The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rick Porcello has an AL-leading 12 wins and a 3.39 ERA for the first-place Detroit Tigers. His manager believes thats good enough for the right-hander to be on the All-Star team. However, Porcello, who has a family fishing trip planned for the All-Star break, hasnt been picked for the team yet. "I think he clearly is an All-Star," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said after Porcello pitched seven strong innings in Detroits 5-1 victory over Kansas City on Saturday. "Hes got 12 wins, An ERA in the low 3s. Theres going to be snubs every year at the All-Star break and I think hes clearly a snub." Porcello (12-5) outpitched James Shields as the Tigers won their fifth in a row. He also raised his career record against Kansas City to 8-3 while yielding six hits and one run to help give Detroit a 7 1/2-game cushion over Kansas City in the AL Central. Alex Avila drove in three runs, putting the Tigers in position to go for a four-game sweep on Sunday. Porcello, who has won four of his last five decisions and been key in Detroits taking a big lead in the division, is fine whether or not hes selected for the All-Star game. "Thats not my decision," he said. "I just go out there and pitch and let everybody else take care of that." His teammates clearly believe Porcello deserves to be there when the games elite are introduced. "We all thought he definitely deserved (a selection), but I will say that is a tough group he was in, that final vote," said Avila, who drove in three runs with a single and a ninth-inning homer. "All those guys did deserve it, too. Theres always going to be a guy who gets left out." The Royals have lost six of their last eight and are 0-6 at home against Detroit this year. "To this point, weve underachieved but were still seven games better than we were at this point last year," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "We know were a second-half club. Weve been a second-half club." Shields (9-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked none while throwing 121 pitches. The Tigers scored three in the ninth against reliever Aaron Crow, starting with J.D. Martinezs leadoff home run. Nick Castellanos was safe at first after a replay review overturned a call, and Avila hit a 427-foot homer. Ian Kinslers RBI single put the Tigers on top 1-0 in the third. In the fourth, Torii Hunter hit a drive into straightaway centre field over the head of Jarrod Dyson and turned it into his first triple of the season. The relay throw actually beat the sliding Hunter to the bag, but he was safe when third baseman Mike Moustakas failed to get the tag down. Avilas RBI single made it 2-0. Billy Butler had a sacrifice fly in the sixth after the Royals had wasted several scoring chances. Alcides Escobar bounced into an inning-ending double play in the second, Lorenzo Cain did the same in the third and then, with the bases loaded and two out in the fifth, Porcello struck out Cain on a 2-2 pitch. Al Alburquerque pitched a perfect ninth for the Tigers, who held the Royals to one run for the second night in a row. NOTES: Austin Jackson has led off the Tigers first inning with a base hit in all three games of the series. ... Cain made a terrific catch of Miguel Cabreras opposite-field drive in the first, snaring the ball just as he crashed hard into the wall. ... Both starters laboured, but after four innings, Shields had thrown 78 pitches and Porcello 40. ... It was the 12th time in his career that Shields has thrown 121 or more pitches. ... Eric Hosmers first-inning single stretched his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games for the Royals. New Balance Outlet Store . Murray, the defending champion and No. 3 seed, claimed his first match win at Queens in 2005 and went on to win the Wimbledon warmup three times. But he failed to take advantage of eight set points after leading the first-set tiebreaker 6-2, and Stepanek survived to convert with his second set point. Cheap New Balance Shoes Online . "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. http://www.cheapnewbalance.net/ . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. New Balance Shoes From China .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. Cheap New Balance .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series.ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins have re-signed defensive lineman Chris Baker to a three-year contract with $12 million. The deal announced Thursday includes $4 million of guaranteed money. Baker has spent two seasons with the Redskins, playing in 29 games. He started the final three games last season after Stephen Bowen was sidelined with a knee injury. Baker has played booth tackle and end on the defensive line, and hell be a possible contender for a regular starting job at end in the teams 3-4 alignment under new coach Jay Gruden, especially with both Bowen and Adam Carriker recovering from major injuries.dddddddddddd The 26-year-old Baker was undrafted out of Hampton. He played with Denver and Miami before joining the Redskins in 2012. ' ' '