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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Pick (MLB):
New York Mets (Santana) +112, for 10 units
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Yankees rough up Santana, rout Mets 15-0
(By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Baseball Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) -Johan Santana was way off track in the Subway Series.

Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees hammered Santana in the worst start of his career, routing the Mets 15-0 on Sunday for the biggest interleague blowout between the Big Apple rivals.

“Today was a terrible day and that’s about it,” Santana said. “I didn’t locate my fastball today the way it’s supposed to be located.”

Jeter went 4 for 4 and the Yankees got two-run homers from Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano in a nine-run fourth inning, chasing Santana early to take two of three in a testy series at Yankee Stadium.

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez shouted at Yankees reliever Brian Bruney in left field during batting practice and the two were separated by teammates. The confrontation came one day after Bruney and Rodriguez exchanged barbs through the media.

“It’s over. Turn the page. That’s it,” Rodriguez said.

Once the first pitch was thrown, the Yankees provided all the fireworks.

They needed only four innings to set a season high for runs in a game, building a 13-0 cushion for A.J. Burnett (5-3). The Yankees finished with 17 hits, three by No. 9 batter Francisco Cervelli, and pulled several stars before the seventh.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel wasn’t around at the end, either. He was ejected by plate umpire Jim Wolf for arguing after David Wright took exception to a called third strike in the sixth.

It was the Yankees’ largest shutout victory since beating Toronto 15-0 in the opener of a doubleheader on Sept. 25, 1977 – and their biggest at home since routing Detroit by the same score on Aug. 4, 1953.

“When you’re going up against a guy like that you raise your level because you know that he’s one of the best,” Nick Swisher said. “Obviously, if you want to be the best then you’ve got to beat the best. And today we got a good piece of him.”

Santana (8-4) didn’t look right all day. The velocity on his fastball was down, around 89-90 mph, and he was touched up for four two-out runs in the second.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner walked Swisher leading off the fourth and Matsui followed with his 10th home run. Melky Cabrera lined a double, Cervelli singled and Jeter made it 7-0 with an RBI single that finished Santana, who walked slowly off the mound and removed his cap before reaching the dugout.

Asked if he’s worried about his ace, Manuel said: “Not really. Everyone hits a bump in the road every now and then.”

Johnny Damon greeted Brian Stokes with an RBI double and Jeter scored when Alex Rodriguez grounded into a double play. That closed the book on Santana, who allowed a career-high nine runs and nine hits in three-plus innings – matching his shortest start. His ERA spiked from 2.39 to 3.29.

After giving up four earned runs in his first seven outings this season, the left-hander has yielded 26 earned runs in his last six starts.

Santana said he had some back problems a month ago, but now he feels OK.

“I battled through some soreness here and there before, but I feel fine,” he said. “I think I’m fine. You start the season with those numbers and everyone expects you to keep (them) that way.”

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said Santana’s arm feels good.

“We just have to find out what the delivery issue is right now,” Warthen said, adding that Santana had a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand that healed a few starts ago. “Since that’s healed, that’s when the ball started cutting, so I just wonder if he has changed his grip by accident in some way.”

The last time Santana was lifted so quickly without a rain delay was May 23, 2004, when he went three-plus innings in a 17-7 loss for Minnesota against the Chicago White Sox.

Flashing a sharp slider, Burnett allowed only four singles in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked four in rebounding from a rough start Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

The right-hander pumped his first after escaping a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the third.

“I felt in sync the whole game. I was free out there,” Burnett said. “I was just letting it go.”

Cano doubled twice and drove in three runs. Damon also had three RBIs for the Yankees, who won the series opener 9-8 when Mets second baseman Luis Castillo dropped Alex Rodriguez’s two-out popup in the ninth inning.

“It’s the Subway Series. You’re going to see some strange things,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

The injury-riddled Mets have lost four of five.

NOTES: Burnett said he has a conference call scheduled for Monday regarding the appeal of his six-game suspension for throwing high-and-tight to Texas slugger Nelson Cruz on June 2.

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Pick (MLB):
Chicago White Sox +111, for 2.5 units
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Pierzynski’s single in 9th lifts White Sox
(By COLIN FLY, AP Sports Writer)

MILWAUKEE (AP) -A.J. Pierzynski had already broken four bats when he ducked into the clubhouse before the ninth inning to grab another. That’s when he heard the TV commentators say Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman had been perfect so far this season.

“I said, ‘Oh, he’s jinxed now. We’re going to get him.’ And we found a way to do it,” the White Sox catcher said.

Pierzynski singled with two outs in the ninth inning off previously perfect Hoffman and starter Mark Buehrle hit his first career home run to lift Chicago to a 5-4 win over Milwaukee on Sunday.

Corey Hart homered twice and Casey McGehee added another solo shot for the Brewers, who’ve lost six of seven. Milwaukee went 1-5 on its homestand.

Hoffman (0-1) came in with a string of 18 straight scoreless innings. But Pierzynski singled past second baseman Craig Counsell to score pinch-runner Clayton Richard with the go-ahead run on a 3-0 count.

“It wasn’t a bad pitch if you go back and look at it, I just knew that was the best pitch I was going to get and it might be one of the first times I’ve ever swung 3-0 in my career,” Pierzynski said.

It was also the first time Richard, a starting pitcher, had ever pinch ran. The single wasn’t hard enough for center fielder Mike Cameron to make a throw home.

“It found a hole,” Hoffman said. “You have to make a better pitch, but A.J. is a tough guy to get out.”

After getting the first out, Hoffman got in trouble by walking pinch-hitter Jim Thome, who was pulled for Richard. Scott Podsednik hit a soft single through the infield and Alexei Ramirez flied out to bring up Pierzynski.

Reliever Matt Thornton (4-1) got two outs in the eighth. Bobby Jenks notched his 14th save in 16 chances after working around a one-out single by pinch-hitter Frank Catalanotto.

It’s been a good start to a short, nine-game road trip for the White Sox, who took two of three at Miller Park. They’ll drive 90 miles back to Chicago for an off-day on Monday before a three-game set opens at Wrigley Field against the Cubs on Tuesday.

Gordon Beckham, who had his first two career RBIs on Saturday in a 7-1 win, drove in two more in the fourth inning off Braden Looper when he doubled in the corner to give the White Sox a 3-2 lead. Chicago’s top draft pick last year advanced to third on Buehrle’s groundout and scored on a two-out single by Podsednik that made it 4-2.

“When you’re a kid and you got big hits and you know it, that helps you for the next day and that just opens you for more confidence and more relaxed playing the game,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

But Hart, mired in a 2-for-23 slump until Wednesday, hit a leadoff homer in the fourth and tied it with a solo shot in the sixth.

“It’s one of those things that comes and goes,” said Hart, who is 7 for his last 16. “And right now, I’ve got it.”

Buehrle was done after six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk, but not before his big hit in the third inning.

“I was in shock because I’ve seen him hit so many times and he stinks and then to hit a home run. Poor Looper, man, he threw it right where he swung, not where he was looking for it because there was no looking for it,” Pierzynski joked.

Buehrle, who came in with three singles and 20 strikeouts in 36 career at-bats, drove a full-count fastball into the White Sox bullpen. It was the first homer by a Chicago pitcher since Jon Garland did it against Cincinnati on June 18, 2006.

Pierzynski had a shocked look on his face as Buehrle celebrated the feat alone. He ran straight into the clubhouse because he saw his teammates prepared to give him the silent treatment.

“I actually came in here and laughed,” said Buehrle, who last homered in high school. “I couldn’t believe what happened.”

NOTES: McGehee hit his first career home run in the third to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead after he’d scored the Brewers’ first run in the first inning off Prince Fielder’s two-out single. He finished a triple short of the cycle. … With a day off on Monday, RHP Jose Contreras will stay on regular rest. The White Sox will push back the left-handed Richard until the Reds’ series next weekend. … With Brewers LHP Manny Parra’s demotion to Triple-A Nashville, manager Ken Macha says they don’t have a plan yet for who might start on June 27, the next time they’ll need a fifth starter.

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Pick (MLB):
St. Louis Cardinals -104, for 2.5 units
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Indians’ Lee three-hits Cardinals, 3-0

CLEVELAND (AP) -Cliff Lee focused more on protecting a lead than throwing a no-hitter.

Lee (4-6) threw seven innings of no-hit ball before settling for a three-hitter to give the Cleveland Indians a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.

“Whatever, man,” Lee said. “They didn’t score any runs, that’s the ultimate goal.

“I knew I had a no-hitter, but I wasn’t real excited or anything. I didn’t want to get caught up in it. When we got the win, then I was excited.”

Lee allowed only two first-inning walks until Yadier Molina opened the eighth with an opposite-field drive down the right-field line that hit off the wall for a double.

The left-hander walked around the mound and took a deep breath after seeing the ball go over the head of right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

“I was hoping he would get it,” Lee said. “It was nice to get that close to a no-hitter. Maybe I’ll get another chance down the road.

“Right then, though, I had to focus. I give up another hit and all of a sudden the tying run is at the plate.”

Choo said he was playing shallower than usual because Molina had lined a couple of base hits in front of outfielders earlier in the three-game series.

“Maybe I was too shallow,” Choo said. “But with Lee having a no-hitter, I didn’t want one to fall in.”

Molina’s hit broke a string of 20 in a row set down by the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, who was bidding for the first no-hitter at Progressive Field and first by a Cleveland pitcher since Len Barker’s perfect game against Toronto on May 15, 1981.

Mark DeRosa hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Kelly Shoppach a solo shot in the fifth off Chris Carpenter (4-1), who won the NL Cy Young in 2005.

“De-Ro going deep against a great pitcher like Carpenter was huge,” Lee said. “I figured it was going to be a low-scoring game. Carpenter pitched great.”

Lee improved to 12-2 in interleague games – the best winning percentage of any pitcher with at least 12 decisions. Cleveland is 15-5 overall in Lee’s starts against the NL.

The left-hander was trying to become the first reigning Cy Young winner to throw a no-hitter since St. Louis’ Bob Gibson beat Pittsburgh 11-0 on Aug. 14, 1971.

After walking Brendan Ryan to open the game and issuing a one-out walk to Albert Pujols, the left-hander settled into a groove. He got out of that early jam by getting Ryan Ludwick on a fly ball to the warning track in right and retiring Nick Stavinoha on a grounder to third.

“I thought Ludwick’s ball was gone,” Lee said. “If so, we’re playing catch-up right away.

“I could have given up maybe eight or nine hits, but a lot of balls were right at fielders and they made good plays.”

Lee retired the side on four pitches in the second.

“It felt like every pitch he threw was a strike,” said Molina, adding that he thought his double was off a changeup.

After making 21 pitches in the first, Lee threw only 50 pitches – 41 for strikes – until the eighth.

“I started locating my fastball on both sides of the plate, but my changeup was key,” Lee said. “I had a good change and got some outs with it.”

Before Molina’s drive, the closest the Cardinals came to a hit was with two outs in the seventh. Stavinoha topped a slow roller toward third that Jhonny Peralta charged. Peralta’s throw was scooped out of the dirt by first baseman Victor Martinez as the crowd of 23,644 roared.

Ryan singled to open the ninth and took second on a two-out line single to left by Ludwick. Lee then got Stavinoha to fly out to right on the first pitch to end it. He struck out six in his third career shutout, which took 1 hour, 58 minutes.

DeRosa lined an 0-1 pitch from Carpenter into the left-field seats for a 2-0 lead in the first. Jamey Carroll drew a leadoff walk and scored on DeRosa’s 11th homer.

“Anytime you walk the leadoff hitter, there’s a good chance of getting yourself in trouble,” Carpenter said.

“When a guy is up there doing what he’s doing, you know you’re part of a special game. Unfortunately, it was on the wrong side. He worked us over pretty well tonight.”

Shoppach hit a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left-center for his fifth homer in the fifth.

Pujols came in as the all-time leader in interleague batting average at .355, but went 0-for-3 with a walk against Lee.

NOTES: Lee threw 93 pitches. … The loss was Carpenter’s first since Aug. 10. He missed a month earlier this year after straining a left rib cage muscle while batting. Carpenter dropped to 7-10 in 24 interleague starts. … Shoppach went 2 for 3. The catcher hit .125 (4 for 32) in his previous 10 games. … Cleveland won for just the second time in 25 games when scoring three or fewer runs.

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Pick (NBA):
Orlando Magic -3 (-110), for 2 units
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Redemption: Bryant leads Lakers to 15th NBA title
(By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -Kobe Bryant jumped and punched the air. He did it again, seven years of pent up frustration freed in a fit of joy.

This was the one he wanted more than all the others.

The one to top them all.

One year after failing miserably in the finals against Boston, Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers found redemption. They finished a season they felt was theirs with a 99-86 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night in Game 5 to win the 15th NBA title in franchise history.

For Bryant, this was the missing piece from his resume, his fourth championship and first without former teammate Shaquille O’Neal.

“I don’t have to hear that criticism, that idiotic criticism anymore,” said Bryant, the finals MVP. “It was annoying.”

For Lakers coach Phil Jackson, this was title No. 10, moving him past legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach for the most by a coach in league history.

“I’ll smoke a cigar in honor of Red,” Jackson said. “He was a great guy.”

For Pau Gasol. For Derek Fisher. For Lamar Odom. For Trevor Ariza and for Andrew Bynum and the rest of the Lakers, this was a title to savor.

“It’s a dream come true,” Gasol said. “The completion of a goal.”

Odom scored 17 points, Ariza had 15, Gasol 14 and 15 rebounds, and Fisher, whose two big 3s in Game 4 saved L.A., had 13 points.

It took longer than Bryant expected, but he has stepped from O’Neal’s enormous shadow – at last.

Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds and more than a dozen cold-blooded glares per game. He wasn’t out to make friends in these finals, he was out for redemption. Throughout the playoffs, he didn’t smile. He just snarled and bared his teeth.

“I was just completely locked in,” he said. “I was grumpy for a while and now I’m just ecstatic, like a kid in a candy store.”

O’Neal, who won three titles with Bryant before the pair had a major falling out, was glad to see his former teammate win another.

“Congratulations kobe, u deserve it,” O’Neal said on his Twitter page. “You played great. Enjoy it my man enjoy it.”

Bryant and Jackson, whose relationship strained and briefly snapped under the weight of success, are again at the top of their games.

Together.

Following the game, the pair shared a long embrace.

Jackson, who once called Bryant “a selfish player” now sees the 30-year-old in a far different light.

“He’s learned how to become a leader in a way in which people want to follow him,” Jackson said. “That’s really important for him to have learned that because he knew that he had to give to get back in return, and so he’s become a giver rather than just a guy that’s a demanding leader. That’s been great for him and great to watch.”

After the final horn, Bryant and his teammates bounced around the floor of Amway Arena. Moments later, Bryant swept his two daughters, both wearing gold Lakers dresses, into his arms.

It was just as he dreamed.

“It finally felt like a big old monkey was off my back,” he said. “It felt so good to be able to have this moment. For this moment to be here and to reflect back on the season and everything that you’ve been through, it’s top of the list, man.”

Bryant had come up short twice in the finals before, in 2004 with O’Neal against Detroit, and again last season against the Celtics in the renewal of the league’s best rivalry. The Lakers were beaten in six games, losing the finale in Boston by 39 points, a humiliating beatdown that Bryant and his teammates had trouble shaking.

They went to training camp with one goal in mind. This was going to be their season, and except for a few minor missteps, it was.

In the locker room afterward, Bryant made sure Jackson got a champagne shower.

“He took his glasses off, threw his head back and soaked it all in because this is a special time,” Bryant said. “For us to be the team that got him that historic 10th championship is special for us.”

Orlando will be haunted by moments in a series that swung on a few plays and had two overtime games.

After losing Game 1 by 25 points, the Magic had their chance in Game 2 but rookie Courtney Lee missed an alley-oop layup in the final second of regulation. In Game 4, Dwight Howard clanged two free throws with 11.1 seconds, and the Magic allowed Derek Fisher to nail a game-tying 3-pointer to force OT.

Howard, the Magic’s superhero center, was hardly a factor in Game 5. He scored 11 points and took just nine shots. Rashard Lewis scored 18 points, but was only 3 of 12 on 3s for Orlando, which after living on the 3, finally died by it.

The Magic went just 8 of 27 from long range.

When the game ended, Howard didn’t move. As his teammates headed to the locker room, Howard stayed on Orlando’s bench and watched as the Lakers celebrated on the Magic’s floor. Jameer Nelson, Orlando’s point guard who came back for the finals after missing four months with a shoulder injury, finally joined him.
The two sat stunned.

“What I just told Jameer is look at it, just see how they’re celebrating,” Howard said. “It should motivate us to want to get in the gym, want to get better.”

Orlando was trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals. They had rallied to knock off Philadelphia and Boston, and then upset LeBron James and Cleveland in the conference finals. The Magic always felt they had a shot at history.

Bryant, though, wouldn’t be denied his place.

“They had an answer,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said, “for everything.”

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Pick (MLB):
Cincinnati Reds (Arroyo) +102, for 8.5 units
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Bloomquist drives in three runs in Royals’ victory

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -All the Kansas City Royals needed to do to break out of a monthlong skid was to get back to interleague play.

Willie Bloomquist had three hits and three RBIs and Billy Butler had three hits and drove in two runs and the Royals defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Saturday night.

The Royals won back-to-back games for the first time since May 17-19. By winning the first two games over the Reds, the Royals have won a series for the first time since May 5-6, going 0-9-1 in their previous 10 series. They had a stretch of 23 losses in 30 games.

“I think it’s been overanalyzed the little funk we were in,” Bloomquist said. “Hopefully, we’re beyond that now and back to playing just the way we’re capable of playing.”

Playing National League clubs for 15 straight games could be the tonic the Royals need. They went 33-21 against NL teams the previous three years.

“Everybody knows we’ve had a tough five weeks and hadn’t put a lot of wins on the board,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said.

Kyle Davies (3-6), who was 0-5 with two no-decisions in his previous seven starts, picked up his first victory since April 30. Davies gave up two hits, but walked five and hit a batter in allowing three runs in five-plus innings.

“I obviously didn’t want to go a walk per inning,” Davies said. You’re putting guys on base. You’ve got to be more consistent in the zone. I was throwing a lot of pitches. I know I had my fielders on their feet. The offense picked me up.”

Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo gave up 11 hits, and five runs in the first three innings to take the loss. Arroyo (7-5), who was pulled after walking Mitch Maier to lead off the sixth, allowed six runs total.

“I had pretty good stuff, not great-great but decent,” Arroyo said. “They just fought me hard. I don’t know a lot of those guys very well and they didn’t know me as well. Bloomquist put on two good at-bats to start the game and that hurt me big time as they scored two runs. They hit balls that I made mistakes on and they hit some decent pitches in the hole. It just cost me more runs than we could afford.”

Bloomquist hit a two-run single in the Royals’ three-run second. Butler, who extended his hitting streak to nine games, singled home David DeJesus with the other run.

“We were 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position,” Bloomquist said. “That’s been big for us. We haven’t been getting that done as much as we would like lately. Just getting guys on base and getting hits is one thing, but getting them in is something we haven’t been doing a lot of lately, but hopefully we’re putting that behind us and turning the page on it. Our offense is starting to come alive.”

The Reds tied it with a three-run third, which Ramon Hernandez led off with a walk and Adam Rosales was hit by a pitch. Rookie Ryan Hanigan doubled down the left-field line, scoring both. Willy Taveras’ sacrifice bunt advanced Hanigan to third. Alex Gonzalez drove in Hanigan with a sacrifice fly.

“We didn’t just struggle with the bats, we struggled with pitching and we struggled on defense,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We just struggled period. When you are playing these American League teams and you don’t score and you give them extra outs, you are going to lose. That’s what happened. You saw it and it ain’t easy to watch. It’s especially frustrating to watch their pitcher give us a number of chances, a number of walks and for us to come away with very few runs.”

Arroyo gave up two more runs and five hits in the third, which Mark Teahen lead off with his eighth home run. DeJesus’ two-out single scored Alberto Callaspo with the other run.

Bloomquist and Butler hit run-producing singles in the sixth off reliever Jared Burton, giving the Royals a four-run cushion.

Hernandez led off the ninth with a home run on the first pitch from Royals closer Joakim Soria.

Taveras went 0 for 4, grounding into a double play to end the seventh, and is hitless in 32 at-bats.

Notes: Royals CF Coco Crisp, who has played in only five games since May 26 and did not play Saturday, could be headed for the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. “We may have to look at something here in the next couple of days,” Hillman said. “It’s really irritating him. He’s a very high pain threshold guy, but it’s hurting him.” … Hillman challenged third base umpire Tony Randazzo’s foul call of Butler’s long fly to left in the fourth. After reviewing television replays, the umpires upheld the call. It was the Royals’ first challenge since the rule was initiated. … Arroyo, who had allowed at least one run in the first inning in his previous five starts, struck out Teahen to end a scoreless first with the bases loaded.

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Picks (MLB):
Philadelphia Phillies Over 9.5 (-115), for 1.5 units
and
Philadelphia Phillies -121, for 1 unit
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Relievers shine in Boston’s 11-6 win over Phillies
(By ROB MAADDI, AP Sports Writer)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Daisuke Matsuzaka rode a stationary bike, played catch and kept his arm warm during a long rain delay, hoping to return to the mound with a five-run lead.

Dice-K still couldn’t stick around long enough to get a win.

Jason Bay and Jacoby Ellsbury homered, Julio Lugo had four hits, and the Boston Red Sox overcame another shaky outing by Matsuzaka to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-6 on Saturday night.

“The pitches they hit were mistakes. I don’t want to blame it on the rain,” Matsuzaka said after allowing four runs and seven hits in four innings.

The Red Sox have won the first two games in an interleague matchup between division leaders. They’ll go for the sweep Sunday with ace Josh Beckett on the mound.

Raul Ibanez hit his 22nd homer, and Pedro Feliz and Jayson Werth also connected for the Phillies, who’ve lost two straight since returning from a 7-3 road trip. The defending World Series champions are a major league-best 23-9 on the road, but they’re only 12-16 at Citizens Bank Park.

“We came back, but couldn’t hold them,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

Hideki Okajima (3-0) allowed one run in two innings to earn the victory. Four Red Sox relievers gave up two runs in five innings after Matsuzaka departed. After going 18-3 last year, Matsuzaka is 1-4 with a 7.55 ERA.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona didn’t think it’s fair to judge Matsuzaka’s performance on a night he waited out a rain delay of 1 hour, 35 minutes before the second inning.

“It’s a horrible night to get a read on him,” Francona said. “He gave us a lot. It was a tough night to pitch.”

Phillies starter Antonio Bastardo (2-1) gave up five runs – four earned – and three hits in one inning. The hard-throwing lefty didn’t return after the delay.

Trailing 5-0, the Phillies started chipping away in the third. Consecutive two-out doubles by Shane Victorino and Chase Utley produced the first run. Third baseman Mike Lowell prevented another with a diving, backhanded catch on Ryan Howard’s liner to end the inning.

Ibanez crushed a solo homer to right in the fourth. After Werth singled, Feliz went deep to cut it to 5-4.

But the Red Sox answered with three runs off Jack Taschner in the fifth. Jason Varitek had an RBI double and Lugo and Dustin Pedroia added run-scoring singles to make it 8-4.

Werth’s RBI single off Manny Delcarmen in the fifth got the Phillies to 8-5. But Delcarmen escaped further trouble by striking out pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs to leave the bases loaded.

Bastardo, who won his first two career starts on the West Coast, struggled right from the start in his first outing in front of the home crowd. Some uncharacteristically sloppy defense by the Phillies didn’t help the rookie pitcher.

Bastardo issued three walks and Philadelphia made three errors in the first. Bay hit a long drive out to left-center for his 17th homer. With two runners on, Lugo lined a two-out single to center that skipped past Victorino. Both runners scored to put the Red Sox up 5-0, and Lugo reached third.

It was the first error this season for Victorino, a Gold Glove winner last year. The Phillies came in with the fewest errors (19) and the best fielding percentage (.991) in the majors.

Victorino saved three runs in the fifth with an over-the-shoulder, running catch on Kevin Youkilis’ two-out drive with the bases loaded.

NOTES: John Smoltz will make his next start Thursday, but it’s uncertain whether it’ll be with the Red Sox or another rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket. Smoltz, who spent 20 seasons with Atlanta, is returning from shoulder surgery last June. … Pedroia was 0 for 10 in the series and 3 for 35 before his RBI single. … Chad Durbin pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Bastardo. … Jimmy Rollins is 1 for 20 in the last four games, dropping the 2007 NL MVP’s average from a meager .230 to .217. … Boston has won 12 of 14 against Philadelphia since 2005.

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Pick (MLB):
Detroit Tigers +106, for 1 unit
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Sanchez hits grand slam, Pirates beat Tigers 9-3

PITTSBURGH (AP) -Getting one home run from the Pittsburgh Pirates is a rarity this season, so imagine the surprise when they hit two Saturday night.

The Pirates, with the second fewest homers in the majors, used Freddy Sanchez’s grand slam and Adam LaRoche’s solo shot to defeat the Detroit Tigers 9-3.

Only the San Francisco Giants have hit fewer than the Pirates’ 36 home runs this season. It was the first time since May 25 that Pittsburgh had a multihomer game and only the eighth instance in 62 games this season.

“We don’t hit many home runs, we’re more of a gap-to-gap team,” said Sanchez, who leads the National League with 22 doubles. “It just came at the right time. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

Zach Duke (7-4) won for the fourth time in his past five decisions. He gave up three runs in eight innings and overcame solo homers by Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn.

