Plauderkasten^^ » tripled moments later. "We lost. I gave

Kimi Raikkonen says a power unit issue in Q3 meant he had to settle for sixth on the grid as Ferrari faltered again in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix.Ferrari had looked strong in FP3 on Saturday morning, before Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel went second and fourth respectively in Q1. The team dropped off the pace after that as both drivers failed to unlock the full pace advantage on the super-soft tyres in Q2 and Q3, with Vettel saying the team should have had a car on the front row.Raikkonen feels his grid position is not a fair reflection of pace, with the engine issue in Q3 forcing him to abort his final run.?I felt my car was definitively better [than sixth] today, our qualifying lap times were better today, he said. Q1 was pretty OK, straightaway, we struggled a bit in Q2 to get the tyres to where we wanted them. The soft tyre worked pretty OK but I lost a bit in the last corners. Then, in Q1, the first lap was pretty decent, but I felt I lost time in a few places.Then I had an odd feeling in the last run, we had some issue with power in the last set of tyres and could never use them. I feel there was a lot of lap time that we never got, because we didnt use the second set of tyres. It was a bit of a struggle because I took it a bit easy in the first run of Q3, so I think the position we are in doesnt show the lap time we could achieve. It was just unfortunate that it went like that.Raikkonen says he takes little comfort in out-qualifying teammate Vettel, who had to settle for seventh, due to the fact they will both start lower than expected.Not really important for me. When we are 6th and 7th... If we would be fighting at the front ... Right now I dont feel it gives anything, we struggled with the issue. I thought the car was pretty decent but with the small problem we had I couldnt run and it cost us quite a few places. But this is how it is today and we have to go forward. Tomorrow I think we can be much stronger.A small comfort for Ferrari will be the fact both drivers made it through Q2 on the soft tyre, meaning they will start on a more durable compound to the Red Bull drivers and Nico Hulkenberg ahead. Cincinnati Reds Pro Shop .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Stitched Reds Jerseys . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . 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. Reds Jerseys China . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Cincinnati Reds Gear .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It had been a long time since the Kansas City Royals spilled out of the dugout at Kauffman Stadium to celebrate a victory. One month, to be exact. A month marked by offensive ineptitude, late-inning let-downs, a shake-up of the coaching staff and the return of Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett as the Royals interim hitting coach. On Wednesday night, the scuffling team got just enough pitching from Jeremy Guthrie and its bullpen, and just enough hitting from David Lough and Billy Butler, to deliver a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins that ended its franchise-record 11-game home losing streak. "We had to grind it out," Royals manager Ned Yost said with relief. That they did. The Twins jumped out to a first-inning lead off Guthrie (6-3), but the right-hander escaped a bases-loaded jam with the help of a nice catch by first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Royals answered in the bottom half when Hosmer reached second on an error and Salvador Perez drove him in with a single. P.J. Walters (2-1) walked the bases loaded, and Loughs two-run double with two down provided enough runs for Kansas City for the rest of the night. Aaron Crow got the Royals out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth. Greg Holland put the first two runners aboard in the ninth before striking out Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit and Chris Parmelee for his 10th save of the season. Just like that, the Royals finally had a win at the K. "We hadnt just been playing bad here. Wed been playing bad in general, everywhere weve been," said Butler, who had three hits and drove in an insurance run in the seventh inning. "Hopefully this gets us going, gives us a little momentum boost," Butler said, "and hopefully we can carry this over to tomorrow, a tumble effect -- it snowballs and we start building some confidence." Josh Willingham drove in the only run for the Twins, who left 14 on base. "A tough night offensively for us," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We put a lot of people on the bases. You can all see that big number, leaving 14 on base. You leave that many men out there, you had plenty of chances." Guthrie made like Houdini by allowing just one run while putting nnine on base.ddddddddddddThe result was his first victory since May 9, and the first by any Royals starter in their last 19 games. "It would have been nice to get to him early, especially in the first, but weve got to go out there and attack him," Parmelee said. "We didnt do that tonight." When the Twins did, the Royals defence was there to pick Guthrie up. Hosmer robbed a fan of a foul ball when he made a catch near the Royals dugout with the bases loaded to end the first. Then in the third, second baseman Chris Getz made a diving play to his left to take a hit away from Doumit and likely save a run. "That was a phenomenal play," Yost said. Walters gave up seven hits and three walks in six innings, but his three runs were unearned after shortstop Pedro Florimon threw the ball away on Hosmers grounder in the first inning. The Twins defence tried to atone for the gaffe later in the game. After Walters allowed a pair of singles to start the third, Mike Moustakas grounded into a double play to scuttle the inning. Walters also gave up a single leading off the fourth before Getz grounded into a double play, one that proved timely when Alcides Escobar tripled moments later. "We lost. I gave up three runs and we lost by three. Earned or not, theyre still my runs," Walter said. "It was one of those days where I was little erratic and had to battle through it." The middle innings were played through a persistent mist that at times turned to rain, giving the sparsely populated bowl of the stadium the look of a car wash. But the grounds crew kept the infield dry, and crew chief Tom Hallion never appeared close to calling for the tarp. Much to the relief of the Royals. After enduring 11 straight home losses, they didnt want anything to hold up a long-awaited win. "Tough streak," Butler said. "Im glad its over." NOTES: Royals OF Jarrod Dyson (right ankle sprain) did sprints before the game and is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon. LHP Danny Duffy (Tommy John surgery) said on Twitter hes headed to Triple-A Omaha after starting his rehab stint at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. ... RHP Mike Pelfrey will pitch the series finale for Minnesota on Thursday night. RHP Wade Davis starts for Kansas City. ' ' '