Die Macht » Melvin brought in Manaea.Oakland used seven pitchers overall

NEW YORK -- It was on a US Open practice court where, if you were especially intuitive, there were signs last year that Serena Williams was headed for an unhappy ending to her quest of completing the seventh calendar-year Grand Slam in the history of the game.It wasnt necessarily what she did that day, tossing and serving for well over an hour -- first from the deuce court, then from the ad and over to a different court for more of the same.It was more of what drove her there and the purposefulness with which she marched over directly after her match. Williams would later admit to being nervous during her eventual second-round victory against the 110th-ranked player in the world, a match in which she would squeak out a first-set tiebreaker 7-5, after committing eight double faults and 26 unforced errors in the opening set.She would close the match out 6-3 in the second; the match point was not accompanied by anything close to the shrieks heard that afternoon but rather utter silence, a disgusted look and an eye roll. She later characterized it as not one of my happiest moments.At that point, Williams was already tired of the questions and seemingly tired of the grind. Tired of being tired. She even all but demanded that any inquiries with the words Grand Slam in them cease. And when she lost in a semifinal shocker to Roberta Vinci, the 43rd-ranked player in the world playing her first career Slam semi, Serena blew through a four-minute news conference and left the grounds.You could hardly blame her. But back in the second round here Thursday against 27-year-old American Vania King, Williams mood was decidedly different.I think Im more relaxed, for sure, Williams said this earlier this week.While not exactly operating under the proverbial radar, Serena is trying to win just her second Slam in a row after prevailing at Wimbledon and only trying to surpass Steffi Grafs record of 22 career majors.And while King is an 87th-ranked wildcard who succumbed to Serena in their only previous meeting, 6-1, 6-0 in 56 minutes in the 2014 US Open, you suspect Williams opponent, as always, has very little to do with the outcome.While Serena is still dealing with a shoulder issue that had her going for placement rather than speed on her serves in her 6-3, 6-3 first-round win over Ekaterina Makarova, there is considerably less emotional weight on both shoulders this year.In 2015, Williams played 17 three-setters going into the Open in 10 tournaments, plus two rounds of Fed Cup; she won 16 of those three-set matches. This year, there have been five three-setters in seven tournaments, including the Olympics. She lost that third-round encounter to 20th-ranked Elina Svitolina in straight sets on Aug. 9, her last match before New York.Even with the shoulder concerns, Williams was asked, is this US Open already a more pleasant experience?I was going for something that no one has done in a really long time, she said of last year. Yeah, it didnt end wonderful for me or the way I wanted it to end. But it was all I could do. Thats all I could do.While the three-set victories were a testament to her competitive toughness, the off-court battle turned out to be a considerably tougher one. After the 2015 Open, she cited a broken heart from her loss to Vinci in addition to other injuries and subsequently announced she was withdrawing from three tournaments, including the WTA Finals.Williams coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said the motivation just wasnt there, and it was the only sensible decision. And this year, while Serena, who is weeks short of her 35th birthday, said she would have preferred to play more coming into the final Grand Slam of the year, she is trying to be optimistic.There is nothing we can do about it, she said. You just have to make the best of every single opportunity. Thats all I can do now.Usually, thats more than enough. Angels Jerseys 2019 . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Angels Jerseys 2020 . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Los Angeles Angels Store . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. Los Angeles Angels Shirts . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Rich Hill didnt last very long in what was supposed to be a key start for the Athletics pitcher.With about a dozen major league scouts in attendance to check out the Oakland lefty -- a potential trade candidate -- Hill threw just five pitches before a blister on the middle finger of his left hand popped and forced him out of the game.Things didnt get much better after that for manager Bob Melvins ballclub.Former As third baseman Josh Donaldson hit a tiebreaking two-run double with two outs in the ninth and the Toronto Blue Jays held on to beat Oakland 5-3 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.Its just disappointing, thats the biggest thing, said Hill, who had been scratched from a scheduled start on Friday because of the blister issue. It opened up pretty good. It was bleeding. Its pretty raw right now.Hill wasnt the only As pitcher hurting.His replacement, Andrew Triggs, was hit in the leg by a line drive from Donaldson moments after Hill was taken out. Triggs finished the inning, giving up an unearned run when left fielder Khris Davis misplayed Edwin Encarnacions single for an error, before Melvin brought in Manaea.Oakland used seven pitchers overall.After losing two pitchers in the first inning with a limited bullpen to start, we played pretty well, Melvin said. We responded pretty well. Nice little fight until the end.Troy Tulowitzki homered while Russell Martin and Justin Smoak added two hits apiece for Toronto.Marcus Semien homered for the As.Smoak and Junior Lake hit consecutive one-out singles off John Axford (3-3) in the ninth.dddddddddddd Devon Travis struck out looking before Donaldson lined a 2-1 pitch down the left field line to drive in pinch-runner Andy Burns and Lake.We desperately needed that as a team, Toronto manager John Gibbons said. We had the little lead, they came back and tied it. Thats a big win for us.Jason Grilli (3-1) retired three batters for the win. Roberto Osuna pitched the ninth for his 19th save.Tulowitzki hit his 16th home run of the season off Sean Manaea in the fourth.Semien homered and Yonder Alonso added a tying pinch-hit two-run double in the sixth.OPEN SPOTManaea was scheduled to start Tuesday but the As will likely have to find someone else after the rookie left-hander threw 69 pitches over five innings of relief. Manaea threw a bullpen session on Saturday so it would be a stretch to ask him to come back on one day of rest. Melvin also ruled out using Hill in that spot. He wont be on Tuesday, Melvin said. Well figure something out in the meantime.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: Triggs was diagnosed with a bruised left calf. ... LHP Ross Detwiler, was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash, was sent to Triple-A Nashville.UP NEXTAthletics: RHP Kendall Graveman (5-6) starts against Houston on Monday at the Coliseum. Graveman beat the Astros in his most recent outing July 9. ' ' '