n for a first Stanley Cup in 21 years got steeper and longer for the Montreal Canadiens.

PITTSBURGH -- Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said he sat awake in his hotel bed Saturday night, thinking about his bullpens recent problems. Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys . He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. "We had to have that one," Gibbons said. McGowan (2-1) allowed one run, striking out five and throwing 101 pitches. It was the second consecutive quality start for McGowan, a diabetic who started wearing an insulin pump on the mound in his last start. "My blood sugar still gets erratic sometimes," he said. "But thats part of the game for me. With the adrenaline going and everything, it does what it wants to do. I cant control it sometimes." McGowan eclipsed the 100-pitch mark for the first time since June 27, 2008. "Thats two outings wearing that pump," Gibbons said. "Maybe theres something to that." It was just the fourth win in 13 games for Toronto, which prevented the Pirates from completing their first series sweep of the season. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and first base coach Rick Sofield were ejected by plate umpire Greg Gibson at the end of the fourth inning for arguing a called third strike on Jordy Mercer. The strikeout stranded two runners and ended the inning. "I think it was pretty apparent that the low strike wasnt going to come into play," Hurdle said. "But the fact of the matter was it got to a point where I felt a pitch that hadnt been called a strike all day got called a strike in, for me, a very pivotal at-bat for us." Rasmus connected in the second inning for his fourth career slam. He also doubled and singled. The Blue Jays held on to this early lead. Toronto wasted a 5-3, ninth-inning edge in the series opener and a 5-0, fourth-inning advantage on Saturday night. Josh Harrison hit two triples for the Pirates. Edinson Volquez (1-3) gave up six runs and seven hits in five innings. He also allowed six earned runs in his last outing April 21 against St. Louis. Volquez pitched himself into a jam in the second inning before Rasmus stepped to the plate, issuing walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco to start the inning. Brett Lawrie reached on an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Rasmus hit a full-count curveball about 10 rows deep in the right-field seats for his seventh home run of the season, giving the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead. Rasmus said he was not necessarily looking for an offspeed pitch in that situation. "I was just trying to be out over the plate and throw my hands at anything because hes got a good changeup, good curveball and a good two-seamer, and he already tried to thumb me a couple in," he said. "I was just trying to be ready to put something in play." The slam negated an early lead the Pirates built on Neil Walkers groundout, scoring Harrison after his triple. Harrison also tripled in the eighth and scored on Andrew McCutchens sacrifice fly. Torontos Jose Bautista walked in the fifth to reach base in his 31st consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors. But he went hitless, snapping a career-best 13-game hitting streak. Cabrera had three hits, and extended Torontos lead to 6-1 with a two-run homer off Volquez in the fifth. Rasmus scored another run in the eighth on an RBI single by pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro. NOTES: Highly regarded Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman made his big league debut, allowing one earned run and one hit while getting two outs. The Blue Jays selected the 23-year-old Stroman Triple-A Buffalo and optioned OF Anthony Gose. ... The Pirates plan to recall LHP Jeff Locke to start against San Francisco on Monday night. An All-Star last year, Locke struggled in the second half of 2013 and did not make the Pirates opening day roster. ... J.A. Happ (0-0, 4.15) is scheduled to pitch for the Blue Jays at Philadelphia on Monday night. Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys Authentic . -- Without Carey Price, the run for a first Stanley Cup in 21 years got steeper and longer for the Montreal Canadiens. Cheap Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . After making his All-Star debut in Fridays Rising Stars Challenge, the Raptors sophomore centre wont be sticking around for the duration of the weekends festivities, thinking about the big picture instead. http://www.cheapgrizzliesjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-omri-casspi-jersey . The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday.TORONTO - During Canadas first practice at the world junior selection camp the players worked on blocking shots with assistant coaches firing foam pucks at them from a few feet away. In a tournament like this, youre playing for a gold medal and we expect everyone here to sacrifice his body and, to me, its part of being a world-class player. You must adapt to this level and adapt to whats been asked, said head coach Benoit Groulx. Its not something were going to do once. Its something were going to do a lot during the training camp. Sure enough, the players had to do the drill again on the second day of camp. I noticed that many of them were not used to it and I expect them to get much better by the end of this camp, Groulx said. The message was received loud and clear. It kind of shows that everyone is going to have to do that, said Sam Reinhart, the second overall pick in last Junes NHL draft. Everyones going to have to buy into different roles and being in different situations. I think thats an important statement. Players struggled to stay upright while going down on one knee and directing their shin pad at the shooter. It is a technique championed by Groulx, but unfamiliar to most of the 30 guys at the camp. I dont know about technique, said London Knights forward Max Domi. I usually just kind of look at the puck and hope it hits me and its going to hurt. This technique makes a huge difference. You dont feel it. It actually hits your equipment. Im used to taking them off the ankle so this helps a lot. Many of them on their [CHL] teams are playing 20, 25 minutes a game, said Groulx, who coaches the Gatineau Olyympiques in the QMJHL. Cheap Jevon Carter Jersey. They are the go-to guy on their team and sometimes they arent counted on to block shots, because theyre too important for the team and they dont want to risk that injury. But Groulx has had a constant message since camp opened on Thursday: his players will be aggressive and they will not be outworked. Everyone has to block shots whether youre a 100-point guy or a 30- or 40-point guy, said Oshawa Generals forward Michael Dal Colle, who arrived at the camp riding a 15-game point-scoring streak. Everyones got to play well on the defensive side of the puck as well. We have a lot of offensive guys here, but well have to play different roles. Canada will hold a pair of scrimmages against a team of university all-stars on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The games are key in determining who will be among the eight players cut by the coaching staff. And Groulx said he isnt simply evaluating talent. I think attitude is key because theyre all talented, the best in our country in their age group, and I think their attitude is something were looking at closely. Its about the way they are competing: the way you forecheck, the way you back-check, if youre blocking shots and if you can adapt to your role. On Saturday morning, Groulx was barking at his players to skate hard off the ice at the end of a shift in a drill. We want to be a four-line team so were not going to have a guy playing 25 minutes, the coach said. They cannot be out there for a 1:10 or 1:20 shift. They have to be out there shorter. Go short and go hard. There are many guys that have a lot of things to prove. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '