By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, June 9, 2012

GAINESVILLE — With two rain delays that totaled 2:51 in a game that eventually lasted nearly six hours, Florida's baseball players stayed loose by hanging out in the clubhouse, listening to music and watching other NCAA tournament games on Saturday.

Eventually, the Gators put away N.C. State 7-1 in Game 1 of the best-of-three Super Region at McKethan Stadium.

Florida can advance to the World Series with a win today (1, ESPNU).

Junior Hudson Randall (9-2) pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits, walking none and striking out four.

"I thought the story line was Hudson Randall," Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. "Hudson Randall was as advertised."

Randall, who allowed eight hits over 52/3 innings in his last start, earned his school-record fifth NCAA tournament victory. He also holds the school tournament record for innings (572/3), strikeouts (49) and starts (nine).

"I felt pretty good with all my stuff," he said. "My fastball had a little more life, and everything just felt sharper this time around."

Florida led 5-0 in the seventh when the first delay came, Plant High graduate Preston Tucker on first after a walk and Mike Zunino at the plate. When play resumed after 2 hours, 3 minutes, Zunino homered on the second pitch.

"I was just zoned in trying to get a good at-bat," Zunino said.

The second delay, lasting 48 minutes, came during the eighth.

The Gators (46-18) are one win away from a third consecutive trip to the World Series. But coach Kevin O'Sullivan said he doesn't expect a victory today to come easily.

N.C. State (43-19) played three elimination games during last weekend's region tournament it hosted. First, it beat UNC-Wilmington 17-5. Then it beat Vanderbilt, which eliminated Florida in the SEC tournament semifinals, 6-5 and 9-7. The Wolfpack trailed 7-3 in Game 2 before scoring three runs each in the eighth and ninth.

"N.C. State has been in this position before. They had their backs against the wall last weekend on the brink of elimination," O'Sullivan said. "Our players realize that. They'll have a lot of motivation. They don't want their season to end. They want to get to Omaha just as bad as we do. We're not going to look past (today). We're not going to come out flat. We're going to approach it like we're down 0-1.

"N.C. State's got the ability to come back and win this series. And our players realize that."

Antonya English can be reached at english@tampabay.com.

Times wires
Saturday, June 9, 2012

Devils captain Zach Parise ended a five-game goal drought on a rare mistake by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick for his first point of the series, and Martin Brodeur stopped 25 shots to help New Jersey end the Kings' 10-game postseason winning streak on the road and 12-game run over the past two years, both NHL records.

"Our best players were our best players," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said.

Justin Williams scored for the Kings, whose 3-0 series lead has been cut to 3-2 by their first two-game losing streak of the postseason.

Game 6 is Monday night in Los Angeles.

The Devils are the third team to force a Game 6 in the Cup final after trailing 3-0. The others are the 1945 Red Wings and the 1942 Maple Leafs. Only the Leafs ended up winning the series.

"There's no doubt in my mind this is something we can accomplish," Devils rookie center Adam Henrique said.

The Kings haven't played terribly in losing the past two games, but the Devils have made the plays when it counted and gotten breaks when they needed them.

Take Salvador's winner, his first goal in seven games. His shot from the left point was deflected right in front of Quick, hit off the chest of Kings defenseman Slava Voynov and rebounded into the net at 9:05 of the second period.

It was the second time in this series a point shot by a Devils defenseman hit off Voynov and caromed past his goaltender.

Said Kings coach Darryl Sutter, "We're probably saying what (the Devils) said after Games 1 and 2, where we got breaks and now they did."

Salvador's goal, his fourth of the playoffs (he had three goals in the regular season), turned out to be the winner because of Brodeur and more breaks. Los Angeles had one shot hit off the goalpost and had a goal by Jarret Stoll on a second-period power play waved off because he hit the rebound with his stick too high.

"We kept our composure," New Jersey wing Alexei Ponikarovsky said. "It was a must win. … We had to work and battle for every inch of ice."

The Kings seemingly had the territorial advantage in the opening period, but they also made the biggest mistake. And it came from a guy who has been almost flawless in the post­season, Quick.

With Los Angeles' Willie Mitchell serving the final 20 seconds of a penalty for interference, Quick played a puck in front of his net and tried to send it around the net into the corner. The puck slid off his stick, went around the net and barely made it to the right edge of the crease.

Parise darted to the edge of the net and stuffed it home for a 1-0 lead a split second before Quick could cover the corner of the net.

"We capitalized on a mistake," DeBoer said. "But it's nice that we're finding some holes in them right now."

Earlier in the penalty, Quick made a stop on a point-blank blast by Travis Zajac. The puck momentarily got through his pads and lay in the crease, but defenseman Drew Doughty quickly cleared it.

First Period—1, New Jersey, Parise 8, 12:45 (pp). Penalties—Mitchell, LA (interference), 11:00.

Second Period—2, Los Angeles, Williams 4 (M.Greene), 3:26. 3, New Jersey, Salvador 4 (Ponikarovsky, Zajac), 9:05. Penalties—Fayne, NJ (delay of game), 9:33; Salvador, NJ (high-sticking), 18:38.

Third Period—None. Penalties—Brown, LA (holding stick), 5:51; Penner, LA (roughing), 18:24; Ponikarovsky, NJ (roughing), 18:24. Shots on Goal—Los Angeles 7-10-9—26. New Jersey 4-12-3—19. Power-play opportunities—Los Angeles 0 of 2; New Jersey 1 of 2. Goalies—Los Angeles, Quick 15-4-0 (19 shots-17 saves). New Jersey, Brodeur 14-8-0 (26-25).

Times wires
Saturday, June 9, 2012

MIAMI — LeBron James finally got a Game 7 victory, on his third try.

Next up, the NBA Finals and his third try at that elusive first championship.

James had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Chris Bosh hit a career-best three 3-pointers, the last sparking the run that put it away, and the Heat won its second straight Eastern Conference title, beating the Celtics 101-88 in Game 7 on Saturday.

Miami opens the title series in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

Dwyane Wade scored 23 and Shane Battier added 12 for the Heat, which won a Game 7 for the first time since 2004, Wade's rookie season.

Rajon Rondo finished with 22 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for Boston, which got 19 points from Paul Pierce in what might be the last game of the "Big Four" era for the Celtics.

Boston took out its starters with 28.3 seconds left. By then, workers already had a rope around the perimeter of the court, preparing for the East trophy presentation.

The Heat fans screamed first when former player Alonzo Mourning took the microphone — "We still got a lot of work to do," he said — and then again when he handed the trophy to Heat owner Micky Arison.

"A roller-coaster ride," Arison said.

In a championship-or-bust season, the Heat boards a plane for Oklahoma City today.

"We have been through a lot," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Down by seven at halftime and eight early in the third quarter, Miami started clawing back. An 8-0 run tied it at 59, capped by Wade hitting a jumper, then the fun really started.

There were six lead changes and five more ties in the final seven minutes of the third. Bosh scored with 29 seconds left for the last of those ties, and it was tied at 73 going into the fourth.

Battier's 3-pointer with 8:06 left in the third cut Boston's lead to 59-57.

For the next 13 minutes, a span of 46 possessions, neither team led by more than two.

That finally changed when Bosh hit his third 3-pointer with 7:17 left. James made a runner on the next Miami trip and suddenly the Heat had its biggest lead to that point, 88-82 with 6:54 remaining.

"He was big-time — every shot, every defensive play, every rebound — we missed him," James said of Bosh. "We're just happy to have him back at the right time. If it wasn't for him and the rest of the guys that stepped up, we don't win this game."

James made a 3-pointer — it went into the books as a 30-footer — as the shot clock was expiring with just under six minutes left, making it 91-84. Even mistakes were going Miami's way, as James lost a behind-the-back dribble, only to have the ball skip right into Battier's hands.

Bosh scored from inside the lane to end that possession. Wade scored on the next one, the lead was 95-86 with 3:23 left, Boston called time and the building was rocking. James did plenty of talking on the Heat bench in that stoppage, clearly saying the word "finish" at one point.

They listened. A three-point play by Wade with 2:53 left all but sealed it, the Heat was up 12, and Oklahoma City beckoned.

Brandon Bass scored 16, Ray Allen finished with 15 and Kevin Garnett scored 14 for the Celtics, who know next season could bring big changes. A team that was under .500 at the All-Star break almost made the NBA Finals.

Boston's first score came when the Celtics were inbounding from under their own basket with 1.2 seconds left on the shot clock. Rondo surveyed the defense, then decided to toss the ball off Wade's back, catch it and score himself.

It was an omen: The Celtics got plenty of easy scores early. Boston ran out to a 23-14 lead, before the Heat settled down.

"That's what we talk about," James said. "It has to be a collective group to win the champion­ship. Everybody was in tune (Saturday). … We look forward to the next challenge."

BOSTON (88): Pierce 7-18 3-5 19, Bass 6-8 4-4 16, Garnett 6-12 2-2 14, Rondo 10-22 1-2 22, Allen 5-11 2-2 15, Stiemsma 0-0 0-0 0, Pietrus 0-2 0-0 0, Hollins 1-1 0-0 2, Dooling 0-1 0-0 0, Daniels 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Pavlovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-75 12-15 88.

MIAMI (101): James 9-21 12-17 31, Battier 4-9 0-0 12, Haslem 3-4 1-2 7, Chalmers 4-6 0-0 9, Wade 8-17 7-8 23, Bosh 8-10 0-0 19, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Cole 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-70 20-27 101.

Boston27262015—88

Miami23232728—101

3-Point Goals—Boston 6-19 (Allen 3-8, Pierce 2-6, Rondo 1-2, Dooling 0-1, Pietrus 0-2), Miami 9-26 (Battier 4-9, Bosh 3-4, Chalmers 1-3, James 1-5, Jones 0-1, Miller 0-2, Wade 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Boston 39 (Rondo 10), Miami 45 (James 12). Assists—Boston 19 (Rondo 14), Miami 16 (Chalmers 7). Total Fouls—Boston 24, Miami 14. Technicals—Rondo, Wade. A—20,114 (19,600).

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Diamondbacks 8, A's 3

PHOENIX — Miguel Montero hit his second career grand slam and the Diamondbacks scored their fourth straight victory. Trevor Cahill outpitched the A's Jarrod Parker in a matchup of starters traded for each other last year. Jason Kubel had a pair of RBI singles and Justin Upton doubled in a run as Arizona has scored 33 runs in the four-game streak.

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, June 10, 2012

MIAMI — Matt Joyce labeled the Rays' road trip "a little bit of a roller coaster."

It started low, with Tampa Bay scoring one run in two frustrating losses at Yankee Stadium. But it ended with four consecutive wins, including a sweep-clinching 4-2 victory over Miami Sunday in front of 31,111 at Marlins Park.

"We're on a nice little roll," right-hander James Shields said.

A big reason is Tampa Bay's offense, which has come alive, scoring 29 over the four wins and hitting five homers the past two days. That has the Rays (35-25) coming home all alone in first place in the American League East and boasting the league's best record.

"We just had to keep swinging," Joyce said. "The offense is going to come around, and (Saturday) was a big game for us. We kind of carried it into (Sunday). Hopefully we can keep it going."

The Rays, who had a season-high 13 runs Saturday night, continued to show some pop. B.J. Upton gave Tampa Bay the lead in the first with an RBI double, and both Joyce (solo) and Elliot Johnson (two-run) hit home runs in the fourth.

"Up and down the lineup, it's just getting better," manager Joe Maddon said.

That was enough for Shields (7-4), who snapped a four-start winless streak with a strong 61/3-inning outing. He wasn't happy with his three walks, but he battled his way through, including striking out Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton swinging on a 3-and-2 changeup with two on to end the sixth.

"He's a wonderful athlete, he's going to be a superstar in baseball," Maddon said of Stanton. "But Shields kept making good pitches at the right moment."

The bullpen continued its spectacular work on the road trip, finishing it off with 22/3 innings. When Shields allowed his first run with back-to-back doubles in the seventh, left-hander Jake McGee came in to get the final two outs, stranding two. And in the eighth, Joel Peralta gave up a run but struck out Gaby Sanchez to strand a runner on second. Peralta, who fell behind 3-and-1, got Sanchez looking on a slider then a full-count split-finger pitch.

"You've got to get him out with your best pitch, so that's what I did," Peralta said. "I just wanted to make sure it was down in case he made contact. It worked."

The only thing that didn't work for the Rays was their dugout phone, with infielder Will Rhymes serving as their "messenger" in the seventh to get word to relievers when to warm up.

But after putting two complete games together on back-to-back days, Tampa Bay enters today's off day, before a three-game series with the Mets, feeling like it found something on the trip.

"We started off slow, but we finished strong," Shields said. "We've got a lot of confidence."

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@tampabay.com.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Orioles 5, Phillies 4

10 innings

BALTIMORE — Matt Wieters doubled in the winner in the 10th, and Baltimore won its club-record ninth straight extra-inning game. Steve Tolleson hit a three-run homer for the Orioles, who bounced back from a 4-1 deficit and took two of three from the Phillies, including a 12-inning win Saturday. "We'd rather win games in nine, but if you're going to go extras you want to win those," Wieters said.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Pirates 3, Royals 2

PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen homered and drove in three runs, A.J. Burnett won his fifth straight start and Pittsburgh finished its first sweep of an AL team since 2001. McCutchen hit an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third as the Pirates won their fourth in a row.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Blue Jays 12, Braves 4

ATLANTA — Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus homered and had three RBIs each, and Toronto, which trailed 4-0 in the third, stopped Atlanta's six-game winning streak. The Jays had a season-high 18 hits.

By Tim Whitfield, Times Correspondent
Sunday, June 10, 2012

What's hot: Fishing the past few days was pretty good, the best bite inshore being trout near passes. An outgoing tide has been stellar for girls 20 inches and longer. They've been sitting on the edges of grass flats in 5-6 feet. The grass has contours with depressions and underwater points, making them perfect ambush points. Lighted docks near passes have gator trout.

Bait: Live, scaled sardines were best. Small pinfish were a distant second, and shrimp attracted only pinfish. There is plenty of bait on the edges of flats and at bridges.

Pro tip: Pay attention to what's working. When the bite is on, watch the water, structure, time of the tide and wind. This will help you pattern the fish; not just trout, but any inshore fish.

Interesting catches: Small, dead shrimp were the ticket for two anglers fishing a dock. They were hammering redfish one after another. We caught one red and two flounder using cut sardines.

Tim Whitfield can be reached at (813) 714-0889 or tim@swiftfishcharters.com.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Nationals 4, Red Sox 3

BOSTON — Roger Bernadina's two-out double drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth, and Washington completed a three-game sweep of last-place Boston. The franchise was 0-9 at Fenway Park going into the series. "We were overdue," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "This is a whole new ballclub. There's great makeup, great talent on this ballclub. It's only going to get better."

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Cubs 8, Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS — In the last year of his contract with languishing Chicago, Ryan Dempster is a prime candidate to be traded. He raised his market value with eight shutout innings as the Cubs won for the fifth time in 25 games. "Whether it's making a start, getting in the lineup or coming out of the pen, you just have to try and make the most of those opportunities," Dempster said.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Astros 11, White Sox 9

CHICAGO — Justin Maxwell, Jose Altuve, J.D. Martinez and Brett Wallace homered, leading Houston to its first road series victory of the season. Maxwell's two-run shot in the fifth put the Astros ahead 4-3. His homer was estimated at 461 feet, curling just inside the leftfield foul pole.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

NEW YORK — Russell Martin and the Yankees appeared a little out of practice when it came to celebrating a winning homer.

Martin led off the ninth with his second homer of the game, and the Yankees took advantage of shoddy infield defense to beat the Mets 5-4 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

The catcher rounded third and jogged toward his teammates waiting at the plate. He took a big hop and fell as he landed on the plate and grabbed his leg, putting a momentary stop to the party.

"I tried to jump in the air to celebrate, and I got about 2 inches off the ground," Martin said. "But I still managed to touch home plate and it feels good."

The Yankees took advantage of errors by David Wright and Omar Quintanilla to rally from a 3-0 deficit. But former Ray Rafael Soriano gave up a tying double in the ninth to Ike Davis.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Angels 10, Rockies 8

DENVER — Mark Trumbo hit two three-run homers to set a career high with six RBIs and Los Angeles won its ninth straight road game. Torii Hunter added a two-run homer and three runs.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

LAS VEGAS — In a stunning slight to punch statistics, and the naked eyes of most everyone else, two judges scored Timothy Bradley as the upset winner over Manny Pacquiao of their WBO welterweight title bout late Saturday night.

Judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford gave Bradley a 115-113 edge at MGM Grand Garden Arena, while judge Jerry Roth scored the bout 115-113 for Pacquiao.

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 knockouts), who relied on his power and speed advantages to repeatedly back up Bradley (29-0, 12 KOs), said he will invoke his right for a rematch in November and Bradley said he wants to go at it again, too.

That likely further delays a Pacquiao showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. until at least 2013.

Asked if he beat Bradley, Pacquiao said in the ring, "No doubt."

Boos among the 14,206 in attendance cascaded in the arena upon the announcement of the scores.

"I hope you're not dismayed or discouraged," Pacquiao, 33, said calmly. "I can fight. I can still fight."

Bradley, 28, said although he was pained by a twisted left ankle in the second round that bothered him until the sixth, he believed he rallied to win.

"I didn't think he was as good as everyone says he was," Bradley said. "I didn't feel his power."

On the scoring, he replied: "There's three judges out there. What do you want me to do? Two of them felt I won the fight. That's all that counts."

Despite a 158-80 lead by Pacquiao on connected punches after seven rounds, Ross and Ford each awarded Bradley five of the final six rounds even though Pacquiao backed Bradley to the ropes in the eighth and ninth rounds, and was tapping mitts urging him to fight. Bradley appeared reduced to jabbing in the 11th round.

"Manny hurt me a few times with his left hand. He's a beast," Bradley said. "But my corner told me if I won the last round, I'd win the fight."

Bradley, who came to the postfight news conference in a wheelchair, said he told trainer Joel Diaz after the second round that he thought his ankle was broken.

"He said, 'What do you want to do? You're in the fight of your life. Do you want to quit?' " Bradley said. "I said, 'No.' "

Bradley's manager, Cameron Dunkin, said Sunday that the fighter tore ligaments in his left foot and will have an MRI today to check for broken bones.

CompuBox showed Pacquiao connected on 253 punches to Bradley's 159, with a 63-51 advantage in jabs and 190-108 in power punches. Many reporters at ringside unofficially scored the bout for Pacquiao in the 9-3 to 11-1 range.

"I've never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am (Saturday night)," promoter Bob Arum said. "People don't know what they're watching anymore. I'm going to make a lot of money," in a rematch, "but who's going to take this sport seriously?"

Pacquiao shook his head in amazement to reporters. "He never hurt me with his punches," he said. "I did my best. I guess my best wasn't good enough. Most of his punches hit my arm. I don't know what happened."

He vowed he would not let the fate of the fight go to judges' scorecards if the two meet as expected Nov. 10.

"That will make me become a warrior in the next few months," Pacquiao said, "because in the rematch my feeling is I don't want to go the whole 12 rounds."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Brewers 6, Padres 5

MILWAUKEE — Ryan Braun homered and Yovani Gallardo pitched seven innings to help Milwaukee finish with a 5-4 homestand. "Definitely not successful enough for us," closer John Axford said. "We wanted to win more. We played some teams here that we thought maybe we could pick up a couple more games."

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Indians 4, Cardinals 1

ST. LOUIS — Chris Perez picked up his 20th straight save against his former team, finishing Cleveland's victory while battling an upset stomach that left him spitting up fluid between pitches. "I drank some warm water and I ran out there and it just didn't settle well," Perez said. "What am I going to do, call time out and run into the dugout?"

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Dodgers 8, Mariners 2

SEATTLE — Andre Ethier awakened from a recent slump with his fourth career grand slam to cap a six-run second inning, and Chad Billingsley pitched seven strong innings as Los Angeles finished a 7-3 road trip heading into a showdown with the Angels. "This was a good trip for us. It could have been dangerous," manager Don Mattingly said.

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Rangers 5, Giants 0

SAN FRANCISCO — Alexi Ogando pitched three perfect innings before leaving with a strained groin after a bunt single, combining with three relievers on a three-hitter for Texas. "Right now it feels pretty bad," said Ogando, set for an MRI exam today. "I feel bad because of the situation we're in but that's something that happens in baseball."

Times wires
Sunday, June 10, 2012

D'backs 4, Athletics 3

PHOENIX — Winning streaks are made of little things, such as tagging up at first on a routine flyout. That play by Chris Young set up the deciding run as Arizona won its season-high fifth in a row. Jason Kubel followed with a single to put the Diamondbacks up 4-2 in the fifth. "One out and generally you're not going to tag up on that play, but (Young) recognized what was going on," manager Kirk Gibson said.