Tulowitzki and Martin hit back-to-back homers to lead Blue Jays past Astros 9-2
TORONTO – Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon.
The victory moves the Blue Jays a season-high 16 games above .500. Toronto (67-51) has now won five of their last six series, going 12-7 in that stretch.
The Astros (61-57) have dropped consecutive games after winning four straight on the road.
Tulowitzki put Mike Fiers' fastball into the second deck at Rogers Centre for a two-run home run giving the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead.
Martin followed it up by taking Fiers' first pitch yard for his 10th homer of the season – it marks the seventh time this season the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back home runs.
Martin's long ball knocked Fiers (8-6) from the game. The Astros starter went 4 2/3 innings allowing five earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
Marcus Stroman (9-5) tossed six innings of one-run ball before allowing a solo shot to Jason Castro to lead off the seventh.
The 25-year-old right-hander went 6 1/3 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits while striking out eight in the win.
Martin showed off his defensive game in the seventh, leaning into the Astros dugout to grab an Alex Bregman foul ball for the second out of the inning.
Edwin Encarnacion gave the Blue Jays a 6-2 lead, hitting a solo home run off of Luke Gregerson in the seventh.
The homer ties Encarnacion with Baltimore's Mark Trumbo for the Major League lead (33).
Toronto put up another three spot in the eighth, increasing its lead to seven.
Melvin Upton Jr. delivered an RBI single and later scored while Josh Donaldson was issued a bases loaded walk by Astros reliever James Hoyt.
The Blue Jays got to Fiers early, taking a 1-0 lead on Tulowitzki's RBI single in the first.
The veteran shortstop finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs batted in.
Astros shortstop Carlos Correa extended his hit streak to a career-best 10 games with a leadoff single in the second, and later scored on a Stroman throwing error tying the game 1-1.
Darrell Ceciliani's RBI double in the fourth gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.
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Cranbrook veteran honoured with France's highest award
Lee Brown could hardly contain his excitement as he walked in to the Cranbrook branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
"War is not a pleasant thing but I made it and people are treating me like royalty now," said the 90-year old Second World War veteran, right before he received France's highest award.
"It's a big deal and well deserved," Brown's son-in-law Grant Stuart said.
Brown joined the military at 17 in 1943.
Based in England as a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber during the Second World War, he flew 33 missions with the Canadian Air Force over France and Germany.
But it's the one Brown missed, he'll never forget.
READ MORE: Memories of D-Day still clear in the mind of WWII veteran
"My crew was shot down and I lost them," Brown said.
On Saturday, Brown was presented with the highest French order for military and civil merits, at a ceremony at his local legion.
He is one of the more than 1000 Canadian Second World War veterans who are finally receiving the Legion of Honour after the French government decided to bestow the award on all living veterans who helped liberate France in 1944.
"They put their life at risk. Many died to save our freedom. We never forget what they did," Antoine Mention, the Deputy Consul of France in Vancouver, said.
Having Brown officially named to the national order of the Legion of Honour involved a lengthy application process that allowed his family to unearth some of his war stories – and better understand his past.
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"I think he's like many that just didn't share what they did and this has given him the chance and freedom and comfort to share," Brown's daughter Cynthia Stuart said.
Brown was moved that the French consulate delivered the honour in person, "I've never felt like this in years."
After losing his buddies in a 1944 airfight, Brown joined another bomber crew for the remainder of the war. More than 70 years later, the memories are still fresh.
"I believe now I'm the only one left," he said. "Every day something goes through your mind. You can't help it, even when you wake up in the morning…I know we did our job and lived and that's it."
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Community comes together for Neville-Lake memorial in King City
Friends, family and community members gathered together on Sunday to pay tribute to the Neville-Lake family.
On Sept. 27 2015, Daniel, Harry and Milly Neville-Lake as well as their grandfather, Gary Neville, were killed in an impaired driving collision.
Jennifer Stallman, the creator of the Facebook page "Entertain Kids on a Dime," reached out to Jennifer Neville-Lake shortly after the incident offering her support.
"Jen was a member of my group. I reached out to her after the event happened," Stallman said.
"It was so tragic… we just wanted to find a way to help her, support her, celebrate her and tell her we are here and we want to celebrate the lives of your family."
READ MORE: Hundreds show support at vigil for family devastated by deadly Ontario crash
The group raised money to create a permanent memorial at a nearby park in King City.
Four trees with individualized plaques and a park bench have been installed at Kettle Lake Park as a tribute to the children and their grandfather.
"I really hope [this event] could change a few people and make them think twice about drinking responsibly, I feel like we've done something good today," Stallman said.
Jennifer and Edward Neville-Lake did not attend Sunday's event, but they sent a letter expressing their gratitude to the community.
In March, Marco Muzzo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the drunk driving crash.
