Monthly Archives: July 2010

Rush fall to last place Dallas in O.T.

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Chicago Sky
ROSEMONT—The Rush lost a heartbreaker Saturday night, falling in overtime to the Dallas Vigilantes 65-52 at the Allstate Arena in the team’s final regular season home game.A 27-yard field goal by Dallas kicker Mark Lewis as time expired in regulation tied the game at 52-52 and sent the teams into overtime, where the Vigilantes (2-12) found a way to knock off the Rush (10-5).The Rush won the toss in overtime and, knowing that each team is guaranteed a possession in OT, elected to kick to Dallas. The Vigilantes took the opening kick and marched down the field in five plays, ultimately scoring on a 4th down, four yard TD pass from QB Colin Drafts to receiver Larry Brackins, putting Dallas ahead 59-52. The Rush came right back behind backup quarterback J.J. Raterink who had replaced starting QB Russ Michna at halftime after Michna suffered a rib injury late in the first half and was forced to leave the game.Raterink quickly led the Rush down to the Dallas 4-yard line, where the team had first-and-goal. However, after his first and second down passes fell incomplete, Raterink’s third-and-goal pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Dallas DB Delenall Reid. Reid returned the interception 50 yards for a touchdown, giving Dallas the 13-point victory.

“I am not happy about the fact that we lost this game,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “I thought, although we played hard, we were outplayed and outcoached by Dallas. On top of it we lost our starting quarterback (Michna) and our starting fullback (Shawn McMackin) to injuries in the first half. We have some other guys banged up as well and I am not sure if we are going to be able to find 20 healthy guys to play next week in Spokane.”

After turning the ball over on a fumbled snap on its first play of the game, the Rush fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter.However, the Rush regained its composure and came storming back, outscoring Dallas 23-0 at one stretch to take a 37-28 lead with 4:15 left in the third quarter.After a Dallas TD narrowed the Rush lead to 37-35 heading into the fourth quarter, Raterink connected with Alfonzo to put the Rush back up nine, 44-35 with 11 minutes to go in the game.The Rush seemed well on its way to victory, and overtime seemed to be the furthest possible scenario, but Dallas responded.On fourth-and-two from the Rush 14-yard line and 4:30 left in the game, Drafts connected with Brackins for a touchdown that, once again, cut the Rush lead to two, 44-42.Then disaster struck for the Rush.The ensuing Dallas kickoff bounced hard off the net and was bobbled by kick returner Chris Martin before Vigilantes DB Jason Harmon recovered the ball in the Rush endzone for a touchdown. The score gave Dallas its first lead of the second half at 49-44.The Rush offense responded, as Raterink culminated a seven-play drive with a QB sneak from the 1-yard line with 43 seconds remaining on the clock. A fake extra point converted on a DeJuan Alfonzo scramble made it 52-49 with 41 seconds remaining in the game.Dallas used every one of those seconds to march to the Rush 7-yard line. After three consecutive passes into the endzone were broken up by Rush DBs, Dallas found itself facing fourth-and-goal with just two seconds remaining. The Vigilantes decided to kick the game-tying field goal and head to overtime.

NOTES—Michna will have his ribs X-rayed to see if they are broken or bruised. His status for next week’s game is uncertain … Before leaving, Michna completed 11 of 16 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Michna now has 3,860 passing yards this season, which breaks Matt D’Orazio’s team record of 3,787 set in 2007 …Raterink connected on 13 of 19 passes for 156 yards and three TDs in the second half … kicker Chris Gould converted all seven of his PAT attempts during the game, giving him 107 made PATs and 140 points for the season – both Rush single season records … wide receiver Syvelle Newton led the Rush with 11 receptions for 151 yards and two TDs. He also threw a 36 yard pass to Alan Turner in overtime … with the loss the Rush’s magic number to clinch the division remains two.

Pavano outduel’s Buehrle as Sox drop second straight to Twins 3-2

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MINNEAPOLIS—Carl Pavano didn’t even need to plead his case to stay in the game. His performance was argument enough.Minnesota’s go-to pitcher stranded the tying run at third base with one out in the ninth, punctuating his fourth complete game of the season with five straight strikes that finished off the middle of the White Sox lineup.Pavano picked up right where he left off before the All-Star break, striking out six while going the distance for the Twins in a tense 3-2 win over the Sox on Saturday.With his pitch count at just 95 entering the final frame, Pavano (11-6) — who threw 79 of 104 offerings for strikes — got a rousing ovation from the sellout crowd at Target Field when he returned to the mound for the ninth inning.While the rest of Minnesota’s starters struggled often in the first half, Pavano and his mustache helped keep the Twins afloat. The ninth was a masterpiece in itself, after Omar Vizquel started the inning with a double that rolled right down the third-base line.Alex Rios moved him up with a groundout. Then Paul Konerko, who hit an RBI single in the first and smacked his 21st homer in the fourth, struck out on three pitches. Pavano pumped his fist, and the fans went wild.Carlos Quentin grounded out to end the duel between Pavano and Mark Buehrle (8-8) in an astonishing 1 hour, 52 minutes — the third-fastest nine-inning game in the majors this season.Buehrle is a fast worker himself, and Pavano fed off the pace set by his counterpart. On a muggy night, Pavano returned to the clubhouse after each inning to change sweaty shirts and do some stretching.Buehrle went the distance himself, for the first time this year.Delmon Young, who has a team-most 60 RBI, sparked a three-run second inning against Buehrle with a run-scoring single. Jason Kubel’s triple and rookie Danny Valencia’s double just missed clearing the wall.Particularly with Pavano in such a rhythm. Vizquel’s comebacker in the sixth stung him near the wrist on his non-pitching arm, but the right-hander quickly motioned for Gardenhire and the training staff to stay in the dugout and keep from slowing the game down.The third-place Twins crept within 2½ games of the White Sox in the three-team, always-tight AL Central race. Catcher Drew Butera gave Pavano a hard embrace after Quentin was retired in the ninth.Postcard-like lightning flashed in the sky while heavy rain fell in the afternoon, canceling batting practice, but Pavano and Buehrle worked so efficiently and effectively through the evening that they got the whole game in before the next storm wave reached downtown.Pavano retired 11 in a row at one point, and Buehrle had a 14-of-15 stretch.Buehrle was a big part of a pre-break surge, going 5-1 in his previous six starts while allowing just 10 runs over 40 1/3 innings. He helped himself with two deft pick-off moves, catching Denard Span after a leadoff single in the first and Young following a single to start the fourth.Pavano had plenty of defensive assistance, too, including rookie Butera’s strong throw to cut down Juan Pierre attempting to steal second with two out in the eighth.

NOTES—Buehrle leads the majors with 72 pick-offs since 2001…..The Sox also were involved in the second-fastest nine-inning game of the season, John Danks’ 1-0 victory over Ervin Santana and the Los Angeles Angels in 1 hour, 50 minutes on July 8. The speediest game of the year is Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game when the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians in 1:44 on June 2.

Marmol “walks the Ball Park” in the 9th as Cubs blow game to Phils

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A day earlier, Carlos Marmol was unhittable — three batters and three strikeouts. On Saturday, the Cubs closer who showed up was a different pitcher, a wild and ineffective one.We’ve seen it too often. He walked the Ballpark in the ninth inning! The Philadelphia Phillies took advantage, scoring four runs in the ninth inning to beat the Cubs 4-1.Marmol issued five walks and threw a wild pitch while getting only two outs. Placido Polanco delivered a tying single and Geovany Soto couldn’t hold a strong relay throw to make a tag that would have ended the game. “Was my responsibility,” Marmol said.The Cubs won the first two games of the series and appeared on its way to making it three straight with a 1-0 lead. But pinch-hitters Brian Schneider and Ross Gload worked back-to-back walks with one out in the ninth against Marmol (2-2), who blew his fourth save in 21 chances.After Shane Victorino struck out, Schneider raced around with the tying run on Polanco’s two-out single to left, sliding in as Soto couldn’t hold Tyler Colvin’s one-hop throw.After Schneider scored, Marmol uncorked a ball-four wild pitch with Jimmy Rollins at the plate as Gload sprinted in with the go-ahead run. After an intentional walk to Ryan Howard loaded the bases, Marmol walked Jayson Werth to force in the third run and was replaced, leaving to boos.Raul Ibanez had an RBI infield single off James Russell to make it 4-1.Chad Durbin (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Brad Lidge got three outs for his seventh save in 10 tries.
“It just fell apart there in the ninth inning with two outs,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said, adding that Soto had plenty of time to tag Schneider but hurried and then didn’t hold onto the ball.” Soto agreed. “It was a perfect throw. Colvin got the ball in plenty of time and he got a perfect throw and I just plain and simple missed it,” Soto said. “I rushed to grab the ball and get a tag and I took my eyes off the ball. … Nobody is responsible for this game [more] than me.” Marmol had trouble gripping his pitches. But he said the blame was all his.”I don’t make excuses. I walked a couple of guys and that’s what happens,” he said. “And then a base hit.” The Cubs snapped a scoreless pitching duel between Randy Wells and Cole Hamels in the seventh on Ryan Theriot’s squeeze bunt single. Starlin Castro opened the inning with a double off Hamels and moved to third on pinch-hitter Xavier Nady’s grounder to shortstop.As Castro broke for the plate with one out, Theriot dropped down a perfect bunt. Hamels picked up the ball and glanced at the plate, and his throw to first was too late to get Theriot after second baseman Wilson Valdez hesitated and didn’t get to the bag in time.Hamels allowed eight hits in seven innings.Philadelphia loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth on Werth’s double, an intentional walk to Ibanez and another walk to Carlos Ruiz. When Valdez hit a slow grounder to first baseman Derrek Lee, Wells raced to cover and just beat a hustling and sliding Valdez to the bag for the third out.The Cubs had first and second and none out in the fourth but Hamels escaped, getting Alfonso Soriano to hit into a double play before Castro grounded out. With two runners on in the sixth, Hamels got Soriano to fly out and Soto on a called third strike.

NOTES—Game-time temperature was 88 degrees……Attendance was 40,924

Sox four errors(and Liriano)help bring end to nine game winning streak-despite awful bullpen outing by Rauch

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MINNEAPOLIS—Having tripped and fallen behind in the race, the Minnesota Twins started the second half with an important series against the division leading White Sox — with the packed new ballpark adding to the excitement.Francisco Liriano is trying to avoid that amped-up feeling, but this time he figured out how to keep from overthrowing.Liriano gave the sagging Twins a big lift on the mound in a 7-4 victory, and faulty fielding by the White Sox on Friday night led to the end of their nine-game winning streak.Liriano (7-7) left with two outs in the eighth inning to a standing ovation from the Target Field fans on a warm and muggy night, deprived lately of this kind of dominant performance. The Twins had lost Liriano’s last five starts.The White Sox made four errors, and Gavin Floyd (5-8) gave up four runs during a sloppy fourth inning.Jesse Crain got his first save in nearly four years by getting the last two outs with the bases loaded, after Jon Rauch gave up three walks and two hits, striking out Paul Konerko on three pitches.Ron Gardenhire gave Rauch a rain check, chalking his struggles up to “post-All-Star-break syndrome.” Going 26-5 in their previous 31 games, the White Sox were thriving with strong pitching, fundamental hitting and decent defense. Guillen insisted every team in the American League can hit, so the defense and pitching will be what determines the playoffs. This game proved his point.Joe Mauer’s two-run single in the ninth gave Rauch a five-run pad he needed in the bottom of the inning.The White Sox played without Carlos Quentin, scratched from the lineup because of a bruised right wrist, and they could’ve used another right-handed slugger against Liriano. He struck out eight and allowed just six hits, making a couple of smooth stops of powerful bouncers back to the mound for outs in the first and the seventh.The Twins emerged from the All-Star break in dire need of a turnaround from each of their starting pitchers not named Carl Pavano. Kevin Slowey’s problems persisted in Thursday’s loss, but Liriano delivered — with his second-longest outing since April 27.The first test was to survive the first inning without giving up a run, which he did despite a bunt single and a walk. The left-hander had been scored on 15 times in the first inning of his last seven starts.The final hurdle came in the eighth, and reliever Matt Guerrier helped him clear it by getting Andruw Jones to ground out and end the inning. Juan Pierre drew a leadoff walk, then Alexei Ramirez hit into a double play. Alex Rios reached on a wild pitch after swinging at an elusive third strike, and Konerko cut the lead to 4-2 with a sharp double.Floyd was tagged for only one earned run in that error-filled fourth, but he walked three in five innings and most of the seven hits against him were hard. Third baseman Dayan Viciedo had a routine grounder miss his glove and glance off his leg to load the bases before J.J. Hardy’s RBI single.Denard Span’s slow roller to second earned an RBI single, but Beckham tried to barehand the ball and make a same-motion flip to first. It slithered away from Konerko, allowing another run to score.

