warum » come in one point back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild car

ATLANTA -- Arizona manager Kirk Gibson found no fault with Josh Collmenter after the right-hander settled down in the third inning. Collmenter gave up a career-high 11 hits, and the Diamondbacks couldnt solve Ervin Santana or the Atlanta bullpen in a 5-2 loss to the Braves on Friday night. "He went out there and did the best he could and got through six innings. We were unable to score runs," Gibson said. Freddie Freeman drove in two runs, and Santana won his second straight start for Atlanta, which stretched its winning streak to eight games. Arizona began the night tied with Houston for the most losses in the majors with 51. The Diamondbacks have lost seven of 11. "Were trying everything we can to turn around things, but its not happening," third baseman Martin Prado said. "Were trying to have good at-bats and everything. I feel like were pretty close. Theres a bunch of guys having good at-bats." After earning three victories from June 20-28, Collmenter (7-5) allowed five runs, one walk, and struck out three in six-plus innings. The Braves have won 10 of 11 to move 10 games over .500 for the first time since April 29. They lead the NL East by 1 1/2 games. Santana (7-5) gave up six hits and two runs with one walk and six strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings. The Braves made it 2-0 in the first on Freemans RBI single and Jason Heywards RBI groundout. Atlanta went up 4-1 in the third on Andrelton Simmons bases-loaded RBI single and Justin Uptons RBI walk, but Collmenter stranded the bases loaded when Heyward popped out. Collmenters night ended after Simmons led off the seventh with a double. Oliver Perez, the next Arizona pitcher, allowed another RBI single by Freeman to make it 5-1. "I wasnt missing so much up in the zone as missing over the plate, enough for them to get a piece of the ball," Collmenter said. "I just didnt capitalize on my opportunities when I could have made a pitch." Santana seemed in sync most of the night, but that hasnt been the case over the last few weeks. After winning 2-0 against the Cubs on May 10, Santana went 1-5 with a 5.96 ERA over his next eight starts before earning a 10-3 victory last Saturday at Philadelphia. "Everything my way is getting back again, so I just have to keep it up," Santana said. "Keep my mind positive and keep working down in the zone." Santana retired 11 straight before Didi Gregorius singled to begin the eighth. He left the game one out later when Ender Inciarte singled. After Luis Avilan retired David Peralta on an RBI forceout, Jordan Walden gave up a double to Paul Goldschmidt before striking out Miguel Montero to end the threat. In the ninth, Craig Kimbrel struck out Prado, retired Gerardo Parra on a groundout and got Nick Ahmed to fly out for his 27th save in 31 chances. Arizona cut the lead to 2-1 in the second when Prado led off with a single, moved to second and third on groundouts and scored on Santanas wild pitch. Santana didnt make many mistakes. "He was spotting," Prado said. "I saw him pretty good, but he was commanding his fastball. They took advantage of the first inning and scored a couple runs, and that was good enough for him." NOTES: Collmenter allowed 10 hits in a 6-0 loss at Detroit on June 25, 2011. ... The Braves announced a sellout with a season-high crowd of 48,815. ... Freeman, who went 2 for 4, is hitting .365 over his last 19 games. ... Atlantas bullpen has a 0.42 ERA over a span of 21 2-3 innings during the eight-game winning streak. ... Peralta went 2 for 4 and is hitting .406 over his last nine games. ... Perez had stranded 10 straight inherited runners before Freeman drove in Simmons. David Long Womens Jersey . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Taylor Rapp Jersey . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Joe-Namath-Jersey/ . The traditional pre-Masters event was halted early due to inclement weather. Harrington, who tied for first in 2003 and won in 2004, became the first three-time champion of the event. Jack Youngblood Jersey .C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship. Andrew Whitworth Youth Jersey . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves.The Montreal Canadiens seemingly swooped in at the final hour to acquire winger Thomas Vanek in an effort to improve their playoff chances. Vanek is expected to make his Habs debut tonight when the club looks to push its unbeaten streak over the Phoenix Coyotes to 15 straight games. Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges is returning to Montreal on Thursday to have a hand injury reevaluated by team doctors. Watch the game live on TSN Habs tonight at 9pm et/10pm at. You can also listen to the game live on TSN Radio Montreal 690. The Canadiens posted a 4-3 shootout win over the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night hours after getting Vanek from the New York Islanders in exchange for prospect Sebastian Collberg. Montreal will also part with a 2014 second-round pick should it make the playoffs while also getting a fifth rounder back from New York. That seems like a safe bet with Vanek in the fold. The 30-year-old Austrian winger is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer, but he could help Montreal in its push to the playoffs this spring. Vanek has 21 goals and 32 assists over 60 games this season with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. "The most important thing is to make the playoffs and right now I have a chance to do so. This is why we play," Vanek said on Montreals website. "Anything can happen in the playoffs, especially when you have a goalie like Carey Price, who I think is one of the best in the league. Ive played with Ryan Miller and Carey is just as good." Montreals win last night has the club in second place in the Atlantic Division with 77 points, three ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and four up on the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning. While Vanek mentioned playing with Price, the Habs netminder has missed all five games since the league resumed action following a break for the Winter Olympics. Price aggravated a lower-body injury during that tournament and it is unknown when he will return to action. Peter Budaj started the first four games in Prices absence and finally got a game off last night. Dustin Tokarski made his first NHL appearance of the season and stopped 39 shots before halting four of the six skaters he faced in the shootout.dddddddddddd After Saku Koivu failed on his attempt for Anaheim in the tiebreakers sixth round, Andrei Markov fired a shot that beat Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller five-hole to improve the Habs to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. "He played unbelievable," Markov said of Tokarskis play. "He made great saves to keep us in the game." Brendan Gallagher registered a goal and an assist, while Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta also scored for the Canadiens, who were coming off a 2-1 setback in Los Angeles on Monday that opened a four-game road trip. The swing ends on Saturday versus San Jose. Budaj is likely to return to net tonight and is 8-3-3 lifetime versus the Coyotes with a 2.70 goals against average. Montreal will try to avoid its first loss in this series since a setback on the road on Dec. 9, 1998. The Canadiens have gone 11-0-0 with three ties in the 14 meetings since, winning five times and posting one tie in the desert over that span. The Coyotes can ill-afford to see that winless streak extended as they come in one point back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Phoenix snapped a four-game slide on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Antoine Vermettes 22nd of the season, scored in the first period provided Mike Smith with the only support he would need, as the 31-year-old netminder turned aside 23 shots, 11 in the third period, to secure his third shutout of the season and 27th of his career. "It was kind of a sloppy hockey game, but we won," Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett said. "Thats all we need right now." The Coyotes finish off a three-game homestand tonight before hitting the road for four in a row and should have Martin Erat in the lineup tonight after picking up the winger in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Erat notched one goal and 23 assists in 53 games with the Caps this season. Smith is 2-1-3 with a 2.22 GAA in seven career meetings with the Canadiens. ' ' '