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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Manny Machado gestured with hands http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-carl-yastrzemski-jersey , appearing to egg on the booing crowd as he retreated down the dugout steps following a first-inning strikeout.The jeers kept coming for the Los Angeles Dodgers star. So did the outs.Machado went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 7-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night that pushed the NL Championship Series to a Game 7. Asked if he was shaken by the persistent boos, Machado said he was just focused on the game and responded with cliches.“I’m here to play baseball. I’m here to get the W,” he said. “We didn’t hit. … We didn’t do what we needed to do. So, we’ve got to do a better job tomorrow.”Expect fans at Miller Park to keep voicing their displeasure Saturday night.Major League Baseball fined Machado an undisclosed amount for kicking Milwaukee first baseman Jesus Aguilar in Game 4, a base-running incident that caused benches to clear at Dodger Stadium and prompted Brewers MVP candidate Christian Yelich to call Machado a “dirty player.”Booed lustily each time he came to the plate, Machado had no answer for the jeers. He struck out in the first with one out after Justin Turner had reached on a single. He gestured after the at-bat at the dugout steps.Machado explained that he was trying to get back to the top step to root for the next hitter, Cody Bellinger.“So, at that point, you’re just trying to pass the baton. Hopefully, he picks you up,” Machado said. “None of us picked each other up today. So, we got to do a better job tomorrow.”Machado popped up to shortstop ending the third. He bounced out to shortstop in the eighth . An inning-ending strikeout in the fifth with two on was the most costly at-bat for the Dodgers. David Freese, who led off the game with a home run, hit an RBI double with one out that cut the gap to 5-2. Max Muncy walked Ted Williams Jersey , Turner flied out and Machado worked the count to 2-2 count before swinging through Corey Knebel’s 97 mph fastball.Other than Freese, most of the rest of the lineup struggled, too. Turner and Chris Taylor were the only other position players to get hits.They couldn’t rally after a four-run first inning for the Brewers off Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu.Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said his team fed off the loud fans. The big first inning, in turn, riled them up more.Even Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was impressed.“But it was really good energy tonight,” he said.Especially when Machado was up.A free-agent-to-be acquired from Baltimore in July 18, Machado hit .297 with 37 homers and a career-high 107 RBIs in 162 games with the Orioles and Dodgers this year. But in the Championship Series he’s hit .261 with one homer and three RBIs — all in the opener.He scored the winning run in the 13th inning for the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory in Game 4. He reached twice and scored in a 5-2 win on Wednesday, sending the Dodgers back to Milwaukee with a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.The 26-year-old shortstop has been notable primarily for questionable base-running decisions, including the Game 4 clip of Aguilar.The four-time All-Star also made a pair of hard slides into second base in Game 3 while shortstop Orlando Arcia attempted to turn double plays. The second one resulted in a double play for the Brewers after a video review.Machado didn’t run out a grounder in Game 2, and then told Fox Sports 1 in an interview there was “no excuse” for not making more effort, but he wasn’t the “type of player that’s going to be Johnny Hustle and run down the line and slide to first base.”“That’s just not my personality. That’s not my cup of tea. That’s not who I am,” he said. NEW YORK (AP) — Jay Bruce is back in the lineup for the New York Mets and ready to try something different.The veteran outfielder was reinstated from the disabled list Friday after missing more than two months with an aching right hip, and the Mets plan to audition him at first base down the stretch.A three-time All-Star, the 31-year-old Bruce returned to the Mets as a free agent last winter and signed a $39 million Jim Rice Jersey , three-year contract. Also bothered by plantar fasciitis in his feet, however, he batted only .212 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 62 games before going on the DL. His paltry .613 OPS was well below his career mark of .783 in 11 major league seasons.“Obviously, I’ve been injured and I’ve underperformed,” said Bruce, who homered in his return to help the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 3-0. “Neither of those things were on my list of things to do coming back to New York. So it’s not something I’m happy about or proud of, but I can only move forward.“I have a little over a month this year and I have two more seasons to right the ship and be the player I’ve been pretty much my whole career. I think people know that and I think people are going to see that.”Bruce started in right field, his regular position, during his first big league game since June 17 — just in time for his bobblehead giveaway Saturday at Citi Field. Batting fifth, he finished 1 for 4 with a two-run shot in the eighth inning.“One thing that I’ve never kind of lacked in my career, regardless of how well or how poorly I was playing, is power. And this year, it just wasn’t there. So it’s obviously raised red flags for me and hopefully I’m out of the woods with that,” he said.The fourth-place Mets intend to play Bruce at first base fairly often as they attempt to determine the best fit for next year. He has made 16 career starts at first base http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-nomar-garciaparra-jersey , including 10 last season and three this year.“I’ve got both gloves in my locker and whatever they tell me I’m doing, I’ll do. That’s all there is to it,” Bruce said. “I’m ready for whatever. … I feel confident about it.”Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, both 25, have been productive in the corner outfield spots. Each has played center field in the past, but manager Mickey Callaway said the Mets would prefer to keep them in the corners — especially with left fielder Yoenis Cespedes’ status uncertain early next season following surgery on both heels.That could leave first base as a landing spot for Bruce, if he looks comfortable there.“I definitely think that’s a possibility,” Callaway said. “I think that’s one of the things we need to find out in this last part of the season.”It’s not that simple, though.Power-hitting prospect Peter Alonso, who was leading all minor leaguers with 32 homers and 109 RBIs this season, is the first baseman at Triple-A Las Vegas. First base is also Dominic Smith’s natural position, though the touted 23-year-old has mostly been a disappointment during his major league stints the past two years.Wilmer Flores, with experience all over the infield, has received the majority of playing time at first this season. He is batting .278 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs Christian Vazquez Jersey , and is under contractual control next year.So if Bruce shifts to first base as well, it could create a bit of a logjam.Bruce did say that if the Mets decide to move him primarily to first next year, he would like a heads up ahead of time.“I would appreciate them letting me know so that I have an offseason to prepare,” he explained. “And I think they would have every intention to do that. I definitely don’t doubt that. They’ve been pretty transparent with the whole idea so far.”Bruce wouldn’t call himself 100 percent healthy necessarily, but said his hip and feet feel good. He said the injuries affected him “a lot” earlier this year and he wasn’t really able to drive the ball.“I feel like I’m moving around better, first and foremost, with my feet. That was kind of secondary when I went on the DL. But, got an opportunity to rest that and it feels really good now,” Bruce said. “Got out of the orthotics, which was a big goal for me. And just taking some swings in the cage a minute ago, there were swings and passes with my bat, my barrel, that just wasn’t there prior. So, I was out there playing. I wasn’t performing. Obviously http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-fred-lynn-jersey , I’m not a guy to make excuses, as you guys I think know, probably. But I look forward to having kind of a full quiver, if you will.”Bruce went 9 for 25 (.360) with a home run and a double in seven rehab games at Class A St. Lucie, playing both first base and right field. To open a spot for him on the active roster, the Mets optioned utilityman Jack Reinheimer to Las Vegas.With catcher Devin Mesoraco sidelined by a stiff neck, New York also recalled catcher Tomás Nido from Double-A Binghamton and optioned Smith to Las Vegas.Callaway said Mesoraco had an MRI that revealed only muscular issues, so he won’t need to go on the DL and he could catch in a pinch. Kevin Plawecki was behind the plate against the Nationals, but his pregnant wife is due at any moment so the team promoted Nido as insurance.