ngs, including a northern Mexico tradition: the carne asada.From the hotel, basically, I went to the field and the gym, and that wa

TORONTO -- The Cleveland Indians are going for a club record when they play the Toronto Blue Jays Friday afternoon as they try to extend their winning streak to 14 games.The Indians defeated the Blue Jays 4-1 on Thursday to equal their club record with their 13th straight win. The record was set in 1942 and matched in 1951.The Indians also finished June with a 22-6 record, the best in franchise history for any month.The Indians will start right-hander Josh Tomlin (9-1, 3.22 ERA), and the Blue Jays will counter with struggling right-hander Marcus Stroman (6-4, 5.33 ERA), who began the season as the No. 1 starter but has had trouble making his sinker sink and is 1/3 with an 8.44 earned-run average in his past six starts.Indians manager Terry Francona is keeping an even keel.You turn the page pretty quick, Francona said after Thursdays win in which Carlos Carrasco struck out 14 in in 7 1/3 innings. If you start taking time to sit back and evaluate (what happened) two weeks ago, then tomorrow might not be so good. I just think theyre having fun trying to play the game the right way. That;s a good way to go about it.Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have lost seven of their past 11 games after winning 20 of their previous 28.If there was anything encouraging about the loss on Thursday, it was the return of left-handed reliever Brett Cecil from the disabled list, where he had been since May 15 with a strained triceps. He opened the season 0-5 with a 5.23 ERA in 16 outings before going on the DL but during his rehabilitation, he regained his curveball, which is vital to his success. Cecil pitched a perfect eighth inning Thursday, and manager John Gibbons and Cecil were both encouraged by the outing.Hopefully (his return) does bring back a boost of energy, Cecil said. Hopefully I can get off to a good start and get these guys going a little bit. Im not here to change the whole face of the bullpen, but they know what they need to do, I know what I need to do and hopefully we can all do it together.Cecil will be used in late innings as bridge to closer Roberto Osuna.Hes going into a valuable role, because we need that, Gibbons said. Weve seen him do that many times. I cant say this is his inning or that inning is his inning, but its going to be important stuff.Meanwhile, a good start by Stroman on Friday would be helpful for the bullpen. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Stromans start Sunday, a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox, was really encouraging.Stroman allowed seven hits and four runs in five innings. He has faced Cleveland once in his career, allowing five hits and five runs (four earned) in 1 1/3 innings in a relief appearance.Tomlin also pitched Sunday, allowing three runs, six hits and a walk while striking out three in eight innings in a 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. He is 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA in his three career starts against the Blue Jays. He is 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in two starts at Rogers Centre. He is 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA in seven starts on the road this season. He has allowed only eight walks in 362 batters faced this season. His 0.81 walks per nine innings is second in the majors to Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers (0.67).He will be trying to pitch the Indians into history on Friday afternoon against a sellout crowd on Canada Day at Rogers Centre.Its something pretty special thats going on right now, said Cleveland closer Cody Allen, who earned his 17th save Thursday. But youve also got to remember that just because were winning ballgames right now doesnt mean its going to be easy the next day. We know weve got our hands full for the rest of this series. Thats a good club over there. Josh Morrissey Jets Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Dale Hawerchuk Jets Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-teppo-numminen-jets-jersey/ . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Mark Scheifele Jets Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Keith Tkachuk Jets Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Kyle Farnsworth is 40 years old and hasnt pitched in the majors since 2014. You might recall that he made headlines a year ago by somewhat secretly joining the Orlando Phantoms, a semipro football team.But none of that means Farnsworth is retired from baseball. He has been toiling the past two seasons in the Mexican League, and if his well-traveled past is any indication, theres no telling where his next move will take him.At first glance, Farnsworth, who gained 15 pounds in muscle after exiting the big leagues, has a 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame that seems tailor made for football, and his tackling technique in his 2003 takedown of the Cincinnati Reds Paul Wilson showed that he had a knack for the game.?But 38 isnt an ideal age to start a long-haul football career.After he amassed 11 sacks in 2015 as a defensive end for the Phantoms, Farnsworth immediately turned back to baseball. Despite a track record of 16 big league seasons pitching for nine teams, including the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and?Tampa Bay Rays, he couldnt persuade anyone in MLB to give him another chance, so he ventured south?and joined the Pericos de Puebla for the second half of the 2015 Mexican League season. (The Mexican League is classified as a Triple-A circuit, but its