The Buffalo Bills got a head start on a major positional need
before free agency begins by agreeing to terms with veteran cornerback Vontae
Davis on a one-year contract.
The team announced the agreement on Monday night.
The 29-year-old Davis spent the past five seasons with the Indianapolis
Colts. A two-time Pro
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Davis was released by the Colts in November after suffering a setback with a
groin injury and electing to have surgery.
The Bills have a need at cornerback after their secondary excelled under
first-year coach Sean McDermott in 2017. Former first-round pick Tre¡¯Davious
White is entrenched as the team¡¯s top cornerback, but Buffalo¡¯s next three
corners on the depth chart from last season ¨C E.J. Gaines, Leonard Johnson and
Shareece Wright ¨C are all set to hit free agency this spring.
Davis entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins before
being traded to the Colts for a second-round pick in 2012. He has started 113 of
120 games, making 342 tackles, 97 passes defensed and 22 interceptions.
Shortly before the agreement was made official, Davis posted
¡±(hash)BillsMafia¡± on his Twitter account.
Buffalo had one of the top secondaries in the league in 2017, led by White
and safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
Jordan Zimmermann knew two things
when he took the mound against Bartolo Colon on Friday night.
He was going to have to be good to keep Colon from making history, and the
game wasn¡¯t going to take long.
Zimmermann came through, outdueling Colon as the Detroit Tigers beat the
Texas Rangers 3-1 in a game that ended four minutes after sunset at Comerica
Park.
¡±I¡¯ve hooked up with Bartolo a lot of times over the years, and he¡¯s always
good and the games are always short,¡± said
Zimmermann http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mike-mcglinche y-jersey ,
who struck out 11 batters in eight innings. ¡±He works fast, I work fast and we
almost got out before 9 o¡¯clock tonight.¡±
Colon was trying to become the winningest Latin-American pitcher in major
league history. He remains tied with Dennis Martinez with 245 career
victories.
He pitched well, allowing three runs ¨C including homers by James McCann and
JaCoby Jones ¨C in an eight-inning complete game, but Zimmermann (4-0) was
better.
¡±When I was young, a loss like this would bother me,¡± Colon (5-6) said
through a translator. ¡±Now, I know games like this are going to happen. Tonight
was good for us and not good for the hitters.¡±
The Tigers right-hander allowed one run and four hits and struck out 10 or
more for the first time since his no-hitter for Washington against Florida on
Sept. 28, 2014.
¡±That might be the best slider I¡¯ve had in my career, and when I can throw it
like that, it makes my fastball and curve even tougher to hit,¡± Zimmermann said.
¡±I¡¯m not going to give up many runs with that kind of stuff.¡±
There were no walks in the
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and neither starter needed 100 pitches for their eight-inning outings.
Zimmermann threw 96 pitches, and Colon 97.
¡±Those were two great veteran pitchers doing what they do best,¡± Tigers
manager Ron Gardenhire said. ¡±They were attacking the zone, moving the ball all
over the place and making the hitters chase their pitches.¡±
Joe Jimenez pitched the ninth for his third save, helping the Tigers end a
three-game losing streak by winning for just the third time in 17 games.
At 45 years, 43 days old, Colon became the oldest pitcher to throw a complete
game since Jamie Moyer (47 years, 199 days) on June 5, 2010. Tim Wakefield and
Randy Johnson are the only other 45-year-olds to pitch complete games in the
21st century.
¡±That¡¯s a tough loss for Bartolo, but both pitchers were great out there,¡±
Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ¡±Zimmermann had his A-game
going http://www.buccaneersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-vita-vea- jersey ,
and Bart was getting a lot of weak contact.¡±
Colon first faced Detroit on May 10, 1997, allowing one earned run in six
innings for Cleveland in a loss at Tiger Stadium. He¡¯s the last active major
league player to have played at Tiger Stadium, which closed in 1999.
¡±That old man took me to school,¡± Nicholas Castellanos said. ¡±He was moving
the ball over the place and I didn¡¯t know what was happening.¡±
The Rangers took the lead on the game¡¯s second pitch as Shin-Soo Choo hit a
homer into the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence. The home run extended
his on-base streak to 45 games, the longest in the majors this season.
McCann put the Tigers ahead with a two-run homer in the second inning, but
Zimmermann and Colon took over after that.
The Tigers had the next significant threat, putting runners on the corners
with two out in the fifth, but Jones grounded out to end the inning. Jones,
though, homered off Colon in the eighth to make it 3-1.
TRAINER¡¯S ROOM
Rangers: Choo returned to the lineup after sitting out Thursday. Choo is
limited to playing designated hitter because of a sore
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and Adrian Beltre started there Thursday after an emergency dental
procedure.
Tigers: Closer Shane Greene had tests on his sore pitching shoulder, and they
showed no significant problem. Greene is eligible to come off the disabled list
on July 12.
FAST GAME
The game ended at 9:15 p.m., forcing the postgame fireworks show to be held
well before the sky was dark.
UP NEXT
The teams continue their four-game series on Saturday, with Cole Hamels (4-7,
4.05) pitching for Texas against Detroit¡¯s Mike Fiers (5-5, 3.79).
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