andere Teams » The layover likely means Del Rio will get to see his

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Yordano Ventura, who starts Sunday for the Kansas City Royals in the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, can be exasperating -- excellent one start, mediocre the next.Examine Venturas home record. He won his first four decisions this season at Kauffman Stadium, posting a 3.75 ERA. However, hes lost his past three home starts, allowing 13 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings for a 6.75 ERA.Ventura is 0-5 with a 5.40 ERA in his past seven starts. He has not picked up a victory since June 17, when he defeated the Detroit Tigers 10-3. The Royals are averaging 2.7 runs per game in his starts since the W.The numbers do not equate to a right-arm that can throw a 100 mile per hour fastball and average 96 mph.There can be some comparisons between Ventura and Royals left-hander Danny Duffy, who started the season in the bullpen and has developed into clubs best starter. Duffy won his seventh straight decision in beating the Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday night.Theres no frustration there because you know hes grown into it, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Its the same way with Ventura. You cant get frustrated. Theyre growing. Theyre getting better. Theyre learning what it takes to be successful. The light bulb is just starting to go on. You can see him getting a little better, a little better and understanding a little more and understanding a little more.Ventura had some unkind twitter words for Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista after a dugout clearing shouting match last August at the Rogers Centre. Ventura tweeted out to Bautista: Well meet again later, and called him a nobody who steals signs. The remarks were later removed and Ventura apologized.Ventura made two no-decisions starts against the Blue Jays in the postseason last October, allowing four runs in 10 2/3 innings on 12 hits, while striking out 11, walking four and hitting four.The Blue Jays counter with Marcus Stroman, who is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA in his past seven starts. Stroman struck out 13 Houston Astros in a Monday start.With closer Roberto Osuna unavailable Friday after pitching in three of the four previous games, manager John Gibbons used Joaquin Benoit, who was acquired in a late July trade with Seattle, in the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead.Benoit has allowed two hits and no runs over six innings since joining the Blue Jays.I like everything Ive seen, Gibbons said of Benoit. I dont know how they let him go. We really didnt know what to expect. Hes been around a while. He came in against us when he was with Seattle and his arm was still there; you could tell that. And hes been perfect since hes been here. It seems like he enjoys it. I think hes happy to come over here.With the additions of Benoit and Jason Grilli, who was acquired May 31 from Atlanta, plus Osuna, Gibbons has at his disposal three veteran right-handers who have closed games.Everybody knows Osunas the guy, Gibbons said. Now the key is weve got to be able to use them all because were one less guy than we usually carry (in the bullpen) and youve got to watch those guys and get some innings out of the starters or it could blow up on us, like some of those extra-inning games. Custom Basketball Jerseys . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Custom Football Jerseys . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. 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Then again, Jacksonville might welcome Del Rio back after the franchises recent struggles.I would say theres always an appreciation to go back to a place you spent a good portion of your career, Del Rio said Wednesday. A lot of fond memories, a lot of good people there, a lot of friends, and our family gets back there quite a bit. So from that standpoint, its always good to go compete against the people you went up against.Del Rio spent nine years in Jacksonville, notching three winning seasons (2004, 2005, 2007) and two .500 seasons (2006, 2010). He was fired after 11 games in 2011, let go the same day owner Wayne Weaver sold the team to Shad Khan.Del Rio landed in Denver as the Broncos defensive coordinator for three years (2012-14) and then got another head-coaching job with the Oakland Raiders in 2015, a second chance he believed he would eventually get.I thought that I had done a good job in a lot of areas and somebody was looking for a guy with experience and that I would get another shot, Del Rio said.He said hes changed just about everything from his time in Jacksonville, including how he assembled his staff, how the team meets and practices, how he deals with the media and how he handles game-management situations.You learn from your experiences, and certainly a second time around is a whole different perspective, Del Rio said. Your first time being in that chair, you understand the volume of work and the number of decisions that need to be made. Regardless of your preparation, theres an adjustment, and having that experience under my belt now certainly makes me, I think, a better head coach.It helps to have a franchise quarterback like Derek Carr.A second-round draft pick in 2013, Carr has 65 touchdown passes and 28 interceptions, clearly outperforming Jacksonvilles Blake Bortles during the stretch. Bortles, the third overall selection in 2013, has 54 TD passes, 42 interceptions and 1200 sacks.ddddddddddddDon Shula talked about the difference between having a quarterback or not, Del Rio said. Being unlucky is not having a quarterback. I think you can have great design and all that, but the triggerman really makes it all go. So having a good, young quarterback is certainly an exciting thing for our franchise.Its pretty much what doomed Del Rio in Jacksonville. He failed three times to find the right guy, missing on Byron Leftwich, David Garrard and Blaine Gabbert.The Jaguars went 23-36 in Del Rios final four years. While it may have felt like a rough patch at the time, it looks like a relatively smooth ride compared to the rebuilding years since. Jacksonville is 18-56 since Del Rio was fired and hasnt been .500 this late in any season since 2010.The Jaguars (2-3) have a chance to even their record against the Raiders (4-2), who are 3-0 on the road.With a game at Tampa Bay up next, Oakland will remain in Florida for a week and practice in Sarasota. The layover likely means Del Rio will get to see his son, Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio, play against Georgia next Saturday in Jacksonville.Im working on the details to get over there, Jack Del Rio said. Id love to be able to watch him play. Obviously, we spent a lot of time playing catch before the games down on that field. Very cool memories. Weve got a lot of pictures, a lot of memories of us spending time together there.Only three players remain on Jacksonvilles revamped roster from Del Rios tenure: defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, tight end Marcedes Lewis and linebacker Paul Posluszny. They all had good things to say about their former coach, and everyone inside the building knows Del Rio will want to win in his return -- regardless of the reception.I think it is special, Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. There is something to be said for going back where you put time in and you put a lot of energy into it. Then to have the opportunity (to return), it gives you a little extra juice.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '