CINCINNATI – The late, great Earl Weaver once was asked about momentum and whether it existed in baseball. San Diego Padres Gear . “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons was smacked in the face with that truth on Saturday. Less than 24 hours after his club staged the second biggest comeback in franchise history, winning 14-9 on Friday night in a game it had trailed 8-0, J.A. Happ (6-4) imploded on the mound and the Reds won a laugher 11-1. “He didnt have it today,” said Gibbons. “We really never had a chance. You know, just kind of sucked the wind out of us right away but, hey, we move on. Show up tomorrow.” Happ got the first two outs of the first inning. Reasonably quickly, too, as Billy Hamilton grounded out and Todd Frazier lined out. Then, inexplicably, Happ fell apart. He walked Joey Votto. He walked Brandon Phillips. He walked Jay Bruce to load the bases. Ryan Ludwick smacked a two-run single to centerfield, scoring Votto and Phillips. Happ walked Devin Mesoraco. Finally, Ramon Santiago grounded out to end Happs 37-pitch first inning. Whatever the events of Friday night had done to ease the burden of an ugly sweep in New York, Happ had put his team in another hole and this time the offence couldnt climb its way out. “I was trying to be too fine, maybe, or what Im not sure,” said Happ. “I let three guys go and then the base hit, kind of a tough way to start. I tried to be aggressive after that, but we didnt have a ton for them today and that started with me.” Jay Bruce hit a solo home run in the third, the Reds scored four more times on three singles and two doubles in the fourth and Happs day was done. So was the Blue Jays afternoon; they could muster only a Colby Rasmus solo home run in the seventh off of Reds starter Mike Leake (5-6). REYES LEAVES WITH KNEE BRUISE Jose Reyes wont start on Sunday after fouling a ball off his left knee in the fifth inning of Saturdays loss to the Reds. He didnt take his shortstop position after finishing his at-bat, replaced by Steve Tolleson. He doesnt think its serious. “I hit it pretty good there, but its not a big deal,” said Reyes. Reyes confirmed hed already been approached by manager John Gibbons, who informed him that he wouldnt be in Sundays starting lineup. Reyes is hitless in his last 12 at-bats and Gibbons suggested a breather could do his shortstop good. RASMUS ON A ROLL Colby Rasmus is off to a nice start since coming off the disabled list in time for Wednesdays game at Yankee Stadium. In four games, hes 6-for-14 with a home run and two doubles. He drew a walk, a crucial one at that, leading off the ninth inning of Friday nights improbable come-from-behind, 14-9 victory over the Reds. He scored the winning run on an Erik Kratz double. Rasmus missed 33 games with a strained right hamstring. He didnt waste time while he was hurt. He went to work in the gym and he credits his easy transition into the lineup to increased strength. “Going on the DL, Im able to put a little weight on and get stronger and lift (weights) and do a lot more things that Im not able to do when Im playing because, when Im playing, its hard to get those good lifts in where you can be sore the next day,” said Rasmus. “You dont want to mess yourself up. I was able to get stronger and that helps.” The Blue Jays went 23-10 in Rasmus absence, for most of the stretch maximizing the potential of the Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar centrefield platoon. What Gose gave the Blue Jays with speed on the bases and defensively in centre, he couldnt make up for the power threat of Rasmuss bat. As the club began to struggle and the power numbers regressed to normalcy, it became clear how much Rasmus was missed. Hes back and hes resumed the same approach he brought into spring training. “Im not letting any pressures make me feel pressure,” said Rasmus. “In the past, when I was younger, people tried to always light a fire under me because Im kind of chilled and just kind of laid back, quiet and they always tried to make me get real amped up and it didnt help me none because I drove myself crazy wanting to do good. Id get myself so amped up and then not do good and the let down can break you down over time. I try to stay away from that, put me some country music on and stay relaxed, slowed down and then the game will speed me up.” On that crucial walk Rasmus drew against Reds flamethrower Aroldis Chapman on Friday night, he went up to the plate looking to greet one of Chapmans famous heaters, which consistently top 100 miles per hour. “Im looking for cheddar cheese balls,” said Rasmus, referencing one of his many nicknames for the fastball. “I mean, it is what it is, you cant worry about his offspeed stuff even though hes got a good slider, a good change-up.” NAVARRO JUBILANT AS MESSI SCORES Dioner Navarro is a fan of Argentine soccer great Lionel Messi. That, in fact, may be an understatement. Navarro wears a Messi jersey underneath his batting practice jersey everyday. Hes got the schedule laid out, too. When Messi is playing for his club team, FC Barcelona, Navarro sports the striped, red and blue home jersey. Currently, with Messi captaining Argentina in the World Cup, hes wearing Messis Argentine attire. When Messi scored in extra time to lead Argentina over Iran, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon, Navarro sprung up from a clubhouse couch and did a lap of the room, high-fiving teammates along the way. For Navarro, the game was too close for comfort. “I just got a few more