inning. That made him the first Twins player to swipe at least 20 bas

Claudio Ranieri might not be keen to reveal the secrets to Leicesters success this season, but for centre-back pairing Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, its been all about keeping it simple. The experienced duo have been a mainstay for the table-topping Foxes this season, missing only one match between them, when Huth was suspended against Everton in December.Their effectiveness has been highlighted in recent weeks as the Premier League leaders have kept five successive clean sheets to keep their title bid on track, but what has made them so good this season? For starters, of the teams in the top four, they have played many more minutes together than the regular centre-back pairings at Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City.With both players enjoying injury-free seasons and only one match missed through suspension, Huth and Morgan have seen 5850 minutes of action. Robert Huth scored twice in a 3-1 win over Manchester City in February Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld had started every game for Tottenham, until Vertonghen suffered a knee injury against Crystal Palace in January that kept him out for over two months.The Belgians have played 5115 minutes together this season, ahead of Arsenals most regular pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker (4124 minutes) and Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demichelis (3189 minutes) for Manchester City.Not only have Huth and Morgan got more game time, but they have done things slightly differently to their rivals. Most blocks among defenders in top four Player Team Appearances Blocks Wes Morgan Leicester 33 34 Robert Huth Leicester 32 31 Toby Alderweireld Tottenham 33 26 Laurent Koscielny Arsenal 27 21 Jan Vertonghen Tottenham 24 16 According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, Alderweireld, Koscielny, Otamendi and Vertonghen have all made over 1000 passes this season, while Morgan and Huth have made just 516 and 525 respectively.Even Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has completed more passes than Morgan, despite having played 20 games less.But it is in other areas where Morgan and Huth have excelled. Leicester trio on PFA shortlist Jamie Vardy, NGolo Kante and Riyad Mahrez on shortlist for PFA Players Player of the Year The Foxes centre-backs have both made more blocks than any defender among the top-four sides, with Morgan leading the way with 34 ahead of Huth on 31.Alderweireld has made 26 and Koscielny (21) and Vertonghen (21) complete the top five, although the latter two have both missed several games this season.In terms of minutes per block, Morgan and Huth average 87 and 92 respectively, well ahead of Koscielny (109), Alderweireld (114) and Gabriel Paulista (132). Wes Morgan recently scored his first goal of the season to secure victory over Southampton The Foxes duo also rank highly when it comes to clearances - only Alderweireld (252) has made more than Huth (224) and Morgan (188) this season.They have been effective at breaking up play too, with both making it into the top five for number of interceptions.Arsenals Koscielny (105) has made the most this season, ahead of Morgan (85), Otamendi (82) and Huth (71).Next up for the Leicester duo is a home match with West Ham on Sunday, which you can watch live on Sky Sports 1 HD. Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League Also See: Foxes keen on Hernandez Leicester trio on PFA shortlist Okazaki: Kante league MVP Premier League table Gaylord Perry Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Charlie Hough Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/772h-will-clark-jersey-rangers.html . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Adrian Sampson Rangers Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Jim Sundberg Rangers Jersey . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. MINNEAPOLIS -- Its been a rough go of it for Ervin Santana in his first season-and-a-half with Minnesota.On Wednesday, he finally resembled the pitcher the Twins thought they were getting when they signed him to a $55 million, four-year deal.Santana struck out eight and walked none in a two-hitter that led the Twins over the Oakland Athletics 4-0.Santana (3-7) needed just 100 pitches for his eighth shutout and 15th complete game, helping the Twins take two of three from the As. Joe Mauer had three hits and an RBI.Every time you do it with a new team, its even better, said Santana, who was suspended for 80 games last year after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance. It builds more confidence for me and for the team.Sonny Gray (3-8) gave up one run, six hits and four walks in six innings, losing his seventh straight decision, the longest active skid in the American League. Billy Butlers two-out double in the fifth and Stephen Vogts leadoff single in the eighth were Oaklands lone hits.I havent had many decisions in a year and a half of letting a guy go out there to try get a shutout, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. But he was dominant.Minnesota got off to a historically bad start and quickly got buried in the AL Central. But the Twins have won four of their last five games and each of their last three series at home.The bleary-eyed clubs were back at it on Wednesday less than 12 hours after finishing a rain-delayed game that started at 9:52 p.m.I know it was a long night last night, Santana said. I just came today and tried to put zeros on the board.Both teams appeared to be swinging heavy bats, and Minnesota stranded 12, going 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.Santana frustrated Oaklands hitters all afternoon. Josh Reddick slammed his bat in anger after popping out to the catcher in the fourth inning and Khris Davis did the same after a strikeout in the seventh.We had some good at-bats off him at times and we had some non-competitive at-bats, Voogt said.dddddddddddd When a pitcher has his stuff and you dont have consistent at-bats against him its going to be hard to win. He was very, very good today.As sharp as Santana was, he didnt have much cushion for most of the afternoon because the Twins kept leaving runners on base against Gray. They left nine on in the first six innings before finally scratching two more runs across.Danny Santana had three hits, including a double, a triple and a run scored for Minnesota.SANTANAS GEMIt was Santanas first complete game since a one-hitter for the Angels against Arizona on June 16, 2012. It was the first shutout by a Twins pitcher since Andrew Albers in 2013.SPEEDY NUNEZTwins All-Star Eduardo Nunez stole his 20th base this season in the third inning. That made him the first Twins player to swipe at least 20 bases before the All-Star break since Carlos Gomez had 21 in 2008.As BULLPENOaklands bullpen entered with a 5.63 ERA in its 22 games. Opponents were hitting .312 off of As relievers, and they had another rough day on Wednesday.Marc Rzepczynski was charged with two runs on one hit and didnt record an out in the seventh inning. And John Axford didnt give him any help when he walked Max Kepler with the bases loaded and gave up a sacrifice fly to Eddie Rosario to give Santana some breathing room.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: RHP Fernando Rodriguez was played on the disabled list after an MRI revealed a strained rotator cuff. Manager Bob Melvin said there is no timetable for a return, but he would not need surgery.Twins: SS Eduardo Escobar was available after missing the last two games with a strained hamstring.UP NEXTAthletics: LHP Rich Hill (8-3, 2.31) will start the series opener at Houston on Thursday.Twins: Minnesota opens a four-game series in Texas on Thursday, sending RHP Tyler Duffey (4-6, 4.62) to the mound against RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 9.53). ' ' '