her coach, Christian Gallardo, said. Shes third in th

LOS ANGELES -- One of the offseasons most disappointing acquisitions will try to influence the race in the National League West when the Arizona Diamondbacks face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.Right-hander Shelby Miller, whom the Diamondbacks acquired in a five-player trade from the Atlanta Braves in December, seeks to end a four-game losing streak against the team that leads the second-place San Francisco Giants by four games.Miller has lost 10 of 12 decisions, compiled a 6.81 earned-run average and allowed 93 hits -- including 13 home runs -- in 75 1/3 innings. Things got so bad that the club optioned the 25-year old to Triple-A Reno on July 14.But pitching in the minor leagues appeared to make a difference. In eight starts at Reno, Miller went 5-1 with a shutout and 55 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings.I feel like I found my old mechanics while I was down there, Miller told the Arizona Republic. I went back to the basics and didnt really think about anything, as far as staying back or whether my glove was too high or something. I was just trying to be an athletic pitcher. Usually, when you get yourself in a good position to throw a baseball, everything just kind of clicks.Recalled on Wednesday to face the San Francisco Giants, Miller recorded his first quality start since June 20. Despite suffering his fourth successive defeat, the right-hander conceded just two runs, six hits, one walk and a hit batsman in six innings while collecting three strikeouts.Im excited about the outing, Arizona manager Chip Hale told MLB.com afterward. He was in attack mode all the way. When guys got on, it didnt rattle him. He got out of it.Being in attack mode reflects a new-found sense of confidence.You have to believe in yourself, Miller told MLB.com. If you cant do that, things go wrong and you struggle even more. Its not easy. Its a grind. I obviously struggled early and had to go down, and thats never fun. Its good to be back here and part of this group.Diamondbacks catcher Welington Castillo believes Millers performance bodes well for the future.He knew how to control the tempo and the situation in the game, Castillo told the Arizona Republic. I think hes learning. He seemed like a different guy. I think its going to be way better for him now.The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Ross Stripling, who will try to break a personal three-game losing streak. In his past four starts, the 26-year-old rookie allowed 28 hits -- including four home runs -- in 23 innings and recorded a 5.09 ERA.But in his last appearance, Stripling produced a quality start against the Colorado Rockies. The right-hander permitted just three runs on nine hits and a walk in six innings, despite suffering a 7-0 loss at Denvers Coors Field.It was nice to be efficient, especially in a park like this against an offense like theirs, Stripling told MLB.com afterward. I needed to pitch inside and in a park like this, that can be intimidating. If you miss, it can go a long way. Clearance College Basketball Jerseys . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.cheapcollegejerseys.net/ . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Discount NCAA Jerseys . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. College Jerseys Outlet . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. When watching sports -- and covering them -- it is far too easy to get caught up in the details -- to miss the forest for the trees, as they say. We focus on what didnt happen instead of what did. We run toward disappointment and loss because failure, were told, is the better teacher; losers are the more profound storytellers. But sometimes, a good old-fashioned, happy ending should be enough.That is the takeaway from Sunday nights womens gymnastics qualification, in which, despite a fairytale U.S. finish nearly 10 points ahead of China, an incomprehensible margin in a sport traditionally decided by tenths of a point, the post-meet conversation centered largely on what defending Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas didnt do: make good on her promise to defend her all-around title.The two-per-country rule is heartbreaking, said U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman, referring to the rule that will keep Douglas out of the all-around even though she finished third in the standings. Ive been on both sides of it. But I hope she is proud of herself. She did a great job today, and shes making bar finals, which is awesome. The whole team looked amazing today.From the first floor routine by Douglas, who opened the meet, to the final beam routine by three-time world champion Simone Biles, the U.S. women were all but flawless. Their slight form breaks here and there were less gasp-inducing and more welcome reminders that these five women are, in fact, human. The atmosphere in the arena felt more like a show choreographed with the sole purpose of highlighting the famous U.S. team, which drew the watchful eyes of competitors at each rotation and chants of USA! just for walking onto the floor, than an Olympic gymnastics competition.This is what it must have been like to watch the Dream Team compete in 1992.The girls were so prepared, and not just physically, but mentally, U.S. team coach Aimee Boorman said. They should be proud of their performance tonight.By the end of the night, not only had the U.S. qualified first into the team final but also three-time world champion Biles and two-time Olympian Raisman hhad qualified for the all-around, and all five women had qualified for an individual apparatus final.ddddddddddddA U.S. woman had the highest score on every apparatus, and the top three all-around finishers were American.Yet the focus in the arena was on Douglas disappointment (a tree) instead of on Raisman, who was even better than she was four years ago, or on Biles and her incredibly dominant performance or on Madison Kocians qualifying first on bars. It was easy to get caught up lamenting the two-per-country rule (a tree) or feeling sorry for Laurie Hernandez, who looked every part the veteran despite competing in her first world meet, because she didnt have the chance to compete for an all-around spot at all (a tree). Now, as the U.S. women prepare to compete in the team final on Tuesday, its important to shift focus to the overall goal of collecting a team gold medal (the forest).Gabby was excellent, her coach, Christian Gallardo, said. Shes third in the world today, and the team is up by almost 10 points. We are here to win a team medal, and the rest is extra.The two-per-country rule was out of Douglas control. So, too, were the scores awarded by the judges. All Douglas or any gymnast could control Sunday was how well she performed her routines and contributed to the teams overall score and how satisfied she was with herself when the competition ended.I just wanted to go out and do what I was capable of doing and enjoy this moment, Douglas said. I was looking at the scores, and then I wasnt. I was like, It doesnt matter. Youve done an awesome job. You did a great beam routine, and at the end of the day, you finished strong.I would have loved to go back and defend my title. But this has been an amazing experience, and the support around me has been amazing. After beam, I was thinking, Wow, what an amazing run. Im happy for Aly. She worked so hard. We have a bond, and no matter who falls or who makes it, were still one team. Now lets win team gold. ' ' '