two-game tour of the Sunshine State tonight

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Adam Jones wasnt all that impressed with matching his career high for RBIs. The veteran outfielder was more concerned with the runners he and his Baltimore teammates left on base. Its that type of thinking Orioles manager Buck Showalter hopes will lead his club deep into the post-season. Jones drove in five runs to back Wei-Yin Chen, and Baltimore beat the Oakland Athletics 8-4 on Saturday night. The Orioles scored more than seven runs for only the fifth time in their last 40 games but stranded nine runners -- seven in scoring position. "Our guys, theyre never satisfied," Showalter said. "Its a very professional group." Jones hit a three-run homer in the first and had a two-run single in the fourth. Baltimores All-Star centre fielder also walked and scored in the third. It was his two other at-bats that bothered Jones. He grounded out with runners on second and third in the sixth, then hit into a fielders choice with two on in the eighth. "Were a team that ... we need to fix it," Jones said. "We need to fix those type of things. Thats what we need to work on." Nick Markakis added four hits, while Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy also homered for the AL East-leading Orioles. Chen (10-3) allowed three runs over five innings with four strikeouts in an uneven outing while winning his third consecutive start. The left-hander improved to 4-0 in five career starts against the As. Brandon Moss hit his team-leading 22nd home run for Oakland. One day after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth on Josh Donaldsons game-ending home run, the Orioles took a 7-1 lead, then held off another rally by the As to move 10 games over .500. "I just kind of stepped back during the workout on Thursday at how professional, focused and engaged they were," Showalter said. "They know the challenge ahead of them and how hard its going to be with the schedule that we have to play the rest of the way." Jones provided the bulk of the offence with the second five-RBI game of his career. He also drove in five against the New York Yankees on July 28, 2008. Markakis helped with his third four-hit game of the year. All four hits were singles. He also reached on an error in the eighth. The Orioles needed it on a night when Chen was inconsistent. He retired the first six hitters before giving up Moss home run leading off the third. Chen also gave up a two-run double to Jed Lowrie in the fourth. Lowrie added an RBI single in the sixth off reliever Brad Brach. Zach Britton retired one batter for his 16th save of the year. The As had won seven straight at home before losing in front of a sellout crowd on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the franchises 1989 World Series championship. Oakland starter Jason Hammel (0-2) gave up five runs in two-plus innings, his second rocky outing since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs along with All-Star pitcher Jeff Samardzija in a trade on July 5. "His command of the heater wasnt very good and he got into some bad counts and they made him pay," As manager Bob Melvin said. "We had a lot of trouble with the top of their lineup." Baltimore knocked Hammel out of the game with four runs in the first and another in the third. Markakis singled to lead off the game, Steve Pearce walked and Jones followed with his 17th home run to break an 0-for-10 skid. Hardy added a solo shot with two outs to make it 4-0. Jones walked in the third and scored on Davis RBI double. Davis hit his 16th home run in the ninth off former As closer Jim Johnson. NOTES: Former As pitcher Dave Stewart threw out the ceremonial first pitch as part of the 25th anniversary celebration. Members of that team, including Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson, laid flowers at the base of the pitching mound where Bob Welchs No. 35 was inscribed during a pregame ceremony. Welch, who played on the 89 team, died of a heart attack in June. ... Sonny Gray (10-3) pitches the series finale for Oakland and is unbeaten in his three July starts this season. RHP Kevin Gausman (4-2) pitches for Baltimore. New England Patriots Pro Shop . -- Tiago Splitter tipped in a rebound with 2. Wholesale Patriots Jerseys . Wheeler scored two goals, including the winner, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Friday in a game that featured a seven-goal first period. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/.C. Lions signed cornerback Dante Marsh to a contract extension on Friay and released receiver Paris Jackson. Stitched Patriots Jerseys . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. New England Patriots Shirts . Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of footballs governing body in a vote at FIFAs congress. He won 186 votes out of 203 ballots.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to wait until after the Olympic break to get star centerman Steven Stamkos back, but the club hopes to avoid a fourth loss in five games when it hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs without him on Thursday night. Stamkoss teammate, Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, was named as his replacement for Sochi earlier on Thursday. You can listen to all of the action live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7:30pm. There was talk earlier this week that Stamkos would return for Saturdays home game against Detroit, the Lightnings final tilt before the NHL goes on hiatus for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, but on Wednesday it was announced that the sniper has not been cleared for game action by Dr. Ira Gutentag. The decision not only postpones Stamkos return to the Lightning, but also will prevent him from representing Team Canada at the Winter Games. The 23-year-old suffered a fractured tibia in a game against Boston on Nov. 11 and has missed the last 39 games while recovering. Stamkos was tied for the NHL lead in goals (14) and points (23) before the setback. "After reviewing the CT scan this afternoon, Dr. Gutentag made it clear to me and to Steven that the tibia is not completely healed and therefore he should not be participating in game action at any time in the near future," said Steve Yzerman, who is the general manager of the Lightning and the executive director of Team Canada. "Although the doctor was very pleased to this point with the healing process, he explained that the callus surrounding the fracture site is not 100 percent consolidated, and Steven will not be cleared to play in a game until that happens. It was a pretty clear cut decision, no gray areas at all." Stamkos will continue to rehabilitate and is expected to be re-evaluated in 2- to-3 weeks. The Lightning will resume play after the Olympic break on Feb. 27 at Nashville. "Today is obviously very disappointing for me," Stamkos said. "I honestly believe that we did everything possible in order to have my injured leg ready in time for the Olympics, but I realize you cant force healing." St. Louis will be participating at his second Olympics and first since the 2006 Turin Games. The 38-year-old winger has 25 goals and 54 points to lead Tampa this seasson.dddddddddddd The Lightning have performed extremely well without Stamkos in the lineup over the last few months and they enter Thursday in second place in the Atlantic Division. However, Tampas 1-3-0 record over a recent four-game road trip has helped the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens move within three points of the Lightning for the divisions second spot. The top-three teams in each division receive automatic bids to the playoffs. The Lightning downed the Canadiens 2-1 in overtime Saturday in Montreal before losing in regulation Tuesday night at Minnesota. Darcy Kuemper stopped 34 Tampa Bay shots in the Wilds close victory in St. Paul. Valtteri Filppula scored in the loss and Ben Bishop made 24 saves for the Lightning. "We worked harder (than the last game) we just didnt work smarter," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. "That was a big problem." The Lightning fell to 16-13-2 as the guest after its recent trip, but will play their final two games before the break at Tampa Bay Times Forum, where they are 16-6-3 this season. The Maple Leafs will try to rebound on Thursday after having a three-game winning streak halted with Tuesdays 4-1 loss at Florida. David Clarkson provided the lone goal for Toronto, while Jonathan Bernier allowed three goals on 47 shots in the setback. "The word to describe it is, we didnt have anything going except one person in the lineup is outstanding for our hockey club and that was our goaltender," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. "We didnt seem to have any jump or passion to play the game, and its kind of mind-boggling right now." After completing its two-game tour of the Sunshine State tonight, the Leafs will complete their pre-Olympic schedule on home ice when they host Vancouver on Saturday. Toronto is 20-10-1 as the home team this season compared to a sub-par 10-12-5 mark as the guest. The Leafs recorded a 3-2 regulation win over the visiting Lightning on Jan. 28, as Bernier stopped 40-of-42 shots and Nazem Kadri provided two goals for Toronto. It was the first of four scheduled meetings between the clubs this season and it was Torontos sixth win in the last eight meetings against the Bolts. The Lightning have won two straight and five of the last seven meetings in Central Florida. ' ' '