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DENVER -- Trevor Story broke out of a slump in grand fashion.Story tied an NL rookie record for most home runs before the All-Star break, homering twice and boosting his total to 21 while the Colorado Rockies beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-2 on Thursday night.Story, one of five players on the ballot for the last NL All-Star spot, had a three-run drive in the third and a solo shot in the fifth. He snapped an 0-for-17 skid that accompanied playing through a bruised middle finger and thumb suffered when he was hit in the hand by a pitch June 26 against Arizona.The last couple of nights, I felt good out there, Story said. I just havent had the results. You just simplify, keep working, trust your preparation in the cage and how its going to translate to the field.It translated well enough for Story to join Dave Kingman (1972) and Albert Pujols (2001) as the only NL rookies to hit 21 home runs prior to the break.Any time youre with guys like that, its an honor. To have done what theyve done, its pretty cool, Story said.Rockies manager Walt Weiss saw Story making strides at the plate as his hand injury improved.Its good to see him swinging the bat, Weiss said. I felt like even though he hadnt gotten many hits the last few games, I saw better at-bats. He really hit those two balls tonight. Its been an unbelievable first half, quite a way to start a career.Mark Reynolds also homered and doubled to drive in four runs for the Rockies, helping to back Chad Bettis (7-6), who kept the Phillies in check while pitching into the seventh. DJ LeMahieu added three hits, including an RBI single in the Rockies five-run seventh.Ryan Howard had a home run for the Phillies in the second, his 12th of the season and 369th of his career to tie Ralph Kiner and former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton for 78th place on the career list. Maikel Franco doubled and singled but had his home run streak snapped at four games.The Rockies scored runs in the first three innings, starting with Nolan Arenados RBI double in the first off Adam Morgan (1-7). Morgan allowed six runs on nine hits in five innings and dropped to 0-7 in his last nine starts. After the game, Morgan was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.You never like to send anybody out, Phillies manager Peter Mackanin said. He knows what he has to do to improve.Morgan was told of his demotion during a postgame meeting with his manager.It was a good conversation, Morgan said. They shot me straight. Thats all you can ask for as a player. It was good, it was the truth and I needed to hear it. My point of view right now is I can only go up from here.Reynolds led off the second with his ninth home run, and in the third, with LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez aboard, Story drove a 3-2 offering from Morgan into the left-field bleachers for his first homer of the game and a 5-1 Rockies lead.Story put the Rockies up 6-2 in the fifth with his second homer.Reynolds keyed Colorados five-run burst in the seventh with his bases-loaded double.Bettis allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.GET OUT THE VOTEWith fan balloting for the final NL All-Star berth nearing a close, Story made his pitch for last-minute votes with his big night. Story leads all major league rookies in home runs (21) and RBI (55).TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: RHP Andrew Bailey (left hamstring strain) should be activated Saturday when he is eligible to be reinstated from the 15-day disabled list. ... RHP Aaron Nola, who was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday to give him a breather before the All-Star break, was scheduled to throw a two-inning simulated game Saturday.Rockies: With RHP Christian Bergman nearing a return from a strained left oblique that has sidelined him since May 20, team officials are discussing whether to insert him into the rotation or use him in long relief.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Vince Velasquez (7-2) has won his last two starts since being reinstated June 27 from the 15-day disabled list. He spent time on the DL because of a right biceps strain.Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (5-4) is slated to make his seventh start this season at Coors Field, where he has gone 3-0 with a 5.05 ERA.---This story has been corrected to show that Ryan Howard has hit 369 homers, not 370. Kevin Durant Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. https://www.cheapthunder.com/1631h-dennis-schroder-jersey-thunder.html . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Mike Muscala Jersey . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Serge Ibaka Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. WASHINGTON -- When it comes to the postseason, managers arent always saving their best for last.Closers have taken the mound for five-out saves, in non-save situations and even as early as the fifth inning so far in the 2016 playoffs. In one perplexing case, the best closer in baseball this season didnt take the mound at all.No longer is it easy for a manager to merely hand the ball to his closer for three outs in the ninth. Chicago Cubs skipper Joe Maddon considers managing the bullpen his biggest concern on a daily basis, and its all magnified in October when one decision backfiring can mean the end of the line.Thats what happened when Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter used six other relievers in an 11-inning loss at the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL wild-card game, leaving Zach Britton in the bullpen despite the All-Star closers 47 for 47 save success rate and 0.54 ERA in the regular season. Showalter was immediately second-guessed by everyone except his fellow managers who know their next call to the bullpen could be scrutinized just as much.I never question what anyone else does because youve got to make tough decisions, said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, who got a five-out save and a six-out win from closer Roberto Osuna in the AL Division Series against Texas. You know what, most people dont ever agree with your decisions regardless.Showalter said playing on the road and the course of the game affected the decision-making process, not his philosophy. Across the majors, traditional closer practices are being challenged.In Game 1 of the Indians ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, Clevelands Terry Francona brought Andrew Miller into the game in the fifth inning because hes really good. Miller threw two scoreless innings and got the victory, brushing off the idea that what he did was unprecedented.The playoffs are a different animal, Miller said. Theres 30 closers, and most teams have a setup man. Theres seven (relievers) for most teams. The other five guys have to pitch from the first inning to the ninth every day. ... Whenever Tito asks anybody to pitch, were all going to be ready to go.Maddon tends to be less tolerant in the playoffs than usual and everyone has a shorter leash. Rookie Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has learned quickly that this time of year, you act a little more aggressively.Francona going to Miller in the fifth was about as aggressive as it comes, though players wonder if its more the start of a trend than aan anomaly.ddddddddddddBullpens are being used a lot differently than they have in the past, as far as when youre going to use guys and when youre going to get your closer in the game for five outs, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said. The whole closer-pitches-the-ninth-inning thing, (it) doesnt mean those are always the biggest three outs of the game. Sometimes those three outs come in the eighth or the seventh.After preparing him with inning-plus saves during the season, Roberts wasnt afraid to use closer Kenley Jansen for two outs in the eighth and then three in the ninth in the Dodgers win over the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the NLDS. That same night, the Nationals Dusty Baker put closer Mark Melancon in while trailing in the ninth to get important outs and give his team a better chance.Days off during the playoffs make it different than the regular season as far as bullpen usage, Baker said. Then theres also the immediacy of the situation that takes over.Theres in essence no tomorrow, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. So you may have the ability and the luxury to be a little bit quicker with some of your decisions, not balancing recovery or rest.Roberts bases decisions off his staff, his pitching coach and his gut. Sometimes a managers gut backfires, like when the New York Mets Terry Collins put closer Jeurys Familia into a tied NL wild-card game and watched as he allowed a three-run homer to the San Francisco Giants Conor Gillaspie.Hes got 51 saves and over 90 saves in two years? Ill take that, said Collins, while acknowledging Familias three blown saves against the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series. He was the guy I wanted out there in the ninth inning, and well try to do a better job to make sure hes a little more rested going into the postseason.With no perfect recipe for relief, managers often resort to using top-tier starters out of the bullpen. The Blue Jays did it with David Price and the Mets with Noah Syndergaard last year, and over time that strategy has had mixed success.Managers generally want to put their players in the best positions to succeed. What pitchers want is the ball when it matters, no matter the situation.To me it doesnt matter -- sometimes it is in the seventh or the eighth, those might be the toughest times, Jansen said. Youve just got to put in your best pitcher. ' ' '