Basisphilosophie » Raonic controlled the early

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Maybe its good this one got suspended. Gave everybody a chance to dry off a bit, catch their breath and let those unbelievable numbers start to sink in. Ten homers in only six innings. Three sets of back-to-back homers, tying a record. The most combined homers in a major league game since 2006. And the Pirates and Reds still have a long way to go. Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez hit back-to-back homers twice, and the Pirates and Reds hit 10 in all before rain forced a suspension after six innings with the score tied 7-all Monday night. "I saw a lot of crazy stuff in Coors Field over the years," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who managed in Colorado for eight years. "I spent a lot of years there, saw a lot of homers, saw a lot of weather. "This was as good as any of that, jammed into one evening." The shocking slugfest will resume on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the top of the seventh inning. Conditions are expected to be drier but much colder. Not that the weather seems to matter much when these two rivals get together. "Ive never seen anything like that," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "The way we got started, one team going in front of the other with home runs. Ive seen a lot of home runs hit, but not in those conditions. You wouldnt imagine they would carry that far." Pittsburgh hit six solo shots and Cincinnati had four homers, most of them into a heavy rain. Already, its the most homers in a major league game since 2006 and the most combined homers for a game in Great American Ball Parks 12-year history. Pittsburgh had three sets of back-to-back homers, only the third time thats happened in major league history. The game was suspended following a 1-hour, 38-minute delay, the second time in less than a year that a game was suspended in Cincinnati. The Reds and Phillies were scoreless last April 16 in the middle of the ninth inning when play was halted because of rain, and Cincinnati won 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth the following day. The Ohio River rivals were known more for trading hit-by-pitches last season. The Pirates and Reds plunked each other 28 times -- most in the majors -- while nailing down the two NL wild-card spots. Their first matchup of 2014 was more swing-away than get-out-of-the-way. Ten of the 17 combined hits so far have cleared the wall. All but one of the 14 runs has come on a homer. "It wouldnt be a Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game without some drama," Walker said. Pittsburgh went back-to-back three times. Walker and Sanchez did it in the second inning off Homer Bailey and again in the sixth off J.J. Hoover. Starling Marte and Travis Snider teamed up in the fifth off Bailey. It was only the third time in major league history that a team had three sets of back-to-back homers in a game, according to STATS. The others: Cincinnati against the Braves in 1956, and Boston against the Yankees in 1977. "I certainly wouldnt think that I would find my way attached to a home run record," Walker said. "The games not even over yet, so I dont know how to express whats going on. But thats pretty cool." Both teams had a chance to take a lead with the rain coming down heavier and the field getting muddier. The starters and bullpens failed to hold on. Wandy Rodriguez gave up Joey Vottos two-out homer in the bottom of the fifth inning, putting Cincinnati up 6-5. The umpires inspected the infield, called for dry dirt and decided to continue. Walker and Sanchez connected again off Hoover for a 7-6 lead in the sixth. It was only the second time that two Pirates went back-to-back twice in a game, according to STATS. Toby Atwell and Jerry Lynch also did it against the Reds on April 27, 1954. Devin Mesoracos solo shot off Bryan Morris tied it at 7 in the bottom of the sixth. It was the first time since June 18, 2006, that two major league teams combined for 10 homers in a game -- the Tigers hit eight and the Cubs three at Wrigley Field that day. Something about Great American turns the Pirates into power hitters. They also hit six homers in Cincinnati last Sept. 28 during an 8-3 win that clinched home-field advantage for the NL wild-card game. Then they beat the Reds at PNC Park in the one-game playoff. Pittsburgh has 14 homers in its last three games at Great American, four of them by Walker. NOTES: Several hundred dogs were in the stands with their owners as part of an annual pet promotion. ... Hurdle said C Chris Stewart felt good after catching consecutive games in the minors as part of a rehab stint. Stewart had surgery on his right knee March 19. ... Reds closer Aroldis Chapman threw 25 pitches in the bullpen before the game, the first time hes thrown off a mound since he was hit in the face by a line drive on March 19. The Reds hope to have him back next month. Bryan Bulaga Jersey . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Kenny Clark Jersey .Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team. http://www.officialgreenbaypackersfootball.com/authentic-kentrell-brice-jersey-womens . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Marcedes Lewis Jersey . Juventus announced details of the deal Saturday, saying that Morata signed a five-year contract with the club. The deal also includes an option for Madrid to buy Morata back for up to (euro)30 million ($40. Bart Starr Jersey . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into.TORONTO -- Canadas Milos Raonic strolled into the post-match interview room at Rexall Centre and immediately looked over at the television monitor beside his seat. He watched the screen intently as Roger Federer and Marin Cilic squared off on the stadium court before sitting down to discuss his 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau at the Rogers Cup. Raonic will next meet Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals but the possibility of another semifinal showdown with Federer -- just a month after they met in the final four at Wimbledon -- has Canadian tennis fans drooling. So, is a potential rematch with the Swiss star in the back of his mind? "No, I just enjoy to watch tennis," Raonic said with a grin. Federer ended Raonics run at the All England Club before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final. It was a career-best performance at the Grand Slam event for the 23-year-old Canadian, but his performance against Federer left him disappointed and frustrated. Raonic responded last week by winning in Washington and he has maintained the momentum this week, although he has been tested in both of his matches. The No. 6 seed from Thornhill, Ont., barely got by American Jack Sock in his opener before getting another stiff challenge from Benneteau on Thursday night. The hard-serving Raonic controlled the early pace with his powerful ground strokes but the Frenchman picked up two breaks in the second set to pull even. Raonic broke Benneteau at love to open the third set and was never threatened after that. "Today I was (in) much more (of) a comfort zone -- created my opportunities," Raonic said. It was a day of upsets at the US$3.78-million Masters 1000 series tournament as three of the top four seeds were eliminated. South Africas Kevin Anderson got things started in the morning by knocking off No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (8), 7-5 and No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win over top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia. In the evening, Lopez pulled out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The second-seeded Federer held off Cilic, the No. 15 seed from Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4. With a near-capacity crowd cheering him on, Raonic had little trouble in the opening set. He was pushed to deuce at one point but a volley winner and 221-km/h service winner gave him the hold and a 4-3 lead. In the following game, Raonic landed a scorching forehand in the corner to set up a break point and took the game when Benneteau made an unforced error. He closed out the set when the ball struck the net tape and softly landed on Benneteaus side. Benneteau appeared to get more of a read on Raonics serve in the second set but he couldnt match up in the third. The Frenchman fought off threee match points in the penultimate game before Raonic closed things out in one hour 47 minutes.dddddddddddd Earlier, Djokovic was unable to settle into his usual rhythm and it proved costly against Tsonga, who needed only 63 minutes to complete the straight-sets victory. "Just nothing was going," Djokovic said. "No baseline, no serve, no return. So (it was) just generally (a) very bad day, very poor performance. (I) couldnt do much." Tsonga had eight aces and Djokovic continually struggled to keep his service returns in bounds. Tsonga closed out the victory when Djokovic returned a serve wide. A visibly elated Tsonga did some shadow boxing and jumped up and down before waving to the receptive crowd. "Its not every day you get the rewards of what youre doing every day during the year," he said. "You leave your family, practise every day hard, suffer a lot on the court. And when you win a match like this, you just feel good." Djokovic barely got by Gael Monfils of France a day earlier, needing a third-set tiebreaker to avoid a loss in his tournament opener. He came into Thursdays match with 11 straight wins over Tsonga, but was nowhere near adding a 12th. The three-time Rogers Cup champ said he didnt feel comfortable in either match on the fast hardcourt. "I wasnt hitting the ball clean and a lot of unforced errors," Djokovic said. "Its maybe (a) lack of matches on this surface and well, it takes time. Lets just say its going to be better, Im sure." Tsonga will play No. 8 Andy Murray of Britain in the quarter-finals. Murray advanced when Richard Gasquet of France withdrew due to an abdominal strain. Djokovic planned to maximize his time on the practice court over the next few days as he gets ready for next weeks tournament in Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open at the end of the month. "Obviously Im disappointed that I lost this early in the tournament, but on the other hand I had a tough draw yesterday and today again. Tsonga played (at) a very high level, great quality shots. "All I can say is well done and I have to move on." Federer will next play fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who defeated Ivan Dodig of Croatia 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Anderson will face seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who beat No. 17 Tommy Robredo 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Notes: Benneteau received a warning midway through the second set for a time violation between points. He had some critical words for chair umpire Damian Steiner at the next changeover. After the match, Benneteau explained that he would have appreciated a soft warning beforehand. ... Raonic lost to Spains Rafael Nadal in the final of last years tournament in Montreal. Nadal is not able to defend his title due to a wrist injury. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '