Coming off one of the best starts of his young career, Marcus Stroman will try to pitch the Toronto Blue Jays to a series victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Wednesdays finale of a three-game set. A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. Stroman scattered three hits and three walks over seven frames, logging a career-high 115 pitches while matching a personal best with seven strikeouts for the third time on the season. However, Toronto went on to lose 1-0 in 12 innings. "I feel comfortable, I feel like Ive gotten into a pretty good groove," Stroman said on Torontos website. "Just trying to help the team win each and every start up here." The lack of run support wasnt anything new for the righty, who has seen the Blue Jays plate more than three runs in just one of his last six outings since he won his first career start 12-2 on May 31. Stroman faced the Angels in relief on May 11 and was tagged for four runs over 1 2/3 innings. The struggling C.J. Wilson counters for Los Angeles and though he has not lost in his past three appearances, he has posted an 11.08 ERA over that time. Wilson even managed to record a victory over Minnesota on June 24 despite allowing six runs over five innings and has recorded back-to-back no-decisions since. That includes Friday versus Houston as he allowed six runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- over 4 1/3 frames. "Hes trying to make adjustments, theres no doubt about that," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said on his teams website. "C.J.s on a tough run right now." The 33-year-old southpaw is 8-6 on the year and his ERA has risen to 4.23. Wilson had a chance to pitch the Angels to a four-game road sweep of the Blue Jays back on May 12, but took the loss in that series finale after allowing five runs over six innings. He yielded a three-run homer to Jose Bautista and a two-run shot off the bat of Brett Lawrie in defeat. Los Angeles has won 11 of its last 14 versus Toronto, but the Blue Jays drew even in this set with last nights 4-0 victory. Jose Reyes sparked a struggling offense with four hits, one a two-run homer, and three RBI, while R.A. Dickey logged seven scoreless innings. Dioner Navarro knocked in the other run for the Blue Jays, who pounded out 14 hits en route to snapping a five-game slide in which they had scored only six runs. Dickey, meanwhile, allowed four hits and a walk while fanning five before Dustin McGowan and Aaron Loup followed with scoreless innings of relief to cap the five-hitter. "Changing speeds with the knuckler kept them guessing all night. I tried to throw first-pitch strikes as much as I could," said Dickey after helping Toronto end the Angels 11-game home win streak that was one shy of the club record. Tyler Skaggs gave up three runs on 11 hits across 6 2/3 frames for the Halos, whose five-game win streak came to an end. "Tyler pitched a good ballgame, except for the changeup to Reyes that ended up in the bullpen," said Scioscia, referring to Reyes seventh-inning homer. The Angels lost for just the fourth time in their last 18 games, but still trail the Oakland Athletics by 4 1/2 games for first place in the AL West. Toronto moved to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Baltimore in the AL East. Eric Hosmer Royals Jersey . The Vikings announced Saturday they downgraded Peterson from doubtful on the original injury report to out against Detroit Sunday, when the Vikings and Lions will play the last game at the Metrodome. Justin Maxwell Jersey . -- The new starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is a former first-round draft pick on a one-year deal whose career thus far has been a disappointment. http://www.officialroyalsteamshop.com/Nori...-Royals-Jersey/ . So far, his encore is even better. Wainwright became the National Leagues first eight-game winner by dominating Cincinnati again, and the St. Alex Gordon Royals Jersey . Darvish is scheduled to make his season debut Sunday at Tampa Bay after getting through an extended bullpen session without any issues. Greg Holland Royals Jersey . New Orleans All-Star forward would have difficulty convincing the Hawks. Davis had 34 points, including 13 in the Pelicans fourth quarter, and New Orleans beat Atlanta 111-105 on Friday night.OKLAHOMA CITY -- LeBron James sat silently in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head, not wanting to reveal the effects of a hit to his nose that prematurely ended his night. His Miami Heat teammates finished off a 103-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder without him on Thursday night. Miamis star forward went down with 5:50 remaining after he was struck by Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket. James finished the dunk, but he was bloodied and he left the court with a towel over his face. "Im like everybody else, youre used to seeing him like Superman, get up and sprint back even after tough hits and tough falls," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "So we knew something was up." James landed the hardest blow long before that. He scored 16 of his 33 points in the first quarter to put the Thunder in a bind, and the Heat rolled to a lopsided win. James passed a concussion test, but some damage was done. "He has a swollen nose right now. Its bleeding," Spoelstra said. "Well evaluate him when we get back to Miami, but its sore." The Thunder were the ones shaken up after James made his first five shots and scored 12 points in the first 4:11. "It was flawless," Wade said. "He was aggressive defensively, he was able to play passing lanes and be who he is. That was a great start on the road by our leader. It was something that we needed." Wade had 24 points and 10 assists, and Chris Bosh added 24 points for Miami, which won its fourth straight and avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City. It was a good step for the Heat, who are trying to catch Indiana for the top record in the Eastern Conference. "You can see the resolve," Wade said. "You can see the chemistry. You can see a team thats gearing up for the second half of the season." Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5. Durant has been the popular favourite to win the NBA MVP award, but Wade said James is still in the hunt. "Its not decided," Wade said. "I dont think that was a message. That was LeBron James being LeBron James. He loves the matchup, just like KD loves the matchup. The MVP is long, long from over." Russell Westbrook, who had missed the previous 27 games after having surgery on his right knee, started and scored 16 points in 24 minutes. He made 4 of 12 shots. "Im just going to keep getting him better, and as the season goes along, as he gets more comfortable in game shape, were going to see a better Russell every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.dddddddddddd The Thunder overcame an early 18-point deficit on Jan. 29 to roll past the Heat 112-95 in Miami, and the home fans hoped for a regular-season sweep against the team that beat Oklahoma City in the 2012 finals. Instead, they saw a rare inefficient game from the Thunder. "When you dont have good rhythm, normally the three-ball can get you back into the game," Brooks said. "We didnt have shot makers tonight. Weve had them for a while now. We didnt have them tonight." The crowd erupted as Westbrook was introduced as a starter. His first minute of action was furious and had the fans on their feet. His first basket was a two-handed, fast-break dunk 37 seconds into the game, and he got a steal 17 seconds later. The excitement quickly evaporated. James scored 10 points in the first 3:11 and Miami made 13 of its first 14 shots to take a 28-13 lead. The Heat were ahead 34-17 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 19 points in the second quarter before the Thunder rallied behind Westbrook. He scored nine points in the final 1:55 of the first half, including a dunk in the closing seconds, to trim Miamis lead to 54-47 at the break. Miami took control early in the third quarter. James scored six points during a 10-0 run that helped the Heat take a 64-49 lead. The advantage grew to 75-53 on a 3-pointer by James with just over five minutes left in the frame. Durant scored seven points in the final 2:46 of the quarter to trim Miamis edge to 76-65 heading into the fourth. Miami reasserted itself in the opening minutes of the final period. Bosh hit a 3-pointer to bump the Heats lead to 19 with just under 10 minutes to go. The Heat won for the fifth time during their six-game road trip. Miami beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, Golden State and Dallas before closing with a win against the team with the leagues best record. "Its good to
finish it this way," Spoelstra said. NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson, who started while Westbrook was out, entered the game in the first quarter. ... Durant scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first quarter. ... Miami shot 76 per cent in the first quarter but made just 7 of 17 shots in the second and was outscored 30-20. ... Oklahoma Citys Kendrick Perkins left the game in the third quarter with a left groin strain and didnt return. ' ' '