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VANCOUVER -- Pedro Morales converted a penalty in the first half Wednesday as the Vancouver Whitecaps snapped an ugly 450-minute scoring drought with a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. Jean Beliveau Jersey . Morales stepped up to the spot and beat Jon Busch low to the San Jose goalkeepers right in the 39th minute after Whitecaps defender Kendall Waston was fouled by Earthquakes counterpart Victor Bernardez in the area off a Vancouver free kick. Waston then headed home a Morales corner in the 56th minute for his first goal with the Whitecaps since joining the club last month to give Vancouver some breathing room. Morales goal snapped a scoreless streak of exactly seven and half hours -- or five full matches -- for the Whitecaps (8-6-13), who had been shut out in four straight games, and five of their last six. Vancouvers last goal before Wednesday came off the boot of Darren Mattocks, coincidentally in the 39th minute, of the Whitecaps 2-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Aug. 10. Morales -- who now has eight goals on the season, including six from the penalty spot -- snapped a six-game scoring slump of his own as Vancouver leapfrogged the Portland Timbers into the fifth and final playoff spot in Major League Soccers Western Conference. Both teams have seven games remaining on the schedule, including a critical game in Portland on Sept. 20. Vancouver entered Wednesday with just two wins in its last fourteen games and a recent stretch of 0-2-2 forced the club out of the top-5 in the West. Coming off a hard-fought 3-3 road tie against the Timbers on Sunday and having given up 14 goals in its last five games, San Jose (6-11-9) was just what the Whitecaps needed to shake their scoring woes and get back in the win column. Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson again opted for a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield, the same setup that failed to find a way through in Saturdays 0-0 home draw against D.C. United. Mattocks, who started that one but picked up an ankle injury, was replaced in the lineup by Erik Hurtado up top alongside Sebastian Fernandez. The Whitecaps had the bulk of possession before the breakthrough, with San Jose failing to even direct a shot towards David Ousted in the Vancouver goal in the opening 45 minutes. Waston had a chance to open the scoring in the 13th minute but sent a free header just over the bar off a corner kick as a season-low crowd of 17,183 at B.C. Place Stadium groaned in disapproval. Fernandez and Russel Teibert then tried their luck from distance minutes apart midway through the half before Hurtado snatched at a loose ball in the 29th that forced an alert save from Busch. After the Whitecaps grabbed the lead late in the first half from the spot, Fernandez almost doubled the Vancouver lead in the 47th minute, but his shot whipped wide of Buschs goal. The Earthquakes entered Wednesday winless in their last six (0-2-4) and finally got a shot on target when captain Chris Wondolowski directed a header at Ousted off a corner in the 55th. But those positive vibes wouldnt last as Waston -- who missed that golden chance in the first half and another on Saturday -- finally opened his account with the Whitecaps off a Morales corner with a powerful header in the 56th that went through the legs of San Joses Cordell Cato at the near post and past Busch. The big defender pumped his fists and was mobbed by teammates before dropping to his knees in celebration. Morales almost bagged his second in the 73rd, but Busch got his fingers to a shot that was headed to the bottom corner, before Hurtado sent a shot just wide moments later that would have snapped a personal scoring drought that stretches back to June 7. Morales thought he had his second of the night in the 86th minute after scoring on a breakaway, but the referee judged that he controlled the ball with an arm. The loss leaves San Jose 10 points back of Vancouver and eight adrift of Portland in the chase for the final playoff spot in the West, but the Earthquakes do have a game in hand. Notes: Ousted has back-to-back clean sheets to give him nine on the season. ... Morales assist on Wastons goal was his 10th of 2014 to set a Whitecaps single-season record. ... Former Vancouver striker Carl Valentine was inducted into the Whitecaps Ring of Honour prior to the game. ... Vancouver defender Steven Beitashour returned to the starting lineup after missing out on Saturday with a hip problem. ... The Whitecaps will play their third game in eight days on Saturday when they travel to take on FC Dallas. ... San Jose hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday, also their third game in eight days. Paul Byron Jersey . She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. Pierre Turgeon Jersey . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. http://www.hockeycanadiensauthority.com/patrick-roy-canadiens-jersey-c-31/ . The $145.7-million Tim Hortons Field was slated to open this month, a year before it was to host all 32 mens and womens soccer competitions. The delay has forced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football team to use a smaller facility for the first two home games of the season.TORONTO – Brett Lawrie is off to a slow start at the plate, just 3-for-29 (.103) entering Wednesday nights tilt with the Astros. Approached to discuss his early season slump, Lawrie obliged but it wasnt long before he got a little help from a friend. "Hell be fine," Jose Reyes shouted as he walked by the discussion. The 24-year-old had a solid Grapefruit League, hitting .339/.373/.484 with two home runs. But thats spring training, the quality of pitching varies (Baseball Reference ranked Lawries mound opponents an 8.6/10) and the types of pitches that get thrown in certain counts are different; often times a pitcher goes into an appearance looking to work on specific parts of his repertoire. Eight games in, Lawrie insists hes not pressing. "Its a long season, man," said Lawrie. "I mean, weve still got 140-plus games so for me to push the panic button right now is no point because its a long year so stay healthy, just keep going and grinding and getting after it. The main thing is that were winning so obviously find positivity there and obviously look to do the job again today and find some way to contribute to the team." The thing is, Lawrie likely is pressing. The fact he doesnt want to talk about it, or admit to it, is fine. "Hes a little mental right now," said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. "Hes sitting on pitches and hes guessing wrong is whats happening. When that happens you start to lose your approach; you want to get in just to try to hit the ball hard and that ends up being a recipe for disaster. Hes just pressing right now." Lawrie and Seitzer convened for an early Wednesday afternoon hitting session in the batting cage. The aim wasnt to go over significant mechanical tweaks but rather pitch recognition, which is sometimes compromised when a hitter struggles and begins to think too much in the batters box. It appears to the layman observer that the hitch Lawrie had last year has returned to his swing, which occurs just as hes cocking his bat to bring it through the strike zone. "He had some of that in spring training too," said Seitzer. "The late is from tension of reacting to fastballs instead of being ready to hit them and then when you do get one, when youre looking for one and you get it, then you try and do too much and that causes more tension." Manager John Gibbons goes out of his way to praise Lawries maturity, noting his third basemans ability to maintain his composure throughout the early season slump. "Hes come a long way," said Gibbons. Lawrie knows he can contribute in other areas. "Youve got both sides of the coin youve got to worry about," said Lawrie. Guy Lapointe Jersey. . "Ultimately, if I cant get it done on offence one day than hopefully I can help the team out on defence. Thats kind of how it goes, just try to find a way to contribute." CECIL TAKING CARE Brett Cecil was available for the Blue Jays on Wednesday night against the Astros. He had a 16-pitch, one inning appearance versus Houston on Tuesday and Cecils been careful since spring training not to overextend his arm. "Really what it comes down to is how I feel the day after and how much I can go, whether its just a hitter or a full inning," said Cecil. Cecil made a career-high 60 appearances in 2013, his first full season as a reliever. He was shut down in mid-September, however, suffering from elbow pain. "When I throw one day usually there are no problems, no stiffness," said Cecil. "When I throw two days in a row, the next day it will be a little bit sore. Unless its towards the end of the season, a playoff race or something, that would probably be the only time Id go three days in a row." WAGNER RECALLED Reliever Neil Wagner is back with the Blue Jays, recalled prior to Wednesdays game against the Astros. Right-hander Marcus Walden, who didnt get into a game since joining the Jays on Saturday, was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays made no secret that Wagners springtime demotion was strictly a business move – Wagner had an option left and others didnt. "Wagner came into his own last year," said manager John Gibbons. "Hes a guy that can get some big outs late in the game for you." With Casey Janssen still on the disabled list with an abdominal strain and Sergio Santos in the closers role in Janssens stead, the Jays need another late-inning right-hander to work alongside Steve Delabar. Wagner fits the mold. With his mid-to-high 90s fastball, the 30-year-old stuck out 33 hitters in 38 innings over 36 appearances for the Blue Jays last season. BASEBALL PODCAST Each week, Ill sit down with Toronto Star baseball columnist Richard Griffin and MLB.coms Blue Jays beat reporter Gregor Chisholm for the Baseball Podcast. Well discuss the latest news surrounding the ballclub. The aim will be record the podcast each Wednesday but will depend on our respective schedules. Well keep you posted on Twitter. Click here for the first edition, recorded the afternoon of Wednesday, April 9. We talk about the early season performance of the starting rotation, hitters running hot and cold through the first week of the season and last weeks salary deferral revelations. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '