Yearly Archives: 2010

Sox, Danks shut down awful M’s 4-0 for 3 1/2 game lead

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SEATTLE—Bad news for the AL Central: The White Sox have snapped out of their mini-slump, and Bobby Jenks appears to be back on track, too.John Danks combined with J.J. Putz and Jenks on a two-hitter, Alexei Ramirez homered and the first-place Sox beat the woeful Seattle Mariners 4-0 on Tuesday.Danks (10-7) allowed Casey Kotchman’s infield single in the second and Ichiro Suzuki’s two-out single in the eighth on his final pitch of the night. He struck out eight and walked four, then got a dugout bear hug from Ozzie Guillen as the Sox increased its lead in the AL Central to a season-high 3½ games over Detroit and Minnesota.Putz got the final out of the eighth for his 25th consecutive scoreless outing, breaking Shingo Takatsu’s White Sox record from 2004. And closer Jenks pitched a perfect ninth in his first appearance since he failed to record an out on Sunday, when he was charged with four runs in a loss at Minnesota.Even with hot-hitting slugger Carlos Quentin resting his bruised right hand, the White Sox have added two games to their lead as many nights following a three-game skid. Sunday’s potentially crushing setback against the Twins, in which they blew a three-run lead in the ninth, is already a distant memory thanks to this get-well trip to Seattle.The White Sox are a baseball-best 28-8 since June 9.The Mariners looked particularly lifeless while losing for the 14th time in 17 games and plummeting to a season-low 22 games under .500.The Sox went in front in the fourth. Alex Rios drew a leadoff walk against Doug Fister (3-6), advanced to third on Paul Konerko’s double and scored on Mark Kotsay’s groundout.The game was essentially over when Juan Pierre doubled home Ramirez in the fifth, making it 2-0.Seattle has scored two runs or less 44 times in 94 games this season. The Mariners managed just one run in Monday’s loss.Danks dominated — and Seattle disintegrated — from there.Seattle, meanwhile, watched Jose Lopez shuffle down the line in the sixth on a hard smash that Omar Vizquel snared. A soft, looping throw across the diamond beat Lopez by multiple steps.Then with one out in the seventh, Kotchman hit a soft, broken-bat liner that was easily caught by Ramirez. The shortstop seemed surprised to see Milton Bradley had run to second base. Bradley was standing on second as Ramirez threw to first for the inexplicable double play. The inning abruptly ended, the home crowd of 21,366 booed and Bradley tossed his batting helmet across the infield.Bradley told Wakamatsu he thought Ramirez would let the ball drop for a more conventional double play.How sad is it in Seattle? The fans’ only excitement came when a young man ran across the infield before the bottom of the ninth. The crowd roared as security quickly tackled the guy in short left field. A sheriff’s deputy roughly handcuffed him and escorted him through the outfield and a gate — to more roars.

NOTES—Guillen said he likely will rest Quentin until Friday at Oakland. He said the right fielder felt fine, but the manager wants him to have four full days off, including Thursday’s travel day. He hurt the hand in the sixth inning Sunday at Minnesota. … Wakamatsu said his Mariners likely will be without leading slugger Russell Branyan (back spasms) for a couple more days.

A-Ram homers three times as Cubs rally from 5-0 hole to rout Astros

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 With the end of his long baseball career in sight, Lou Piniella endured a long emotional day. It ended with him leading the Cubs to its biggest comeback of the season.Aramis Ramirez hit three homers and drove in seven runs to help them rally to beat the Houston Astros 14-7 on Tuesday night hours after Piniella announced he will retire at the end of the season.Ramirez hit two three-run homers and a solo shot. It was the fourth three-homer game of his career. The game started as a microcosm of the season for Piniella, who is calling it quits after 18 years in the majors as a player and another 22 as a manager.Derrek Lee hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh and Geovany Soto tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth inning for the Cubs, who came back after trailing 7-1 in the fifth inning.Ramirez wasn’t surprised to hear Piniella will retire after the season, but he was caught off guard that he announced it on Tuesday.Starlin Castro led off the seventh with a double off the center-field wall off Astros reliever Brandon Lyon (5-4). Lee followed with an RBI double to left-center and scored on Alfonso Soriano’s two-out RBI single to give the Cubs a 9-7 lead.Lee also had a two-run single in the eighth and Ramirez hit his third home run of the game, a three-run shot off Astros reliever Gary Majewski.The Cubs sent 10 hitter to the plate in the fifth and eighth innings.Cubs reliever Andrew Cashner (1-3) pitched the sixth and seventh and retired all six batters he faced to earn his first major league victory and Sean Marshall followed with a perfect eighth. Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth to close the game. The Cubs bullpen retired the final 12 batters in order to end the game.After sitting through a long a five-run first inning in Monday night’s blowout loss, Piniella had to endure a four-run second inning on Tuesday, that consisted of one error, three walks and a hit batter. The Astros sent 10 batters to the plate, but only had two hits in the inning.Chris Johnson was 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBI for the Astros. After hitting his first major league homer Monday night, Johnson hit his second one to center.Ramirez hit his first homer of the night in the fourth inning off Wesley Wright. Wright was called up before the game from Triple-A Round Rock for his first major league start, allowed six runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.Trailing 7-1, the Cubs rallied in the fifth. Soto led off the inning with a single, then Ryan Theriot hit a grounder to Jeff Keppinger at second base, Keppinger made an errant throw that rolled into left-field, moving Soto to third and Theriot ended up at second.Wright struck out pinch-hitter Xavier Nady on a wild pitch, allowing Soto to score. Tyler Colvin reached after getting plunked by Wright and Castro drove in Theriot on a groundout to second. Lee followed with a walk, then Ramirez hit his second home run of the night, a three-run shot to left-center to get the Cubs within 7-6.Soto tied the game in the sixth inning with a leadoff home run.NOTES—Carlos Zambrano, who has been on the restricted list following his dugout confrontation with teammate Lee, will pitch in relief for Triple-A Iowa on Thursday….Dempster pitched five innings, he allowed seven runs, four earned and four walks.

Cubs beat Halladay for third time(in three tries)to take three of four from Phils

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Roy Halladay(0-3 lifetime against the Cubs) was OK with the pitches that hit All-Star Marlon Byrd. It was the ones he threw to Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano that upset him the most.Halladay plunked Byrd twice and gave up two-run homers to Soto and Soriano after each errant offering, sending the Cubs to an 11-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night.Byrd became the first Cubs player in 105 years to be hit by a pitch at least 16 times in a season and they took advantage, winning three of four in its first series since the All-Star break.Halladay had tossed 18 consecutive scoreless innings before a four-run second, which began with Byrd getting nailed. Soto connected with one out and the Cubs added two more.A similar scenario played out in the sixth, only this time it was Soriano hitting a drive to left after Byrd got hit in the back by a breaking ball. Soriano’s 17th homer made it 6-2.Tom Gorzelanny (5-5) allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander walked five and struck out five while improving to 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA in his last three starts.Gorzelanny got a nice ovation when he was replaced by Andrew Cashner after Ryan Howard’s sacrifice fly got the Phillies within three. Jayson Werth walked but Cashner got Ben Francisco to ground out with runners on first and third to end the inning.Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro each had three singles from the top two spots in the order for the Cubs, who scored in double digits for the second time in four games while rebounding from Saturday’s tough 4-1 loss.Howard, pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs and Francisco homered late in the game for the Phillies. Placido Polanco had two hits.Halladay (10-8) allowed six runs, five earned, and seven hits in six innings. He had pitched nine innings in each of his previous two starts.The All-Star right-hander did not walk a batter but hurt himself each time he plunked Byrd, who also was hit two times on Thursday.Soto pumped his right fist as his 11th homer cleared the wall in right in the second — a sharp contrast from Saturday, when he couldn’t hang onto Colvin’s throw from left and allowed Brian Schneider to score the tying run in a four-run ninth.The Cubs added to their lead, getting two-out singles from Gorzelanny, Colvin and Castro to drive in another run. Colvin then scored on catcher Carlos Ruiz’s throwing error attempting to stop Castro from stealing second, making it 4-0.The Phillies got two in the fifth, but Soriano’s shot after Byrd was hit again put the Cubs back in control.Eckstein is at 140 for his career, and Biggio got hit 150 times over 20 seasons. While Byrd is at just 60 overall, he is getting hit at a rate this franchise hasn’t seen since Frank Chance (17) in 1905. Only four Cubs have been hit 16 or more times in a season.

  

NOTES—Dobbs’ solo drive off Cashner in the eighth was his seventh career pinch-hit homer….Carlos Zambrano could rejoin the Cubs by the end of the month after undergoing anger management counseling following his dugout confrontation with Derrek Lee. Lou Piniella says the right-hander likely will throw a simulated game on Monday at the team’s training complex in Mesa, Ariz., and pitch for Triple-A Iowa later this week. Piniella says Zambrano could rejoin the Cubs during their six-game road trip that starts July 26. 

Twins rally against Jenks and Sox for 7-6

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MINNEAPOLIS—Delmon Young capped a four-run ninth inning with a two-run single, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 7-6, come-from-behind victory over the White Sox.The Twins won three of four games in the series to move 1½ games of the first-place White Sox.With Bobby Jenks (1-2) on the mound, Orlando Hudson walked in a 10-pitch at-bat and Joe Mauer walked on four straight pitches. Jason Kubel had an RBI single to left-center to make it 6-4. Michael Cuddyer singled in a run and end Jenks’ day.Sergio Santos walked Jason Repko to load the bases before Young hit a single to right-center. Alex Rios’ throw to the infield rolled to the White Sox dugout allowing Cuddyer to score.Brian Duensing (3-1) pitched four innings for the win.Gordon Beckham had a career-high four hits and Carlos Quentin had a two-run double.The Sox got the leadoff man aboard in the third through sixth innings, scoring each time. In the sixth the White Sox scored four runs.Rios and Paul Konerko singled in the sixth before Quentin hit a two-run double to the base of the wall in right-center for a 4-3 lead. Ramon Castro and Beckham added RBI singles later in the inning. Beckham was 11 for 14 in the four-game series.Freddy Garcia allowed a season-high 11 hits in six innings. Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz each pitched one inning of scoreless relief, before Jenks’ meltdown.Nick Blackburn was better than his past few starts for Minnesota, yet still allowed nine hits and four earned runs in five-plus innings. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.Blackburn was 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA in May, but since then the right-hander is 1-7 with a 9.88 ERA and 11 home runs allowed. He is 5-2 with a 4.15 ERA at home this year, compared to 2-6 with a 10.02 ERA on the road.Young’s two-run homer in the second gave the Twins a 2-0 lead. Beckham had an RBI single in the Sox third, but Cuddyer’s RBI triple made it 3-1 in the home half of the inning.Juan Pierre had an RBI groundout in the fifth to get the Sox within one.
NOTES—Quentin left the game in the sixth inning with a bruised right hand. … Minnesota SS J.J. Hardy was 7 for 15 in the series. He had six hits in his eight games before the All-Star break. … Both team’s next 13 games are against opponents out of the playoff chase. The Sox face Seattle and Oakland; Minnesota plays Cleveland, Baltimore, Kansas City and Seattle. … Putz’s scoreless outing was his 24th straight, tying him with Shingo Takatsu (2004) for longest streak in club history.

 

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.