straight games Perron (2G) vs SJ this season Kessel (4G, 3A), JVR (3G, 4A) both have 5

BOSTON – Its not yet June and thanks to the advent of the two wild card spots in each league, only two of 30 teams can make the argument to their fans that theyre out of the playoff hunt. Jason Williams Kings Jersey . With apologies to the Arizona Diamondbacks, a club that made offseason moves with the intention of contending and will now give new hire Tony La Russa time to assess the damage of a disastrous start, the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs have dropped far enough in the standings to consider the postseason unachievable. The Cubs have a prized piece at the front of their starting rotation. He is 29-year-old Jeff Samardzija, the ace of a bad baseball team whos expected to top the wish list of teams looking to bolster their pitching staffs ahead of the important games of August and September. Dont let the numbers fool you. Samardzija is good. The Cubs are not good. He is winless in nine starts this season despite posting a big league-best 1.62 ERA. In fact, Samardzijas winless skid stretches to 16 if you go back to last year. Chicago, with its impotent offence, doesnt score him any runs. An even crueler fate: Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings against the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, departing with a 2-0 lead, only to watch his closer and defence implode in the ninth. The Cubs lost in extra innings. Word around the Blue Jays is if the club is in contention approaching the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, ownership would be willing to loosen the purse strings to acquire additional help. Toronto needs help in its starting rotation with two spots in perpetual question. J.A. Happ is filling one at the moment. Somebody will fill the other come Saturday. Its expected to be Liam Hendriks, a former Minnesota Twin whos off to a strong start at Triple-A Buffalo. Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro was a Cub last year and caught Samardzija 10 times. "Hes really good," said Navarro. "I think hes one of those guys the numbers last year didnt show what hes capable of. Hes a horse. He wants the ball. He wants to win. Hes still got that football mentality. Hes that type of player." Samardzija features a sinking fastball, which he pumps up at 91 miles per hour at the low end, 97 at the high end. Hell spike a splitter; he throws a backdoor slider and a cut fastball. "Hes got everything, man," said Navarro. "Hes got it." Should Samardzija land in the American League East, a real possibility considering the interest hell likely draw not just from the Blue Jays but also the injury-riddled Yankees and maybe others, hell quickly find himself in a home run-friendly division with home run-friendly parks and lineups that stretch deep. Its not the National League Central. Navarro doesnt think he would have a problem adjusting. "I believe so," said Navarro. "I think hes a strikeout pitcher. Hes a swing and miss type of guy. I believe that hes got what it takes. I think the most important thing that hes got is hes a really competitive guy and he wants to win. Obviously hes going to have to make some adjustments coming from the NL Central to the American League East but I think hes going to be a huge asset if we get the opportunity to get him." The Cubs reported asking price for Samardzija in the offseason involved both top pitching prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman. Needless to say that would be a steep price to pay. It may, however, be the going rate. With so many teams jumbled around the .500 mark and no sign of that changing in the foreseeable future, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer should have a number of intriguing offers to peruse. If Cliff Lees elbow problem is anything serious for the Phillies, another potential chip comes off the market and Samardzijas price goes up further. How about that? The perpetually weak Cubs will be dealing from a position of strength. CHECK OUT THE PODCAST Episode 5 of The Baseball Podcast, #TBP, is available online. TSN 1050 contributors Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star and Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com and I discuss Fenway Park, the Blue Jays red hot offence, the persistent issues with the back end of the starting rotation, Jose Reyes defence and whether the media is too easy on general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Click here to listen. Yogi Ferrell Jersey . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Mitch Richmond Jersey . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. https://www.kingslockerroom.com/Trevor-Ariza-City-Edition-Jersey/ .Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov.The San Jose Sharks have recovered from a mediocre start with a strong eight-game run, and their only loss in that span is starting to look worse and worse. It came against the Edmonton Oilers, who havent won since while scoring only on occasion. The teams meet in San Jose on tonight for the third time in 12 days with the Sharks primed to match a season-best four-game winning streak. After Tuesdays 2-1 overtime loss in Arizona, the Oilers are 1-11-5 dating to Nov. 11. Theyre 0-4-1 since beating the Sharks to earn their only victory against the Western Conference (1-15-5). The loss to the Coyotes was interim coach Todd Nelsons first game since replacing Dallas Eakin, and captain Andrew Ference said the focus hasnt shifted. I think everybody was trying to put solid games under their belts, not missing their assignments. Making sure were still concentrating on cleaning up the defensive zone and opportunities against. Thats still a focus, whether it was last week or this week, Ference told the teams official website. When we were sound in our own end it created more offense for us and a better game for us. Ben Scrivens was certainly a bright spot with 42 saves. Over his last three appearances, hes 0-1-1 with a 1.11 GAA. He was also in goal for both games against the Sharks last week, and the win was the only time he hasnt allowed five goals in his last four against them. Hes 1-3-0 with a 4.04 GAA in that time. The Oilers have scored 18 goals in 13 games, which includes a 3-for-32 stretch on the power play. The Sharks penalty kill is 19 for 21 over their 7-1-0 stretch. Edmontons scoring issues include a four-game streak without a point for Jordan Eberle, but the forward has nine points on a six-game streak against San Jose. David Perron has also gone four without marking the scoresheet, but he scored in both games against the Sharks. Taylor Hall hasnt scored in 10 games for the longest ddrought in his career. Vlade Divac Kings Jersey. The Sharks run began Dec. 9 with a 5-2 home win over the Oilers (7-19-6) after a 2-1 loss in Edmonton two nights earlier. The surge continued with a 2-0 win Saturday against Nashville that extended their home win streak to six on the third date of a five-game homestand. The Sharks (17-11-4) got a goal and an assist from Joe Thornton, who has three straight multipoint games and five in his last seven against the Oilers. Joe Pavelski had an assist against the Predators and scored twice in last weeks win over Edmonton, giving him five goals and three assists in his last four in the series. Antti Niemi made 18 of his 29 saves in the third to get his second shutout of the season after missing the previous three games. Niemi sat out the game in Edmonton, then was hit by a puck in practice and missed the next two. I thought he was very sharp when he needed to be, coach Todd McLellan said. His week hasnt been easy. He gets injured, misses some starts, comes into a game like that and really doesnt get tested until the third period. He was able to stay in it mentally and physically, and made some saves in the third when we needed them. Niemi has won his last five starts with a 2.20 goals-against average and is 4-0-1 with a 2.13 GAA against the Oilers in San Jose. The Sharks have allowed seven goals in their last five games, which doesnt bode well for an Edmonton club that has dropped four straight at the Shark Tank. Game Notes: Teams have split two games this season SJ has won 4 straight at home vs EDM San Jose: won 3 straight, all at home, 3GA won 6 straight at home, outscoring opponent 24-12, 6/16 on PP Thornton (1G, 5A) 3 game Pt streak Edmonton: 0-4-1 past 5 games, outscored 15-6, 1/12 on PP 2GF or less in 8 straight games Perron (2G) vs SJ this season Kessel (4G, 3A), JVR (3G, 4A) both have 5 game PT streaks ' ' '