BALTIMORE -- Playing on the road against a team they have struggled against all year, the last-place Tampa Bay Rays begrudgingly accepted a doubleheader split. Womens Giants Jerseys . After rookie right-hander Alex Colome excelled in a 5-2 victory in the opener, the Rays fell to Chris Tillman and the Orioles 4-1 on Friday night. "They outpitched us in the second game, but we actually pitched well tonight," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Nevertheless, you will always take a split in a day-night doubleheader, but after you win the first one you get a little greedy." Tampa Bay is 2-8 against the Orioles this season, 1-3 in Baltimore. In the first game, the Orioles mustered only three hits -- one after the second inning. Added to the roster for the doubleheader as the 26th man, Colome (1-0) gave up one run, two hits and four walks in 5 2-3 innings to earn his second big league victory. The first came against Miami in his debut on May 30, 2013. Its been a strange year for Colome, who served a 50-game suspension until May 25 for violating the leagues drug policy. He was activated by the Rays and pitched four innings of relief against Toronto on May 26 before being optioned to the minors after the game. In his last start for Triple-A Durham, Colome gave up nine runs in 1 1-3 innings against Syracuse on June 21. He had far more success against the Orioles, holding them to one hit after Nick Markakis opened with a single. Jake McGee worked the ninth for his second save Orioles starter Kevin Gausman (3-2) yielded five runs, seven hits and a career-high four walks in five-plus innings. Baltimore got a first-inning run when Nick Markakis singled and scored on a groundout by Chris Davis. In the second, Brandon Guyer hit the first of his three doubles to knock in a run, and Matt Joyce followed with an RBI single. A two-out RBI single by Jose Molina made it 3-1 in the fourth. Doubles by Guyer and Joyce, along with a single by Sean Rodriguez, added two runs in the sixth. In the nightcap, the Orioles were again struggling to score before Nick Hundley homered to put Baltimore ahead in the sixth and Nelson Cruz added a two-run shot in the seventh. Hundley connected off Juan Carlos Oviedo (3-3) for a 2-1 lead, and Cruz hit his 25th home run -- tied for the major league lead -- off Joel Peralta after Adam Jones led off with his fourth hit of the game. That gave Baltimore 38 homers in June, most in the majors. "We have a lot of power on this team, a lot of guys who can hit it out anywhere on the field. Thats why this lineup is so dangerous," Hundley said. "When you have a team, a lineup, with this much depth and this much power to all fields, it makes it tough to pitch to." Tillman (7-4) gave up one run and four hits over eight innings to earn his first win in seven home starts this season. He was 0-4 with a 2.78 ERA. Zach Britton got three outs for his 10th save. Rays starter Jake Odorizzi allowed one run and six hits in five innings, striking out six. "I had no pitches tonight. I had no fastball command, no off-speed pitches, slider was terrible, changeup was equally as bad," the rookie said. "My curveball, I think I threw it twice. It was just an all-around bad, bad experience out there." But Tampa Bay pitchers got nine strikeouts in the nightcap, giving them a major league record 261 in June. Cleveland had 253 in June 1964. James Loneys fourth homer gave the last-place Rays a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Baltimore matched that in the bottom half with an RBI single by Hundley. Odorizzi threw 31 pitches in the inning, the last a third strike to Manny Machado with the bases loaded. Baltimore loaded the bases again in the fifth before J.J. Hardy fouled out and David Lough struck out. The Orioles stranded nine through five innings and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. NOTES: The first game was the makeup for an April 15 rainout. It drew a season-low crowd of 15,614. ... TB SS Yunel Escobar tested his sore right shoulder by playing catch but was not yet ready to return. He last played Tuesday. ... Evan Longoria had three hits in the nightcap, two off Tillman, and is 13 for 30 (.433) lifetime against the right-hander. ... Jones four hits tied a career high. Pink Giants Jerseys . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Lorenzo Carter Stitched Jersey . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak. http://www.officialgiantsnflauthenticshop.com/ . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged.The San Jose Sharks have made the playoffs in 15 of the past 16 seasons, but after blowing a three-games-to-none lead against the Los Angeles Kings in Round One, disappointment reigns in Northern California once again. Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Sharks team that has promised changes, but might be better off sticking with the core of a team that, even without a Stanley Cup win, has consistently been among the leagues best. Understandably, the Sharks are disappointed. No team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations likes to get bounced in the first round, but there should be some mitigating factors considered. First and foremost, the Sharks have to consider that they had outscored the Kings 17-8 in the first three games of the playoffs and needed one more win to oust the team that is now favoured to win the Stanley Cup. That should indicate that, while improvement is necessary, the Sharks should realize that they arent far off. They were the leagues third-best possession team and that isnt a team that should be blown up just because the Western Conference Murderers Row tripped them up once again. This is relevant because rumours have surfaced that long-time Sharks Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton could be asked to waive no-movement clauses. Theres no sure answer to say that the Sharks will be just fine if they keep this core together, but its harder to see this team as a Cup contender in the next year or two if they move out players like Thornton or Marleau. Value always depends on what the return is, but those wont be easy holes to fill if that is the direction in which the Sharks are headed. Until that decision becomes clear, this team will be one of the most compelling to watch this offseason. Such is the nature of a contending team that is getting impatient with its inability to get over the hump. The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency rating based on per-game statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for strength (ie. power play, even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts, quality of competition and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty differential and faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60, a top six forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over 80 and MVP candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the 2013-2014 regular season ratings at 87.12. Salary cap information all comes from the indispensable www.capgeek.com. CF% = Corsi percentage (ie. percentage of 5-on-5 shot attempts), via www.extraskater.com. GM/COACHDoug Wilson/Todd McLellan Returning Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Joe Pavelski 81.92 82 41 38 79 56.4% $6.0M Patrick Marleau 78.15 82 33 37 70 53.1% $6.667M Logan Couture 78.60 65 23 31 54 53.5% $6.0M Raffi Torres 77.70 5 3 2 5 52.9% $2.0M Joe Thornton 76.10 82 11 65 76 58.3% $6.75M Tomas Hertl 74.29 37 15 10 25 55.8% $925K Martin Havlat 66.04 48 12 10 22 50.3% $5.0M Matt Nieto 65.52 66 10 14 24 51.9% $759K Tyler Kennedy 60.02 67 4 13 17 52.2% $2.35M Andrew Desjardins 58.82 81 3 14 17 50.0% $750K Adam Burish 54.73 15 0 0 0 52.8% $1.85M Free Agent Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Tommy Wingels 68.78 77 16 22 38 52.8% RFA $775K James Sheppard 64.77 67 4 16 20 52.5% RFA $830K Mike Brown 56.93 56 2 3 5 46.1% UFA $737K Coming off a career-best season, fueled in part by a career-high 18.2% shooting percentage, Joe Pavelski plays in all situations, hasnt missed a game in three seasons and, over the course of those three seasons, ranks sixth in goals. Hes a very good two-way player but, prior to last season, had scored more than 0.75 points per game (a 60-point pace)twice in seven seasons. Over the past four seasons, there are two players under the age of 24 with more goals than Logan Coutures 107-- Steven Stamkos (159) and John Tavares (112). Thats pretty good company. Last season, Coutures goal-scoring was down, thanks to a career-low 9.9% shooting percentage, but 53 points in 65 games represented a career-best rate of 0.82 points per game, and that came while facing the hardest competition with the highest percentage of defensive zone starts of his career. Having played nearly 1400 (regular season plus playoff) games for the Sharks, Patrick Marleau gets branded, at times, as the face of the franchises disappointment, but hes the fourth-leading goal scorer in the league over the past six seasons, giving little indication that hes slowing down, even as he enters his mid-30s. While playoff shortcomings get pinned to Marleau, since 2002, hes scored 55 goals in 125 postseason games, which leaves him with the second-best goals-per-game among players to play at least 100 playoff games in that time. He wont be able to do this forever, but Marleau has been extremely durable, having not missed a game in the past five years. He will slow down at some point, but hes hardly the reason the Sharks havent yet won a Stanley Cup. Raffi Torress per-game contributions were way out of line last season, but thats a small sample at work. Hes a hard-hitting third-line winger who can chip in offensively when hes not hurt, or suspended. With Teemu Selanne retiring, Jaromir Jagr is the only active player with more points than Joe Thornton, who has accrued 1194 in 1207 career games, and while hes managed a modest 18 goals over the past two seasons, Thornton still has 116 points in that span, tied with Tyler Seguin and Jonathan Toews for 12th in the league. Even so, that may not be enough. The 34-year-old could be available for trade, though thats a complicated matter since he has a no-movement clause tied to the three years remaining on his contract. Like Marleau, Thornton takes the heat for San Joses playoff stumbles but, even after scoring three points in seven games this season, he still has 82 points in 97 playoff games since joining the Sharks. If he is made available, and is amenable to the right move, there ought to be a long line of suitors. Tomas Hertl burst into the NHL with six goals in his first three games, but his production was slowing down even before he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for nearly four months, and he finished with seven points in his last 20 games after scoring 18 points in 17 games to start the year. However, Hertl has size, speed, skill and is just 20-years-old. Hes due to have some percentages fall, but can also play a bigger role, which could help offset that anticipated regression. 33-year-old Martin Havlat has had a rough ride in San Jose, scoring 27 goals and 67 points in 127 games over the past three seasons, and his points-per-game over the last two were under half-a-point-per-game for the first time in his career. Sharks GM Doug Wilson has said that Havlat wont be back, which would presumably mean a buyout of the final year of his contract. A speedy winger who earned a bigger role and produced more as his rookie season went on, Matt Nieto figures to have a top-nine, possibly top-six, role next season. Hes scored enough before arriving in the NHL to believe that there is more production possible as he matures. Tyler Kennedys play has dipped over the past couple seasons, when hes no longer had Jordan Staal as his centre like he did for his best years in Pittsburgh, and was a non-factor down the stretch for the Sharks, going without a goal in his last 25 games and managing two assists in his last 23 games. The proverbial great team guy, Adam Burish has nonetheless put up one goal and three points in 61 games, while getting beat up in puck possession terms, with the Sharks over the past two seasons. Can a healthy Burish even handle a regular role on the fourth line? Theres two years and $3.7-million left on his deal that makes that a question worth answering. Hard-hitting winger Tommy Wingels had a breakout season last year, getting the opportunity to play a regular role with skilled players. He was one of 25 forwards to record at least 200 hits last season and, among those with more hits than Wingels 210, only David Backes, Milan Lucic and Brandon Dubinsky had more than Wingels 38 points. Its been a long strange trip for James Sheppard, the ninth overall pick by Minnesota in 2006, who nearly lost his career after an ATV accident, but he has worked his way back into a regular NHL role, playing top-nine minutes down the stretch for the Sharks as he finished the year with 11 points in his last 19 games before delivering six points in seven playoff games. He only has 16 goals in 323 career games, but if Sheppard is able to handle a third-line centre role, thats a remarkable recovery. If the Sharks are prepared to push forward, bringing in at least one scoring winger would make sense. With Brent Burns moving back to defence and Martin Havlat on the way out, maybe a freee agent like Ales Hemsky, Mike Cammalleri or Jarome Iginla would have some appeal. Black Giants Jerseys. Returning Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Brent Burns 75.46 69 22 26 48 57.1% $5.76M Marc-Edouard Vlasic 69.92 81 5 19 24 58.2% $4.25M Matt Irwin 66.24 62 2 17 19 50.2% $1.0M Justin Braun 65.60 82 4 13 17 54.2% $1.25M Brad Stuart 62.12 61 3 8 11 51.4% $3.6M Free Agent Defence Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Jason Demers 69.36 75 5 29 34 54.9% RFA $1.5M Dan Boyle 64.96 75 12 24 36 53.0% UFA $6.667M Scott Hannan 62.78 56 3 9 12 49.9% UFA $1.0M After a productive run at right wing, where he scored 68 points (31 G, 37 A in 92 GP) over the past season-and-a-half, Brent Burns is moving back to defence, where he had shown plenty of promise before the move to Thorntons wing. This becomes a value judgement. Would the Sharks prefer to have Burns playing on the top defence pair and logging 23-24 minutes a night, or would they like a potential 30-goal power forward who plays 17 minutes per game? Both are desirable commodities, but the Sharks might find it easier to add a scoring winger than they would a top pair defenceman, even if the scoring winger may not come in a 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame. In eight NHL seasons, Marc-Edouard Vlasic has missed more than two games in a season just once and finds himself in very good company in terms of puck possession for big-minute defencemen and that is despite consistently starting more shifts in the defensive zone, even on a strong team like the Sharks. Last seasons 24 points was the highest season total for Vlasic since 2009, yet hes still very valuable in his defensive role. There arent many defence-only defencemen that hold a lot of value, but Vlasic is one. Matt Irwin hasnt been able to secure his spot on the Sharks blueline, still getting scratched at times, but hes been effective enough through his first 100 NHL games, although his performance wasnt as strong last season. He has a bomb from the point and quite reasonably priced if he plays regularly. Playing increasingly difficult minutes, Justin Braun has matured into a relaible top-four defenceman, playing a career-high 20:59 per game last season. Not a lot of frills to his game, but Braun blocks shots (four behind Vlasic for the team lead) and has spent time paired with Vlasic in a shutdown role. Its been a long time (been a long time, been a long, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time) since Brad Stuart was drafted third overall in 1998 by the Sharks, and hes used in a much different, defence-first, role. Like many physical defensive defencemen, hes