TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays wont have their usual closer available for the start of the regular season. Casey Janssen was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back. Fellow right-hander Sergio Santos will take over the closers role while Janssen is out of the lineup. Janssen, 4-1 with 34 saves and a 2.56 earned-run average last year, was limited at spring training because of shoulder soreness. But on Friday, he felt some minor discomfort in his lower back while warming up during a pre-season game against the New York Mets in Montreal. An MRI exam revealed a mild strain, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Sunday on a conference call. "We dont expect him to be out too long," Anthopoulos said. "There was a scenario where we could have just waited maybe five or six days and try to get him back going. But we want to just have this thing resolved and not nag at him." The move was retroactive to Saturday. Janssen, 32, allowed one earned run and four hits in three innings over three pre-season appearances. Hes expected to throw on flat ground to keep his arm in shape before trying to pitch from a mound. The Blue Jays also recalled catcher Erik Kratz from triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, a day ahead of Torontos season opener at Tampa Bay. Kratz hit .400 in spring training and had been sent to minor-league camp earlier in the week after losing the backup job to Josh Thole. Santos, 30, made 29 appearances for the Blue Jays last season. He was 1-1 with one save and a 1.75 ERA. Also Sunday, former reliever Dustin McGowan pitched a simulated game and Anthopoulos said it appears hell be ready to start Friday against the New York Yankees. "Hes done so well," Anthopoulos said. "We dont expect any changes at all. So far, so good. He felt good, felt strong, and we expect him to be good to go for Opening Day in Toronto." McGowan, 32, was named to the starting rotation earlier in the week. The right-hander made his debut with the Blue Jays in 2005 but has battled injuries throughout his career. McGowan had a 2.45 ERA in 25 appearances last season and did not record a decision or a save. Filipe Luis Jersey. Top Picks: While the Bruins arent a high-flying team, but because of the strength of their top lines, they present a lot of players worth taking relatively early in drafts. Cesar Azpilicueta Jersey. Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. http://www.chelseajerseysshop.com/Cesar-Azpilicueta-Chelsea-FC-Jersey.html. It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Andre Schurrle Chelsea Jersey. Spoelstra spoke after the teams shootaround at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. He says he expects everyone to be ready for the showdown between the two-time defending NBA champs and the team with the NBAs best record this season (18-3). John Obi Mikel Jersey. The wind caught the bunting behind home plate and puffed it out like a pillow. And in the dugout, the Milwaukee Brewers were ready to end this game.CHICAGO -- Even without Patrick Kane -- and despite a run of sloppy plays and penalties -- the Chicago Blackhawks found a way to buckle down and beat the Carolina Hurricanes. Jonathan Toews short-handed breakaway goal early in the third period snapped a tie, and lifted the Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory on Friday night. Patrick Sharp scored his team-leading 30th goal and Kris Versteeg ended an eight-game drought to help the Blackhawks pull out a win without Kane, the teams leading scorer who was placed on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a lower-body injury in Chicagos victory over St. Louis on Wednesday. The Blackhawks were also without injured forwards Brandon Saad and Bryan Bickell, and defenceman Michal Rozsival. "Thats one of those things, we have to learn how to play without our best players," Toews said. "Weve done it without Hoss (Marian Hossa), and now Sadder and Kaner. "It doesnt matter. If someones nursing something, we have to find a way to fill that void." Sharp has scored at least 30 goals four times in his career. He has reached the mark in the past three full NHL seasons. Corey Crawford made 26 saves as defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago tightened up defensively and overcame mistakes late in the second period and early in the third that helped the Hurricanes fight back from a two goal deficit. "Thats a game we can look back on during the playoffs as being able to shut a team down in the last five minutes," Crawford said. "I dont think they got a shot in the last five minutes. Thats the way you want to play." Carolinas Alexander Semin scored his 20th and 21st goals 3:36 apart, but the Hurricanes lost to Chicago for the second time this season. The Blackhawks beat Carolina in a road shootout on Oct. 15 in their only other meeting this season. Semin tied it off a faceoff during a 5-on-3 power play at 2:58 of the third. Eric Staal won the draw and fed Semin, who fired in a screened shot from the top of the left circle. Semin had cut Chicagos lead to 2-1 with 37.7 seconds left in the second. He was open in the right circle, took Staals pass from the left boards and fired a quick shot past Crawfords glove. "We gave them some excitement to their game at the end of the second," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "We took six penalties in a row, a stretch of six penalties that got them right back in the game. "Then Johnnny scored a huge goal for us, which was very timely.ddddddddddddquot; Toews third short-handed goal at 3:29 of the third put Chicago ahead for good. A shot by Staal rimmed all the way around the boards in the Chicago zone and came out to centre ice. Toews got the puck, skated in alone, and beat Anton Khudobin with a high backhander. "Obviously I missed the shot down the wing," Staal said. "I wanted to go high glove, and they got a good bounce and good player going the other way on a breakaway." Once Toews put Chicago in front, the Blackhawks sparkled defensively in the third period and held on to extend their point streak to four games (3-0-1). Khudobin stopped 22 shots after a career-best 46 saves in Carolinas win at Columbus on Tuesday. Kane, who could miss the rest of the regular season, was injured in a collision with St. Louis Brenden Morrow. He left the ice under his own power, favouring his left leg. Earlier Friday, Chicago recalled top prospect Teuvo Teravainen and forward Jeremy Morin from Rockford of the AHL. The 19-year-old Teravainen, Chicagos first-round selection in the 2012 draft, didnt play against Carolina. The Blackhawks came out flying in the scoreless first and outshot Carolina 11-4. The Hurricanes didnt record their first shot until Nathan Gerbe forced Crawford to make a glove save 11:21 in. Sharp opened the scoring on a breakaway at 3:09 of the second. He took a stretch pass up the middle from Andrew Shaw and accelerated past defencemen Justin Faulk and Ron Hainsey. He beat Khudobin with a high backhander on the stick side. Versteeg made it 2-0 with 3:34 left in the second during 4-on-4 play. Defenceman Nick Leddy carried the puck down to the left corner, then centred a pass to Versteeg, who beat Khudobin on the glove side. NOTES: Kane must sit out a minimum of 10 games and 24 days. Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said there is "no reason to think he wont" be ready for the playoffs. ... Morin has one goal and four assists in 15 games with Chicago this season. ... D David Rundblad played in his second game with the Blackhawks since being acquired from Phoenix. ... Carolina D John-Michael Liles returned after missing six games with a concussion, C Jiri Tlusty came back after sitting out two with a lower-body injury, and C Elias Lindholm and D Justin Faulk played after missing the previous game because of illnesses. cheap nfl jerseys? cheap jerseys?cheap jerseys?cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '