13 for the U.S.Pau Gasol scored 23 points for Spain, which made it to

NEW YORK -- A.J. Ellis didnt wait long to endear himself to the Philadelphia Phillies. All he needed was three at-bats.Ellis got a big hit in his Philadelphia debut, breaking a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double Sunday that sent the Phillies to a 5-1 victory over the New York Mets.Philadelphia salvaged the series finale after getting outscored 21-5 in the first two games.Regardless of whats happened the last four days, it feels good to drive in runs, Ellis said. It feels good to help put your team ahead and contribute to a team win.Ellis was acquired Thursday from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade for longtime Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. The veteran backstop, the longest-tenured Dodgers player in the organization at the time of the deal, arrived Saturday and started getting to know his new teammates and pitching staff.We heard about his disappointment in L.A., but the minute he got here and I talked to him, he put it behind him, he was fine, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. It was great to see him get that big hit, for himself and for the team. Im sure he feels more comfortable now.Ellis didnt just help at the plate. He guided young starter Vince Velasquez and four relievers as they quieted a streaking Mets lineup that was minus ailing sluggers Yoenis Cespedes (quad) and Neil Walker (back).It was a lot more fun catching those guys than hitting against them, Ellis joked.New York also lost shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera in the first inning. He exited with soreness in his left knee, a problem area that sidelined him twice earlier this year.Mets manager Terry Collins indicated that his three injured players might require daily checkups for the remainder of the season.Well have to continue to monitor how they feel each day, he said. But with the way all of a sudden weve played here in the last four or five days, it took a little air out of the balloon.The score was 1-all in the seventh when Philadelphia loaded the bases with nobody out on singles by Tommy Joseph, Aaron Altherr and Jimmy Paredes off Robert Gsellman (1-1), who was very effective to that point in his first major league start.Hansel Robles came on in relief and Ellis drove the right-handers fourth pitch over Curtis Grandersons head in left field, scoring Joseph and Altherr with his first hit for his new team.Ellis struck out and grounded out in his first two at-bats.Pinch-hitter Peter Bourjos was hit by a pitch from Robles with the bases loaded, forcing in another run.Cesar Hernandez added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.David Hernandez (3-3) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.Philadelphia squandered two chances to score early in the game, when Freddy Galvis was thrown out at home on a failed squeeze attempt and Altherr was cut down at the plate on Paredes fourth-inning RBI double.Velasquez allowed five hits in five innings while striking out seven. The 24-year-old right-hander had struggled of late, allowing 19 runs and 25 hits over his previous 16 1/3 innings. But he improved on his success against the Mets, lowering his ERA versus New York to 1.76 (three earned runs in 15 1/3 innings).Talking to A.J. when he got here, and just today before the outing, he was like, `Just trust your stuff, Velasquez said.Philadelphia had lost the previous seven games Velasquez started, dating to July 19.At (24) years old, hes got a lot to learn, but hes got the stuff to be really good, Mackanin said.The Mets entered having scored 31 runs over their last three games, including three homers by Cabrera during that span.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: Bourjos was hit by a 97 mph fastball on the left wrist. After crouching down in pain behind home plate, he went to first base.Mets: LHP Steven Matz (shoulder) threw a bullpen and is expected to throw another one before coming off the disabled list to start Thursday against Miami rather than Wednesday, Collins said.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Jake Thompson (1-3, 9.78 ERA) opens a three-game series against NL East-leading Washington, his fifth major league start. Hes failed to reach the sixth inning in any of his previous four. Tanner Roark (13-7, 2.99 ERA) pitches for the Nationals.Mets: RHP Rafael Montero (0-0, 11.57 ERA) has the difficult task of facing All-Star RHP Jose Fernandez (13-7, 2.91) in his first big league start of the season as the Mets begin an important four-game series with Miami at Citi Field. Montero will be recalled from Double-A Binghamton on Monday and last pitched in the majors on April 19. He struggled at Triple-A Las Vegas, but had a 1.70 ERA in eight starts at Binghamton. Cheap Authentic Ray Ban Sunglasses .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. http://www.cheaprayban.net/ . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses For Sale . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Ray Ban Sunglasses China Wholesale . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. RIO DE JANEIRO --?Gone was the all-offense, all-action play that turned the last two gold-medal games into classics.To get by Spain again, the U.S. Olympic mens basketball team would have to win ugly, so unusual its practically un-American.It was just a real different game today, coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Same result, though.The U.S. advanced to its third straight gold-medal game win an 82-76 victory Friday, another tight matchup between the teams that met in the last two championship games.Klay Thompson scored 22 points for the Americans, who will play Serbia on Sunday for their third consecutive Olympic title. Serbia routed Australia 87-61 in the second semifinal. Australia and Spain will vie for the bronze medal prior to the gold-medal game.This is where we wanted to be, Kevin Durant said. We talked about it all summer and to be here for the final game, to win the gold, for all the marbles, we like our chances.The Americans pulled away to win 118-107 in 2008 and held on for a 107-100 victory in London, but the defenses made their mark in this one. The U.S. was just good enough again against Spain, with bodies falling more than shots and several technical fouls keeping the teams from finding an offensive flow.It certainly wasnt pretty, but Olympic gold never loses its luster.Its an amazing feeling now, center DeAndre Jordan said.?We really want to accomplish this.It was the lowest-scoring game for the Americans in the Olympics since the 2004 semifinals, when they managed 81 in a loss to Argentina.But Jordan made his presence felt in the middle with 16 rebounds and four blocked shots to go with his nine points.Durant added 14 points on the day he moved past LeBron James into second place on the U.S. Olympic career scoring list.Kyrie Irving had 13 for the U.S.Pau Gasol scored 23 points for Spain, which made it tough on the Americans for the third straight Olympics, but again had to settle for coming close against the worlds No. 1 team.I think the key of the game was their defense, Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. Their athleticism, their size, they made our offense get difficult during most of the possessions.Gasol said after he believed Spain missed its best chance to beat the U.S.They are not playing as well as other times theyve played, but they are still a very talented team individually, Gasol said. ``I just (feel) like if we had been a little sharperr with our shots, if we would have moved the ball a little better, if we would have boxed out more, and make it a two- or three-possession game, then youre talking about a whole different story.ddddddddddddSpain shot just 39 percent and couldnt get any consistent option other than Gasol, who played with a wrap covering his sore right calf. It was the kind of defense the Americans thought they could play but hadnt much in the tournament.Serbia and France both surpassed 90 points against them and Australia scored 88, as the team with 10 Olympic newcomers took longer than hoped in grasping international offenses.This time they contained a team that was as explosive as themselves over the last four games, as Spain had averaged 97.3 points and won by more than 25 per game after dropping its first two in Brazil.The Americans finally built a comfortable lead when they opened the fourth quarter with six straight points to go ahead 72-57. But Spain was able to keep the gap from getting any bigger and chipped away at it in the final minutes, the margin ending up smaller than in the previous matchups.Spain came to the Olympics an aging team without one of its top players, Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who couldnt make it back from a broken right foot sustained during the season.But the Spanish, as they had in the previous two Olympics, found their stride just in time to run into the Americans. Thompson scored 17 in the first half, including a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left that made it 45-39 at the break.Both teams were called for multiple technical fouls in the tense first half. One of them, on Durant, gave him a third foul, as technicals also count as personal fouls in international play.Nikola Mirotic then picked up a personal and technical on the same play later in the period, sending him to the bench with four after he led Spain with 23 points in its quarterfinal rout of France.The Americans were far off their usual offensive play, shooting only 42 percent for the game and complaining about a wet ball in the first half. But they grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in their 24 straight Olympic victory. Now they need one more to stay on top.You want to get there, two-time gold medalist Carmelo Anthony said. You want to have that feeling. ' ' '