lost a step, and played a career-low 19:10 per game last season, but Stuart is certainly capable of filling a regular role in the top six. Jason Demers had something of a breakout year in 2013-2014, playing a career-high 19:29 per game and tallying a career-best 34 points as the Sharks most effective offensive contributor from the blueline. As such, hes likely due for a nice raise as a restricted free agent this summer. Returning Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Cap Hit Antti Niemi 63.95 64 39 17 7 2.39 .913 $3.8M Free Agent Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Alex Stalock 74.34 24 12 5 2 1.87 .932 UFA $625K Antti Niemis play has been up and down over his five-plus NHL seasons, though last season likely counts as the worst to date, with a below-average .913 save percentage and an even-strength save percentage that ranked 22nd out of 24 goaltenders to play at least 2000 5-on-5 minutes in 2013-2014. Given how the season ended, it wouldnt be a shock to see the Sharks try to make a change, but they could also play out the final year of Niemis current deal. With Alex Stalock headed for free agency, the Sharks may want to grab better than a basic backup; ideally, someone that could step in to handle the job if Niemi doesnt bounce back next season. Top Prospects Player Pos. Team/League Stats Mirco Mueller D Everett (WHL) 5-22-27, +1, 60 GP Chris Tierney C London (OHL) 40-49-89, +44, 67 GP Freddie Hamilton RW Worcester (AHL) 22-21-43, -14, 64 GP Konrad Abeltshauser D Worcester (AHL) 6-15-21, even, 57 GP Gabryel Boudreau LW Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) 16-19-35, +8, 67 GP Matt Tennyson D Worcester (AHL) 7-14-21, -25, 54 GP Taylor Doherty D Worcester (AHL) 4-11-15, -6, 69 GP Dylan DeMelo D Worcester (AHL) 2-22-24, -17, 68 GP Sean Kuraly C Miami (NCHC) 12-17-29, -1, 38 GP Ryan Carpenter C Bowling Green (WCHA) 8-8-16, +3, 15 GP Daniil Tarasov RW Worcester (AHL) 17-14-31, +2, 47 GP Last summers first-round pick, Mirco Muellers point production dipped ever-so-slightly from his first WHL season, but hes a highly-regarded puck-mover. Can the Swiss rearguard make the jump next year, or will he be better served with another year in the Dub? A second-round pick in 2012, Chris Tierney has increased his offensive output at the junior level. Starting with the 2013 playoffs, he has 127 points ( 52 G, 75 A) in 97 games. Theres no rush to get him to San Jose, but Tierney is a good one to have in the pipeline. Freddie Hamilton, a fifth-round pick in 2010, made a nice progression in his second pro season and earned 11 games with San Jose. He struggled in the NHL, but the 22-year-old is available if the Sharks need a call-up. A sixth-round pick in 2010, 6-foot-5 Konrad Abeltshauser made a nice transition to the AHL and could push quickly in an organization that, aside from Mueller, doesnt have great blueline prospects. Taken in the second round last year, Gabryel Boudreau saw his scoring dive from 63 points in 2012-2013 to 35 points last season. Thats not very encouraging, but is also an indication that hes due for further development before he gets his turn at pro hockey. With 50 points in 121 AHL games over two-plus seasons, Matt Tennyson has shown the puck skills to warrant consideration for promotion, but the free agent out of Western Michigan hasnt been reliable enough defensively. A 6-foot-8 defenceman with three-plus years of AHL exerperience, Taylor Doherty isnt going to score his way to the Show, and has yet to see action in an NHL game, but hes 6-foot-8 and can move well for that size, so the 2009 second-round pick shouldnt be discounted yet. Drafted in the sixth round in 2011, Dylan DeMelo has worked his way into position to contend with other San Jose blueline prospects. At the same time, hes 21-years-old and could use further development. Picked in the fifth round in 2011, Sean Kuraly is a winger with good size who had a nice bump in production as a sophomore, finishing third on his team in scoring. With another year or two of development, he could turn into a solid two-way contributor. Signed out of Bowling Green after scoring 16 points in 15 during an injury-plauged junior season, Ryan Carpenter struggled in his first taste of pro hockey, registering a couple of assists in 11 games with Worcester, but hes a low-risk signing that could be interesting based on his improving numbers in college. Daniil Tarasov has worked his way up from the USHL and has 31 goals and 59 points in 90 AHL games over the past couple seasons. Sharks advanced stats and player usage chart from Extra Skater DRAFT20th - Josh Ho-Sang, Roland McKeown, David Pastrnak FREE AGENCYAccording to www.capgeek.com, the Sharks have approximately $58.7M committed to the 2014-2015 salary cap for 17 players. Check out my possible Sharks lineup for next season on Cap Geek here. Needs: One top six forward, depth forwards, one top four defenceman, backup goaltender.What I said the Sharks needed last year: One top six forward, two defencemen.They added: Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto, Tyler Kennedy, Scott Hannan. TRADE MARKETPatrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Tyler Kennedy, Matt Irwin, Antti Niemi. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Steelers Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys ' ' '