Inland Waterways » d a combined one run on six hits against Tampa

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kevin Harvick had a nice send-off with Richard Childress Racing, winning his penultimate race with the team at Phoenix International Raceway. Back at Phoenix four months later, he stamped his arrival at Stewart-Haas Racing by winning the second race with his new team -- doing it on the same weekend he celebrated his 13th wedding anniversary, no less. Yeah, Harvick kind of likes it here in the desert. Disappointed at the Daytona 500 after a last-lap crash, Harvick bounced back quickly by charging to the front and dominating the rest of the way Sunday to win consecutive races at PIR with different teams. "Man, this is awesome," Harvick said. Harvick won the fall race after Carl Edwards ran out of fuel at the white flag. He needed no help Sunday. Harvick had the fastest car in practice and kept it rolling in the race, charging to the front after starting 13th and pretty much staying there. He led 224 of 312 laps on the odd-shaped mile oval and pulled away on several late restarts for his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at PIR, passing Jimmie Johnson for the most at the track. Not bad for someone whos still trying to feel his way around with a new team and new crew chief Rodney Childers. "It took long enough," SHR co-owner Gene Haas joked. "This phenomenal. I think there was a lot of skepticism last year about what myself and Tony (Stewart) what we were up to, was there a lot of madness to this. Quite frankly, its a great team, theres a lot of synergy at the shop, people working together. I dont know what we did, but I think we put together a great organization." Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, pole sitter Brad Keselowski was third and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano fourth. Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five on a warm and partly cloudy day after downpours wiped out the final 32 laps of Saturdays Nationwide race, won by Kyle Busch Harvick won at Phoenix during the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in the fall, giving him an outside shot at catching Johnson for the series title in his final season with Richard Childress Racing. He came up short, but the victory and a third-place finish in the standings gave him a bit of momentum heading into for his first season with Stewart-Haas. Harvick had a solid finish in his sights at Daytona last week before a last-lap crash dropped him to 13th. At Phoenix, Harvick just missed the final stage of knockout qualifying, nipped by 0.001 seconds, but had the fastest car in Saturday mornings final practice session. He had no trouble making his way through the field after the green flag dropped in the race, passing Keselowski on the apron, then Logano for the lead on lap 74. Harvick maintained the lead coming out of green-flag pit stops with just under 200 laps left and again with about 70 laps left. A series of cautions came out late in the race and Harvick easily pulled away each time to earn a quick win with SHR a nice capper to his anniversary weekend with wife DeLana. "Im just the lucky guy who gets to drive around the race track when they have dialed in like they did today," Harvick said. "We were able to put it altogether." Earnhardt had a whirlwind week after winning his second Daytona 500, needing his girlfriend to get him extra clothes while he went on a media tour. He had a solid follow-up, putting the distractions aside to qualify fifth. Earnhardt worked his way up in the opening third of the race, passing Logano and Keselowski to pull up behind Harvick. He dropped back a couple times and fought back to get Harvick within his sights again, but didnt have enough to track him down. "Ive got to congratulate Kevin. Those guys were two-tenths faster than everyone all weekend in practice. They were just phenomenal," Earnhardt said. "To be able to run with them all day was a big confidence builder for us." NASCARs new knockout qualifying system made its Sprint Cup debut at Phoenix and Keselowski came out on top, edging Logano for his fourth career pole. Not long after that, Keselowski found out he would be without his crew chief for the race; Paul Wolfe left the desert back to North Carolina for the birth of his first child. With team engineer Brian Wilson and its Nationwide Series competition director Greg Erwin at the helm, Keselowski ran near the front all day, but, like everyone else, didnt have the speed to keep up with Harvick. "They beat everybody before they came to the track today," Keselowski said. "Its a great combination. They were prepared for the weekend. To me, Randy Childers is like a rubber-stamp, carbon-copy of Paul Wolfe. Hes a great crew chief and it was just a matter of time before he found a combination that he excelled with." Chad Thomas Womens Jersey . James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs. Britton Colquitt Jersey . Gomes drove in all three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-Myles-Garrett-Jersey/ . Almost 40 years to the day, the two teams will meet again, this time at BC Place, to celebrate the past and try to earn important points for the present. Chad Thomas Browns Jersey . - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Myles Garrett Browns Jersey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Phil Hughes ended a personal losing streak that dated to last July, pitching into the seventh inning Sunday and helping the Twins top the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. Hughes (1-1), who signed a $24 million, three-year deal in December, allowed an RBI single to Omar Infante in the fifth and a two-run homer to Alcides Escobar in the seventh while winning for the first time in 17 appearances. He had lost eight games since that victory on July 2. Josmil Pinto homered and Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki each drove in a pair of runs for the Twins, who battered Yordano Ventura (1-1) before piling on against the Royals bullpen. The loss ended Kansas Citys five-game winning streak. Hughes solid showing came after he had allowed 12 earned runs in his first 15 innings with Minnesota. The former All-Star had not survived past the sixth since July 13, when he was still a member of the New York Yankees and was facing his current team. It helped that the Twins staked him to an early lead. After they went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position in a 5-4 loss Saturday, Plouffe came through with a double in the Twins first opportunity Sunday. His drive into the gap in right was enough to score Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer and give Minnesota a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Twins added on in the fourth. After Suzuki walked, the Royals were unable to turn a double play on a grounder by Aaron&nnbsp;Hicks.dddddddddddd. Ventura then threw the ball away trying to pick him off first, and a wild pitch put Hicks on third base. Eduardo Escobars single scored the run. Ventura was finally pulled from the game in the fifth, when the 22-year-old right-hander gave up a leadoff triple to Plouffe and a single to Chris Colabello. He allowed four runs on six hits and four walks in four-plus innings, a line that looks even uglier after two dominant outings in which he allowed a combined one run on six hits against Tampa Bay and Houston. The Royals bullpen, which had thrown 14 straight scoreless innings, never gave their offence a chance to get Ventura off the hook. Pintos homer came off Louis Coleman later in the fifth, and Justin Marks -- making his big league debut -- allowed three more runs in the seventh. Escobars two-run shot later in the seventh knocked Hughes from the game, but relievers Brian Duensing, Casey Fien and Glen Perkins made sure his long losing streak would finally end. NOTES: The Twins played with 24 players after claiming OF Sam Fuld off waivers from Oakland and designating OF Darin Mastroianni for assignment. Fuld is expected to join the Twins on Tuesday in Tampa Bay. ... The Royals open a four-game series Monday in Cleveland with RHP Jeremy Guthrie on the mound. The Twins are off before their three-game set against the Rays. ... The Twins left 11 on base. The Royals stranded eight. ' ' '