Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

Pirates 6, Reds 1

CINCINNATI — Charlie Morton pitched his second career complete game in gusty winds, limiting the NL's most prolific lineup to five hits, and the Pirates ended their four-game losing streak. Morton lost his shutout when Jay Bruce homered with two outs in the ninth. His other complete game was a shutout vs. the Cubs in 2009. Garrett Jones and Neil Walker homered off former Hernando High star Bronson Arroyo, who gave up a season-high five runs in four innings.

Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

NEW YORK — Undefeated Matt Harrison and Texas tied an AL record by turning six double plays and the Rangers picked up where they left off in October, beating the Yankees 5-3 Friday night.

The teams played for the first time since Texas battered the Yankees to win last year's AL Championship Series in six games. The Rangers won this time with pitching, thanks to Harrison and his sure-handed fielders.

Texas turned double plays on grounders by the first six hitters in the New York lineup: Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, and Andruw Jones.

This was the 15th time an AL team made six double plays in a game. The major-league mark for double plays in a game is seven by San Francisco in 1969.

Harrison has pitched at least seven innings in every start this season.

Even when the Yankees threatened in the eighth, after Curtis Granderson's homer and Jeter's single, manager Ron Washington stuck with Harrison. Swisher promptly bounced into the final double play.

Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

WASHINGTON — If the aim of the new-style Capitals is to win by frustration, they have hit full stride against the Rangers.

New York controlled play for two periods Friday. But it managed only 22 shots (13 in the first), and rookie Michal Neuvirth stopped them all. Add second-period goals 1:57 apart by Jason Chimera and Jason Arnott, and Washington had a 2-0 win and 2-0 series lead.

"It's a long game," said Brooks Laich, who assisted on Chimera's goal. "And if you can bend at times but not break and keep up that solid defensive hockey, maybe frustrate them, it works to our advantage."

Neuvirth, 23, has stopped 46 of 47 shots in the series.

"We've done some of the things we wanted to do, but it's not enough," Rangers center Brian Boyle said. "It wasn't enough in Game 1, and it wasn't enough (Friday). It's frustration. We get (ticked) off, but it is what it is."

Alex Ovechkin has just one goal, but that's no longer the formula for beating the Capitals.

"People still identify our team as an offensive firepower," Laich said. "Our … defensive coverage is going to be a key for us, perhaps the biggest key in the playoffs. We're going to get some goals. We're not going to score five."

With the lead, Washington essentially called off the attack in the third and played 20 more minutes of frustration hockey.

"I'm not discouraged," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "We need to just relax … and just find a way to bang a couple in."

First Period—None. Penalties—McDonagh, NYR (interference), 8:04; Bradley, Was (charging), 17:52.

Second Period—1, Washington, Chimera 1 (Johansson, Laich), 2:11. 2, Washington, Arnott 1 (Green, Ovechkin), 4:08 (pp). Penalties—McDonagh, NYR (roughing), 2:59; Fedotenko, NYR (high-sticking), 10:45; Semin, Was (hooking), 18:11.

Third Period—None. Penalties—Prust, NYR (roughing), 20:00. Shots on Goal—N.Y. Rangers 13-3-6—22. Washington 7-8-3—18. Power-play opportunities—N.Y. Rangers 0 of 2; Washington 1 of 3. Goalies—N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 0-2-0 (18 shots-16 saves). Washington, Neuvirth 2-0-0 (22-22). A—18,398 (18,398).

King suspended: Los Angeles center Jarret Stoll was suspended for tonight's Game 2 for Thursday's hit from behind on the Sharks' Ian White. The first-period hit sent White's head bouncing off the boards, but no penalty was called. San Jose did not say if White sustained a concussion but did say he's doubtful for tonight.

Around the league: Center Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings' leading scorer during the regular season, will miss Game 2 today against the Coyotes with an undisclosed left knee injury. He also missed Game 1. … Versus, in its sixth season covering the league, set a network record by averaging 534,328 viewers with Wednesday's opening-night coverage, a 12 percent increase from last season.

Eastern Conference

Capitals 2, Rangers 0

Game 1: Capitals 2, Rangers 1 OT

Friday: Capitals 2, Rangers 0

Sunday: at New York, 3, Ch. 8

Wednesday: at New York, 7, Versus

April 23: at Washington, 3, Ch. 8 *

April 25: at New York, TBD *

April 27: at Washington, TBD *

Sabres 1, Flyers 0

Game 1: Sabres 1, Flyers 0

Today: at Philadelphia, 5

Monday: at Buffalo, 7, Versus

Wednesday: at Buffalo, 7:30, Versus

Friday: at Philadelphia, 7:30 *

April 24: at Buffalo, 3, Ch. 8 *

April 26: at Philadelphia, TBD *

Canadiens 1, Bruins 0

Game 1: Canadiens 2, Bruins 0

Tonight: at Boston, 7, Versus

Monday: at Montreal, 7:30

Thursday: at Montreal, 7, Versus

April 23: at Boston, 7, Versus *

April 26: at Montreal, TBD *

April 27: at Boston, TBD *

Western Conference

Canucks 1, Blackhawks 0

Game 1: Canucks 2, Blackhawks 0

Friday: at Vancouver, late

Sunday: at Chicago, 8, Versus

Tuesday: at Chicago, 8, Versus

Thursday: at Vancouver, 10, Versus *

April 24: at Chicago, 7:30 *

April 26: at Vancouver, TBD *

Sharks 1, Kings 0

Game 1: Sharks 3, Kings 2, OT

Tonight: at San Jose, 10, Versus

Tuesday: at Los Angeles, 10:30, Versus

Thursday: at Los Angeles, 10:30

April 23: at San Jose, 10:30, Versus *

April 25: at Los Angeles, TBD *

April 27: at San Jose, TBD *

Red Wings 1, Coyotes 0

Game 1: Red Wings 4, Coyotes 2

Today: at Detroit, 1, Ch. 8

Monday: at Phoenix, 10:30, Versus

Wednesday: at Phoenix, 10:30 Versus

Friday: at Detroit, 7, Versus *

April 24: at Phoenix, TBD *

April 27: at Detroit, TBD *

Predators 1, Ducks 0

Game 1: Predators 4, Ducks 1

Friday: at Anaheim, late

Sunday: at Nashville, TBD

Wednesday: at Nashville, TBD

Friday: at Anaheim, 10 *

April 24: at Nashville, TBD *

April 26: at Anaheim, TBD *

* If necessary

Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

Marlins 4, Phillies 3

PHILADELPHIA — Marlins pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs hit a go-ahead two-run single against his former team, and Phillies star Roy Oswalt left with a lower-back strain after pitching six impressive innings. Oswalt got hurt while running to first after putting down a bunt in the bottom of the sixth.

Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

Padres 4, Astros 2

HOUSTON — Chris Denorfia doubled and homered, and Ryan Ludwick drove in a pair of runs in the Padres' three-run seventh. Denorfia made it 1-0 with a homer in the fifth, giving the Padres their first run of the series after being shut out Thursday. Nick Hundley singled before Denorfia's ground-rule double in the seventh. Ludwick's single then drove both players in.

By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Friday, April 15, 2011

PITTSBURGH — Fall down when grabbed. Throw your head back if a stick hits you in the face; just a couple of ways W Ryan Malone said can help the Lightning get a fair share of power plays in the playoffs.

"You're not embellishing, and you're not completely diving, like, you're not going to get into soccer or anything," Malone said before Friday's Game 2. "You just want to let the refs know you're being held or obstructed. That's what (the Penguins) did a good job of making clear."

Penalties have been a running theme the past few days.

Pittsburgh had six power plays in Game 1. The Lightning had one, and Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher has been reminding, perhaps to plant a seed in the minds of the referees, that the Penguins were one of the league's most-penalized teams during the regular season.

"I was aware of the comments," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "I'm not sure talking to the media has an effect on the refs or not, and I'm not sure he was doing that. But we're aware we need to play disciplined to keep their power play off the ice."

Did Tampa Bay's strategy work? The Penguins had seven power plays in Friday's Game 2. But the Lightning had six.

Malone said the Penguins did a good job in Game 1 of embellishing infractions that are not serious but penalized nonetheless; C Max Talbot falling when C Dominic Moore grabbed his shoulder, and D Kris Letang throwing back his head when hit by D Mike Lundin's stick.

"I don't know if (Letang) threw Lundin's stick in his face or not, but he snapped his head back," Malone said. "He's okay. He wasn't bleeding, but the refs know you got whacked."

Of the Talbot-Moore incident, Malone said, "I'm sure Moore isn't strong enough with one hand to throw Talbot to the ice. But it's still a holding penalty. His arm is there on his shoulder, so all our penalties were penalties. We understand that.

"But I want to make sure if a guy cross-checks me and breaks his stick across my back, I should fall down just to let the refs know. You're just trying to get any edge you can."

STATE OF PLAY: Lightning GM Steve Yzerman agreed with Malone's take.

"More so than ever, hooking, holding, whatever, are embellished because as soon as a player puts his arm out like that he's subject to a penalty. And if you fall down, it's definitely a penalty," he said. "The rules the way they are, the fallout of that is you see more of it."

Not that embellishing is new.

"I played the game a long time," Yzerman said. "Everybody dives once in a while. I don't think it's anything anybody encourages, but it would be hypocritical of me to call a guy a diver when I did it myself."

SOLID: W Marty St. Louis said he would have had three damaged teeth (two on top, one on the bottom) pulled after he was hit by the stick of Penguins D Zbynek Michalek.

But "they wanted me to eat during the playoffs," he said.

So after a double root canal, St. Louis had the teeth cemented in place.

Michalek said it was an accident as both players fell.

"My stick wasn't high," he said in his first public comments about the incident. "It was bad luck."

LINEUP: There was speculation D Randy Jones or D Marc-Andre Bergeron might play. But Boucher said Jones, out since March 7 with a high ankle sprain, needs more practice time and Bergeron has a minor undisclosed injury.

ODDS AND ENDS: D Eric Brewer had his first multipoint game since Feb. 17, 2008, for the Blues. … The Lightning reassigned F Alex Hutchings to AHL Norfolk from ECHL Florida. … D Matt Smaby (lower body) was scratched. … Norfolk won its playoff opener 2-1 over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Times staff writer Joe Smith contributed to this report.

Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

TENNIS

FEDERER FALLS AT MONTE CARLO

MONACO — Roger Federer lost to Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-4 Friday in swirling wind in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals, his earliest exit since Wimbledon last year.

With dust and clay blowing off the court, Federer was ousted from his first claycourt tournament of the season.

"I don't think I played terrible. I thought it was okay," he said. "It was still the first week of clay, so I don't expect myself to play my very best."

Nadal, the world No. 1 and six-time defending champion, defeated Ivan Ljubicic 6-1, 6-3 for his 35th straight win at the tournament. Nadal faces No. 3 seed Andy Murray, who downed qualifier Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-1.

Melzer plays No. 4 David Ferrer.

"I have beaten Rafa last year. I have beaten Nole (Djokovic). So this was the one missing," Melzer said. "I had a few shots on the line, a few bad bounces that were going my way. You need that to beat Roger."

FED CUP: Christina McHale will play opening singles for the U.S. team, which is without the Williams sisters for today's critical playoff at Germany. McHale, ranked 82nd, plays Andrea Petkovic, and American Melanie Oudin meets Julia Goerges in the second singles in Stuttgart. The loser in the best-of-five falls out of the top-tier World Group.

CYCLING

Report: Armstrong, banned doctor met

Lance Armstrong and a banned Italian physician have met repeatedly in Europe since severing formal ties in 2004, including as recently as last year's Tour de France, a high-ranking Italian law enforcement official said. Michele Ferrari was cleared in 2006 of criminal charges accusing him of distributing doping products but remains barred for life by the Italian Cycling Federation. Italian authorities suspect him of continuing to work with 20-30 top cyclists, including Armstrong, despite his ban. Padua prosecutor Benedetto Roberti ordered raids Thursday. Ferrari told the Associated Press, "I haven't had a professional relationship with Mr. Armstrong for a long time." In an e-mail, Armstrong's lawyer Mark Fabiani added: "(Armstrong) remains friends with the doctor's family and sees them every once in a while."

HORSES

Last Kentucky Derby preps set for today

Santiva, trained by Eddie Kenneally, is the 3-1 favorite for today's $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, leading the 12-horse field in one of the last major Kentucky Derby preps over 11/8 miles. Also, The Factor was an early 7-5 favorite after drawing the No. 3 post for the $1 million Arkansas Derby.

APPLE BLOSSOM: Havre de Grace overcame a four-length deficit late to win the Grade I $500,000 race at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

MAKER'S MARK MILE: Get Stormy won the Grade I $300,000 race at Keeneland, beating Workin for Hops by 2¾ lengths.

SOCCER

Bail for big figure in match-fixing scandal

A chief suspect in what officials have called Europe's biggest soccer match-fixing scandal was released on $72,300 bail after 17 months in prison. Ante Sapina was released after providing a comprehensive confession to a German court. He admitted to bribing referees and players.

U.S. OWNERS: A group of American investors led by Boston executive Thomas DiBenedetto announced a deal to buy roughly two-thirds of Italian club Roma for $100 million.

MLS: The league suspended Seattle's Servando Carrasco for a game and fined him $500 for a reckless challenge.

Times wires

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Friday, April 15, 2011

PITTSBURGH — Penguins center Michael Rupp said one thing you can't do against the Lightning is let it get on the power play, "because they thrive on that."

But that's exactly what happened Friday in Tampa Bay's 5-1 win in Game 2 as the Lightning's special team units stole the show.

Unlike Game 1, when Tampa Bay had just one power play, the Penguins admittedly got caught up in their emotions in taking bad penalties. And the Lightning made them pay, going 2-for-6 with the man-advantage.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay's penalty kill unit was 7-for-7 (and added a shorthanded, empty-net goal), having shut down the Penguins' power play in all 12 chances this series.

"Special teams were the difference, obviously," Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek said. "Our penalty kill didn't do a good job. Our power play didn't do a good enough job. Special teams makes the difference in the playoffs, and (Friday), it showed."

The Penguins had said a big key in their Game 1 victory was staying disciplined and keeping Tampa Bay's power play, which led the Eastern Conference at 20.5 percent in the regular season, off the board. But Pittsburgh took three penalties in the first 11:06.

"We got caught up in our emotions, and it got the best of us," Rupp said. "We didn't give ourselves a chance to get to our game. You've got to swallow your pride and not look to retaliate out there."

Said Michalek: "Unnecessary penalties at bad times, that killed us."

Lightning coach Guy Boucher said the power play "needs to be one of our strengths." He said the key to Friday's success was keeping a "five-on-five mentality" with the man-advantage.

"We were hungry on the (power play)," said Marty St. Louis, who had the momentum-swinging power-play goal with 14 seconds left in the second period. "And we got it done."

The Lightning's penalty kill has been getting it done. It has been successful on 57 of its past 61 opportunities on the road (93.4 percent) dating to Jan. 21. Goalie Dwayne Roloson has been a big reason why and was impressive Friday with 35 saves.

"I think it's been clicking toward the end of the season, and we really had momentum going into the playoffs with our PK," center Nate Thompson said. "We have a lot of confidence in it. Obviously, you're best penalty-killer has to be your goaltender, and Roloson has done that for us ever since he's been here."

The Penguins' power-play unit ranked 25th (15.8 percent) in the regular season and is without stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And Tampa Bay made sure its struggles continued.

Said Vinny Lecavalier: "Our PK was phenomenal."

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

Times wires
Friday, April 15, 2011

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 6

BOSTON — Jose Bautista singled in the go-ahead run in a four-run seventh inning and the Red Sox dropped to 2-10, matching their poorest start in history. The home fans booed Carl Crawford, the ex-Ray hitting .137 (7-for-51) after an 0-for-5 night. "They have to boo," Crawford said. "I'm playing real bad."

By Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist
Friday, April 15, 2011

PITTSBURGH — Now, it is a series.

Now, it is anybody's.

The Lightning salvaged its postseason Friday night. It pulled itself off the edge of a cliff, and it earned a new deal, and it whittled down a monster of a goaltender to the size of a munchkin.

It finished 5-1, and from here, you can see the St. Pete Times Forum.

This was huge, and if the Lightning plans to keep playing beyond this round, this was vital. Say what you want about odds and comebacks, but going down 0-2 to the Penguins would have been a hole the size of an empty grave.

Lose this game, and the Lightning would have had to win four out of five against a gritty Penguins team with a hot goaltender. Technically, it would still have had a chance, but it would have been the same sort of chance of a man falling out of an airplane and hoping to land in the bed of a pickup filled with mattresses.

Instead, it is going home tied 1-1 with a bit of momentum, with a dose of confidence, with home-ice advantage. As of today, it is the Penguins who have to figure out the Lightning's goaltender instead of the other way around. As of today, it is the Penguins who have to explain the devastating blow Marty St. Louis gave to them.

For the Lightning, this was the biggest postseason win since April 16, 2007, when it beat New Jersey to take a 2-1 lead in its first-round series. The Lightning promptly lost three straight games and then went on a four-year wander through the desert.

This, pretty much, is what excellence looks like. It was a night of big plays for the Lightning, a conga line of players seizing the spotlight one after another. When the Lightning is at its best, this is what it looks like.

"I've said this before, but the reason we have had success is that everyone has a big role on this team," Vinny Lecavalier said.

Do you want to know why Eric Brewer was brought to Tampa Bay in midseason? For a game such as this, that's why. For a presence such as he had against the Penguins.

Yes, part of it was the bullet he fired to the left of Marc-Andre Fleury 122 seconds into the game. That, in itself, was a huge statement. Even without that, however, Brewer was the best player on the ice for much of the game. He had two assists and two hits, and he had a takeaway. And it was his knockdown of the puck — an "errant stab" he called it — to keep it in the offensive zone that led to the Lightning's second goal.

Do you want to know why Lecavalier is still here? For the grit he has added to his game over the years. For the things he can do even though he no longer is one of the game's biggest scorers.

Lecavalier was almost sitting in Fleury's lap when he scored the second goal. After a perfect backhand pass from Simon Gagne, Lecavalier jammed the puck into the net for a two-goal lead on the Lightning's third shot of the game.

"It was a great pass," he said. "All I had to do was stick it in. He made the whole thing happen."

Do you want to know why fans around here still love St. Louis? Go back to the end of the second period, when the Penguins were attacking like the Charge of the Light Brigade. They had scored once to cut the Lightning's lead to 3-1, and they had hit a post, and they seemed to have the Lightning on its heels.

Then with 14 seconds to go in the period, St. Louis fired a shot from deep to the right of the goal, an almost impossible angle. The puck fired off the sake of Pittsburgh's Paul Martin, and just like that, the assault had been turned back.

It was a vintage St. Louis goal. It has never been the number of goals that have defined St. Louis, it has been the timing of them and the importance. On a night like this, with his teeth bonded together to keep them inside of his skull, with a sign in the stands with his face pasted over that of Mini-Me, the character from the Austin Powers movies, St. Louis put another memory on the stack. Of course he did.

"It was a huge goal," Lecavalier said. "There's a big difference in 3-1 and 4-1 at the end of the second period."

One last question: Do you want to know why Dwayne Roloson was brought in this year? For this, of course. For a night when the Lightning needed him to stand bigger than the other team's goalie, when it needed him to prove once again that this isn't about his age after all.

For the moment, Roloson, 41, measured up just fine. He showed that it wasn't just Fleury who has salvaged his team's season. He showed that it wasn't just Fleury who could make improbable saves while the oncoming traffic jostled him about.

True, Roloson had a couple of strange wanders from the net, one that led to the Penguins' goal. Still, he turned away 35 of 36 shots. On most nights, the Lightning will take its chances with those kinds of numbers.

