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Mike Minor wasn’t so broken up about losing his perfect game bid in the seventh inning. He would’ve liked a shot at a complete-game shutout http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/a … ant-jersey , though.

Minor took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Shin-Soo Choo reached base for the 40th straight game and the Texas Rangers beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Minor was perfect until Eric Hosmer’s single up the middle with one out in the seventh. One out later, center fielder Delino DeShields preserved Minor’s shutout by leaping to rob Hunter Renfroe of a home run.

Minor struck out five and threw only 85 pitches through seven innings, yet manager Jeff Banister decided to go to the bullpen after that. That drew a pointed response from Minor: �Why?�

�I don’t have a complete game shutout in my career, so I still had some goals,� Minor said. �With the pitch count being low, I feel I could have still went out there and possibly finished the game.�

�He grinded hard,� Banister said. �I told him if there were only zeroes on the board, it would have been yours all the way.�

Minor (6-4), making his 125th career start since August 2010, said the thought of a perfect game got stronger each inning.

�Just try to make pitches Denard Span Seattle Mariners Jersey ,� he said. �It was still a close ballgame.�

Minor benefited from two other strong defensive plays.

In the fifth inning, Jose Pirela hit a sharp grounder into the hole on the left side of the infield with two outs. Shortstop Elvis Andrus‘ long throw barely beat Pirela. Austin Hedges then hit a 105-mph liner to third baseman Adrian Beltre for the second out of the sixth inning.

�I thought, honestly, we had some hittable pitches early and missed them,� Padres manager Andy Green said. �He wasn’t pitching the type of game that lent itself to what he was getting results-wise.�

Texas has won nine of its last 11 games while San Diego has lost nine of its last 11.

The Padres scored twice in the eighth inning but left the bases loaded. Keone Kela pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save, the most in the majors this season without a blown save and a club record to begin a season.

Clayton Richard (7-7) hit three batters and allowed four runs and a season-high 10 hits over seven innings. He sought his career-best fifth consecutive winning start.

Minor signed with Texas as a free agent last December. He returned to the majors in 2017 after having shoulder surgery in 2015. He made 65 relief appearances for the Kansas City Royals last year.

NEAR-PERFECT PARTNER

As Minor pursued perfection, he was pitching to rookie Isiah Kiner-Falefa, an infielder making only his third big league start as a catcher.

�Izzy back there did a great job first time catching me,� Minor said. �I didn’t really know what to expect.�

CHOO STILL STREAKING

Choo tied Philadelphia’s Odubel Herrera for the longest on-base streak in the majors this season. Choo was hit by a pitch leading off the first inning and also had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. His on-base streak is the fourth longest in Rangers history.

SHORT HOPS

Beltre’s third-inning RBI double was No. 624 of his career, tying him with Hank Aaron for 12th on the career list. … The first-pitch temperature of 101 degrees made it the hottest game played in the majors this season. … The Padres used their 77th different lineup this season, second most in the majors Jeff Locke Color Rush Jersey , playing their 83rd game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Texas RF Nomar Mazara (tight left hamstring) was held out of the lineup for the first time since June 16.

UP NEXT

Padres: Rookie LHP Eric Lauer (3-4, 5.05) will open the weekend series vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

Rangers: RHP Yovani Gallardo (1-0, 12.08) will make his third start for Texas on Friday at home against the Chicago White Sox.

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Kevin Hart laughed as he tried to floss dance with a kid as they were both egged on by rapper Meek Mill. Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie awkwardly waved his arms around the way any 60-something-year-old man would attempting to look hip next to star entertainers.

This postseason potpourri of comic, ex-con and champion unfolded on the sideline of another 76ers’ romp.

Mill, the Philadelphia-born rapper released from prison only hours earlier, snagged the Game 5 headlines.

Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and the rest of the Sixers stole the show.

Embiid and Simmons shined again in front of Mill, and the dominant duo ushered the nightmares-into-dreams Process of the Philadelphia 76ers into the second round with a 104-91 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

The 76ers, winners of 10 games just two seasons ago, are in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Sixers won the series 4-1 and turned the Wells Fargo Center into the wildest house party in the city.

�I’ve been waiting for this moment,� Embiid said.

Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds Jessie Bates III Color Rush Jersey , Simmons had 14 points and 10 boards, and the entire team was energized by Mill’s surprise appearance. Mill made a dramatic return hours after Pennsylvania’s highest court ordered him freed while he appeals decade-old gun and drug convictions.

They await the winner of Milwaukee-Boston. The Celtics lead the series 3-2.

The Sixers are the latest team to sweep up the city in a sports euphoria that hasn’t died down since the Eagles beat the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl.

Look around the arena, and the champs were all around.

Lurie was in the house and so were a handful of Eagles. The national champion Villanova Wildcats were feted during the game. The Wildcats posed with Mill in the locker room and then stopped for selfies on the way to the court for a brief celebration. The city has already thrown two championship parades this year – the 76ers have played like a team that could add one more.

�We all got a taste of it with the Eagles, we all got a taste of it with Villanova’s tremendous win,� coach Brett Brown said. �You feel it with the city from afar.�

He added: �Everybody is excited to be a part of, what I think, is playing out to be a cool story.�

Embiid, who came to personify the Process, had his second consecutive double-double and tallied 56 points, 31 rebounds and nine blocks in just three playoff games. Embiid again played in a black mask to guard a face injury, and he’ll have plenty of time to rest and recover with the other Eastern Conference playoff series expected to stretch into the weekend.

�We feel like we’re unstoppable and we can get whatever we want to Cheap Sam Darnold Jersey ,� Embiid said. �That’s the goal and we’re going to do what it takes to get there.�

Here’s what else to know about the 76ers in the postseason.

MEEK FREE

This was no run-of-the-mill Game 5 victory for the Sixers. Mill was there just hours after being released from prison.

He was brought by helicopter to Philadelphia, where he rang the ceremonial bell to start the game. Mill sat courtside next to Hart and Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin.

Rubin had organized prison trips with Embiid, Simmons and Markelle Fultz to support Mill, and the rapper’s songs played in the locker room and during warmups.

�When he was in jail, I went to visit him. He wasn’t feeling good. You could tell,� Embiid said. �For him to come to this type of game … I was just happy.�

DY-NO-MITE!!!

The 76ers caused a few eyes to roll around the league when they signed free-agent guard JJ Redick to a $23 million, one-year deal in the offseason. Redick was coming off a solid four-year run with the Clippers, but even by NBA standards, the Sixers appeared to overpay for the 3-point ace. Redick has been worth every dollar, and he delivered again in Game 5. He made 5 of 10 3 pointers, all 10 free throws and scored a game-high 27 points.

It was the second time this postseason that Redick scored at least 27 points and the third time in his playoff career. He had consecutive 20-point games in the postseason for the first time in his career.

â€�We’ve changed our goals like four times http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/ … son-jersey ,â€� Redick said. â€�First, it was make the playoffs, then win 50 games, then getting home court, then getting the No. 3 seed.â€�

All four goals have been reached.

ROOKIE ROCKS IT

Simmons had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the series. He is the first rookie to post at least four double-doubles in his first five postseason games since San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in 1997-98.

Simmons was a force against the Heat. He had 91 points, 53 rebounds and 45 assists in the series and showed why he’s the favorite to win the NBA rookie of the year.

�This is what I’m going to expect now,� Simmons said.

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