NOTES—Twins starter Scott Baker, whose last turn came July 8, threw a full bullpen session to test his sore elbow. Baker “felt fantastic,” Gardenhire said….The White Sox lost by more than two runs for the first time since June 8…..Liriano hasn’t allowed a homer in 17 of his 18 starts.

Sky beat L.A.(minus Parker)with balanced attack

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Chicago Sky
ROSEMONT—Reserve guard Erin Thorn scored 15 points to lead the Sky to an 80-68 victory over the short handed Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night. Tamera Young, Dominique Canty and rookie Epiphanny Prince each scored 11 points, and Sylvia Fowles and Mistie Bassed added 10 for the Sky(10-11), which won for the fifth time in eight games.DeLisha Milton-Jones had 21 points, Tina Thompson scored 15 and Noelle Quinn added 12 for the Sparks (5-14), who lost for the third time in four games.The Sky opened a 30-19 lead early in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit advantage most of the rest of the way. Canty’s jumper gave the Sky a 69-48 lead, their biggest of the game, with about 6 1/2 minutes left.Candace Parker, who starred in high school in nearby Naperville before leading Tennessee to two national championships, sat on the Sparks bench. Parker is out for the season with a shoulder injury sustained last month.After Ticha Penicheiro’s jumper gave the Sparks an 8-7 lead midway through the first quarter, the Sky scored nine consecutive points to take the lead for good.Thorn’s 3 extended the lead to 35-21 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. The Sky scored nine consecutive points to open the fourth quarter to take their 21-point lead.

Ramirez blast lifts Cubs past Phils for second straight

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With temperatures heating up, so is Aramis Ramirez’s bat.Stuck in a slump most of the season, the Cubs’ cleanup hitter is finally doing what he’s been known for most of his career on the North Side — driving the ball and knocking in runs.Ramirez hit a solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth Friday, sending the Cubs to a 4-3 comeback win over the Philadelphia Phillies.Ramirez’s 11th homer came off Ryan Madson (2-1) and cleared the left field bleachers for his fifth homer and 14th RBI in the last eight games. He had three hits to raise his batting average to .220 as the Cubs beat the two-time defending NL champs for the second straight game.Sean Marshall (6-2) pitched the eighth in relief of Ted Lilly and Carlos Marmol struck out the side in the ninth for his 17th save in 20 chances.Ryan Howard hit his 20th homer with two outs in the sixth, a drive onto the roof of a batter’s eye seating section in straightaway center. It was his third home run in two games and it put the Phils up 3-1.After Howard’s blast, the Cubs rallied for two in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally of their own off Joe Blanton as Ramirez doubled and Marlon Byrd followed with his 10th homer, tying it at 3.Shane Victorino also homered for the Phillies off Lilly on a 90-degree day at Wrigley Field.It appeared that some of the Phillies were not crazy about home plate umpire Marty Foster’s strike zone. Jayson Werth was called out three times. Philly fanned 14 times overall in the game — 10 times against Lilly — and took eight called third strikes.Blanton pitched seven innings and gave up five hits and three runs with three walks while tying a season-high with eight strikeouts.Lilly, who can be a free agent after the season, has been the subject of numerous trade rumororth s and met Thursday with general manager Jim Hendry to discuss his Cubs’ future.He made it clear he wants to stay, but knows it will be difficult for the Cubs to get back in the race at nine games under .500.And after two shaky starts in which he gave up 14 earned runs and 18 hits, Lilly retired the first 10 batters he faced before surrendering Victorino’s career-best 15th homer with one out in the fourth.Lilly’s final line was similar to Blanton’s. He surrendered three runs and four hits in seven innings with a walk and his season-high 10 strikeouts.Cody Ransom and Carlos Ruiz had back-to-back singles with one out in the fifth before Lilly got called third strikes past Wilson Valdez and Blanton.The Cus tied the game in the fifth when Blanton walked Lilly, who was hitless in 26 at-bats this season, on a 3-2 pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. Ramirez singled and Soriano walked before Blanton intentionally walked Geovany Soto to load the bases and face Lilly, who worked the walk after falling behind 1-2.

NOTES—Manuel said 3B Placido Polanco could be activated from the DL (sore left elbow) and be in the lineup Saturday. He’s been on a rehab assignment at Class A Clearwater…..Victorino hit 14 homers in 2008.

Cub bats wake up, rout Moyer,Phillies 12-6

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Aramis Ramirez hit a pair of two-run doubles, and Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto each had two-run homers to lead the Cubs to a 12-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.Alfonso Soriano also hit a solo homer for the Cubs, who scored nine of their 12 runs with two outs. Starlin Castro also stole home on a botched suicide squeeze in the second inning.Cubs starter Ryan Dempster allowed two runs on six hits with three walks and nine strikeouts. Dempster (8-7) rebounded after allowing a long two-run homer to Ryan Howard — his first of two in the game — in the first inning.The Cubs tagged Phillies starter Jamie Moyer (9-9) for six runs on five hits in three innings. He allowed two home runs and hit two batters. In his last two starts, he has allowed 13 runs in 8 1/3 innings.After a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds before the All-Star break, the Phillies failed to match a season-high five-game winning streak and fell 5 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.The Phillies’ bats didn’t come awake again until the ninth inning. Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez had a pair of two-out RBI singles in the ninth off Cubs reliever Bob Howry. Howard then chased Howry with another long two-run homer to right field.Andrew Cashner got Jayson Werth to pop out to end the game.Moyer, who started his career with the Cubs in 1986, couldn’t hold an early 2-0 lead. The 47-year-old left-hander hit Tyler Colvin on the right shoulder in the first inning. With two outs, Moyer plunked Marlon Byrd on the left knee, and Ramirez followed with a double down the left-field line. Ibanez tried to play the ball off the brick wall, but it took a bad bounce and allowed Byrd to score from first to tie it at 2.In the second inning, Castro lined a triple over the head of Victorino in center. It looked as if Victorino might have a play, but he misjudged the ball and took a step in. With Dempster up, the Cubs attempted a suicide squeeze, but the pitcher wasn’t able to get the bunt down. But the ball got by catcher Carlos Ruiz, allowing Castro to steal home.He became the first Cubs player to record a straight steal of home since April 13, 1996, when Brian McRae did it in the first inning at San Francisco. Castro finished the game 3 for 4, falling a home run short of the cycle.After getting the first two outs in the seventh, Phillies reliever Jose Contreras allowed a leadoff single to Lee. He hit Byrd with a pitch and Ramirez followed with another two-run double. Soriano drove in Lee on a bloop single, and Soto followed with his 10th homer of the season to chase Contreras.With the bases loaded in the eighth, Soriano hit a two-out RBI single off reliever Danys Baez.

  

NOTES—Carlos Zambrano completed has anger management sessions and reported to Arizona on Thursday to resume throwing. He has been on the restricted list since June 29, and has not been with the club since his June 25 dugout tirade that led to a verbal confrontation with Lee. The Cubs do not have a timetable on Zambrano’s return to the majors…..Phillies INF Placido Polanco began a rehab assignment with Single-A Clearwater on Thursday night and went 1 for 4 with a run scored….Ramirez had his first two-double game since July 24, 2009, against the Reds. 

