SAN FRANCISCO -- Mix Diskerud figures the whole honour of wearing No. 10 is only temporary. He fully expects to play alongside Landon Donovan again down the road with the U.S. national team. For one night at least, Diskerud did that jersey proud. Diskerud and Aron Johannsson, a pair of second-half substitutes raised in Scandinavia, scored to lift a heavy-legged United States over Azerbaijan 2-0 on Tuesday night in the first of three World Cup warmups for the Americans. "Its an honour. A lot of great players have been wearing that No. 10 for the U.S. previously," Diskerud said. "Ill enjoy it. When it comes to Landon, Im sure that were going to be playing together again someday, and of course he has more caps than me so Im just borrowing the uniform right now." The U.S. needed a boost from the bench after captain Clint Dempsey was scratched just before kickoff because of a sore left groin. But the 14th-ranked Americans had trouble breaking down No. 85 Azerbaijan. Diskerud, born in Oslo to a father from Norway and mother from Arizona who met in college, entered in the 71st and scored four minutes later off Brad Davis free kick. With the ball high in the box, Diskerud headed it down to Michael Bradley, whose shot was cleared off the goal line by Elvin Yunuszade. Diskerud then banged the ball in with a right-footed shot 6 yards for his third international goal. "It deflected, and then it was just an easy job for me to score," Diskerud said. "I got tackled exactly when I was going to shoot, and I was just laying down on the ground in agony." He was wearing the No. 10 freed up when Donovan was cut from the roster last Thursday. Johannsson, who was born in Mobile, Alabama, and moved to Iceland with his family when he was 3, entered in the 62nd and scored his second American goal in the 81st with an open header from the top of the 6-yard box off a corner kick by Davis, who replaced Graham Zusi at the start of the second half. "I think we can be very happy with this game," Johannsson said. "Weve been working ridiculously hard in training." Tim Howard, making his 98th international appearance, got his 53rd win to tie Kasey Kellers U.S. record. The Americans began their intense two-week training camp May 14 at nearby Stanford University, and there appeared to be tired legs. "It was exactly what we need at this point of our preparation after two fully loaded weeks," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "It was a tricky game. You want to open it up with a goal, and it gets easier. You want to score a bit earlier. Next up is a match Sunday against Turkey at Harrison, New Jersey, followed by a game with Nigeria six days later in Jacksonville, Florida. Then the Americans head to Brazil for their seventh straight World Cup appearance and first-round matches against Ghana, Portugal and Germany. "Its good to finally get going. Now we can play hard, recover, travel and go again," Howard said. "I thought it was good. I thought tonight was what we probably expected." The Americans arrived in a red-white-and-blue bus sporting the teams slogan: "One Nation. One Team." The focus was on Klinsmann, who made the controversial decision to cut Donovan, the American career scoring leader. Dempsey, slated to start up top with Jozy Altidore in a 4-4-2, was an unexpected absence. "We dont want to risk here anything," said Klinsmann, who estimated Dempsey would heal in two-to-three days. "Its not serious at all." Chris Wondolowski, a local fan favourite of the San Jose Earthquakes inserted in place of Dempsey, was stopped twice early by goalkeeper Kamran Aghayev, the first with a knee on a diving header in the fifth minute. Wondolowskis header off a cross from Alejandro Bedoya in the 15th was parried over the bar. "You have to be ready at a moments notice," Wondolowski said. "Thats why I was a bit disappointed not to find the back of the net. I had a couple of great opportunities that I need to find the corner and hit the back of the net." Azerbaijan, coached by U.S. team adviser Berti Vogts, was outscored 5-0 in a pair of World Cup qualifiers by Portugal. With wind whipping the corner flags early and even the ball out of place during restarts, a new-look U.S. defence was hardly tested. Fabian Johnson started at right back, with Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron as the central defenders, picked over Omar Gonzalez, who replaced Cameron in the second half. DaMarcus Beasley, looking to become the first American to appear in four World Cups, was at left back. Besler and Cameron played together in the middle once previously, against Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier last October. For the first time since 1990, the Americans have no central defenders with previous World Cup experience. Johnson started three games at left back last year but just once on the right -- in the clinching World Cup qualifier against Mexico in September. Klinsmann used a midfield diamond for the second straight game, with Michael Bradley at the top, Jermaine Jones deep, Zusi on the right and Bedoya the left. This match became the true final football game at Candlestick, former home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers through last season and baseballs San Francisco Giants until after 1999. NOTES: A foul by Azerbaijan D Evlin Yunuszade on Davis early in the second half appeared to be inside the box but was called a free kick by Costa Rican referee Henry Bejarano. ... Timmy Chandler played left back in the second half for his first appearance with the U.S. since a World Cup qualifier at Honduras in February 2013. ... Donovan was named MLS Player of the Week for his two-goal performance with an assist for the LA Galaxy in Sundays 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Union. ... Injured American MF Stuart Holden attended the game ... A Nike ball was used rather than the Adidas World Cup model. Chaz Roe Jersey .