loaded to end the fifth and worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

CHASKA, Minn. -- Phil Mickelson came to Minnesota this week at the center of the Ryder Cup storm, having been the most vocal of the American players in lobbying for change following three straight losses to Europe.His seat only got hotter after he criticized former Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton for the way he paired Mickelson with Tiger Woods at Oakland Hills in 2004. So when he stepped to the first tee on Friday morning at Hazeltine, Lefty knew he had to deliver.Given the buildup over the last couple years, the criticism, the comments, what have you, the pressure was certainly as great, or greater, than Ive ever felt, Mickelson said. I could have copped out and asked to sit. That would have been a total weak move, and I wanted to get out there. Put me out there. I enjoy that pressure.After a shaky start Friday morning, Mickelson found his form on the back nine and partnered with Rickie Fowler for a 1-up victory over Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan, part of a clean sweep of the morning foursomes by the Americans. His front nine was marred by a tee shot that landed out of bounds on No. 6 that dropped them to 2 down. But a superb wedge on No. 16 put Fowler in position for a birdie putt that squared the match, and Fowlers tee shot on 17 helped them reclaim the lead for good.Certainly I played tight. This guy loosened me up, Mickelson said, nodding toward Fowler, who won a Ryder Cup match for the first time. Thats why I wanted him as my partner. He knows what to say and when to say it. He got some of my best golf out there in the end.Few have more riding on this weekend than Mickelson, who raised eyebrows with a pointed critique of captain Tom Watsons strategy after the Americans were rolled by Europe at Gleneagles in Scotland two years ago. Watson was sitting at the table with Mickelson while he railed at all that went wrong -- in Scotland and for much of the last two decades -- for the Americans in Ryder Cup play.Mickelson also had to apologize Thursday after offering up unprompted a stinging criticism of Sutton by saying the 2004 captain set up Woods and Mickelson to fail by giving them just two days notice that the two would be playing together.Mickelson pushed for the creation of the much talked about Ryder Cup task force, a group including Tiger Woods, captain Davis Love III and Tom Lehman that was dedicated to identifying the problems and giving the players a bigger say in the process.The task force drew snickers from the Europeans, who are 8-2 in the last 10 Ryder Cups and going for an unprecedented fourth straight victory. Lee Westwood didnt pass up a chance to take one more shot on the eve of play.You form a task force and it doesnt go right this week, where do you go from there? Westwood said. Youve done pretty much all you can do.So well see how that goes.It wasnt easy for Mickelson and Fowler, but it worked. They were 2 down after six and again after 14 before winning three of the last four holes to take the tightest match of the morning.The way we stepped up again on the closing of the back nine just like we did on the front nine, hitting some shots that we needed to, it was a lot of fun, Fowler said.Love gave the pair the afternoon off, and they were left to watch as Europe charged back into the fray.Mickelson is the elder statesman on the U.S. team, playing in his 11th Ryder Cup. He will be back on the course with Fowler for foursomes on Saturday morning, facing McIlroy and Thomas Pieters.If Mickelson was kept out of the action for a second straight round, Love may have heard about it.I think we all kind of sensed and had a good feeling heading into today that the morning was going to go well, Mickelson said. We didnt know it would THAT well, but we knew were going to have a good morning. And gosh, the guys just played some incredible golf. DeSean Jackson Womens Jersey .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Reggie White Youth Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Fletcher-Cox-Inverted-Jersey/ . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Fletcher Cox Youth Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Randall Cunningham Youth Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. NEW YORK -- In a back-and-forth game between the top teams in the NL East, the biggest swing came from Wilmer Flores.Thats been happening a lot lately for the surging New York Mets.Flores hit a go-ahead, three-run homer and New York rallied past the Washington Nationals 9-7 on Thursday night in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.Hes on a roll right now. Hes unbelievable, new teammate Jose Reyes said. He makes it look easy.Reyes, Travis dArnaud and Asdrubal Cabrera also went deep for New York in a slugfest that featured eight home runs -- most in the eight-year history of Citi Field. The second-place Mets improved to 7-1 on their 11-game homestand leading into the All-Star break and shaved Washingtons division lead to three games -- two in the loss column.Washingtons attempt to rally in the ninth inning was thwarted when Jayson Werth was called for an illegal takeout slide at second base, giving the Mets a double play after Cabrera made a diving stop at shortstop of Daniel Murphys sharp grounder.The call was upheld following a replay review, and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo got into a shouting match with second base umpire Jim Joyce in the hallway between clubhouses just moments after the final out.I know Ive been told four or five different things from different crews about the rules and last time I was told it was going to be a common-sense type thing, Washington manager Dusty Baker said. I dont know how you teach young players now to break up a double play, because theres no such thing as breaking up a double play.The victory provided an emotional pick-me-up for the Mets, who announced sobering news before the game: Struggling right-hander Matt Harvey has symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome and might require season-ending surgery to treat a serious condition that has jeopardized the careers of other major league pitchers.Murphy homered and drove in three runs, his latest big performance against the Mets since the defending NL champions let him leave as a free agent in the offseason. Bryce Harper, Clint Robinson and Anthony Rendon hit solo shots off 43-year-old Bartolo Colon in the fourth to give the Nationals a 4-1 lead.That put prized prospect Lucas Giolito in good position to earn his first career win, but the 21-year-old right-hander tired quickly and never made it through the fourth inning. He threw 90 pitches over 3 2/3 innings and gave up four runs, seven hits and four walks in his second major league start -- both against the Mets.We fought back, they fought back. Probably a heck of a game to watch, but a terrible game to lose, Baker said.After the ninth-iinning double play, All-Star closer Jeurys Familia struck out Harper for his major league-best 31st save.ddddddddddddFamilia has converted a club-record 47 consecutive regular-season save opportunities since August, though he did blow a four-run lead this year.With the Mets trailing 6-4 in the fifth, Cabrera and Brandon Nimmo singled. Flores, who had just come off the bench in a double switch to play first base, drove the first pitch he saw from Oliver Perez (2-2) just over the facing of the second deck in left field.Scores of fans jumped out of their seats -- seemingly in unison -- when Flores connected. The fan favorite popped out of the dugout for a curtain call and pumped his left fist to acknowledge a crowd of 37,569 that chanted his name.On a tear at the plate all week, Flores homered twice Wednesday against Miami and went 6 for 6 with two homers Sunday against the Chicago Cubs.Theres just a good flow to our offense and our team right now, Mets second baseman Neil Walker said.Hansel Robles (3-3) retired Rendon with the bases loaded to end the fifth and worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Addison Reed struck out two in 1 1/3 hitless innings as New Yorks bullpen came through all night.Washington swept three games from the Mets at home last week to open a six-game lead.Still just trying to put ourselves in a situation where we can make a run for it in the second half, said New York outfielder Curtis Granderson, who reached base five times and scored twice.TIME TO GIVE THANKSReyes gave dArnaud a Rolex watch as a thank you gift for relinquishing uniform No. 7 when the longtime Mets star rejoined the team this week. He loved it, a smiling Reyes said before joking that he went looking to find a knock-off.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman, who homered Wednesday against Milwaukee, sat out because of general soreness. It was simply a precaution and he is day to day, Baker said. Robinson started at first base.Mets: Cabrera was back at shortstop after getting scratched just before the first pitch Wednesday because a family illness had kept him up all night.UP NEXTWashington RHP Stephen Strasburg (11-0, 2.71 ERA) faces RHP Noah Syndergaard (9-3, 2.41) for the first time Friday night in a marquee matchup of ace pitchers heading to the All-Star Game next week in San Diego. Strasburg was pulled with a no-hitter intact after 6 2/3 innings Sunday against Cincinnati because he had already thrown 109 pitches in his first start since an upper back strain landed him on the DL. ' ' '