Allgemein » season. The right-hander was charged with si

PITTSBURGH – Sergio Santos arrived at PNC Park on Saturday afternoon and met with manager John Gibbons, who delivered the news everyone was expecting he would. "Were moving Sergio out of that role," said Gibbons of the closers spot, less than 24 hours after Santos blew his second save of the road trip and third of the season. Until Casey Janssen returns, Gibbons will go with closer-by-committee. "It could be Loup," said Gibbons. "It could be Cecil. Over the next few days it could be any of those guys." The change is necessary and while fans arent about to take pity on a multi-million dollar athlete, Santos struggles are a reminder of the human element of sports. There he was on Friday night, having blown a two-run, ninth inning lead, hunched over at his locker, his head in his hands for what seemed like an eternity. Santos then stood up and addressed the media. Later, once the ballpark lights had dimmed and he was back in his hotel room, Santos sifted through the litany of text messages he gets after each appearance, good or bad. His wife had written him and so had his parents. One of Santos brothers, Gabe, chimed in. He got messages of support from aunts and uncles, too. Like the goal crease in hockey, the pitching mound can be a lonely island when things arent going well. Out on the road, its easy to get lost in your thoughts. "You go to the hotel and that night, the night of the game, its usually the hardest, you know what I mean, that whole night," said Santos. "I mean, you close your eyes and you cant help but think about it. You think about a million different scenarios, what you could have done different." The sun, as they say, always comes up the next day. "The second you wake up the very next day youre presented with, basically, a choice," said Santos. "You could either feel sorry for yourself and say poor me or you could use the next day as an opportunity to know that what happened last night is not who I am." Santos turned to an old teammate and friend for advice. He often plays the online game Words with Friends with Darren Oliver and on Friday night, Santos sent Oliver a message. He wanted to talk. Oliver invited Santos to call on Saturday morning. "He said, Ive been through this a million times. I was in the game for so long. You go through stretches where theyre rough and theyre ugly," said Santos. "He says, its up to you to put a stop to it. They can go on for the whole season or you can nip it in the bud, get that confidence back and go out and pitch." Santos need only look at his numbers for a stark reminder of how bad things have been. Hes taken two losses, has blown three saves and has posted an ERA of 10.61 with a WHIP of 2.250. He insists he wont dwell. "For me, my edge has always been my confidence," said Santos. "Even in the midst of the biggest adversity, confidence, I think, is the one thing thats such a useful tool. So to even lose that, and dont get me wrong doubt creeps into your mind all the time, you get there, youre going, "Crap, is it going to happen all over again today? Whats going to happen? But its so important to just push those thoughts out of your mind." Santos is powerless over his role in the bullpen. He cant disagree with Gibbons decision and he wont. All he can do is wait until Gibbons calls his name again. "My whole thing is to help this team win in any way I can," said Santos. "Whether right now thats me throwing in the seventh, eighth, okay so be it because I know when Im going good I can help this team win. More importantly, for this team to win, Ive got to get right." Air Max 97 Outlet Store . - Aaron Rodgers makes tough throws that can leave fans of the Green Bay Packers speechless. Air Max 97 Sale . -- LeBron James warned the Orlando Magic to stop double-teaming him and ignoring James Jones. http://www.airmax97outlet.com/ . Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. Air Max 97 Outlet . Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract. He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season. Cheap Air Max 97 Sale . But defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia held off a strong challenge to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3, 6-4, and there was another hard-fought victory for 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Alison Riske of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-4. CLEVELAND -- For someone who just endured a beer bath, T.J. House was all smiles. House allowed three runs over 6 2-3 innings for his first major league win and the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Saturday night. Houses teammates celebrated the occasion by dousing him with beer, something the rookie left-hander didnt mind one bit. "I got rolled into this little cart and they gave me a shower," he said. "It was nice. I enjoyed it. Id take one every time we get a win." House (1-2) scattered nine hits, struck out three and didnt walk a batter. He was making the eighth appearance, and seventh start, of his career. "It feels great," House said. "I hadnt had one yet, but the time came and it was the right time, at home in front of the fans." Michael Bourns leadoff homer sparked a three-run third inning while Nick Swishers bases-loaded single scored two runs in the fifth and finished Jeremy Guthrie (5-7). Michael Brantley had three hits, including an RBI single in the eighth, for Cleveland. Bourn left the game after scoring the Indians final run because of tightness in his left hamstring. He had surgery on the hamstring in October and began the season on the disabled list. Bourn also missed several games in May with the injury. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Bourn was examined following the game. "Well know a lot more (Sunday)," Francona said. House gave up a run in the first, another in the sixth and Danny Valencia hit a leadoff homer in the seventh. But House retired the next two hitters then was pulled after throwing 87 pitches. Kansas City loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth against closer Cody Allen, pitching in a non-save situation. Allen struck out Lorenzo Cain on a 3-2 pitch before Eric Hosmer swung at the first pitch and bounced into a game-ending double play. "I think I had Cain in swing mode because he swung at ball four," Allen said. "I was trying to use Hosmers aggressiveness against him because he was trying to tie it up right there." House, taken in the 16th round of the 2008 draft, began the season at Triple-A Columbus. He made five starts with the Indians from May 23-June 14 before being sent back to the minors. He wwas recalled a week ago and lost to Seattle on Sunday against Felix Hernandez, a game in which the Indians were held to one hit.dddddddddddd "Hes pitched well enough to have a win before now," Francona said. "Hes shown he can get major league hitters out. Hes got a lot of poise out there." Hosmers RBI groundout in the first gave Kansas City the lead. Bourns third homer of the season tied the game. Jason Kipnis put Cleveland ahead with an RBI double and Lonnie Chisenhall added a run-scoring single. Kansas City added a run in the sixth, but House struck out Billy Butler with two runners on to end the inning. "He did a nice job of limiting the damage and threw the ball very well," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Every time we got something going, he found a way to put an end to it." Cleveland loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth before Swisher, who was batting .193 and struck out in his first two at-bats, lined a 1-2 pitch to right-centre. The hit pushed the lead to 5-1 and gave Guthrie his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander was charged with six runs and allowed a season-high 11 hits in four-plus innings. Chisenhall was 2 for 3 and raised his batting average to .342, but he doesnt have enough plate appearances to be listed among the league leaders. Clevelands third baseman is making a strong push to be named to the American League All-Star team, which will be announced Sunday. Chisenhall is hitting .350 (55 for 157) with nine homers and 36 RBIs in 44 games since May 14. NOTES: Swisher has been taking fly balls in right field during pregame drills. He appeared in 27 games in the outfield in 2013, but has yet to play there this season. ... Royals OF Nori Aoki (strained left groin) was eligible to come off the 15-day DL on Saturday, but will be sent on a rehab assignment in the next couple of days. Aoki, who is hitting .263, has been sidelined since June 21. ... Indians C Yan Gomes, who started 70 of the first 85 games, was given the night off as George Kottaras started behind the plate. ... Royals OF Alex Gordon snapped an 0-for-16 slump with a sixth-inning single. ... Royals LHP Danny Duffy (5-7) takes on RHP Corey Kluber (7-6) in the three-game series finale Sunday. ' ' '