DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Carlos Beltran homered for his first hit this spring, leading the New York Yankees past the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 on Sunday. Jose Bautista hit his second homer in exhibition play for the Blue Jays. Beltrans solo home run came in the third off reliever Todd Redmond and landed far over the right-field fence. It capped a four-run inning that included a two-run homer by Eduardo Nunez. Beltran signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Yankees in the off-season. He batted .296 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs with the St. Louis Cardinals last year. "You want to see guys swinging the bat well, obviously, but its really important at the end," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It doesnt really matter sometimes. You can be swinging the bat horrible at the end of spring training and get off to a hot start and vice versa. But its always nice to see." Bautista connected off Vidal Nuno in the first. Nuno struck out three and gave up two hits in two innings. Toronto starter Esmil Rogers tossed two innings and allowed an earned run. The right-hander gave up three hits and struck out one. Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion, Melky Cabrera and Adam Lind each doubled for the Blue Jays. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter did not play. STARTING TIME Blue Jays: Rogers threw 36 pitches and worked almost-exclusively on his changeup, which he said is progressing well. "Thats what I was working for," Rogers said. "Down in the Dominican (Republic) during winter ball, I worked on my changeup and now I feel more comfortable. I got it before. The only reason is I didnt have too much confidence to throw that. Right now, I can throw anything I want." Rogers was 5-9 with a 4.77 ERA in 44 games with the Blue Jays last season. He is a candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation. Yankees: Nuno said he felt as if he "got a little happy with the fastball," which led to Bautistas home run. Nuno, who is a contender for the fifth spot in the rotation, appeared in five games with the Yankees last season and made three starts. He finished 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA. "Overall, Im just pleased a little bit with how the outcome came," he said. "It was just one pitch and Bautista just hit it out. Location was good and everything. (My fastball) just got overused a little bit and I wasnt using my secondary (pitches) like I was supposed to do." TRAINERS ROOM Blue Jays: Colby Rasmus was scratched from Sundays lineup because of a stiff neck. Rasmus was set to bat seventh, but opted to sit as a precaution. He does not expect it to be a long-term issue and hopes to return in a "couple days." "I feel all right, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Rasmus said. Anthony Gose took Rasmus place in centre field and was 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Manager John Gibbons said closer Casey Janssen had an MRI on his sore right shoulder, but it did not show any damage. "Its just inflamed," Gibbons said. "Theres a lot of wear and tear on a guy over the years. Hes smart, backed off and well give him a little breather. Theres still a full month (of spring training) left. Hell be ready to go." Janssen, who saved 34 games for the Blue Jays last season, said he plans to rest and start throwing again in a few days. Yankees: Girardi said first baseman Mark Teixeira, limited to 15 games last season because of a right wrist injury, might play in his first spring training game on Thursday or Friday. Alfonso Soriano, recovering from flu-like symptoms, went through a workout Sunday morning that included batting practice and defensive drills. The outfielder/designated hitter could play in his first exhibition game in the next few days. FIRE DRILL The Yankees dealt with a minor scare before the game when a towel inside of a dryer caught fire in the grounds crew clubhouse located next door to the teams clubhouse. Girardi joked that "it got a little smoky" and said some players evacuated. There was no reported damage or injuries. PINEDA PITCHES Yankees fifth starter candidate Michael Pineda, who missed the past two seasons after right shoulder surgery, threw 21 of 35 pitches for strikes in a simulated game. He faced 10 batters, allowing two hits, striking out one and walking his final two hitters. Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda are scheduled to pitch in Fridays game against the Tigers in Tampa. Air Vapormax 97 Nz . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Air Vapormax Nz . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. http://www.airvapormaxnz.com/ .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Nike Tn For Sale Nz . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. Nike Tn Shoes Nz . -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Carolina Panthers have used another strong December push under fourth-year coach Ron Rivera to reclaim the NFC South division lead.Yes, the 6-8-1 Panthers.Despite going more than two months without a victory this season, Carolina enters Week 17 in first place and needing a win or tie Sunday at Atlanta to repeat as division champions after climbing back into the playoff hunt with a 3-0 December.Believe me, I always said it — were in it, Rivera said. Again, Im making no apologies for being in it.Strong finishes have become commonplace since Riveras arrival.The Panthers are 14-3 in December games since Rivera took over as coach in 2011. Only Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have a better record (15-2), according to STATS.Rivera attributes Carolinas strong finish to incorporating younger players into the lineup late in the season, and his players putting in extra work on the field after practice.A lot of our guys stay after to do the extra things, the little things, Rivera said. A lot of our young players do the little things. Probably the one thing I wish is we could be better in the month of October or late September, thats for sure.In the midst of a seven-game winless streak, the Panthers decided to begin playing younger — and in many cases, faster — players. They got rid of veteran wide receiver Jason Avant and cornerback Antoine Cason and benched safety Thomas DeCoud.The result is a team that looks different than the one that lined up opening day.The Panthers started a franchise-record seven rookies on Sunday against Cleveland.Philly Brown started alongside Kelvin Benjamin, giving the Panthers more speed at wide receiver. Guards Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner have helped shore up tthe offensive line.dddddddddddd.Defensively, the Panthers start two rookies in the secondary in cornerback Bene Benwikere and Tre Boston. Rookie outside linebacker Adarius Glanton got his first start Sunday in place of the injured A.J. Klein.You get seven rookies on the field playing meaningful minutes at meaningful times in the game, thats a big number, Rivera said. I thought theyve all handled it well.Offensive co-ordinator Mike Shula said Rivera placed an emphasis on winning in his first season in 2011.Rivera inherited a team that went 2-14 in the year before and the Panthers got off to a rocky 3-8 start.Instead of writing off the season, Rivera talked about building a foundation for the future.The Panthers, with nothing to play for, went 3-2 in December that season.That momentum seems to have carried over.The Panthers have won 10 of their past 11 December games, including a 17-13 victory at home against Cleveland on Sunday.We talked about getting used to winning in December, Shula said. Because that is what you are going to have to do to get in the post-season.Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said the players never stopped believing they could win the division.We just had to tweak a couple things and by the time December rolled around, we were a team that was ready to roll, Kuechly said. We got hot at the right time. Weve just got to keep rolling now.NOTES: The Panthers have activated defensive end Frank Alexander from the reserve/exempt list and placed wide receiver DeAndre Presley on injured reserve with a concussion. Anderson missed 14 games while serving consecutive suspensions for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '