ad been detained.Lansipuro said the Cuban team had bee

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers resume their pursuit of the top spot in the National League West with a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning Friday at Dodger Stadium.The Dodgers (57-45), who lost two of three to the Diamondbacks following the All-Star break, have gone 16-9 in their last 25 games and made up ground on the struggling NL West-leading San Francisco Giants. San Franciscos advantage in the division has dwindled from 6 1/2 games at the All-Star break to two. The Giants (59-43) have dropped 10 of 12 since the break.Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda (9-7, 3.25 ERA), who starts Friday, was knocked around for five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 6-5 Arizona decision July 17 in Phoenix.However, Maeda bounced back Saturday in St. Louis against the Cardinals, holding them to two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 7-2 victory by the Dodgers. Maeda fanned three and didnt walk a batter on 92 pitches.I think hes exceeded our expectations, manager Dave Roberts said of Maeda, who is in his first season in the majors after pitching for eight campaigns in Japan. Hes pitched in some big games and thrown really well and you cant expect him to be great every time out. But I think that under all the circumstances, the adjustments, Kentas been fantastic. Every time he takes the ball we feel good about it.He does a great job of taking care of himself, very athletic, does a lot of things on the field to help you win baseball games.Right-hander Zack Godley (3-1, 5.88), who has never started against Los Angeles, takes the ball for the Diamondbacks. Godley earned a win against the Reds in his last start Sunday despite surrendering five runs in 5 2/3 innings.The Diamondbacks (42-60), though, have stumbled since winning the Dodgers series. Arizona has lost seven of its last nine, dropping three of four to the Milwaukee Brewers, including a 6-4 defeat Thursday.The lone win against the Brewers was an 8-1 rout Wednesday.That was a great game today. We hit a couple of home runs and put a lot of runs on the board early, Diamondbacks shortstop Jean Segura said.The Dodgers, who were off Thursday, had their three-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers, who split the two-game series with Tampa Bay, managed only four hits against Rays starter Matt Moore.Moore was good and kept us off-balance and made pitches when he needed to, Roberts said. We just really couldnt stress him.Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke wont pitch against his former club during this trip. Greinke is on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. Vans Shoes Cheap Australia . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Vans Shoes Australia . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. http://www.cheapvansaustralia.com/ .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Cheap Vans Shoes Australia Free Shipping . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Cheap Vans Australia . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. HELSINKI -- Finnish police have released two members of Cubas national mens volleyball team but are holding six others on suspicion of aggravated rape, an investigator said Monday.Police will request that a regional court on Tuesday order the six men to be remanded in custody to continue the investigation before any possible charges, said Joni Lansipuro, the Central Finland Police Department officer in charge of the investigation.We have made considerable progress in our investigation and have various pieces of evidence and relevant factors that support our suspicions, Lansipuro said. We propose [to the court] that they be held in custody.The eight men were detained over the weekend in Tampere, after local police received on Saturday morning a report that a woman had been raped at a hotel in the city, 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of the capital, Helsinki. The Cuban team was in the city participating in the Volleyball World League tournament in Tampere. They lost 3-1 against Finland without three of their players, who had been detained.Lansipuro said the Cuban team had been scheduled to leave the counttry on Monday morning, but it wasnt immediately clear if the team had departed.dddddddddddd.The Cuban Volleyball Association acknowledged the arrests in a statement Monday night. It said the Finnish investigation was continuing, but early information implicates them in acts that are totally removed from discipline, the sense of honor and respect that govern our sport and society. The statement did not indicate whether the rest of the team had returned to Cuba.Police declined to give further information pending the outcome of the investigation, except to say the alleged victim and suspects were adults.The international volleyball federation, FIVB, said it is very concerned by the alleged serious misconduct of the Cuban national team and has been in close contact with all parties involved.The FIVB has absolute zero tolerance of any offence committed against another person by any players or officials at an FIVB event, the world body said in a statement to Finnish broadcaster YLE. ' ' '