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TORONTO - For a moment, Steve Tolleson was Everyman. Portland Trail Blazers Gear . Who hasnt wondered what its like to pitch a major league baseball game? Tolleson, an infielder with the Toronto Blue Jays, got a second shot at taking the mound Tuesday night in an 11-7 blowout at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. The 30-year-old from Spartanburg, S.C., whose throwing background is more beer league than big leagues, had a hit, scored a run and registered a strikeout — an unlikely triple threat. Tolleson describes his pitching experience as "zero." But throwing balls in the low 70s in terms of miles per hour, he struck out Will Middlebrooks and induced Mookie Betts to fly out in the 11th inning. He had come into the game in the ninth inning as a pinch-runner with the score tied at 4-4. Given the fact that Tolleson was sent to the mound two innings later signalled that the Jays — with six relievers having already seen action in the game after starter R.A. Dickey — had thrown in the towel in the ugly loss, it was hardly a night to celebrate. But the soft-spoken Tolleson, who came on as a pitcher to register the final out in a 15-4 loss to Cleveland on May 14, admitted to having fun. "The last time I was kind of a deer in the headlights, not really knowing know what to do," said Tolleson. "This time I just tried to embrace it and enjoy it for what I could and just go out there and try to help move the game along a little bit. It was fun." Tolleson becomes the third position player in Jays history to pitch multiple outings in a season (joining Bob Bailor in 1980 and Jeff Mathis in 2012). "Were not proud of that," manager John Gibbons said of having Tolleson pitch twice. Tolleson said his high school coach wouldnt let him pitch, saying "youre never going to do that past high school." "I guess were all kind of laughing at that," he added. Still, overall Tolleson termed the evening a tough night and another unfortunate loss in what has been a dire August for the spiralling Jays. Tolleson says he throws "a good batting practice in the off-season with some of my buddies that play." Otherwise, its been mopping up in a few blowout games in the minor leagues and two with the Jays this year. He saw his job Tuesday as essentially to protect the other pitchers. Asked whether he had a repertoire, Tolleson laughed. "I could say I have a repertoire but it wouldnt be true," he said. "I told Navi (catcher Dioner Navarro) fastball, curveball, knuckleball and I wanted to throw a knuckleball but I figured they saw Dickeys all day today, theyd probably just light up if they saw mine." He threw one curveball that was nowhere close to where it was supposed to be. "I just decided then to just throw it over (the plate) and hopefully, they hit it at somebody." In a strange way, Tolleson may have had a bit of an edge against the batters. Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who pitched in college, says facing an occasional pitcher can be odd for a batter. "At times its effective just because its a rare feat to have a position player pitching," said Bautista. Portland Trail Blazers Pro Shop . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Custom Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. https://www.cheapblazersonline.com/ .ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Moving up, from 10 to seven this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight despite a depleted lineup.CARDIFF -- Determined to make a fast start in the defence of its Six Nations title, Wales selected a 32-man squad crammed with experience for its opening match against Italy. The Welsh won their second straight title in 2013, but only after losing 30-22 at home to Ireland in the first round. That experience looks to have swayed coach Warren Gatlands thinking, with the New Zealander going with the tried and tested and deciding against picking any new faces. "We were a little bit slow starting last year and we know we need to start well on Feb. 1," Gatland said on Tuesday. "Weve picked a pretty experienced squad and kept it fairly tight at this stage." Centre Jonathan Davies was included, even though he will miss the first three rounds with a chest injury sustained during the November test series. Sam Warburton also hasnt played since the autumn internationals because of a shoulder injury but is named as captain. Gethin Jenkins is one of the props, although there are concerns over the state of his knee after he was injured in Cardiffs loss to Toulon in the Heineken Cup at the weekend. Thhe Welsh are aiming to become the first team to win three straight Six Nations. Wholesale Blazers Jerseys. "We have got an opportunity to create history and that is something we will focus on and something that will give us extra motivation," said Gatland, who handed over the reins to assistant Rob Howley for the 2013 tournament while he concentrated on his role as British Lions coach. "We have got the three games at home and two tough away games but when we won the Grand Slam in 2008 and 2012 we had these fixtures so we know it can be done." Wales away games are against Ireland and England. ------ Wales: Forwards: Paul James, Gethin Jenkins, Ryan Bevington, Richard Hibbard, Ken Owens, Emyr Phillips, Adam Jones, Samson Lee, Rhodri Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Luke Charteris, Ian Evans, Andrew Coombs, Ryan Jones, Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton (captain), Toby Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Aaron Shingler. Backs: Rhodri Williams, Mike Phillips, Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar, Rhys Priestland, James Hook, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Scott Williams, Alex Cuthbert, George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams. ' ' '