CLEVELAND -- On his way out to the field for pregame batting practice, Jason Kipnis hung a hard right in the Indians clubhouse to give Jason Giambi a big hug. "Great to see you," Kipnis told Clevelands respected designated hitter. "You, too, little brother," Giambi said. Big G is back with the Indians. Almost. Sidelined since spring training by a fractured rib, Giambi has been cleared to play and is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list Monday, when the Indians open a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals. The 43-year-old recently played in several games in a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Akron, a stop that helped his swing and also brought back memories of his path to the big leagues. "Sometimes you forget the grind," Giambi said. "Its been 20 years since I was a minor leaguer." While he was with the Aeros, Giambi and teammate Michael Bourn, who was with him to rehab a strained hamstring, treated the minor leaguers to several meals and found themselves serving up advice to some of the youngsters in Clevelands system. It comes naturally to Giambi, who is still playing but may one day try his hand at managing. He was a finalist for Colorados opening before signing with the Indians before last season. "Id like to, but the universe will determine that, not me," Giambi said with a laugh at his locker. "I love the nuances of the game and being a part of that. Ive played for some of the greatest managers in the game, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre and Tito (Terry Francona) and Jim Tracy." Giambi said hes ready to play, but the Indians will wait until after the weekend. Giambi took batting practice before Fridays series opener against Toronto and looked to be himself while launching several home runs into the right-field seats. The Indians have opened 7-8 without Giambi, and Francona said his presence has been missed inside the clubhouse, dugout and on the field. "Guys know hes there," Francona said. "Shoot, I know hes there. Because G is never going to back down from anybody and that doesnt mean you have to fight or anything. But its a nice teammates to have around. He can be a settling influence. He can kick somebody in the pants. Hes a great guy to have around. "Believe me, I wouldnt say all these things if they werent true. This is how I feel." Giambi injured his rib during spring training and was placed on the DL on March 30. While he batted just .183 last season, he hit nine homers and drove in 31 runs in 186 at-bats. Giambi also provided perhaps the seasons signature moment, when he belted a pinch-hit homer in the 10th inning to beat Chicago on Sept. 24. The homer helped propel the Indians to their first playoff appearance since 2007. While some fans look only at Giambis statistics and wonder why the Indians would dedicate a roster spot to an aging, situational hitter, Francona says Giambis impact goes way beyond numbers. "G can change the game in the batters box," Francona said. "Hes not here to hit .300, that would be great. But hes here to change the game with one of his swings and he has the ability to do that." Philadelphia Phillies Pro Shop . "Youre next." Hardly. Iguodala tormented his former team with a game better than any he ever played in eight seasons with the 76ers. Fake Phillies Jerseys . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/. Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. Phillies Jerseys 2020 .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Philadelphia Phillies Shirts . "Youre next." Hardly. Iguodala tormented his former team with a game better than any he ever played in eight seasons with the 76ers.ANAHEIM, Calif. - For the second straight night, the Baltimore Orioles got a strong performance from a starting pitcher who spent the All-Star break in the minor leagues and stayed on his regular routine. It worked for Miguel Gonzalez, just like it did for Bud Norris. Gonzalez took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning, Jonathan Schoop homered and J.J. Hardy hit two RBI doubles to lead the Orioles to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. Gonzalez (5-5) was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk, where he was optioned on July 11 so that he wouldnt get stale after consecutive eight-inning no-decisions. Norris, who was optioned to Double-A Bowie on July 10, beat the Angels 4-2 Monday night in his return to the rotation. Were fortunate they both had (minor league) options," manager Buck Showalter said. "I think Bud was a day away from not being able to get optioned because of his service time, so it was a good catch by our front office. "It worked out well for both of them because they also got to spend some time in their hometowns out here. You just dont want to see guys lie around too long during the break and be inactive, but we have a lot of starters with options. So thats why we were able to do it." Gonzalez (5-5) allowed two runs and three hits in 7 2-3 innings, including a two-run homer in the eighth by All-Star game MVP Mike Trout after a walk to No. 9 hitter Hank Conger. The Angels other hits against Gonzalez were singles by Efren Navarro in the third and fifth innings. "I think it was beneficial for me, to go down there and keep doing what I was doing, and not getting that extra rest — especially after the last two outings I had," Gonzalez said. "Im pretty happy about everything in general tonight. I gave us a chance to win a ballgame." Showalter added: "Thats as good as you can see a guy pitch, especially in a hostile environment against a really good team. Thats about as sharp as Ive seen Miggy in a while. He had everything working and everything at his disposal, and he had command of it." Tommy Hunter, making his 200th career appearance, retired Albert Pujols on a grounder for the final out of the eighth and Zach Britton pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 21 chances. Hunter, who was converted into a full-time reliever by the Orioles last season, lost his closer role to Britton in mid-May after consecutive blown saves. Since then, Hunter has yielded three runs and struck out 11 in 18 1-3 spanning 17 appearances — and has not allowed an earned run in a career-best 12 straight outings.dddddddddddd Britton has allowed eight runs and fanned 27 in 29 1-3 innings over 29 appearances since taking over as closer. "So far, Zachs done a good job," Showalter said. "But who knows? We might need Tommy to go back there again. I dont know if anybodys smart enough to know exactly how things are going to turn out. But so far, so good." Angels left-hander Hector Santiago matched zeroes with Gonzalez through five innings, allowing just two hits before rookie Mike Morin took over in the sixth. "Early on I was just trying to battle a little fatigue," Santiago said. "I was kind of under the weather the last couple of days. I definitely felt the fatigue kind of like building up right there in that first two innings. Then I just had a high pitch count, so I had to maintain myself and control it." Morin (2-3) threw his second pitch into the dirt and to the backstop as his left knee appeared to buckle. Manager Mike Sciocsia went out with a trainer to check on him, and the right-hander made three warmup tosses before striking out Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz. But Chris Davis reached on an infield hit and came all the way around on Hardys double to right-centre. Schoop homered to left-centre two pitches later for his eighth homer — all on the road. Schoop was originally in the No. 9 spot in the order, but got bumped up to seventh after third baseman Manny Machado was scratched just before game time because of tightness in his lower back. "Ive never had something like this before. It just spazzed up on me," Machado said. "The trainers worked on it a little bit and I went back out there before the game, but it kept locking up on me. So I thought it was just better to sit it out and let someone else take my place and help the team win. Its still a little tight, but I got a shot and well see where we are tomorrow." Hardy drove in Baltimores final run in the eighth against Fernando Salas. NOTES: With the victory, the Orioles ended the Angels streak of 10 consecutive series won at home. RHP Chris Tillman puts his 6-0 road record on the line against Jered Weaver in Wednesday nights series finale. ... The Angels hadnt lost a series at the "Big A" since May 5-7, when the Yankees took two of three. ... The Orioles cleared a spot for Gonzalez on the 25-man roster by optioning RHP Preston Guilmet to Triple-A. ' ' '