am Oldham desperate to get back into the competitive arena I mad

MINNEAPOLIS -- If anyone needed a game-winning hit in extra innings, it was Aaron Hicks. The once-prized Minnesota Twins prospect was hitting just .161 and was challenged by manager Ron Gardenhire and acting general manager Rob Antony the day before to take a more professional approach to the game. Hicks responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th and Phil Hughes struck out eight in six innings to help the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the series finale on Thursday. Many think the only reason Hicks was not sent down already was because of the injuries that have decimated an already thin outfield group. Gardenhire and Antony both said they didnt feel Hicks was doing the necessary homework behind the scenes to be ready every day. "Maybe preparing is something I need to try to do more," Hicks said. "Try things to be able to make my game better and have an edge on the game." All-Star closer Glen Perkins blew his second save of the season, giving up a two-run single to Will Middlebrooks with the bases loaded that tied the game in the ninth. But Kurt Suzuki doubled down the left-field line and Hicks lined a 3-2 pitch to left field off of Andrew Miller (1-2) to win it. "Its such a big hit in a big situation," Hicks said. "It just comes down to how much heart you have in the game. Thats the kind of player I am. I like to play with passion and I dont like the way Ive been playing so far. But its something that sometimes youve got to go through in order to be able to make that next step into becoming a better player." Mike Carp had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, but David Ortiz was a quiet 1 for 4 with a single after going deep twice in each of the first two games of the series. Hughes gave up five hits and no walks and Chris Parmelee hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who took two of three from the defending champions. Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar each had three hits and Brian Duensing (1-1) picked up the win. Clay Buchholz gave up three runs on 10 hits and struck out six in six innings for the Red Sox. The Red Sox hitters had been doing well recently, with Ortizs personal home run derby contributing to 28 runs over their previous four games. But Hughes put those hot bats on ice on a day when the temperature was 46 degrees at first pitch. Hughes knows Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and the Red Sox lineup well from years of facing them while he was in the Yankees rotation. "He pitches more comfortable here, it seems," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They threw a lot of strikes, didnt issue many bases on balls. Didnt have a whole lot going for the first eight." Hughes retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced, won a 14-pitch battle with Xander Bogaerts to end the fifth inning and finished with more strikeouts against the Red Sox than he had in his previous 22 appearances against them. "Im going after them," Hughes said. "Thats been my game plan and has continued to be. Just attack with my fastball and get some flyouts, some strikeouts, swings and misses. I just tried to stay aggressive the entire time." Gardenhire said he hopes Hicks big hit will be the jumpstart his young centre fielder needs. "Hes working at it. Thats all weve asked him to do, study and work and hes doing that," Gardenhire said. "Thats a big hit for him. Nice to see him smile in a big situation like that." NOTES: Farrell gave OFs Grady Sizemore and Shane Victorino the day off. Farrell said the oft-injured Sizemore is doing fine and would play a lot this weekend while Victorino is resting a sore left knee. ... The Twins gave SS Danny Santana the day off to rest some sore legs, Gardenhire said. ... University of Minnesota football coach Jerry Kill threw out the first pitch shortly after announcing a $100,000 donation to start the Chasing Dreams foundation for epilepsy research. ... The Red Sox head home to open a series against Detroit on Friday. LHP Jon Lester (4-4, 2.75) will start for Boston against Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.04). ... The Twins start a series against Seattle on Friday. RHP Kyle Gibson (3-3, 4.74) will start against Mariners RHP Chris Young (3-0, 2.63). Gary Payton Jersey . FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. Dennis Schroder Thunder Jersey . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. 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The standard has never been higher in the GB squad and Sky Academy Sports Scholar Sam Oldham cannot wait to strut his stuff against his team-mates and rivals in the competitive arena again.Rio is less than five months away and this weekends English Championships and the British Championships in April will go some way to determine who will be on the plane for Brazil.Oldhams Olympic dreams were reignited with a recent trip to Rio, but now the nerves and pressure will crank up. Here are Sams latest thoughts as he prepares for action.....Its finally here! This weekend my competition season gets under way at the English Championships at Loughborough University.Ive spent the last five months preparing for the start of this Olympic year and its been a tough but really motivating process. Oldham (centre left) was in Rio taking in the Olympic facilities in February After the disappointment of picking up small injuries which left me unable to seriously contend for a place on the World Championships team, I took a step back with my coach Sergey to look at the big picture and make some small changes to our training programme.The main thing we decided was that my health needs to come before everything else. It was something at times I sacrificed since making my comeback from my ankle surgery in 2014 after the Commonwealth Games.We went back to basics and built myself back up again to a place where I was healthy and my fitness level was very high. I refreshed my ankle rehabilitation programme and began working on my shoulder stability strength. Oldham has been putting in the hours during the winter and off-season By December my ankle was ready for full training again and I had no pain in my shoulders for the first time in over a year. This was a great platform to start from and I began putting together the routines I wanted to use for 2016.This Olympic year came around and training was really positive. The changes I made to my training schedule meant I stayed healthy with no injury issues throughout January and February. I had the trip to Rio with the GB squad to sample the surroundings which really fuelled my motivation even more.dddddddddddd Sam Oldham desperate to get back into the competitive arena I made great progress during this visit and I came home ready to push on towards March and the start of my European team selection campaign.Im really looking forward to getting back into the swing of competition this weekend (poor punch line I know!).Ive had great preparation with my winter training and Im very positive I can hit the ground running. Gymnasts Louis Smith and Sam Oldham discuss the pressures of an Olympics My target for this weekend is to have a solid competition and to compete to the level Ive been training at, no more no less.Next week I fly out to Doha for the second leg of the Apparatus Gymnastics World Cup circuit. So things are really getting going now. Im so excited to get started and motivated to keep working hard.WHATS COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS…MARCH 19: Sam Oldham, English Championships, LoughboroughMARCH 28 - APRIL 3: Jessica Judd, pre-season training in USAAPRIL 9/10: Sam Oldham, British Championships, Liverpool Also See: British Gymnastics About the Scholarship Meet the athletes Blogs Videos Galleries ' ' '