Sox hold on, edge Twins 8-7

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The Minnesota Twins lost for the seventh time in nine games 8-7 to the still red hot White Sox, and suffered through another terrible outing by their starting pitcher. Kevin Slowey was tagged for five runs on nine hits in three innings and Alex Burnett (1-2) gave up three more runs in relief.Juan Pierre had three hits and an RBI and Alex Rios added two hits and two RBI for the White Sox.Joe Mauer had three hits and three RBI and J.J. Hardy chipped in two hits and an RBI for Minnesota.These two teams were headed in opposite directions going into the break, with the White Sox going 25-5 to take a half-game lead in the division. It’s been a startling turnaround for a team that was 24-33 and 9½ games down on June 8.The White Sox scratched their way to a 4-0 lead early thanks to three sacrifice flies and Beckham’s solo homer that reached the second deck in left field.The Twins responded in the bottom of the second inning, scoring six runs on six hits, including Joe Mauer’s bases loaded double down the third baseline that gave them a 6-4 lead.But Danks settled down after that facing just one more batter than the minimum while the White Sox climbed back into the game. Beckham had an RBI-single in the fourth and A.J. Pierzynski’s two-run double highlighted a three-run fifth inning to put them back in the lead.In a role reversal, it was the Twins this time who committed the blunders to let the game slip away to the smarter, sharper White Sox.Denard Span popped up a bunt attempt to Danks in the fourth and Burnett balked home the tying run in the fifth when he never let his pitch to Mark Kotsay go.The Twins have just six wins in their last 20 games and will play this entire series without All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau, who was placed on the disabled list with a concussion.The biggest concern, though, is the starting pitchers, including Slowey, Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker, who have all been wildly inconsistent this year.
 
NOTES—Twins LHP Brian Duensing , one of their most valued relievers, was not available because of illness…..Rios’s single in the sixth inning was career hit No. 1,000…..Twins RF Jason Kubel went 1 for 5 with four strikeouts…..Gardenhire said Twins INF Matt Tolbert’s finger is still hurting and he will remain on the disabled list for the time being.   

 

 

NL wins Mid Summer Classic at last thanks in part to Cubs Byrd’s key walk and 9th inning defensive play

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ANAHEIM—The National League,which used to dominate the All Star Game,broke through to beat the American League 3-1 for their first win since 1996,and earning Home Field Advantage in the World Series for the first time since this crazy rule was put into place in 2003. The NL won it thanks to a three run rally with two outs in the top of the seventh which featured a battle between the Cubs Marlon Byrd and the White Sox Matt Thornton, and a clutch bases clearing double by the Braves Brian McCann. Byrd also made a big defensive play to help kill a possible AL ninth inning rally try. After David Price retired the National League in order in the top of the first, Ubaldo Jimenez got in and out of trouble in the home half of that inning. With one out, Derek Jeter walked and took third on a single to right center by Miguel Cabrera,but Josh Hamilton hit a come back smash that Jimenez speared and turned into an inning ending double play.Brewers LF Ryan Braun robbed Hamilton of at least a single with a great diving catch in the bottom of the fourth.After a quiet first four innings,the NL got a lead off single by David Wright off Justin Verlander who then stole second.Braun fanned, but the Dodgers Andre Ethier singled to RF as Wright stopped at third.Corey Hart also struck out,unable to check his swing.Brian McCann batted for Yadier Molina and fanned on a 3-2 pitch. The first Chicago appearance in this game occurred when Byrd went into CF in the bottom of the 5th.The first real break of this game happened in the AL 5th when Evan Longoria walked against Hong-Chih Kuo. Joe Mauer then hit a roller back to Kuo who fielded it.but then he air mailed his throw way over Adrian Gonzalez’s head down the RF line. Longoria advanced to 3B and Mauer took second on the error. Robinson Cano then lifted a deep fly to Matt Holliday in LF to score Longoria with the game’s first run.Carl Crawford bounced on to Ramirez at SS and Mauer,trying to advance was gunned down easily at third for the second out. Heath Bell relieved Kuo and home town favorite Torii Hunter,in his first at bat of the night flew out to RF just after Crawford stole second on Bell’s second pitch,so the AL settled for a 1-0 lead.In the AL 6th,Derek Jeter blooped a single to CF,and Paul Konerko batted for Cabrera and fanned against Roy Halladay and McCann picked pinch runner Elvin Andrus off second to complete an unusual double play.Hamilton smacked a two out single to RF and Home Run Derby champ David Ortiz batted for Vlad Guerrero. Matt Capps relieved Halladay and got “Big Papi” on a called third strike. The National League broke though in the top of the seventh against the Yankees Phil Hughes.With one out,Scott Rolen and Matt Holliday each singled. Rolen took third and the Sox Thornton relieved Hughes as Chris Young batted for Ethier and fouled out to Konerko. Now Byrd,after falling behind 0-2,worked the count full and drew a key walk from Thornton in a rare All-Chicago All Star battle to load the bases for McCann who ripped a line double into the left field corner to clear the bases and give the National League the lead for good 3-1.Andrew Bailey of Oakland relieved Thronton and after walking Rafael Furcal,he fanned Brandon Phillips to end the rally.Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals relieved Capps and got out of a two on,one out jam by getting Vernon Wells to hit into a force at second and then fanned Hunter to leave runners at the corners.In the bottom of the eighth, with one out against SF’s Brian Wilson, Konerko bounced to third. In the top of the ninth,Jose Valverde fanned the first two he faced,then got Bryd on a 3-2 pitch. Jonathan Broxton on the nearby Dodgers started the 9th.Ortiz lined a single to RF, Adrian Beltre fanned, John Buck hit a blooper just in front on Byrd in right,but he fielded it on the hop and gunned a throw to Furcal to force Ortiz who had not been lifted for a pinch runner.Ian Kinsler then flew to CF to end the NL’s long dry spell in the Mid-Summer Classic.

