Herzlich Willkommen » but Dubnyk came up big again as he denied

TORONTO -- If the eye-catching smile doesnt get you, the electric play on the basepaths will. Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes gets peoples attention with his unique brand of baseball. Hes a dynamo with great range in the field and track star speed. And over the last week or two, he finally looks like the Reyes of old. The three-time all-star, one of the key pieces in a November 2012 blockbuster trade with Miami, was hampered by injury problems in his first season in Toronto. It was more of the same earlier this year as a tight hamstring kept him out of the lineup for a few weeks. Once he returned, it took some time for Reyes to find his rhythm. The leadoff hitter has found it now and his play is a big reason why the Blue Jays have moved to the top of the American League East division standings. "He makes us that much better," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "Hes really the catalyst because hes up at the top of the lineup." A revitalized starting rotation and homer-happy lineup are two big reasons why the Blue Jays are flying high. But Reyes has provided the powerful Toronto offence with a real edge since his return. With impressive bat skills and a constant threat to run, Reyes offers a nice contrast to the big swingers like Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista who usually follow him in the order. Pitchers have a hard time concentrating on the plate with a speedster like Reyes on base. "Hes so capable of stirring things up," said Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon. "Hes one of those catalysts. Theres a few real catalytic players in the game and hes one of them." Reyes, who had three hits in Wednesdays 3-2 win over the Rays, had an 11-game hitting streak end a night later. He had his first three-steal game as a Blue Jay last weekend and wowed the Rogers Centre crowd by scoring from second base on a groundout. "Hes one of those guys thats hard to take your eye off of when youre watching a baseball game," said Toronto second baseman Steve Tolleson. "Hes able to do so many things offensively and defensively. Defensively hes able to play a little bit deeper than most shortstops because he has a tremendous arm and he has the speed to close in on balls that he needs to. "Hes in an elite group when it comes to that. Hes been a lot of fun to watch." However, Reyes isnt immune to the occasional hiccup in the field. He made a throwing error on a potential game-ending ground ball Thursday night and the Royals came back to win 8-6 in 10 innings. He took full ownership for the miscue after the game. "This is baseball, sometimes mistakes are going to happen," Reyes said. "I just have to learn from it." Despite the occasional negative, the native of Santiago, Dominican Republic brings plenty of positives to the diamond. In a game earlier this week, Reyes dropped a soft bunt down in his first at-bat. He accelerated like a shot and seemed to be halfway down the first-base line by the time the pitcher left the mound to retrieve the ball before conceding the single. When the next batter belted one off the wall, Reyes was quickly in full flight and scored with a head-first slide. Its the kind of get-your-jersey-dirty, fast-paced style that fans and teammates love. "The last few weeks my leg feels good," Reyes said. "Its good to play pain-free. I dont have to worry about anything. Before, four or five weeks ago, I still had a little concern with my hamstring being 100 per cent. "But right now its 110 per cent." Reyes, 30, who won a batting title with the New York Mets in 2011, has seen his average rise as his comfort level returned. Entering the game against the Royals, he has reached base safely in 24 of his last 25 games. The three-time National League stolen base leader (2005-07) has also swiped 11 bags over the last 25 games entering Thursdays matchup. His well-rounded game is a big reason why Torontos offence is so feared. "When they made the trade and brought him in last year, I think thats what everybody kind of envisioned," Gibbons said. "Hes been banged up a little bit since hes been here but now hes healthy. "What hes doing now is really what hes done his whole career and so I think people are just really getting a look at it." Reyes also brings an infectious personality to the ballpark and is usually the first one out of the dugout to congratulate his teammates. More than anything, he has the ability to put the Blue Jays in a position to manufacture runs. Whether through stolen bases, sacrifices or just aggressive base-running, Reyes can often secure that extra base and create more scoring opportunities. "Im capable of doing a lot of stuff," Reyes said. "People (have) seen (over) the last few weeks what Im able to do on the field." Wholesale Air Max . This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. Replica Air Max . Lexie Lou earned a commanding 4 1/2-length win Sunday in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks. https://www.airmaxchina.us/. The Cubs made the moves before Thursdays game against Arizona. They promoted left-hander Zac Rosscup and right-hander Neil Ramirez from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Blake Parker to their top minor league team. Clearance Air Max .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. Air Max From China . Chris Capuano. Shane Greene. And now, Esmil Rogers.Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday. Zach Parise continued his solid offensive play with the lone goal for the Wild, who ended a two-game skid. Parise now has six goals in his past six games. Jonas Hiller turned aside 31 shots for the Flames, who entered the game with wins in five of their previous six games. Minnesota opened the scoring after Thomas Vanek directed a turnover to Parise, who beat Hiller in front 8:59 into the game. The Flames outshot the Wild, 14-10, during the second period, but were unable to solve Dubnyk as Minnesota still led 1-0 heading intto the final stanza.dddddddddddd Hiller made a quick kick save on Jason Pominville in tight to keep it a one- goal game five minutes into the third. Dubnyk countered minutes later by snagging Johnny Gaudreaus wrister in the slot. Later in the third, Paul Byron raced into the Minnesota zone on a breakaway, but Dubnyk came up big again as he denied Byron with a pad save. After the Flames pulled Hiller with over a minute to play, Dubnyk shut the door at the other end to seal the win. Game Notes Dubnyk posted his 11th career shutout ... Vanek tallied his 300th career assist ... Minnesota is now 8-2-1 in its last 11 games against Calgary ... The two teams will meet again on Feb. 18 in Calgary. ' ' '