READ MORE: Marco Muzzo: 10 years in prison for drunk driving crash that killed 3 kids, grandfather
It's been almost a year since the horrific crash, but police say impaired driving continues to happen across the province.
Ontario Provincial Police tweeted on Saturday that 41 impaired driving charges were laid by officers over a 24-hour period.
In the past 24 hours OPP have laid 41 impaired driving charges. #RIDEChecks
Call 911 if you see an impaired driver pic.twitter长沙桑拿/GV6HTiHUNE
— Sgt Kerry Schmidt (@OPP_HSD) August 14, 2016
"I'm shocked and constantly horrified by the numbers that we see every weekend," York Regional Police Const. Laura Nicolle said.
"We are seeing continuous impaired drivers being arrested and it's very disappointing."
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Mother: Milwaukee shooting victim was 23-year-old black man
MILWAUKEE – The man whose shooting by Milwaukee police triggered hours of violent protests on the city's predominantly black north side was a 23-year-old black man and father to a toddler, his mother said Sunday.
WATCH: Violence in Milwaukee as protesters take to streets over police involved shooting
Mildred Haynes told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that her son, Sylville Smith, was killed by police Saturday. A Milwaukee police spokesman did not immediately respond to messages from an Associated Press reporter seeking confirmation of the man's identity.
READ MORE: Milwaukee officials call for calm after unrest over police shooting
A distraught Haynes told the newspaper that police have told her little about her son's death.
"My son is gone due to the police killing my son," she said Sunday. "I am lost."
Police say a man fled during a Saturday traffic stop and that he was carrying a weapon. It's unclear whether he pointed the gun at officers before being shot several times.
Smith was accused in a shooting last year and charged with recklessly endangering safety, a felony. Smith was subsequently accused of pressuring the victim to recant statements that identified him as the gunman and was charged with trying to intimidate a witness, he newspaper reported.
It's unclear why both charges were dropped.
WATCH: Mayor of Milwaukee discusses police involved shooting and subsequent violence
He also pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon in 2014. Smith was cited for driving without a license or insurance, speeding and driving with open intoxicants earlier this year. Court records identify Smith as black.
Smith's death sparked explosive protests in northern Milwaukee, a town of 600,000 where roughly 40 per cent of residents are black. At least four businesses were burned down in the protests that stretched into Sunday morning, leading Gov. Scott Walker to activate National Guard troops in case violence persists.
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What's it like to volunteer at the Edmonton fringe festival? Ask this 35-year veteran
Heidi Collins-McCann was just 16 years old the first time she volunteered at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in 1982. Fast-forward 35 years and she is still just as dedicated – if not more – as she was on day one.
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"I keep people's spirits up if they're having a bad day. I try and cheer them up or if there's something going wrong and they just need to vent to somebody, like we all do, it's like, 'OK, let's go into my office, which is the volunteer patio.'"
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The fringe festival board gave Collins-McCann the honourary title of "Den Mother" about six years ago. She started volunteering in the first place to gain extra credit in high school.
"Looking back, we didn't know what we were doing," she recalled of the 1982 festival with a smile. "It was Brian Paisley and a core of about 10 volunteers and that's how we ran the first fringe… We did everything."
Heidi Collins-McCann, AKA "Den Mother," was just 16 when she started volunteering at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in 1982. Now, 35 years later, she's still going strong.
Courtesy, Heidi Collins-McCann
And when she says everything, she isn't kidding. Collins-McCann recalled a time when the volunteers had to bring hay into the arts barn.
"That first year we had an infestation of mice everywhere so we learned not only how to clean up but how to catch mice."
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From 25 shows in five venues in 1982 to more than 1,600 performances in over 40 venues in 2016, the festival has flourished to become North America's largest fringe festival. And it wouldn't be possible without the help of more than 1,200 dedicated volunteers.
"We all get together and we do it for the love of theatre," Collins-McCann said. "We're usually here by 8:30 in the morning and we leave by about 1 (a.m.). So we do about a 16-hour day for 11 days and I've done that since the first fringe."
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For Collins-McCann, that amounts to about 6,160 hours – or nearly three years – of full-time work over her 35 years of service. So what keeps her coming back year after year? (after year, after year…).
"It becomes like a big family reunion every year," she said. "Seeing volunteers come back and say, 'I had a blast last year.' Or, 'thank you for helping me, what you did last year was phenomenal. I was down and having a bad day and you helped me.'"
READ MORE: Edmonton International Fringe Festival show ratings and live eye cam
Plus, the inclusivity and family-friendly atmosphere of the fringe is a huge draw for the Den Mother.
"For me, just sitting back and seeing the smiles on the families' faces when they're watching their kids experience something for the first time… It's nice to step back and watch that."
The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival runs in Old Strathcona until Aug. 21.
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