willing to embrace the symbolism Friday after the Houston Astros ear

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a game dripping with World Series nostalgia Mike Foltynewicz Jersey , not everybody was ned a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.Justin Verlander struck out 14 Dodgers and George Springer brought home two runs on double as the Astros appeared to pick up where last fall’s World Series ended: In a Game 7 victory for Houston.But Astros manager A.J. Hinch knows there are still two more games remaining in this series so he wasn’t ready to raise a banner for this one.“We’ve had good vibes since then too,” Hinch said, when asked about last fall. “This is a good place, but let’s not overdramatize it. It’s just a series.”Perhaps. But none of the players seemed to treat it that way.Verlander was willing to admit that it meant more. In no way was Friday’s game anywhere near a World Series environment, but for a regular-season game in August, the right-hander was impressed. He seemed motivated as well while tying a season high for strikeouts.“This is not your average ballgame midweek, this is a big atmosphere, great ballclub with World Series aspirations and we played them in the World Series last year,” Verlander said. “We beat them and we’re in their ballpark. It kind of adds up to a great atmosphere. I expected nothing less and I didn’t feel disappointed. The fans were awesome.”Verlander won his first career regular-season start at Dodger Stadium, giving up one run on four hits over 7 2/3 innings. He pitched well in last year’s World Series but had a loss and a no-decision in his two starts.Springer was the unquestioned star of last year’s World Series against the Dodgers. He had five home runs, including homers in games 4, 5, 6 and 7. It appeared to be more of the same Friday when he worked a walk in the first inning and ripped an RBI double to left in the second that brought home a second run when center fielder Cody Bellinger mishandled the ball. Springer did not think the two runs would be enough.“Not with the past experience with those guys over there,” Springer said. “But our guy (Verlander) was lights out again today. He was in control of the game from the start and he threw the ball well.”The Dodgers’ Joc Pederson led off in the first inning with a home run off Verlander. It was his second straight game he’s led off with a homer and fifth time this season. He has eight in his career.Offense was hard to come by after that for the Dodgers. Chris Taylor had singles in the third and eighth innings off Verlander. Bellinger had a single in the fourth.“We have success when we don’t try to do too much off him,” Bellinger said. “We just look for hard hits. Verlander gets stronger as the game goes on which is pretty crazy. It’s hard to hit.”Verlander struck out the side in both the second and fourth innings and set down Pederson in the eighth inning for his 14th and final strikeout before he was removed. Astros reliever Hector Rondon recorded the final four outs for his 11th save.Wood (7-6) went six innings, but after a visit from a member of the Dodgers medical staff, he was removed as he came out to warm up in the seventh inning. Wood gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks and was diagnosed with the same hamstring cramp that plagued him earlier in the year.“I feel like my last couple of games my stuff has been the best consistently it’s just kind of dotting and nasty,” Wood said. “I’ve been working on getting my hand up and I think my command is hurt a little from that, but the direction I’ve been heading in feels good. I’m trying to shorten my arm swing and have seen that work in the quality of my stuff.”RETIREMENT ‘DREDodgers OF Andre Ethier, who drove in Los Angeles’ only run in Game 7 of last year’s World Series defeat, officially announced his retirement with an on-field ceremony Friday.Ethier http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jersey , who has not played with any team this season, hit 162 home runs with a .285 batting average in 12 seasons, all with the Dodgers. He was limited to just 38 regular season games the past two years because of multiple injuries.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: SS Carlos Correa (lower back soreness) played seven innings Thursday on a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi, was given a day off Friday and is scheduled to play both Saturday and Sunday. … 2B Jose Altuve (right knee soreness) is eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday, but manager A.J. Hinch said he is not confident Altuve will play in Tuesday’s game at San Francisco. … C Brian McCann (arthroscopic knee surgery) got into a catcher’s squat Friday for the first time since his early July surgery and will start working to build up his strength.Dodgers: RHP Erik Goeddel (right lat inflammation) was placed on the 10-day disabled list opening a roster spot for RHP John Axford, who was acquired in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. … LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (left groin strain) will have another rehab outing next week, possibly at Triple-A Oklahoma City, after throwing four scoreless innings for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday. … LHP Tony Cingrani (left shoulder strain) received a cortisone shot after a setback in his recovery, but is expected to resume activity next week after a new MRI showed no significant damage in his shoulder.