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Last Wednesday in St. Petersburg, R.A Dickey tossed a two hit shutout as the Blue Jays blanked Tampa Bay 3-0 to savage the final game of the three-game set at Tropicana Field. It was the Blue Jays first shutout and first complete game of the season. That seemed unusual to me, even for a team that is sitting in the basement in the A.L. East at 40-41. Going back to last season - when the Jays starting rotation was devastated by injuries - they had five complete games for the entire season, and four shutouts. Brandon Morrow had three of each for a team that finished 73-89. Safe to say the Blue Jays are well on pace to have their worst totals in both categories ever. Complete games have been on the downswing for years and it is a rare year indeed when even one pitcher in all of baseball hits double figures in the category. James Shields of the Rays was the last to accomplish the feat in the American League when he hurled 11 in 2011. In fact, since the Blue Jays last World Series title in 1993 only four American League pitchers - including Shields - have had 10 or more complete games in a season. The other three were Angels lefty Chuck Finley, Scott Erickson of the Orioles and current Blue Jays bullpen coach Pat Hentgen. The last to do it in the National League was Randy Johnson in 1999. In 1970, 19.65 per cent of all American League games were complete games. As recently as 2007, that figure had dropped to 2.82 per cent in the American League and 1.85 per cent in the NL. Dave Stieb was the first Blue Jays pitcher to lead the league in complete games with 19 in 1982. Hentgen led with 10 in 1996. The following season, the Blue Jays had co-leaders in the American League, with Roger Clemens and Hentgen each having nine. The interesting thing about 1997 is that it was the final year of Cito Gastons first stint as Manager of the Jays. They had a horrible season, despite getting that kind of quality pitching from Clemens and Hentgen. Lefty David Wells led in complete games in both 1999 and 2000 with seven and nine, respectively. Then we get to the incredible run of one Roy Halladay. He tied for the American League lead in 2003 with nine complete games. Then he held the lead outright in 2005 (five), 2007 (seven), 2008 (nine) and 2009 (nine). In Philadelphia, "Doc" topped the National League the next two seasons with nine and eight in 2010 and ‘11 respectively. But - perhaps as a harbinger of things to come - he had no complete games last season. It marked the first year without one in a decade. He is sidelined right now, rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Halladay wont be back ‘til August at the earliest and there is a chance he wont pitch at all for the Phillies for the rest of the season. The game has changed so much over the past 20 years, with pitch counts, increased specialization and reliance on relievers and of course the designated hitter thats been around 40 years. Its hard to discern, what the decrease in complete games really means. In more cases than not, if youve got a pitcher who can take the ball from first out to last, youve got a leader and youve got an ace. A Blue Jays pitcher has led the league or tied for the league lead in complete games 10 times over their 36 year history. They also employed former league leaders in Jack Morris, Dave Stewart and Phil Niekro. Oddly enough, in the five years they won the American league East, pitchers from other teams led in complete games. The fewest number of complete games to lead a league in any individual year is five, a record shared by Halladay (2005) and Dickey (in his 2012 NL Cy Young season). For the record, Clevelands Justin Masterson is leading the American League so far this season with three complete games while Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals is leading the National League with four. Cleveland enters Monday tied for first in the A.L Central with Detroit, while the Cardinals are second in the NL Central, two games back of Pittsburgh. There is no question July is make-or-break for the Blue Jays. They play 26 games: 17 at home and nine away. Its by no means an easy schedule since they have three-game sets with Baltimore and Tampa Bay, a three-gamer with Oakland and their current four-game set with Detroit. Just the same, with the heavy load of home games this month, the Blue Jays must make up a lot of ground in the Wild Card race, if the games in August and September are going to mean anything. Adnan Januzaj Jersey . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Simon Mignolet Jersey . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers. http://www.belgiumsoccerpro.com/Thomas-Meunier-Belgium-Jersey/ . - The Seattle Sounders busy off-season continues with the team acquiring defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money. Jan Vertonghen Belgium Jersey . He was 26. Edwards, the Supercup Championship leader, was in the passenger seat as an instructor for a private training session at Queensland Raceway at Willowbank, outside Brisbane, Porsche Motorsport said. Koen Casteels Jersey .J. -- John Elway says Peyton Manning cannot stamp himself as the greatest quarterback in NFL history even if he wins the Super Bowl on Sunday.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers continue their road trip tonight with a five-game winning streak and a date at the Target Center versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. Watch the action live on TSN2 at 8pm et/5pm pt. Portland hasnt lost since a home setback Nov. 28 against the Memphis Grizzlies. That is the Blazers only loss in their last 15 games, including seven straight road victories. On Tuesday, in Game 2 of a five-game trip east, the Blazers handled the Detroit Pistons, 98-86, at The Palace of Auburn Hills. LaMarcus Aldridges 23 points and 11 rebounds led the Trail Blazers to another victory and one that extended the Pistons losing streak to 13 games. Wesley Matthews chipped in 19 points, while Damian Lillard and Chris Kaman each finished with 14 points for the Blazers. A strong finish to the first quarter helped spring Portland to this win, as the Blazers closed out the period on an 11-4 run to open up a 33-22 lead. Kaman deposited six points during the flurry, which Aldridge capped by burying a triple just prior to the buzzer. Portland steadily extended the margin during the third quarter and held an 81-64 lead early in the fourth, when Detroit suddenly came storming back to put the outcome in doubt. The Pistons ripped off 13 consecutive points, but the Blazers starters returned and secured the victory. We got off to a good start, Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts remarked. We built a lead and, other than the run they made in the fourth, the stars came back and finished it off. The Blazers will visit Chicago on Friday, then close the trip in Indiana on Saturday. The Timberwolves have dropped six in a row and nine of their last 10. They havent won at home since Nov. 19 against the New York Knicks, a span of six games, which included the Philadelphia 76ers first win. On Monday, the T-wolves became the latest victim of the Golden State Warriors. Minnesota fell to the leagues best team, 102-86, at the Target Center. Andrew Wiggins totaled 21 points with six rebounds and Shabazz Muhammad chipped in 14 points off the bench for Minnesota, which is still without Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic, all starters. The Warriors put the game away with a nine-point halftime lead, which turned into a 17-point cushion midway through the third. We turned the ball over way too many times, Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders said of the teams 19 giveaways. We didnt give ourselves an opportunity. Thaddeus Young scored 13 in the loss, followed by 10 out of Corey Brewer. The Blazers have won four straight, including a 14-point romp in Portland on Nov. 30, aand nine of their last 10 encounters with the Timberwolves.dddddddddddd The Trail Blazers are 11-2 in their last 13 visits to Minnesota. Heat aim to singe Nuggets at Pepsi Center The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents tonight, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center. Watch the action live on TSN2 at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. The Heat marched into Phoenix on Tuesday night and left with a 103-97 victory. That ended a four-game slide, a three-game road losing streak and got the Heat a win on this five-game trek, which ends Friday against the Utah Jazz. Chris Boshs personal seven-point run late in regulation carried the Heat to victory. Miami, which had lost four in a row all by double digits, trailed 91-90 after Marcus Morris drained a 3-pointer with 3:17 left in the fourth quarter. Bosh, though, hit a 14-footer, scored in the lane and drained a dagger 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to give the Heat the lead for good. I wanted to win really bad tonight, said Bosh. We played together and things worked out great. After being limited to 12 points in Sundays loss to Memphis, Bosh poured in 34 on 14-of-21 shooting. Luol Deng chipped in with 23 points and Dwyane Wade netted 16 for Miami, which shot 53.8 percent from the floor and forced 23 turnovers. The Nuggets have dropped four in a row, including three straight on the road. They had the Toronto Raptors on the ropes Monday night, but fell in overtime, 112-107. Denver led in the fourth quarter after it overcame a 16-point deficit. The 35-point first quarter set us back, Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw said. Thats been our problem, not only on this trip, but this entire season. We dig a hole for ourselves. Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson combined to score 47 points for the Nuggets. Lawson had 12 assists to go with his 22 points. Wilson Chandler scored 18 in the loss and Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Denver had a chance to win in regulation but turned the ball over on a shot- clock violation, giving Toronto possession with 4.3 seconds left, but Lowry missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Chandler knocked down a 3 for Denver to start overtime, but the Nuggets didnt score again until Alonzo Gees bucket in the final seconds. The Nuggets visit the Houston Rockets on Saturday, then play four straight at home. The Nuggets ended a three-game series losing streak with a win in March, but the Heat have won two in a row in Denver. Prior to that mini streak, the Nuggets were 10-0 as the host against Miami. 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