ATLANTA -- Juan Nicasio took the pressure off a Rockies lineup missing some big names. Derek Stepan Jersey . Michael Cuddyer and Troy Tulowitzki each homered, Nicasio solved the Braves and Colorado beat Atlanta 3-1 on Saturday. The Rockies were missing some of their big bats as Carlos Gonzalez missed his third straight start with a swollen finger and Nolan Arenado was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken finger. Arenados injury came in a 3-2 loss on Friday night, and manager Walt Weiss said he wasnt surprised his team had a strong recovery. "It was a tough night last night, a tough loss and obviously Nolans situation," Weiss said. "Just like weve been all year, this team is resilient and they turn the page and show up the next day and compete. They dont lose confidence. It was a good gut-check for us today." Nicasio (5-2) didnt need much offence. The right-hander turned around his ugly history against the Braves -- 0-3 and 9.82 ERA in four starts. He gave up only two hits in six shutout innings. Leaning on his fastball, Nicasio pitched around four walks and had five strikeouts. "To bounce back after that loss last night was big, and we rode Nicasios shoulders today," Cuddyer said. Nicasio pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the third. Instead of being motivated by his poor history against the Braves or the need to take pressure off a weakened lineup, Nicasio said it was an important game only because the Rockies wanted to rebound from Friday nights loss. "I know I need to win today, tie the series 1-1 and tomorrow we try to win the series," Nicasio said. Atlantas Mike Minor (2-3) allowed three runs on four hits -- including the two homers -- in 6 2-3 innings. "Im not happy with the loss but to not have your best stuff and to get a quality start out of it, Ill take it," Minor said. Trailing 3-0, the Braves tried to rally in the eighth. B.J. Upton singled off Boone Logan and moved to third on Freddie Freemans double. Justin Uptons fly to right field off Adam Ottavino drove in B.J. Upton as Freeman advanced to third. Ottavino struck out Evan Gattis to end the inning. LaTroy Hawkins, who had given up at least one run in each of his last three appearances, earned his 11th save with a perfect ninth inning. The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the third on Nicasios walks to Jason Heyward and Freeman and a single by B.J. Upton. Justin Upton ended the inning with a foul popup. "We had the bases loaded there with the right guy at the plate early on in the game but (Nicasio) wiggled out of that one," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "There werent a lot of opportunities but we had some and when you dont cash in on opportunities you have games like this." Atlanta didnt manage another hit off Nicasio until Justin Uptons double with one out in the sixth. Nicasio retired the next two batters. Weiss successfully challenged home plate umpire Lance Barksdales call that Charlie Culberson was tagged out at the plate in the seventh. Culberson, who hit a leadoff double and moved to third on D.J. LeMahieus groundout, tried to score on pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmons grounder to first base. Culberson slid head-first with his left hand reaching for the plate as Gattis applied the tag. The call was overturned following the lengthy review -- 4 minutes, 14 seconds. Culberson, who started for Arenado at third base, had two hits. Braves third baseman Chris Johnson, who was pulled from Friday nights game by Fredi Gonzalez for losing his temper after a strikeout, was 0 for 4 in his return to the lineup. Gonzalez confirmed he and catcher Gerald Laird were caught in the crossfire when Johnson broke his bat. Johnson has a history of similar outbursts and vowed he wouldnt have another incident. NOTES: The Rockies recalled INF Josh Rutledge from Triple-A Colorado Springs. ... The homer by Tulowitzki was the first in 71 career plate appearances at Turner Field. ... Gattis returned to Atlantas lineup after missing four games with viral symptoms. ... The series ends Sunday when Braves RHP Julio Teheran faces Rockies LHP Franklin Morales. Dan Focht Jersey . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. Brandon Gormley Jersey . -- The Minnesota Twins have granted relief pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release, making the 35-year-old right-hander a free agent. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/758z-ulf-nilsson-jersey-coyotes.html . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event.1) Sergio Aguero is making a case to be this years Luis Suarez. The Argentine has masked subpar team play through spectacular individual performance. Agueros brace was catalyst in a 4-1 away win at Sunderland. Two minutes after Connor Wickham gave Sunderland the lead, Aguero made Santiago Vergini look a pylon, going between the legs before a thundering blast, bringing the back netting up from the ground. It was a trademark quick-trigger strike that has made Aguero the most dangerous man in the Premier League. His second goal came on a near post run that was equal in quality as finish. He also added an assist, taking his tally to 14 goals and three assists through 14 games. Hes undeniably the Premier Leagues best player thus far. Aguero is now in the conversation among the top players in the world. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are top two. Aguero is somewhere in the second tier, with the likes of Neymar, Arjen Robben, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, etc. Perhaps a more convincing case could be made if Aguero had remained healthy through Argentinas World Cup campaign. The good news for City, health issues havent been an issue as hes featured in every league match. Aguero has been outstanding, yet remains off the blistering pace set by Suarez last season. After missing the five games through suspension, Suarez scored 19 in his first 14. He ended with 31. Suarez was relied upon for Liverpool to remain in the title race, just as Aguero is at present time. With Vincent Kompany (hamstring) and David Silva (knee) yet to return from injury, the onus falls on Agueros shoulders. It is time for the rest of his City teammates to step up. 2) Are Chelsea as the new Invincibles? While they remain undefeated after a comprehensive 3-0 win over Spurs, Im still not buying they will go undefeated. Chelsea are solid and organized, but not without flaws. Jose Mourinho has refused to rotate his squad, meaning heavy minutes logged by many team members. Seven players have started every league match, including three of the four defenders. Cesar Azpilicueta is the other defender and has started 12. 11 players have started nine games or more, with only 18 players seeing minutes. Mourinho is fortunate his team has remained incredibly healthy. This will not continue. Mourinho will have to rotate his squad. And when he does, the team will inevitably slip. The lack of squad rotation this far is a calculated risk. The hope is early points will allow further rotation later as potential important FA Cup and Champions League matches build. So far, so good. 3) Chelsea play the 4-2-3-1 to near perfection. Consistency in system has turned this group into one that doesnt make mistakes and punish those made by others. Gary Cahill gave up a rare chance against Spurs, careless in possession. Harry Kane failed to capitalize. Moments later, Eden Hazard played a textbook one-two with Didier Drogba. Aaron Lennon and Vlad Chiriches fell asleep. 1-0. Three minutes later, Hugo Lloris made a meal of his clearance. A quick touch to Oscar who played a wonderful through-ball to Drogba. 2-0. Game over. Chelseas superior defensive rotation, with the 10-man unit in unison has been an impenetrable wall. Only 11 goals conceded is a testament to team maturity and patience. The formation may not be sexy, but its effective. 4) Mauricio Pochettino left a good situation at Southampton to go to White Hart Lane where expectations are high and the talent questionable. The transition hasnt been smooth. Pochettino seems unsure on how to best utilize the talent in his squad. Through 14 games, he still hasnt a clue how to best deploy his back four. Up front, Roberto Saldado was relegated to the bench Wednesday, after a goal last time out. Nacer Chadli, back from injury, should have gone from the start. And why Paulinho continues to come off the bench is puzzling. Pochettino has some nice players. Perhaps not a top-four side, but certainly better than what Pochettinos getting out of them. All the meanwhile, Spurs are without a win at Stamford Bridge since 1990. Embarrassing. 5) Arsenal are the new Heartbreak Kids. The Gunners scored for the seventh time in the final five minutes of a game this season to get past Southampton, 1-0. Credit the team for the last gasp goals, but leaving it late is also an indication of team struggles. Nothing has come easy. The short-comings are plain to see. But yet again, Alexei Sanchez puts on his cape and comes to the rescue. His ninth of the league season was a similar read; Sanchez the saviour after Arsenal superior in possession, while not creating nearly enough genuine goal scoring opportunities and poor in front of goal. Arsenal deserved no more than a point. Toby Alderweireld going off (hamstring) in the 84th, leaving Southampton with 10-men having already made three substitutions was the turning point. Arsenal remains sixth in the table, which seems fraudulent considering how much work is left to do. Lets see how a busy December plays out for this inconsistent outfit. 6) The lost-look on Ronald Koemans face said it all. Southampton was hugely unlucky. Back-to-back weeks with innocent looking injuries the downfall. Last week it was Morgan Schneiderlin, the teams most important player, leaving at halftime (thigh) while deadlocked with Manchester City. They lost 3-0 after the re-shuffle. Jack Cork (knock) going off in the first half at Arsenal was a huge blow, changing the flow of the game. Coyotes Jerseys 2021. And Alderweirelds untimely injury sealed Southamptons fate. Koeman isnt blessed with great depth. James Ward-Prowse (ankle/foot) remains out as well. The current stretch is as tough as it gets. Manchester United are next this Monday. All this makes the 1-1 draw last week with Aston Villa that much more damning. 7) There is an argument to be made Southamptons Fraser Forster should be Englands top keeper. Forster was outstanding at the Emirates, outstanding in positioning and shot-stopping. Southampton has conceded the fewest goals (10), Forster has the most shutouts (7) and top GAA (0.71). We all know the track record of Joe Hart. Forster can be considered a superior option. 8) Just because Marouane Fellaini scored doesnt mean he played well. Fellaini scored his first Old Trafford goal in Manchester Uniteds 2-1 win over Stoke City. For all Fellaini does well, he lacks the top quality demanded at United. His headed goal is testament to his ability to get forward and use his size. The rest of his game is thoroughly average. His misjudgment on the ball, turned phantom neck injury, directly led to Steven Nzonzis goal. Too frequently Fellainis touch lets him down or leads to poor decision-making and distribution. His positional sense is non-existent, unreliable in attack and defending. Antonio Valencia couldnt get forward with regularity due to Fellainis unpredictable ways down the right. United will not get better with Fellaini being a regular. More is demanded in intelligent ball movement. Thats what they need to aspire to. Fellaini is no more than a player to be brought on to change the flow of the game. Hes a disrupter. Thats all. 9) Michael Carrick is Manchester Uniteds most important player. There is no denying his influence as United has won the last four games, the only four games he has started. His composure on the ball and superior ability to read the game has settled the team and kept the group organized. Carrick completed the most passes (104) over the weekend and remains the only consistent in Uniteds midfield. Stoke tried to limit Carricks influence by putting a defensive player on him at all times. This allowed Juan Mata to have his best game of the season, free to roam and find space. 10) There is nothing wrong with Robin Van Persie. The critics insist the Dutchman has lost a step. While that may be true, there are few better strikers in the Prem. The issue has been a lack of service. Uniteds meddling midfield needs to get him more involved. Van Persie made a number of intelligent runs and/or found space against Stoke and his teammates failed to provide service. This is unacceptable. Hes a volume player who requires to be brought into the match. His goal Saturday against Hull serves as reminder what happens when you get him the ball. He had the most touches of the season that game. Feed the target-man and reap the benefits. 11) Steven Gerrard has now scored against 33 different Premier League teams, tallying in Liverpools 3-1 win over Leicester City. It was a rare goal from open play, as 17 of his last 19 have come from dead balls. It speaks to his limitations at this stage of his career. The goal and the victory was a statement. Gerrard should not have started on the bench on his 16h anniversary as a Liverpool player last Saturday. Gerrard need be rested from time to time. But it has to be done selectively. It made no sense for Gerrard to sit in a must-win game with tensions sky-high at Anfield. Gerrard may not be what he once was, but there is no proper replacement. Neither Lucas nor Joe Allen will suffice, they are average at best. If the reins are to be past from Gerrard, adequate talent to replace is a must. 12) After losing for the seventh time in nine matches and getting into a spat with a supporter, Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson declared post-match if fans cant recognize the team-effort, they should stay at home. The comment is an absolute no-no for any manager or player. The fans are the lifeblood that drive the club. Passion should not be curbed. Criticism is part of the gig and comes with the losses, especially for a team in last place. Pearson knows better. The pressure is on Pearson with a crucial away match with Aston Villa ahead. 13) Newcastles Papiss Cisse scored his fifth goal in a 1-1 draw with Burnley. The five goals are more than the four games hes started this season, and three more than he scored all of last year. 14) Southampton has received the headlines as surprise up-and-comer; West Ham United and Swansea City are every bit worthy of praise. They sit fifth and seventh respectively, on 24 and 22 points. Both teams are good enough to stay in the mix for Europa League spots. The Hammers defensive duo of Aaron Cresswell and Winston Reid are among the best at their positions. And the team continues to produce without top goal-scorer Diafra Sakho (back). Meanwhile, Wilfried Bony has scored in two of his last three for Swansea. And the balance between ball-cherishers in the middle and speed on the wings has proved a dangerous combination. Sundays game between these teams has the makings of most entertaining of the weekend. Gareth Wheeler can be reached at: @WheelerTSN gareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca ' ' '