DETROIT -- Erick Aybar heated up with the bat in recent weeks. The Detroit Tigers hope their newest acquisition can keep that going throughout their playoff push.The veteran infielder was acquired from the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday and inserted into the lineup on Wednesday. He went 0-for-3 but reached base on a walk and an error as the Tigers lost 4-1 to the Kansas City Royals.Aybar batted second and played shortstop, and he could play there regularly until Jose Iglesias recovers from an hamstring injury that landed him on the 15-day disabled list last week. Aybar also could get starts at third base with Nick Castellanos on the DL due to a broken hand.He was hitting .242 with the Braves but posted a .313 average since the All-Star break before joining Detroit.The main reason for this move is to upgrade our utility position, Tigers general manager Al Avila said when the deal was made. We feel Aybar could give us a little more offense.There is a good chance Aybar will be in the lineup once again when the Tigers open a pivotal four-game series with the red-hot Boston Red Sox on Thursday. The longtime Los Angeles Angels shortstop is glad to be back in a pennant race.Atlanta was a different mindset because of the (rebuilding) phase up there, he said through an interpreter. Coming here, its a totally different mindset. Youre trying to win.Detroit is desperate for a victory after getting swept by the Royals in a three-game series. Meanwhile, Boston extended its winning streak to six games with an 8-1, rain-shortened win at Baltimore on Wednesday.Left-hander Matt Boyd, who has been on an impressive run since the All-Star break, will start Thursdays matinee. Boyd (4-2) is 4-0 with a 2.22 ERA in his past six starts.He had an outing he would like to forget in his only previous start against the Red Sox. While still a member of the Toronto Blue Jays last year, Boyd didnt record an out while allowing seven runs on six hits and a walk.Boyd will be opposed by right-hander Clay Buchholz, who is temporarily back in the Boston rotation with All-Star Steven Wright on the DL due to a shoulder injury. Buchholz, who had been banished to a long relief role, started against Arizona on Saturday and lasted 4 1/3 innings while giving three runs.Buchholz (4-9) made some mechanical adjustments that have improved his outlook. He is 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA in 10 career outings against Detroit, including eight starts.I think Ive found some stuff that I needed to work out, Buchholz told the Boston Herald. Release point and just arm strength overall. I think its gotten a little better as the weeks have gone on as I was moved out there (to the bullpen).Right fielder Mookie Betts kept his hot streak going Wednesday with three runs and two hits from the cleanup spot. Betts has at least one hit in all but one start since July 30, and he has hit five home runs over the past four games.He doesnt take on any added significance to the role or the spot in the lineup, Boston manager John Farrell said. Hes in some kind of spot right now the way hes seeing the baseball, the way hes making such hard contact.Boston will be seeking some revenge after getting swept by the Tigers in a three-game series at Fenway Park in late July.Air Max 95 Mens Clearance . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Wholesale Air Max 95 . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. http://www.wholesale95airmax.com/ . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Air Max 97 Mens Cheap . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Nike Air Max 95 Womens Black Sale . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night.Different pitch, different captain, different fieldThe pitch in Kolkata is radically different from the one we witnessed in Kanpur. Theres a fair amount of grass cover on the pitch throughout. While Stephen Fleming was slightly concerned about the cracks on the pitch, it is common knowledge that big cracks dont open up on Indian pitches. Its the smaller cracks that eventually crumble in Indian conditions. Trent Boult started with three slips and a gully to Shikhar Dhawan. Even though he got appreciable swing and movement away from the left-handed batsman, Ross Taylor had placed a fielder at midwicket. Now, the presence of midwicket was a way to encourage him to stay within the stumps for Dhawan.Pujaras form prevails against in-form HenryWhat is form? Form does not guarantee that you will always pick the line and length correctly and that you will always have an apt response to every ball, but the fact that you have an uncluttered mind. First ball of the sixth over, from Matt Henry to Cheteshwar Pujara, was perhaps the best ball of the morning on a couple of counts - the line was such that it was not possible for Pujara to leave it alone but still it was not close enough for him to get close or behind the ball. The length was such that he could neither go forward nor go deep inside the crease.The third ball was another good one outside off that deceived Pujara. If you get beaten twice in three balls, doubts tend to find a way into your game and you become more cautious, and therefore you miss out on scoring opportunities too. But in the same over, Henry pitched a couple of balls fuller to which Pujara responded positively. A flick off the pads and drive down the ground displayed that Pujara had not allowed the two deliveries in the first half of the over to influence his thought process.Boundary-laden India startTake singles and rotate the strike - the most clichéd line you hear from experts discussing the art of batting, but in reality its not as simple. Test matches are often played on pitches that do not allow you to manoeuvre the ball and therefore you either get a boundary or end up playing a dot ball. In addition to the pitchs behaviour, the bowling team also places the field to ensure that rotating strike is not easy. It was not surprising that 28 out of the first 32 runs India scored came in boundaries.Wagners subtle pace variationsThe six balls in the 16th over, from Neil Wagner, were bowled at a fairly different pace. The difference between two consecutive balls was around 5-6 kph. That is a lot. We talk about change of pace only when the bowler slows it down radically but we seldom talk about the change in pace when the bowler cranks it up. On a pitch that is a bit on the slower side, it is imperative to change the pace frequently without compromising on accuracy. Not only did Wagner put extra effort in bowling bouncers but once in a while, he bowled the full and wide balll a little fast too.dddddddddddd Indian batsmen handled it well though.Patels twin variationsTwo balls - one went through straight after pitching, Pujara played for the spin but got the outside edge. Taylor at first slip was standing a little too wide. The cardinal rule while fielding in slips to an offspinner is to stay very close to the keeper. In most cases, the straighter one is expected to induce the edge and therefore is likely to go finer.In Patels next over, the fourth ball spun and bounced after pitching. Did it hit the crack? You could not feel any moisture on the surface in the morning and hence it is only fair to expect that this one hit one of the cracks.Patels shrewd use of an endPatel bowling from the High Court End. Two slips for an offspinner. There is a fielder manning the point boundary but there is no fielder at deep square leg. It is quite an interesting field placement, which is promoted by three factors. First, the ball is skidding and going straight more often. Second, the High Court End assists the ball to drift away from the right-handed batsmen. Third, since Pujara does not play the sweep shot, it makes sense to leave the area unmanned. Rahane is too new at the crease to try the sweep option.One of the better visiting captainsOne over from Mitchell Santner produced five runs, which included a nicely-struck boundary off the back foot by Rahane and thats all it took for Taylor to replace him with Boult. Throughout the day we saw a similar pattern of captaincy from Taylor, and that allowed New Zealand to retain control despite not taking a wicket in more than a session and a half. Most visiting teams disintegrate when a partnership develops but this New Zealand team showed better planning and execution. Same ball, two different Pujara shotsThe highlight of Pujaras batting in this series were the two shots he played today, both off Patel. He prefers playing most of the scoring shots against spinners off the back foot. It was slightly short with a bit of width and Pujara sliced it behind point for a four. A little later he played the same ball a little earlier to ensure that it went a little squarer to beat the fielder at deep point. The ability to hit the same ball to two different places by choosing to play the shot earlier or delaying it makes Pujara a difficult batsman to bowl at as a spinner.Two different new balls, similar behaviourThe first over of the day saw a couple of balls lifting from a good-length spot and the rest barely reaching the keeper from an almost identical length. The same thing happened when the second new ball was taken. The harder new ball with a more pronounced seam has misbehaved a little irrespective of the time of the day. It will be interesting to see if this continues to happen on the second day too. ' ' '