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Wednesday Stanley Cup Finals — Blackhawks at Flyers, 5 p.m., VERSUS French Open — Men’s quaterfinals, 9 a.m., ESPN2 MLB — Diamondbacks at Dodgers, Noon, MLBN MLB — Athletics at Red Sox, 4 p.m., CSNC MLB — Reds at Cardinals, 5 p.m., ESPN MLB — Rockies at Giants, 7 p.m., CSNB Sports 1B Wednesday June 2, 2010 Athletics blow 4-run lead BOSTON (AP) — Vic- tor Martinez had five hits, including a career-high four doubles — one of them to break a sixth- inning tie after Oakland walked the bases loaded — and the Boston Red Sox rallied from a four- run deficit to beat the Athletics 9-4 on Tuesday night. John Lackey (6-3) spotted the A’s a 4-0 lead before Adrian Bel- tre hit a three-run homer in the fifth. In the sixth, Bill Hall reached on a leadoff walk and then Darnell McDonald and Marco Scutaro both tried to sacri- fice bunt but wound up walking as well. Hall scored to tie it on Dustin Pedroia’s double-play grounder, then Martinez’s line drive one- hopped into the stands to make it 5-4. Hall added an RBI triple in the seventh, and Martinez also hit an RBI double and scored in the eighth, when the Red Sox added three more runs to take a 9-4 lead. Lackey strug- gled through six innings, giving up four runs on 12 hits and four walks while striking out two as the Red Sox won their third straight and for the eighth time in their last 10 games. Tyson Ross (1-4) inherited a 4- 3 lad when he relieved Gio Gon- zalez at the start of the sixth and walked both batters he faced before Craig Breslow came in to face Scutaro. Gabe Gross had three hits for the A’s, who had won five of their previous six games. Pedroia doubled in the eighth to snap an 0-for-17 slump, then scored on Martinez’s fourth dou- ble of the game. Kevin Youkils and J.D. Drew added RBI singles to make it 9-4. Daric Barton hit a two-run homer for Oakland in the third. The A’s made it 4-0 when Ryan Sweeney doubled and scored on Jack Cust’s single, then Cust scored on Mark Ellis’ bloop dou- ble to right. But the Red Sox got back in the game in the fifth on one swing from Beltre, who had three hits. After Martinez doubled off the Green Monster and Youkilis sin- gled off third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff’s glove, Beltre smacked the ball so hard off the Monster Seats that it bounced much of the way back toward the infield. Gonzalez got Drew on a meek check-swing bouncer back to the mound to end the inning. Tehama well represented at June 5-6 all-star games Some of Tehama County’s finest graduating high school baseball and softball players will take part in all- star games in Chico, Saturday and Sunday. The Chico Breakfast Lions high school all-star soft- ball game will take place at 6 p.m., Saturday at the Hook- er Oak Recreation Area softball diamond. An all-star baseball game will be held 12:05 p.m., Sunday at Doryland Field in the same recreation com- plex. In the softball game the North team will be coached by Red Bluff’s J Howell and will feature Lady Spartan Jeri Purcell as well as Mercy High School’s Benicia Grace. The North team is made up of players from Red Bluff to the Oregon border, while the South team is made up of players south of Red Bluff to the Yuba City- Marysville area. The Bob Busch Classic baseball game will feature Red Bluff’s Scott Avery, Derek Jones and Cody Gappa and Mercy’s Scott Farmer on the North team and Los Molinos’ J.C. Conrad and Corning’s Daniel Mahutga on the South team. Red Bluff coach Joe Gallaty will assist will the North team. Each game will be nine innings long. Berrendos Matadors continue track excellence The 2010 Berrendos Matador track team fueled another competitive group of athletes. For the fifth consecutive season the Matadors captured the Shasta Valley League track championship.The boys and girls teams also earned first place honors at the Vista Invitational track meet. Federer stunned by Soderling at French Open PARIS (AP) — His French Open reign suddenly over, his record streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals done, too, Roger Federer paused briefly as he trudged off court at dusk, acknowledging the fans' applause with a polite smile and a quick wave. He's certainly not used to bidding adieu so soon. Bothered by the pouring rain and his big-hitting foe, the top- seeded Federer wasted a lead and plenty of openings Tuesday, succumbing to No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. If Soderling's name sounds familiar, it's because he stunned four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the French Open's fourth round last year, before losing to Federer in the final. For the first time in six years, the men's semifinals at a major tennis tournament will not involve 16-time Grand Slam champion Federer. "They all come to an end at some stage. You hope they don't happen, but they do. It was a great run," Federer said, before injecting a little humor by adding with a wry smile: "Now I've got the quarterfinal streak going, I guess." Look at it this way: Federer had won 117 matches in a row — 117! — in the first five rounds at majors, dating to a loss to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round at the French Open on May 29, 2004 (Federer advanced twice when opponents withdrew). "I mean, I respect everyone, but I'm always — how do you say? — I'm honest enough to myself that I know I can win them all," said Federer, who would cede his No. 1 ranking if Nadal wins the title. Among the many reasons why Tuesday's result was so unexpected is that Federer was 12-0 against Soderling, having won 28 of the 30 sets they'd played. So who, exactly, would have thought Soderling could win three sets in a single day? Well, Soderling, for one. "Even though I lost so many times, I always have a chance to win," said the 25-year-old Soderling, who'd never been past the third round at a Grand Slam tournament until last year's French Open. "I always believe that I can win. This is a big win, but it's not the final. Still have at least one more match to play, and I don't want to celebrate too much." That next match will be in Friday's semifinals against No. 15 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Still, Soderling has every right to relish what he's already accomplished: He is the first man to beat the French Open defending champion in consecutive years since another Swede, Mats Wilander, did it in 1984-85. Nadal, remember, was 31-0 in the French Open until losing to Soderling. "He's obviously not afraid of the big moment — or afraid of the big guys," Wilander said about his countryman. "He's not intimidated." Most are against Federer. Starting at Wimbledon in 2004, one tournament after that loss to Kuerten, Federer had been to the semifinals at every Grand Slam event, a run of 23; the sec- ond-longest such streak was 10, by Ivan Lendl and Rod Laver. Federer also had reached the final at 18 of the last 19 majors. Plus, while Federer might only have one French Open title — he completed his career Grand Slam in Paris in 2009 — that's thanks to his problems against Nadal. Dating to the start of the 2005 tournament, Federer was 0-4 against his nemesis at Roland Garros, 34-0 against everyone else. Until Tuesday, that is. Until Soderling got in the way, putting every last bit of his 6-foot-4, 192-pound frame into powerful forehands that were like thunderclaps, loud and frightening. Driving the ball deeply with shot after shot, Soderling rarely allowed Feder- er to step into the court, either to cut off angles or to rush forward for volleys. Federer made only 17 trips to the net, 13 fewer than Soderling. And then there were those Soderling serves, lashed from on high, cutting through the thick air at 130 mph or more, contributing 14 aces and some key service winners, while set- ting up countless other success- ful points. Federer gave Soderling cred- it for playing well, but also said he thought the damp conditions favored the underdog's style. "He was able to hit consis- tently through the ball on the offensive and put them close to the lines," Federer said, "and that's something that was impressive." He also knew full well that if he'd played a little better him- self, he'd be preparing for anoth- er semifinal. Instead, it will be Soderling vs. Berdych, who advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal by beating No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. In Wednesday's men's quarterfi- nals, Nadal meets No. 19 Nico- las Almagro of Spain, and No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia faces No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Aus- tria. In Tuesday's women's quar- terfinals, No. 17 Francesca Schiavone gave Italy its first female semifinalist at the French Open since 1954 by knocking off No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3, 6-2. Schiavone now plays No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who defeat- ed No. 19 Nadia Petrova 2-6, 6- 2, 6-0 in an all-Russian quarter- final. But Federer-Soderling ren- dered anything else going on around the grounds Tuesday a mere afterthought. See FRENCH, page 2B