the top level of baseball in the country.)I knew I still wanted to play, still wanted to compete, and [I thought I could] do well, he said. I still have the fire in me. The Mexican League came along and gave me an opportunity to continue my dream.Likely aware that Farnsworths body had been exposed to the rigors of football, Puebla team president Juan Villarreal wasnt initially sold on him, signing Farnsworth only after an extended tryout.At Puebla, one of the richest teams in Mexico and an organization bullish on ending the citys three-decade championship drought, Farnsworth joined forces with MLB vets Miguel Tejada, Willy Taveras, Armando Galarraga and Luke Scott.?Although some of the faces were familiar, there were adjustments to be made.It was definitely an eye-opener, Farnsworth said. I was used to different things. I was always early to the field and wanted to [go through my routine], but down there, that doesnt happen. You get there an hour before the game and just get ready.Farnsworth said his broken Spanish was enough to allow him to communicate regularly in Puebla, a colonial city in central Mexico that he describes as real safe, real beautiful.?He also kept his other sporting passion on his mind and in his routine, often warming up his arm by throwing around a football.With a 2.04 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 17 relief outings, Farnsworth showed he could still deliver on the mound, but Puebla fell short of the postseason. Following a second season of terrorizing quarterbacks with the Phantoms earlier this year, Farnsworth was brought back by Puebla before surprisingly being released on the last day of spring training.With no takers elsewhere, Farnsworth was willing to play for the Algodoneros de San Luis in the Mexican Northern League, a Double-A regional circuit.The GM for Puebla told me I could go to Sonora and keep playing, stay in shape and get called up, he said.Thats exactly what happened. He soon landed with the Broncos de Reynosa, a Mexican League team in a northeastern city 16 miles south of McAllen, Texas. In stark contrast to provincial Puebla, the border town of Reynosa is consistently classified as one of Mexicos most dangerous cities. Farnsworth was aware of the issues facing his new home, but he wasnt deterred.dddddddddddd?The one thing I had to get used to was all the military and policemen roaming the streets with machine guns in the back of their trucks, he said. That was kind of an eye-opener.Despite that, Farnsworth holds a positive opinion of Reynosa, a fact gleefully reflected on his Twitter feed. Pictures of him training or announcing his arrival on the field are interspersed with recreational outings, including a northern Mexico tradition: the carne asada.From the hotel, basically, I went to the field and the gym, and that was it, he said. I stayed away from anything negative, hung out at the field with the guys. Everyones portraying these Mexican [border cities] as unsafe and dangerous, but for the most part, theyre nice little towns.Reynosa had a young squad, and Farnsworth became a mentor to his teammates, according to Victor Vizcarra, the teams press officer and play-by-play voice.The players are all in their 20s, so sometimes we would ask them who theyd go to for advice, Vizcarra said. It was always [Farnsworth]. His job wasnt just to pitch; it became something else.Focused on baseball, Farnsworth, who was a longtime bullpen fixture in MLB, even pushed himself into the Reynosa rotation, starting his first games since he was a 24-year-old with the Cubs in 2000.It was a big change for him, Vizcarra said. He came in with the idea that hed be our closer. The team knew about his track record and signed him. He worked as a closer, as a setup man and then came that first start against Puebla.As fate would have it, Farnsworths return to starting pitching came against his old club. He threw six innings and allowed three runs, none earned, to walk away with a win, a rarity in a season that would see Reynosa finish 24-88.Farnsworth cites a strong training routine as the reason he could throw 80-plus pitches every fifth day for the first time since Bill Clintons last year in office (Vicente Fox won the Mexican presidential election that year, if youre curious). The transition went so smoothly that even Farnsworth was impressed.I was shocked at that, and I was never too sore after any of the starts, he said. I guess a long time of conditioning myself and training myself paid off in the long run.After Reynosa finished a tough 2016 season in last place, Farnsworth was once again free to pursue his many other interests. Within a few days, he was back in Florida, spotted at a Major League Gaming event, tweeting about Call of Duty and gearing up for another season of football.Even so, baseball is still on his mind. He said he is on the fence about returning to Mexico for a third season but isnt ready to call it quits just yet.I wouldnt rule out that he plays in Mexico again, Vizcarra said. There was a lot of respect for him in that locker room.Farnsworth laments the fact that another chance to go abroad fell through.I got an offer to play professional football in Australia, he said. There was supposed to be a league that got postponed to next year, but that wouldve been fun.Even if it is hard to predict where Farnsworth will pop up next, or what sport hell be competing in when he does, one thing remains abundantly clear: He isnt about to fade calmly into retirement. If anything, hes running away from it for as long as possible.Once you take the jersey off, you cant put it back on, he said. So Im going to enjoy it as long as I can. ' ' '