NOTES—The sellout crowd was 45,408……Former Angel(and Twin)Rod Carew threw out the first ball…..When Derrick Jeter came to bat in the bottom of the first,they played a tape of the late Yankee P.A. Announcer Bob Sheppard introducing Jeter at the All Star Game in Old Yankee Stadium two years ago…..A moment of silence was held in memory of Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner who passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 80…..The last time the National League won an All Star Game was July 9,2006 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia 6-0. The last time the NL won in an American League park was at The Ballpark at Arlington on July 11,1995 by a 3-2 score….Capps got the win for the NL and Broxton the save while Hughes took the defeat…..Thornton was not the pitcher of record,but he did get a blown save…..The NL now has won two of the three All Star Games played here in Anaheim.

LES

Three Chicago All Stars ready to go.

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ANAHEIM—**The three Chicago representatives for Tuesday night’s 81st All Star Game here at Angels Stadium are all set to try to help their League get Home Field Advantage for the World Series. Since Bud Selig(with prompting by Fox-TV)implemented the “Home Field for the Fall Classic” rule in 2003, the American League has won all seven All Star Games. Most were close and a few were blowouts,but even with Home Field for seven straight World Series, the A.L. has won just four of those series while the N.L. took three. Pretty close!

**For Konerko, an All Star veteran,who helped keep the A.L. alive in the 2006 contest at Pittsburgh with a two out single(The A.L. then rallied past Trevor Hoffman and the N.L.)it’s more fun,but a chance to help the A.L. start game one of the Fall Classic at home again,and with the White Sox now in first place by a half game over Detroit at the break, it means even more for Konerko and first year All Star Matt Thornton.

**Marlon Byrd,an All Star for the first time,says he’s enjoying the experience so far and looking forward to Tuesday night. He also feels that even though the Cubs dropped three of four down the road at Dodger`Stadium over the weekend,the fact that the Cubs went 4-3 on this just finished road trip is a good sign. The Cubs obviously have a long uphill climb if they hope to get back in the N.L.Central race the way the Sox did in the A.L.Central.

**This will be the third ever All Star Game here in Anaheim. Back in 1967,the NL won a 15 inning marathon 2-1 on a homer by Cincinnati’s Tony Perez. The Cubs Fergie Jenkins fanned 6 in his two innings of work. In 1989, future White Sox slugger Bo Jackson(then still with Kansas City)hit a long lead off homer for the victorious A.L.off former Cub Rick Rueschel(then with the Giants)to dead center field.

**The will be the 11th All Star Game in the State of California-the most of any State. Illinois and Missouri have hosted 7 Mid Summer Classics.Wrigley Field and Old Comiskey Park each have had three A.S.Games while in 2003, U.S.Cellular Field hosted.

**Despite the A.L. having the current seven game winning streak and thirteen in a row unbeaten(including the infamous tie in 2002 at Miller Park),the NL still leads the all time series 40-38 with two ties(in 1961 at Boston and of course 2002).

LES