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2B – Daily News – Thursday, April 7, 2011 The Freak fans 13 Blue Jays top A’s A’s 3 Toronto 5 Giants 8 San Diego 4 SAN DIEGO (AP) — All the San Francisco Giants really needed was a big dose of The Freak. Tim Lincecum struck out 13 and held the San Diego Padres to one run and three hits in seven innings to lead the defending World Series champions to just their second win in six games, 8- 4 on Wednesday night. ‘‘Everybody kind of relaxed and just kind of went back to playing ball the right way, with a positive mentality,’’ Lincecum said. Perhaps as impressive as his 13 strikeouts — two shy of his career high — was that Lincecum didn’t walk a batter. He was handed a 3-0 lead in the first inning, then struck out the first four batters he faced. He credited that to ‘‘having good rhythm, and sometimes I get out of that, and that’s when I fall into trouble. But I made sure everything was working right. I kind of used every one of my pitches, so that was good. I just tried to attack the zone as much as possible.’’ Lincecum left with an 8-1 lead after seven. Closer Brian Wilson, activated from the 15-day dis- abled list before the game, pitched the ninth in a non-save situation, allowing three runs on two infield singles and a walk. The Padres made it interesting in the ninth. After Jeremy Affeldt relieved Wilson, Chase Headley hit a two-run double over center fielder Andres Torres’ head. Ramon Ramirez came on with the bases loaded and two outs and got Rob Johnson to fly out to center, earning his first save of the season. Lincecum struck out 10 or more for the 27th time, tying Jason Stemmed for the second- SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Barry Bonds’ con- fident defense team rested its case Wednesday with- out calling a single witness, just minutes after a federal judge accepted the govern- ment’s request to dismiss one of the five counts against the home run king. Prosecutors called 25 witnesses to the stand over 2 1/2 weeks, but the defense needed just one minute to present its side. The jury of eight women and four men barely had time to get settled in the courtroom before being told to return Thursday morning for closing argu- ments. ‘‘We are expecting that you will get this case for decision tomorrow,’’ U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said to them. ‘‘Tomorrow will be the last day.’’ Once indicted on as many as 15 counts, Bonds will face just four charges when the jury starts delib- erations in a court house less than two miles from the ballpark where he set records for the Giants. A decision could come as early as Friday — when the World Series champi- onship flag is raised in San Francisco for the first time. Faced with a defense motion that Illston was pre- pared to grant, prosecutors dropped the count accusing Bonds of lying to a grand jury in 2003 when he said prior to that season he never took anything other than vitamins from trainer Greg Anderson. The defense said the govern- ment presented no evi- dence that Bonds was given Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) and a testosterone ointment, designer steroids known as ‘‘The Clear’’ and ‘‘The Cream,’’ before 2003. Bonds testified in front of the grand jury that Anderson told him the sub- stances were flaxseed oil and arthritic balm. The remaining counts charge Bonds with lying when he denied knowingly receiving steroids from Anderson, denied getting human growth hormone from Anderson and said he only allowed himself to be ‘‘Everybody kind of relaxed and just kind of went back to playing ball the right way, with a positive mentality,” — Tim Lincecum most by a Giants pitcher since 1900. Christy Mathewson did it 28 times. Lincecum, the NL strikeout leader the last three sea- sons, has done it four times against the Padres, all at Petco Park. Baffling the Padres with slid- ers, splitters and fastballs, The Freak struck out every San Diego regular except Nick Hundley, who hit a solo homer into the second deck in left field with one out in the third, his first. Lince- cum struck out Brad Hawpe three times. ‘‘He certainly pitched great today,’’ manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘He’s a special talent, this kid, and he showed it again today.’’ Lincecum (1-1) was the hard- luck loser in the season-opener Thursday night at Los Angeles, when he allowed an unearned run in a 2-1 defeat. ‘‘You could tell he was on from the outset,’’ Padres manager Bud Black said. ‘‘He had all his weapons today.’’ Orlando Hudson agreed. ‘‘When he’s like that, he’s tough,’’ said Hudson, who dou- bled off Lincecum and struck out once. ‘‘He had stuff hopping. It just makes it awfully tough to hit when he’s on that that with all his pitches.’’ The Giants’ 3-4-5 hitters, Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval, had three hits apiece. Posey hit a two-run homer and a two-run single, while Huff had a pair of run-scor- ing doubles and an RBI single. The Giants gave Lincecum a 3-0 lead in the first. Freddy Sanchez hit a one-out triple to right-center and Huff brought him in with a double to right. Posey followed with his first homer of the season, to left on a 3-1 pitch from Tim Stauffer (0- 1). The Giants chased Stauffer in the fifth, two batters after he allowed Huff’s RBI double to left-center. San Francisco batted around in the sixth and added four runs against San Diego’s bullpen. Huff hit a bases-loaded infield single, Posey followed with a two-run single to right and Sandoval’s RBI hit to right. Stauffer allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings, walked two and struck out one. ‘‘I just didn’t feel real sharp overall,’’ Stauffer said. ‘‘I battled a bit. But the first inning, getting down like that against a good pitcher like Lincecum, is a little bit of an uphill battle for us. Overall, not what I was looking to do.’’ NOTES: Lincecum is 6-3 with a 2.03 ERA in 14 career starts against San Diego. ... The Giants are off Thursday, then play their home opener Friday afternoon against St. Louis. ... Padres lefty reliever Joe Thatcher, on the DL with a strained left shoulder, had a setback and won’t pick up a ball for the next four or five days. ... Padres ace Mat Latos, on the DL with a sore right shoulder, threw a bullpen. He’s expected to rejoin the rotation for a series against Cincinnati that starts Monday night. Bonds rests with no defense witnesses injected by doctors. The final count accuses Bonds of obstruction of justice. On the 11th day of the trial, the defense presenta- tion lasted about the time it took Bonds to circle the bases after one of his record 762 home runs. Lawyer Cristina Arguedas read the jury one answer from the grand jury testi- mony of former Bonds’ girlfriend Kimberly Bell in which Bell said she wrote her own diary. That con- flicts with Bell’s trial testi- mony, in which she said ghost writer Aphrodite Jones collaborated on the diary. Defense lawyer Allen Ruby had said Tuesday he might call up to six wit- nesses, including Bonds, and every spectator seat in the court room was filled in anticipation. But Bonds’ never took the stand to tell the jury his side of the story, signaling the defense thinks the government has failed to prove its charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Just one witness, former Bonds’ personal shopper Kathy Hoskins, gave eye- witness testimony that cor- roborated any of the charges. She said she once saw Anderson inject Bonds near the belly button — she didn’t identify what sub- stance was being injected. With Anderson in jail on a contempt citation for his refusal to testify, prosecu- tors had to rely on witness- es who put Bonds near Anderson and needles, MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Colorado 3 0 0 9 8 2 Galaxy 2 1 1 7 4 5 Salt Lake 2 0 0 6 5 1 Vancouver 1 1 1 4 7 6 QUAKES 11 1 4 4 3 Seattle 0 2 2 2 3 5 Chivas USA 0 2 1 