Alain Vigneault made him a front-line player. Li

PHILADELPHIA -- There are no secrets to Hunter Pences approach to hitting in crucial situations. His simple strategy worked again. Pence drove in all of San Franciscos runs with a double in the ninth and Madison Bumgarner pitched eight scoreless innings to lead the Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night. "Just go up to compete, try to see the ball and hit the ball," Pence said. Bumgarner (12-7) gave up five hits while striking out six and walking none in a pitchers duel with A.J. Burnett. "It was good to get quick outs tonight," Bumgarner said. It was the sixth win in seven games for first-place San Francisco, which moved two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The Giants will look to sweep the four-game series on Thursday. One night after blowing just his third save in 26 chances, closer Jonathan Papelbon (2-2) took the loss. The Phillies offence, which ranks near the bottom of the NL in several categories, managed just seven hits. They lost their fourth straight and seventh of eight. "Its really been the problem weve had the last three games, stranding guys out there," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "And it came up big tonight." Pence broke a scoreless tie with a softly hit blooper down the right-field line off Papelbon on a full count with two outs. "Pence is the guy you want up there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He has the knack of putting the ball in the right place. . Pence is amazing. He has so much energy and hes relentless. Were lucky to have him." Whether the last two games have an effect on Papelbons trade prospects remain to be seen. The Philadelphia closer recently has been outspoken about his interest in moving to a contender. "Whatever happens happens," Papelbon said. "I have no control over it." He dismissed the notion that his value would be diminished by his last two outings. "If you were to put the entire season into two games, it would be pretty dumb," he said. Marlon Byrd drove in Philadelphias run in the ninth off Santiago Casilla, who converted his seventh save in 10 chances. The game was delayed for 59 minutes by a thunderstorm. Following resumption in the top of the fourth, the game was played in a persistent drizzle that got heavy at times until the rain finally stopped for good in the eighth inning. Burnett pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out six, walking four and allowing four hits, in a performance that had to have impressed the scouts seated behind home plate. The right-hander has been a rumoured acquisition for contending clubs as the Phillies are looking to sell at the trade deadline to get younger. Bumgarner and Burnett allowed the relievers to rest following Tuesdays 5-hour, 46-minute marathon in which 16 pitchers were used in the Giants 9-6, 14-inning victory. "What a job he did," Bochy said of Bumgarner. "He saved our skin tonight. He gave us everything we needed and more. And Burnett too. They were both locked in." Some small puddles formed on the left side of the infield, but second base umpire Bill Miller never halted the game again after the first stoppage. Pence was involved in a strange play in the eighth. After leading off with a walk, he took off for second but overslid the bag. He popped up and rather than try to go back to second, he darted toward third as shortstop Jimmy Rollins chased him in a scene reminiscent of tag on the school yard. About halfway to third, Rollins tossed to third baseman Andres Blanco who applied the tag for an unusual 2-6-5 caught stealing. It was the second caught stealing in as many attempts for the Giants, as Ehire Adrianza overslid the bag in the sixth and was tagged out by Chase Utley. NOTES: Burnett moved to 48th all-time in strikeouts, passing Dwight Gooden, with a first-inning fanning of Tyler Colvin. ... Philadelphia activated Ruiz (concussion) from the DL. Ruiz had been out since June 26. To make room for Ruiz, the Phillies sent C Cameron Rupp to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also recalled RHP Phillippe Aumont from Lehigh Valley and designated RHP Jeff Manship for assignment. ... The teams conclude the four-game series on Thursday with Phillies LHP Cole Hamels (4-5, 2.83) facing RHP Tim Hudson (8-6, 2.78). Trevor Linden Jersey .com) - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with running back Jackie Battle on a one-year contract Friday. Stan Smyl Jersey . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. http://www.cheapcanucksjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-brendan-gaunce-jersey .com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. Todd Bertuzzi Jersey . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good. Cheap Adidas Canucks Jerseys .ca NHL Power Rankings, finally overtaking the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second and third this week.VANCOUVER, BC a€“ When he steps on the ice on Wednesday for the Vancouver Canucks season opener, Alex Burrows will be participating in the 619th game of his National Hockey League career. That total is impressive given his well-documented rise from undrafted junior to NHL regular with stops in both the East Coast Hockey League and American Hockey League sandwiched in between. But the number alone pales in comparison to the achievement Burrows will reach at some point in the 2014-15 season. Alex Burrows is poised to crack the franchisea€?s top-10 all-time games played list later this year. Yes, in 45-years of Vancouver Canucks history, Alex Burrows is closing in on some exclusive territory. The 33-year-old winger starts the season 11th on the list a€“ and seventh among forwards a€“ with long-time teammate Ryan Kesler (655 games) immediately ahead of him on the ladder. New assistant coach Doug Lidster (666) along with Dennis Kearns (677) could also get passed as the season unfolds. In fact, if Burrows stays healthy a€“ and thata€?s a big if given his misfortune a season ago a€“ and suits up for all 82 games, he will finish the year with exactly 700 games on his NHL resume. a€?It says that Ia€?m old now,a€? Burrows said with a laugh when told hea€?s on the verge of joining the teama€?s top ten. a€?When I came in, my goal was just to play a little bit and try to stick around as long as I could. Wea€?ve had good teams and Ia€?ve been fortunate that the twins made me a pretty good player. Ita€?s been fun, but the most important thing is we want to win a Stanley Cup at some point and thata€?s why wea€?re all still here and thata€?s our goal.a€? Things will surely be different for Burrows this season. No longer a staple on the wing with Daniel and Henrik Sedin, the 33-year-old native of Pincourt, Quebec may have to re-invent himself to contribute in ways other than he has in recent seasons. But the one thing the Canucks can count on from Burrows is the same strong work ethic hea€?s demonstrated since he burst onto the scene as a midseason call-up from the minors for the first time on January 2, 2006 in St. Louis. a€?I remember flying all day and missing the morning skate and walking into the locker room and seeing Trevor and Nazzy and Todd and Mo and Jovo -- those were some of my idols growing up -- and here I was playing with them,a€? he recalls of his Canucks debut. a€?It was special. It wasna€?t a very good game, we lost 4-1 and I just wanted to make sure that if I played in one game in the NHL I would get my name on the scoresheet. So I got in a fight (with Dennis Wideman) at the end of the game.a€? As fate would have it, Burrows first NHL game just happened to be the 1,200th game of Trevor Lindena€?s National Hockey League career. And the Canucks new President of Hockey Operations vividly remembers the fresh-faced rookie arriving at the rink just prior to puck drop. a€?He walked in and I was like a€?excuse me, are you a player?a€? Hea€?s bigger and stronger now than he was, but back then he was just a kid,a€? Linden says. a€?But he made a play by our bench in the second period and I was like this guy knows the game.ddddddddddddAnd from that point forward, everything he did showed hea€?s really smart.a€? Ita€?s that hockey savvy that has kept Burrows in the best league in the world since 2006. In fact, this will be his 10th NHL season and in addition to the games played list, Burrows is creeping up the franchise scoring lists, too. He begins play this year 14th in goals with 157 and 21st in points with 309. And despite the frustrations of a season disrupted by three separate injuries a year ago in which he was limited to just five goals and 15 points in 49 contests, Burrows says he loves the game as much today as he ever has. a€?Maybe even more because I know that ita€?s getting to the end a little bit,a€? he says. a€?You look around, there are a lot of young guys coming in and playing big minutes for their organizations. When I first came in there were a lot more older guys in the league who were prolonging their careers into their late thirties, but I think ita€?s a little bit different dynamic now. But for me, I obviously enjoy it a lot and seeing the young guys come in and have fun. Ia€?m not looking forward to the end.a€? Alex Burrows is nowhere near the end of his career. He may no longer be the player that once scored 35 goals in a season, but he certainly sees himself as a leader and a veteran on a Canucks team that feels it has something to prove after a second-half tailspin a year ago. And his new boss has full confidence that his former teammate will continue to do the things that earned him his chance in the NHL in the first place. a€?Ita€?s a real credit to the individual to do it the way Burr has done it,a€? says Linden. a€?Ita€?s a long road. He played hard, he worked his ass off, he was smart and he made really good decisions. And coaches love those guys.a€? Marc Crawford was the first to give Burrows a chance. Alain Vigneault made him a front-line player. Like many on the team, Burrows struggled to find his way under John Tortorella. But hea€?s confident that he can regain some of his old form playing this season for Willie Desjardins. And with the curtain about to rise on a new NHL season, Alex Burrows continues to cement his place in Vancouver Canucks history. Within two years, ita€?s possible that only Linden, the Sedins, Markus Naslund and Stan Smyl will have played more games in a Canucks uniform than the guy who once split a season between the Greenville Grrrowl and the Baton Rouge Kingfish. That was a long time ago, but it also reinforces just how far Alex Burrows has come to get to where he is today. a€?Ia€?ve always just tried to play hard and have always respected everyone in the organization,a€? Burrows says of his longevity with the only NHL organization hea€?s known. a€?At the end of the day, if you come in and work hard and people notice that youa€?re working hard and youa€?re a good human being and positive and fun to be around, I think thata€?s what attracts people to keep you around.a€? ' ' '