Was Wer Wie ??? » swinging with a man on third to preserve the win

SAN DIEGO -- John Fox sent text messages to several Denver Broncos on Sunday morning, wishing them good luck against the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos will reciprocate by giving a game ball to their coach, whos at his off-season home in Charlotte, N.C., recovering from heart surgery. With interim coach Jack Del Rio in charge, Peyton Manning threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns, three to Demaryius Thomas, as he efficiently led the Broncos to a 28-20 victory in their first game since Fox had his aortic valve replaced last Monday. Fox was released Friday and will continue his recovery at his off-season home. "We look forward to giving it to him in person," Manning said. Manning said he spoke with Fox by phone on Saturday before the Broncos flew to San Diego. "I told him not to be yelling at me during the game. Its not good for his blood pressure," Manning said. "Im not sure well see if he did or didnt. But he was in our thoughts. Coach Del Rio has done a good job all week keeping us updated on coach Fox." Fox planned to watch the game on TV there, a team spokesman said. If he watched, he probably didnt like seeing Manning hurting his right ankle when he was hit by Corey Liuget as the Broncos ran out the clock in the closing minutes. Manning stayed in the game. Manning wouldnt be specific about his injury, but said he was "pretty sore" and that he planned to have an MRI on Monday. Manning was hurt after completing a pass to Thomas with 1:44 left. "We were playing aggressively to win the game right there," Del Rio said. "He made a throw, D.T. made a catch and that was the ballgame. He got up and didnt want to come off -- very proud guy -- and closed out the game for us." Asked about playing in the Broncos showdown with AFC West leader Kansas City (9-0) next Sunday night, Manning said: "I totally plan on it." Manning kept the Broncos (8-1) rolling. He threw touchdown passes of 11, 7 and 34 yards to Thomas on consecutive drives spanning the second and third quarters, staking the Broncos to a 28-6 lead. Julius Thomas had a 74-yard catch-and-run on Denvers first drive, turning a short pass into the second-longest play by a tight end in team history. Liuget said it wasnt an intentional hit. "I was trying to get to him because I knew how critical it could be to us as a defence to get to him. I was just working it and trying to be the guy. Im not sure how I caught him but I hope he is OK. Its not anything that is going to stop him from being Peyton Manning." The Broncos scoring drives lasted 57 seconds; 2 minutes, 27 seconds, 1:25, and 3:26. "You knew it wasnt going to be many possessions and we had to be efficient when we had the ball," Manning said. Manning has thrown for 3,249 yards and 33 touchdowns in nine games. He completed 25 of 36 passes against the Chargers. The Chargers (4-5) closed the gap late in the second half but couldnt catch up. The Chargers were inside the Denver 23 three times in their first four possessions and had to settle for field goals of 26 and 40 yards by Nick Novak. Novak was wide left on a 37-yard attempt with 1:38 left before halftime. "Three opportunities, you get six points and they score 28," said Chargers rookie coach Mike McCoy, who was Denvers offensive co-ordinator the past four seasons. "As you go along that is critical. When you play Peyton you have to get touchdowns. Weve just got to do a better job." Mannings big afternoon was marred only when rookie linebacker Tourek Williams hit Manning from behind and knocked the ball loose, with Donald Butler recovering at the Denver 11 midway through the third quarter. Two plays later, Philip Rivers found Danny Woodhead for a 7-yard scoring pass. The Chargers pulled to 28-20 on Ryan Mathews 1-yard touchdown run on third down with 10:42 to play. A week earlier, the Chargers had the ball first-and-goal from the Washington 1 before Woodhead was stuffed and Rivers threw two incompletions before settling for a field goal to force overtime. The Redskins won 30-24. Novaks miss late in the second quarter gave Manning enough time to move the Broncos 73 yards in nine plays, all passes, capped by his 7-yard scoring throw to Demaryius Thomas for a 21-6 lead before halftime. Manning threw only one incompletion that drive. The Broncos got the opening kickoff of the second half and went 78 yards in eight plays, with Thomas 34-yard TD catch giving the Broncos a 28-6 lead. "So its a 14-point swing -- the difference in the ballgame," Manning said. The Chargers finished the game without left tackle King Dunlap, who sustained his third concussion this season, and centre Nick Hardwick, who had a stinger. Rookie right tackle D.J. Fluker moved to left tackle. Rivers completed 19 of 29 passes for 218 yards. NOTES: The Broncos have scored 371 points, the most through the first nine games of a season in NFL history. The previous high of 358 was by the 1950 Los Angeles Rams. ...Broncos LB Nate Irving injured a shoulder. ... The Chargers said LT King Dunlap had a concussion, his third this season. Other Chargers injured were C Nick Hardwick (stinger), LB Larry English (bicep) and fullback LeRon McClain (ankle). ... It was the 300th win under Broncos owner and CEO Pat Bowlen. Jon Matlack Jersey .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. Rougned Odor Jersey . - Kentucky freshmen Stanley Boom Williams, Dorian Baker, Drew Barker and Tymere Dubose have been charged with disorderly conduct for their involvement with air pistol shots being fired near a residence hall on the South campus Sunday night. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/1602h-toby-harrah-jersey-rangers.html . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Mike Minor Jersey .J. -- Having Ondrej Pavelec earn his 100th NHL win and seeing Mark Scheifele and Evander Kane break goal droughts were nice highlights for the Winnipeg Jets. Juan Gonzalez Rangers Jersey . According to Tony Barrett of The Times, the Liverpool captain is set to announce that he will leave the club at the end of the 2014-15 season. DETROIT -- Even when hes behind in the count, Victor Martinez is a tough hitter to face these days. "You cant set Victor Martinez up -- hes just too good at getting the barrel to the ball," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "I dont think it matters what pitch you throw, hes generally going to find a way to do it." Martinez hit a solo homer in sixth inning and Miguel Cabrera also went deep for the Tigers, who won their eighth straight game Wednesday night, 3-2 over the Houston Astros. Martinezs homer came on an 0-2 pitch, when Astros starter Brad Peacock tried to throw a high fastball past the designated hitter. "I have no idea how Victor Martinez even hit that pitch," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "That was up in his eyes and, he not only got a bat on it, he knocked it out of the park." Martinez extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and Rick Porcello (5-1) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings for the surging Tigers, who remained five games ahead of the second-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. Porcello struck out five and walked two. Even Detroits maligned bullpen looked impressive Wednesday. Joba Chamberlain got four outs in relief, striking out the side in the eighth. Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his seventh save in nine chances. He struck out two, getting Matt Dominguez swinging with a man on third to preserve the win. Houston has lost five straight and seven of eight. Peacock (0-3) allowed three runs and four hits in 6 2-3 innings. He struck out four and walked four. After a slow start, Cabrera is again swinging the bat with authority for the Tigers. After homering in a four-hit, four-RBI performance Tuesday night, he stepped to the plate with a man on Wednesday and lifted a drive to deep right. Houstons George Springer tried valiantly to make the catch at the wall, but the ball nicked off his glove and went over, and the outfielder fell to the ground. It was Cabreras fourth homer of the year. Porcello allowed a run in the third when Marwin&nbssp;Gonzalez doubled and eventually scored on Dexter Fowlers groundout, but the Detroit infield turned double plays in the fifth and sixth to help the 25-year-old right-hander.dddddddddddd In the fifth, Gonzalez was on first and took off toward second when Jose Altuve hit a grounder up the middle. Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler, in the area because of the steal attempt, simply picked up the ball, stepped on the bag and threw to first for the double play. Martinez homered to right to make it 3-1. It was his sixth home run of the season, and hes now hitting .318 with only five strikeouts all year. With two strikes on him, Martinez was ready for a fastball. "I was looking high fastball," Martinez said. "As soon as I saw it, I was making sure that I get on top." Houston answered with a run in the seventh, chasing Porcello. Marc Krauss hit a two-out double, Dominguez followed with a single, and Gonzalez singled to drive in Krauss. Chamberlain came on and retired Altuve with men on first and second to end that threat. The big reliever then struck out three in the eighth. "Brad was the first one on the stairs and said, You got the eighth," Chamberlain said. "I figured after we got out of the (seventh) that was going to be the case. Just prepare, look up and see whos going to be coming up for their lineup, and kind of a mental plan of what you want to do. It worked out." Nathan entered in the ninth and allowed a two-out walk to Krauss. Pinch-runner Jonathan Villar stole second and third, but Dominguez went down swinging to end it. NOTES: The game started after a 9-minute rain delay, and the wet weather persisted during the early innings. ... Detroits Torii Hunter had his hitting streak snapped at 13 games. ... Peacock has gone eight straight starts -- dating to last season -- without allowing more than three earned runs. ... Springer struck out three times. ... Detroits Drew Smyly (2-1) faces Houstons Dallas Keuchel (2-2) on Thursday in a matchup of former college teammates at Arkansas. ' ' '