DETROIT - A runaway title in a division of behemoths, then an unexpected sweep against a trio of Cy Young winners. [url=http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Marquise-Brown-Jersey/]Marq uise Brown Youth Jersey[/url] .For Nelson Cruz, Buck Showalter and this unheralded bunch from Baltimore, the quest

DETROIT - A runaway title in a division of behemoths, then an unexpected sweep against a trio of Cy Young winners. Marquise Brown Youth Jersey .For Nelson Cruz, Buck Showalter and this unheralded bunch from Baltimore, the question now is: Whats next?Cruz sliced a two-run homer for his latest big post-season hit, and the Orioles held off the Detroit Tigers 2-1 Sunday to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 1997.Bud Norris outpitched David Price in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. The Tigers scored in the ninth inning and put the tying run on second with no outs, but Orioles closer Zach Britton escaped the jam to lift Showalter into his first LCS in 16 seasons as a big league manager.This is fun to watch. Believe me, Im happier than you can imagine, Showalter said. But most of it comes from getting to see the players get what theyve put into it.Baltimore opens the ALCS on Friday at home against Kansas City. The Royals won the season series 4-3.Weve got a lot to go and were grinding, outfielder Adam Jones said. If we play as a team, we can do anything.So often an afterthought in the rugged AL East, the Orioles won their first division title since 1997 this year, dispatching the second-place New York Yankees by 12 games a€” and last-place Boston by more than double that margin. That put Baltimore up against another of the games most star-laden rosters, and Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and the Tigers couldnt manage a single win.Cruzs homer Sunday was his 16th in post-season play, including eight against the Tigers. He was the MVP of the 2011 ALCS for Texas in a six-game victory over Detroit.Cruz spent much of this past off-season without a team after serving a 50-game suspension last year for violating baseballs drug agreement.He knows things were self-inflicted, Showalter said. He really wanted to re-establish himself, and we thought that we could provide a real good opportunity for him, and the sky might be the limit.Norris pitched two-hit ball for 6 1-3 innings, and Andrew Miller got five straight outs to keep the shutout going.Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez opened the ninth with back-to-back doubles off Britton. Bryan Holaday struck out after a failed bunt attempt, and Showalter made the unconventional decision to put the winning run on base by intentionally walking Nick Castellanos.That meant the bottom of Detroits lineup would have to come through. The Tigers sent up Hernan Perez a€” who had five at-bats in the regular season a€” to pinch hit, and he bounced a 96 mph fastball into a 5-4-3 double play. It was Brittons second save of the series.Cruz led the majors with 40 homers this season, and the Orioles topped baseball with 211. It was his two-run homer in the first inning of the opener that set the series tone, and he came through again in the sixth inning against Price. Cruzs drive cleared the wall in right, about 2 feet to the left of the foul pole.Not bad for a guy the Orioles signed in late February. Cruz turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer that would have kept him with Texas a€” but he ended up having to settle for an $8 million, one-year contract with Baltimore that included $750,000 in roster bonuses.Cruzs powerful bat enabled the Orioles to withstand season-ending injuries to Manny Machado and Matt Wieters, as well as Chris Davis 25-game suspension for an amphetamine violation.If you tell me before the series were going to sweep, I dont believe it, Cruz said.Detroit won its fourth straight AL Central this year. But after reaching at least the ALCS the last three seasons, Detroit couldnt make it there this year. The Tigers remain without a World Series title since 1984 a€” a drought one year shorter than Baltimores.Its disappointing. You feel like you let the fans down and you feel like you let the organization down, said Brad Ausmus, who replaced Jim Leyland as Detroits manager after last season.Detroit acquired Price at this years trade deadline, adding another impressive arm to an already-formidable rotation. Max Scherzer, Price and Verlander are the ALs last three Cy Young Award winners, and the Tigers started them all in this series. Verlander and Cabrera have combined for the last three MVP awards.No use against a Baltimore team that had already surprised most of baseball with a 96-win regular season.We got beat. Theres all there is to say, Scherzer said. We got outplayed in the series in every facet.After dropping the first two games of the ALDS in Baltimore a€” the second thanks to an eighth-inning collapse by the bullpen a€” the Tigers returned home to a fairly subdued crowd at Comerica Park.In the third, Don Kelly was on second with one out when Torii Hunter hit a grounder to the left side. Kelly was caught between second and third and tried to slide headfirst back to second. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop initially dropped the throw from shortstop J.J. Hardy, then quickly picked up the ball and tagged Kelly.An umpire supervisor said through Major League Baseball spokeswoman Phyllis Merhige that Schoop was still in the act of fielding the ball, so it was not obstruction.It was probably more incidentally than anything else, going after the ball, Ausmus said. I dont know that anything could be done in that situation.TRAINERS ROOMDetroit OF Rajai Davis was out of the starting lineup with a pelvic strain. He lined out as a pinch- hitter in the seventh. Tigers C Alex Avila left in the sixth after taking a foul ball off the mask.UP NEXTBaltimore reached the ALCS in 1996 and 1997, losing to the Yankees and Cleveland. The Orioles went 3-4 against Kansas City this season and 4-2 against the Angels. Justin Tucker Womens Jersey . Ryan Callahan trade talks caught a lot of people off guard. Details are now emerging about why the Rangers would consider such a move. Darren Dreger: He wants a lot of money. Its been widely reported that Callahan is looking for a seven-year term around $6 million per year. That is not accurate. Im told that it is more than $6. Joe Flacco Womens Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Lamar-Jackson-Jersey/ . James scored 25 points against his former team, leading the energized Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, idle since a 90-84 loss Tuesday at Indiana.CURITIBA, Brazil - Algeria qualified for the World Cup knockout stages for the first time, with Islam Slimanis headed equalizer giving his team a 1-1 draw against Russia on Thursday and enough competition points to move into the second round. Algeria was the last team to secure a spot in the Round of 16 when it placed second to Belgium in Group H. Its progress means Africa has two representatives in the second round for the first time — Nigeria qualified on Wednesday. The Algerians next play Germany on Monday. The victory prompted mass celebrations on the pitch among the players, and had coach Vahid Halilhodzic shaking his head in apparent disbelief. "I think Algeria played a heroic match and our qualification is perfectly deserved," Halilhodzic said. Russia, needing a win to advance, went on the attack from the start and dominated the first half with its intricate and swift passing movements through midfield. The Russians took the lead in the 6th minute when Alexander Kokorin powerfully headed in a left-foot cross from Dmitry Kombarov. Slimanis 60th-minute equalizer came after Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev failed to catch a swinging left-foot free kick from Yacine Brahimi. That was the second costly error that Akinfeev has made in the tournament for Russia. However, there were indications on the TV broadcast that a green laser was being shone toward the goalkeeper just before the free kick was taken. As well as bemoaning the match officials, Russia coach Fabio Capello said his goalkeeper was "blinded by the laser beam." Failure to advance put pressure on Capellos position, although he said it was up to the Russias football federation to decide whethher he was the right manager to lead the team when the country hosts the World Cup in 2018. Iman Marshall Jersey. Capello recently signed a contract extension that would see him at the helm through the 2018 World Cup. Asked whether he would stay, he said: "If they still want me, yes." Halilhodzic said he told his team at halftime not to panic after Russias strong start to the game. "During the first half Russia used its experience .... my players were a bit naive," he said. The team has shown signs of progress during the tournament and Halilhodzic thought they could compete well against Germany. In the second half, Brahimi troubled the Russia defence consistently until his substitution late in the game. Along with midfielder Sofiane Feghouli and man-of-the-match Slimani, he helped neutralize much of Russias attacking intent through the second half. Before Algerias equalizer, Russia had chances to double its lead, notably in the 26th minute when Oleg Shatov weaved through the Algeria midfield but his right-foot shot drifted wide of the Algeria post. Algeria came closest to qualifying for the second stage at the World Cup in 1982, but West Germany and Austria played out a result that suited both of those teams. The European teams, meeting a day after Algeria had won its last group game, knew that a 1-0 win for West Germany would put both through to the second round at Algerias expense. It remains one of the most contentious group games in the tournaments history. Now that it has qualified for the second round, Algeria can look at the tournament from a different perspective. After all, it beat West Germany 2-1 in one of the great World Cup upsets in 1982. ' ' '