton said. "Its just sometimes you dont win those types of games." Boyle cut the lead to 3-2 when he took a pass from James Sheppard and scored off Varlamovs left shoulder 2:03 after Mitchell. It was his 10th goal of the season. The Sharks got a chance to tie on a 4-on-3 power play after Ryan OReilly took his first penalty of the season, a minor for playing with a broken stick. Stastnys 26th goal 1:33 into the game gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. Pavelski tied it on the power play less than two minutes later with his 38th. The Sharks had another power-play chance midway through the first, but McLeod sneaked behind the defence, took a long pass from Nick Holden off Boyles glove and beat Stalock to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. "I took my eye off the puck for a fraction of a second to make sure I wasnt going to get drilled," Boyle said. "I just caught a piece of it and missed it. Thats an unfortunate bounce." NOTES: Mitchell returned to the lineup after missing four games with a back injury. ... The Sharks reassigned F Freddie Hamilton to Worcester of the AHL on Friday. ... McGinn played after skipping practice Friday. He took a shot off his foot in Thursdays win over Vancouver. ' ' '