Times wires
Saturday, June 11, 2011
D'backs 9, Marlins 5
MIAMI — Kelly Johnson's three-run double highlighted a six-run fourth that helped the Diamondbacks send the Marlins to their ninth loss in 10 games. Ryan Roberts and Stephen Drew hit solo homers in support of Ian Kennedy, who gave up five runs in eight innings. Arizona sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth, chasing Javier Vazquez.
Times wires
Saturday, June 11, 2011
LONG POND, Pa. — If team owner Richard Childress had issued an ultimatum, it was news to Kyle Busch.
Asked Friday if he understood why Childress was angry at him after last weekend's trucks race at Kansas Speedway, Busch said, "Me giving a congratulatory bump to Joey Coulter is what tipped him over the edge there."
"I don't recall anytime — face-to-face conversation with Richard (telling) me, 'If you touch another one of my cars, I'm going to come find you.' I don't know if it was ever said in the media, but it was never relayed to me."
Childress, 65, was fined $150,000 and placed on probation through the end of the year for repeatedly striking Busch in the garage after last weekend's race. Busch had hit the side of Coulter's truck on the lap following the finish after the two battled hard for position late in the race.
"If he came to me and was so upset about it, I would have offered him money to fix it," Busch said. "I'm an owner in this sport. I know there's going to be torn up equipment here and there sometimes."
On Friday, Childress took responsibility for punching Busch but didn't apologize to the driver and said he didn't agree with NASCAR taking no action against Busch for his bump.
Safety first: Pocono Raceway, site of today's Spring Cup race, is a safer track.
The facility underwent a multimillion-dollar project last year that made significant safety upgrades, including a soft-wall barrier and catch fence. The fence runs from the end of the front stretch and connects with the existing catch fence in Turn 2. The 6,155-foot fence surrounds the entire 2.5-mile track.
The SAFER barrier runs on the entire length of the inside of the track from the exit of Turn 1 to the entrance of Turn 3. Pocono already has soft-wall barriers at each of the track's three turns. "That SAFER barrier is new generation," track president Brandon Igdalsky said. "It's cool, freestanding stuff. It's pretty wild."
A series of scary wrecks the past few years made Igdalsky realize it was time to act. He listened to responses from NASCAR and drivers who long complained the triangle track was unsafe, but NASCAR never forced the safety changes.
Greg Biffle blasted the track last year, saying, "They're going to kill somebody there." He approved of the upgrades. "It is probably 10 years overdue," he said. "I applaud them for taking action."
Times wires
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Braves 6, Astros 3
10 innings
HOUSTON — Brian McCann hit a three-run homer in the 10th, lifting the Braves to their fifth straight win. McCann's shot to rightfield off Brandon Lyon scored Jordan Schafer and Dan Uggla.
Times wires
Saturday, June 11, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS — Bruce Pearl and Lane Kiffin answered all of the questions the NCAA's infractions committee asked Saturday.
Now Tennessee must wait 8-12 weeks to get a verdict.
The two former Vols coaches were among a contingent that spent 10½ hours inside the hearing room at a downtown hotel.
Kiffin, the school's former football coach, says he's glad the 22-month investigation is over.
"It's a very thorough process," said Kiffin, who left the school after the 2009 season to take over at Southern Cal. "It was a lot shorter than the last one I sat through — three days of USC's.
Pearl, fired in March as basketball coach, said he has no sense of relief because he, his staff and the university paid a heavy price for the mistakes made.
"The hardest part is just being here," he said. "This was not something I was looking forward to."
Both coaches said they couldn't comment on specifics that were discussed.
The list of allegations includes a dozen major violations against both of UT's programs, including failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance.
Kiffin and his assistants were accused of making improper calls to recruits after Tennessee officials warned them. Kiffin and recruiting intern Steve Rubio also are accused of visiting a high school even though Rubio wasn't permitted to do so.
Pearl and two of his assistants, Tony Jones and Steve Forbes, are accused of making 96 impermissible phone calls to 12 recruits or relatives between Aug. 1, 2007, and July 29, 2009.
Pearl also was charged with unethical conduct after misleading NCAA investigators during an interview in June 2010. He also allegedly called the father of a recruit in an attempt to influence his statement to the NCAA.
Texas A&M again earns two track titles
DES MOINES, Iowa — Texas A&M won the men's and women's titles at the NCAA Championships, becoming the first school to sweep the outdoors titles in three consecutive seasons.
The A&M men finished with 55 points, one ahead of Florida State and two ahead of Florida. USF finished tied for 41st, its only points coming when David Aristil finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles late Friday. The A&M women finished with 49 points, four ahead of Oregon. FSU was 20th, and UF tied for 34th.
The Seminoles won the 4x100 men's relay. The team included Maurice Mitchell and Brandon Byram, who later finished first and fourth, respectively, in the 200.
Florida's Christian Taylor and Will Claye took first and second, respectively, in the triple jump.
Villanova's Sheila Reid became the first woman to win the 1,500 and 5,000 titles.
By Brandon Wright, Times Correspondent
Saturday, June 11, 2011
TAMPA — The Unites States made soccer history Saturday night, but it was far from what it had in mind.
The offense looked disjointed, the defense unorganized and, in the end, its pride took a beating as Panama won 2-1 before 27,731 at Raymond James Stadium.
The loss was the first in 27 pool play games of the Gold Cup (including two ties) and the first to Panama in 11 games (including two ties).
The defeat also makes Tuesday's Pool C finale against Guadeloupe in Kansas City, Kan., unexpectedly critical. The Americans can earn a spot in the quarterfinals of the biennial tournament that determines the champion for North and Central America and the Caribbean with a win.
Panama earned a berth with the victory. It sits atop the group with six points while Canada and the United States have three. The top two countries in each of the three groups advance along with the top two third-place teams.
"We came out flat," U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan said. "I think we learned a hard lesson."
Panama held a two-goal lead until Clarence Goodson's header in the 68th minute trimmed the score to 2-1.
The United States pushed furiously from that point against a shelled-up Panamanian defense, but the equalizer didn't come.
"I think in the second half, we put a lot into it," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "In terms of executing in the final third, that part was clearly an area where we didn't do well enough."
The Americans, whose offense came to life after the goal, had several opportunities during the final 20 minutes. Their best came in the 80th minute, but Chris Wondolowski's shot from inside the 8-yard box off a Jozy Altidore cross sailed over the crossbar.
Michael Bradley narrowly missed wide in the 90th minute, and Clint Dempsey's header in extra time was turned away.
"We had some good chances," Bradley said. "But nonetheless, not sharp enough in the areas that matter."
Panama quieted a rowdy pro-American crowd early, scoring in the 19th minute. Gabriel Gomez's long pass from about 35 yards found Armando Cooper streaking toward the far post. Goalkeeper Tim Howard blocked Cooper's header, but a sliding Luis Tejada put in the rebound.
"We can't come out the way we did against teams in our region," Donovan said.
Panama increased the lead in the 36th minute, after defender Tim Ream was called for a foul in the penalty box. While jockeying for the ball with Blas Perez, Ream swung his leg to clear the ball but instead clipped Perez's thigh.
Howard got his fingertips on Gomez's shot, but the ball powered through for a 2-0 lead.
"The second goal makes it hard," Bradley said. "(Panama) was, of course, ahead, so they started dropping deeper."
The United States pulled within one in the 68th minute when Donovan played a free kick from deep in the right corner. Michael Bradley flicked it on with his head, and Goodson was there to connect on the diving header.
Canada 1, Guadeloupe 0: Guadeloupe played a man down for nearly the entire match, but Canada could push across only a lone goal in the first game of the doubleheader. Jean-Luc Lambourde received a red card and was ejected in the fourth minute. But Canada couldn't take advantage until the 49th minute, when Stephane Zubar took down Ali Gerba in the penalty box. Dwayne De Rosario converted the ensuing penalty kick to give Canada its first points of the Gold Cup.
By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, June 11, 2011
BALTIMORE — Rays manager Joe Maddon always talks about the importance of extra-inning wins on the road, how they reveal a team's character.
So after Tampa Bay pulled out a second one on this 11-game, cross-country road trip, a 7-5 win in 11 innings over the Orioles at Camden Yards on Saturday, Maddon was naturally thrilled. But it was not only that they won but how they did it, a complete team effort and never-say-die approach to help them overcome two late-inning deficits.
"We talked about 9=8 years ago, there's a perfect example of that (Saturday)," Maddon said. "Perfect. Which I now think is part of our culture."
Tampa Bay blew a three-run lead with ace left-hander David Price on the mound, but after all that went wrong in the 3-hour, 48-minute game, it was Evan Longoria who knocked in Ben Zobrist from third with a winning single in the 11th.
"I think from pitch No. 1 to whenever the game ends, we're going to keep fighting," Longoria said.
Zobrist had a great night with four extra-base hits, including three doubles, tying a club record set by "Super" Sam Fuld on April 11. That helped Tampa Bay (34-30) remain within four games of the red-hot Red Sox in the American League East and improve to 5-4 on the four-city, 12-day trip.
"We needed it," Longoria said. "That was a big win for us."
The Rays' night appeared promising from the start, with the offense showing signs of life, picking up as many hits in the first two innings (three) as it had in the entire game in Friday's 7-0 loss. Casey Kotchman racked up four hits, including the tying single in the ninth and another in the 11th to give the Rays a two-run cushion.
Tampa Bay also had a special night in the field, with centerfielder B.J. Upton making a spectacular over-the-shoulder basket catch to likely save a run in the first and leftfielder Justin Ruggiano robbing J.J. Hardy of a go-ahead homer in the seventh.
Price said he didn't have his best stuff in a 117-pitch outing, allowing four runs on eight hits and two homers, both to Mark Reynolds. "My goodness, when he hits a baseball, it's a helium ball," Maddon said of Reynolds. "It doesn't come down, it's unbelievable."
In a game filled with sparkling defense, arguably the biggest play was made by Reid Brignac in the eighth. Reliever Joel Peralta, after getting himself into a two-on, two-out jam, walked No. 8 and 9 hitters Robert Andino and Brandon Snyder, both on full counts, to drive in the go-ahead run. But with the bases still loaded, Brignac made a stellar stab at shortstop on a hard-hit grounder by Hardy, throwing him out to thwart the threat and keep it a 5-4 game.
"He saved the game," Price said.
That enabled the Rays to rally to tie it in the ninth, on a one-out triple by Zobrist and a Kotchman single. They got solid relief from Cesar Ramos, Juan Cruz (who picked up the win) and Kyle Farnsworth, who had his 14th save in 15 chances to cap the second-extra inning win on the trip, after a 4-3, 10-inning victory Wednesday over the Angels.
"It," Zobrist said, "was a great night."
Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com.
Times wires
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Nationals 2, Padres 1
SAN DIEGO — John Lannan pitched effectively into the seventh and the Nationals won consecutive road games for the first time in a month. Lannan allowed a homer to touted rookie Anthony Rizzo and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. Washington scored in the first on Danny Espinosa's RBI double and Wilson Ramos' RBI single. The Nationals have the NL's second-worst road mark at 15-24.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Dodgers 11, Rockies 7
DENVER — Pinch-hitter Casey Blake broke a tie with a three-run double in the sixth, Ted Lilly pitched five effective innings and the Dodgers snapped a three-game skid. With the bases loaded, Tony Gwynn Jr. made a diving catch in left for the final out for the second time this season.
By Chris Girandola, Times Correspondent
Sunday, June 12, 2011
TAMPA — With division rival Orlando coming to town Friday, the Storm needed a win Saturday against a streaking Pittsburgh Power team if it wanted to improve its playoff aspirations. Tampa Bay made things interesting against the East Division leader, doing just enough to come away with a 62-55 victory for its third win in the past four games in front of 11,756 at the St. Pete Times Forum.
The Storm recovered from an interception on the first play from scrimmage and three missed extra points to put up its highest scoring output this season. The Storm improved to 5-7, trailing Orlando (8-4) and Georgia (7-6) for the two wild-card slots.
"We know we control our own destiny with (four of the next six games) against conference opponents, but we just wanted to take care of this one tonight before we started concentrating on Orlando," coach Dave Ewart said. "This is a one-game season now. The good thing about it is we control our own fate."
The Storm had early season difficulties closing games, but with Brian Zbydniewski making his sixth straight start at quarterback, Tampa Bay seems to have found its groove.
The rookie completed 24 of 34 passes for 372 yards and eight touchdowns.
"It's starting to feel a lot more comfortable out there, and the receivers and I have created a good connection," said Zbydniewski, who had his third 300-yard passing game of the season. "We're getting used to everyone now and in a nice groove. We just have to keep it consistent."
There were four ties and seven lead changes until the Storm seized the advantage for good early in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard pass from Zbydniewski to Hank Edwards to put the Storm up 52-48. After a 20-yard field goal by Kyle Chilton minutes later, Zbydniewski gave the Storm some insurance with a 41-yard strike to Amarri Jackson with a little less than six minutes to play.
"We knew they were coming in with a good offense so we knew it was going to be a battle, and we just kept up with them," Zbydniewski said.
Tampa Bay took its first lead in the second quarter when Jackson, a former USF receiver, secured a bobbling catch in the end zone for a 28-yard score and 28-21 lead.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Angels 7, Royals 5
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Bobby Abreu scored the go-ahead run on Aaron Crow's wild pitch in the seventh, and the Angels bounced back after blowing a 4-0 lead to snap a six-game skid. Erick Aybar hit a three-run triple in a four-run second, but the Royals came back, tying it on Matt Treanor's single in the sixth. Mike Moustakas hit his first career homer for Kansas City.
By Neil Taylor, Times Correspondent
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What's hot: Redfish are feeding with a vengeance, attacking lures and providing consistent, fun action. Redfish between 17 and 31 inches are feeding best on the higher tides on mangrove shorelines in the early morning and around sunset. Regardless of size, these fish fight with spirit, and catching them becomes an addiction.
Tackle and techniques: Medium spinning gear with a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, an eighth-ounce jighead and 3-inch plastic tail are all you need. The redfish are honed in on the sardines and pinfish right now. So the paddle-tail style is working very well. Anglers will eventually locate feeding redfish by quietly easing into these areas and casting around oyster bars, bait schools and schools of mullet. The eighth-ounce lure needs to be worked slowly, but don't pick up grass off the bottom in this shallow-water situation.
When one redfish is hooked, stake out that area to catch more from the same school. They will eat natural baits, but the lures eliminate the nuisance of other opportunists such as pinfish and catfish. If the area has a lot of debris such as algae or floating seagrass, switch to a weedless jighead. When you feel the strike, set the hook and enjoy the battle.
Neil Taylor charters kayak fishing trips in the Tampa Bay area and can be reached at strikethreekayakfishing.com or (727) 692-6345.
By John Romano, Times Sports Columnist
Sunday, June 12, 2011
ST. PETERSBURG
Here's the easy part:
You wake up, you glance at the standings and you come away satisfied that, with the calendar at mid June, the Rays are very much contenders in the American League.
Here's the part that's not so easy:
Andrew Friedman wakes up, looks at those same standings and has to figure out, by the time the calendar reaches mid September, whether Tampa Bay can still be a contender.
You see, 65 games into the season, the Rays are in this netherworld of being nearly impressive. Practically wonderful. Almost splendid.
And for the general manager of a team with limited resources, that's a difficult circumstance to navigate, because you're never sure which direction you should head.
In New York and Boston, it's simple. You're near the top of the standings, so you spend June and July figuring out which players you will rent, via trade, for the pennant drive.
In Chicago and Houston, it's pretty easy, too. You're buried at the bottom of the standings, so you trade off veteran players to bring in prospects for future days.
Around here, the coming weeks will not be quite so simple. Yes, as a general rule, you take a shot at the postseason whenever it is in sight.
But, when you do not have money to burn, you must also be smart enough to recognize whether you are a realistic contender or a team just good enough to hang around.
That means honestly evaluating your own roster, and the potential of the rosters near you in the standings, then deciding whether to go for broke or plan for the future.
And that's what these coming weeks will mean for the Rays.
There is a chance they will decide they are one bat or one bullpen arm away from running down the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East and will take on some added salary.
And there is a chance they will decide the odds of reaching the 2011 postseason are longer than they appear and will trade a veteran or two with an eye toward 2012.
So which direction will they go?
The clues start arriving this week. Beginning Tuesday, the Rays will play the Red Sox and Yankees 14 times in 31 games. And when that streak is over, they will be about a week away from the nonwaiver trading deadline.
When the Rays won the East in 2008 and '10, they entered this point of the season in a little better shape. Both seasons, they were within a game of the division lead and several games ahead in the wild-card race.
In order for Tampa Bay to become buyers, I would assume it would need to make up some ground or at least remain stable in the standings in the next month. Maybe then they could look around for free-agents-to-be on struggling clubs.
And if the Rays fall any further behind Boston and New York, they will have to seriously consider turning some of their veterans into prospects.
For the guy in the upper deck, that may sound like heresy. How — when you are currently four games out of first and two games out of the wild card — do you even consider the possibility of giving up hope?
The answer is simple: You would not be giving up on hope, you would merely be shifting it to a more reasonable time frame.
For example, this is how Tampa Bay helped turned a mildly disappointing 2009 season into a division title in 2010. The Rays were 4½ games behind in the wild-card chase when they traded to Scott Kazmir to the Angels in August of '09.
That deal not only brought Sean Rodriguez to Tampa Bay, but the money saved from Kazmir's contract allowed the Rays to sign Rafael Soriano the next offseason. The deal was possible because the Rays had a surplus of starting pitching in the minors, which meant Kazmir was not only expensive but also expendable.
So what would be comparable in 2011?
The most logical names would be B.J. Upton, James Shields, Kyle Farnsworth and Johnny Damon. Shields, Farnsworth and Damon are probably long shots. Upton, in the right circumstances, is probably a prime trade candidate.
At $4.825 million, with another year of arbitration still to come, Upton has simply become too expensive for Tampa Bay.
In New York or elsewhere, his salary would probably be commensurate for a veteran centerfielder with above-average defense, speed and a little a bit of offensive pop. But the Rays could save more than $5 million next season by replacing Upton with Desmond Jennings, and the falloff would not be tremendous.
There is still plenty of time left in the season — nearly 100 games for the Rays — but the hour for making tough decisions is fast approaching.
In the next six weeks or so, the Rays will have to decide whether they want to place a bet on 2011, or start reshuffling the deck.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Brewers 4, Cardinals 3
MILWAUKEE — Prince Fielder cautioned against making too much of the Brewers' sweep of the Cardinals. His go-ahead homer in the sixth rallied Milwaukee, which knocked St. Louis out of first place in the NL Central. "I don't know about a statement," Fielder said. "It's just good right now. We're playing good baseball. Like I said, we haven't been in first place for about a year or two now." Fielder's homer chased Jake Westbrook.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Mariners 7, Tigers 3
DETROIT — For four innings, the Mariners couldn't hit a ball out of the infield. Then Miguel Olivo hit one out of the park. "I think that kind of woke us up a little bit," teammate Brendan Ryan said. Olivo hit two homers and Felix Hernandez pitched eight innings to lead Seattle, which trailed 2-0 when Olivo led off the fifth with a home run. The Mariners scored three in the inning, and Olivo added a two-run shot in the eighth.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS — Francisco Liriano was six outs from his second no-hitter of the season when a long delay in the seventh derailed his feat.
The Twins didn't mind. They're just happy to have the dominant Liriano back.
Liriano sat for nearly a half-hour before Adrian Beltre led off the eighth with a clean single, but he allowed only three baserunners Sunday and pitched Minnesota past the Rangers 6-1.
"Everything was working for me," Liriano said.
Liriano, who held the White Sox hitless in a wild effort May 3, was perfect through the sixth against the Rangers.
"I felt better today. Way better," Liriano said, comparing this to his no-hitter.
Elvis Andrus was the first to reach, on rookie third baseman Luke Hughes' error with one out in the seventh.
The Twins scored five in the bottom half, eating up 29 minutes. When the lefty returned to the mound, he fell behind 3-and-0 before Beltre hit a hard single to left-center.
"We were really worried when he went back out there, but what a performance by him," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Braves 4, Astros 1
HOUSTON — Tommy Hanson loves pitching at Minute Maid Park, and he showed why. Hanson struck out a career-high 14 in seven innings, Brian McCann and Dan Uggla hit two-run homers and the Braves won their sixth straight game. "Here, for whatever reason, the plate feels real close to me," he said. "I don't have a problem at all getting my fastball down here." Hanson improved to 3-0 with a 0.97 ERA in five career starts against the Astros. He struck out five in a row early.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Red Sox 14, Blue Jays 1
TORONTO — David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis homered and the Red Sox, who started 0-6, routed the Blue Jays again to win their ninth straight. "That's why everybody was going crazy when we were losing all those games at the beginning of the season," Ortiz said. "Because you go position by position, this team can match against anybody."
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
White Sox 5, Athletics 4
CHICAGO — Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer to back seven strong innings by Phil Humber, leading the White Sox. Humber pitched at least seven innings for the fifth straight start and struck out a career-high seven. He is 5-1 with a 2.53 ERA over his past nine starts. "I don't really look at the numbers a whole lot," Humber said. "Every time out there, I want to give the team a chance to win. The numbers will take of themselves."
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
D'backs 5, Marlins 1
MIAMI — Daniel Hudson worked in and out of trouble for six-plus innings, and Stephen Drew had three hits and two RBIs for the Diamondbacks. "I just couldn't seem to get that third out of the inning a bunch of times," Hudson said, "but I was able to throw some pitches when I needed to with guys on base." Hudson improved to 7-1 since starting the season 0-4.
Times wires
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Mets 7, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH — Chris Capuano pitched seven strong innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since April 2007, and Jose Reyes had three hits and a homer for the Mets. "Right now, I feel like I'm making good pitches," said Capuano, who missed the 2008-09 seasons while going through elbow ligament replacement surgery and rehabilitation.