Sanchez hit his second career slam in the fourth inning to give the Pirates an 8-2 lead. LaRoche homered in the second when the Pirates scored four times off Armando Galarraga (3-7).

Sanchez’s grand slam was his fifth homer of the season. LaRoche, the Pirates cleanup hitter, hit his eighth homer, but his first since May 21.

The Pirates finished with 16 hits and every starter had at least one. Jack Wilson and LaRoche each had three hits and Andrew McCutchen drove in two runs.

“That’s what we need to do,” Pirates manager John Russell said. “We’re not going to score nine every game, but we need to be more productive when we have opportunities. We did that tonight.”

Duke has pitched at least six innings in all but one of his 13 starts this year.

After giving up a one-out homer to Raburn in the fifth, Duke settled down and retired his final 11 batters. He struck out three and walked one.

Duke admittedly was relaxed pitching with such a big cushion provided by Sanchez’s slam.

“It definitely calms you down,” Duke said. “I pitched to contact. When you do that, hopefully you can get quick outs so you can rest your bullpen.”

Galarraga, winless in his past nine starts, allowed four runs and eight hits in two-plus innings. He was lifted after giving up back-to-back singles to open the third.

“My sinker was bad, my slider, too,” Galarraga said. “I felt like when I made a good pitch, they hit it anyway. My command was really bad.”

Nate Robertson pitched out of trouble to keep the Tigers within 4-2, but it was a different outcome when the Pirates loaded the bases against him in the fourth.

After the Tigers got a force at home for the second out, Sanchez homered over the left-field wall.

“I tried to go away, and it cut in,” Robertson said. “I don’t know if the ball had a scuff on it, but it cut back over the plate.”

Raburn homered in the fifth to pull the Tigers within 8-3. McCutchen had an RBI single for the Pirates in the sixth.

Galarraga opened the season 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA in four starts. Since then, he has gone 0-7 with two no-decisions and a 7.54 ERA.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he’s concerned about his starter.

“When you’re trying to throw here and it goes there, and when you try to throw there and it goes here, that’s not good,” Leyland said.

NOTES: Leyland gave CF Curtis Granderson a day off for the first time this year. Granderson, batting .315 with 11 RBI in his previous 19 games, will return to the lineup Sunday, Leyland said. Raburn replaced Granderson in center. … Russell sat RF Brandon Moss and will give him Sunday off as well. Moss is in an 0-for-15 slide that has dropped his batting average to .243. … Pirates RHP Charlie Morton may have his start Tuesday in Minnesota pushed back a day because of tightness in his hamstring. Morton’s status will be determined Sunday. If he cannot pitch, LHP Paul Maholm will move up a day in the rotation. … To mark the 100-year anniversary of the 1909 World Series victory against the Tigers, the Pirates honored 13 members of championship teams, including former manager Chuck Tanner. … Four former Pirates managers were in attendance: Tanner (1977-85), Leyland (1986-96), Gene Lamont (1997-2000) and Lloyd McClendon (2001-05). Lamont and McClendon are on Leyland’s staff.

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Orlando Magic -3 (-110), for 2 units
Game time: 8 PM ET
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:

Detroit Tigers +106, for 1 unit
Game time: 7.05 PM ET
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Friday, June 12, 2009

Pick (MLB):
San Francisco Giants Under 7 (-120), for 7 units
————-
Lincecum deals as Giants beat A’s
(By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Tim Lincecum kept tabs on heralded rookie Vin Mazzaro all right, despite the reigning Cy Young Award winner’s insistence that he’s facing the other lineup and not the other pitcher.

“He had a no-hitter, perfect game through the first three. It looked like a tough day for us,” Lincecum said.

Lincecum just got tougher.

The hard-throwing right-hander pitched a seven-hitter for his third career complete game and first this season, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Oakland Athletics 3-0 on Friday night to win the first meeting of the Bay Bridge Series.

Lincecum (6-1), who also drove in his third run of the year, struck out eight and walked one to win his sixth straight decision dating to his only loss of 2009 on April 12 at San Diego.

“He did it all tonight. He had the big hit there for us, pitched well,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We say enough things about him but tonight he was special.”

It was the Giants’ seventh shutout of the year and Lincecum’s second career shutout. He also had one last Sept. 13 in a 7-0 victory at San Diego.

Lincecum regularly pumped his fist and looked as strong in the late innings as he did at the start.

“It was just big pitches and big outs when we needed them,” he said of the emotion he exuded.

San Francisco won its third straight against the A’s and ended a seven-game home losing streak to Oakland with its first victory in the series in the Giants’ waterfront ballpark since June 24, 2006. The A’s swept a three-game series in San Francisco last year.

Lincecum singled in the first career run allowed by Mazzaro (2-1) in the fifth inning and won this impressive pitcher’s duel. Aaron Rowand followed Lincecum’s hit with a two-run single.

Lincecum struck out Matt Holliday to finish the eighth, then fanned former Giant Rajai Davis to end the Giants’ seventh shutout of 2009 in a speedy 2 hours, 2 minutes – and on an efficient 110 pitches. Oakland was blanked for the fifth time this season.

“His fastball was at 95 in the ninth inning. That speaks for itself,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “He had everything working.”

Mazzaro wasn’t bad himself.

He didn’t allow a hit until Pablo Sandoval’s leadoff bunt single in the fifth and pitched 17 2-3 scoreless innings to start his career.

“I wasn’t expecting him to bunt. It was a good one though,” Mazzaro said. “You have to expect anything from anybody.”

After Mazzaro received a mound visit from pitching coach Curt Young, Lincecum stepped in with the bases loaded and punched a single to shallow left-center.

Mazzaro retired the first 11 batters he faced Friday before Randy Winn reached on third baseman Jack Hannahan’s error in the fourth. Hannahan scooped up Winn’s grounder, but first baseman Jason Giambi couldn’t field the low throw. That snapped a 72-game errorless streak by Hannahan dating to Aug. 10, 2008, the longest in Oakland history by a third baseman.

Mazzaro, one of four rookies in Oakland’s inexperienced rotation, allowed six hits in six innings, struck out four and walked one. None of Oakland’s starters had a major league at-bat entering interleague play.

Giambi went 0 for 4 for Oakland, seeing his batting average drop to .212 – his lowest at this stage of the season since he was hitting .182 in only four games played as a rookie in 1995.

Two Oakland fans were dressed in full uniforms, with wigs and sunglasses, imitating Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco and carrying a replica of the World Series trophy.

Notes: The A’s activated INF Nomar Garciaparra from his second stint on the 15-day disabled list and he had a pinch-hit single in the seventh. Oakland optioned OF Aaron Cunningham to Triple-A Sacramento to clear room on the roster. … A’s C Kurt Suzuki didn’t start in consecutive games for the first time this season. He fouled a ball off his left knee during a pinch-hit appearance Thursday against the Twins. … The Giants held a reunion for their team from the 1989 World Series – interrupted for 10 days by an earthquake – that was swept by the A’s and 25 players took part in Friday’s festivities. Oakland plans a similar get-together June 23 when the Giants play at the Coliseum.

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Pick (MLB):
St. Louis Cardinals (Pineiro) +105, for 6 units
————-
Huff pitches Indians past Cardinals, 7-3

CLEVELAND (AP) -Shin-Soo Choo got the job done again – this time without any avian assistance.

A day after his winning hit glanced off a gull in the outfield, Choo drove in three runs for the Indians to help rookie David Huff get his second big league win in Cleveland’s 7-3 win Friday night over the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I didn’t see any birds out there,” Choo said with a laugh. “I guess I didn’t need them tonight.”

Huff (2-2), making his sixth major league start, gave up a leadoff homer to Albert Pujols in the fourth and left with one out in the eighth after allowing three runs.

“He pitched well,” St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said. “He moved the ball around, used three different pitches and kept us off-balance. He got ahead of us most of the time and pitched a good game.”

Joel Pineiro (5-7) allowed three runs in 6 1-3 innings. He has lost seven of his last eight starts, including four straight. Both of the walks he allowed came with two outs and both runners ended up scoring.

“I want to make them earn their way on base,” he said. “You don’t want to give them that free pass, especially with two outs, because that’s when stuff happens. That’s what happened today. Two-out walks come back to haunt you.”

The flocks of gulls that have been swarming Progressive Field the last two homestands were largely absent Friday night. A few flew around the ballpark’s upper deck, but none landed on the field. The Indians shot off fireworks every half inning – saving some for a scheduled postgame show.

Choo’s winning single in the 10th inning against Kansas City Thursday night bounced into a group of gulls and struck one, preventing Royals center fielder Coco Crisp from attempting a throw to the plate.

On Friday night, Choo hit an RBI single in the first and added a two-run single with the bases loaded in the seventh.

Ben Francisco had a run-scoring double in the fourth for the Indians, putting Cleveland ahead for good.

Huff got his first career win in his last start on Sunday against the White Sox, allowing three runs in five innings.

Pujols hit his 20th homer of the season into the left field bleachers on the first pitch of the fourth.

“Every time I faced him I was able to attack him,” Huff said. “The home run he hit was supposed to be a fastball in, but it was over the plate.”

Choo’s two-run single came off left-hander Dennys Reyes. Travis Hafner also drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.

Run-scoring singles by Pujols and Ryan Ludwick in the eighth off Joe Smith cut the lead to 5-3, but Victor Martinez doubled home two runs in the bottom of the inning.

NOTES: The Indians are 11-4 against the Cardinals. … The Cardinals recalled RHP P.J. Walters from Triple-A Memphis before the game and optioned INF Brian Barden to the same club. … Cleveland RHP Anthony Reyes had elbow surgery Friday and will be sidelined from 12-18 months. … Indians RHP Jake Westbrook, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, pitched four scoreless innings in a rehab start for Double-A Akron against Portland on Friday. He is exepcted to rejoin the Indians late this month.

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Pick (MLB):
Tampa Bay Rays Under 9 (-110), for 2 units
————-
Kapler’s homer lifts Rays past Nationals
(By FRED GOODALL, AP Sports Writer)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Even though he’s batting less than .200, the Tampa Bay Rays continue to show faith in Gabe Kapler.

That loyalty paid Friday night.

One pitch after an error prolonged his at-bat, the slumping Kapler hit a pinch-hit home run that snapped an eighth-inning tie and gave the AL champions a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Stuck in a 3-for-31 slide that dropped his batting average to .173, Kapler went deep against Ron Villone (3-2) after first baseman Nick Johnson dropped a pop foul that would have been the third out.

“I was screaming at the ball and I think it heard me and skipped off Nick’s glove,” Kapler said. “I guess I really wanted that opportunity.”

Kapler primarily plays against left-handed pitchers and said he’s extremely appreciative that manager Joe Maddon continues to pencil him into the lineup and bring him off the bench against lefties.

“One of the things I’m most impressed with this season is the fact I’ve struggled fairly significantly, and every time there’s a lefty out there, I get the chance to start,” Kapler said. “It tells me he believes I can get the job done.”

Villone was on his way to an easy one-two-three eighth when Johnson settled under Kapler’s pop foul. He made a slight adjustment at the last moment, but couldn’t hold onto the ball.

“I just missed it. Plain and simple,” Johnson said. “Saw it the whole way, just didn’t catch it.”

J.P. Howell (2-2), the fourth Tampa Bay pitcher, worked 1 1-3 innings to get the victory that moved Tampa Bay (32-31) one game over .500.

Another sloppy performance by the Nationals, who allowed two unearned runs, prompted manager Manny Acta to hold a team meeting.

“We have to make sure we don’t give any extra outs,” Acta said. “That really ends up biting us.”

Washington’s Elijah Dukes had a two-run double, helping his team take a 3-0 lead in his first trip to Tropicana Field since the Rays traded their former prospect to the Nationals after the 2007 season.

Dukes ability was never an issue during a turbulent stay in Tampa Bay’s minor league system and one rocky season with the major league club. But his temper and several off-the-field transgressions were a hindrance, and the Rays eventually ran out of patience.

His first-inning double off Matt Garza set off a celebration among a group of family and friends who rose to cheer each time the 24-year-old, who went to high school in Tampa, came to the plate. Rays fans greeted him with scattered boos.

Adam Dunn drove in Washington’s first run with a first-inning single off Garza, who allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings.

Tampa Bay erased a 3-0 deficit with help from a throwing error by Nationals catcher Josh Bard that allowed B.J. Upton to trot home from third base after he and Carl Crawford executed a double steal in the third inning.

Dioner Navarro had a RBI single in the second and Gabe Gross doubled down the right field line off reliever Joel Hanrahan to drive in the last run charged to starter Craig Stammen to make it 3-3 in the sixth.

Stammen, one of four rookies in Washington’s rotation, allowed four hits, walked three and struck out five.

NOTES: DH Pat Burrell returned to the Rays’ lineup after missing 29 games with a neck strain and went 0-for-3 with a walk. … Tampa Bay LHP Scott Kazmir (strained right quad) threw 44 pitches in a simulated game and likely will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment at Class A Charlotte in the middle of next week. … Rays SS Jason Bartlett (left ankle sprain) began a rehab assignment at Charlotte. He went 1-for-4 with a walk as the designated hitter Friday and is expected play shortstop Saturday and Sunday before being evaluated. … Washington RHP Kip Wells (groin strain) will pitch on consecutive days Saturday and Sunday for Class A Potomac. … Nationals LHP Scott Olsen (left shoulder tendinitis) will make a rehab start this weekend with Triple-A Syracuse.

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Pick (MLB):
Detroit Tigers -127, for 1.5 units
————-
Porcello leads Tigers past Pirates 3-1

PITTSBURGH (AP) -Rick Porcello made the most of his first opportunity to bat in the big leagues. His pitching was pretty good too.

Porcello threw seven crisp innings and had a pair of RBI singles for his first major league hits, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

“Pitching is always the first priority but it was fun to get a couple of hits,” Porcello said with a smile.

The 20-year-old rookie’s impressive night came in front of an audience more focused on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit than on the baseball game. The crowd of 18,369 erupted twice in the late innings after Penguins center Max Talbot scored two second-period goals. The Penguins held on to beat the Red Wings 2-1 for the title.

Placido Polanco went 4 for 4 for AL Central-leading Detroit, which has won six of eight. Porcello (7-4) allowed one run and six hits.

Porcello became the first Tigers pitcher with a multihit game since Jeff Weaver had two hits on June 23, 2002, against Florida. The right-hander also was the first Detroit pitcher to collect more than one RBI in a game since Joe Coleman drove in three on Sept. 21, 1972, at Boston, the season before the designated hitter was adopted by the AL.

“I told (Leyland) before the game that I was a good hitter in high school but that was mainly so he wouldn’t pinch hit for me early,” Porcello said.

Porcello drove in Magglio Ordonez with a two-out single off Ian Snell (1-7) in the second inning. Ordonez led off with a base hit, stole second and moved to third on Ramon Santiago’s single.

Porcello struck again with two outs in the sixth. Snell intentionally walked Santiago to put runners on first and second before his counterpart pulled a pitch down the right-field line to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

“He’s just an athlete, one of those special guys,” Leyland said of Porcello. “He’s 20 years old and succeeding in the big leagues, and he’s just a baby.”

Snell (1-7) gave up two runs and 10 hits in seven innings, dropping 0-5 with a 5.81 ERA in his last 10 starts. Pittsburgh has lost five of seven overall.

“I thought I pitched pretty well but I couldn’t get the pitcher out,” Snell said. “I guess that’s karma for you.”

John Grabow replaced Snell and Brandon Inge hit his first pitch over the wall in left for his 14th homer, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

Zach Miner pitched a scoreless eighth and Fernando Rodney got three outs for his 12th save. Adam LaRoche doubled with one out in the ninth but Rodney retired Andy LaRoche on a grounder to first and struck out Brandon Moss to end the game.

Freddy Sanchez hit an RBI double in the sixth for Pittsburgh’s only run.

NOTES: Leyland put CF Curtis Granderson back in the leadoff spot and said he will remain there for the foreseeable future. Leyland had been experimenting with Granderson hitting in the No. 5 spot with left fielder Josh Anderson batting first. INF/OF Don Kelly, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, joined the Tigers on Friday and started in left. Kelly made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2007 and is a Pittsburgh native. Pirates RHP Tyler Yates underwent tests on his ailing right elbow that showed no structural damage. Yates has been on the disabled list since May 16 with elbow inflammation and had to cut short a simulated game Tuesday when he began experiencing pain in the elbow.

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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:

Detroit Tigers -127, for 1.5 units
Game time: 7.05 PM ET
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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Pick (MLB):
Cleveland Indians +118, for 8 units
————-
Choo’s liner hits gull, gives Indians 4-3 win

CLEVELAND (AP) -Coco Crisp thought he still had a chance to get to Shin-Soo Choo’s bouncing base hit. A bird beat him to it.

The ball flattened a low-flying gull in the 10th inning and rolled past Kansas City’s center fielder and Mark DeRosa scored from second base without a throw to give the Cleveland Indians a 4-3 win over the Royals on Thursday night.

“Crazy things happen in this game,” Crisp said after Shin-Soo Choo’s line single over the second-base bag clipped the wing of one of hundreds of birds that buzz the ballpark. “It was hit so sharply, I felt like I had a chance,” Crisp said. “You never know what the heck is going to happen.”

The stunned bird flopped around for a few seconds before finally flying off.

Just another wild win at Progressive Field.

“I didn’t see it, but I’ll take it,” Choo said.

Two years ago, a swarm of bugs rattled New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain in the AL division series, helping the Indians rally.

The bugs, common near the lakefront in late spring, returned a few weeks ago, and for the past few weeks, flocks of gulls have flown around feeding off them, as well as scraps of food tossed by fans.

“I guess the bugs brought the birds with that whole nature thing,” Crisp said. “I’d rather have the birds, to be honest.”

DeRosa opened the inning with a single off Kyle Farnsworth (1-4) – his third single along with two walks in five times up.

Victor Martinez then walked and Choo lined a 1-0 pitch over second and off the gull. The collision changed the ball’s path just enough to redirect it past Crisp all the way to the wall as DeRosa scored easily and the Indians mobbed Choo to celebrate the win.

Choo was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts when he came up with two on and none out.

“When I got in the batter’s box, I thought they would want me to bunt, but I appreciated they let me hit away,” Choo said. “I saw the birds. I’ve seen them for weeks and been worried maybe 200 of them would be flying and one would get hit when I was trying to field a ball. Then what would I do?”

Matt Herges (2-0) worked the top of the 10th, allowing one hit. The right-hander has not allowed a run in his last 10 2-3 innings.

Cleveland moved out of last place in the AL Central, a half game ahead of the Royals, who have lost 23 of 30 since leading the division by three games on May 7.

“If we don’t make errors the first day and today, we should sweep this series,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said after Kansas City committed two errors on one play that helped Cleveland come back from a 3-1 deficit.

Royals starter Zach Greinke left with a 3-1 lead and one out in the eighth. Reliever John Bale got Choo to hit a potential double-play grounder, but the Royals started tossing the ball around wildly.

With DeRosa on second and Martinez on first, Choo’s bouncer was fielded by first baseman Billy Butler, whose throw to shortstop Tony Pena forced Martinez. But Pena’s return throw was in the dirt and got past Butler for an error that allowed DeRosa to score with a head-first slide. Meanwhile, second baseman Alberto Callaspo retrieved the ball and threw wide of home, sending Choo to second.

Jhonny Peralta followed with a high drive off the left-field wall that just missed being a homer, but easily scored Choo.

“When I got on base, things happened,” Choo said. “I need to get on base more.”

Greinke, coming off his worst start of the season, allowed three runs and six hits over 7 1-3 innings – matching his season-high pitch count at 116.

The right-hander won his first six starts and had an astounding 0.40 ERA on May 4. Then the Royals went just 2-4 in his next six outings, including a 9-3 loss at Toronto on Friday in which Greinke gave up five runs.

Miguel Olivo hit his third homer in three games, a solo shot off reliever Luis Vizcaino to make it 3-1 in the top of the eighth.

Martinez put Cleveland ahead 1-0 with an RBI single in the third.

The Royals went ahead in the fifth by scoring twice against starter Jeremy Sowers. David DeJesus had a run-scoring double and later scored Butler’s grounder.

Sowers gave up two runs and six hits over five innings. Eight of the first nine outs registered by the left-hander were on grounders. He has a 2.14 ERA in four outings including three starts since being recalled from the minors May 23.

NOTES: Indians closer Kerry Wood made his 300th career appearance, striking out two in a perfect ninth. … Royals 2B Alberto Callaspo went 1 for 5 and was 7 for 13 (.538) with his first career grand slam in the three-game series. … Callaspo has hit .336 (46 for 137) overall in night games this season. … Indians LHP Scott Lewis, sidelined since April 11 with a strained left elbow made his first rehab start in the minors for Class A Lake County. He struck out three over three hitless innings.

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Pick (MLB):
Cincinnati Reds (Owings) +113, for 5.5 units
————-
Nats win 3-2 over Reds on Phillips’ throwing error

WASHINGTON (AP) -The Washington Nationals found a way to get a rare win: have the Cincinnati Reds just throw one away.

Cristian Guzman scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips in the eighth inning, a mistake that could have been forced by Alberto Gonzalez’s hard slide.

“You play hard – good things happen,” manager Manny Acta said.

The win was the third in 16 games for the Nationals, who left 12 runners on base before the eighth.

With the bases loaded and one out, Ryan Zimmerman bounced a slow grounder to shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who flipped to Phillips. As Anderson Hernandez crossed the plate with the tying run, Phillips threw wildly to first, allowing Guzman to score.

“Game on the line, you are going to try and make a play. That’s what I tried to do,” Phillips said. “(Gonzalez) hit me and I tried to make a play.”

The Reds won the first two games of the series, waiting out two excruciating rain delays and watching pitchers wriggle out of jam after jam.

Manager Dusty Baker felt Phillips shouldn’t have tried to throw the ball because he thought Zimmerman would beat the relay.

“It’s a situation where you are trying. Probably shouldn’t have, but Brandon is the best around,” Baker said. “They kept the pressure on us. Even though we had the lead, the pressure was more on us than it was on them.”

Julian Tavarez (2-4) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of John Lannan and Joe Biemel got his first save of the year, pitching a scoreless ninth. It was Washington’s first save since May 24.

Daniel Herrera (0-2), the Reds’ fourth pitcher of the game, took the loss. Starter Micah Owings hasn’t won in his past six starts and wasn’t able to last six innings.

“It’s gotten so bad that everyone’s trying to get the big hit – the big home run,” Adam Dunn said.

Dunn, who leads the team with 17 home runs and 44 RBIs, keeps waiting for the Nationals (16-42) to break out. They have just one three-game winning streak.

“We haven’t had that big blowout game the entire year,” Dunn said. “Hopefully, something clicks and everyone relaxes.”

The Reds scored a run in the second when Zimmerman’s wild throw from third base on Adam Rosales’ infield single hit the tarp past first base.

They added their second run in the fourth against Lannan when Gonzalez’s RBI single scored Jonny Gomes.

Washington made it 2-1 in the sixth when Guzman’s infield out scored Josh Willingham.

NOTES: Dunn started at 1B for Washington in place of Nick Johnson. Johnson had a pinch-hit single in the sixth inning. … Acta said Dunn will be his DH for the upcoming series at Tampa Bay. … Ramon Hernandez started at C for the Reds. With 1B Joey Votto injured, Hernandez had started 10 of the previous 11 games at first. … Washington drafted RHP Shane McCatty, son of pitching coach Steve McCatty, in the 34th round.

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Pick (MLB):
Texas Rangers Over 10 (-110), for 1.5 unit
————-
Millwood pitches gem in rare 1-0 win for Rangers
(By STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Another pitching gem by Kevin Millwood and some standout defense kept the Texas Rangers from being swept.

With the offense struggling, the AL West-leading Rangers can win with pitching and defense.

Millwood threw 7 2-3 scoreless innings Thursday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Rangers went on for only its fourth 1-0 victory in 16 seasons since moving into Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

“Tonight, that’s all we needed,” manager Ron Washington said. “We needed to get a win, and it doesn’t matter how you get it. … We are going to get it together offensively. Everybody can go in a little rut. But our heads are high. We just won a 1-0 game in Arlington.”

Texas, which didn’t homer in the rain-shortened three-game series and lost 9-0 in the previous game Tuesday, got its run when Marlon Byrd hit a sacrifice fly in the second off Ricky Romero (3-3).

“That’s what good teams do. You can’t play 10-8 games every night,” said David Murphy, who followed Nelson Cruz’s leadoff single with a double to set up Byrd’s flyball. “We’re not doing what we’re capable of, but it takes the pressure off of us when the pitchers go out doing what they’re doing.”

Millwood (6-4) gave up five hits with one strikeout and hit a batter while throwing 105 pitches against the Blue Jays, who were shut out for only the second time.

The right-hander has allowed two earned runs over 20 2-3 innings his last three starts. The last two victories followed lopsided losses by Texas.

“It shows we can win in different ways,” Millwood said. “My stuff wasn’t great, but I felt like I was able to locate and kept them off balance. We caught the ball when they hit it.”

After Marco Scutaro grounded out on the game’s first pitch, Millwood gave up consecutive singles before retiring 18 of the next 19 batters into the seventh.

Darren O’Day got Alex Rios to ground out after taking over with a runner at second and two outs in the eighth, then Vernon Wells popped out to open the ninth. The side-winding right-hander has thrown nine scoreless innings his past nine appearances.

