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2B – Daily News – Monday, May 10, 2010 Giants blow lead again, but rally back to beat Mets 6-5 NEW YORK (AP) — After Brian Wilson watched Jason Bay’s shallow fly take a wild ride in the wind and end up falling in for a leadoff double in the ninth, he changed his approach. He focused on strikeouts. With trash swirling around him, Wilson struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the Giants’ 6-5 win Sunday that ended the New York Mets’ nine-game home winning streak in a game that lasted 3 hours, 45 minutes. ‘‘It’s not part of my job description to think about wind and garbage,’’ Wil- son said. ‘‘That drop made me focus a little bit more and get the job done.’’ Aaron Rowand hit a go-ahead, two- run homer into winds that gusted to 38 mph in the eighth inning after the Giants blew a two-run lead for Tim Lincecum, his third straight no deci- sion after leaving with the lead. San Francisco finished its East Coast trip 4-2, while New York — which won the first two of the series with game-ending homers — lost for the first time at Citi Field since April 21. ‘‘This would’ve been a tough one to take,’’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘But they bounced back and it made for a pretty good road trip.’’ Lincecum left after six innings with a 4-2 lead before the Giants fell apart in the seventh. Bay’s wind-aided two-run single off Dan Runzler tied it and David Wright gave New York its first lead with a sacrifice fly. Rowand homered to right-center after Jenrry Meija (0-2) issued the Mets’ 10th of 11 walks to retake the lead, and Wilson prevented the Mets from making it three last at-bat wins in a row. He got all five of his outs by strikeout for his seventh save. ‘‘That’s as hard as I can hit a ball that way,’’ Rowand said. ‘‘I honestly thought it was going to be caught.’’ Bay led off the ninth with another pop fly that the Giants fielders couldn’t catch — it hit off shortstop Juan Uribe’s glove. Wright then struck out for the fourth time and was ejected for contesting the call, and Ike Davis and Jeff Francoeur struck out to end it. Sergio Romo (1-3) got two outs for the win. The Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to another awful start by Oliver Perez, who walked a season-high seven and hit a batter in 3 1-3 innings. Uribe was hit by a pitch and walked four times, including once with the bases loaded in the fourth. Rowand also scored on a passed ball in the fourth inning. After a perfect first, Perez walked the leadoff batter in three straight innings. In the second, the Giants com- bined their two hits off Perez with the walk and a wild pitch to take a 2-0 lead. Matt Downs had an RBI single and Ryan Rohlinger, called up Friday for the injured Edgar Renteria, drove in a run with a groundout. Perez again loaded the bases in the third with two walks and hit backup Yoshida is like many girls her age. She has an affinity for torn blue jeans, loves music and giggles uncontrollably, sometimes for no reason at all. The 18-year-old Japanese teen also throws a pretty mean knuckleball, which she hopes to parlay into a professional baseball career. Yoshida was intro- duced on Friday as a member of the Chico Outlaws, a minor league team that plays in the independent Golden Baseball League. The press conference came less than two weeks after Yoshida graduated from high school and only a few hours after she landed in San Fran- cisco following a flight from Tokyo. ‘‘This is such a real opportunity for me to be here and to play for this team in America,’’ Yoshida said through an interpreter. ‘‘I will try the best I can and will work really hard as much as I can. I’d really like to show what I can do on the mound.’’ Yoshida already owns the distinction of being the first female to be drafted by a professional team in Japan, having been selected in the sev- enth round of the 2009 draft by the Kobe 9 Cruise. Now she’s ready to tackle America. Chico manager Garry catcher Eli Whiteside. But he left unscathed when Angel Pagan made a running catch of Downs’ drive to left- center for the third out. The half-inning took 17 minutes and Perez threw 35 pitches, 21 balls. ‘‘I am disappointed in myself,’’ Perez said. ‘‘I’ve got to be better than that. I know what I have to do.’’ Lincecum then had a 10-pitch, 1-2- 3 inning that lasted about as long as a trip to the hot dog stand. The fourth was much of the same. Perez walked the bases loaded while getting one out, a fielder’s choice by Lincecum. After walking Andres Tor- res for the second straight inning, Perez was lifted to lusty boos from the crowd of 35,641. Raul Valdez relieved and retired Pablo Sadoval, who snapped an 0-for- 15 skid Saturday, but walked Uribe to score a run. The Giants made it 4-0 on Rod Barajas’ passed ball. Perez, winless in seven starts since Aug. 18, gave up four runs — three earned. But manager Jerry Manuel said Perez will remain in the rotation. After scattering four singles through five innings, Lincecum gave up three hits in the sixth, including RBI singles to Davis and Francoeur to make it 4-2. The slight, two-time Cy Young win- ner came out for the seventh but was lifted for Runzler having thrown 116 pitches. He struck out eight NOTES: The Giants left 12 on base, the Mets 11. ... Giants C Bengie Moli- na was not in the starting lineup because of a tight left hamstring. He hopes to play the Giants’ next game, Tuesday against San Diego. Female Japanese knuckleballer lands in Chico CHICO (AP) — Eri Templeton and team president Mike Mar- shall, both former major leaguers, came across Yoshida while she was pitching in the Arizona Winter League recently. Yoshida pitched in 10 games for the Yuma Scorpions, going 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA. Already she’s become a national story in the United States. The Out- laws have received requests for Yoshida to appear on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and a combination of local and international media turned out Friday. Yoshida didn’t disap- point. She entered the room flashing a bright smile and wearing blue jeans with huge rips near the knee and on her left leg. She also had on a pair of red Nike hightop shoes, which matched perfectly with her new red Out- laws hat and white No. 3 jersey. ‘‘She wants to pursue her dream of playing in the major leagues, either in Japan or the United States,’’ Marshall said. ‘‘We thought (this) would be a great place for her to start. She real- ly is that driven.’’ What makes Yoshi- da’s story so unique — besides being an 18- year-old female trying to make it in a male-domi- nated sport — is that her primary pitch is a knuckleball. She taught herself to throw the pitch after watching videos of Boston’s Tim Wakefield, and quickly became comfortable with it. Yoshida met Wake- field when the Red Sox were in spring training this year. ‘‘That was a big sur- prise to me,’’ Yoshida said. ‘‘There are so many things I didn’t know about but he really showed me how to get a target when I throw the knuckleball. That was the best advice I got.’’ Yoshida is expected to pitch in an intrasquad game for Chico next week. The Outlaws will be in spring training for the next two weeks before opening the regu- lar season at Tijuana. Yoshida likely won’t pitch until the team returns home in late May. When she does, she’ll become the first female to play professionally in America since Ila Bor- ders in 1997. ‘‘I want to give her a chance to get her legs underneath her,’’ Tem- pleton said. ‘‘She brings a lot to the table. Either she did a lot of studying or she had a great men- tor growing up in Japan, because I saw her do some things in the AWL that I was kind of shocked. I didn’t think she knew that much about the game.’’ Yoshida will have a separate area to dress inside the Outlaws’ clubhouse, but other- wise will go through the same rigors of spring training as her new teammates. Templeton, who is in his first season with the Outlaws, said Yoshida has a chance to do well based on her work ethic. ‘‘It might be tough but I think she has a shot at,’’ Templeton said. ‘‘If a lady has a chance to make it, it probably will be a knuckleballer. A knuckleballer gets guys out. She also has two other pitches she throws pretty well, her fastball and her slider.’’ Yoshida grew up with an older brother playing baseball, and though softball is very popular in Japan, the then-sec- ond grader made up her mind to try baseball. She hasn’t looked back since. ‘‘I really want to go out and start playing,’’ Yoshida said. ‘‘The United States is the best as far as baseball and I still have to learn so much. I’m excited and ready for it.’’ Scoreboard MLB West Division Texas A’s American League WL Pct GB 18 14 .563 — 17 15 .531 1 Angels 14 19 .424 4.5 Seattle 12 19 .387 5.5 East Division WL Pct GB New York 21 8 .724 — Tampa Bay 22 9 .710 — Toronto 19 14 .576 4 Boston 15 16 .484 7 Baltimore 9 23 .281 13.5 Central Division Minnesota 21 11 .656 — Detroit WL Pct GB 17 14 .548 3.5 Chicago 13 19 .406 8 Cleveland 11 18 .379 8.5 Kansas City 11 21 .344 10 ——— Saturday’s results Oakland 4,Tampa Bay 2 Baltimore 7, Minnesota 3, 1st game Minnesota 6, Baltimore 1, 2nd game Chicago 7, Toronto 3 Detroit 6, Cleveland 4 Los Angeles 4, Seattle 3, 10 innings New York 14, Boston 3 Texas 3, Kansas City 2 Sunday’s results Oakland 4,Tampa Bay 0 Cleveland 7, Detroit 4 Minnesota 6, Baltimore 0 Seattle 8, Los Angeles 1 Texas 6, Kansas City 4 Toronto 9, Chicago 7 New York at Boston, late Today’s games New York (Mitre 0-0) at Detroit (Willis 1-1), 4:05 p.m., ESPN Toronto (Morrow 2-2) at Boston (Lackey 3-1), 4:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Garza 5-1) at West Division Los Angeles (Pineiro 2-4), 7:05 p.m. National League WL Pct GB Padres 19 12 .613 — GIANTS 18 12 .600 .5 Colorado 15 16 .484 4 Dodgers 14 17 .452 5 Arizona 14 18 .438 5.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 19 12 .613 — New York 17 14 .548 2 Washington 17 14 .548 2 Florida 14 17 .452 5 Atlanta 13 18 .419 6 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 20 12 .625 — Cincinnati 16 15 .516 3.5 Milwaukee 15 16 .484 4.5 Pittsburgh 14 17 .452 5.5 Chicago 14 18 .438 6 Houston 10 21 .323 9.5 ——— Saturday’s results New York 5, San Francisco 4, 11 innings Atlanta 4, Philadelphia 1 Cincinnati 14, Chicago 2 Colorado 8, Los Angeles 0 Milwaukee 17, Arizona 3 Pittsburgh 2, St. Louis 0 San Diego 2, Houston 1 Washington 5, Florida 4 Best-of-7 Saturday’s results Orlando 105, Atlanta 75 Orlando leads series 3-0 L.A. Lakers 111, Utah 110 L.A. Lakers leads series 3-0 Sunday’s results Boston 97, Cleveland 87 Series tied 2-2 Phoenix at San Antonio, late Phoenix leads series 3-0 Today’s games Sunday’s results San Francisco 6, New York 5 Cincinnati 5, Chicago 3 Houston 4, San Diego 3, 11 innings Los Angeles 2, Colorado 0 Milwaukee 6, Arizona 1 Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 3 St. Louis 11, Pittsburgh 4 Washington 3, Florida 2 Today’s games Cincinnati (Arroyo 1-2) at Pittsburgh (Ohlendorf 0-0), 4:05 p.m. Washington (Atilano 2-0) at New York (Maine 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Florida (N.Robertson 2-3) at Chicago (Lilly 1-2), 5:05 p.m. Atlanta (Hanson 2-2) at Milwaukee (D.Davis 1-3), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 1-1) at Colorado (G.Smith 1-2), 5:40 p.m. Los Angeles (Billingsley 2-2) at Arizona (R.Lopez 1-1), 6:40 p.m. NBA Conference Semifinals Orlando at Atlanta, 5 p.m., TNT Orlando leads series 3-0 L.A. Lakers at Utah, 7:30 p.m., TNT L.A. Lakers lead series 3-0 NHL Conference Semifinals Best-of-7 Saturday’s results San Jose 