1 3 5 Portland 0 2 1 1 2 6 FC Dallas 0 2 1 1 1 5 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Philadelphia 2 1 0 6 2 1 N. England 1 0 2 5 4 3 New York 1 0 2 5 2 1 Chicago 1 0 1 4 4 3 Kansas City 1 1 1 4 8 8 Toronto FC 1 1 1 4 5 5 Columbus 1 1 1 4 3 3 D.C. 1 2 0 3 5 7 Houston 0 1 2 2 2 3 ————————————————— Wednesday’s result New England at Vancouver, late along with evidence that Anderson was supplying players with performance- enhancing drugs. If Bonds is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on each count. However, fed- eral guidelines suggest a total sentence of 15 to 21 months. For similar offens- es in the Bay Area Labora- tory Co-Operative (BALCO) case, Illston sen- tenced cyclist Tammy Thomas to six months of home confinement and track coach Trevor Graham to one year of home con- finement. Illston denied a defense motion to strike testimony that Bonds’ testicles shrank, which prosecutors alleged is a side effect of steroids use. She also turned down a defense motion to strike testimony from former AL MVP Jason Giambi and three former players — Jeremy Giambi, Marvin Benard and Randy Velarde — who all detailed how Anderson MLB West Division Texas East Division American League WL Pct GB 6 0 1.000— Angels 3 3 .500 3 Seattle 2 4 .333 4 A’s 14 .200 4.5 WL Pct GB Baltimore 4 1 .800 — Toronto 4 1 .800 — New York 3 2 .600 1 Boston 0 5 .000 4 Tampa Bay 0 5 .000 4 Central Division WL Pct GB Kansas City 4 2 .667 — Chicago 3 2 .600 .5 Cleveland 3 2 .600 .5 Detroit Toronto 5, Oakland 3 Chicago 10, Kansas City 7, 12 innings Cleveland 8, Boston 4 Detroit 7, Baltimore 3 Los Angeles 5, Tampa Bay 1 Texas 7, Seattle 3 Minnesota at New York, ppd., rain Today’s games Oakland (Cahill 0-0) at Toronto (R.Romero 1-0), 9:37 a.m. Boston (Lester 0-0) at Cleveland (Carmona 0-1), 9:05 a.m., MLBN Minnesota (Liriano 0-1) at New York (A.Burnett 1-0), 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay (Price 0-1) at Chicago (E.Jackson 1-0), 11:10 a.m. Detroit (Penny 0-1) at Baltimore (Tillman 0-0), 4:05 p.m., MLBN Friday’s games Oakland at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m. New York at Boston, 11:05 a.m. Kansas City at Detroit, 12:05 p.m. Texas at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Chicago, 5:10 p.m. Toronto at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Cleveland at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. 2 3 .400 1.5 Minnesota 2 3 .400 1.5 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results supplied them with steroids and human growth hor- mone. With the trial nearing its end, there were interjec- tions of humor — or at least attempts — by the lawyers. When Illston asked for a ‘‘ballpark fig- ure’’ on the length of clos- ing argument, Ruby esti- mated three hours and told her ‘‘I think the football people call it a hard cap.’’ When Ruby said he planned to split the closing with Arguedas, Illston said ‘‘the court does not give you permission to tag team.’’ Ruby then took a shot at the prosecutors, saying ‘‘we’re not going to do that like they did at the grand jury,’’ prompting Illston to respond ‘‘because there’s a judge here, I get to tell you.’’ She ultimately told them they could share the argument but could not keep alternating. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB Colorado 3 1 .750 — Padres 3 2 .600 .5 Dodgers 3 3 .500 1 Arizona 2 3 .400 1.5 GIANTS 24 .333 2 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 4 1 .800 — Florida 3 2 .600 1 New York 3 2 .600 1 Atlanta 3 3 .500 1.5 Washington 1 4 .200 3 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 5 0 1.000— Pittsburgh 4 2 .667 1.5 Chicago 3 3 .500 2.5 Milwaukee 2 4 .333 3.5 St. Louis 2 4 .333 3.5 Houston 0 5 .000 5 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results San Francisco 8, San Diego 4 Arizona 6, Chicago 4 Cincinnati 12, Houston 4 Colorado 7, Los Angeles 5 Florida 7, Washington 4 Milwaukee 5, Atlanta 4 Philadelphia 10, New York 7 Pittsburgh 3, St. Louis 1 Today’s games Houston (Myers 0-0) at Cincinnati (LeCure 0-0), 9:35 a.m. Colorado (Rogers 0-0) at Pittsburgh (Maholm 0-0), 10:35 a.m. Atlanta (Hanson 0-1) at Milwaukee (Marcum 0-1), 10:40 a.m. New York (Niese 0-0) at Philadelphia (Halladay 0-0), 12:05 p.m. Washington (Lannan 1-0) at Florida (Jo.Johnson 1-0), 4:10 p.m. Thursday’s games St. Louis at San Francisco, 1:35 p.m. Washington at New York, 1:10 p.m. Colorado at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Florida at Houston, 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:35 p.m. Chicago at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Cincinnati at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. Los Angeles at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference ————————————————— Wednesday’s results San Jose at Anaheim, late Boston 3, N.Y. Islanders 2 Carolina 3, Detroit 0 Chicago 4, St. Louis 3, OT New Jersey 4, Toronto 2 Washington 5, Florida 2 Edmonton at Calgary, late Phoenix at Los Angeles, late Today’s games Atlanta at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m., VS Montreal at Ottawa, 4 p.m. Colorado at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Vancouver, 7 p.m. TORONTO (AP) — Travis Snider hit a three-run home run, Yunel Escobar had three hits before leaving with an injury and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athlet- ics 5-3 on Wednesday night. Jesse Litsch pitched 6 1-3 for his first win since July 20 and Jon Rauch got two outs for his first save as the Blue Jays won for the eighth time in 11 games against the Ath- letics. Starting for the first time since Aug. 1, 2010, Litsch allowed three runs and six hits, walked two and struck out a career-high seven. Litsch missed the end of last season after undergoing hip surgery. Oakland, which came in with a major league high nine errors through four games, didn’t make another miscue but did misplay two balls. Toronto’s Yunel Escobar was involved both times, picking up a single after third base- man Andy LaRoche couldn’t handle his grounder in the first, and a triple on a ball that eluded right fielder David DeJesus in the fifth. Escobar was shaken up after sliding face first into LaRoche’s leg on his triple, laying on the ground and being tended to by the trainer before getting up. Escobar ran the bases and played defense in the sixth but was replaced by John McDonald in the seventh after com- plaining of dizziness. Adam Lind’s RBI double in the first gave Toronto an early lead, but Oakland’s Hideki Matsui answered with a two-run double in the fourth. After Juan Rivera walked and Edwin Encarnacion sin- gled, Snider restored Toronto’s advantage with a booming drive to right in the bottom half, his first. The Athletics got one back in the fifth when Coco Crisp hit a two-out triple and scored on Daric Barton’s sin- gle. Toronto chased Oakland starter Dallas Braden (0-1) in the eighth when McDonald led off with an infield single and Lind followed with a ground-rule double. Brad Ziegler came on and gave up an RBI single to Aaron Hill but escaped further damage by striking out Rivera and get- ting Encarnacion to ground into a double play. Braden allowed 10 hits and five runs in seven-plus innings. He walked one and struck out three. Spurs beat Kings Kings 92 San Antonio 124 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Manu Ginobili scored 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs moved to the brink of the No. 1 seed in the West- ern Conference playoffs with a 124-92 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. The Spurs improved their NBA-best record to 60-19 and can clinch home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs with their next victory or loss by the Los Angeles Lakers. George Hill scored 12 of his 19 points during the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Kings by 20 in their best offensive quarter of the season. Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 16 points and rookie DeMarcus Cousins added 15 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio has won three straight after losing six in a row to fall into jeopardy of losing the top seed to the then-streaking Lakers. San Antonio has a 3 1/2-game lead over the Lakers in the NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA y-SHARKS 47 23 9 103 240 202 Phoenix 42 25 12 96 224 217 Kings 45 28 6 96 214 191 Ducks 44 30 5 93 228 231 Dallas 40 28 11 91 217 224 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA y-Detroit 46 24 10 102 255 234 Nashville 43 26 11 97 215 191 Chicago 43 28 9 95 251 219 St. Louis 37 33 11 85 238 234 Columbus 34 33 13 81 210 249 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA z-Vancouver 52 19 9 113 254 183 Calgary 40 29 11 91 242 233 Minnesota 37 34 8 82 198 224 Colorado 29 42 8 66 219 278 Edmonton 25 43 11 61 188 256 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA x-Philadelphia 46 23 11 103 249 215 x-Pittsburgh 47 25 8 102 229 194 N.Y.Rangers 43 32 5 91 228 193 New Jersey 37 38 5 79 169 202 N.Y.Islanders 30 38 12 72 222 253 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA y-Boston 45 24 11 101 241 191 x-Montreal 43 30 7 93 210 205 Buffalo 41 29 10 92 236 222 Toronto 37 33 11 85 217 247 Ottawa 31 39 10 72 188 245 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA y-Washington 48 22 11 107 224 196 x-Tampa Bay 44 25 11 99 237 236 Carolina 39 30 11 89 228 232 Atlanta 33 34 12 78 217 258 Florida 29 39 12 70 192 225 West and a two-game lead over the Chicago Bulls for the NBA’s top seed. The Spurs had their best- shooting quarter of the sea- son in the third to push past the visiting Kings, scoring a season-high 41 points and shooting a season-best 82 percent (14 of 17) to outscore the Kings by 20 and take a 92-70 lead. Rookie Gary Neal added 14 points off the bench for the Spurs. With the Spurs clinging to a two-point lead after Samuel Dalembert’s jumper early in the third, Ginobili’s 3-pointer ignited a 20-6 run that was the turning point in the game. The Kings held a four- point lead late in the second, but Ginobili scored on con- secutive dunks off turnovers by the Kings and fed a wide- open Hill under the basket that helped the Spurs regain a 51-49 lead at halftime. Tony Parker scored 15 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points for the Spurs. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB y-Lakers 55 22 .714 — Phoenix 38 40 .487 17.5 WARRIORS 34 44 .436 21.5 Clippers 31 48 .392 25 KINGS 23 55 .295 32.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB y-San Antonio60 19 .759 — x-Dallas 53 25 .679 6.5 x-N.Orleans 45 33 .577 14.5 Memphis 44 34 .564 15.5 Houston 41 38 .519 19 Northwest Division WL Pct GB y-Okla. City 52 26 .667 — x-Denver 48 30 .615 4 x-Portland 45 33 .577 7 Utah 37 41 .474 15 Minnesota 17 62 .215 35.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB y-Boston 54 23 .701 — x-New York 40 38 .513 14.5 x-Philadelphia 40 39 .506 15 New Jersey 24 54 .308 30.5 Toronto 21 57 .269 33.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB y-Miami 54 24 .692 — x-Orlando 50 29 .633 4.5 x-Atlanta 44 34 .564 10 Charlotte 32 46 .410 22 Washington 21 57 .269 33 Central Division WL Pct GB y-Chicago 57 20 .740 — x-Indiana 36 43 .456 22 Milwaukee 32 46 .410 25.5 Detroit 27 51 .346 30.5 Cleveland 17 61 .218 40.5 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ————————————————— Wednesday’s results San Antonio 124, Sacramento 92 L.A. Lakers at Golden State, late Cleveland 104, Toronto 96 Denver 104, Dallas 96 Detroit 116, New Jersey 109 Indiana 136, Washington 112 Milwaukee 90, Miami 85 New Orleans 101, Houston 93 New York 97, Philadelphia 92 Oklahoma City 112, L.A. Clippers 108 Orlando 111, Charlotte 102, OT Phoenix 108, Minnesota 98 Today’s games Boston at Chicago, 5 p.m., TNT Portland at Utah, 7:30 p.m., TNT Tuesday’s late results Golden State 108, Portland 87 Utah 86, L.A. Lakers 85