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Lance McCullers (10-6, 4.06 ERA) will pitch Saturday, coming off his fourth career 11-strikeout performance Sunday against the Rangers.Dodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (7-6, 3.48) will make his first career regular-season appearance against the Astros on Saturday. MESA, Ariz. (AP) — In the aftermath of Chicago’s collapse last season, Cubs manager Joe Maddon went looking for a deeper understanding of the players who dominate the major leagues these days.Maddon’s search took him to “Managing Millennials for Dummies,” and the book reinforced what he already felt about the people he worked with every day.“The big takeaway is that they’re no different than anybody else,” a chuckling Maddon said. “When you break it down and you go back to your own childhood we all had inefficiencies as young people. The biggest takeaway I think are two things; that the propensity to be inclined to utilize technology, which is wonderful because I’ve done that anyway, and then, they as a group like wanting to know why.”Millennials make up the vast majority of the majors today, and their influence is felt all over the sport.They were the earliest adopters of the advanced statistics that have become commonplace throughout baseball, and they inform much of what they do on the mound or at the plate. They want to know the reasoning behind what their coaches want them to do.“I’ve learned this generation is nothing like the generation I grew up in Brandon McCarthy Jersey ,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Nothing like it. You have to learn and have an open mind to find out what makes these kids tick, how they grew up. They’re so diverse and their way of communicating is different in Southern California, kids in the South, kids in the East. It’s just taking the time to get to know them and how to communicate.”The millennial generation became a hot topic in Chicago when the Cubs fired hitting coach Chili Davis after they struggled to score in the final few days of last season, culminating in their 2-1, 13-inning loss to Colorado in the NL Wild Card Game.Davis told the Chicago Sun-Times that he needed to make some adjustments to how he delivers his message to millennials, and he planned to know more about his potential players before he accepted another job. He was hired as hitting coach for the New York Mets in December.“You learn from every place you go,” Davis said during spring training. “You know, there’s a lot of different personalities to try to connect with. And sometimes you connect with most of them, you hope you connect with all of ’em — that’s a rarity. But you know, I had great kids in Boston, I thought I had some really good kids over in Chicago last year and I’m really enjoying the guys I’m around this year.”Defining a generation “is an art and a science,” said Kate Turkcan, who is the head of youth insights for Kantar Consulting. Turkcan said millennials were born between 1979 and 1996, and centennials — the next major generation for baseball — began in 1997 and ended between four and eight years ago.Turkcan, who has worked with universities and companies like Samsung, Coca-Cola and Target, said the millennial stereotype of entitled young person is misguided.“They’re not asking why to be difficult. They’re asking why because they’ve grown up in a generation or in a world where you need proof for everything, you need back up,” she said.“They’re taught critical thinking skills … they’ve been taught you don’t take anything at face value and I think even coming from someone who’s experienced, like a coach or like a manager http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jersey , it’s not that they’re doubting, but it is that they’ve always been taught like you don’t just take anything. You ask why. … You want to get really to the root of the issue.”Maddon, who turned 65 on Feb. 8, is the oldest manager in baseball, followed by the 64-year-old Yost and San Francisco skipper Bruce Bochy, 63. Maddon is nearly 30 years older than Rocco Baldelli, who became the game’s youngest manager when he was hired by Minnesota in October.Despite his age, Maddon has been known for his ability to relate to his players. The Cubs declined to offer him an extension after the tough finish last year, so Maddon’s ability to get the most of the younger millennials on his roster could help determine his future.That’s just fine with Maddon, who thinks his style works nicely for baseball’s most important generation at the moment.“Quite frankly, when I started doing this in the mid-80s, I thought it was important to tell my players why,” Maddon said. “You want to know why, I don’t feel offended. I think sometimes it’s, when people ask you why there’s a defensive component to that that some people don’t like. I don’t mind it. So when they ask me that, why, I should be prepared to tell them why.”