using the technology were needed. The second

MINNEAPOLIS -- Sometimes the game can shift with one swing. Carlos Beltran took a big cut, sent a fastball soaring into the seats in right field and snapped the foundering New York Yankees out of their funk. Beltrans three-run homer Thursday night lifted Masahiro Tanaka to his majors-leading 12th win and helped the Yankees stop a season-worst five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. "We have to find a way to score more runs. Theres no doubt about that. We played very poor at home," Beltran said. Zelous Wheeler homered in his big-league debut after nearly eight years in the minors. David Robertson notched his 19th save by striking out the side in a hitless ninth inning, and the Yankees started an 11-game road trip with a sigh-of-relief performance that put their record back at the .500 mark. "It felt great. Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time, and hopefully I can take advantage of it," Wheeler said. Phil Hughes (8-5) was rolling along against his former team, leading 2-0 until Beltran cleared the tall wall in right following consecutive singles to start the fifth. Wheeler went deep two batters later. "Not knowing much about him, in a 3-1 count, Im going to challenge him," Hughes said. "He put a good swing on it." Wheeler had a big smile on his face afterward. "Every time you see a story like that, a guy thats spent a lot of time in the minor leagues and all of a sudden comes to the big leagues and being able to do what he did today, its just special," Beltran said. So was Beltrans big hit, considering the slump the Yankees brought with them on the road. "Those are the type of things we need to be successful in the American League," manager Joe Girardi said. Tanaka (12-3) allowed a season-high four runs. He finished seven innings with nine hits and no walks while striking out a season-low three. "Theyre not going to be perfect every time. Hes been about as consistent as you can be as a starting pitcher. He just wasnt quite as sharp," Girardi said. Through his interpreter, Tanaka said this was one of his worst starts of the season. Throwing only 85 pitches, at least, allowed the star Japanese rookie to maintain some freshness for the next turn. "Not too much pressure, but I obviously understood where the team was," Tanaka said. With Eduardo Escobar on first after an RBI single in the seventh, Tanaka dodged serious trouble. Sam Fulds screaming line drive went straight to Mark Teixeira, who easily stepped on first base for the double play to preserve the three-run lead. Chris Parmelee drove in a run with a double in the first and Kurt Suzuki and Kendrys Morales had RBI groundouts, but the sputtering Twins missed their opportunities to put bigger numbers on the board like the Yankees did against Hughes. The Twins have lost eight of 10 and fell a season-worst eight games under .500. Wheeler had a single to help spark the three-run rally in the seventh, too, scoring on Brett Gardners single after a one-out RBI double by Brendan Ryan chased Hughes. Derek Jeter drove in a run with a groundout. The Yankees havent been nearly as potent at the plate as they are paid to be, ranking 12th in runs and 10th in homers in the American League. They totalled one run over Tanakas last two starts, both losses, but this was the breakout they needed. "Hes very competitive. Hes in control of the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. NOTES: Beltran passed Lance Berkman for fourth place on the career list for home runs by switch hitters. With 367, hes behind Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504) and Chipper Jones (468). ... Parmelee stretched his hitting streak to 13 games. Hes hitting .440 (22 for 50) during the run. ... Yankees assistant GM for pro personnel Billy Eppler interviewed Thursday for San Diegos vacant GM spot. ... The Yankees will send Chase Whitley (3-2, 4.70 ERA) to the mound Friday afternoon for the 10th start of his rookie season, and Kyle Gibson (7-6, 3.77 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. The Yankees are 5-1 in Whitleys six turns on the road. Gibsons 1.54 ERA at home is the best among qualifying AL pitchers. Ryquell Armstead Jersey .com) - SirDominic Pointer posted career highs of 24 points and seven steals to lead No. Josh Allen Jersey . - Roger Federer squandered a big lead and lost to No. http://www.cheapjaguarsjerseysauthentic.com/ . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Quincy Williams II Jersey . Two weeks after suffering a concussion, Foles will start in place of Michael Vick, who is out for the second time this season with a hamstring injury. Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Authentic . "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship.We often speak of moments when it comes to football. The 90-plus minutes of play are about trends and approach. A lot happens in that span, altering the course of a game. There is an epidemic emerging among onlookers focusing on useless stats, some with meaning but few telling the true story. Its the moments that define a match and decide its fate. Two particular moments Sunday not only defined their respective matches, but also the tournament as a whole. No minute played will ever encapsulate the positive nature of this tournament better than in time added between Switzerland and Ecuador in Brasilia. With the match level at 1-1, the South American side saw weakness in an underperforming Swiss team and nobly was pushing for a winner. Antonio Valencia found space down the right side and played a good ball to Michael Arroyo inside the top of the box. Arroyos touch was heavy and the Ecuadorian hesitated. That moment of indecision gave Swiss central midfielder Valon Behrami time to get stuck in, coming to the rescue with a picture perfect game saving tackle. Behrami, who struggled throughout the match, didnt stop there. He started the counter-attack from inside his own box with purpose, sprinting with the ball down the middle of the field. Behrami was met by a crunching challenge, a clear foul by any standard. Behrami went down but wasnt out. Many players in that situation would have stayed down, waited for the whistle and killed off the match and settle for the point, but not Behrami. The midfielder immediately jumped to his feet and carried on his run. Huge credit goes to the referee, Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan, who refereed a very good match. No moment was better than allowing play to continue after the foul. Advantage earned, advantage given. So many officials in the game are over-anxious, especially when a player goes down, to blow their whistle and halt proceedings. Irmatov read the play, was patient and the game carried on. It was truly expert officiating. Switzerland carried on their move. Within seconds, the ball was played wide right by Behrami. The ball kept moving, with the switch of play on. Ricardo Rodriguez had been flying down the left flank all day long. He was open and he got the ball. Rodriguez took a touch, brought his head up and played a perfect ball to the near post. Substitute Haris Seferovic obliged, making the near-post run, getting on the end of the weighted pass to knock in the winner with seconds to play. It was spectacular football in all phases of the build-up and worthy of the game winning goal on any occasion, let alone in World Cup play. It was excellence personified, from the tackle to the fair play, from the officiating to the counter-attack and the finish. The end result may be harsh on Ecuador. They deserved something from a match well played. A goal in such a manner can only sting so much. It was a defining moment for all thats good and right in the game of football. The second defining moment came between France and Honduras in a rugged, physical match where Honduras was content to kick and hack. The ‘H on their jerseys must stand for hatchet job. It was largely disgraaceful.dddddddddddd Nevermind the overall quality of the match, it was the moment goal-line technology made its true arrival at the World Cup and signals progressive change, benefiting the game to the highest degree. In the 48th minute and France up 1-0, Karim Benzema broke in and put the ball off the post, rebounding off goalkeeper Noel Valladares before it appeared to cross the goal-line. Benzema celebrated, but was it a goal? In a matter of seconds, referee Emerson De Carvalho pointed to half and the goal was ruled ‘good. De Carvalho was notified immediately of the good goal call and pointed to half. The viewer may have been confused, but there was no indecision by the officiating crew. It took a minute and ten seconds for the video replay to show on the screen. Initial panic on Twitter was complete nonsense, as the first goal-line review showed ‘no goal. Those who were patient enough came to realize the first adjudication had nothing to do with the ball of the post, and that two goal decisions using the technology were needed. The second review came after the ball went off the back of Valladares. By the slimmest of margins, the video showed the ball had crossed the line. The margin for error with the technology is said to be plus- or minus-1.5cm. The ball couldnt have crossed the line by much more than that. But we have to trust the technology. There is no point using it if we dont. Honduras Head Coach Luis Fernandez Suarez unsurprisingly protested. French Head Coach Didier Deschamps tried to explain, but how do you plead for common sense to someone acting irrational? Arguing against goal-line technology is like arguing against gravity: It is nonsensical. The call was right. There is no point arguing. After the protests ceased, the match carried on. It took two minutes, thirty seconds total to go through the process, celebrate and calm emotions. Two minutes, thirty seconds to make sure the call was right. This was no Frank Lampard foot-over-the-line in Bloemfontein we are talking about here. It was mere centimeters. The debate is done. Good goal and we move on. This stands as a watershed moment for FIFA and world soccer. For goal-line technology to work so effectively on the world stage is a testament to progression in the game. It is an overwhelming success and must be instituted in all major leagues, worldwide. It begs the question what else this technology can be used for and how far the game is willing to go with technology. Offside calls? Perhaps thats the next step in the evolution of the game, to get the call right. These were two very different moments, but two tremendously important ones. The World Cup continues to live up to all the hype. There have been 37 goals in 11 matches, the most through this many games since 1958. Three goals or more have been scored in 10 out of the 11 matches played and in the game there were not three goals, two were disallowed that should have stood. The tournament has been spectacular. With moments like these, we can truly call it the beautiful game. Sit back and enjoy. Contact Gareth Wheeler: gareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca Twitter: @WheelerTSN Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '