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2C – Daily News – Saturday, September 25, 2010 Lincecum leads Giants to win INVITE Giants 2 Colorado 1 DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies ran into the real Tim Lince- cum, the one who won the last two NL CY Young awards. The San Francisco right-hander showed up and shut down the Rockies, possibly slamming the door on their postseason hopes as well. Lincecum threw eight stellar innings, Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer and the Giants retained their slim lead in the NL West with a 2-1 win over the faltering Rockies on Fri- day night. Lincecum did his best to ensure the Giants stayed on top in the division. Their lead remained a half-game over San Diego, which beat Cincinnati 4-3 on Friday night. ‘‘This is Timmy — the way he pitched tonight and the way he’s been throwing the ball,’’ manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘He’s an incredible talent. When he’s on top of his game, he’s going to be tough. That’s why he’s won two Cy Youngs. We all have our bumps in the road, but he’s back to what he is and pitching like we’ve seen the last couple of years.’’ The reeling Rockies needed Lince- cum to be off his game, desperately hoping for a three-game sweep. Instead, Colorado dropped its fifth straight and fell five games behind the Giants in the division and four games behind in third place in the wild card with nine games remaining. ‘‘The chances aren’t great, but you never know what could happen,’’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. Lincecum (15-10) had electric stuff from the start, retiring the first 15 bat- ters. Texas 10 Athletics 3 OAKLAND (AP) — Tommy Hunter pitched effectively into the sixth inning to earn his career- high 13th victory and the Texas Rangers moved a step closer toward winning their first division title in more than a decade by beating the Oakland Athletics 10-3 on Friday night. Vladimir Guerrero was a triple shy of the cycle and drove in four runs for the Rangers (85-68) who reduced their magic number to two. Texas can clinch the AL West by beating Oak- land in either of the final two games of this four-game series. One night after getting shut out for the second time in three games, the Rangers snapped out of their offen- sive slump in a big way with 18 hits while Hunter and five relievers combined to handcuff the A’s. PLAYS (Continued from page 1C) Ty Smith, Hardman’s third and final score sig- nified the end for Red Bluff. Later, with two impressive touchdown runs from shifty tailback Ger Lee along with another Wysong-Holmes touchdown, Chico pulled away in the fourth quar- ter while holding Red Bluff scoreless. Chico defensive end Mike Davis’ impact on the game was evident by virtue of the fact that no Red Bluff running back ever settled into a rhythm to establish any consistency on the ground. Dillon Reid, though he never tired through four quarters, collected a modest 57 yards, while teammate Tyler Demerath had 61. Red Bluff rushed for 177 yards and gained 108 more through the air. Most of the passing attack went to Smith, who caught five balls for 101 yards. Smith also made an outstanding interception, tipping a ball away from a Panther wide receiver and then making the grab himself. Red Bluff coach John Miller gave Holmes credit after the game. “We couldn’t defend him.,” Miller said. “I’m Any thoughts of a no-hitter? ‘‘No. I never think about that,’’ he said. ‘‘Once you start thinking about that you give up a hit, and it’s probably going to be to the pitcher.’’ He allowed his only two hits of the game in the sixth — and neither to the pitcher. Seth Smith hit a bloop double that landed just inside the chalk in shallow left and Eric Young Jr. followed with a two-out RBI single to right, the only run the Rockies would manage off him. This was Lincecum of old, the ver- sion that sawed off bats and handcuffed hitters in becoming just one of four hurlers to win the NL Cy Young in consecutive seasons. It certainly was nothing like the Lincecum of last month, who dropped a career-worst five straight games. ‘‘I had a pretty good rhythm going,’’ he said nonchalantly. ‘‘I was throwing pitches where I needed to. Ground balls, a lot of fly balls and hard outs, that tells me I had my stuff going today.’’ Lincecum was unhittable outside of the sixth inning, throwing in the low 90s well into the game. He finished with nine strikeouts, moving his total to a league-leading 229. ‘‘That guy was spectacular,’’ Rock- ies manager Jim Tracy said. ‘‘Best game we’ve seen him pitch all year.’’ Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 45th save. He got pinch-hitter Jason Giambi to ground out to end a game that took just 2 hours, 21 minutes. San Francisco pitchers have gone 18 straight games giving up three or fewer runs. It’s the longest streak since the Chicago White Sox set the record with 20 straight in 1917, according to The Rangers held a 10- game lead over Oakland a week ago before dropping four of five. The A’s won four of five, including a 5-0 blanking of Texas on Thurs- day, to keep things interest- ing. Now up by eight games with nine left, the Rangers are within reach of securing their first division title since 1999 after a tough offseason that included manager Ron Washington admitting dur- ing spring training to using cocaine once. The franchise also underwent an owner- ship change in August when Bill Hicks sold the club to an 18-member investment group led by team president Nolan Ryan. Hunter is a key reason why Texas turned things around. He scattered six hits over 5 1-3 innings and didn’t allow a runner past second base until the sixth when the A’s scored their first run. Hunter (13-4) struck out not sure many people could defend him right now. The 20-point perfor- mance from the offense was the most for the Spartans this season and an encouraging sign for Miller. “The offense is com- ing together.” On defense, Red Bluff missed defensive back Ian Hill for most of the night. Hill was battling a calf injury and played MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA x-Galaxy 15 6 5 50 38 21 Salt Lake 13 4 8 47 38 16 FC Dallas 10 2 13 43 33 21 Colorado 10 7 7 37 32 24 QUAKES 10 7 6 36 25 23 Seattle 10 9 6 36 30 29 Chivas USA 7 13 4 25 25 31 Houston 6 14 5 23 32 44 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Columbus 13 7 5 44 33 27 New York 13 8 5 44 34 27 Kansas City 9 9 6 33 28 27 Toronto FC 8 10 7 31 24 28 Chicago 6 9 8 26 28 31 New England 7 14 4 25 26 43 Philadelphia 6 12 6 24 27 39 D.C. ————————————————— Friday’s result New York 2, Los Angeles 0 Saturday’s games San Jose at Toronto FC, 1 p.m. Chivas USA at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Columbus at New England, 4:30 p.m. Houston at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Kansas City, 5 p.m. Seattle FC at Chicago, 5 p.m. Colorado at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m. the Elias Sports Bureau. Rookie Jhoulys Chacin (9-10) was matching Lincecum most of the game, giving up three hits and two runs in seven innings before being pulled after 120 pitches. With both pitchers throwing well, it was a game where hits were scarce. The teams combined for just five hits. It was Burrell who came up with the biggest. After Chacin walked Buster Posey to begin the seventh, Burrell hit a hang- ing slider deep into the bleachers in left. ‘‘He struck me out with a curveball. The next at-bat I was just looking for something out over the plate,’’ Burrell explained. ‘‘Fortunately, I was able to put a good swing on it.’’ Ubaldo Jimenez may be the team’s ace and NL Cy Young contender, but Chacin has been just as stellar since he was inserted back into the rotation on Aug. 17, going 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA. Chacin got the first six hitters to start the game, four on strikeouts. He finished the night with eight strikeouts. ‘‘He throws hard enough where you have to respect the fastball,’’ Burrell said. The Rockies will face Barry Zito and Matt Cain over the next two days in almost must-win situations. The team is trying to recapture the form that helped them win 10 straight earlier this month and climb back into the race. After a disastrous 2-4 road swing, though, they’re teetering on the brink. ‘‘There’s still a chance,’’ Tulowitzki said. Notes: Giants OF Andres Torres, who had an appendectomy on Sept. 12, entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.He flied out in the ninth. Rangers top A’s, edge closer to division title four and didn’t walk a batter for the fifth time this season. Hunter’s 13 wins lead the Rangers. Guerrero homered to right-center leading off the second against Oakland starter Bobby Cramer (2-1). It’s only Guerrero’s third home run in September but his 28th this season, his most since hitting 33 in 2006 while with the Los Angeles Angels. Texas went up 2-0 after Ian Kinsler doubled and scored on Jeff Francoeur’s sharp grounder that glanced off Oakland shortstop Cliff Pennington’s glove and rolled into left field. Fran- coeur, who went 3 for 4, later homered in the seventh and Guerrero added a bases- loaded double to drive in three more to make it 7-1. Oakland scored on Pen- nington’s RBI double in the seventh and loaded the bases with one out against reliever Darren Oliver before Kurt Suzuki fouled out and Jack only a minute. “Not having him on the field defensively is tough,” Miller said. The Spartans (0-4) return to Red Bluff for four consecutive home games beginning Oct. 1 against West Valley. Nick Wilson is a sports NCAA Friday’s Top 25 result No. 4 TCU 41, SMU 24 Saturday’s Top 25 games No.1 Alabama at No.10 Ark., 12:30 p.m., CBS No.2 Ohio St.vs.E.Mich., 12:30 p.m, ESPN2 No.3 Boise St.vs.No.24 Ore.St., 5 p.m., ABC No.5 Oregon at Arizona St., 7:30 p.m., CSNC No.6 Nebraska vs.South Dakota State, 4 p.m. No. 7 Texas vs. UCLA, 12:30 p.m., ABC No.8 Oklahoma at Cincinnati, 3 p.m., ESPN2 No. 9 Florida vs.Kentucky, 4 p.m. No. 11 Wisconsin vs.Austin Peay, 9 a.m. No.12 S.Caro.at No.17 Auburn, 4:45 p.m., ESPN No.13 Utah vs. San Jose State, 5 p.m. No.14 Arizona vs.California, 7 p.m., CSNB No.15 LSU vs.No.22 W.Vir., 6 p.m., ESPN2 No.16 Stanford at N.Dame, 12:30 p.m., NBC No. 18 Iowa vs. Ball State, 9 a.m. No.20 Southern Cal at Washington St., Noon No.21 Mich.vs.Bowling Green, 9 a.m., ESPN2 No.23 Penn State vs.Temple, 12:30 p.m. No.25 Michigan State vs.N.Colorado, 9 a.m. Saturday’s other televised games UABat Tennessee, 9 a.m., CSNC N.C.State at Georgia Tech, 9 a.m., ESPN UCF at Kansas St., 9:30 a.m., CSNB Fresno St. at Ole Miss, 4:30 p.n., CSNC 5 17 3 18 17 39 NOTE:Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth PGA PGA-Tour Championship At East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta Yardage: 7,319;Par: 70 (35-35) Saturday, 7 a.m., TGC, 9 a.m., NBC Sunday, 8:30 a.m., TGC; 10:30 a.m., NBC Second Round Leaders Jim Furyk Luke Donald Geoff Ogilvy K.J. Choi Paul Casey WPS Sunday’s Championship Philadelphia at Gold Pride, 11:30 a.m., FSN 67-65 — 132 -8 66-66 — 132 -8 66-67 — 133 -7 68-68 — 136 -4 Retief Goosen 71-66 — 137 -3 Kevin Na Charley Hoffman 71-67 — 138 -2 Jason Day Ben Crane 69-68 — 137 -3 66-71 — 137 -3 69-69 — 138 -2 71-69 — 140 E Kevin Streelman 70-70 — 140 E Hunter Mahan 69-71 — 140 E A’s Cust grounded out to end the threat. Bengie Molina and Michael Young each had RBI doubles in the eighth for Texas. Cramer had won both of his starts since being called up from Triple-A Sacra- mento on Sept. 10 but was in trouble early and often against Texas. The left- handed rookie allowed eight hits and four runs. Jeremy Hermida matched his career high with four hits for Oakland. NOTES: Cramer was attempting to become the first A’s pitcher to win his first three starts since Dave Hamilton won four straight in 1972. ... Texas is 8-9 against the A’s this season. ... Oakland extended its player development contract with Triple-A Sacramento through 2014. ... The 18 hits by Texas are two shy of its season-high. writer for the Chico Enterprise-Record. Daily News Sports Editor Rich Greene contributed to this report. MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB 85 68 .556 — 77 76 .503 8 Angels 75 78 .490 10 Seattle 58 95 .379 27 East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 92 61 .601 — New York 92 62 .597 .5 Boston 85 68 .556 7 Toronto 78 75 .510 14 Baltimore 61 92 .399 31 Central Division WL Pct GB x-Minnesota 92 61 .601 — Chicago 81 72 .529 11 Detroit 78 75 .510 14 Kansas City 63 90 .412 29 Cleveland 63 91 .409 29.5 x-clinched division ————————————————— Friday’s results Texas 10, Oakland 3 Boston 10, New York 8 Chicago 2, Los Angeles 1 Cleveland 7, Kansas City 3 Detroit 10, Minnesota 1 Tampa Bay 5, Seattle 3 Texas 10, Oakland 3 Toronto 6, Baltimore 4 Saturday’s games Texas (D.Holland 3-4) at Oakland (G.Gonzalez 14-9),1:05 p.m. Baltimore (Guthrie 10-14) at Toronto (R.Romero 13-9), 10:07 a.m. Boston (Lester 18-8) at New York (Nova 1-0), 1:10 p.m. Kansas City (Greinke 9-13) at Cleveland (J.Gomez 3-5), 4:05 p.m. Minnesota (Pavano 17-11) at Detroit (Bonderman 8-9), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (Fister 6-12) at Tampa Bay (Garza 14-9), 4:10 p.m. Chicago (Danks 13-11) at Los Angeles (Kazmir 9-14), 6:05 p.m. Sunday’s games Texas at Oakland, 1:05 p.m.,CSNC Kansas City at Cleveland, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Baltimore at Toronto, 10:07 a.m. Seattle at Tampa Bay, 10:40 a.m. Chicago at Los Angeles, 12:35 p.m. Boston at New York, 5:05 p.m., ESPN Thursday’s late result Oakland 5,Texas 0 against Lassen with eight kills. (Continued from page 1C) when Lottie Jones found the back corner for a Red Bluff kill. With Red Bluff on game point at 24-21, Corning held strong twice including a cross court kill from Catherine Kinkle to close the gap to 24-23. However, the third try was the charm for Red Bluff who then put away the first game with strong net play on the final point. Riley Kittle and Morgan Weaver each had four kills in the game. Kittle also led Red Bluff Red Bluff and Corning’s pool was reduced to three teams when Del Norte dropped out. Red Bluff coach Angie Ayers said she tried to replace the school, but sev- eral replacement schools also dropped out. Mercy lost all three of its first day pool matches. The Lady Warriors hung close with Foothill, but lost 25-17, 25-22. Bear River defeated Mercy 25-8, 25-8 and Cen- tral Valley beat the Lady Warriors 25-9, 25-21. Second day pool play begins at 8 a.m. today. Tehama Tracker VOLLEYBALL Enterprise 25 25 25 23 9 Red Bluff 27 13 21 25 15 The Lady Spartans rallied back, Thursday, to win a defensive slugfest in five games against visiting Enterprise. “Both our side and Enterprise were just non-stop digging each other,” coach Angie Ayers said. Red Bluff pulled out the first game 27-25 then saw Games 2 and 3 slip away before rebounding to win the final two. Kaitlann Weber had a career-high 40 assists in the win, which Ayers attributed to Red Bluff’s improved hitting com- pared to their loss against Foothill. Riley Kittle led Red Bluff with 16 kills and she also had 16 digs. Morgan Weaver had nine kills and Aubrey Lair had 26 digs. Megan McColpin had a strong game of passing and serve receiving to go along with 14 digs. Mercy 20 25 22 25 13 University Prep 25 19 25 17 15 The Lady Warriors lost a heartbreaking five-game league match at University Prep, Thursday. Maggie Keller filled the state sheet with six kills, five aces, three blocks, nine assists and nine digs. Diana Van Ert added six kills and 13 digs. Jennifer Gentry had 10 assists and Alex McFadyen made 10 digs. FIELD HOCKEY Chico 0 Corning 1 A Jasmine Gravitt goal with 10 minutes left lifted Corn- ing to a 1-0 win over Chico, Wednesday. Gravitt scored with a hard drive to the corner off of a short corner passed by Karlie Jennings. Minutes earlier Corning had almost scored on a hard shot from Natalie Garcia. Kaitlyn Huntley made three saves in net, including an amazing diving save for Corning and Anna Nelson led the Lady Cardinals with three shots. “We came out strong and frustrated Chico,” coach Tere- sa Lamb said. “We kept up the intensity the entire game.” Jennings, Gravitt and Angelica Ramos had strong games in midfield. The trio took self starts fast before Chico was ready. Claudia Lopez, Siliva Diaz and Rachelle Zuppan played tough tandem defense to earn the shutout. Corning’s forward line of Nelson, Shelby Long, Mayra Diera, Nicole Mason and Yasmeen Lomeli moved the ball well. “We continued to pressure the ball. I’m so proud of the way we played,” Lamb said. MLB West Division GIANTS National League WL Pct GB 87 67 .565 — Padres 86 67 .562 .5 Colorado 82 71 .536 4.5 Dodgers 75 79 .487 12 Arizona 62 92 .403 25 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 93 61 .604 — Atlanta 86 68 .558 7 Florida 76 77 .497 16.5 New York 74 79 .484 18.5 Washington 66 88 .429 27 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 86 68 .558 — St. Louis 79 74 .516 6.5 Houston 74 80 .481 12 Milwaukee 72 81 .471 13.5 Chicago 69 84 .451 16.5 Pittsburgh 53 100.346 32.5 ————————————————— Thursday’s results San Francisco 2, Colorado 1 Houston 10, Pittsburgh 7 Los Angeles 3, Arizona 1 Milwaukee 6, Florida 2 Philadelphia 3, New York 2 San Diego 4, Cincinnati 3 St. Louis 7, Chicago 1 Washington 8, Atlanta 3 Saturday’s games San Francisco (Zito 9-13) at Col..(Hammel 10-8),5:10 p.m.,CSNB Atlanta (D.Lowe 14-12) at Washington (Maya 0-2), 10:05 a.m. St. Louis (C.Carpenter 15-8) at Chicago (Coleman 2-2), 10:05 a.m., WGN Cincinnati (Tr.Wood 5-4) at San Diego (Garland 14-12), 1:10 p.m., FOX Houston (Norris 9-8) at Pittsburgh (Duke 7-14), 4:05 p.m. New York (Gee 1-1) at Phila.(K.Kendrick 10-9), 4:05 p.m., MLBN Florida (Volstad 10-9) at Milwaukee (Narveson 11-8), 4:10 p.m. Los Angeles (Ely 4-8) at Arizona (D.Hudson 6-1), 5:10 p.m. Sunday’s games San Fran.at Colorado,12:10 p.m.,CSNB Atlanta at Washington, 10:35 a.m. Houston at Pittsburgh, 10:35 a.m. New York at Philadelphia, 10:35 a.m. Florida at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m. St. Louis at Chicago, 11:20 a.m., WGN Cincinnati at San Diego, 1:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, 1:10 p.m. Thursday’s late results Arizona 10, Colorado 9 Los Angeles 3, San Diego 1 West WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 2 0 0 1.000 37 28 Chargers 1 1 0 .500 52 34 Denver RAIDERS 11 0 East Miami 1 1 0 .500 48 38 .500 29 52 WL T Pct PF PA 2 0 0 1.000 29 20 N.Y. Jets 1 1 0 .500 37 24 New England 1 1 0 .500 52 52 Buffalo South 0 2 0 .000 17 49 WL T Pct PF PA Houston 2 0 0 1.000 64 51 Jacksonville 1 1 0 .500 37 55 Tennessee 1 1 0 .500 49 32 Indianapolis 1 1 0 .500 62 48 North WL T Pct PF PA Pittsburgh 2 0 0 1.000 34 20 Cincinnati 1 1 0 .500 39 48 Baltimore 1 1 0 .500 20 24 Cleveland 0 2 0 .000 28 33 NFC West Seattle WL T Pct PF PA 1 1 0 .500 45 37 Arizona 1 1 0 .500 24 54 49ERS 02 0 .000 28 56 St. Louis 0 2 0 .000 27 33 East WL T Pct PF PA Washington 1 1 0 .500 40 37 N.Y. Giants 1 1 0 .500 45 56 Philadelphia 1 1 0 .500 55 59 Dallas South 0 2 0 .000 27 40 WL T Pct PF PA Tampa Bay 2 0 0 1.000 37 21 New Orleans 2 0 0 1.000 39 31 Atlanta 1 1 0 .500 50 22 Carolina 0 2 0 .000 25 51 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 2 0 0 1.000 46 34 Green Bay 2 0 0 1.000 61 27 Detroit Minnesota 0 2 0 .000 19 28 ————————————————— Sunday's games San Francisco at Kansas City,10 a.m.,FOX Oakland at Arizona, 1:15 p.m.,CBS Atlanta at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Buffalo at New England, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Carolina, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Dallas at Houston, 10 a.m. Detroit at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. Tennessee at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m., CBS Philadelphia at Jacksonville, 1:05 p.m. Washington at St. Louis, 1:05 p.m. Indianapolis at Denver, 1:15 p.m. San Diego at Seattle, 1:15 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Miami, 5:20 p.m., NBC Monday's game Green Bay at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. 0 2 0 .000 46 54 NFL AFC