C.J. Wilson allowed a double to Adam Lind before getting the final two outs for his sixth save in seven chances.

“Kevin set the tone,” Wilson said. “All Darren and I had to do was throw strikes and let guys get themselves out.”

Romero limited Texas to one run and five hits over 6 1-3 innings, his best outing since returning from the disabled list (oblique strain). The left-hander had allowed 13 earned runs and seven home runs over 16 1-3 innings his previous three starts.

“It’s a big confidence,” Romero said.

“It was nice to see him pitch that well,” manager Cito Gaston said. “We just couldn’t get the hit when we needed it. Any loss is tough, but when a guy pitches that well and we had a chance in the first inning to drive in some runs and we didn’t do it.”

Texas got its fourth shutout with some standout defense.

Millwood jumped up to snag one ground ball and knocked another comebacker down with his bare hand before completing that play. And the infield turned in several standout plays.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler made a scrambling stop, stumbled and regained his balance to make the throw to get Lyle Overbay out in the second. Rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus caught a foul pop falling into the first row along the third-base side in the fifth.

Michael Young, the AL Gold Glove shortstop last season who moved to third base to make room for Andrus, made a diving snag to his left to get Rios’ grounder and then shuffled to his feet and made a strong one-hop throw to first for the final out of the sixth.

Notes: Blue Jays 1B Overbay was 0-for-4, ending his 15-game hitting streak. … Rangers radio play-by-play man Eric Nadel returned to the booth after missing six games because of right eye surgery. Before the surgery, he had called 3,176 consecutive games since 1989.

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Pick (MLB):
New York Mets -104, for 1 unit
————-
Ibanez lifts Phillies past Mets in 10
(By JAY COHEN, AP Sports Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) -Charlie Manuel sounded like a proud father after the Philadelphia Phillies’ latest dramatic win.

“My team always comes back,” the manager said. “That’s what’s good about them.”

Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and Philadelphia beat the New York Mets 6-3 on Thursday night, handing its NL East rivals another difficult loss.

The Phillies rallied to win for the second straight game and 20th time this season, tying the New York Yankees for most in the majors. The defending World Series champions also wrapped up a 7-3 road trip, improving to a major league-best 23-9 on the road.

“It’s a tough ballclub, a bunch of mentally strong guys in here, all 25,” said Ibanez, who signed a free-agent deal with Philadelphia in the offseason. “I’ve been on teams before where a lot of the guys were tough and mentally tough. This team everybody is mentally tough and never gives anything away.”

Shane Victorino sparked the big 10th inning with a one-out single off Bobby Parnell (2-2). After Chase Utley walked, Ken Takahashi came in and struck out Ryan Howard as the crowd at a misty Citi Field roared. But Ibanez followed with a drive over the wall in right-center for his 21st homer.

“I was aware of his hitting abilities,” Takahashi said through an interpreter. “He’s a great hitter and I gave it my best but that was the result.”

Scott Eyre (1-1) recorded the last out of the ninth to earn the win, throwing just two pitches. Ryan Madson worked the 10th for his fourth save in five opportunities and second in two days.

Parnell also got the loss Wednesday night, giving up Utley’s winning homer in the 11th inning of Philadelphia’s 5-4 victory.

“They’ve got a little power and the longer you play with that fire the more risk there is,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.

Jaime Moyer pitched six effective innings and Pedro Feliz had three hits for Philadelphia, which took two of three against second-place New York to increase its division lead to four games. Jimmy Rollins, Utley and Matt Stairs each drove in a run.

“It’s nice to be able to go on the road and feel comfortable in the environment that we’re in and play well,” Moyer said.

The Phillies host the Boston Red Sox on Friday night in the opener of a nine-game homestand, all against AL East teams.

Carlos Beltran drove in Luis Castillo three times and Tim Redding pitched a season-high seven innings for New York, which dropped to 18-11 at its new home and will make the short drive to the Bronx to open the Subway Series on Friday night against the New York Yankees.

“They proved today that it’s not going to be easy playing in this division,” Beltran said.

Redding was in line for his first victory with New York before the Phillies rallied in the seventh. Feliz singled with one out and Chris Coste followed with a double to left to put runners on second and third. Stairs, hitting for Moyer, then grounded out to second, tying it at 3. Rollins then flied out to center to end the inning.

Castillo doubled in the first, singled in the third and doubled in the fifth. Alex Cora moved him up each time, twice with sacrifices, and Beltran took care of the rest. He had a run-scoring groundout, an RBI double and a sacrifice fly.

The Mets’ offensive execution was impressive early but it didn’t last. They went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position for the game and left five on base one night after they stranded a season-high 16 runners, including eight from innings seven through 10.

“We weren’t able to add runs,” Jerry Manuel said. “Even though we were getting hits we weren’t scoring.”

Rollins, who returned to his customary leadoff spot Wednesday night after two games batting sixth, drove in Philly’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the third. He also singled and scored on Utley’s one-out double into the right-field corner in the sixth, cutting New York’s lead to 3-2.

NOTES: The Mets placed RHP John Maine (shoulder weakness) on the 15-day disabled list after the game, retroactive to Sunday. They didn’t immediately announce a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game against the Yankees. … Phillies INF Pablo Ozuna was suspended for 50 games under baseball’s minor league drug program. Major League Baseball said he had an elevated ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, a violation of its drug rules.

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New York Mets -104, for 1 unit
Game time: 7.10 PM ET
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Pick (MLB):
Boston Red Sox Over 11 (-108), for 1.5 units
————-
Wakefield helps Red Sox beat Yankees again
(By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer)

BOSTON (AP) -Mark Teixeira couldn’t keep the New York Yankees from losing their eighth straight game to Boston – even with four hits, including his AL-leading 19th homer of the year.

Now the Yankees’ top pitching prize will have to try to stop the skid.

Mike Lowell homered off struggling Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang, and Kevin Youkilis also connected to help give Boston a 6-5 victory on Wednesday night and a 7-0 record against New York this year. Wang was the second straight Yankees starter to leave after getting just eight outs, a trend CC Sabathia will try to reverse when he pitches against Brad Penny in the series finale on Thursday.

“Hopefully, we can sweep them again tomorrow,” said Tim Wakefield, who beat the Yankees for the second straight time after losing to them in nine of his previous 10 decisions.

Teixeira spurned the Red Sox in the offseason to sign a $180 million, eight-year contract with their rivals – the biggest for a position player on the free-agent market. Sabathia got the richest deal for a pitcher in baseball history over the winter – a $161 million, seven-year contract.

The big left-hander will try to stop the skid and save a bullpen that couldn’t rescue either A.J. Burnett or Wang (0-4) when they couldn’t get out of the third inning. Yankees manager Joe Girardi would not commit to giving Wang, whose ERA dropped from 14.46 to 14.34, another turn in the rotation.

“I’m not ready to make that decision right now,” Girardi said. “We’re seven minutes after the game, so it’s something we’ll discuss. I’ll sleep on it. In five days, somebody will be out there.”

Wakefield (8-3) allowed eight hits in six innings and improved to 5-0 at Fenway Park in five starts this year. The knuckleballer handed a 6-3 lead to a bullpen that had given up just one earned run in the last 17 1-3 innings. But Ramon Ramirez gave up back-to-back homers to Johnny Damon and Teixeira in the seventh.

Hideki Okajima got four outs, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 15th save.

“It’s a tough bullpen, one of the toughest I’ve ever seen,” Teixeira said.

Boston, which also beat the Yankees in their last matchup of the 2008 season, has its longest winning streak against New York since 1912, when Fenway Park opened and the Yankees were still the Highlanders.

“We’re moving guys over, we’re getting big two-out hits, and when you do those little things like that and you’re playing good baseball you’re going to win ballgames – regardless of it’s the Yankees or anybody else,” Papelbon said. “We just happen to be playing good baseball against them right now and we’ve got to keep this momentum.”

Wang was restored to the rotation after two scoreless relief appearances, but his troubles soon returned. He gave up five runs over 4 2-3 innings in a no-decision against Texas last Thursday, and gave up four runs and six hits versus Boston.

NOTES: Teixeira hit right-handed against Wakefield. Nick Swisher hit left-handed and bunted, then right-handed and walked. … Among Boston’s picks in the draft were RHP Luke Bard, the brother of Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard. The Yankees grabbed 1B Luke Murton, the brother of Rockies OF Matt Murton. … Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury was off for the second straight night while nursing a sore shoulder. … Yankees OF Xavier Nady (15-day DL, right elbow) will be with the team on Friday and work out over the weekend. … Swisher misplayed a fly ball for a ground-rule double in the second inning, then went over the wall into the stands after a foul ball. … Wang has left his five starts trailing by a combined score of 27-3. … New York’s Hideki Matsui ended an 0-for-16 slump with a second-inning double. … A.J. Burnett lasted just 2 2-3 in the Yankees’ series-opening loss on Tuesday.

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Pick (MLB):
Cincinnati Reds -115, for 1 unit
————-
Reds recover after Nationals rally, win in 12th

WASHINGTON (AP) -Jonny Gomes sat in Cincinnati’s clubhouse and watched the end of three different baseball games on TV while he waited for a rain delay to end.

When the Reds finally got back on the field, he washed away Washington’s rally with one clutch hit.

Gomes put Cincinnati ahead with a pinch-hit RBI double in the 12th inning and the Reds won 4-2 on Wednesday night after the Nationals tied in the ninth following the long delay.

“I don’t think there was any method to the madness on that one,” Gomes said. “I went in there and took a swing – luckily it fell.”

The Reds were leading 2-0 and had perfect closer Francisco Cordero on the mound when the rain came in the bottom of the ninth. When they returned to the field more than two hours later, the Nationals pushed across two runs to send the game to extra innings.

Jay Bruce led off the 12th with a walk and Alex Gonzalez reached when Ron Villone (3-1) botched his sacrifice attempt. Bruce moved to third on a passed ball.

Jason Bergmann got Ryan Hanigan to ground into a double play but Gomes followed with his double into left field. Jerry Hairston Jr. added an RBI single.

“The bottom line is that we won. That’s not how we drew it up, that’s not how you would have scripted it,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We were out here a little later, a little longer than we planned.”

Villone gave up his first run of the year. He entered with 17 scoreless innings this season.

Nick Masset (4-0) pitched two innings for the win and David Weathers finished for his first save.

The woeful Nationals put together a nice rally after the 2 hour, 10 minute delay in the ninth. When the game started again, less than 100 fans remained in the seats, gathered in the rows behind each dugout.

Cordero issued a leadoff walk to Elijah Dukes and had a 2-2 count on Josh Willingham when rain sent the teams off the field. When the game resumed, Cordero walked Willingham to put runners at first and second.

After Ronnie Belliard struck out, Josh Bard and pinch-hitter Alberto Gonzalez had RBI singles to tie it at 2.

Cordero had converted all 15 of his save opportunities this season – it was his first blown save since last July 21 against the San Diego Padres.

“He said he felt great,” Baker said. “That’s similar to your closer throwing both ends of a doubleheader. He didn’t throw that much.”

It was one more tough result for the Nationals, who are 0-8 in extra innings this season. Washington has lost three in a row and 12 of 14 overall.

“The extra-inning thing carries back from the days when our bullpen was struggling,” manager Manny Acta said. “But right now, our bullpen is throwing a lot better, and we just haven’t been able to get the big hit.”

Aaron Harang pitched 7 2-3 shutout innings and Bruce had a two-run homer for Cincinnati. Harang allowed five hits, walked three and struck out two.

Shairon Martis went seven innings for the Nationals, allowing just three hits.

NOTES: Hairston batted leadoff for the Reds. CF Willy Taveras, trying to work his way out of a slump, moved to the second spot. Baker called the move temporary. … The Nationals signed RHP Drew Storen, the 10th overall pick in the draft. The deal is worth more than $1.5 million. … Willingham made his first start since missing six games with a stomach virus. Usually a left fielder, it also was his first career start in right. Willingham committed an error in the third when Hairston’s liner bounced out of his glove.

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Pick (MLB):
Oakland Athletics -128, for 1 unit
————-
Twins rally to beat A’s again
(By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -The Twins rallied to take the lead, then pushed across a couple of extra runs, too. This is more like the way manager Ron Gardenhire wants Minnesota to play on the road.

Pinch-hitter Jason Kubel hit a tying solo home run in the eighth, Delmon Young singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth and the Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 6-3 on Wednesday night.

Joe Crede tripled off Andrew Bailey (4-1) to start the ninth and Alexi Casilla entered as a pinch runner. He scored easily on Young’s single up the middle. Brendan Harris also added an RBI single in the inning and a pair of wild pitches by Bailey cost the A’s another run.

“That was huge,” Gardenhire said. “It kind of snowballed. We need to do that. We’ve lost so many close games on the road.”

Kubel’s drive was the third pinch-hit homer this season for the Twins, who have won two straight on the heels of a three-game losing streak.

Matt Guerrier (3-0) recorded the final out of the eighth for the win and Joe Nathan finished for his 13th save in 15 opportunities. For Minnesota, the past two games have to be encouraging. The Twins have won consecutive road games for the first time since April 24-25 at Cleveland.

“Hopefully it carries over tomorrow and we keep doing the little things,” Kubel said.

Michael Wuertz replaced starter Dallas Braden and gave up the homer on his second pitch, the first run allowed by Wuertz in 14 innings at the Coliseum this season.

Braden had been ill earlier in the day, but trusted the bullpen to protect the lead.

“It’s a huge shock but that decision was definitely a no-brainer,” he said. “It’s one that I would make again in a heartbeat. You know it’s pretty much a done deal every time. I think I probably could have put the upset stomach and tired arm aside for one more inning, so I’ll wear this one for sure.”

Rajai Davis singled twice, drove in a run and scored and Kurt Suzuki had an RBI double in Oakland’s second straight loss following a season-best seven-game winning streak.

Braden, Oakland’s opening day starter and the only non-rookie in the rotation, pitched well enough to win. He made a nice defensive play when he hustled forward and slid to field Matt Tolbert’s seventh-inning bunt and threw him out.

“Unfortunately tonight we couldn’t hold it down for Dallas,” Bailey said. “He pitched really well and deserved a win there.”

Francisco Liriano left in frustration yet again despite seven strikeouts, seeing his winless stretch reach six starts. He is 0-3 since his last victory May 9 against Seattle and hasn’t gone more than six innings since.

“I was able to throw the ball down today. It seems to be getting better every time,” he said. “If I pitch better, I might get the win sooner or later.”

Joe Mauer hit an RBI single and Carlos Gomez drove in a run on a groundout for the Twins.

Oakland got a scare when Matt Holliday was hit on the left knee by a pitch from Liriano to start the second inning. Geren and athletic trainer Steve Sayles hustled out to check on him, but Holliday stayed in the game.

The Twins sent center fielder and leadoff man Denard Span home to see a specialist after he left Tuesday’s game with dizziness. Gardenhire doesn’t plan to rush him back.

“I have no time limit on it,” Gardenhire said. “We’ve got to make sure he’s OK.

NOTES: Crede has five career triples. … Twins SS Nick Punto, on the 15-day disabled list since May 29 with a right groin strain, is on target to come off the DL on Friday. Alexi Casilla could be the odd-man out and headed back to Triple-A Rochester…. A’s DH/1B Jason Giambi got the day off save for a pinch-hit double in the ninth. … Oakland backup C Landon Powell and his wife welcomed a baby boy. Powell is scheduled to start Thursday afternoon’s series finale. … A’s reliever Dan Giese underwent surgery Tuesday for a nerve problem in his right elbow. “Everything went as planned,” Geren said. … Injured Oakland INF Nomar Garciaparra was scheduled for another MRI exam on his strained right calf.

**************************************************************

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Cincinnati Reds -115, for 1 unit
Game time: 7:05 PM ET
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Pick (MLB):
Boston Red Sox Under 9 (-115), for 6.5 units
————-
Beckett and Big Papi lift Red Sox over Yankees
(By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer)

BOSTON (AP) -The last time the Red Sox beat New York six straight times to start the season, the Yankees were known as the Highlanders and it was the bandbox in Boston that was brand new.

Josh Beckett allowed only an infield hit in six innings, and David Ortiz hit his third homer of the year as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 7-0 on Tuesday night and improved to 6-0 against New York for the first time since 1912.

“They’ve taken it to us so far this year,” said Yankees – and former Red Sox – outfielder Johnny Damon. “But we have 13 more, and hopefully we’ll beat them sometime soon.”

The Red Sox beat the New York Highlanders in 14 straight to start the 1912 season, including the first-ever game in Fenway Park. Fenway is now the oldest ballpark in the major leagues; the original Yankee Stadium, which was replaced this season by a $1.5 billion replica, hadn’t even been built yet.

“You don’t want to be 0-6 against your rival,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “But we are still tied for first place.”

Beckett (7-2) noted that Alex Rodriguez was recovering from hip surgery for the first five losses, “so we’ll start counting after that.”

Beckett struck out eight and walked two before leaving with a 6-0 lead after six innings, having thrown 93 pitches in a steady drizzle. The only hit he allowed was Robinson Cano’s fourth-inning grounder to the left of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who slid to come up with the ball but couldn’t make the throw that had little chance of getting the batter anyway.

It was ruled a base hit by official scorer Mike Shalin.

“I got to it and I slid about eight feet,” said Pedroia, who noted that the play was where the groundskeepers dumped out the infield tarp that covered the field before the game started. “That didn’t really help me out.”

Beckett struck out Jorge Posada to end the inning, then retired the last six batters he faced, fanning three of them, for his third consecutive victory. In all, only three batters hit the ball out of the infield against him.

Brett Gardner had the Yankees’ only other hit, off Manny Delcarmen in the eighth.

“Kind of hard to win with only two hits,” Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. “Beckett pitched great. It’s always tough, every time we face him. He was hitting his spots and we didn’t get too many good swings.”

A.J. Burnett (4-3) allowed three earned runs on five walks and five hits before leaving with two outs in the third and taking out his frustrations on a dugout watercooler. He gave up Ortiz’s two-run shot to straightaway center field in Boston’s four-run second, when Rodriguez double-clutched on a grounder for an error that gave Boston an extra out.

Burnett walked Mike Lowell to start the inning, then Ortiz hit a 2-2 pitch over the high center field wall about 400 feet from home plate. Responding to the fans’ “Papi!” chants, he came out for a curtain call.

It was the second homer in three games for the struggling slugger, who hit 54 in 2006 but has been moved from third to sixth in the Red Sox order as he tries to pull his batting average above .200.

On Monday, he went to the eye doctor. His vision was pronounced fine, but he was given eye drops to deal with dryness.

“There’s no getting around how important he is to us,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “When he does something like that, I think we fell better about ourselves.”

Nick Green homered and added an RBI double for Boston.

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Pick (MLB):
Milwaukee Brewers (Looper) -130, for 4.5 units
————-
Road-ready Rockies rally in 7th, beat Brewers 3-2
(By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer)

MILWAUKEE (AP) -Jim Tracy’s Colorado Rockies road show just keeps rolling.

Trailing by two runs to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Rockies rallied to take the lead with three runs in the seventh inning and continue their recent road resurgence with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night.

The Rockies now have won six straight on the road under Tracy, their recently named new manager – including a four-game sweep of the Cardinals.

“The great thing about the last eight to 10 days is that they’re having success and their confidence is growing,” said Tracy, who took over for Clint Hurdle on May 29. “We’re young, but we also have great veteran leadership.”

It was a big night for recent Triple-A call-up Carlos Gonzalez, who had a pair of doubles and an RBI. Colorado might have started slow under Hurdle, but Gonzalez has known nothing but winning under Tracy since he was recalled June 5.

“It’s a great feeling to win every game that I’ve been here,” Gonzalez said.

Rockies starter Jason Hammel (3-3) gave up only two runs and five hits in six innings, but Colorado’s offense had a tough time scoring off of Brewers starter Braden Looper.

The Rockies finally broke through in the seventh, as back-to-back doubles by Troy Tulowitzki and Gonzalez cut the Brewers’ lead to 2-1. Looper left the game, and Gonzalez stole third base off reliever Mark DiFelice.

DiFelice got Chris Iannetta to pop out and was replaced by Todd Coffey, who walked pinch hitter Seth Smith. Coffey (1-1), who had been considered a solid addition to Milwaukee’s bullpen going into Tuesday’s game, then surrendered the lead when Clint Barmes’ sacrifice fly to center scored Smith and put Colorado ahead 3-2.

“The bottom line for tonight is, I blew it,” Coffey said. “I come into that situation right there, I’ve got to keep that run from scoring. Tonight’s on me.”

Mitch Stetter then came in to strike out Todd Helton and end the inning.

It was the continuation of a recent problem for the Brewers, whose pitching has been a pleasant surprise for most of the season. Milwaukee has held leads in each of its last eight games, but is 3-5 during that stretch.

“Our bullpen has pitched very well,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “And they aren’t going to do that all year.”

And Milwaukee couldn’t muster a baserunner after the fourth. Hammel left after six, Matt Daley and Manuel Corpas shut the Brewers down in the seventh and eighth, and Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

“Once they got the lead, they ran their guys in there from the bullpen,” Macha said. “And three up, three down, three straight innings.”

Looper gave up only two hits through the first four innings, then pitched out of jams in the fifth and sixth before the Rockies finally got to him in the seventh.

Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell led off the game with a standup triple, then scored on a groundout by J.J. Hardy to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. Mat Gamel added his second career home run in the second, a solo shot deep to center field that put the Brewers up 2-0.

Milwaukee’s Mike Cameron, who was in the lineup after appealing his two-game suspension for contact with an umpire, then had a chance to break the game open in the third after a double by Ryan Braun and intentional walk to Prince Fielder.

But Cameron took a called third strike to end the inning. Cameron took a long look back toward home plate umpire Dan Bellino before walking away from the plate.

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Pick (MLB):
Chicago White Sox Over 9.5 (+100), for 1 unit
————-
Cabrera’s homer lifts Tigers over White Sox

CHICAGO (AP) -Dontrelle Willis has been teammates with Miguel Cabrera since 2003 and his confidence has never wavered in him.

Cabrera broke out of a slump with a solo homer in the 10th inning to lift the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago White Sox 7-6 on Tuesday night.

The Tigers had squandered a three-run lead in the ninth as closer Fernando Rodney left after walking the bases loaded in the ninth with no outs.

Cabrera, who had been hitless in his last 12 at-bats, led off the 10th with a shot to left-center off White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink (2-4). It was Cabrera’s 11th homer of the season.

“I’ve never been concerned about him ever,” Willis said. When you bat .340, that’s not a slump. He’s mentally tougher. I don’t think people give him enough credit for that. He’s mentally intelligent and mentally tough and with all of that, he has the strength of a (Albert) Pujols. He showed that tonight.”

Willis and Cabrera were members of the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins.

The home run was the first hit White Sox pitching allowed against Cabrera in the first three games of the series.

“We tried to run it on him like we did last night and it got enough of the plate where he was able to get enough of it to get it over the fence,” said Linebrink. “It wasn’t a bad pitch but when you face the same guys a second time around and they get to see you more and more and they kind of know what you’re going to do so I don’t know if he was looking for it (pitch) or not but he put a pretty good swing on it.”

Trailing 6-3 in the ninth, Rodney walked the first three batters he faced. Tigers reliever Brandon Lyon came in and struck out Jermaine Dye then he walked Jim Thome to force in a run. Paul Konerko followed with a double down the line in left that tied the game. Pinch-runner DeWayne Wise, the potential winning-run was thrown out at the plate on a relay throw by shortstop Adam Everett.

“I’d rather lose like that every day. If we play like this a good percent of the time, a lot of good things are going to happen. We battled back. We never sit back. When they scored the three runs, maybe a couple days ago, we were done. I love the way we played today,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

After an intentional walk to A.J. Pierzynski, Lyon (2-3) struck out Gordon Beckham to end the inning.

Brandon Inge homered for the Tigers for its fourth win in five games.

After splitting a doubleheader to start a five-game series on Monday, White Sox starter Mark Buehrle got into trouble in the seventh. He walked the first two Tigers hitters in the inning, then Gerald Laird moved the runners over on a sacrifice bunt. White Sox reliever Octavio Dotel came in and got Everett swinging for the second out of the inning, but he walked Curtis Granderson to load the bases and Placido Polanco followed by emptying the bases with a double over the head of center fielder Brian Anderson to give the Tigers a 6-3 lead.

Anderson hit a two-run homer for the White Sox, who are 3-7 on its current season-long 12-game homestand.

The White Sox and the Tigers had a bench clearing incident in the bottom of the fourth inning. A.J. Pierzynski bailed out of the batter’s box when he took a high and tight pitch from Willis. Later in the at-bat, Pierzynski grounded out, when jogging to the dugout he had a few words for Willis. Willis shouted back and Laird intervened and yelled at Pierzynski then both dugouts and bullpens emptied. The incident resulted in no physical activity or ejections.

Pierzynski and Willis downplayed the incident after the game and called it a misunderstanding.

“I just said ‘Hey’ to Dontrelle and he said ‘Hey’ and the next thing I knew the benches were empty and all hell was breaking loose. I got no problem with Dontrelle and I got no problem with anyone on that team,” Pierzynski said.

Buehrle allowed five runs and four hits and set a season-high with four walks.

Willis scattered five hits and five walks, giving up only three runs.

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Pick (MLB):
Oakland Athletics Under 8.5 (-115), for 1 unit
————-
Power, pitching lead Twins to 10-5 win

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire was a little anxious as Oakland piled up five runs in the ninth inning, forcing him to use closer Joe Nathan in what looked like a lopsided victory.

He sure enjoyed the offensive display, though, and was able to enjoy the game after all.

Jason Kubel and Justin Morneau each hit a home run, Scott Baker took a shutout in the ninth, and the Twins ended a three-game losing streak with a 10-5 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night.

“A win is a win is a win,” Gardenhire said. “Baker threw the ball very, very well. He just kind of ran out of gas there in the ninth. The first at-bat he had a heck of a battle then he couldn’t finish it and then it got a little crazy there.”

Baker (4-6) faced one batter over the minimum through eight innings and then allowed the first three hitters of the ninth to reach base, touching off an A’s rally that featured five runs on three hits, four walks and an error.

“We walked too many people and missed at least two plays at second base,” Gardenhire said. “You have to get outs there. We’re trying to do a little too, and we end up with our closer in the game.”

Former first overall draft pick Delmon Young drove in three runs for the Twins, who scored more runs than in their previous four games combined. Carlos Gomez added two RBIs and Brendan Harris had three hits.

“A great night for our offense, beating the ball around,” Gardenhire said. “We scored some runs, and then made it entertaining at the end. What more do you want? Everybody got their money’s worth.”

Baker remained undefeated against the A’s in four starts after allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out eight and walked one as he pitched at least seven shutout innings for the sixth time in his career. He was within three outs of his second career shutout, but the Twins needed Nathan to strike out a pair of batters with the bases loaded to record his 12th save in 14 chances to hang on.

“Basically what it comes down to is what I’m doing differently than in previous starts and that’s pitching better out of the stretch,” Baker said. “I’m keeping damage to a minimum. Everything was working really well and then I got to that ninth inning and got a little dicey there.”

Brett Anderson (3-6) allowed five runs on a season-high 10 hits over 5 2-3 innings as the A’s had their seven-game winning streak stopped. He walked one and struck out five.

“I was one pitch away from a good start but I couldn’t get out of the sixth,” Anderson said. “I was up in the zone quite a bit and it was only a matter of time before they took advantage.”

Adam Kennedy, who had two hits and drove in two runs, singled in the first and Rajai Davis doubled and stole third in the third for the A’s. After Kennedy was hit by a pitch leading off the fourth, Baker retired the next 14 hitters before Jack Hannahan led off the ninth with a single.

The Twins scored eight runs combined through their first four games on the road trip. This time every Twins starter either recorded a hit or scored a run.

Young singled home a run in the second as the Twins grabbed the early lead. Anderson retired 11 of the next 12 batters before Morneau led off the sixth with his 16th home run. He later added an RBI single. Young and Gomez each added two-out doubles to make it 5-0.

“The game took a severe turn when Brett got in some trouble and the bullpen couldn’t hold them,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “A loss is a loss and still hurts but making Joe Nathan get a save means it was a good ending to a loss.”

**************************************************************

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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:

Chicago White Sox Over 9.5 (+100), for 1 unit
Game time: 8.10 PM ET
**************************

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Monday, June 8, 2009

Pick (MLB):
San Diego Padres (Peavy) -168, for 5 units
————-
Kouz, Peavy lead Padres to 6-3 win over D-Backs
(By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer)

SAN DIEGO (AP) -Jake Peavy limped after running out a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning and again as he walked off the mound for the final time in the seventh.

The San Diego Padres’ ace knew he had to get at least that far after a marathon 18-inning game the day before, and he delivered in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. Kevin Kouzmanoff did his part, too, tying his career-high with four RBIs while batting behind Adrian Gonzalez, who drew three more walks.

Peavy, who’s been bothered recently by tendinitis in his right ankle, bounced back from the shortest start of his career.

“When your ankle’s not 100 percent, you’re going to feel it doing things,” Peavy said. “You don’t realize how valuable those things are until they’re a little aggravated and you’re out there pushing off and trying to throw the ball as hard as you can.”

Manager Bud Black, pitching coach Darren Balsley and trainer Todd Hutcheson came out to check on their star pitcher after he allowed a double to Felipe Lopez with two outs in the seventh. He then retired Chris Young.

“It’s a constant evaluation and we feel like I’m not doing anything to put myself, my arm, in jeopardy,” Peavy said. “I want to be out there for these guys. I want to battle and get in that wild-card race and hopefully make a run at the Dodgers if those guys falter.”

Peavy (6-6) went seven innings, allowing two earned runs and seven hits. He struck out eight and walked two. He tied Randy Jones for second place on the Padres’ all-time wins list with 92. The franchise record is 100, held by the late Eric Show.

Last Tuesday night, Peavy left after just one inning of a 10-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies due to the flu. His start was pushed back a day to give him more time to recover.

The Padres salvaged a split of the four-game series a day after losing 9-6 in 18 innings.

Kouzmanoff hit a two-run single in the four-run fifth inning and a two-run double in the seventh. Gonzalez, who continues to lead the majors with 22 home runs, was walked three times, once intentionally. He leads the majors with 47 walks, including nine in this series and 20 in the last 10 games.

“It is a situation because of what Adrian is doing that teams are going to pitch him awfully tough,” Black said. “We’ve talked about the need for not only the guys behind Adrian, but the guys in front of him to get on to make it much more difficult for him to be pitched around if guys are on in front of him. If they do that, then the guys behind him have to make the pitcher pay. From a pitching standpoint, you don’t want to just continue to put guys on base.

Kouzmanoff flied out with the bases loaded in the first and then grounded into a double play in the fourth.

“It’s tough to erase them,” he said of the early at-bats. “When you don’t get the job done, it’s tough to deal with. It’s frustrating. But it’s important to have a short-term memory.”

Kouzmanoff “did a good job of putting together a good at-bat and hitting the ball where it was pitched,” Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said of the seventh-inning double.

Heath Bell pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 17th save, in 18 chances.

Arizona’s Jon Garland lost his fourth straight start and for the fifth time in six starts.

Trailing 2-0 in the fifth, San Diego rallied for four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. Kouzmanoff had a two-run single, Tony Gwynn Jr. an RBI base hit and David Eckstein a sacrifice fly.

Kouzmanoff chased Garland when his two-out double in the seventh dropped in just beyond the glove of Eric Byrnes, who was trying to run it down in left-center. Gwynn was aboard on a walk and Gonzalez had been intentionally walked ahead of Kouzmanoff.

Garland (4-6) allowed six runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, walked five and struck out one.

“A little erratic early,” Hinch said. “He settled in fine. He was battling his mechanics a little bit.”

Arizona’s Josh Whitesell hit an RBI single in the fourth and another run scored on left fielder Chase Headley’s fielding error.

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Pick (MLB):
St. Louis Cardinals -126, for 4 units
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Marquis, Rockies beat Cardinals 5-2 for sweep
(By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer)

ST. LOUIS (AP) -Jason Marquis was the fourth straight starter to set the tone, helping the last-place Colorado Rockies look like contenders for at least a series.

Marquis took the NL lead with his eighth win and Troy Tulowitzki homered for the first time in nearly a month as the Rockies completed their first sweep in St. Louis with a 5-2 victory on Monday.

Colorado starters totaled 29 1-3 innings with a 2.45 ERA and won all four games.

“We pitched great the entire series and we deserved to win these games,” manager Jim Tracy said. “What we did here is not easy to do, and we did a terrific job.”

The Rockies won their season-high fifth in a row. St. Louis has lost a season-worst four straight.

“We’re in a rut now and it could be that we’re pressing,” manager Tony La Russa said. “The bullpen had some bad moments, starters had some bad moments. Offense. Defense. Manager.”

Clint Barmes had a pair of RBI singles for his sixth consecutive multihit game and Brad Hawpe doubled and had a sacrifice fly in the Rockies’ first sweep of the year.

Colorado last swept the Cardinals in July 1994, winning four straight at Mile High Stadium. The Rockies are 7-4 under Tracy after going 18-28 with Clint Hurdle.

“You can’t put your head way down when things start going bad, because they’re going to change,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “You just keep working and focusing on the process, not the result.”

Marquis (8-4) allowed two runs in 6 2-3 innings against the Cardinals, for whom he won 42 games from 2004-06. He leads the league with five road victories, and has won four of his last five starts overall.

“This is my fourth team so I’ve been through it enough to control the emotions,” Marquis said. “But it still feels like I’m at home because I played here for so long and had good success.”

The Cardinals were outscored 33-9 while winding up a 2-6 homestand. Even star slugger Albert Pujols was in a slump during this series, going 1 for 14.

“We’ve got to be tough mentally,” catcher Yadier Molina said. “We lost this series, but tomorrow is another day.”

Rockies starters have worked at least six innings in all eight games this month. Huston Street made his first appearance in the series and worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances.

Helton’s RBI single in the third off Brad Thompson (0-2) put the Rockies ahead. The Cardinals answered in the bottom half when Brendan Ryan tripled with two outs and scored on a wild pitch.

Barmes singled for the go-ahead hit in the fifth and Hawpe added a sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead. Tulowitzki hit his sixth homer, and first since May 10, in the sixth off Jason Motte for a three-run cushion.

Molina singled in the fourth for his 500th career hit, and then doubled and scored on Ryan’s single with two outs in the seventh for St. Louis. Barmes’ second RBI single in the eighth put the Rockies ahead 5-2 in the eighth.

Thompson made his second straight fill-in start, one each for Joel Pineiro and Kyle Lohse. He allowed three runs in 4 1-3 innings, leaving with two on.

“I would have loved a chance to get out of my own mess,” Thompson said. “A ground ball away from getting out of that.”

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Pick (MLB):
Toronto Blue Jays +140, for 1 unit
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Lind homers twice in Toronto’s victory
(By DAVID JIMENEZ, Associated Press Writer)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Rod Barajas didn’t think it would be difficult to catch Rangers center fielder Marlon Byrd from behind on a rundown at third base.

Then the 33-year-old catcher realized something in the middle of the chase.

“I forgot how fast he is and how slow I am,” Barajas said.

Barajas protected Toronto’s lead with a diving tag on Byrd after Texas failed to put down a squeeze bunt in the sixth, and Adam Lind homered twice and drove in four runs as the Blue Jays snapped a nine-game road losing steak by beating the Rangers 6-3 Monday night.

Texas scored three runs in the sixth to cut Toronto’s lead to 4-3 and had runners on first and third with one out. Elvis Andrus didn’t make contact on a squeeze bunt, and Byrd was way off third.

After a faking a throw to Scott Rolen, Barajas was committed to running down Byrd himself. The former Rangers catcher lunged toward Byrd and barely clipped him before he slid into the bag.

“I thought it was going to be an easy tag play,” Barajas said. “I got lucky and fell on his foot.”

Before Barajas’ defensive gem, Lind provided the offensive pop.

Lind, who is 18 for 40 his last 10 games, hit two-run shots in the second and fourth innings off Rangers starter Scott Feldman for the first multi-homer game of his career.

“The kid had a great night,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. “He’s getting better all the time.”

Casey Janssen (2-2) gave up three runs, six hits and struck out six in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander made his fourth start after missing 2008 with a torn labrum.

Scott Downs got the final out in the eighth and pitched the ninth to earn his eighth save in nine chances.

Rolen and Marco Scutaro each had three hits for Toronto, which had not won away from home since beating Oakland on May 10.

Toronto has won six of 10 since going 0-9 on a road trip May 19-27.

“That road trip was two weeks ago,” Lind said. “It’s not even in our memory anymore.”

Feldman (5-1) lost for the first time in nine starts. He allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.

The first-place Rangers, who announced before the game that outfielder Josh Hamilton will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a partial tear in an abdominal muscle and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, lost for only the fourth time in their last 16 home games.

“I didn’t feel like it was one of my better games.” Feldman said. “I tried to hang in there as long as I could.”

Janssen took a four-hit shutout into the sixth before Texas loaded the bases with no outs.

Byrd drove in a run with an infield single, Nelson Cruz scored on a wild pitch and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit an RBI single to cut Toronto’s lead to 4-3.

Rangers manager Ron Washington called for a squeeze bunt, the first time this season he’s called for one.

“I felt I had the right guy at the plate to get the squeeze down and tie the game,” said Washington, who had his option for 2010 picked up by Texas earlier Monday.

Frasor retired Andrus on a flyout to preserve Toronto’s one-run lead in the sixth.

“We had a lot of opportunities,” Washington said. “We just couldn’t get any two-out hits.”

Vernon Wells drew a leadoff walk before Lind’s first homer gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead in the second.

Wells walked again in the fourth, and Lind made it 4-0 with his shot to left-center.

Scutaro had an RBI single and Aaron Hill added a sacrifice fly in the ninth to widen Toronto’s advantage to 6-3.

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Pick (MLB):
Oakland Athletics -142, for 1 unit
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A’s win seventh straight
(By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Down three runs, rookie Josh Outman just kept pitching and maintained his approach. He even struck out Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau back-to-back.

And the offense eventually did its part. Things sure are clicking for the last-place Oakland Athletics these days.

Jack Cust hit a go-ahead solo home run, Jack Hannahan tied the game with a three-run double and the A’s extended their best winning streak in three years to seven games with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Outman (4-0) recovered from an early deficit to continue an impressive run by the A’s young staff.

Outman, one of four rookies in Oakland’s rotation, fell behind in the top of the fourth when Carlos Gomez drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk, then Matt Tolbert singled in two runs. After that, Outman retired the final seven batters he faced.

The A’s tied it in the bottom of the fourth and went ahead on Cust’s homer off Luis Ayala (1-2) in the fifth.

A’s starters have a seven-game winning streak, the longest since a stretch of eight consecutive victories by the starters from June 8-16, 2006.

“It’s unbelievable,” Hannahan said. “Since we’ve been winning, during the streak they’ve been doing a great job.”

Oakland’s Aaron Cunningham sustained a concussion in the fourth inning after being hit in the head by a pitch and was taken to a nearby hospital for a CT scan.

Twins starter Anthony Swarzak hit Cunningham square in the helmet and knocked it off his head, and the ball sailed high in the air. Cunningham dropped to one knee and athletic trainer Steve Sayles and manager Bob Geren rushed out.

After several minutes, Cunningham stayed in the game and slowly went to first. Hannahan cleared the bases with his double two pitches later. Gregorio Petit replaced Cunningham in the top of the fifth.

“He looked like he was OK. That’s why we let him run the bases,” Geren said. “Obviously, he took a pretty good blow to the head. The doctor examined him immediately and recommended he come out.”

Swarzak said the ball just got away from him, and he struggled to find the strike zone all night.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was frustrated to see his team take the lead then give it right back.

“One hit should not be three runs. When you score, you need to get out and get zeros,” he said. “We come out and throw nine straight balls. … It wasn’t exactly like he was locating the ball before (hitting Cunningham). Hitting a guy like that is a very scary play. He was throwing the ball all over the place.”

Outman struck out seven and walked two in six innings, allowing four hits. Four relievers combined for three scoreless innings, including Andrew Bailey pitching the ninth for his fifth save in eight chances.

Morneau struck out in each of his first three at-bats for his first three-strikeout game since July 18, 2007, against the Detroit Tigers. Brendan Harris had his career-best 12-game hitting streak snapped.

“I always make sure I know what I want to do with the big hitters in the lineup,” Outman said.

Oakland’s seven-game winning streak is the longest current run in the majors and the A’s longest since getting 10 straight victories from June 8-18, 2006.

Twins third baseman Joe Crede was in manager Gardenhire’s original lineup, but the training staff advised the skipper to give Crede a day to rest and recover after he fouled a ball off his left calf Sunday at Seattle.

Gardenhire himself was banged up with a tender right hamstring that he hurt shagging balls during early batting practice Friday at Safeco Field. Pitching coach Rick Anderson went to the mound for pitching changes – something Gardenhire planned beforehand and did other times in recent days.

“We don’t have time (for me to do it),” Gardenhire said. “I’ll start getting pace of game warnings. I get them already. I’m walking, but I’m not walking fast.”

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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Pick (MLB):
Los Angeles Dodgers -122, for 3.5 units
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Phillies hit 3 homers in 7-2 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers appear headed for another postseason showdown. That wouldn’t bother anyone in either clubhouse.

Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino homered, and Philadelphia beat the Dodgers 7-2 Sunday to split a four-game series between teams with the top two records in baseball.

“October’s a long way away,” Howard said. “The Dodgers have been playing great, and obviously their record has shown that they’re on their way. They’re a more experienced team now and they’re definitely more mature than they were last year. But you can’t look too far ahead. You just focus on what’s going on now. If we were to meet again in October, that would be great. But we’ll have to wait.”

The defending World Series champions, who beat the Dodgers in the NL championship series, maintained their three-game lead over the Mets in the NL East going into a three-game series at New York that begins Tuesday night. Los Angeles’ cushion over second-place San Francisco in the West was cut to eight games.

“They’ve built a big lead, but they’ve got to hold onto it,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “I think that when Manny Ramirez gets back, obviously that will add more to their offense. But their pitching has to hold up for them. That’s the key to every team’s success.”

Antonio Bastardo (2-0) allowed two runs and seven hits over five-plus innings, striking out four in his second major league start. Jimmy Rollins, dropped from first to sixth in the batting order by Manuel, broke out of a 4-for-27 rut with a pair of singles that contributed to scoring rallies.

Rollins, who came in batting .219 and was hitless in his previous 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position, was 2 for 4 with an opposite-field single that helped build a run in the second inning.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time Rollins batted lower than fifth in the lineup since May 26, 2006, when he hit sixth for the second consecutive day. The switch-hitting shortstop and 2007 NL MVP didn’t start in Saturday’s 12-inning, 3-2 loss, but was 0 for 2 after entering as a pinch hitter.

“I just wanted to change things up, give him a breather, get him out of the 1-hole and just let him play. But he’s still my leadoff man,” Manuel said. “When Jimmy’s going, we go offensively. He didn’t win an MVP two years ago for nothing. He has all the talent in the world.”

The Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball at 39-20 and lead the NL in batting average, runs and on-base percentage, have totaled only seven runs in 46 innings against opponents’ starting pitchers over their last seven games.

“We’ll be fine. We’re going to score runs,” manager Joe Torre said. “With so many questions being asked about it, I think everyone is self-conscious about it and trying too hard. Hopefully, we come back Tuesday after a breather tomorrow and start swinging the bats a little better.”

Bastardo, a 23-year-old left-hander, was replaced by former Dodger Chan Ho Park in the sixth with none out, runners at the corners and a 3-1 lead. Casey Blake scored on a disputed double-play grounder by Matt Kemp, called out at first by umpire Chris Guccione. TV replays clearly showed Kemp was safe.

Ruiz and Victorino homered against Randy Wolf (3-2). The left-hander, who pitched for the Phillies from 1999-06, gave up six runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings and has a 5.61 ERA over his last four outings. The loss was his first in 12 starts since April 7, when the Padres beat him 4-2 at San Diego in his season debut.

The Phillies broke a 1-all tie with a pair of runs in the fifth. Rollins singled and scored from second on a single by Ruiz, whose three RBIs gave him 13 in 94 at-bats this season.

Pedro Feliz scored when Victorino hit a liner back to the box that glanced off Wolf’s glove as he tried to avoid the pieces of Victorino’s shattered bat.

The Phillies opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the second by Feliz, whose fielding error Friday night led to the first of consecutive blown saves by All-Star closer Brad Lidge.

“We could have swept, but we got ourselves in a position where we needed a win to get a split and that’s what we did,” Howard said. “There’s no sense in looking at what could have been.”

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Pick (MLB):
St. Louis Cardinals (Pineiro) -133, for 1.5 units
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Rockies beat Cardinals 7-2 behind Jimenez
(By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer)

ST. LOUIS (AP) -After the first three hitters, Ubaldo Jimenez trailed by two runs. Things got a lot tougher for the St. Louis Cardinals after that.

Jimenez finished with eight innings of four-hit ball and the Colorado Rockies got unexpected offense from Paul Phillips, who drove in three runs in a 7-2 victory on Sunday.

“When you trail, your starting pitcher has to step up and subdue the opposition and give us a chance to get back in the game,” manager Jim Tracy said. “Once he got the lead, you saw a face of a guy that said, ‘That’s it.”‘

Phillips had a career-best four hits, including his first homer since 2006. Troy Tulowitzki, who missed four games with a bruised left hand, had two hits and an RBI.

The Rockies have scored 38 runs in their first four-game winning streak of the year and are 6-4 under Tracy after going 18-28 under Clint Hurdle. They’ve beaten the Cardinals five straight times, evening the all-time series at 73-73.

Albert Pujols had a rare two-run sacrifice fly in the first inning for the Cardinals, who have totaled three runs and nine hits in the last two games. Joel Pineiro (5-6) allowed three runs and 10 hits, all singles, in five innings after skipping a start due to back spasms.

“I got singled to death,” Pineiro said. “One of those days that a lot of balls found the holes. Not much you can do.”

The Cardinals have lost seven of 10 and scored three or fewer runs in seven of those games.

“It’s a tough time,” manager Tony La Russa said. “Just don’t throw your hands up, and whatever you do, don’t get depressed. If you want to do anything, get upset because that’s adrenaline.”

Skip Schumaker singled and Colby Rasmus doubled to open the first for St. Louis. Both runners scored when left fielder Carlos Gonzalez banged into the wall in left-center after stretching to track down Pujols’ drive. Gonzalez flipped the ball to center fielder Dexter Fowler but Rasmus scored easily from second.

Jimenez (4-6) retired 17 in a row before the next hit, a two-out double by Rasmus in the sixth. Jimenez had a season-high nine strikeouts and won for the first time in five starts since May 12 against the Astros.

Jimenez mixed his pitches better after the shaky first, frequently opening at-bats with his slider.

“He could have said ‘I throw 99, I’m going to keep throwing the fastball,”‘ Phillips said. “But he didn’t do that. We were able to make the adjustment we needed to make.”

The 32-year-old Phillips is getting a chance as the backup catcher with Yorvit Torrealba on the restricted list after the kidnapping of his 11-year-old son and brother-in-law, and Chris Iannetta on the 15-day disabled list. He singled in his first three at-bats, including the go-ahead hit in the sixth for a 3-2 lead, and homered in a four-run eighth.

“Four hits is great, but if I can have my pitcher do what he needs do on a consistent basis, that’s more gratifying,” Phillips said.

Phillips had two career three-hit games before Sunday, the last one on Sept. 25, 2005, with the Royals. He has three homers in parts of six seasons, the last on Sept. 29, 2006, for the Royals at Detroit.

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Pick (MLB):
Florida Marlins Under 8 (-110), for 1.5 units
————-
Lincecum wins 5th straight, Giants beat Marlins

MIAMI (AP) -The rain had stopped by the time Tim Lincecum took the mound. He ended up soaking wet anyway, and happy with his fifth consecutive win.

Lincecum pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning and San Francisco beat the Florida Marlins 3-2 on Sunday. The Giants hit six doubles and won for the fourth time in five games.

Bengie Molina had two RBIs to back Lincecum (5-1), who went 7 1-3 innings to win his fifth straight decision. He also doubled and scored.

“The first seven went pretty well,” Lincecum said. “I had a tough time finding the strike zone but when I needed to I got outs. The hit was nice and it was nice to score. Just a good game.”

The Giants sat through a rain delay for the fifth straight day. After the start was delayed 1 hour, 38 minutes, Lincecum acknowledged he felt the effects of the high humidity and damp air.

“You just try to hydrate before the game. That’s important for guys like me with high metabolism,” Lincecum said. “Still, I was sweating. … I’m going to go hydrate and try to get some food down. Then I’ll probably have to take another shower.”

The NL Cy Young Award winner was lifted after yielding Chris Coghlan’s two-run homer, which made it 3-2.

“He can’t afford to lose too much weight. When it’s hot he’s drenched after the first inning,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the 5-foot-11, 170-pound right-hander. “I thought he maintained his strength well tonight.”

Brian Wilson gave up two singles in a scoreless ninth for his 15th save in 18 opportunities. Wilson has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances.

Aaron Rowand extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games with a leadoff double in the first. It is the longest active streak in the majors.

Ricky Nolasco (2-6) pitched seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) and 10 hits. It was the first big league start for Nolasco since he was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans on May 23. Nolasco won 15 games for the Marlins in 2008.

“I did what I could do to keep us in the game,” Nolasco said. “Obviously, the ultimate goal is to win, so I’m not satisfied with what I did. We did a good job battling against a tough pitcher like Lincecum.”

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Randy Winn led off with a double and scored on Molina’s single.

The inning could have been worse for the Marlins, but a couple of putouts at the plate saved two runs.

Molina advanced to third on Pablo Sandoval’s double. Fred Lewis hit a sharp grounder to second, but Dan Uggla threw out Molina at the plate.

During the following at-bat by Juan Uribe, Nolasco uncorked a wild pitch. Florida catcher John Baker retrieved the ball in the grass to the right of home plate and flung it back to Nolasco, who tagged out Sandoval trying to score from third.

“We were up against it a little bit and we made some nice plays defensively,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Lincecum scored the Giants’ second run in the fifth, when he led off with a double to left. A throwing error and a walk loaded the bases, and Molina’s sacrifice fly to center scored Lincecum to make it 2-0.

Lewis led off the sixth with a double, then Uribe doubled him in to stretch San Francisco’s lead to 3-0.

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FREE PICK

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:

Oakland Athletics -142, for 1 unit
Game time: 10.05 PM ET
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BEST of LUCK TODAY!