Meister der Farbe » in 26 chances.Mike Leake (5-7)

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- By Kyle Buschs standards, it has been a pretty quiet year.Sure, he got fined for blowing off media commitments after a disappointing Xfinity Series finish at Fontana, and he also incurred the wrath of NASCAR for destroying the rear fenders of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with an over-the-top burnout after winning the spring Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.But for the most part, Busch has been a model of decorum throughout 2016. He didnt (publicly) pitch a fuss when his JGR teammate Carl Edwards moved him to steal a Cup win at Richmond, and he was contrite after accidentally knocking teammate Matt Kenseth out of the NASCAR Chase playoffs last weekend at Phoenix.The most controversy he has generated has come from his continued desire to compete in NASCARs lower ranks, where he won 10 times in 16 Xfinity Series starts while also taking two of the three Camping World Truck Series races he ran.Even though Busch hasnt often make waves in the Cup series, he put together a rock-solid regular season with four race wins and a dozen top-5s. Now hes right back where he was a year ago: among the four drivers competing for the Sprint Cup championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Last November, Busch defeated Kevin Harvick in a straight fight at Homestead to win his first Cup series championship, and he believes he is poised to repeat that result on Sunday evening even though he hasnt recently tested at the title-deciding venue.I went there last year without testing and we did pretty well, so its all about the preparation and the things that our team does behind the scenes, as well as just executing on race day, Busch said.Its nice to be able to look back on what you did, and being able to do it before, you can kind of try to follow the same format of what happened, he added. But the three other guys are different and the race cars are different this year, and the tracks going to be one more year worn out than it was last year. Out of all the variables, it doesnt seem like there are that many constants.Adam Stevens, crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota, is confident about the teams chances.Im excited to go back down there, Stevens said. I feel like we really had a great weekend down there last year. Theres no reason why we cant go do that again.Buschs formula for making it to the championship final is similar to the one he used last year. He hasnt won a race since taking his second consecutive Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in late July, but he has snatched six top-5 finishes in the Chase. His average Chase finish is 7.3 despite intentionally running at the back to wind up 30th at Talladega.By finishing in the top 10 in eight of the nine Chase races, capped by that hectic run to second place at Phoenix, Busch has positioned himself to score rare back-to-back Cup series crowns.Aside from Johnsons run of five consecutive titles from 2006 to 2010, the only other drivers in the past 30 years to claim back-to-back Cup trophies are Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip.We havent showed our strength here in a few weeks, but weve showed consistency, Busch said after the race at Phoenix. We always talk about in this sport how top-10s lead to top-5s and top-5s lead to wins. Eventually were going to keep finishing in the top five and we just had three top-5s in a row.After racing Gordon for the championship in 2015, Busch downplayed the notion that beating six-time titlist Jimmie Johnson for this years honor would be any more meaningful.Edwards and Joey Logano are the other two championship finalists.I dont think Jimmie being in the final four makes it any more significant than Carl or Joey, Busch said. I think theyre all really good. Jimmie has been a six-time champion, but he hasnt done it in this format.You might also look at how guys have run in the past at Homestead, and it seems like Carl is probably one of the best on that, Busch continued. Joey has finished real well there the last few years also. This group is certainly way high up there as far as being challenging to race, and thats why I feel like it could honestly be any guys race.Busch is also content with Homestead as the venue for the championship finale. The 1.5-mile oval is a similar length to other intermediate ovals, but with a markedly different symmetrical layout.I think Homestead is one of the better tracks for us to have the last race at, he said. Youd much rather go there to a place where its kind of wide, where tires fall off and where you can race people from the bottom of the track all the way to the top of the track versus going to a place like Phoenix or Loudon, where its really hard to pass and hard to get the guy in front of you, with not too many racing grooves.With Gordon retired (again) and Tony Stewart calling it quits as a driver after Sundays race, Johnson could be NASCARs only multiple Cup champion in the field next year.Unless Busch repeats as champion, that is. At 31, in the prime of his career, he knows its important for the sport to have legacy stars for future generations to measure up to. And he knows that winning consecutive Cup titles would guarantee that kind of long-term status.You look at these younger-generation drivers that come in and youve got to stack yourself up against somebody, Busch said. I got to stack myself up against Jeff Gordon, against guys late in their career like Dale Jarrett, and Ive raced against guys like Tony Stewart and Jimmie -- a lot of guys who have been champion.Although I never raced against the likes of Richard Petty or David Pearson or guys that were champions before my time, you certainly get to understand how good they were in their day and how important they are to the sport even though you never got a chance to race them yourself.Custom Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Stitched Blue Jays Jerseys . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Wholesale Blue Jays Jerseys . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Fake Blue Jays Jerseys . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance.CLEVELAND -- Lonnie Chisenhall was 4 for 5 with three RBI, Carlos Santana and Tyler Naquin homered, and the Cleveland Indians remained perfect in 11 games against the Detroit Tigers this season with a 12-1 victory Tuesday night.The Indians have outscored the Tigers 77-24 in the season series. Cleveland leads Detroit by 7 1/2 games in the AL Central.Carlos Carrasco (5-2) allowed one run in six innings for Cleveland, which has won 13 straight at home.Anibal Sanchez (5-9), who replaced the injured Jordan Zimmermann, allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings.Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was ejected in the sixth after grounding out. Cabrera, thinking the ball hit off his leg, never left the batters box and was called out at first. He was ejected when the umpires didnt reverse the call.ASTROS 5, MARINERS 2HOUSTON -- Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer and Colby Rasmus and rookie A.J. Reed added two-run shots in the fourth inning to back up a solid start by Dallas Keuchel.Keuchel (6-9), last years AL Cy Young Award winner who has struggled this season, allowed five hits and two runs in six innings for his season-high third straight win. Will Harris, who was named to his first All-Star team on Tuesday, pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.The Astros trailed by one in the fourth inning when Rasmus launched his homer off Taijuan Walker (4-7) to the bullpen in right-center field to make it 3-2.BLUE JAYS 8, ROYALS 3TORONTO -- Josh Donaldson hit two solo home runs, Troy Tulowitzki had a three-run blast and Toronto connected four times.Fresh off being named a reserve to the AL All-Star team, Donaldson went 3 for 4 and scored four runs while the Blue Jays won their fourth straight.Donaldson has scored 77 runs, a franchise record for runs before the All-Star break. Carlos Delgado had 76 in 2003.All four Toronto homers came off Royals right-hander Chris Young (2-8), who matched Runelvys Hernandezs team record by allowing at least one home run in 13 consecutive starts.Torontos R.A. Dickey (6-9) allowed two runs, none earned, and four hits in seven innings.MARLINS 5, METS 2NEW YORK -- Giancarlo Stanton homered twice to match his career high with five RBI, powering Wei-Yin Chen and Miami to a victory that snapped New Yorks five-game winning streak.Chen (5-3) tossed seven innings of three-hit ball, spoiling Jose Reyes return to the Mets in his first major league game since a 59-day domestic violence suspension.Back with his original team, the speedy switch-hitter received a warm welcome from the crowd of 29,477 at Citi Field but went 0 for 4 with a strikeout in his first big league appearance this season. Batting leadoff after getting called up from the minors, he quickly doffed his helmet to cheering fans -- some stood and applauded -- when he stepped to the plate in the first inning.RANGGERS 7, RED SOX 2BOSTON -- Shin-Soo Choo homered on David Prices first pitch of the game, and Elvis Andrus scored to break a sixth-inning tie as the Texas snapped a three-game losing streak.ddddddddddddPrice (8-6) threw 46 pitches in the first two innings -- 45 after Choo drove the first one of the game out to center.Rangers starter A.J. Griffin left after four innings, and Cesar Ramos (3-3) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.REDS 9, CUBS 5CHICAGO -- John Lackeys winless streak stretched to five games, Chicago manager Joe Maddon was ejected and Cincinnati beat struggling Chicago behind Zack Cozarts 13th home run.Lackey (7-5) allowed six runs -- five earned -- six hits and five walks in six innings, dropping to 0-3 in his past five starts. The Cubs have lost five of their last six games and 10 of 15.Brandon Finnegan (4-7) gave up five runs and five hits in five innings.NATIONALS 5, BREWERS 2WASHINGTON -- Hernan Perez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning to back an effective pitching performance by Zach Davies, and Milwaukee won its second road series of the season.Davies (6-4) allowed two runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. The rookie retired 10 in a row before giving up three straight singles in the seventh.Jeremy Jeffress worked the ninth for his 23rd save.Gio Gonzalez (4-8) is 1-7 in nine starts since May 18.PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 2ST. LOUIS -- Eric Fryer burned his former team with two hits and three RBI to lead Pittsburgh.The Cardinals released Fryer when backup catcher Brayan Pena came off the 15-day disabled list and the Pirates claimed him off waivers on Sunday.Juan Nicasio (7-6) worked two scoreless innings in relief of lefty Steven Brault, who allowed one earned run in four innings while throwing 82 pitches and adding a single in his debut.Mark Melancon finished for his 21st consecutive save and 25th in 26 chances.Mike Leake (5-7) gave up five runs in six innings for the Cardinals.PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 1PHILADELPHIA -- Maikel Franco homered for the third straight game and Philadelphia hit four overall.Zach Eflin (1-2) struck out six and walked none in his first career complete game and first major league win.Peter Bourjos started the home run derby and extended his hitting streak to 14 games in the first inning against Mike Foltynewicz (2-3).ANGELS 13, RAYS 5ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- C.J. Cron homered twice and drove in four runs, and Los Angeles overcame another shaky start by Tim Lincecum to get its third win in 15 games.Cron had a solo shot off Jake Odorizzi (3-4) during a four-run second and a three-run drive against Enny Romero in a six-run ninth.Reliever Deolis Guerra (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings. ' ' '