Herausforderungen » Molitor said. Hughes, already sidelined with a knee

As stunned as we may be by the Blue Jays 23-31 record and last place standing in the A.L. East, there are actually two teams that have blown me away by their monumental collapses in May. Lets start in the National League. Youve got to concede, Milwaukee hasnt been quite as imposing since Prince Fielder left for Detroit as a free agent. But they still looked like a solid team that could at least be close to one of the Wild Cards. Ron Roenickes crew got out of the gate with a fairly solid 14-11 record in April. They have a star left fielder in Ryan Braun (juiced or not) and a budding superstar at short in Jean Segura. However they havent had the starting pitching and their bullpen has been in turmoil through injuries and inconsistency. The Brewers are heading for the worst month of May in franchise history. They have dropped six in a row and are just 5-22 for the month. The "Brew Crew" has tumbled into last place in the N.L. Central, and they are already 16 games back of first place St. Louis and 13 behind division rival Cincinnati for the second Wild Card spot. Barring a miracle, their season is already over on the final day of May. General manager Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash would appear safe, based on an excellent track record and the Brewers solid attendance. Roenicke, though, could be in trouble if the nose dive continues. Royal Pains The team though that really puzzles me is the Kansas City Royals. G.M. Drayton Moore went out in the off-season and appeared to fill the void in the starting rotation by acquiring James Shields and Wade Davis from Tampa Bay and Ervin Santana from the Angels. Though none of the three have been spectacular, they have added some stability to the starting staff and some veteran leadership. The Royals actually went 17-10 in April, and looked like a team that might press Detroit for the division lead over the course of the season. Then in May, the bats died. The Royals are only 5-19 this month. Not only that but they tied a franchise record by dropping 10 in a row at home and had dropped eight in a row overall before Thursdays bizarre win at St. Louis. More on that in a second. But for now K.C. is last in the A.L. Central and seven and a half back of the Yankees for the second Wild Card spot, same as the Blue Jays. A year ago, the Royals tied for last in the American League in home runs. Again this season, they were struggling to hit the long ball. Early this week, batting coach Jack Maloof stuck his foot in his mouth by saying the Royals would likely finish last in homers again. A couple of days later Maloof and his assistant batting coach Andre David were re-assigned within the organization. The man taking over as interim batting coach for Thursdays game was 60-year-old George Brett, the greatest Royals player of them all. Yes, the Royals did win the game at St. Louis and break off that eight-game losing skid, but it was one of the strangest games you would ever want to see. The Royals could only muster four hits on the night, but managed to rally for three runs in the top of the ninth to beat the "Red Birds" 4-2. Thats not even half the story. The game played in front of over 43,000 fans was delayed for an hour at the start by rain. Heading to the top of the ninth, St. Louis was up 2-1. Then Jeff Francoeur slugged a homer - the Royals first in 59 innings - and Eric Hosmer later in the inning hit what proved to be a game winning two-run bases loaded double off Victor Marte. That wasnt the final chapter though. Right after that, the skies opened up again, and the game went into a marathon rain delay of four hours and 32 minutes. The game finally ended at 3:14am. This was the Royals one and only visit to St. Louis this season, so veteran ump Joe West was determined to get it in. He actually could have ruled the game was official after eight and given St. Louis the 2-1 victory. Over the course of the delay the Cardinals brass and manager Mike Matheny actually lobbied for West to do just that. Matheny said he was worried that one of his players might have been injured on the slippery field. He couldnt be too critical though because it was his home grounds crew at Busch Stadium. In fact, he said later they did a great job just to make the field playable. When play resumed, it took just 12 more minutes to get the final six outs. Will this be a turning point in the Royals season? Who knows? I thought the Blue Jays might get some huge momentum by having four relievers combine to shut out Atlanta 3-0 on Wednesday night. So what happens Thursday? R.A. Dickey struggles again and the Blue Jays get blasted 11-3 in the series finale. Bruised Yankees This is circle the wagons weekend for the Yankees. Theyve lost five in a row including a four-game sweep in Queens at the hand of their crosstown rivals, the Mets. This weekend they are home to the division-leading Red Sox whom they trail by two games. C.C Sabathia will be facing Jon Lester in a duel of lefties in game 1. The Yanks are due to get Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira back in the line-up. At this point it would probably be better for the Blue Jays if one team or the other get swept in their respective series. Of course, they would have to co-operate by taking three themselves at San Diego. Game on!Nike Air Max 270 Sale . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Wholesale Nike Air Max 270 . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Fake Nike Air Max 270 . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Clearance Nike Air Max 270 . PETERSBURG, Fla.CHICAGO -- James Shields insisted career win No. 130 was just like every other one. He offered no sign of relief or satisfaction. There was just praise for his defense and a big smile.It was simply time to move on.Shields broke out of a slump with 6 2/3 innings against one of baseballs worst lineups, helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 9-6 on Wednesday night.It was coming out of his hand better and he was finishing, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. Locating better as well. Just the way it was out of his hand, it was getting better and better.Shields (3-9) allowed one run and eight hits in his first win since he tossed seven scoreless innings for San Diego at Milwaukee on May 12. The right-hander got hit hard after he was acquired by Chicago in a trade June 4, going 0-2 with a 15.80 ERA in his first four starts.It was a tough stretch, he said. Its nice to get off the schneid there and get a win, but I dont really focus on that kind of stuff. Ive been around this game for a long time, but my main focus is to win games for this team right now.Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie and Tyler Saladino homered for the White Sox, who improved to 7-1 against the Twins after losing 4-0 in the series opener on Tuesday. Saladino and Tim Anderson each had two hits and two RBI.Chicago carried a 9-1 lead into the ninth, but Max Keplers two-run double got Minnesota within three with two out. Nate Jones then came in with runners on second and third and retired Eduardo Escobar on a fly ball to left for his second save.Somehow we got the tying run to the plate there in the ninth inning, manager Paul Molitor. But it was too big of a deficit.Eduardo Nunez homered on Shields second pitch of the game, but it was a mostly frustrating night for Minnesota at the plate. The Twins, who rank near the bottom of the majors in several offensive categories, went 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.Nunez finished with three hits and Brian Dozier extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double in the sixth. Dozier also has at least one extra-base hit in a franchise-record 10 straight games.Minnesota had a chance to tie it at 2 in the fifth, but Kurt Suzuki was cut down by Adam Eatons major league-best 11th assist when he tried to score on Nunezs double to the wall in right. Suzuki was basically forced to head home when Nunez nearly ran him over near third.ddddddddddddKurt has to be somewhat protective of the catch, Molitor said. Nunies focus was more on where the ball was rolling than the runner in front of him and we got into a tough spot there. We ended up losing an opportunity.Saladino belted a solo shot against Ricky Nolasco in the bottom half, and the White Sox broke it open with five runs in the sixth. Frazier led off with his 22nd homer and Anderson contributed a two-run single.Nolasco (3-6) was charged with seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings in his second straight loss.I felt fine, a lot better than the last start, Nolasco said. Good enough that I thought we could salvage the game there for the last few innings, but it just didnt work out.MISSING MELKYWhite Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera had an MRI on his ailing right wrist and will miss a couple of days with a mild sprain.Its difficult because I want to play, but the doctors said the best for me right now is just to take a rest for a couple of days because I have inflammation there, Cabrera said through a translator.WORTH NOTINGThe White Sox optioned left-hander Matt Purke to Triple-A Charlotte after the win. They said they will make a corresponding move before the series finale.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: Molitor said RHP Phil Hughes has peace of mind after learning he needs season-ending shoulder surgery, explaining his fatigue and loss of velocity. It spoke to the fact that he had trouble sustaining himself and stiffening, Molitor said. Hughes, already sidelined with a knee injury, is scheduled for surgery next Wednesday.White Sox: RHP Zach Putnam is working out while he rests his ailing right elbow. Season-ending surgery is a possibility. Obviously the goal is to avoid that if possible, he said. I think we are going to give it the old college try and try to see if we can get through the rest of the season without having to do a procedure.UP NEXTLeft-handers Tommy Milone of the Twins and Carlos Rodon of the White Sox face off in the series finale on Thursday. Milone (0-2, 5.33 ERA) is 4-1 with a 2.02 ERA in his career against the White Sox. Rodon (2-6, 4.09 ERA) is winless in his last five starts despite a 3.41 ERA for that stretch.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '