Offtopic/fun » losing season for the Irish, just the 14t

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Phillies remain very high on top pitching prospect Jake Thompson. They just hope he finds his control soon.Making the third start of his career, Thompson (1-2) allowed five runs, five hits and four walks as the Phillies fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 on Wednesday night.Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs and had five RBI to help the Dodgers extend their lead in the NL West. Justin Turner also homered and Joc Pederson reached base four times for the first-place Dodgers, who moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants, who lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.Its just a combination of his first go-round in the big leagues and his age, trying to impress, trying to do too much, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of the 22-year-old. I know hes got better command than hes shown. He walked four guys tonight, which is uncharacteristic of him. Hes going to go through growing pains and learn little by little.Thompson surrendered just one hit through the first three innings before the Dodgers got to him. With Los Angeles trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Gonzalez lined a 3-1 fastball into the seats in right-center field for a three-run homer. Turner singled and Josh Reddick walked to lead off the inning.Turner hit his 22nd home run after Corey Seager singled in the fifth, pushing the Dodgers ahead 5-1.I think I was a little too fine, falling behind hitters, Thompson said. When youre facing a lineup like those guys have thats not a very good place to be.Gonzalez hit his second home run of the game in the seventh after Seager led off the inning with a double. It was the first basemans first multi-homer game of the season and the 20th of his career. Gonzalez, who has 12 homers, extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is 18 for 40 in that span.Scott Kazmir (10-6) allowed eight hits and two earned runs in five-plus innings to pick up his first win in four starts and improve his road record to 6-0. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and reliever Grant Dayton got out of another bases-loaded jam in the sixth after Kazmir allowed a leadoff homer to Tommy Joseph followed by three straight singles.We got plenty of hits but we didnt get them when they counted, Mackanin said. We swung the bats relatively well to get enough hits -- we just didnt come through in the clutch.Shortstop Freddy Galvis went 2 for 4 and had an RBI double in the second to stake the Phillies to a 1-0 lead. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez also went 2 for 4 and has reached base in a career-high 23 straight games.UTLEYS BIG WELCOME (AGAIN)Chase Utley went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts in his second game back in Philadelphia since the Phillies traded him to the Dodgers last August. In his emotional return a night earlier, the Dodgers second baseman homered twice and received two curtain calls from the adoring Philly fans. Utley, a six-time All-Star who helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles and the 2008 World Series, was greeted to another long standing ovation leading off Wednesdays game.POWERFUL ROOKIEJoseph hit his 16th homer of the season on the first pitch of the sixth inning, crushing one into the upper deck. The rookie first baseman is averaging one homer for every 14.13 at-bats this season, which is the ninth-highest rate among all players with at least 200 at-bats.DELAYING THE INEVITABLEJust when it looked like the game was over, the Phillies called for an official review on Odubel Herreras groundout with two outs in the ninth. It was overturned, leading to a big cheer from the remaining fans. But Aaron Altherr struck out on the next at-bat to end the game for real.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: RHP Aaron Nola was transferred to the 60-day DL, ending his season. Out since Aug. 3 with a right elbow strain, the 23-year-old was 6-9 with a 4.78 ERA in 20 starts.The Phillies announced Wednesday that Nola was replaced on the 40-man roster by RHP Frank Herrmann, while Elvis Araujo was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Herrmann made his first major league appearance since 2012, pitching a scoreless inning Wednesday.Dodgers: The Dodgers plan to activate LHP Adam Liberatore (2-0, 1.62) on Friday. The reliever made his second rehab appearance Tuesday night, striking out two in a scoreless inning for Triple-A Oklahoma City.UP NEXTThe Phillies and Dodgers conclude their three-game series Thursday night with Philadelphia RHP Jerad Eickhoff (8-12, 3.82) opposing RHP Ross Stripling (3-4, 4.07).Baltimore Orioles Store . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Cheap Orioles Jerseys . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Baltimore Orioles Gear .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Wholesale Orioles Jerseys . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Virginia Tech proved it can overcome a slow start and turnovers.The Hokies fell behind by 17 points early and trailed by 10 to start the fourth quarter, but Jerod Evans guided them to a touchdown and a pair of field goals by Joey Slye in the quarter to beat Notre Dame 34-31 Saturday.Evans threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another in intermittent snow and 20 mph winds. The Hokies (8-3) had been 0-3 when trailing at halftime this season and minus-9 in turnovers in its three losses. Evans threw an interception on a pass that bounced off the hands of Cam Phillips and fumbled when he was sacked, leading to 10 points by the Irish on the two turnovers.Evans said the Hokies knew the game wasnt over after falling behind 17-0.We know were more than capable of doing of what we do with the high-powered offense, so you dont lose confidence easily when youve got that type of talent, he said.The Virginia Tech defense shut down the Irish offense in the second half. After giving up 299 yards in total offense, the Hokies held the Irish to 150 yards in the second half -- with 67 yards of that came on a touchdown run by Josh Adams that extended Notre Dames lead to 31-21 and 57 coming on the final drive of the game.They hit us on a couple of plays early that they had not shown, but our kids hung in there, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. It was a tale of two halves. They did some unique things and we adjusted.DeShone Kizer, who was 13-of-18 passing for 199 yards with two touchdowns in the first half, was just 3 of 15 for 36 yards in the second half.We had some balls that were catchable that we didnt catch. I just dont think we executed quite as well offensively, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said.Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said the Hokies simply pllayed better after halftime.ddddddddddddI dont think there was any great revelation at halftime. Its just, weve got to play better, he said. We were out there dropping the ball on the ground, giving up big plays. Just not playing Virginia Tech football. I think guys kind of settled down and got their feet underneath them and felt like if theyd just execute theyd have a chance to have success. Thats what they did.THE TAKEAWAYVirginia Tech: A solid performance after a slow start should give the Hokies confidence as they try to clinch the ACC Coastal Division.Notre Dame: It was the same old story for the Irish, who squandered a double-digit lead in a loss for the third time this season. The loss clinched a losing season for the Irish, just the 14th time in 128 seasons of playing football and the first since going 3-9 in 2007.POLL IMPLICATIONS: The win against the Irish could get the Hokies back in the poll.UNWANTED RECORDThe loss drops Kellys record to 59-30 in seven seasons at Notre Dame, tying him with Lou Holtz for most losses at the school. Holtz was 100-30-2 in 11 seasons. Kelly will finish with only his second losing season in 26 seasons as coach. Central Michigan finished 4-7 in his first year as head coach there in 2004.UP NEXTVirginia Tech: The Hokies finish the regular season with their annual game against rival Virginia. The Hokies have beaten the Cavaliers 12 straight times.Notre Dame: The Irish finish the season against rival USC. In their last trip to face the Trojans in 2014, the Irish were blown out 49-14. The Irish have won three of the last four in the series.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '