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2B – Daily News – Thursday, May 6, 2010 Zito wins again, beats Florida MIAMI (AP) — Unbeaten Barry Zito notched another win. Brian Wilson earned a shaky save. Sergio Romo happily settled for a high-five from Zito. The San Francisco Giants escaped bases-loaded jams in the final two innings Wednesday night to beat the Florida Marlins 3-2. Zito, off to the best start in his career, improved to 5-0 in six starts. He took a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning before requiring res- cue from the bullpen. Romo, who gave up a three-run homer in the Giants’ 12-inning win Tuesday, rebounded by needing only six pitches to escape a bases- loaded, none-out situation in the eighth. When Romo reached the jubi- lant dugout, Zito was among those offering congratulations. ‘‘He was happy for me, espe- cially with what happened Tuesday night,’’ Romo said, his voice cracking with emotion. ‘‘It’s pretty hard to bounce back. It was his way of showing me, ‘You’re a guy we do count on.’’’ Wilson gave up a run in the ninth but left runners stranded at the corners for his fifth save in six chances. The narrow escape was a welcome change for the Giants, who improved to 2-5 in one-run games. ‘‘We couldn’t have been in tougher jams,’’ manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘We’ve lost some gut- wrenching games. You hope they even out, and now we got a couple back here.’’ Aaron Rowand hit his third home run of the season and his sec- ond in two nights for the Giants, who won despite going 1 for 11 eighth and ninth with the right guys up to the plate, and it didn’t happen,’’ manager Fredi Gonzalez said. with runners in scoring position. Nate Robertson (2-3) lost his third decision in a row. He allowed three runs, two earned, in 5 1-3 innings. That was no match for Zito, who allowed seven hits and one run to lower his ERA to 1.49. He limited the Marlins to three hits before giving up four consecutive scratch singles — including two infield hits — to start the eighth. When Gaby Sanchez’s RBI sin- gle made the score 3-1, Romo replaced Zito. The right-hander struck out Hanley Ramirez on three consecutive sliders, then got Jorge Cantu to ground into a dou- ble play. ‘‘Romo was unbelievable,’’ Zito said. ‘‘Not only did he do some- thing incredible in getting out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam against their two best hitters, but coming off last night, a lot of guys would have been defeated out there. Romo has as much courage and tenacity as any guy I’ve played with.’’ The Marlins mounted another threat in the ninth. Dan Uggla and Ronny Paulino singled to start the inning, and with one out Brett Car- roll was hit by a pitch. Chris Cogh- lan bounced into an RBI forceout at second, and Wes Helms struck out to end the game. ‘‘We had opportunities in the Before Zito tired, his off-speed pitches had the Marlins often hit- ting the ball weakly early in the count. Among those stymied was 2009 NL batting champion Ramirez, who went hitless and is 1 for 13 lifetime against the left-han- der. Zito struck out four, walked one and improved to 4-0 with a 1.07 ERA in four career starts in Miami. He ranks among the NL leaders this season in victories and ERA. ‘‘I’m not too high, I’m not too low,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m just going out there playing as hard as I can and hoping the baseball gods are good to me.’’ The Giants took the lead in the third when Matt Downs led off with a double, advanced on Zito’s sacrifice and scored on a ground- out by Rowand. Rowand, who homered with two outs in the ninth to tie Tuesday’s game, led off the sixth with a home run. The Marlins, last in the majors in fielding, worked on defensive drills during batting practice, but the workout failed to help left fielder Carroll. He dropped a fly for a two-base error in the sixth. ‘‘I expect to catch that ball,’’ Carroll said. ‘‘I just missed it.’’ Bengie Molina followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0. He’s batting .423 against left-handers. NOTES: Giants SS Edgar Renteria (groin), sidelined since leaving Friday’s game, is expected back in the starting lineup Thurs- day. Cahill gets A’s starters back on track OAKLAND (AP) — Nobody’s playing great baseball in the wide- open AL West. The Oakland Athletics are back in first place for now — at only one game above .500. Eric Patterson home- red, Trevor Cahill won in his second start since getting called up from the minors and the A’s beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Wednesday to reclaim the division’s top spot and take the series. ‘‘I think that’s big in the clubhouse,’’ closer and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bai- ley said. ‘‘Everyone knows we have a young team. To be able to go out there and win a series against division rivals, that’s going hold strong for late in the season and give us that confidence that we need to continue.’’ Ryan Sweeney and Kevin Kouzmanoff pro- duced consecutive RBI groundouts in the first as the A’s (15-14) staked Cahill to an early lead. Patterson connect- ed for his second homer leading off the fifth against Colby Lewis (3- 1). Cahill (1-1), a 10- game winner last season as a rookie, allowed only two baserunners past first in five solid innings to earn the vic- tory. He was brought up from Triple-A Sacra- mento last Friday to start at Toronto as the A’s deal with an injury- depleted pitching staff. The Rangers won the first four games of their road trip before drop- ping the last two, losing their first series in the last three. ‘‘We can execute bet- ter,’’ manager Ron Washington said. ‘‘We’ve got to make sure we continue to pound and get them in the right frame of mind. There are still some guys in that lineup try- ing to find themselves. We go according to the middle of our lineup. They go, we go.’’ Daric Barton had an RBI single, doubled and scored a run for the A’s. The Rangers had led the division for the first time all season the pre- vious three days. Cahill gave the A’s a boost after their starters had gone 1-6 over the past eight games. ‘‘The biggest thing was I made pitches when I had to,’’ Cahill said. ‘‘I was throwing my sinker in to righties and getting groundballs to get some double plays. My sinker was a lot better today, and I was able to throw it well for strikes.’’ Brad Ziegler pitched a perfect eighth and Bailey finished the 2- hour, 26-minute game with a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save in as many chances. Bailey hasn’t allowed a run in a career-best 20 2-3 innings dating to last Sept. 6 and has convert- ed 26 straight saves overall. Lewis was coming off consecutive 10- strikeout games but he labored through six innings and saw his pitch count go up in a hurry. He was done after 105 and couldn’t beat his former team the way Rich Harden did Monday in the series opener. ‘‘There were a lot of times I felt like I was forcing my pitches,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘I got slid- er happy and didn’t really mix my pitches well.’’ Vladimir Guerrero had an RBI single in the sixth for the Rangers’ lone run, which was unearned after Michael Young got aboard on Kouzmanoff’s throwing error at third base to start the inning. Washington offered to give Guerrero a day off after he had a grand slam and five RBIs in Tuesday’s 7-6 loss. ‘‘Before I could get it out he said no,’’ Wash- ington said. Since last May 31, the Rangers are 4-11 against the A’s, who improved to 8-3 in day games. NOTES: A’s starter Justin Duchscherer received a cortisone injection in his sore left hip. He will try to throw early next week. ... Sweeney saw the end to a stretch of 37 straight home games reaching base. ... Oakland’s Rajai Davis stole his 12th base in 13 attempts... The A’s recalled hard- throwing RHP Henry Rodriguez, who has been clocked at 100 mph, from Triple-A Sacramento to help the bullpen and optioned RHP Vin Mazzaro to Sacramento after his spot start Tuesday. ... Ziegler has purchased 200 tickets for military families to attend Satur- day’s game vs. Tampa Bay through his new foundation ‘‘Pastime for Patriots,’’ helping the team salute Armed Forces Day. Scoreboard MLB West Division A’s Texas American League WL Pct GB 15 14 .517 — 14 14 .500 .5 Seattle 11 15 .423 2.5 Angels 12 17 .414 3 East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 19 7 .731 — New York 19 8 .704 .5 Toronto 16 13 .552 4.5 Boston 14 14 .500 6 Baltimore 7 21 .250 13 Central Division Minnesota 19 9 .679 — Detroit WL Pct GB 16 13 .552 3.5 Chicago 12 16 .429 7 Kansas City 11 17 .393 8 Cleveland 10 17 .370 8.5 ——— Wednesday’s results Oakland 4,Texas 1 Boston 3, Los Angeles 1 Chicago 9, Kansas City 2 Minnesota 5, Detroit 4 New York 7, Baltimore 5 Toronto 5, Cleveland 4 Tampa Bay at Seattle, late Today’s games Los Angeles (Kazmir 2-1) at Boston (Matsuzaka 0-1), 4:10 p.m. Kansas City (Davies 2-1) at Texas (Harrison 1-1), 5:05 p.m. Baltimore (Bergesen 1-2) at Minnesota (Pavano 3-2), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (Eveland 2-1) at Chicago (Danks 3-0), 5:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Niemann 1-0) at Seattle (Rowland-Smith 0-1), 7:10 p.m. Tuesday’s late results Oakland 7,Texas 6 Tampa Bay 5, Seattle 2 West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 17 10 .630 — GIANTS 16 10 .615 .5 Colorado 13 14 .481 4 Arizona 13 15 .464 4.5 Dodgers 11 15 .423 5.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 16 11 .593 — New York 15 13 .536 1.5 Washington 14 13 .519 2 Florida 13 14 .481 3 Atlanta 12 15 .444 4 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 18 10 .643 — Cincinnati 14 14 .500 4 Chicago 13 15 .464 5 Pittsburgh 12 15 .444 5.5 Milwaukee 11 15 .423 6 Houston 9 18 .333 8.5 ——— Wednesday’s results San Francisco 3, Florida 2 Atlanta 7, Washington 6, 10 innings Cincinnati 5, New York 4, 10 innings Houston 4, Arizona 2 Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 0 Pittsburgh 4, Chicago 2 Colorado at San Diego, late Milwaukee at Los Angeles, late Today’s games San Francisco (Cain 1-1) at Florida (Nolasco 2-1), 4:10 p.m.,CSNBA St. Louis (Lohse 0-1) at Philadelphia (Halladay 5-1), 10:05 a.m. Atlanta (T.Hudson 2-1) at Washington (Olsen 2-1), 4:05 p.m. Chicago (R.Wells 3-0) at Pittsburgh (Burres 1-1), 4:05 p.m. Arizona (Haren 3-1) at Houston (W.Rodriguez 1-3), 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Bush 1-2) at Los Angeles (Ely 0-1), 7:10 p.m. Tuesday’s late results Milwaukee 11, Los Angeles 6 San Diego 3, Colorado 2 NBA Conference Semifinals Best-of-7 Tuesday’s late result L.A. Lakers 111, Utah 103 L.A. Lakers lead series 2-0 Wednesday’s result Phoenix 110, San Antonio 102 Phoenix leads series 2-0 Today’s game Atlanta at Orlando, 5 p.m. Orlando leads series 1-0 Other series Boston and Cleveland tied 1-1 All-Defensive Team First Team C Dwight Howard, Orl G Rajon Rondo, Bos F LeBron James, Cle G Kobe Bryant, LAL F Gerald Wallace, Cha Second Team C Tim Duncan, S.A. G Dwyane Wade, Miami F Josh Smith, Atl F Anderson Varejao, Cle G Thabo Sefolosha, OKC NHL Conference Semifinals Best-of-7 Wednesday’s results Boston 4, Philadelphia 1 Boston leads series 3-0 Chicago at Vancouver, late Series tied 1-1 Today’s games San Jose at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. San Jose leads series 3-0 Pittsburgh at Montreal, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh leads series 2-1 MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 5 0 1 16 10 2 Houston 3 2 1 10 9 6 Colorado 3 2 1 10 8 6 Chivas USA 3 3 1 10 10 9 Seattle 2 2 3 9 8 8 QUAKES 32 0 9 7 7 Salt Lake 2 3 1 7 9 8 FC Dallas 0 1 4 4 7 8 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 5 1 0 15 8 4 Columbus 2 0 2 8 6 3 Chicago 2 2 2 8 8 6 Kansas City 2 3 1 7 6 6 New England 2 4 1 7 8 11 Toronto FC 2 4 0 6 7 12 Philadelphia 1 4 0 3 6 11 D.C. 1 5 0 3 4 14 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Wednesday’s results Chivas USA 4, New England 0 D.C. United 2, Kansas City 1 FC Dallas at Houston, late Los Angeles at Colorado, late DEALS Major League Baseball American League OAKLAND—Recalled RHP Henry Rodriguez from Sacramento (PCL).Optioned RHP Vin Mazzaro to Sacramento. BALTIMORE—Optioned LHP Alberto Castil- lo to Norfolk (IL). SEATTLE—Placed RHP Mark Lowe on the 15-day DL.Recalled RHP Shawn Kelley from Golden Baseball League CALGARY—Signed OF Julio Ramirez, RHP Anastacio Martinez and C Luis Taveras. National Hockey League COLUMBUS—Signed G Gustaf Wesslau to a one-year contract. National Football League BUFFALO—Named Darrell Moody national scout.Promoted Matt Hand to an area scout. Announced college scouting assistant Michael LaFlamme will add pro personnel assignments to his duties. College DEPAUL—Named Brian Ellerbe men’s assistant basketball coach. HOFSTRA—Named Mo Cassara men’s basketball coach and agreed to terms on a multiyear contract. IOWA—Announced the dismissal of sopho- more wrestler Montell Marion from the team after being charged with drunken driving. NORTHERN ARIZONA—Announced G Cameron Jones has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return for his senior season. SAN FRANCISCO—Named Katy Steding and Blair Hardiek women’s assistant basket- ball coaches. TEMPLE—Agreed to terms with men’s bas- ketball coach Fran Dunphy on an eight-year contract extension through the 2018 season and with football coach Al Golden on a five- year contract extension through the 2014 season. Tacoma (PCL). National League FLORIDA—Agreed to terms with 1B Doug Mientkiewicz on a minor league contract. State lawmakers seek temporary ban on metal bats SACRAMENTO (AP) — A California legislative com- mittee advanced a bill Wednesday that would place a two- year moratorium on the use of metal bats in high school baseball, responding to safety concerns that were raised when a Marin County teenager was severely injured earlier this year. The moratorium would allow time for the bodies that govern baseball at the high school and collegiate level to review the safety of aluminum and metal bats, which some say are more dangerous than their wooden counterparts. The March incident left Gunnar Sandberg, a 16-year-old pitcher for Marin Catholic High School, in a coma for weeks, and prompted the Marin County Athletic League to suspend the use of metal bats. ‘‘We are totally supportive of anything that will make the sport safer so others don’t have to live through what Gunnar and the family have had to go through,’’ Gunnar’s father, Bjorn Sandberg, said in a phone interview. The California bill, introduced by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, passed the Senate Education Com- mittee on a 5-1 vote and now moves to the full Senate for consideration. Bjorn Sandberg said Gunnar had been in a coma for weeks and was happy to be recovering at home. ‘‘He’s made really tremendous improvement,’’ Bjorn Sandberg said, adding that Gunnar will be returning to the hospital for rehabilitation therapy several hours every day. Gunnar’s family had planned to attend the bill hearing in Sacramento but changed their plan when they learned their son was coming home. At the legislative hearing, supporters of the moratorium said metal alloy and aluminum bats make baseballs travel faster and lead to more serious injuries, while opponents countered that wooden bats also are dangerous. ‘‘The hyper-performance of high tech metal baseball bats has gone too far,’’ Huffman told the committee. ‘‘It’s increas- ing the risk of serious injury and yes, death, for young peo- ple and we have to do something about it.’’ Metal bats already are banned in New York City and North Dakota, Huffman said. Opponents argued that non-wood bats are not that much more dangerous than wooden bats, and cited studies com- paring the two. ‘‘The difference between the two of them ... is actually very narrow,’’ said Rand Martin, representing Easton Bell Sports, a company that manufactures both wooden and metal bats. ‘‘The situation, as tragic as it was in Marin County, would have happened exactly the same way if that hitter had hit that ball off a wooden bat,’’ he said. Blaine Clemmens, a former scout for the Atlanta Braves, disagreed. ‘‘I’ve seen all types of metal and wood, and I can tell you that there is an extreme difference,’’ Clemmens said. It takes a lot more training for a player to successfully swing a wooden bat because it’s heavier and requires more extreme precision, he added. Opponents of the moratorium also argued that metal bats offer a way for less-skilled high school baseball players to engage successfully in the game. ‘‘I’m more concerned with the young man at the high school level having the opportunity to play the game,’’ said Guy Anderson, baseball coach for Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova. But most lawmakers were unmoved by that argument. ‘‘To some extent, this is essentially a bat on steroids,’’ said Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles. ‘‘If you have to give a steroid bat to a kid, if that’s the definition of success, then I don’t think we’ve been successful at defining success.’’ Most metal bats are aluminum, but some bats are made of a blend of metals or a composite of metals, resin and fibers. Huffman said that composite bats are particularly sus- ceptible to the ‘‘trampoline effect,’’ or extra bounce, that metal bats provide. He added that over time, the metals can loosen up and provide a larger trampoline effect. Romero referred to advertisements for metal baseball bats that called baseball ‘‘combat’’ and described the bat’s ability to deliver ‘‘the surge,’’ saying that the industry has been promoting the superior performance abilities of the bats. ‘‘At some point you have to ask, are they telling the truth when they sell the bats, or are they telling the truth when somebody gets hurt?’’ asked Huffman. ‘‘Both can’t be true.’’ Huffman added that the debate over metal bat safety has raged for more than a decade, and that each time a group has gotten close to banning metal bats, they were hit with a restraint of trade lawsuit. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has already banned some metal composite bats, and may ban others when it releases testing results in 2012. High schools gener- ally follow NCAA protocol. The two-year moratorium in the bill was timed to coincide with the release of those new stan- dards. Batters in the major leagues use wooden, not metal, bats.