BALTIMORE -- For the second time in three games, the Baltimore Orioles had an uplifting victory marred by an injury to a key player. J.J. Hardy homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, and the Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 Tuesday night to move into a tie for the AL East lead. But starting pitcher Jason Hammel left in the fourth inning with an injured right knee. The right-hander underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same knee in mid-July and was making his second start since returning from the disabled list. Hammel will be examined Wednesday by the team surgeon. He said the sensation was exactly identical to what he felt in a July 13 game against Detroit, his last start before going on the DL. "Its a very sharp pain in the knee in the same spot," Hammel said. "Im hoping it is just scar tissue. Ive been told scar tissue can react like that." On Saturday, Baltimore lost right fielder Nick Markakis with a broken left thumb while defeating the New York Yankees. Both Hammel and Markakis were on the DL earlier this year. "Weve been down this road many times this year with a lot of different challenges," manager Buck Showalter said. "Weve operated a good portion of this season without Ham and without Nicky, so were kind of experienced at it anyway. Its not the kind of experience you want to have." Hammel had no problem with the knee on Thursday night against the Yankees, and retired 11 of 13 Tampa Bay batters before exiting. "Against the Yankees, I felt great," Hammel said. "I felt like I was back on track, and I know I can help this team when I am healthy. So its very frustrating." Steve Johnson (3-0) got the win with 1 1-3 innings of hitless relief. With Markakis out, Hardy picked up the slack. He went 4 for 5 to help Baltimore pull even atop the division with the Yankees, who lost 4-3 at Boston. The Rays are two games behind the co-leaders. Hardy hit a two-run homer in the third inning, doubled and scored in the fifth, singled in a run in the sixth and added his 21st homer with a runner on in the eighth. It was his ninth career two-homer game, the second this season. "I got a couple pitches to hit and didnt miss them," Hardy said. Chris Davis homered and Matt Wieters had three hits and two RBIs for Baltimore. Ryan Roberts and Elliott Johnson hit solo homers for Tampa Bay. It was the first time since Aug. 4 that the Rays lost by more than two runs; eight of their previous 12 defeats were by one run. "Anybody can get beat by a lot of runs any night," Roberts said. "It didnt go our way tonight, and thats how it happens sometime in baseball." Roberts left in the sixth inning with a left forearm strain, the result of a tag he made at second base. X-rays were negative, and he held out hope of playing Wednesday in the next game of the three-game series. "Im just glad it isnt broke," Roberts said. "If its up to me, Im playing. Were in a tight race and these games mean a lot, so I definitely want to play even if its going to hurt a little bit." Tampa Bay left-hander Matt Moore (10-10) threw 94 pitches over four innings before being lifted by manager Joe Maddon. Moore allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks. Burke Badenhop entered with a run of eight straight scoreless appearances and promptly gave up a double to Hardy, a single to Adam Jones and two-run double to Wieters that provided Baltimore with a 5-1 lead. Hardys sixth-inning RBI single came off Cesar Ramos and Davis hit his 25th homer in the seventh off J.P. Howell. Johnson connected against Darren ODay leading off the eighth, and Hardy homered off Dane De La Rose in the bottom half. The victory improved Baltimores record against AL East foes to 33-24 compared to 28-44 last year. Baltimore broke on top with an unearned run in the first inning. Jones walked and scored when Matt Joyce fumbled Wieters two-out single to right. Hammel retired the first eight batters before Roberts connected in the third. It was his fourth homer with Tampa Bay since in coming over in a trade with Arizona on July 24. In the bottom half, Robert Andino led off with a double and Hardy homered to put the Orioles ahead for good. NOTES: Baltimore leads the season series 7-6 and took the lead in the all-time series, 127-126. ... The Orioles purchased the contracts of OFs Endy Chavez and L.J. Hoes and designated RHP Kevin Gregg and INF Ryan Adams for assignment. ... This was the first of 15 consecutive games against AL East foes for the Rays, who head to Yankee Stadium after this series. ... The Rays will send Alex Cobb to the mound Wednesday night and the Orioles will start rookie Miguel Gonzalez, whos 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in two starts against Tampa Bay. Cheap Lazio Jerseys .com) - Tired of not getting positive results, the underachieving Ottawa Senators held a players-only meeting on Monday. Cheap Washington Capitals Jerseys . The New York point guard who in the span of five games has gone from a seldom-used player to NBA phenomenon arrived at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday as his Knicks set to battle the Raptors -- and Linsanity prevailed. http://www.cheapjerseysfromchinashop.us.com/ . Miles Plumlee and rookie Dionte Christmas, 3 for 4 on 3-pointers, added 14 points each. Starting point guard Goran Dragic, who was 0 for 3 in 7 minutes, was the only one of Phoenixs 16 players who did not score. wholesale jerseys ." Hamilton tried to score from third on a foul popup near the Detroit dugout in the first inning. Third baseman Brandon Inge and catcher Victor Martinez both chased the ball, leaving the plate unprotected. cheap jerseys from china . The NBA commissioner dismissed the notion that its a bargaining tactic, warning it could divide the union and possibly jeopardize players contracts if they were to be seriously injured.BEREA, Ohio -- The NFL is standing by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. With Haslam embroiled in a legal scandal involving his family-owned truck-stop business, Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed his confidence in Clevelands owner and said the league has no plans to intervene or discipline him at this point. Goodell visited Clevelands training camp on Thursday to launch a program between the league and Pop Warner with USA Footballs Heads Up Football Program. Following a clinic with young players, Goodell said hes satisfied with Haslams handling of the federal investigation at Pilot Flying J, and said the league is proud to be associated with its newest owner. "Jimmy Haslam is a man of great integrity," Goodell said. "Were proud to have him as an owner in the NFL and think hes going to be a great owner for the Cleveland Browns and their fans. Hes as disappointed as anybody in what happened at Pilot J and hes working hard to fix it and correct those issues, both from a structural standpoint and to make amends." Goodell added that the league has no plans to intervene at this time. "I dont think its a matter for us at this moment," Goodell said. Haslam has been in the crosshairs of controversy since April 15, when the FBI and IRS raided Pilot Flying Js headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., seizing documents and as part of a probe into wide-spread fraud at the company. Haslam has maintained he did not know about a program within his sales staff to cheat customers out of rebate and discount money. Seven employees have pleaded guilty to defrauding customers. Goodell said Haslam assured him he knew nothing of the rebate scam. "Hes been very clear that hes had no knowledge of that and hes been clear publicly and clear with you all," Goodell said. "He doesnt need any pushing. This company means a lot to him and hes obviously not happy about what has happened and hes determined to fix it. Jimmy is more disappointed than anybody." Pressed about what the league might do if Haslam were indicted, Goodell refused to presume anything. "Were not going to play the hypothetical game," Goodell said. "Right now hes addressing the issues. Were confident hes going to deal with it properly. Youre dealing with a bunch of hypotheticals. Were not going there." Goodell said the league was thorough in its vetting of Haslam, who was a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers before buying the Browns. "This was a surprise to him and to his senior-level management," Goodell said. "From that standpoint, I dont think he was aware of it and I dont know any way we could have been aware of it. It was not disclosed to us." Goodell has a well-earned reputation as being a tough disciplinarian with players. He promised to be equally firm with any owner who breaks the law. "We actually hold ownership to a higher standard and management," he said. "I think weve proven that in what weve done. Its not just accused. As you know, in our policy, oftentimes we let the criminal prrocess unfold because you need to do that to find out the real facts.dddddddddddd Sometimes we dont have all the facts and we need to do that. What we look at is multiple offenders. As you know, thats a real focus for us." Haslam and Goodell were not seen together on the field as the Browns concluded their first week of camp. Goodell spent time visiting with Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, who has returned as an adviser with the team. Earlier in the day, Goodell and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer conducted a football safety clinic for 500 moms of youth players in Columbus. Although he was already in the league, Haslam underwent the same scrutiny as any owner, Goodell insisted. "We go through the same process on any circumstance," Goodell said. "When youre going through a controlling ownership position, thats a big step up so we dont just pass that off. We do the same vetting process. Obviously he knows people in the league after being an owner, so there were certain aspects of that which were easier. But we didnt short-circuit anything." Goodell is satisfied the investigation has not been a distraction to the Browns, who are undergoing another makeover with a new front office and coaching staff, However, Goodell did concede its troubling one of the NFLs owners is part of federal probe. "You never want to see this kind of thing happen, particularly to a partner in the league," Goodell said. "Obviously his partners care a great deal about him and as a partner they want to see him getting off to a good start. This is not what anybody intended, not anybody anticipated. But hes a man that I think everyone truly respects in the NFL." Goodell said the Browns are in good hands with Haslam, whom he believes can restore the Browns to their former glory. "Jimmy Haslam came into this with a mindset that he was going to do everything possible to get this franchise turned around in a positive direction and a team that this community will be proud of not just in any single year but consistently and to create a winner," Goodell said. "And hes brought in great talent. Hes brought in great people. He set the organization obviously in a different direction. I think thats all positive and good for the fans here and ultimately good for the NFL." NOTES: Browns coach Rob Chudzinski opened his post-practice news conference by commenting on the Indians eight-game winning streak. "Love it," he said. ... Browns WR Josh Gordon did some team drills after missing two days with tendinitis in his knee. ... Safety T.J. Ward sat out practice with a tight hamstring. ... WR David Nelson tweaked his knee while running a pass route and was kept out. He tore his ACL last season and had knee surgery in Buffalo. ... Browns DT Brian Sanford and rookie G Garrett Gilkey got into a fight during a one-on-one drill. ... Chudzinski said OLB Quentin Groves is "having a great camp." Groves signed with Cleveland as a free agent this winter from Arizona. Steve Weatherford Jersey ' ' '