CORK, Ireland -- Mikko Ilonen of Finland carded a course-record 7-under-par 64 while crowd favourite Rory McIlroy finished 10 shots behind in the first round of the Irish Open on Thursday. Wholesale Fashion Shoes Free Shipping . Ilonen birdied five of his closing seven holes in superb scoring conditions to end the day with a two-shot lead on the Fota Island course. Ilonen had just 26 putts on the occasion of his 300th European Tour event. It added up to a record on a course made over since the last Irish Open at Fota Island in 2002. The Finn, a three-time winner on tour, wasnt surprised at the fifth course record in his career. "I lost out in a playoff to Sergio (Garcia) in the Qatar Masters this year, and recently in the Nordea Masters I felt my game was good despite finishing 32nd, which is still a mystery how I finished 32nd that week as I was hitting my best shots of the week there," Ilonen said. "Maybe the good golf is there but then we still have a long way to go." Tied for second on 5 under were Germanys Marcel Siem and the Swedish pair of Robert Karlsson and Magnus Carlsson. McIlroy hit just eight of the 14 fairways and took 30 putts in a round of 3-over 74. Hes in a lowly share of 125th place in the 156-player field. "Ive still got a little bit of jet lag, for sure, coming from the U.S. Open," he said. "I wasnt able to do much the Monday, Tuesday, because the clubs didnt arrive until yesterday, as well, so that was a little bit frustrating more than anything else. "But I did a really good practice session on the range last night after the pro-am, and was feeling good going out this morning. However, I just couldnt really put it together as I was very sloppy with the scoring clubs, wedges, the short game, the putting. All that was just a little off. "Hopefully, that is my poor round for the week." Wholesale Shoes Cheap . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night. Cheap Fashion Shoes Wholesale .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. http://www.wholesaleshoesfashion.com/ . He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.TORONTO – The Blue Jays play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Yankees on Sunday. With a win, Toronto (3-3) would head into its first off-day of the regular season above .500 and with the Astros coming to town for a three-game set starting Tuesday. KRATZS FIRST START Catcher Erik Kratz was looking forward to being behind the plate for Drew Hutchisons start on Sunday afternoon. “I like his demeanour,” said Kratz. “I like how he goes after hitters and hes not afraid of contact. Hes going to go right after these guys and Im excited about it.” Its been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Kratz. Acquired from Philadelphia in the offseason, along with pitcher Rob Rasmussen, it was assumed Kratz would have the inside track to be Dioner Navarros backup because hes an offensive threat. Kratz lost the job to Josh Thole, who has a lengthy track record catching knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, but was recalled in time for opening day when Casey Janssen went on the disabled list. “Theyve been up and down for sure,” said Kratz. “When I got sent down I was disappointed but when I got called back up obviously youre excited again. Its something that, its part of the game, its part of where Im at in my career.” He understands the business and knows there are limited opportunities to impress. But Kratz is familiar to the organization, the Blue Jays drafted him in 2002, and hes confident hes built up enough of a resume during his time in Philadelphia. He hit 18 home runs in 375 at-bats over the last two seasons. “I cant sit here and say, Oh man, this one at-bat that Im going to get off the bench is going to make or break my season,” said Kratz. “Its something that you do have to take advantage of your opportunities. Ive been fortunate to have opportunities in the big leagues so Ive put together a little bit of a resume.” Should he be called upon to catch Dickey this season, Kratz has confidence in his ability to receive the knuckleball. “Its as good as its been,” said Kratz. “I think he said it right and he knows the pitch the best. I definitely improved. Is there room for more improvement? Absolutely. I think its something that, getting that comfort level out in those games, lights are a little brighter than in spring training. Just the more reps I can get the more comfortable Ill get.” WALDEN “SHOCKED” AT CALL-UP Needless to say Marcus Walden was surprised when his contract wass purchased from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday. Wholesale Shoes China. “I was definitely shocked,” said Walden. “I saw that they were calling up Chad Jenkins. I didnt hear of a 10-day rule, I had no knowledge of it, so my skipper called me in and I was shocked. Really shocked.” The 10-day rule to which Walden is referring applies to players optioned to the minor leagues. Players on option already are on the 40-man roster and if theyre sent to the minor leagues, they must spend 10 regular season days on option before theyre eligible to be recalled. The lone exception is to be an injury replacement when someone on the big league roster is placed on the disabled list. The Blue Jays intended to recall Chad Jenkins but, because hes on option, he isnt eligible for call up until April 10, the 11th day of the regular season. Walden wasnt on the 40-man roster, hence his contract being “purchased,” and so he was selected as Jeremy Jeffress replacement when Jeffress was designated for assignment. Walden, 25, is a sinkerball pitcher who relies on ground ball outs. His career minor league strikeout rate of 5.4 per nine innings reflects his approach. He missed most of 2009 and all of 2010 after undergoing Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Walden made a number of adjustments to his training regimen as a result. “Ever since then Ive kind of changed a lot of stuff about working out and doing a lot of things to get myself ready to pitch,” said Walden. “At the end of the day I think its paid off.” Walden swears by yoga; he estimates he participated in 40 to 50 sessions in the offseason. Hes considered one of the strongest players in the Blue Jays organization and he credits yoga. “I think its something, it kind of gets people to be more limber and more flexible,” said Walden. “If youve got really big, strong, tight muscles it does you no good. The more limber you are, the more flexibility you can have, the looser your muscles are to help with not having injuries.” ,b>POSITIVE SIGN For the first time in franchise history, the Blue Jays first three wins of a season have come with the club scoring fewer than four runs in each of the victories. The starting pitching, with the benefit of improved defence, is off to a much better start than last year. Its early but the Blue Jays 3.78 starting staff ERA has the team on track to vastly improve on last seasons 4.81 ERA amongst starters, which ranked second worst in baseball. ' ' '