wing 11 transcendent seasons with the St. Louis Ca

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Eddie Johnson scored in the 14th minute to lift the Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 win against the Columbus Crew on Saturday night despite playing down a man for 83 minutes. "One of our team goals is defending top to bottom and getting something on the road," he said. "If we can defend good for 90 minutes-plus we know one goal can get us a victory on the road." Johnson gave Seattle (12-8-4) the lead on a header off a 35-yard free kick by Mauro Rosales for his seventh goal. Morales lofted a service to Johnson between two defenders in the middle of the box in a match delayed 94 minutes at the start because of inclement weather. "One of my strengths is being dangerous in the box," Johnson said. "Mauro Rosales and I have a good relationship. Four of the seven goals I have, I think, he assisted." Seattle has not lost the last 44 times (36-0-8) it has scored first. Meanwhile the Crew fell to 0-10-3 this season when yielding the opening goal. The Sounders Leonardo Gonzales was sent off in the 7th minute when, as the last defender, he pulled down Ryan Finley 40 yards from goal. "Technically it was a red card on Leo but I thought Finley was barely touched and he fell over," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. The Crew (8-13-5) had a header by Konrad Warzycha hit the crossbar in the 79th minute and moments later Seattles Michael Gspurning made a stretching stop of Dominic Oduros breakaway. "These chances we need to score. Simple as that," Crew coach Robert Warzycha said. Johnson is expected to return to Crew Stadium on Sept. 10 with the U.S. national team in its World Cup qualifier against Mexico. Seattle teammates Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans are also on the roster but Evans left the match in the 19th minute with a pulled calf muscle and said a decision on whether he will join the U.S. for training in Miami on Sunday in preparation for Fridays qualifier at Costa Rica has not been made. Johnson was removed in the 61st minute with tightness in his hamstrings but said he will be OK. "It was smart of the coach to bring me out," he said. Dempseys back tightened in the second half but he finished the match and is expected to be ready to face Costa Rica as well. Wholesale Jerseys USA . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . The trade deadline is Monday, Mar. 2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. TRADES COMPLETED SINCE OCT. 1, 2014: Feb. 15, 2015 Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: F Olli Jokinen, F Brendan Leipsic, 1st Round Pick (2015) Nashville Predators acquire: D Cody Franson, F Mike Santorelli Feb. http://www.wholesalejerseys.ca/.5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. Wholesale China Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. WASHINGTON -- Heading toward the plate after the 500th homer of this career, Albert Pujols glanced ahead and saw a throng of Los Angeles Angels teammates waiting right there to greet him. He was pleased by the outpouring of support. He also had a message. "I was pretty emotional running the bases and when I ... looked at all these guys coming out, it was hard," Pujols said. "But I just told them, Weve got a game to win." Not a problem, especially with Pujols hitting like the Pujols of old. Continuing a strong stretch, the Angels first baseman became the first major leaguer to hit his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, driving in five runs Tuesday night to help Los Angeles beat the Washington Nationals 7-2. "I knew this year, it was going to happen, whether it was tonight, tomorrow, two months from now," Pujols said. "So my goal was just to prepare myself every day to try to help this organization win." The three-time NL MVP connected twice off right-hander Taylor Jordan (0-3) -- a three-run homer in the first inning and two-run drive in the fifth. Hes the 26th player in big league history to reach the milestone. Pujols also hit his 400th homer at Nationals Park. "I admire the man. I admire his ability and the way he goes about playing the game, and I have for some time," said Washington manager Matt Williams, who also played against Pujols. "I just wish hed do it against somebody else." Pujols is the first player to collect his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, according to STATS. About three months past his 34th birthday, hes also the third-youngest to get to 500; Alex Rodriguez and Jimmie Foxx were 32. Making a recent surge, Pujols has eight homers in the past 13 games. He leads the Angels with 19 RBIs. "Thats the Albert Im used to seeing," Angels outfielder Mike Trout said. "Full, healthy, 100 per cent healthy." The 500th homer went to left-centre field at Nationals Park, on an 89 mph pitch with the count at 1-2. The ball was grabbed -- and later given to Pujols -- by a man who identified himself as Thomas Sherrill, a 29-year-old Air Force staff sergeant from Pomona, Calif. "That pitch was supposed to be low and away," Jordan said, "and I guess I tried too hard to get it there." Pujols clapped his hands together a few strides before trotting home, then pointed both index fingers to the sky. Fans gave Pujols a partial standing ovation, and he acknowledged it by tipping his red batting helmet as he approached the dugout. After heading down the steps, he came back out for a curtain call. "Thats something you tell your kids when you get older. I dont know the next guy whos going to hit 500," said Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs (2-0), who gave up two runs in seven inninggs.dddddddddddd. "Nobody knows how to react. You dont see it too much." Teammates said that Pujols told shortstop Erick Aybar before the game he was going to hit two homers. "Alberts Albert. If he tells you something, hes going to do it," Trout said. "Im not surprised he said that, because Ive seen it before. Hes told me, Im going deep tonight." Jordan allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings. Washington entered the game with a majors-worst 22 errors and third baseman Anthony Rendon added two more. After a couple of down-for-him years with the Angels following 11 transcendent seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols appears ready to reclaim his spot among the games elite hitters. He homered Friday and Saturday at Detroit to lift his total to 498, and now hes reached the round number of 500 -- a total that remains hallowed despite losing lustre lately because so many players surpassed it. Of the 26 members of the 500-homer club, 11 reached the mark in the last 15 years, according to STATS. Gary Sheffield was the previous player to do it, hitting No. 500 in April 2009. "You dont see 500, obviously, every night," Pujols said. "Its been a great career." The Cardinals selected him in the 13th round of the 1999 draft, with the 402nd overall selection -- a steal if ever there was one. Pujols won a batting title in 2003, National League MVP awards in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and World Series titles with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. Pujols was the first player to hit 30 homers in each of his first 12 seasons and the second -- after Al Simmons in 1924-34 -- to reach 100 RBIs in each of his first 10. A nine-time All-Star, Pujols hit 455 homers with the Cardinals. After his decade-plus of excellence in St. Louis, Pujols signed a 10-year deal worth $240 million with the Angels following the 2011 season. Almost immediately, the 6-foot-3 slugger appeared to be slowing down. He hit .285 with 30 homers in 2012 -- impressive numbers for most players, but career lows at that point for Pujols. Things got even worse in 2013. Injuries limited Pujols to 99 games, and he was sidelined from July 26 on. He ended up hitting .258 with 17 homers and 64 RBIs. But not surprisingly, Pujols bat did not stay quiet for long. Sitting at a news conference with the balls he hit over the fence Tuesday resting near his left elbow, Pujols smiled as he said: "Now weve got to start on the next milestone, I guess." NOTES: Washington RHP Doug Fister threw 44 pitches in three innings at extended spring training in Florida on Tuesday. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia on Pujols defence this season: "Hes played first base at the Gold Glove-caliber that you would expect. Well have to monitor it; if he needs a day to refresh, well give it to him." Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '