Amatuer Brickfilms » lly concerned about a slump. Hes more fo

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Finally healthy after a lost season, Johnny Cueto is dominating every time out. Cueto gave up three hits over eight innings, including two solo homers, and singled home a run on Saturday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds have won two of the first three in the series, leaving Milwaukee with a six-game lead in the NL Central. Cueto (3-2) gave up homers by Aramis Ramirez and Mark Reynolds and an infield single by Jean Segura. He walked one and struck out 10. The right-hander has allowed only three runs in his last 38 innings. "He was unbelievable again," catcher Brayan Pena said. Cueto was on the disabled list three times last season, when he made only 11 starts. Everything is coming together for him so far in 2014. "Hes taking his game to an even different level," manager Bryan Price said. Cueto is the first Red to throw at least seven innings in each of his first seven starts in a season since Bucky Walters in 1944. Hes the first Red to throw at least eight innings in four straight starts since Jose Rijo in 1990. "Ive said before: He doesnt have the body of an Olympic athlete, but he plays like an Olympian-caliber athlete," Price said. One curiosity with Cueto: He has given up six homers, accounting for seven of the eight runs he has allowed this season. He gave up two homers in a game for the first time this season. Cueto has already thrown 55 innings. With the injuries last season, he managed only 60 2-3. "Its really important to be throwing this many innings," Cueto said, with assistant trainer Tomas Vera translating. "I thank God that Im feeling really strong. Ive been working for this." The Reds piled up the singles against Yovani Gallardo (2-1), who failed to produce a quality start for the first time this season. Cincinnati had nine singles in Gallardos six innings, including Cuetos RBI hit in the sixth inning for a 4-2 lead. "They put the ball on the ground," Gallardo said. "Theres nothing I can do after that. Its frustrating when you make a good pitch and something happens. Cueto was a fastball away and he threw the bat out and made contact." Ryan Ludwick singled home a run, and Pena drove in two more with a single in a three-run fourth inning. Todd Frazier doubled home a run as the Reds pulled away against the bullpen. The game matched two of the NLs stingiest pitchers. Cueto got the better of it, leaving his league-leading ERA at 1.31. Reds leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game because of sprained knuckles on his left hand. The Brewers offence has struggled and been in flux for the past week because of slumps and injuries. It took a significant hit on Saturday when Ryan Braun went on the disabled list with a strained right oblique. Braun had missed the last six games with the injury. Hes eligible to return on May 12. Outfielder Logan Schafer, who had been disabled by a strained right hamstring injury, was activated in Brauns spot. Ramirez and Segura, the shortstop, missed time in the past week because of injuries. Ramirez, bothered by a bad elbow, was in an 0-for-28 slump that matched the longest of his career when he led off the second inning with a homer. The Reds broke a 12-inning scoreless streak by piling up singles in the fourth. They loaded the bases on hits by Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce, and Frazier was hit by a pitch. Ludwick singled home one run, and Pena drove in two more. NOTES: Alfred Simon (4-1) faces Milwaukees Kyle Lohse (4-1) in the final game of the series on Sunday. ... The Reds activated OF/INF Skip Schumaker before the game. Schumaker separated his left shoulder while diving for a ball in the outfield on March 21. OF Roger Bernadina was designated for assignment. ... Closer Aroldis Chapman pitched one inning for Class A Dayton at Lake County on Saturday, throwing 16 pitches. Hes expected to continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville and could be activated within a week. Chapman was hit on the forehead by a line drive on March 19 and had surgery to insert a plate. Johnny Gaudreau Jersey .com) - Many people at Eastern Washington are waiting to see if star quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Gary Roberts Jersey . Salah, who scored against Chelsea in two Champions League group matches this season, is Jose Mourinhos third significant recruit in the January transfer window after Nemanja Matic and Bertrand Traore. http://www.jerseyofficialhockeyflames.co...-hockey-jersey/. The 30-year-old Texas native was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Duke spent six years in Pittsburgh and also had stints with Arizona, Washington and Cincinnati. Lanny McDonald Jersey . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall. Jarome Iginla Jersey . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Houston has a LaMarcus Aldridge problem. The Trail Blazers All-Star forward has been dominating with more than 40 points in each of the opening two playoff games with the Rockets in Houston. Portland is up 2-0 as the series moves to Rip City on Friday night, giving the Rockets little time to figure out how to defend Aldridge. He opened the playoffs with a franchise post-season-best 46 points in the Blazers 122-120 overtime victory, then followed it up with 43 points in the 112-105 win on Wednesday night. Rockets coach Kevin McHale summed it up best when he said: "So far, hes had a hell of a series." Aldridge found success in the paint in the opener so the Rockets adjusted -- but so did Aldridge, who went outside to pepper Houston with midrange jumpers. Thirteen of his 18 field goals came from 10 feet out or more. "Hes making tough shots, hes getting to the foul line. Hes offensive rebounding. Hes doing the whole package and its tough for us," said Houston guard James Harden. "We gotta figure something out real soon. In game three, it is either we win or its over." Aldridge is the first player to score 43 or more points in consecutive playoff games since Tracy McGrady in 2003, and the first to score at least 40 in back-to-back post-season games since LeBron James in 2009. It almost goes without saying that Aldridge is the first Blazer with at least 40 points in back-to-back playoff games. "You can tell just by his approach how hes really dialed in and hes playing big. Hes really taken it upon himself to do all these things," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Thursday. "Give him all the credit. Hes been wanting this moment for a long time and hes rising to the challenge." Aldridge acknowledged the team for his success. "This team in general just believes in me so much and they ride the wave so well," he said. "When Im going one through 15, they are all cheering and telling me to shoot it. If I pass up a shot, theyre all mad at me and I think having 15 guys having your back like that is great." Aldridges play has put Portland in charge as the teeam returns home.dddddddddddd. The Blazers havent opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland went on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship Portland ranked seventh in the league during the regular season with just 10 losses at home. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Dwight Howard said its no time to panic. "Weve played against Portland in the regular season and we were successful. We just got to play basketball. We cant look back. We have to stay positive," he said. "They (Portland) won two games but its the first to four and we cant let our heads down. We dug a hole but we can always get out of it." Howard had 32 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesdays loss, while Harden had 18 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but hes 14 of 47 from the field in the playoffs for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Part of that is due to Portlands Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum taking turns at shutting him down. "Weve done a good job guarding without fouling and one thing about playoff basketball is that everybody has the every possession mentality," Stotts said. "We didnt fall asleep on him and I dont think he got a lot of easy looks and every great player in this league, you just want to make them work and I think Nick and Wes in particular really have made him work." For his part, Harden isnt really concerned about a slump. Hes more focused on the Blazers -- and stopping Aldridge. "Im not worried about my offence, Im worried about our defence, our defence as a team. When we get stops and get out in transition everybody feels good about themselves and thats when the assists flow in and things start going well," he said. "If we cant get stops it makes it more difficult. They are a very good team." ' ' '