over five starts in June

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The Detroit Lions made a significant move on the first day of free agency.

It wasn’t an addition.

On an otherwise quiet Wednesday Paxton Lynch Jersey , the Lions announced they were releasing tight end Eric Ebron. The 10th overall pick in the 2014 draft would have earned $8.25 million this season if he had remained on the roster past 4 p.m.

Ebron had flashes in his four years with the Lions, catching 186 passes for 2,070 yards and 11 touchdowns, but poor hands and inconsistent play made him a target for boos at Ford Field.

Much of the frustration came from the players Detroit passed to pick him so early in the draft. Six of the next seven players chosen have gone to at least one Pro Bowl, including New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (selected 12th) and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (13th).

Ebron, on the other hand, never lived up to the potential he showed at North Carolina. Ebron is fast, and the Lions thought he would be a deep threat next to Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.

However, he only caught 25 of 47 targets as a rookie and scored one touchdown while averaging 9.9 yards per reception. While his hands improved over the next three seasons, he was never able to provide Matthew Stafford with consistent playmaking.

In the first half of last season, he pulled in 18 of 36 targets and was booed when he was shown during a charity announcement on the Ford Field video board. He improved in the second half of the season, but the Lions decided they could find a cheaper option in free agency or the draft.

Detroit re-signed cornerback Nevin Lawson Ryan Grant Jersey , linebacker Nick Bellore and quarterback Jake Rudock, and also announced the signing of free-agent defensive back DeShawn Shead.

Shead, 28, played his first six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, winning a Super Bowl in the 2013 season. He started 15 games at cornerback in 2016, but tore his ACL in a postseason loss to the Atlanta Falcons and only got into two games last season.

Shead is expected to compete with Lawson and Teez Tabor for a starting spot at cornerback opposite All-Pro Darius Slay. Bellore is a special-teams contributor who has seen time at linebacker and fullback, while Rudock will go into his third season as Stafford’s backup.

Rudock threw his first NFL passes in relief of Stafford in a 44-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 3. He completed three of five attempts, but also threw an interception that Eric Weddle returned 45 yards for a touchdown.

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It took them nearly five hours to finish it, but the Minnesota Twins finally picked up a much-needed win in Chicago.

Max Kepler drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded in the 13th inning for the Twins, who outlasted the White Sox 2-1 on Thursday afternoon for just their second victory in the last seven games.

The Twins pushed across the go-ahead run after Logan Morrison doubled off left fielder Charlie Tilson’s glove. Hector Santiago (2-3), the sixth White Sox reliever, intentionally walked Ehire Adrianza before walking Jake Cave and Kepler.

”That was a good one to win Darqueze Dennard Jersey , for sure, not only because we lost the first two but it was a marathon,” Morrison said.

The Twins salvaged the third game of the series against the White Sox and now move on to play three more contests in Chicago against the crosstown Cubs at Wrigley Field starting on Friday afternoon.

Alan Busenitz (2-0), the sixth reliever for Minnesota, pitched 1 2/3 innings for the victory.

The Twins were one out from winning in the ninth inning, but closer Fernando Rodney walked pinch-hitter Daniel Palka, a former Twins farmhand, on four pitches to force in a run. Rodney quickly retired the first two hitters, but Yolmer Sanchez singled to start the rally. Rodney hit Tim Anderson with a pitch, and Tilson walked to load the bases before Palka came to the plate.

Rodney took his fourth blown save in 21 chances this season, ending a streak of 15 consecutive conversions.

”I told him postgame, `That’s a heck of a run Cam Robinson Jersey ,”’ manager Paul Molitor said. ”Today it was a two-out bloop and a change-up that he lost command of. Then he started scrambling a bit.”

Morrison hit his ninth home run deep to right to lead off the seventh for the first run of the game. The drive was just Minnesota’s second hit off White Sox starter Lucas Giolito, who didn’t allow any hits until Eddie Rosario lined a double off first baseman Jose Abreu’s glove with one out in the sixth.

Twins starter Jake Odorizzi tossed six shutout innings in his best outing in more than a month, allowing three hits and striking out eight. The righty, who was 0-3 with an 8.77 ERA in his last six turns, said he’s been ”making adjustments from start to start.” The White Sox hardly threatened to score when he was on the mound.

WALKS IN THE PARK

Giolito recovered after walking the bases loaded in the first for his lowest-scoring outing this season. The 6-foot-6 righty, who lowered his ERA from 7.01 to 6.59, allowed one run on four hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings. He has issued the most walks in the AL with 51.

Giolito escaped the first without allowing a run despite throwing just 11 of his first 26 pitches for strikes. Then he retired 13 straight Twins betters.

”I honestly didn’t have my rhythm until the last batter of the” first inning, Giolito said. ”I did a pretty good job of filling the strike zone after that first inning. They put a lot of balls in play, and the defense was great behind me.”

NO WORRIES

Giolito said he was ”kind of” paying attention to his no-hit bid when it reached the sixth inning. ”I probably would have been more aware of it if I had taken it to the seventh or eighth,” he said.

BOOTED FOR BAD WORDS

Anderson, Chicago’s shortstop, was ejected for the second time in his career in the 11th inning when he argued with umpire Gerry Davis after being caught stealing second. ”I kind of said some bad words Pat O'Donnell Jersey ,” Anderson said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: RF Taylor Motter hit the wall hard trying to catch Yoan Moncada’s double in the sixth and will be re-evaluated for chest soreness. Motter stayed down on the warning track for a couple of minutes while being tended to by a team athletic trainer, but he remained in the game until Kepler pinch hit for him in the seventh. … SS Jorge Polanco, almost done with an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, was scheduled to DH in one game and play SS in the other in a doubleheader for Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. He can be reinstated on July 5.

White Sox: Sanchez left the game with a bruised left quadriceps in the 13th after tripping on first base when he ran out a grounder. He’s day-to-day. … Manager Rick Renteria said OF Nicky Delmonico (broken right middle finger) will start swinging a bat soon, but he isn’t close to beginning a rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Twins: Ace RHP Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.15) takes the mound against LHP Mike Montgomery (2-2, 3.39) when the Twins meet the Cubs on Friday. Berrios has won his last three decisions over five starts in June and has a 2.10 ERA during the span.

White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (3-2, 3.45) faces RHP Yovani Gallardo when Chicago opens a three-game series at Texas on Friday. Covey left in the fifth inning of his previous start last Saturday with a right hip flexor strain, but after throwing a bullpen session on Tuesday he said he felt fine.

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