2, Detroit 1 San Jose wins series 4-1 Pittsburgh 2, Montreal 1 Pittsburgh leads series 3-2 Sunday’s results Vancouver at Chicago, late Chicago leads series 3-1 Today’s games Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m. Boston leads series 3-1 Pittsburgh at Montreal, 4 p.m., VERSUS Pittsburgh leads series 3-2 MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Galaxy 7 0 1 22 15 2 Houston 4 3 1 13 11 7 QUAKES 42 0 12 11 7 Colorado 3 3 1 10 8 7 Salt Lake 3 3 1 10 12 8 FC Dallas 2 1 4 10 9 8 Chivas USA 3 4 1 10 10 11 Seattle 2 3 3 9 8 12 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 5 2 0 15 8 8 Columbus 3 0 2 11 9 5 Toronto FC 3 4 0 9 11 13 Chicago 2 3 2 8 9 10 Kansas City 2 3 1 7 6 6 New England 2 5 1 7 10 14 Philadelphia 1 5 0 3 6 14 D.C. 1 6 0 3 4 15 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Saturday’s results San Jose 4, New York 0 Columbus 3, New England 2 FC Dallas 1, D.C. United 0 Houston 2, Chivas USA 0 Los Angeles 4, Seattle FC 0 Real Salt Lake 3, Philadelphia 0 Toronto FC 4, Chicago 1 PGA Players Championship At TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Purse: $9.5 million Yardage: 7,215;Par: 72 Final Leaderboard Tim Clark 68-71-66-67 — 272 Robert Allenby 66-70-67-70 — 273 Lucas Glover 70-65-69-70 — 274 Davis Love III 69-68-71-68 — 276 Heath Slocum 67-66-72-71 — 276 Bo Van Pelt Ben Crane DEALS Major League Baseball American League LOS ANGELES—Placed INF Maicer Izturis on 15-day DL. Recalled INF Kevin Frandsen from Salt Lake (PCL). NEW YORK—Placed 1B Nick Johnson on the 15-day DL. Recalled INF Kevin Russo from Scranton-Wilkes Barre (IL). SEATTLE—Fired hitting coach Alan Cockrell. Named Alonzo Powell hitting coach. National League ARIZONA—Activated OF Conor Jackson from the 15-day DL. Optioned OF Gerardo Parra to Reno (PCL). CHICAGO—Activated RHP Esmailin Cari- dad from the 15-day DL. Optioned RHP Jeff Gray to Iowa (PCL). FLORIDA—Optioned LHP Hunter Jones to New Orleans (PCL). HOUSTON—Activated INF Chris Johnson from the 15-day DL and optioned him to Round Rock (PCL). LOS ANGELES—Activated OF Manny Ramirez from the 15-day DL. Optioned OF Xavier Paul to Albuquerque (PCL). PHILADELPHIA—Placed C Brian Schnei- der on the 15-day DL.Selected the contract of C Paul Hoover from Lehigh Valley (IL).Trans- ferred RHP Ryan Madson to the 60-day DL. WASHINGTON—Recalled LHP Matt Chico from Harrisburg (EL).Selected the contract of LHP Doug Slaten from Syracuse (IL). Desig- nated LHP Matt Chico for assignment. 68-69-69-70 — 276 67-69-68-72 — 276 Lee Westwood 67-65-70-74 — 276 Francesco Molinari68-65-71-73— 277 College BYU—Announced junior G Jimmer Fredette has withdrawn from the NBA draft. FLORIDA—Announced junior F Alex Tyus has withdrawn from the NBA draft. PURDUE—Announced junior G E’Twaun Moore and junior C JaJuan Johnson have withdrawn from the NBA draft. Tim Clark wins The Players Championship PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tim Clark no longer has to hear about being the best player to have never won on the PGA Tour. He settled that Sunday by beating the best field in golf. Clark played the final 26 holes without a bogey and made an 8-foot par on the final hole for a 5-under 67 to win The Players Championship with a record 36-hole come- back at TPC Sawgrass. ‘‘I did all I could there,’’ said Clark, a 34-year-old South African. ‘‘That’s as good as I could have played.’’ He needed every shot on a course with greens that were crisp, firm and pale yellow. The average score was nearly three shots higher than it was for the previous three rounds. Clark, seven shots behind going into the weekend, made four straight birdies around the turn to take the lead, and no one could catch him. Robert Allenby had the best chance, but an 18-foot eagle putt on the 16th and a 12-foot birdie try on the island-green 17th came within a fraction of an inch from going in. Clark became only the second player to make The Play- ers Championship his first PGA Tour victory. He had gone more than eight years and 204 tournament with nothing more to show than eight runner-up finishes. Tiger Woods managed to create a buzz without even being there most of the day. He withdrew on the seventh hole because of a neck injury that he fears might be from a bulging disk. Woods said his neck has been bothering him since before the Masters. ‘‘I’ve been playing through it,’’ Woods said. ‘‘I can’t play through it anymore.’’ Phil Mickelson could have moved to No. 1 in the world with a victory, but the Masters champion never gave him- self a good chance. He made bogey on three of his open- ing six holes, closed with a 74 and tied for 17th. Clark won for the fourth time worldwide, yet this was his finest performance. The Players Championship not only is the richest tournament in golf with a $9.5 million purse, it features the strongest and deepest field all year. Clark won with a 66-67 weekend in which he made only one bogey — the 10th hole on Saturday. It was the best weekend on the treacherous Stadium Course since Fred Couples shot 132 to win in 1996. The 36-hole come- back topped the record of six that Woods set when he won in 2001. Clark finished at 16-under 272 and earned $1.71 mil- lion. Allenby, winless on the PGA Tour since 2001, closed with a 70 to finish a stroke back. He needed a birdie on the final hole to force a playoff, but missed the green to the right and his 50-foot birdie attempt never had a chance to go in. He earned $1,026,000 as a consolation prize for his second runner-up finish this year. U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover shot 31 on the back, including a 50-foot birdie on the 17th, and wound up third at 14-under 274. Lee Westwood of England had the 54-hole lead, just as he did at the Masters last month, and couldn’t hold on. He made one clutch par after another, including a 50-footer on the 15th hole to stay in the game, but his hopes ended with a tee shot into the water on the 17th to make double bogey. ‘‘I just didn’t play well enough today,’’ Westwood said. Westwood shot 39 on the back and fell into a tie for fourth with Davis Love III, whose 68 was one of only two rounds in the 60s. The other belonged to Clark, and it was a beauty. Clark was three shots behind until knocking in an 18- foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth, and taking that momen- tum to the back nine. First came a 6-foot birdie on the 10th, then a tough shot out of the back bunker to 5 feet for birdie on the par-5 11th. He made it four straight birdies with an 18-foot birdie on the 12th to take the lead. Then came a series of pars, none bigger than the 8-foot putt on the final hole while holding a two-shot lead over Allenby and Westwood, who were three holes behind him on the course. Clark gritted his teeth and slammed his fist in celebra- tion, a familiar seen at The Players Championship. It was the same kind of putt that Adam Scott made to win in 2004, Fred Funk a year later, and Sergio Garcia in 2008 to force a playoff. Considering it was his first victory on the PGA Tour, it was all the more meaningful for Clark. ‘‘You wouldn’t find one guy in the locker room that wouldn’t say he was going to win soon, and he deserves it,’’ Glover said. For the first time in his career, Woods went consecutive weeks without making official money. After missing the cut by eight shots last week at Quail Hollow for only the sixth time in his career, Woods was 10 shots behind and already 2 over for the round when he stopped. He summoned an official for a cart and was whisked away, spending nearly 40 minutes in the physical therapy trailer. Woods spoke briefly in front of his locker, saying he was not sure how the injury occurred but that he would have an MRI this week. He did not know when he would return.