Dein erstes Forum » bottom of the seventh inning, As manager Bob M

OMAHA, Neb. -- Its going to be more about quality than quantity this season for Creightons Maurice Watson Jr.Watson established himself as one of the Big Easts top point guards in his first year with the Bluejays. No one on the team played more minutes or took more shots.Hell get more help this season with the arrival of Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster and a stronger supporting cast.Last year everybody in the building, when it was late in the shot clock or end-of-game situations, knew Maurice had to create for us, whether it was for himself or a teammate, coach Greg McDermott said. Marcus takes a lot of pressure off him.Foster played 62 games over two seasons for K-State , averaging 14.1 points and 2.2 assists. NCAA transfer rules required him to sit out last season. He gives the Bluejays another proven scorer and a defender capable of guarding the opponents best player.The 22nd-ranked Bluejays also have freshman Davion Mintz and veterans Isaiah Zierden and Khyri Thomas in their deep backcourt. Mintz probably will back up Watson. Zierden is one of the top perimeter threats, and the versatile Thomas is coming off a strong finish to last season.We dont have a two-man backcourt, Watson said. We might have two leaders. Whats the tree without the branches and stems? The whole backcourt has pieces. We lean on (Thomas) and Isaiah and Ronnie (Harrell) and Davion and Kobe (Paras) just as the team leans on me and Marcus to be the leaders.This is still Watsons team . The Bluejays would love for him to duplicate his averages of 14.1 points and a Big East-leading 6.5 assists. His priority is to improve his 29.7-percent 3-point shooting and cut down his turnovers. Watson was among only three players in the conference to commit more than 100.Ive challenged him to become a better shooter, McDermott said. And some of his decisions. If we can eliminate 1 or 1 + of those turnovers, now you get to a 3-1 assist-turnover ratio. Then you combine that with him shooting the basketball and controlling the game with his speed and quickness. Thats what we need.Some other things to know about Creighton:RISING IN BIG EAST?Big East coaches picked the Bluejays to finish third behind defending national champion and fourth-ranked Villanova and No. 7 Xavier. It wasnt long ago that we were picked ninth, and given the choice, I like this level of expectation a little bit better because is usually means youve got some good players, McDermott said.GETTING HEALTHYThe Bluejays dealt with a lot of injuries last season and are just starting to get healthy. Zierden injured his shoulder in February, had surgery and was held out of basketball activity for four months. Forward Cole Huff injured a knee in January, had surgery and has been limited in practice. Center Zach Hanson had summer knee surgery and is slowly coming back.CHALLENGING SCHEDULEThe Bluejays, who open Nov. 11 against UMKC, face a tough early test with a Nov. 15 home game against No. 9 Wisconsin. They play back-to-back home games against 2016 Mid-American Conference tournament champion Buffalo and runner-up Akron and have road games against in-state rival Nebraska and Arizona State. Their second Big East game is on New Years Eve at home against Villanova.20-WIN STANDARDCreighton has won 20 or more games in 16 of the last 18 seasons. Only Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas have had 20 or more wins each of the last 18 years, and four other teams have hit the mark 17 times.CLICKING TURNSTILESCreighton led non-Power Five schools in attendance last season, ranking 10th nationally with an average of 15,941 at CenturyLink Center. 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Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2.OAKLAND, Calif. -- R.A. Dickey thought it was a safe pitch to a major league rookie. It turned out to be one of his few mistakes.Dickey gave up three home runs, though two of them were solo, and the Toronto Blue Jays lost 5-4 to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.If you got the ball up in the air today it was going to go, Dickey said. Thats the first slow knuckleball Ive thrown in four years that got hit out for a home run. I thought it would be a safe pitch. I was trying to find the speed it was moving most and today it was the harder one.Dickey (7-10), who had won three of his previous four starts, said he felt good all day. The three-run shot by Ryon Healy, his first major league hit, stood out.If I can subtract that homer, we win the game, Dickey said. The ball was only out by 4 or 5 feet. Im not sure he got all of it and, in retrospect, theres not a lot of history on the guy. I stuck with the harder one after that and got better results.Dickey allowed five runs on five hits in his six innings. He walked three and struck out four.Its a home run park during the day and thats what got us today, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. There wasnt a lot of break early on but he found his groove. He was giving up fly balls and that can be your enemy.Josh Thole, who had two hits and drove in a pair of runs, ended a 77 at-bat streak without an extra base hit with a two-run double in the second. Four of his five RBI have come in his last two games.Im tweaking things and Im feeling comfortable, Thole said. Ill ride it as long as I can.Khris Davis hit two home runs and Sonny Gray snapped a 12-game winless drought for the As.Davis was 2 for 4 in his ninth career multi-homer game, three of which came this season. The As have homered six times in two games, three of them by Davis.ddddddddddddThe Blue Jays, whod won eight of nine games going into the All-Star break, lost to Oakland for a second straight day to start the second half.Gray (4-8) ended a career-worst seven game skid. He was 0-7 with a 6.16 ERA over his previous 12 starts. He allowed three runs on six hits and four walks in six innings.Edwin Encarnacion hit his 24th homer leading off the top of the third for Toronto. Justin Smoak hit a solo homer, his 10th, off Ryan Madson, who pitched the ninth for his 19th save.CHALLENGING TIMESA day after a replay ruling on a play at the plate figured prominently in an As 8-7 win, home plate was the center of two more challenges -- on the same play. After Gibbons challenge overturned an As scoring play in the bottom of the seventh inning, As manager Bob Melvin challenged the reversal, contending that catcher Thole blocked Marcus Semiens path to the plate. Replay officials rejected Melvins argument. On Friday, Josh Reddick scored the tiebreaking run on a play at the plate that was overturned on a challenge.UP NEXTBlue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ is 6-0 with a 2.73 ERA over his last six starts. The Blue Jays are averaging 10.1 runs over that stretch. Happ (12-3, 3.36 ERA) has already tied his career high for wins in a season and opens the second half on pace to win 20 games.Athletics: In his last seven starts, LHP Rich Hill is 6-0 with a 2.05 ERA with no home runs allowed. He is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts since coming off the disabled list (left groin strain) on July 1. He is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 10 career appearances against Toronto. ' ' '