TORONTO -- Melky Cabrera insists hes got the same swing he did a year ago. Its just the way hes feeling thats all new. Seven months after having a benign tumour removed from his spine, the Toronto Blue Jays left fielder is healthy, buoyed by an off-season workout routine with slugger Jose Bautista and ready to show the player he can be. Cabrera slammed a home run for a career-best fourth consecutive game on Tuesday as Toronto beat the Houston Astros 5-2 at Rogers Centre. "I feel 100 per cent now and Im ready to go," Cabrera said through a translator. Cabrera, signed by Toronto before last season for $16 million over two years, had missed more than 50 games due to various injuries before surgery in September to remove the tumour, which is not believed to be related to the steroid use that saw him suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball in 2012. "Im good. I dont have any pain now," said Cabrera, who had never before homered in three straight games in this his 10th season in the Majors. "I knew last year wasnt the way I was capable of playing. "Im going to continue to work hard and continue to play hard and try to help the team win games." Cabreras homer gave the Blue Jays some breathing room in the bottom of the seventh. Up 3-2, on a night where Houston continually threatened but couldnt cash in, he drilled an 0-2 slider from Astros reliever Kevin Chapman over the left-field wall to make it 5-2 and effectively end the drama. "I thought when we signed him last year he had a chance to hit some home runs here," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Cabrera, who had a career high of 18 home runs with Kansas City in 2011. "Hes not known as a home run hitter but its a perfect place for him. "Hes off to a good start. He and Jose (Bautista) keep going back and forth, a little competition there." Bautista took the club lead with his fourth home run of the season to open the scoring in the bottom of the first. Cabreras blast matched that and ended the nights scoring before 13,123 at Rogers Centre. Veteran catcher Dioner Navarro had an RBI double from each side of the plate to account for the rest of the scoring for the Blue Jays (4-4), who were outhit 9-5 on the night by the Astros (3-5). Veteran left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle, who bent but didnt break over 5-1/3 innings, ran his record to 2-0 despite being hit hard by the Astros. "Tonight was one of those where I had to battle," said Buehrle, who gave up eight hits and an earned run before leaving up 2-1. "I was up in the zone on everything, wasnt getting ahead in the count. "Im fortunate to get away with giving up one run in 5-1/3 innings. That could have been a game where I gave up eight to 10 runs, so luckily we snuck out the win on this one." Four Toronto relievers held the Astros to one run and one hit over 3-2/3 innings as Houston had base-runners in each of the first eight innings but went 0-14 with runners in scoring position. Sergio Santos struck out the side in the ninth for his third save. Gibbons said it was obvious Buehrle "was a little bit off" so he decided to pull him even though the southpaw had only thrown 81 pitches. "But he did what he does best. He survives. He keeps you in the game and he got some big outs when he had to," Gibbons said. "I just thought in a one-run game it was time to turn it over to the bullpen, everybody was pretty rested down there." Marco Hernandez Jersey . Winning more at home probably should be on the list. The Flames look to avoid a fifth defeat in six home games by winning a sixth straight meeting with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Clay Buchholz Red Sox Jersey . Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1041z-josh-t...ey-red-sox.html. However, it wasnt a problem on Monday night. Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his 56th career shutout in the New York Islanders 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. Bill Buckner Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Carl Yastrzemski Red Sox Jersey .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. SALT LAKE CITY -- When Dirk Nowitzki was shipped to Dallas in a surprise trade before his rookie season, it seemed like a major gamble for a franchise that had endured a stretch of several rough seasons. That little deal worked out in a big way for the Mavericks. Nowitzki had 21 points Tuesday night to pass Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBAs career scoring list, leading the Mavs to a 95-83 victory over the Utah Jazz. Dallas (48-31) shot 56 per cent from the field and had six players score in double figures en route to recording a fifth consecutive victory. Monta Ellis scored 16 points and reserve Vince Carter added 13 for the Mavericks to help them complete the series sweep of Utah. The 35-year-old Nowitzki went 9 for 11 from the field in Dallas fifth straight win. The 7-footer now has 26,714 career points, four more than Robertson. "It feels kind of surreal, still," Nowitzki said. "All night, I was trying not to think about it. I was trying to concentrate on the next shot. I knew how many points I needed, but I wasnt trying to think about it. I was just trying to think about the next shot and how I can get open." Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has spent 30 years in the NBA as a coach or player. Seeing Nowitzki join the top 10 NBA scorers is one of the few times he has been in awe of an accomplishment. "Hes an original. He is a generational player," Carlisle said. "Now most teams start a stretch four. Hes changed the game in so many ways. The kind of humility and dignity he does it with, it leaves you standing there in awe." Derrick Favors scored 19 points for the Jazz (24-54), who lost for the 18th time in their last 21 games. Reserve Enes Kanter added 15 points and 19 rebounds, and Richard Jefferson had 15 points. The Jazz outrebounded the Mavericks 47-36. They also enjoyed a 52-34 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-7 edge in second-chance points. Dallas overcame the disparity inside with a terrific shooting performance, including a 9-for-23 night from 3-point range. "We got defensive stops when we needed and we executed on the offensive end," Ellis said. The Jazz matched the Mavericks scoring pace early on. Utah made six straightt shots to open the first quarter.dddddddddddd Favours had three of those baskets, helping his team to an early 13-6 lead. The Jazz simply had no answer when the Mavericks had the ball. Dallas opened the game by making 17 of 18 shots. The Mavericks shot 94.1 per cent (16 of 17) from the floor in the first quarter alone. It helped Dallas grab control before the quarter was done. "They didnt seem like they were missing any shots in the first quarter," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "After that, we did a better job of staying closer to them." Samuel Dalembert made back-to-back baskets to tie the game and the Mavericks claimed a 20-18 lead on a Shawn Marion layup with 5:01 left. Dallas eventually made 16 straight baskets before finally missing a second shot. Wayne Ellington had a jumper on first possession of the second quarter, giving the Mavericks a 41-26 lead. "They just made shots," Jazz point guard Trey Burke said. "I dont think we just played awful defence. They hit open shots. Dirk hit shots. We expected him to make some tough shots, but they shot 94 per cent in the first quarter. I dont think it was a lot on our defence. They just made shots tonight." The Mavs never really cooled down before halftime. Dallas shot 70.3 per cent (26 of 37) from the field in the first half, preventing the Jazz from mounting any sort of big rally. Utah closed to 52-40 after Kanter made back-to-back baskets. Marion then scored on an alley-oop jam to stop the run. He and Ellis each scored a pair of baskets to boost the Dallas lead to 61-44 in the final minute before the break. The Jazz made one more attempt to climb back into the game early in the third quarter. Utah trimmed Dallas lead to 61-51 when Favours made a layup and Gordon Hayward drained a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions. Dallas responded by scoring on four straight possessions - culminating with a three-point play by Nowitzki - to take a 70-55 lead. NOTES: Kanter registered his 21st double-double of the season. He is second on the team in that category behind Favours, who has 23. ... Dallas has won five straight regular-season meetings with the Jazz after completing a 4-0 sweep this year. ' ' '