BALTIMORE -- During a season in which he languished on the disabled list and jockeyed between the major leagues and minors for t

BALTIMORE -- During a season in which he languished on the disabled list and jockeyed between the major leagues and minors for the good of the team, Miguel Gonzalez finally had his signature moment. Tom Kuhnhackl Jersey . Not just for the year, but for his career. Gonzalez pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game, and the Baltimore Orioles hit three home runs off Dylan Axelrod in a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. Gonzalez (8-7) had a season-high eight strikeouts, walked one and allowed only one hit through the first seven innings -- a line drive single to Ryan Ludwick in the fifth. The Reds added two singles in the eighth before leaving the bases loaded, and Jay Bruce singled with two outs in the ninth. Gonzalez then retired Ludwick on a grounder to complete the shutout. "Its an awesome feeling," the right-hander said. David Lough and Jonathan Schoop hit solo shots before Chris Davis connected with a man on in the fourth to make it 4-0. That was more than enough offence for Gonzalez, who has given up four runs over his last 28 1-3 innings. In his previous 64 major league starts, Gonzalez pitched eight innings on four occasions. This time, he used 117 pitches to go the distance. "When you have not too many pitches going out to the seventh, eighth inning I think thats what helps," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez missed 16 days in June with a strained oblique and twice was optioned to the minors because the Orioles needed roster room. Through it all, he never complained -- a trait that endeared him to manager Buck Showalter. Thats one reason why Showalter stuck with Gonzalez in the ninth inning after his pitch count soared past 100. "I dont want to say he deserves it, but Miggy is such a team guy," Showalter said. "Hes such a professional, and that was a professional outing." Every time Showalter called Gonzalez into his office to tell him about a pending trip to the minors, the manager expressed appreciation for the sacrifice and promised a rapid return. "Theres a real trust there," Showalter said. "He knows we like him and knows were going to try to keep him in the best position to do good things for our team and do good things for his career." The victory was the eighth in 10 games for the AL East-leading Orioles during a homestand that concludes Thursday night, when Baltimore will attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the sinking Reds. Making his third start of the season, Axelrod (1-1) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. "He made a couple mistakes and they got hit out of the ballpark," manager Bryan Price lamented. "I thought he competed well. Unfortunately, we didnt do anything offensively at all to give him any support. Thats been an underlying theme to our second half." Cincinnati has lost 15 of 21 and is 6-13 in interleague play, 1-8 on the road. The Reds are 15-29 since the All-Star break. Price has seen so many losses during a recently, hes run out of ways to explain it. "Were in the game hitting .219 as a club in the second half," he said. "Thats legendary stuff. I dont even know what to tell you guys, to be honest with you." Axelrod retired the first eight batters he faced before Schoop hit his 14th homer, the second in two nights. Lough led off the fourth with his first home run since June 7, Nelson Cruz doubled and Davis hit an opposite-field drive to left. Davis has 25 home runs and 71 RBIs this season, decent numbers except when compared his totals last year: 53 homers and 138 RBIs. Schoop added a two-run double in the seventh off Carlos Contreras, who walked the first two batters he faced. TRAINERS ROOM Reds: SS Zach Cozart will likely be sidelined until Friday with a sore right wrist. "Hes going to need a couple of days of letting it be," Price said. Orioles: SS J.J. Hardy returned after missing Tuesdays game with back spasms. 1B Steve Pearce remained sidelined with an abdominal strain. UP NEXT Reds: RH Mike Leake (10-11) makes his first career appearance against the Orioles in the series finale Thursday night. Orioles: RH Chris Tillman (11-5) seeks his 17th consecutive start of allowing three earned runs or fewer. Hes got a 2.90 ERA at home. Billy Smith Jersey . Chelsea ripped apart Hull inside 25 minutes at Stamford Bridge, with the early goals from Oscar and Frank Lampard securing a 2-0 victory. While Lampard had earlier missed a penalty, Roberto Soldado had no such trouble from the spot for Tottenham, scoring on his debut to clinch a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Brock Nelson Jersey .Y. -- Florida Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski finally has something to show for all the pain he went through in overcoming a string of injuries that kept him sidelined for much of the past two years. http://www.islanderssale.com/ . LOUIS -- The St. SALVADOR, Brazil -- Tim Krul came on as a substitute in the final minute of extra time and then saved two penalties in a 4-3 shootout victory over Costa Rica on Saturday, giving the Netherlands a spot in the World Cup semifinals. Krul saved spot kicks from Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana after the match had finished 0-0. "We had a lot of chances but it didnt go in," Krul said on Dutch television. "Then I come in, stop two penalties and here we are." In another stroke of tactical genius at this years World Cup, Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal pulled Jasper Cillessen moments after the Ajax goalkeeper had saved a shot from Marcos Urena in extra time. "The trick is good," said Krul, who plays for Newcastle. "A lot of preparation went into it." The Dutch team will next face Argentina in the semifinals on Wednesday in Sao Paulo. Krul looked super confident during the shootout at the Arena Fonte Nova, saving the second and fifth penalties by diving to his left and sticking out his hand. When Krul stopped Ruizs penalty, Cillessen, watching fromm the sideline, punched the air in celebration. Clark Gillies Jersey. When he saved the second to win the match, Cillessen out-sprinted the rest of the bench to get to Krul, who was already being mobbed by jubilant teammates who had watched from the halfway line. Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas had kept his team in the match with a string of great saves in the first half and again in extra time. When Wesley Sneijder twice beat him late in regulation and again in the second half of extra time, the woodwork made the stop. Sneijder hit the post with a free kick in the 80th minute and sent a curling shot over Navas and off the crossbar before the penalty shootout. At the end, however, Navas could not stop any of the four Dutch penalties as veterans Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt all scored. The Krul substitution will only boost Van Gaals reputation as a coach who leaves nothing to chance and who has a golden touch with replacements. And it kept his tenure with the Netherlands alive for two more matches before he becomes the manager at Manchester United next season. ' ' '