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. Avisail Garcia Jersey .com) - The Los Angeles Kings peppered Ryan Miller with shot after shot. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/. - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. Joe Maddon Rays Jersey . You can watch the game on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt and listen to the game on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal. After starting the month of November on an 0-3-1 slide, the Canadiens have recorded wins in three of their last five outings (3-1-1). Mike Zunino Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive. Moustakas hit a three-run double in the second inning to account for Kansas Citys only runs, and Jason Vargas and the Royals bullpen made the meagreoffence work in a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies that completed a two-game sweep. Afterward, reporters peppered Moustakas with a series of questions about his decisive double, and each time he responded that Vargas pitched a great game. Moustakas steadfastly refused to address his own hit. "Its a big game for us against a great team. Feels good to go out there and get a W with the way that Vargas pitched," said Moustakas, who entered the game hitting .147 on the year. Moustakas did answer questions about his slumping performance during a lengthy session with reporters the previous day. But he was downright defiant when he was approached on Wednesday. He did talk about a nice play he made on defence, when he teamed with catcher Salvador Perez to pick off Charlie Culberson at third. The out came with the outcome still in the balance. "Moose coming up clutch was huge," said Vargas, who was perfectly willing to talk about the games biggest hit. "A big chance to put them in a hole early and we did." Meanwhile, Vargas (4-1) did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and did not allow a run until Drew Stubbs belted a two-run homer to left in the seventh. Louis Coleman got the Royals out of the inning without any more damage, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth. Greg Holland then pitched a shaky ninth for his 10th save. After giving up a one-out single to Carlos Gonzalez and walking Nolan Arenado, Holland got Justin Morneau to hit a grounder to second. The ball was fielded cleanly and Kansas City got the runner there, but Morneau barely beat the throw to first base to keep the game going. Holland promptly struck out Stubbs to leave the tying run on third. "I think weve hit a little bump in the road here offensively," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.dddddddddddd. "Its safe to say that were struggling a little bit offensively. Weve got to go back home and get it going again. No doubt about it, weve hit a little a little slide offensively." Jhoulys Chacin (1-1) pitched six gritty innings for Colorado, yielding seven hits and two walks. The Rockies came into the two-game series swinging the best bats in the majors, but they were silenced by some stingy pitching. James Shields was their foil in a 5-1 Royals victory in Tuesday nights opener, combining with the bullpen on a 12-strikeout performance. Vargas was just as tough, striking out a season-high eight in 6 2-3 innings. One of those strikeouts proved to be especially important: Troy Tulowitzki was left looking at a called third strike in the fourth inning. The leading hitter in the major leagues argued with plate umpire Dan Bellino over the location, which appeared down and in, and continued their one-sided conversation when he reached the dugout. Bellino responded by ejecting him. "I felt like it was over once Tulo went back to the dugout," Weiss said. "He heard him say something and thats when he threw him out." D.J. LeMahieu took his spot in the lineup. And when the Rockies had runners on the corners in the sixth, it was LeMahieu rather than Tulowitzki at the plate. He struck out. "Sometimes you just get caught up in the moment," Tulowitzki said, "but to sit there and say do you regret doing that, no, because we werent playing well the last couple of games. Sometimes that lights a little spark in the team." NOTES: Royals LHP Bruce Chen (bulging disk) threw a brief side session before the game. He will need at least one more before the team considers a rehab assignment. ... The Rockies are off Thursday before starting a three-game set against San Diego. RHP Yordano Ventura starts Thursday for Kansas City in the opener of a four-game series against Baltimore. ' ' '