The Cubs got off to a fast start against Mike Leake and Paul Maholm took over from there, using the early run support to stop a couple of losing streaks.Maholm pitched six solid innings for his first win in nine months and the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 on Saturday to stop a six-game slide.Maholm (1-2) also snapped a personal six-game losing streak. The left-hander allowed one run and four hits, struck out five and walked three in his first victory since July 10 for Pittsburgh against the Cubs.After giving up a combined 12 runs in the first four innings of his first two starts, Maholm quickly settled down after yielding Brandon Phillips’ run-scoring single in the first.Darwin Barney and Steve Clevenger each had three hits for the Cubs, who grabbed control with a four-run second inning. Starlin Castro had a double and a triple.Joey Votto and Phillips went a combined 1 for 7 for the Reds, who have lost six of nine. Mike Leake (0-2) allowed 10 hits and five runs in 5 2-3 innings.

“We had some chances to come back in that game,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. “We could have pecked away and got a little closer.”

One day after he learned he will not face charges over an alleged sexual assault, Castro tripled home a run in the second and doubled in the fifth.State’s attorney spokeswoman Sally Daly said Friday police and prosecutors reviewing the case found insufficient evidence to charge Castro. His attorneys have said the allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman last fall are baseless.Bryan LaHair hit a tying sacrifice fly in the first, and the Cubs added four more runs in the second.Clevenger led off with a single to right and moved to second on a groundout. Joe Mather followed with an RBI double to left.

“That was a big hit with the pitcher coming up next,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. “It kind of started the snowball effect.”

Mather advanced on Leake’s errant pickoff attempt and scored on David DeJesus’ single. Barney added a run-scoring double and came home on Castro’s first triple of the season to make it 5-1.Clevenger added an RBI single in the seventh as the Cubs finished with a season-high 14 hits.Clevenger, the backup catcher, is 10 for 17 on the season.Sveum said he will go with Geovany Soto at catcher on Sunday and Clevenger isn’t about to lobby for more playing time.

“I really try not to focus on that too much,” he said. “I just come to the ballpark and get my work in and when Dale needs to me to be ready, I’ll be ready. Whether it’s to taking ground balls somewhere, I will be ready.”

The Reds had runners on third and second with no outs in the seventh, but James Russell retired Stubbs, Votto and Phillips to get out of the inning.

NOTES—Castro committed two errors to run his major league-worst total to seven. “I’m not going to sit there and talk to everybody every time somebody makes an error,” Sveum said. … Ryan Dempster was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quadriceps. OF Tony Campana was recalled from Triple-A Iowa, and Randy Wells will start in place of Dempster on Sunday.

SEATTLE—This is the kind of performance the White Sox were expecting from Adam Dunn when they gave him a big contract before the 2011 season. Dunn hit two homers, doubled and drove in five runs, powering the White Sox past the Seattle Mariners 7-3 Friday night.Dunn had just 11 homers and hit .159 last season in his first with the White Sox after signing a four-year, $56 million deal before 2011. But he appears to have regained his balance at the plate with the help of several unorthodox drills.Sox hitting coach Jeff Manto suggested the exercises, including holding a medicine ball between his legs during practice swings to keep from lunging. The benefits were visible Friday.Dunn connected for a three-run homer off Hector Noesi (1-2) in the second inning to make it 6-0. He hit his third home run of the season in the eighth, giving him 31 multihomer games and the first since joining the White Sox. It was the first time Dunn had homered against Seattle in 12 career games.Chris Sale (2-1) struck out 11 in 6 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs and seven hits for the White Sox.Noesi lasted just 1 1/3 innings. He gave up six hits and six runs to send his ERA soaring to 9.49 from 5.73. Erasmo Ramirez pitched one-hit ball for 3 2/3 innings.Noesi threw 38 pitches in the first, including an 11-pitch walk to A.J. Pierzynski. Alejandro De Aza singled, Brent Morel walked and Dunn had an RBI double. Alex Rios’ sacrifice fly made it 2-0.Jesus Montero hit his second home run of the season to center field in the sixth and Ichiro Suzuki singled home Brendan Ryan in the seventh to make it 6-3. Seattle threatened from the start with back-to-back singles by Chone Figgins and Dustin Ackley, putting runners on first and third with none out. But Sale struck out Suzuki and got Justin Smoak to ground into a double play.The Mariners also put runners on second and third in the second inning, but could not score. They finally broke through in the third when Suzuki had a run-scoring double into the left field corner.Mariners reliever Hisashi Iwakuma made his major league debut in the sixth inning. Iwakuma was the last player on an opening-day roster that wasn’t injured or sent to the minors to appear in a game this season. He pitched four innings and allowed just one run.Casper Wells doubled twice for the Mariners which were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

NOTES—Former Mariner Ruppert Jones, the first player selected in the 1976 expansion draft, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday.. Since 2003, White Sox pitchers lead the majors with 801 quality starts.. The White Sox struck out 16 times Thursday, their most since Sept. 17, 2005, at Minnesota, when they struck out 16 times, too.

The Cincinnati Reds used a lot of little hits to achieve a very big milestone.Cincinnati rapped out 12 hits — nine singles — and cruised to a 9-4 win over the Cubs on Friday for the 10,000th win in franchise history.

“When you look at 30 different teams and being one of six, it’s a pretty cool thing,” said outfielder Drew Stubbs. “To be a part of it is pretty special.”

Harsh winds and chilly temperatures didn’t slow Cincinnati’s offense. Stubbs drove in three runs for the Reds, who joined the Cubs, Giants, Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals as the only teams to reach the 10,000 win plateau.The Cubs dropped their sixth straight and fell to 3-11 on the year.Winds were blowing in, gusting up to 27 mph, and the game-time temperature was 35 degrees with the wind chill.Chris Volstad (0-2) labored through a four-run, 41-pitch first inning. He gave up run-scoring singles to Joey Votto and Chris Heisey, and an RBI-groundout to Willie Harris as the Reds batted around for the first time this season.Starlin Castro and Marlon Byrd didn’t help Volstad by committing errors in the inning, but only one of the runs was unearned.Fielding woes were contagious as Heisey was unable to haul in Castro’s fly ball in the third inning, which led to two unearned runs. The teams combined to make five errors.The Reds tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth on Stubbs’ double into the right-field corner. He finished with three hits and two stolen bases.Homer Bailey (1-2) pitched seven solid innings for his first victory of the year. He allowed four runs, but only one was earned. Bailey struck out two and walked none. He also drove in a run with a groundout in the sixth.The Cubs sent several balls into the teeth of the wind, blowing in from left field, including Castro’s third-inning fly ball and a ninth-inning blast off the bat of Geovany Soto. But none went beyond the warning track.Volstad gave up six runs, five earned, on seven hits over five innings. He was lifted for pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt in the fifth. DeWitt doubled and came around to score on Darwin Barney’s groundout to cut the Reds’ lead to 6-3.

“[The first inning] put me in a huge hole, put the team in a big hole,” said Volstad. “That’s not the momentum you want to put the team in right off the bat.”

The Reds added a run in the eighth inning on Stubbs’ single to score Devin Mesoraco, and on a ninth-inning pinch-hit triple by Todd Frazier.Mesoraco finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored.Aroldis Chapman struck out a pair in a scoreless eighth, and Jose Arredondo pitched a flawless ninth to close the door.Bryan LaHair had two more hits for the Cubs. He’s batting .375 on the year and has a base hit in every game he’s started.

NOTES—The Cubs placed Kerry Wood (right shoulder fatigue) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled LHP Scott Maine from Triple-A Iowa…..Brandon Phillips was held out of the lineup due to the cold weather and lingering hamstring soreness….Ryan Dempster (strained right quad) is questionable for his start on Sunday. Randy Wells will be recalled from Iowa if Dempster is unable to go.. Paul Maholm takes the mound for the Cubs on Saturday in the second game of the series against Mike Leake. Both are in search of their first win of the season.

It took a repeat performance by Mikkell Boedker in yet another overtime to put the Phoenix Coyotes a victory away from winning their opening-round series with the Blackhawks.Boedker scored in overtime for the second straight game — his only two career postseason goals — and the Coyotes took command of the tight-as-can-be playoff by beating the Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday.All four games have gone to overtime and the Coyotes lead 3-1 headed back to Arizona for Game 5 on Saturday night, where they hope to wrap it up.Boedker got control of a loose puck, skated ahead of defenseman Nick Leddy on a mini breakaway and shoveled the puck through goalie Corey Crawford’s legs at 2:15 of the extra period.

“Actually, I don’t know how it slid in, but I’m happy it did. It was a bobbled puck and I felt like I got to it first and I kind of hit it and it bounced over the D-man’s stick and I was partially alone there for a little bit, at least,” Boedker said.

“It went in and it’s an amazing feeling.”

The Coyotes came into the United Center, one of the toughest buildings in the NHL, and won two in a row. They beat a Hawk team missing star winger Marian Hossa, who’d been knocked out of Game 3 by a thunderous shoulder-to-head hit from Raffi Torres. Torres has been suspended indefinitely, pending a scheduled hearing with the league Friday.The Blackhawks tied it in the closing seconds of regulation for the third time in the series by pulling Crawford for an extra attacker with Michael Frolik scoring with 1:26 left to make it 2-2. Phoenix had gone up 2-0 with two goals 44 seconds apart in the third before the Blackhawks rallied.Once into overtime, the Coyotes responded again.

” We’re used to it now. We’ve done it for four games. Obviously we would like for it not to go into overtime, that’s probably what everybody would prefer, but overtime happens,” Boedker said. ” We’re just happy we’ve won three of them.”

On Tuesday night, Boedker had scored on a tough angle from the left side, beating Crawford in a 3-2 victory. This time he came right at the goalie.

“I was just playing it like a breakaway. He came in and I don’t know how … I can’t imagine how it went through there. Just brutal,” Crawford said.

The Coyotes finished strong in the regular season to win a division title and have carried it over.

“We’ve been preparing for tight playoffs like this for well over a month, well, all year, but the last month we’ve been preparing saying, `We’re going to play tight games, how are we going to respond in tight games, how are we going to deal with adversity,”‘ Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. “This has been going on for a long time for us. Our players in here, I think they’re thriving under the pressure, I think that’s great for our group.”

The Blackhawks had one strong offensive sequence to start overtime but couldn’t manage a shot against Mike Smith, who finished with 30 saves. And then Boedker responded for the second time in three nights. Phoenix won despite having only 19 shots on goal.

“We were in their zone, had some momentum, had some pressure and some one-on-one,” Joel Quenneville said.

“It was a tough break at the end again. Kind of comparable to the last game. Brutal ending. I think both games ended kind of on a tough note for us. … We liked our chances in overtime. It’s a tough road ahead of us.”

Shane Doan and Taylor Pyatt scored 44 seconds apart to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the third. But Brendan Morrison, making his first appearance in the series, scored to make it 2-1 and send what had been a quiet crowd into a frenzy.Doan stripped the puck from Johnny Oduya, made a nice cross-ice pass to Ray Whitney and then scored on a rebound of Whitney’s shot at 7:03 of the third. The Coyotes struck again quickly when Antoine Vermette got the puck near the boards and made a nice feed to Pyatt.Phoenix dominated play early in the final period. After being outshot 23-10 through the first two periods, the Coyotes had eight shots on goal to just one for the Blackhawks in the first 10 minutes. But then Morrison scored on a long slap shot from the right circle that appeared to hit a Coyotes’ stick before flying past Smith’s glove and into the goal. And then Frolik tied it up.The Blackhawks were already without rookie forward Andrew Shaw, who drew a five-game suspension for knocking Smith to the ice in Game 2. And there is no timetable for the return of Hossa, who led the team in regular-season points with 77.

NOTES—For the second straight game, the Coyotes were without center Martin Hanzal and left wing Lauri Korpikoski, both of whom were injured in Game 2…..Rookie LW Brandon Saad, 19, who played two early games with the Blackhawks before spending the season in the Ontario Hockey League, appeared in his first postseason game…..Brandon Bollig and Phoenix’s Paul Bissonnette fought early in the first period. Bissonnette got the better of the fight, but also got a game misconduct for not having his jersey strapped down.

MIAMI—The earliest the Bulls and could meet again is Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.Good thing. The tempers could use a little time to cool down. And after a game filled with shoves and takedowns, the race for the No. 1 seed in the East is still going strong. LeBron James had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 18 points and Miami tightened up the race in the East by beating the Bulls 83-72 on Thursday night in a scuffle-filled win that pulled the Heat within 1½ games of the Bulls in the conference standings.

“This is what the postseason is all about,” James said. “Both teams struggling to score offensively, and defensively, two very good defensive teams. It’s a possession game. That’s what happens in the postseason. The game slows down. Not many fast-break points. You’ve got to work for every attempt, work for every shot.”

Mario Chalmers scored 16 points and Udonis Haslem grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which held the Bulls to a season-low point total. The Bulls had been 23-0 this season when holding teams to 86 points or less.John Lucas scored 16 points for the Bulls, who were again without reigning Derrick Rose because of injuries. Joakim Noah had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Luol Deng added 11 points and Carlos Boozer had 10 for the Bulls, who split four games with Miami this season and could have clinched the top spot in the East with a win on Thursday.

“We wanted it bad, but they wanted it more,” Noah said. “That can’t happen.”

The teams combined for four individual technical fouls, two flagrant fouls and Miami reserve James Jones was ejected. But above all else, Miami decided this one with defense. The Bulls went up 21-20 on a layup by Deng with 3:36 left in the first quarter, making them 10 of 14 from the field at that point. They shot 15 for 56 — 27 percent — the rest of the way. The Bulls (47-16) have games with Dallas, Indiana and Cleveland left, while Miami (45-17) still has matchups with Washington (twice), Houston and Boston. Miami won despite playing without Chris Bosh, sidelined for the second straight night to rest minor bumps and bruises.

“This season’s been a long, short year,” Wade said. “But this is the time of the year we all love and enjoy.”

In case anyone forgot that the Heat and Bulls don’t particularly care for one another, the refresher courses came often in this one.The first real salvo came with 6:05 left in the first half, when Jones was ejected after being assessed a flagrant-2 for excessive contact against Noah while trying for a rebound. Jones stretched out both arms to move Noah out of the way, making contact around the head. By the end of the game, that play seemed like a love tap.”Every time we play them that’s how it’s going to be,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You have to have the mental toughness to get through all of that.”

Wade and Richard Hamilton — rivals for years — raised the level of angst a few more notches early in the third quarter.

Hamilton led with his elbow and shoulder to create some space, and Wade took exception — so he delivered an elbow and shoulder back, sending the Bulls’ guard sprawling to the court. The jousting then turned verbal, enough to merit a technical foul for each, plus a flagrant-1 on Wade.

“Two people that are trying to out-will each other and fight to help their team win,” Hamilton said.

And then things really got hot a few minutes later, not long after James was pulled down under the basket. James set a screen to free Chalmers from some pressure and was run into by Lucas, who gives up 9 inches and 85 pounds to the two-time NBA MVP. Predictably, Lucas went flying. Even more predictably, Lucas — who was leapfrogged for a dunk by James in first trip to Miami this season — got angry.

“I knew I had him,” James said.

After Deng fouled Chalmers to stop the play, and reopened a cut over his own left eye in the process, Lucas ran at James and the other eight players on the court at the time quickly converged on the area. It took referees about 5 minutes to sort out the mess, which only resulted in a personal foul on Deng and technicals on Lucas and James (who, upon hearing his name announced, shouted, “For what?).

James shrugged off the next hit, a hard foul by Omer Asik about a half-minute later, converting a three-point play in the process.

“It was a physical, competitive game against two teams that defend,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That tends to lead to a little bit more passion. And nobody was really backing down.”

NOTES—The Bulls were 2 for 16 from 3-point range, meaning Miami’s last two opponents have gone a combined 3 for 32 from beyond the arc…..James made his first five shots, making him 23 for 27 over a span of parts of three games, starting late in the third quarter of Monday’s game at New Jersey (6-7) followed by Wednesday’s win over Toronto (12-15)….Neither team led by more than three points in the final 10:54 of the first half….Jones’ ejection was the first of his nine-year career,

Jason Hammel struck out 10 and closer Jim Johnson fanned Alex Rios with the bases loaded Thursday to preserve the Baltimore Orioles’ 5-3 win over the White Sox.The game was briefly delayed in the top of the seventh inning when a young boy who appeared to about 4 or 5 years old slipped through a barricade and went running across the outfield. With the crowd laughing, White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo scooped him up and handed him over to a security guard.The child and his family were ejected from the game per Major League Baseball rules but no charges were filed, the team said.

“Safety is our No. 1 concern and we are happy that the child is fine,” White Sox spokesman Scott Reifert said in a statement. “Obviously it was a non-issue for Dayan who was able to field the kid cleanly.But going on the field is stuff we do take seriously. It’s not something we condone in any way,” he said.

Adam Jones hit his fifth homer of the season and an RBI double. He’s gone deep four times in the first seven games of Baltimore’s 10-game road trip. The two-run shot in the fifth was his first this year with a runner on base.The Orioles won three of four from the Sox and have won their first two road series of the season, including two of three at Toronto last weekend. Baltimore won just five road series last season.Hammel (2-0) matched a career high for strikeouts, doing it in just six innings. He worked out of trouble early, leaving the bases loaded in the first and third.Johnson earned his sixth save. He has converted 14 straight chances dating to last season.Hammel bested Gavin Floyd (1-2), who allowed five runs and six hits in six innings.Adam Dunn had a walk, an RBI double and scored. He extended his streak of getting on base to six appearances before striking out his next two times up, increasing his AL-high total to 21.Dunn singled with two outs in the ninth, moving pinch-runner Brent Morel to third, and Paul Konerko was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rios struck out looking to end the game.

“It’s like you’re getting close and it’s just not happening,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “Eventually, those [rallies] will push through and it will be different.”

Jones doubled during a two-run first. In the fifth, after J.J. Hardy’s sacrifice fly broke a 2-all tie, Jones hit a full-count fastball from Floyd into the left-field seats. Hammel allowed doubles to Alejandro De Aza and Dunn in the third. Rios’ single made it 2-all and Alexei Ramirez walked to load the bases. Hammel recovered to strike out Viciedo and Tyler Flowers, preserving the tie.Endy Chavez reached base three times and scored two runs for the surprising Orioles, who travel to Anaheim for the last stop on their road trip leading the AL East.

NOTES—The White Sox announced a paid attendance of 11,836. All four games against the Orioles drew fewer fans than any game at U.S. Cellular Field last season. The series drew a total of just 50,653.

MIAMI—The Miami Marlins did not score after the third inning. They didn’t need to, thanks to a big effort by their bullpen.With an early lead, starter Ricky Nolasco settled down and five relievers combined to throw 3 2/3 perfect innings that finished a three-game sweep of the Cubs with a 5-3 win Thursday and sent Chicago to its fifth straight loss.Greg Dobbs hit a two-run double for Miami, which has won five of six. Hanley Ramirez and Logan Morrison each had two hits and Emilio Bonifacio stole two bases.

“Right now they are putting it together,” Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen said.

An announced attendance of 23,168 saw the Marlins complete their first home series sweep against the Cubs since September 2007 and improve to 5-2 in their new ballpark.Nolasco (2-0) went 5 1/3 innings for the victory, allowing three runs.Nolasco was shaky early on as the Cubs left six on base through the first three innings. He settled down before being lifted in the sixth for Mike Dunn following an error by shortstop Jose Reyes.Ryan Webb, Randy Choate, and Edward Mujica contributed to the bullpen’s success.Jeff Samardzija (2-1) was tagged for five runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.Miami jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. A walk and steal by Bonifacio and a single by Ramirez set up Morrison’s RBI single, and another run scored on a groundout by Giancarlo Stanton.The Cubs responded in the second with a bases-loaded triple by Darwin Barney down the right-field line.Dobbs’ two-run double in the third off Samardzija gave the Marlins a 4-3 lead. After a two-out intentional walk, Nolasco helped himself with an RBI single.

NOTES—Ramirez is hitting .550 (11 for 20) with three home runs and nine RBI in his last five games…..Marlins 2B Omar Infante (groin) remained sidelined for the second straight game and remains day-to-day…..Because of a computer problem in a ticket office near third base, Marlins were unable to process any sales for about 15 minutes, so 150 fans were admitted free…..The Marlins are averaging 29,442 fans at home. Said Bell: “It’s unusual for us to have a lot of fans, but we’ve never had a beautiful ballpark like this.”….Starlin Castro has reached base safely in 52 of his last 53 games…..Miami will travel to Washington for a three-game weekend series and will send Carlos Zambrano (0-0, 3.75 ERA) to the mound to face LHP Ross Detwiler (1-0, 0.90). Zambrano is 8-3 with a 3.35 ERA in his career against the Nationals…..Chris Volstad (0-1, 4.91) will take the mound Friday for the Cubs in a three-game series against the Reds, who will counter with RHP Homer Bailey (0-2, 5.40). Volstad is looking to snap a 13-game winless start streak dating to last July 17.

CHARLOTTE—Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau talked before the game about his team needing to play with an edge.They did just that Wednesday night, thumping the dreadful Charlotte Bobcats 100-68 in a solid tune-up before Thursday night’s big showdown in Miami with the Heat.Richard Hamilton scored 22 points in just 24 minutes and the Bulls took a step closer to wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Despite playing without leading scorers Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, the Bulls shot 48 percent from the floor and connected on 9 of 19 shots from 3-point range to bounce back from Tuesday night’s surprising 87-84 loss to the Washington Wizards.Hamilton made his first seven shots from the field, including four from beyond the arc and the outcome was never in doubt.The Bulls did all of that against Charlotte.They held the Bobcats to 30 percent shooting, outrebounded them 57-38 and had 29 assists.The Bulls had struggled of late losing four of their last eight coming in, but they still have the NBA’s best record at 47-15 with four games remaining in the regular season.They remain 2½ games ahead of the Heat in the East.

“We just want to get out there and hopefully get a win,” Hamilton said. “Miami has a lot of special players. It won’t be easy.”

Deng, who has been bothered by a rib injury, said after the game he expects to be ready to play against Miami. Rose’s status remains day-to-day with a right foot injury.Thibodeau likes the way his team regrouped from the loss to Washington.

“Usually, this team responds,” Thibodeau said.

There was plenty of reason to be happy.His starters were terrific and the reserves didn’t play bad either, accounting for 42 points.

“Everyone was sharing the ball,” Thibodeau said. “So the ball was hopping and they were making the right plays. Defensively was very good. Rebounding was very good. And then the most important thing was the low turnovers.”

Omer Asik had nine points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, while Joakim Noah and John Lucas each scored 12 points.The Bulls shot 55 percent in the first half and led by 19 in the second quarter.They extended the lead to 24 in the third behind 10 points from Hamilton. Hamilton seemed to take the Bulls on his shoulders at times, finishing the night 9 for 13 from the field, including 4 for 5 on 3s.He said he’s getting closer to 100 percent.

“Each and every game I get better and that’s a good thing,” Hamilton said. “When I first came back the problem wasn’t getting shots that I wanted to get it was just being able to get in a rhythm and get a feel for the game again. I’m definitely pleased with that’s going on.”

Charlotte continued to struggle putting the ball in the basket. For the second straight game they shot just 30 percent from the field.

“That’s been our problem all year,” said Bobcats coach Paul Silas.

Rookie Kemba Walker scored 16 points for the Bobcats, who’ve lost a franchise-record 18 straight games.Charlotte continues its march toward NBA futility. If the Bobcats lose their final five games they’ll finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

“We don’t want to set that record,” Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson said. “That’s something that we’re thinking about and we’ve talked about. We just want to win. That’s my sole goal. We’ve set goals for ourselves at the start of the season and haven’t accomplished hardly any of them. But with these last five games, that’s one that we’ve set and we want to accomplish that one.”

The Bobcats’ night, and perhaps the season, could be best summed up in one embarrassing play.In the first half Matt Carroll had a breakaway layup but put if off the glass too strong and Byron Mullens, who seemed to be in position for a follow-up dunk, had the ball bounce off his hands and out of bounds for a turnover.The crowed let out a collective “Ugh!” as Carroll clapped his hands together in disbelief and glanced toward the heavens.

NOTES—Former Bull Tyrus Thomas, who was involved in a postgame locker room altercation with coach Paul Silas earlier this week, left the game with a sore right knee. He spent most of the first half riding a stationary bike trying to get it loose and only played three minutes…..Charlotte’s last win came on March 17…..The Bobcats tied a season low with six turnovers…..The Bulls 57 rebounds tied the most allowed by the Bobcats this season.

Mikkel Boedker’s shot from a difficult angle found its way into the net, ending an exhausting third overtime in three games, and sending the Phoenix Coyotes to a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks.But the defeat was only part of the Blackhawks’ bad Tuesday night. They also lost star forward Marian Hossa early, and they aren’t happy about it.Phoenix has a 2-1 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series, headed into Thursday night’s Game 4 in the United Center.The Blackhawks might have to begin their comeback attempt without Hossa, their regular-season points leader. Hossa was carried off on a stretcher after a crushing hit from the Coyotes” Raffi Torres, and the Blackhawks will likely be short-handed for the rest of the physical and heated series.

“It was a brutal hit,” Joel Quenneville said, displeased that Torres wasn’t penalized.

“I saw exactly what happened. It was right in front of me,” Quenneville said. “How four guys missed it was hard. The refereeing tonight was a disgrace.”

The blow came hours after Andrew Shaw had been suspended three games for a hit he put on Phoenix goalie Mike Smith in Game 2.

“As far as the hit goes, I felt like it was a hockey play. I was just trying to finish my hit out there,” said Torres, who leveled Brent Seabrook in the playoffs a year ago when he played for Vancouver.

Asked if he was concerned about coming off his skates to make the hit, Torres said: “I’m not going to answer that.”

Hossa was released from the hospital, and is expected to recover completely, but there is no timetable for his return.

“After initial evaluation on the ice, [Hossa] was taken by ambulance to the hospital for further testing, which yielded encouraging results,” team physician Dr. Michael Terry said in a statement put out by the Blackhawks after the game. “He has been released from the hospital and we are monitoring him closely at home.”

The Blackhawks were already without Shaw, who was suspended on Tuesday for his hit that knocked Smith to the ice — but didn’t force him out of Saturday night’s Game 2. Smith was booed loudly Tuesday night, especially when he went behind the net to get a puck early in the game.Hossa was near the boards at center ice and had just turned and passed the puck when Torres left his skates and delivered a shot with his shoulder that knocked Hossa to the ice. Hossa was down for about five minutes as medical personnel rushed immediately to his side, and then was taken off of the ice on the stretcher at 11:51 of the opening period.About two and a half hours later, Boedker found the net from the left side and gave the Coyotes the victory, their third in three games at the United Center this season.

“It rolled through his legs,” Boedker said. ” I was trying to hit his pad. I thought of going to the net, and I was actually shooting for a rebound, but it went through his legs and that was good for me and good for everybody in here.Now we’re up 2-1 and that’s the position that we like very much.”

Andrew Brunette and Michael Frolik had goals for the Blackhawks, and Rostislav Klesla and Ray Whitney scored for the Coyotes in regulation. The Hawks led 1-0 midway through the third period.Smith shook off a big hit he absorbed in Game 2 and made 35 saves — six in overtime — to earn the win. He was on the ice for five minutes Saturday night and was able to stay in that game. Watching Hossa being carried off was tough for him, too.”It’s scary. Your heart goes out to him and his family. It’s past hockey,” Smith said.Crawford had played well until the final shot eluded him. He finished with 31 saves.

“It’s a terrible goal. We dominated overtime. I thought I was feeling good the whole game long. I feel bad I gave them that one after the guys battled in overtime like that. It’s definitely on me,” Crawford said.

“We’ll just worry about the next one now.”

But they’ll do so without two of their top forwards. Frolik, who replaced Shaw, gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead by scoring on a rebound off an attempt by Seabrook with both teams down a man in the third. But Whitney came right back a half minute later to punch in a rebound for the Coyotes and tie it. The Hawks led 1-0 after two periods, but the Coyotes got even a first time on Klesla’s first career playoff goal on a shot from the left circle — the first of three scores in a span of 65 seconds with both teams a man short after unsportsmanlike penalties on Niklas Hjalmarsson and Phoenix’s Shane Doan.The Blackhawks couldn’t understand why Shaw got a major penalty for charging, was ejected from Saturday’s game, and then was suspended, but Torres got nothing in the game on Tuesday.

“It’s pretty frustrating when you see that,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “He got to stay in the game. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to do something like that again.”

Seconds after the hit, Brandon Bollig was given a 10-minute misconduct for roughing.In the final seconds of the first, Marcus Kruger won a faceoff. Nick Leddy got the puck and passed to Patrick Kane, whose shot from above the right circle was tipped in by Brunette with 29 seconds left in the first.As the second period ended, a skirmish erupted between the teams, and goalies Crawford and Smith had words chest-to-chest as the teams went to their locker rooms. Toews was assessed a roughing penalty.

— Wei-Yin Chen walked out of the bathroom and was greeted with a shower of Gatorade and shaving cream. He kept a ball from his first major-league win, and was still speechless long after he left the mound.This was one fun night for the Baltimore Orioles.Chen pitched effectively into the sixth inning and Nolan Reimold homered for the fourth consecutive game, helping Baltimore beat the White Sox 3-2 on Tuesday.

“This is just like a dream come true,” Chen said through an interpreter.

Baltimore had just one hit before Robert Andino singled with one out in the sixth. Reimold then hit a drive to left-center off John Danks, giving the Orioles a 2-0 lead. J.J. Hardy followed with a drive to virtually the same spot for his third homer. Reimold also had a big home run Monday night, helping Baltimore rally for a 10-4 victory over the White Sox in 10 innings. He is batting .394 (13 for 33) in the past eight games.

“Just staying calm,” said Reimold, who also made a terrific diving catch in left field. “No real secret to it. It’s just kind of happening. Just been feeling good, keeping my swing short and not moving my head too much.”

Chen allowed two runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings in his second career game. The left-hander, a Taiwan native who pitched in Japan for the past four seasons, also was effective in his first start, allowing two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Yankees.

“I feel like I’m really lucky tonight because compared with last start, I don’t have really good command,” Chen said. “I feel like last start was pretty good. Today is so-so.”

Chen (1-0) was working on a shutout before the White Sox chased him in the sixth. A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run double into the right-field corner before Alex Rios singled to put runners on the corners with one out.Orioles manager Buck Showalter then brought in sidearmer Darren O’Day, who got Alexei Ramirez to pop up and picked off Rios to end the inning. O’Day also worked the seventh, striking out Brent Morel with a runner on third to preserve the lead.Troy Patton and Luis Ayala combined to work the eighth before Jim Johnson wriggled out of a jam to record his fifth save in five chances.The White Sox had runners on the corners with one out when pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome lined to third. Alejandro De Aza then walked to load the bases but third baseman Wilson Betemit made a great play on Morel’s chopper to end the game.Baltimore has won four of five with five games left on a 10-game road trip.Pierzynski and Rios had two hits apiece, which has lost three straight. Danks (1-2) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked two in seven innings.

“I’d like two pitches back,” Danks said. “I felt like I made a good-enough pitch to Andino for the single. I just made a mistake to a pretty hot hitter in Reimold. Got in a hitter’s count with Hardy. He’s a good hitter. He did what he’s supposed to do with that pitch.”

The White Sox had a chance for a fast start when De Aza got a leadoff walk in the first and Morel followed with a sinking liner to left. But Reimold hustled over and made a sprawling grab for the out.

NOTES—Luke Scott was the last player to homer in four consecutive games for Orioles, accomplishing the feat from May 27-30, 2009. … The Orioles claimed C Luis Exposito off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. “He’s a catcher. We’re a little thin there, depth-wise,” Showalter said. “I’m not exactly sure where they’re gonna send him or what the plan is.” INF Josh Bell was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. … Andino and Reimold were the last combination to hit consecutive homers for Baltimore, on Sept. 19 at Boston. … Joe Torre, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president for baseball operations, took a triple away from De Aza, changing his fly ball in the eighth inning of Friday night’s game against Detroit to an error on left fielder Delmon Young. That means both runs charged to Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth are unearned. … The gametime temperature was 51 degrees and the announced crowd was 11,267.