MINNEAPOLIS -- Yoenis Cespedes knew how to pace himself in this rain-delayed home run derby, drawn out further by a new format. [url=https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/]Wholesale Custom Jerseys[/url] . The Oakland Athletics outfielder simply trusted his own strength. Cespedes became the first repeat

MINNEAPOLIS -- Yoenis Cespedes knew how to pace himself in this rain-delayed home run derby, drawn out further by a new format. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . The Oakland Athletics outfielder simply trusted his own strength. Cespedes became the first repeat winner of the All-Star skills contest in 15 years, powering his way past Cincinnatis Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round Monday night. Ken Griffey Jr. took the title in 1998 and 1999. With a serious, determined look on his face the whole time, Cespedes finished with 28 homers. That was four fewer than last year, when he beat Washingtons Bryce Harper 9-8 in the final round. The 28-year-old Cuban even told Athletics teammate Josh Donaldson he was doing this wrong. "I knew he wasnt going to win because his mentality was to take the ball out of the stadium, and I told him that is not the way you win this competition," Cespedes said through an interpreter. He added: "Im somebody whos very conscious of the power that I have. So I dont need to put more of a swing or more of an effort in order to hit a home run. I just have to look for a good pitch and put a good swing on it, and it usually takes care of it." Cespedes saved his best for last, a 452-foot blast to the third deck above left field that officially measured as the longest of the night. As third base coach Mike Gallego again pitched to Cespedes, who went deep 32 times in last years derby at Citi Field in New York. Gallegos arm looked nearly out of gas by the final round, which started after 10:30 p.m. local time. "Maybe next year Ill put up a better showing at the end," Frazier said. "Now that I understand, maybe Ill do a couple of more push-ups." Cespedes topped Torontos Jose Bautista, and Frazier surprisingly beat Miamis Giancarlo Stanton in the semifinals. Bautista and Stanton each earned a bye to the semifinals under the new bracketed format, which gave each player seven outs and pitted the survivors from each side in the final round. Bautista went deep 10 times in the first round, keeping the fans in the second deck above left field on their toes, and Stanton hit six. That was all for him, though. After a long wait for his next turn, Stanton put up a zero in the semifinals and let Frazier advance with only one. Oh, but Stantons six were beauties. One landed in the third deck above left field, about a half-dozen rows shy of the very top of the ballpark. Another reached the second deck above the centre field batters eye, a place never touched by a ball during an actual game here. Bautista, the AL captain, has 11 home runs in 14 regular-season games here, the most by any visiting player. Thats only one less than Twins cornerstone Joe Mauer, who has played 284 career games at Target Field. Cespedes, who beat Donaldson in a tiebreaker after each finished with three in the first round, breezed by Baltimores Adam Jones in the second round. Frazier topped NL captain Troy Tulowitzki on the other side. Colorados Justin Morneau, the fan favourite after 10-plus years and four All-Star games for the host Twins, was eliminated in the first round. Morneau returned to his roots, and so did the event itself, considering the inaugural contest was held at the Metrodome before the 1985 All-Star game. Admission then was a mere $2, slightly less than the $200-and-up price tags on the derby these days. The original form was actually a 1960s-era television show, featuring sluggers like Harmon Killebrew of the Twins. Morneau is from New Westminster, B.C. Delayed 54 minutes by light rain on an unseasonably cool night -- even for Minnesota -- with a start-time temperature of 59 degrees, the contest began with a rainbow protruding from the clouds beyond left-centre field that framed this limestone-encased ballpark that opened in 2010. Frazier went first, and while he went deep twice, he didnt quite reach the rainbow. Neither did Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, the smallest of the participants who had the backing of the crowd with chants of his last name during his two-homer round. "Even my brother he said he got chills," said Dozier, one of seven first-time participants. His brother, Clay, was his pitcher. The loudest roars were for Morneau, the only left-hander in the event his year. His third derby appearance brought the fans to their feet with AC/DCs "Thunderstruck" blaring in the background, and he hit two in the first round before Frazier beat him in the three-swing tiebreaker. The only player shut out? Dodgers sparkplug Yasiel Puig. He was the first homerless participant since Robinson Cano two years ago in Kansas City. China Jerseys .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Cheap Jerseys From China . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/ . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A.MILAN, Italy -- Serie A leader Juventus remained on course for a third straight title with a 3-0 victory over second-placed Roma, which was forced to play with nine men for the final 13 minutes on Sunday. It was a 10th successive win for Antonio Contes team and saw it extend its lead at the top of the table to eight points at the halfway stage of the season. It was Romas first loss of the season. "Our statistics are impressive and show that we fully deserve to be top of the table, clearing away any type of doubts," Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. "Today we won thanks to several incidents which we made the most of. While they were in the game, Roma showed they are a team to be feared, they are not second by chance. Roma impressed me for the first hour." Juventus was in complete control following goals from Arturo Vidal and Leonardo Bonucci but Roma was still fighting to get back in the game. However, Daniele De Rossi was sent off for a brutal tackle on Giorgio Chiellini and Leandro Castan was also shown a straight red card two minutes later after he handled on the goalline. Mirko Vucinic fired home the resulting penalty against his former club. "We had so much possession but we werent efficient up front," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "For me thats the problem. We didnt have many chances but Buffon had a good first half, but they didnt have many chances either. "We have to be stronger in the future to be able to win these matches, but the title race isnt over, it hasnt ended here, there are still 60 points at stake. We have to get back to winning as soon as possible. Our aim is to return to Europe, we are second so we are in the right spot." Earlier, Fiorentina beat Livorno 1-0 in the Tuscan derby and Cagliari drew 0-0 at Chievo Verona as Serie A resumed following a winter break. There was bad news for Fiorentina as star striker Giuseppe Rossi was injured again. Rossi, who is the top scorer in Serie A, limped off in the second period with what appeared to be a knee injury. The United States-born player has only recently recovered from two years of injuries and several surgeries. Juventus was boosted by the return of key playmaaker Andrea Pirlo from a five-week injury layoff, but it was Roma which started the brighter and Gianluigi Buffon had to rush out smartly to close down Adem Ljajic after six minutes. Wholesale Jerseys Online. Roma had more possession and several half chances but Juventus looked dangerous on the counter -- cheered on vociferously by the home fans -- and took the lead in the 17th minute with its first real opportunity. Carlos Tevez spun and threaded the ball through for Vidal to beat the offside trap and slot into the back of the net. Juventus almost doubled its lead shortly before halftime when Tevez rolled a tantalizing ball across the face of goal but no one could get on the end of it for the tap-in. The home side did score again immediately after the break when Bonucci was left unmarked at the far post and the Juventus defender slid in to turn home a Pirlo free kick. There was bad news for Juventus as Tevez went off injured on the hour mark. Romas hopes of a comeback diminished following De Rossis moment of madness and all but evaporated when Castan followed him. In Tuscany, Fiorentina struggled at times before grinding out a 1-0 win against struggling Livorno. Livorno almost took the lead shortly before Fiorentina scored, when Ibrahima Mbaye was left unmarked but headed off the crossbar. The visitors went close again when Paulinho rounded Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto but Rodriguez got back to clear off the line. Fiorentina moved provisionally level on points with third-placed Napoli, which hosts Sampdoria on Monday. Livorno remained two points off safety. Earlier, Cagliari missed a penalty as it was held to a 0-0 draw at lowly Chievo Verona. Mauricio Pinilla blasted his spot kick over the bar in the 66th minute after the Chilean forward had been tripped by Bostjan Cesar. It was the first penalty Chievo had conceded all season. Both teams struggled to create any scoring opportunities. Chievos best chance came with its first sight of goal, just before the hour mark, when Cyril Thereaus effort scraped past the outside of the post. Cagliari extended its unbeaten run to seven, while Chievo snapped a run of two defeats and moved provisionally two points off the relegation zone. ' ' '