greys on my head,” said Navarro. “What a goal.” Navarro admits his infatuation with Messi is strange, especially because its uncommon for one professional athlete to fawn over another. The admiration began about a decade ago. “Back home, Venezuela, we grew up and we didnt have much money,” said Navarro. “We had only the local (television) channels and my parents were trying to get us as far away from whatever they were showing us on TV, violence and all that stuff back home. We used to get the games from Spain and I kind of grew up watching the games from Barcelona and, when Messi stepped in, he was 17 years old the first time. Every year he keeps growing. He keeps doing unbelievable things.” Argentinas win was as much a relief to Navarro as it was a thrill. Hed been getting grief from his teammates. “They were all over me, oh my gosh,” said Navarro. “The last thing I wanted was it to be tight because I knew everybody was going to be talking smack to me. Messi came through.” ROSTER MOVE The Blue Jays optioned right-handed pitcher Liam Hendriks to Triple-A Buffalo before Saturdays game. Left-handed reliever Rob Rasmussen was recalled from the Bisons, which marks his second stint with the Blue Jays this season. Rasmussen made four appearances from May 20-29. He pitched two innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. San Diego Padres Store .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity. Cheap Padres Jerseys .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/ . -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday.CHICAGO -- A couple of weeks ago, Jeff Samardzija was a symbol of the Chicago Cubs struggles when he was winless despite leading the major leagues in ERA. Now Samardzija has his second win in three starts for a team trying to turn around its season. Samardzija tossed seven solid innings, Junior Lake hit two home runs and Emilio Bonifacio added a two-run shot as the Cubs extended their winning streak to five with a 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. "The best thing as a starting pitcher you can have is consistency -- that every time you go out there your coach and your teammates know what youre going to give them," Samardzija said. "Thats what I want to do." Saturday certainly was a start. Samardzija (2-5) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, striking out eight. Pedro Strop got his second save. Except for his last outing -- eight runs in three innings at Milwaukee last Sunday -- Samardzija has put up similar numbers all season. The Cubs, though, would always come up short in one phase of the game during his outings, whether it was offence or defence. During the winning streak, consistent all-around production has been the norm. "I think everybodys contributing in some shape or form," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "Junior adding two solo homers there, those are big runs, obviously. There are a lot of different things, a lot of little things. Theyre just playing the game." Christian Yelich went 2 for 4 with a homer for the Marlins and opened the scoring in the third inning with a solo shot to make it 1-0. "It was a good swing," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "He keeps battling. He gives you good at-bats. Hes got power. You see it in there. Its just really just a matter of consistency for him. He keeps having good at-bats. Even though his average is probably not where he would want it, or everyone else would want it, I know hes going to give me a good at-bat." The Cubs wentt in front in the bottom half of the inning when Samardzija singled and Bonifacio hammered a 3-2 pitch from Miami starter Randy Wolf (1-2) into the left-field bleachers for a 2-1 lead. Padres Jerseys 2020. . It was Bonifacios first homer since July 30 last season. "That was great," Samardzija said. "I got to jog around the bases instead of having to score from first." The Cubs stretched the lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Lake hit a long homer into the shrubbery in centre field, connecting with a 79 mph changeup on a 2-1 count. Miami got to 3-2 in the sixth inning when Giancarlo Stanton doubled with one out, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Casey McGehees groundout to first base. The Cubs got a run back in the bottom half when Starlin Castro led off with a double, advanced to third on a fly out and scored when Wolf threw a wild pitch with Mike Olt at the plate. Lake bumped the lead to 5-2 an inning later when he went deep for the second time in the game -- the second multihomer game of his career -- on a line drive to left against reliever Chris Hatcher. "I really love how were playing right now as a team in all phases," Samardzija said. "To win big league ballgames you have to have all three or four phases of the game. "I love the way were swinging it right now, and, as a pitcher, it gives you a lot of confidence to go out and pound the zone." NOTES: Cubs LHP Zac Rosscup (left shoulder soreness) began his rehab assignment with Class AAA Iowa Saturday. He has been on the disabled list since May 10. ... Redmond said C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (concussion) has not participated in baseball activities since being hit on his catching mask by a foul tip on May 31 and that it was likely he would be sent to the 15-day disabled list. ... RHP Jake Arrieta (1-1, 3.00 ERA) will face RHP Henderson Alvarez (3-3, 2.62) Sunday in the finale of the three-game series. Alvarezs three wins are all shutouts. ' ' '