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2B Daily News – Tuesday, May 7, 2013 Parker hammered as A's battered 7-3 by Indians CLEVELAND (AP) — Jarrod Parker's neck was already sore before the game. Then the Indians twisted it a little. Parker gave up four solo homers, two to Asdrubal Cabrera and a 460-foot shot by Mark Reynolds that nearly cleared the leftfield bleachers, to help Cleveland pound the Oakland Athletics 7-3 on Monday night for its seventh win in eight games. Parker (1-5) was in trouble right away, giving up back-to-back homers in the first inning to Jason Kipnis and Cabrera. Then, in the fifth, he allowed Cabrera's second homer and the monster shot to Reynolds, who wanted payback after he was drilled by the right-hander in the first. Following the game, Parker said his neck has been issue. ''It's something that's been bothering me for a little bit,'' he said. ''Obviously, those are pitches up in the zone. They're semiuncharacteristic. I don't think, if I'm feeling 100 percent, they would be in that location.'' Parker has now given up eight homers in 34 1-3 innings. Last season, he allowed just 11 in 181 1-3 innings. ''It's not like him,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''He's a guy you don't expect to get hit. Sometimes he's a little bit wild, but I would say the amount of home runs he's given up is not him. He's had a couple of good starts. He's had some bad starts. He hasn't got to where he's consistent yet. A lot of that can be confidence, too.'' Cleveland's four homers off Parker backed Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2), who had his second straight solid outing. Jimenez struck out a season-high eight in 5 2-3 innings. Jason Giambi hit a clutch, two-run single and Ryan Raburn doubled home a run in the seventh for the Indians, who had their sixgame winning streak stopped Sunday. Yoenis Cespedes homered and hit a sacrifice fly for the A's, who had won eight in a row over the Indians but fell behind early and dropped to 6-11 after a 12-4 start. Parker's hoping his neck improves, but realizes he may need to take some time off. ''We'll see how it feels and go from there,'' he said. ''If need be, it's early, and it's something we don't want to continue and snowball and build into something worse. It's not something I want to keep dealing with.'' Jimenez pitched seven shutout innings in his previous start last week at Kansas City. It was the type of performance the Indians have been waiting to see from the right-hander, who has been a major disappointment since coming over in a 2011 trade from Colorado. Jimenez slowed down the A's, who came in leading the majors in runs, doubles and extra-base hits. Jimenez allowed two runs and four hits. Cleveland clouted the four solo shots — they lead the AL with 44 homers — totaling 1,581 feet off Parker. The Indians gave Jimenez a quick 2-0 lead, jumping on Parker in their first at-bat as Kipnis and Cabrera hit their back-to-back homers. Kipnis hit his third homer into the leftfield seats, and Cabrera followed with a rocket that skipped off the roof of Cleveland's bullpen in center. One out later, Parker drilled Reynolds and plate umpire Angel Hernandez warned both benches before things escalated. Jimenez didn't need to buzz any Oakland hitters. He was too busy blowing fastballs past them. He recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in the third, when he fanned the side. Cespedes connected in the fourth for his sixth homer to bring the A's within 2-1. Jimenez, who has had a tendency to unravel at the first sign of trouble, settled down and struck out three in a row and carried a tenuous one-run lead into the bottom of the fifth. That's when Cabrera and Reynolds teed off on Parker. Cabrera led off with his second homer of the night, a high fly that looked like a routine out but carried over the right-field fence. One out later, Reynolds delivered his nodoubt-about-it blast that landed three rows from the top of the left-field bleachers. AP photo Oakland Athletics' Derek Norris reacts after striking out Monday night. Reynolds' long homer caused several Indians players to lean over the dugout railing and point to where they thought the ball touched down. ''I have no history with the guy at all,'' said Reynolds, who was in Arizona's organization at the same time as Parker. ''I was on a mission right there to hit a ball as far as I could. That's kind of payback for hitting me.'' Reynolds' 10th homer this season nearly cleared the left-field bleachers, slamming into the aluminum bleachers not far from where longtime drummer John Adams pounds away on his big bass drum. The shot was reminiscent of the one Mark McGwire hit in 1997, a blast that caromed off the leftfield scoreboard. ''Unbelievable,'' Indians designated hitter Jason Giambi said of Reynolds' blast. ''I was here for the McGwire one, and this one was just as majestic.'' The A's pulled within 4-2 in the sixth on Sharks look to close out Canucks with sweep SAN JOSE (AP) — San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan sees no need to remind his team of the precariousness of a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Sharks nearly squandered that advantage the last time they held it, needing the full seven games to eliminate Detroit in the second round two years ago. With many of the same core players still around, McLellan is content to let past experience serve as the teaching tool heading into Game 4 of the series on Tuesday night at the Shark Tank. ''We just left it alone,'' McLellan said. ''Our group is mature enough. They should know what's coming, what to expect and how to respond.'' Given the comments coming out of the dressing room on Monday, it's clear McLellan is correct. Players echoed the mantra that the fourth win in a series is always the hardest and insisted nothing had been won yet despite a decisive 52 win in Game 3 that followed two narrow victories in Vancouver. ''I was here when we went through that and we let a team back into a series,'' center Logan Couture said. ''Obviously it went seven games. We were fortunate to win it. We let them back in. That's something we don't want to do. We want to put them away in Game 4.'' There's one big difference from that series two years ago when the Sharks eked out three straight one- goal wins to build their cushion over the Red Wings. Their edge over the Canucks so far has been more convincing, especially in the 5-2 thrashing on Sunday. The power play clicked to tie a franchise record with three goals, the defense kept pressure off goaltender Antti Niemi and the Sharks showed discipline to stay out of the penalty box even when the game got testy. The Canucks feel there is another factor: embellishment. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa singled out Couture and Sharks captain Joe Thornton for exaggerating contact to draw penalties. Bieksa said Couture flails every time he is touched and blamed Thornton for taking off his glove and shaking his wrist to draw a slashing penalty on Dan Hamhuis that led to a 5-on-3 goal that opened the scoring Sunday. ''Those are two Canadian guys that are supposed to be playing the game with integrity,'' Bieksa said. ''Maybe our team has to do more of that. Maybe we have to sell calls.'' The Canucks have earned quite a reputation for embellishment themselves over the years with Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows considered two of the main violators. In fact, Kesler crumbled to the ice grabbing his throat after taking a high stick from Patrick Marleau on the helmet strap Sunday. Kesler quickly recovered and stayed in the game for the ensuing power play. NBA PLAYOFFS MLS Conference Semifinals WESTERN CONFERENCE FC Dallas Portland Galaxy Salt Lake Colorado Chivas USA QUAKES Vancouver Seattle W 6 3 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 L 1 1 2 4 4 4 3 4 3 T 2 5 2 2 3 2 5 3 3 Pts 20 14 14 14 12 11 11 9 6 GF 15 14 12 9 8 12 10 9 5 GA 9 11 5 9 9 15 13 13 7 EASTERN CONFERENCE New York Kansas City Houston Montreal Columbus Philadelphia N. England Toronto FC Chicago D.C. W 5 5 5 5 3 3 2 1 2 1 L 4 3 2 1 3 3 3 4 5 6 T 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 1 1 Pts 17 17 17 17 12 12 9 7 7 4 GF 16 14 13 11 12 12 4 10 6 4 GA 13 8 9 7 8 14 6 13 14 13 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Wednesday's games Toronto FC at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Houston at D.C. United, 4 p.m. Montreal at New York, 4:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at New England, 5 p.m. Seattle FC at Sporting Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Portland at FC Dallas, 6 p.m. Monday's results Golden State at San Antonio,late Series tied 0-0 Chicago 93, Miami 86 Chicago leads series 1-0 Today's games Indiana at New York, 4 p.m. Indiana leads series 1-0 Memphis at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. Oklahoma City leads series 1-0 NHL PLAYOFFS Conference 1st Round Monday's results Boston 5, Toronto 2 Boston leads series 2-1 Detroit 3, Anaheim 2, OT Series tied 2-2 N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 3 Washington leads series 2-1 St. Louis at Los Angeles, late St. Louis leads series 2-1 Today's games Vancouver at San Jose, 7 p.m. San Jose leads series 3-0 Montreal at Ottawa, 4 p.m. Ottawa leads series 2-1 Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh leads series 2-1 Chicago at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. Chicago leads series 2-1 The Sharks had eight power plays in Game 3, while Vancouver got only two chances with the man advantage. ''That's always something we talk about especially when they have a potent power play like they have,'' Marleau said. ''At playoff time you have to try to stay disciplined and not let your emotions get the better of you sometimes after the whistle with pushing and shoving.'' The talk of diving may have been a tactic to divert the conversation from Vancouver's brutal recent playoff past. After beating the Sharks in the Western Conference finals and taking a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup finals over Boston two years ago, the Canucks have been downright abysmal in the postseason. Vancouver has lost nine of its past 10 playoff games, having also fallen behind 30 in the opening round a year ago to Los Angeles before being eliminated in five games. The Canucks have 15 goals in that span as a normally potent offense led by the Sedin twins has disappeared of late in the postseason. ''There's some good chances there 5-on-5,'' GOLF World Golf Ranking 1. Tiger Woods 2. Rory McIlroy 3. Adam Scott 4. Justin Rose 5. Luke Donald 6. Brandt Snedeker 7. Louis Oosthuizen 8. Graeme McDowell 9. Steve Stricker 10. Phil Mickelson 11. Matt Kuchar 12. Lee Westwood 13. Ian Poulter 14. Keegan Bradley 15. Sergio Garcia 16. Charl Schwartzel 17. Bubba Watson 18. Webb Simpson 19. Dustin Johnson 20. Jason Dufner USA NIR AUS ENG ENG USA SAF NIR USA USA USA ENG ENG USA ESP SAF USA USA USA USA 11.79 10.41 7.81 6.67 6.46 6.33 5.75 5.43 5.34 5.32 5.28 5.12 4.90 4.85 4.78 4.72 4.65 4.64 4.49 4.39 TENNIS ATP Money Leaders 1. Novak Djokovic 2. Rafael Nadal 3. Andy Murray 4. David Ferrer 5. Juan Martin del Potro 6. Tomas Berdych 7. Richard Gasquet 8. Roger Federer 9. Nicolas Almagro 10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga $3,922,367 $2,250,664 $2,233,078 $1,308,211 $1,151,274 $917,974 $771,083 $764,406 $760,896 $728,449 WTA Money Leaders 1. Victoria Azarenka $3,007,651 2. Maria Sharapova $2,087,092 3. Li Na $1,524,329 4. Serena Williams $1,506,363 5. Sara Errani $1,028,309 6. Caroline Wozniacki $870,558 7. Roberta Vinci $782,028 8. Agnieszka Radwanska $776,889 9. Petra Kvitova $748,175 10. Sloane Stephens $628,544 coach Alain Vigneault said. ''So far we haven't been able to put the puck in the net. I have to believe that for one game we can do it.'' The other big question for the Canucks comes in goal where former starter Roberto Luongo played well the first two games in place of the injured Cory Schneider before Vigneault made a switch from Game 3. Schneider allowed five goals on 28 shots and was replaced after giving up three in the opening 4:07 of the third period. Luongo stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief and has a .915 save percentage in this series. Vigneault said he has made a decision about his starter for Tuesday, but won't announce it until after he tells the players. The focus now is on figuring out how to beat the Sharks four straight times after losing the first six meetings between the teams this season. ''I believe we can win one game,'' Vigneault said. ''We haven't beaten the Sharks once this year. I believe we can do it tomorrow." NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Carl Edwards 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4. Clint Bowyer 5. Brad Keselowski 6. Kasey Kahne 7. Aric Almirola 8. Paul Menard 9. Kyle Busch 10. Greg Biffle 11. Matt Kenseth 12. Kevin Harvick 13. Martin Truex Jr. 14. Jeff Gordon 15. Jamie McMurray 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17. Ryan Newman 18. Joey Logano 19. Jeff Burton 20. Kurt Busch 21. Marcos Ambrose 22. Tony Stewart 23. Mark Martin 24. Casey Mears 25. Juan Pablo Montoya 26. David Ragan 27. Danica Patrick 28. Bobby Labonte 29. David Gilliland 30. Dave Blaney 31. Denny Hamlin 32. J.J. Yeley 33. David Stremme 34. David Reutimann 35. A J Allmendinger 36. Landon Cassill 37. Travis Kvapil 38. Scott Speed 39. Michael McDowell 40. Michael Waltrip 41. Terry Labonte 42. Timmy Hill 43. Ken Schrader 44. Scott Riggs 45. Brian Keselowski 383 342 324 316 314 299 293 290 285 280 279 276 269 269 267 256 242 237 235 231 225 224 207 203 202 192 180 177 173 173 155 148 146 141 122 116 106 71 70 63 52 34 29 6 4 Upcoming Schedule May 11 — Bojangles' Southern 500, Darlington, S.C. May 18 — x-NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Concord, N.C. May 18 — x-Sprint Showdown, Concord, N.C. May 26 — Coca-Cola 600, Concord, N.C. x- non-points race Cespedes' sacrifice fly and loaded the bases with two outs before manager Terry Francona pulled Jimenez for Nick Hagadone. The left-hander, recalled before the game when Vinnie Pestano went on the 15-day disabled list, struck out Josh Reddick on three pitches. After looking at strike three, a disgusted Reddick flipped the bat behind his head and was shooed into the dugout by Hernandez, who probably had every right to toss him. NOTES: The A's are 13-3 against the AL West and 5-12 against everyone else. ... Oakland LHP Brett Anderson, on the DL with a sprained ankle, could rejoin the team in the next few days to throw a bullpen session if he continues to progress. ... A's OF Seth Smith is in a 3-for-18 slump and has been battling tonsillitis. Melvin praised Smith for playing sick. ''I was just trying not to shake his hand, I didn't want to get it,'' Melvin joked. ''He's a tough guy.'' 49ers bring back Adam Snyder SANTA CLARA (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have signed guard Adam Snyder to a two-year contract, bringing him back to the franchise after a year with the Arizona Cardinals. The NFC champion Niners already have a steady offensive line intact to protect quarterback Colin Kaepernick, so Snyder might be fighting for playing time in his return. Arizona released the 31-year-old Snyder last Monday after taking two players at his position in the draft. He started 14 games for Arizona last season. Also Monday, San Francisco hired former NFL wide receiver Ronald Curry as an offensive assistant coach. He played for the Oakland Raiders. with 117 points. Winters was second with 109 points and the Lady Cardinals placed third with 63 points. Corning's Caitlin McCoy had a tremendous day capturing first place in the 100meter hurdles (17.05), 300meter hurdles (49.81) and long jump (16'3"). Red Bluff's Lily Brose won the 100 meters in 12.91 seconds. Catherine Reineman, Brose, Joanna Smith-Conrad and Adrienne Hinkston won the 4x100 relay for the Lady Spartans with a time of 51 seconds flat. Brose, Reineman, SmithConrad and Hinkston also won the 4x400 with a time of 4:10.15. Reineman won the high jump at 4 feet, 6 inches. Red Bluff's Shelby Thomas was second at 4 feet, 4 inches. Corning's Morgan Parker was first in the discus at 108 feet, 5 inches, with Red Bluff's Kayla Thayer taking second at 106 feet, 5 inches. Thayer was second in the shot put (36'2.5") and Parker third (34'1.5"). Hinkston had a second place finish in the 200 (26.66) and 400 meters (58.32). Smith-Conrad was third in the 200 meters (27.96). MLB MLB TRACK (Continued from page 1B) American League National League West Division W L Pct GB Texas 20 12 .625 — A's 18 15 .545 2.5 Seattle 15 18 .455 5.5 Angels 11 20 .355 8.5 Houston 8 24 .250 12 East Division W L Pct GB Boston 21 11 .656 — New York 18 12 .600 2 Baltimore 19 13 .594 2 Tampa Bay 14 17 .452 6.5 Toronto 12 21 .364 9.5 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 19 11 .633 — Kansas City 17 11 .607 1 Cleveland 15 14 .517 3.5 Minnesota 13 15 .464 5 Chicago 13 17 .433 6 —————————————————— Monday's results Cleveland 7, Oakland 3 Boston 6, Minnesota 5, 11 innings Chicago Cubs 9, Texas 2 Chi. White Sox 2, Kansas City 1, 11 innings Toronto 8, Tampa Bay 7 West Division W L Pct GB GIANTS 19 12 .613 — Colorado 18 13 .581 1 Arizona 16 15 .516 3 Dodgers 13 17 .433 5.5 Padres 13 18 .419 6 East Division W L Pct GB Atlanta 19 12 .613 — Washington 17 15 .531 2.5 Philadelphia14 18 .438 5.5 New York 12 16 .429 5.5 Miami 10 22 .313 9.5 Central Division W L Pct GB St. Louis 20 11 .645 — Pittsburgh 17 14 .548 3 Cincinnati 18 15 .545 3 Milwaukee 14 16 .467 5.5 Chicago 12 20 .375 8.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Philadelphia at San Francisco, late Atlanta 7, Cincinnati 4 Chicago Cubs 9, Texas 2 Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, late Miami at San Diego, late Today's games Oakland (Milone 3-3) at Cleveland (McAllister 2-3), 4:05 p.m. Detroit (Ani.Sanchez 3-2) at Washington (Zimmermann 5-1), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (E.Santana 3-1) at Baltimore (W.Chen 2-3), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (Harang 1-3) at Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 2-2), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (H.Santiago 1-1) at N.Y. Mets (Harvey 4-0), 4:10 p.m. Minnesota (Diamond 2-2) at Boston (Dempster 2-2), 4:10 p.m. Toronto (Happ 2-2) at Tampa Bay (Ro.Hernandez 1-4), 4:10 p.m. L.A. Angels (C.Wilson 3-0) at Houston (Lyles 0-0), 5:10 p.m. Texas (Grimm 2-1) at Milwaukee (W.Peralta 2-2), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 4-1) at Colorado (J.De La Rosa 2-3), 5:40 p.m. Today's games Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 3-1) at San Fran. (Lincecum 2-1), 7:15 p.m. Detroit (Ani.Sanchez 3-2) at Washington (Zimmermann 5-1), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (Harang 1-3) at Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 2-2), 4:05 p.m. Atlanta (Medlen 1-4) at Cincinnati (H.Bailey 1-3), 4:10 p.m. Chicago White Sox (H.Santiago 1-1) at N.Y. Mets (Harvey 4-0), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (Lynn 5-0) at Chicago Cubs (Wood 2-2), 5:05 p.m. Texas (Grimm 2-1) at Milwaukee (W.Peralta 2-2), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Kuroda 4-1) at Colorado (J.De La Rosa 2-3), 5:40 p.m. Arizona (McCarthy 0-3) at L.A. Dodgers (Beckett 0-4), 7:10 p.m. Miami (Sanabia 2-4) at San Diego (Stults 2-2), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at Pittsburgh, 9:35 a.m. Detroit at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Kansas City at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Minnesota at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Toronto at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at Houston, 5:10 p.m. Texas at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Wednesday's games Philadelphia at San Francisco, 12:45 p.m. Atlanta at Cincinnati, 9:35 a.m. Seattle at Pittsburgh, 9:35 a.m. St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Miami at San Diego, 12:40 p.m. Detroit at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Texas at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.