In other words, most of the night looked like a Lightning highlight tape. This is who it is, and when everything clicks, this is what it can do.

A few more examples, and who knows how far it can go?

By Damian Cristodero and Joe Smith, Times Staff Writers
Friday, April 15, 2011

Three stars

Eric Brewer: The Lightning defenseman scored the game's first goal to help the Lightning finally crack goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He also racked up two assists to give him his first multipoint game since Feb. 17, 2008.

Simon Gagne: The Lightning wing had three assists, including an impressive backhand cross-crease pass to Vinny Lecavalier on the captain's power-play goal in the first period that made it 2-0.

Marty St. Louis: The Lightning wing played a great all-around game, and his power-play goal with 14 seconds left in the second period was huge. It put Tampa Bay up 4-1 and stole the momentum back from the Penguins, who had controlled play for most of the period.

Ticket update

Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa are almost sold out.

The series

Game 1, Penguins 3, Lightning 0: Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury wows. Lightning bemoans its penalties.

Friday, Lightning 5, Penguins 1: Lightning jumps on sluggish Penguins early and holds off second-period Pittsburgh surge.

Monday: at Tampa Bay, 7:30, Sun Sports

Wednesday: at Tampa Bay, 7, Sun Sports

April 23: at Pittsburgh, TBA #

April 25: at Tampa Bay, TBA * #

April 27: at Pittsburgh, TBA * #

* If necessary # Sun Sports or FSN

Games 3, 4 and 7 on 970-AM Games 5 and 6 on 620-AM

Tickets

$30-$220. Available at the St. Pete Times Forum box office and via Ticketmaster: ticketmaster.com, outlets, toll-free 1-800-745-3000.

Game 2 breakdown

Keeping it to himself

It was cool to see Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, top left, and Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby gabbing in the halls underneath the Consol Energy Center. They made small talk and discussed what doctor Crosby is seeing for his concussion. One thing that didn't come up: when Crosby, who hasn't played since Jan. 5, will return to action. Asked if he broached the subject, Yzerman said, "You know what? Maybe I would, but my impression is I don't think they really know." Besides, Yzerman said, "If he's considering coming back in this series, he wouldn't even tell me."

Bare naked

Ryan Malone is one of the few players who doesn't wear an undershirt under his pads. He said it started several years ago, when he played for the Penguins and the NHL introduced antisweat jerseys. The sweat stayed out of the jerseys but was trapped on his body. "I used to shower after the first period, they were so hot and kept all the sweat in," Malone said. The NHL has since modified the jerseys to better let the material and players' bodies breathe. But now Malone plays in Tampa. "And it just gets so hot," he said, "so, no shirt." There is some chafing to his upper body because of the straps that hold the pads in place, Malone said, and added, "If I had a pierced nipple, I'd have to put some tape on it."

By Jeff Janiczek, Special to the Times
Friday, April 15, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — Playing its first game in Philadelphia since winning an Arena League championship in 2008, the Soul led Tampa Bay for almost the entire game Friday night.

Until the end.

Tampa Bay's Kyle Chilton kicked the winning 30-yard field goal for the Storm as time expired for a 51-48 win in front of 12,893 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Storm (2-3) outscored the Soul 25-7 in the fourth quarter to snap a three-game losing streak. Rookie quarterback Grant Gregory, a former USF player, threw for 211 yards and six touchdowns for the Storm. Hank Edwards had a game-high four receiving touchdowns and 74 yards on 10 catches.

"Grant definitely made a step in the right direction tonight as far as … Arena Football," Edwards said. "He was seeing and throwing a lot quicker. He's only going to get better. He's a sharp guy and on his way right now."

The Soul (1-4) got two third-quarter touchdown passes from Ryan Vena to take a 41-26 lead, but the Storm dominated the fourth quarter. Vena was 18-of-33 for 225 yards with four touchdowns and one interception, and added two rushing TDs.

Storm fullback Eric Ortiz scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:32 remaining, and two of Edwards' touchdown catches, both 4 yards, came in the final eight minutes.

The Storm took the lead for the first time at 48-41 on Edwards' final TD catch, a 4-yarder, but Philadelphia tied it at 48 on a touchdown with 46 seconds left.

"We just believed and continued to fight," Storm receiver Huey Whittaker said. "It was a tough environment to play in, but we felt like we were going to win no matter what."

With Tampa Bay down 14-7 with 2:18 left in the first quarter, Gregory found Edwards for a 6-yard touchdown. Chilton missed the PAT and the Soul led 14-13.

"They were giving up the underneath throw, so we decided to take what they would give us," Edwards said. " … We had a great week of practice and have a great group of young guys who always work hard, and it carried over into tonight's game."

With 1:40 remaining before halftime, Chilton missed a 26-yard field goal, but the Storm got a second chance after Philadelphia fumbled. The Storm capitalized as Whittaker, a former USF and Springstead High receiver, plowed through a defender to pull the Storm within 21-20.

After another Soul touchdown, Gregory led a solid scoring drive for the Storm, completing three passes to former USF receiver Amarri Jackson, including a 4-yard touchdown. That pulled the Storm within two but Chilton's extra point was blocked and Philadelphia led 28-26 at halftime.

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Rockies 5, Cubs 0

DENVER — Jhoulys Chacin tossed a six-hitter for his first career complete game, Chris Iannetta hit a bases-clearing triple and the Rockies won their seventh straight. The Rockies (11-2) are off to their best start in franchise history. Chacin struck out seven and walked two. He smacked his fist into his glove when the Rockies recorded a 5-4-3 double play to end the game. Former Rays pitcher Matt Garza turned in a third straight erratic performance for the Cubs, surrendering five runs and seven hits in six innings.

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Royals 6, Mariners 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Luke Hochevar gave up one hit in seven innings, and Jeff Francoeur homered and drove in three runs as the Royals got their fifth victory in six games. Ichiro Suzuki led off the game with a double, the only hit Hochevar allowed. He retired 16 in a row after walking Luis Rodriguez with two out in the second. Francoeur hit a two-run homer in the third, and his infield single in the first also drove in a run.

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Angels 4, White Sox 3

CHICAGO — The Angels bullpen extended its scoreless streak to 25 1/3 innings and helped Jeff Weaver become the first pitcher in the majors to reach four wins. Fernando Rodney worked out of trouble with two on and one out in the eighth, and Jordan Walden had a perfect ninth. Maicer Izturis had three hits and drove in two runs to help the Angels win their third straight. Weaver, the 2010 strikeout leader, leads the majors this season with 31.

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Giants 5, Diamondbacks 2

PHOENIX — Matt Cain had his third strong outing in three appearances this season and Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer to lift the Giants to their third straight victory. Cain allowed one run on four hits in six innings, plus two batters. Daniel Hudson matched his career best with 10 strikeouts but allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and three walks in six innings.

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Cardinals 11, Dodgers 2

LOS ANGELES — Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman homered twice for the Cardinals, who have won five of six to get to .500. In its past five games, St. Louis has hit 13 homers and scored 51 runs. It has had 14 or more hits in five consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 31-Sept. 7, 1930, when it did so in six consecutive.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Legend of Sam Fuld grew remarkably last week, via Twitter, through the media and, primarily, by what he did on the field, hitting, running and making diving catches. Here is a look at how the Legend was formed:

A son of Granite

Fuld's home state of New Hampshire, one of the original 13 colonies, is a sliver of New England, about 180 miles long and just 93 wide at its base, about the distance from St. Petersburg to Orlando, and not very populated, with only about 1.3 million residents. It is known as the Granite State, also as the Mother of Rivers; for its motto Live Free or Die; and as the site of early presidential campaigning. What it's not known for is producing major-leaguers: just 37 of the 15,000-plus who've played in the modern era (since 1900). The best to now? Probably Red Rolfe, a four-time All-Star infielder during a 10-season career with the Yankees in the 1930s. Others of note: Cards RHP Chris Carpenter, Giants RHP Brian Wilson, former O's LHP Mike Flanagan.

Did you know …

Fuld's play has made him topical, but he already was a pretty interesting topic of conversation. Consider: He has Type 1 diabetes (and has to give himself 4-5 shots a day), is one of the few Jewish big-leaguers, grew up carrying around a stats book as his "security blanket," began playing baseball with his grandmother, attended the highbrow Exeter Academy (at the same time as Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook), earned an economics degree in four years from Stanford (with a 3.15 GPA) and spent an offseason interning at Stats Inc. His mother, Amanda Merrill, is a New Hampshire state senator, and his father, Kenneth, is dean of the College of Liberal Arts and a psychology professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Also …

Sam is 29, married to a high school girlfriend (Sarah) with a 16-month-old son (Charles) and has the middle name Babson. He was one of the five players acquired from the Cubs in the trade of Matt Garza (who is 0-2, 6.27), had spent parts of three seasons in the majors (playing in 98 total games, always a late-season call­up), was a 10th-round pick in the 2004 draft (after not signing as a 24th-round pick the year before) and wasn't drafted out of high school despite being New Hampshire's player of the year.

He was a big kid

Two things stand out about Fuld when you see him on the field: how small he is (he admits to being 5-8 to 5-9, but claims the right to round up, and 172 pounds) and how recklessly he plays. More interesting, his mother said, is that neither used to be the case. "He took a lot of teasing when he was young because he was a real big kid," she said. "Big and strong." Until he stopped growing after the seventh grade. As for that flying all over the field stuff? "We don't know," she said. "He was a pretty reserved, cautious kid." About the wildest he got then? Teasing his younger sister, Annie, and sneaking under the tent flaps into a VIP and players party the night before the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park to get autographs.

Furthermore …

Fuld played basketball and tennis growing up and played soccer and ran indoor track through high school. He took visits to Duke and North Carolina before picking Stanford, wanting to go somewhere warm so he could play more baseball. He has some interest in politics, having hung a few signs during campaigns by his mom, a second-term Democrat whose causes are the environment, energy policy and education. After baseball his true love is numbers; he was a mathlete in the sixth grade at Oyster River Middle School. If he weren't playing ball, he figures he'd either be teaching/coaching at a high school, learning the management side in a front office (which remains a post-playing possibility) or working on Wall Street.

Got a minute? Sam Fuld

Must-see TV? Mad Men.

Band you'd most like to be on stage with? Pearl Jam.

Big night out meal? I'd go filet with a sweet potato and broccoli.

Worst job? My first one: I was basically a glorified janitor at UNH (University of New Hampshire). I thought I was working grounds crew and turned out to be more like scraping gum off bleachers.

With your wife Sarah's permission, dream date? Natalie Portman. I'm going to have to tell my wife really quick about this.

Rays Rumblings

With businessman Jim Crane expected to soon buy the Astros, there's talk in Houston that he'll go hard after Rays exec VP Andrew Friedman, a Houston native, or senior VP Gerry Hunsicker, a former Astros GM. … A good guess on 3B Evan Longoria's return from his strained oblique? April 29, after the Rays return from likely still chilly Minnesota. … Bleacher Report named LHP David Price (@DAVIDPrice14) "the king of Twitter" among MLB players, saying "you would be hard pressed to find a player who interacts with his followers as much as Price." Also on the top 25, No. 5 Durham RHP Dirk Hayhurst (#TheGarfoose, though taking a break from social media) and No. 25 SS Reid Brignac (@reidbrignac).

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Reds 11, Pirates 2

CINCINNATI — Looking for a pitch he could hit for a sacrifice fly, Ramon Hernandez got one he could hit farther, breaking it open in the fifth with his sixth career grand slam for the Reds. "We scored a lot of runs," Hernandez said. "Especially after (getting) just one run (Friday) night, it gives you a little confidence back."

Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Royals 7, Mariners 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sean O'Sullivan, making his first start of the season, combined with three relievers on a shutout, continuing a surprising getaway that has vaulted the Royals into first place in the AL Central. "You've got to give credit to the rest of the guys in this locker room and the way they're playing the game," O'Sullivan said. "It's fun to show up at the park right now." Alex Gordon had three hits and leads the AL with 22.