Red Bluff Daily News

July 04, 2011

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Independence Day MLB — Cubs at Nationals, 10 a.m., WGN MLB — Mariners at Athletics, 1 p.m., CSNC MLB—Padres at Giants, 2 p.m., CSNB Tour de France — Stage 3, 5 a.m., VERSUS MLS —New England at Real Salt Lake, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 MLS — Seattle at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 Sports 1B Monday July 4, 2011 Djokovic wins Wimbledon Bautista top vote-getter NEW YORK (AP) — A team known for sausage races more than pennant races made quite an All-Star splash. The Milwaukee trio of Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks won fan elections to start in the National League line- up, sending a mini-Brew Crew to join the usual slew of Yan- kees, Red Sox and Phillies at baseball's glitter-fest. "It means the Milwaukee Brewers have arrived on the national scene," Braun, the top NL vote-getter, said Sunday. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are among six Yankees on the AL roster for the All-Star game July 12 in Phoenix. Once again, New York had the most players picked. Philadelphia, having built the best record in the majors on pitching, provided aces Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz led a Boston quartet. The World Series champion San Francisco Giants added four arms. The small-market Brewers celebrated their largest haul of All-Star starters. Milwaukee often draws a lot of attention for its in-game dash of meat mascots — the team, however, has made the playoffs just once since 1982. "A lot of times — and I know the fans are a huge part of what we do — but sometimes the fans vote for who they like and the superstar that's been there before and may not even be having a good year," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "It's nice to see our guys voted in and those are the top three guys at their positions. That's really cool." Fielder and Weeks were among several players who over- MCT photo Novak Djokovic holds up the Wimbledon trophy after winning at the All England Club, Sunday. WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Until Sunday, Novak Djokovic never managed to win a grass-court tourna- ment of any sort, let alone Wimble- don. Until Sunday, Djokovic never was able to beat Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam match, let alone a final. Until this marvelous — and nearly perfect — year, Djokovic was very good. Now he's great. After outrun- ning, outswinging and, for stretches, dominating defending champion Nadal, winning 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 for his first title at the All England Club and third major championship overall, Djokovic crouched on Center Court, reached down, plucked some blades of grass and shoved them in his mouth. "I felt like an animal. I wanted to see how it tastes. It tastes good," Djokovic said later, his eyes wide and his smile contagious. "It came sponta- neously, really. I didn't plan to do it. I didn't know what to do for my excite- ment and joy." Putting together one of the best sea- sons by any athlete in any sport in recent memory, Djokovic is 48-1 with eight titles in 2011, including major trophies from the Australian Open and Wimbledon. On Monday, he will rise from No. 2 to No. 1 in the ATP rank- ings, overtaking Nadal, a switch that was guaranteed by virtue of Djokovic's victory in the semifinals Friday. "I want to win more Grand Slams," said Djokovic, the first man since Andre Agassi in 1992 to win his first grass title at Wimbledon. "I will not definitely stop here, even though I have achieved (the) two biggest things in my life in three days." Which, perhaps, is why he engaged in such a lengthy and original celebra- tion, even tossing several rackets into the stands, the sort of crowd-pleasing gesture for which Djokovic (it's pro- nounced JOE-ko-vich) long has been known. Vogelsong an All-Star, but Giants lose again." DETROIT (AP) — Ryan Vogelsong started the season riding buses in the minors, hoping to get a chance to pitch in the majors for the first time since 2006. The San Francisco Giants gave him a shot when Barry Zito got hurt and the 33-year-old Vogel- song made the most of the opportunity, becoming an All-Star. "This is the dream of everyone who plays this game," Vogelsong said, choking up, after the Detroit Tigers beat San Francisco 6- 3 Sunday. The right-hander, whose career was stunted by elbow surgery, was released by the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies last season after pitching three seasons in Japan. Vogelsong is 6-1 with a 2.13 ERA, making him one of the players Giants man- ager Bruce Bochy picked to represent the NL next week. "There's never been a time in my career when this seemed like even a realistic possibility," Vogelsong said. "A year ago, almost to the day, I got released and didn't know if I would ever pitch Bochy is glad Vogelsong is doing it for the Giants. "He's not surprising any- one any more," Bochy said. "That's why he is going to the All-Star game. It got a little emotional when I told him. That felt great." Bochy gave Vogelsong the good news during Satur- day night's rain delay in Detroit. "I did tell my wife, obvi- ously, and my parents," Vogelsong said. "I told them not to tell anyone because things spread so fast on Twitter and Facebook. My parents don't know what Facebook is, though. Or Twitter." Vogelsong gave the Giants a chance to sweep Detroit, giving up two earned runs in 6 2-3 innings, but poor defense and relief pitching negated his perfor- mance. Magglio Ordonez hit a go-ahead, two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning and Detroit went to win. Rick Porcello (7-6) gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings in a much-needed performance for Detroit's suddenly shaky rotation. He became the fifth pitcher since 1919 to have three wild pitches and hit three batters in a game. Joaquin Benoit pitched the eighth, getting a lead- saving catch from left field- er Ryan Raburn. All-Star Jose Valverde closed the game for his 20th save in as many chances. Jeremy Affeldt (1-2) took the loss after third baseman Miguel Tejada's throwing error extended the seventh inning. Ordonez took advantage with a single off Santiago Casilla that put Detroit ahead 4-3. Brandon Inge gave the Tigers a three-run lead in the eighth with a two-run, two- out triple. Detroit had lost two straight and four of five, falling out of first place in the AL Central. "It was a big win because good teams don't get swept," said Brennan Boesch, who hit a game- tying homer in the fourth. The NL West-leading Giants had won nine of 11. "You can see why they're the world champions," Detroit manager Jim Ley- land said. San Francisco appeared to have a shot to retake the lead in the eighth inning when Aaron Rowand drove a ball to left-center, but Raburn sprinted and fully extended to snatch the ball. "From my angle I didn't think Raburn had a chance, but he made a great diving catch," Bochy said. "If he doesn't make that, we take the lead and then we have a different bullpen strategy." Porcello gave up a dou- ble on his first pitch, then allowed only one more hit before Brandon Crawford's RBI groundout in the fourth inning. The Giants went ahead in the fifth on Porcello's wild pitch and Cody Ross' RBI single gave them a 3-1 lead. Detroit cut into the deficit when Miguel Cabr- era hit a single to left and Ross mishandled it, allow- ing Boesch to score on the error. Tejada had a chance to keep the Tigers scoreless in the seventh, but his throw across the diamond in the dirt wasn't scooped up by first baseman Pablo San- doval on what should've been the third out of the inning. "The error really hurt us because we had a chance to get out of that," Bochy said. "This was a tough one to lose. It would have been a big boost to sweep this team. Jackson, Sizemore power A's to win OAKLAND (AP) — Conor Jackson and Scott Sizemore each hit a two-run homer and All-Star Gio Gonzalez struck out seven to lead the Oakland Athletics past the Arizona Diamond- backs 7-2 Sunday. David DeJesus also drove in two runs for the A's, who won for the fourth time in 11 games since a six- game winning streak ended. Jemile Weeks drove in a run and Sizemore had three hits. Xavier Nady and Sean Burroughs drove in runs for the Diamondbacks, who lost their third consecutive series and have lost four of their last five games. Gonzalez (8-5) allowed a run and walked three in seven innings. He is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his last four starts. Ian Kennedy (8-3) lasted 5 2-3 innings, giving up seven runs on a season-high 10 hits. He walked two and struck out six. Kennedy lost for the sec- ond time since April 13 and for the first time on the road. He extended his streak of consecutive games with at least 100 pitches to 15 matching the longest active streak in the NL with Philadelphia's Roy Halla- day. The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Chris Young doubled to open the inning and Nady singled him home two outs later. The A's responded in their half of the fourth. Coco Crisp, who has an 8-game hitting streak, and Hideki Matsui led off with singles. Two outs later, DeJesus delivered a two-run double, his first RBIs since May 31, a span of 23 games. Jackson and Sizemore each hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Weeks added a sacrifice fly. The A's hit two home runs in an inning for the first time all season, and scored at least five runs in an inning for just the third time. Arizona loaded the bases with no outs against Michael Wuertz in the eighth. All- Star Justin Upton doubled leading off and both Chris Young and Stephen Drew walked. Joey Devine relieved Wuertz and got the next two hitters before Burroughs' pinch hit single drove in Upton. Matsui's throw got Young, who did not slide, at the plate. It was Matsui's first outfield assist since May 23, 2008 against the Seattle Mariners. came voting deficits in the final week. Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and Detroit catcher Alex Avila also rallied late to earn starting spots. Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista, the reigning home run champion, drew a record 7.4 million votes. He became the first Blue Jays player elected to start since Carlos Delgado in 2003. Bautista homered Saturday off Halladay, then hit his major league-leading 27th homer Sunday against Philadel- phia's Cliff Lee. "People are recognizing that you're doing well and for me it's been in three different territories — the United States and Canada and the Dominican," Bautista said. "I can't even describe how good that feels." The AL starting lineup: Gonzalez at first base, Robinson Cano at second, Jeter at shortstop, Rodriguez at third base, with Bautista, Josh Hamilton and Curtis Granderson in the outfield, Avila behind the plate and Ortiz at designated hitter. The NL starters: Fielder at first, Weeks at second, Reyes at short, Placido Polanco at third, with Braun, Kemp and Lance Berkman in the outfield and Brian McCann catching. San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy will choose the DH. Fans can vote on MLB.com through Thursday for the 34th player on each side. Injuries are sure to impact the final rosters, too — three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols was left off while recovering from a broken left wrist and Reyes is nurs- ing a hamstring problem. Once again, the league that wins will get home-field advantage in the World Series. Led by McCann, the NL won last year for the first time since 1996. The Giants put pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Ryan Vogelsong on the 13-man staff. Jeter, a 12-time All-Star set to come off the disabled list Monday, will be among the half-dozen Yankees heading to the desert. Also going are 14-time All-Star Rodriguez, Cano, Granderson, closer Mariano Rivera and backup catcher Rus- sell Martin. The 37-year-old Jeter always seems to be a light- ning rod when it comes to awards and honors, ratcheting up the debate of popularity vs. production. He's in the midst of another down year and has been hurt — Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is having a breakout season and made the AL team as a backup, deserving Jhonny Peralta of Detroit was left off. The Yankees own the best record in the AL, although two of their stars were among the notable omis- sions: CC Sabathia, tied for the major league high in wins, and first baseman Mark Teixeira, among the leaders in homers and RBIs. The rival Red Sox put four players on the team: Gonzalez, Ortiz, pitcher Josh Beckett and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. "Seems like the Yankees always take care of all the All- Star voting every year, so it's just disappointing to not see more Red Sox on that team," Boston ace Jon Lester said. Avila, however, overtook Martin in the final week of bal- loting. "He's got much better numbers than I do. I'm glad he's going to get the start," Martin said of Avila. "I was kind of worried about that actually." Texas manager Ron Washington will guide the AL team. Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson made the club over Sabathia. "There wasn't a whole lot of choices on left-handed relievers and C.J. has the experience of doing that," Wash- ington said. "He's deserving, as far as I'm concerned, to be on the All-Star team, so I chose him." This year's squad includes 13 first-time All-Stars in the AL and 11 in the NL. Among them will be closer Joel Han- rahan, Pittsburgh's lone representative. Hanrahan said he won't mind changing his All-Star break vacation plans. "I think it will be a lot more fun than going to a furniture shop. They say it takes three months to get a couch — want- ed to see one and get it on order," he said. On the ballot for the extra AL player are outfielders Alex Gordon of Kansas City and Adam Jones of Baltimore, White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, Detroit DH Victor Martinez and Tampa Bay second baseman Ben Zobrist. "I've been around long enough to know how it goes. This is a tough process because you have the fan vote, the player vote, every team is going to be represented," Konerko said. "I know it's very possible that when you play the position I play there will be somebody left without a chair." Candidates for the final NL spot are outfielders Andre Ethier of the Dodgers, Mike Morse of the Nationals and Shane Victorino of the Phillies, first baseman Todd Helton of Colorado and pitcher Ian Kennedy of the Diamondbacks. Bochy said it wasn't easy to fill out the rosters. "It felt like bamboo being stuck up my fingernails," he joked. "Yeah, we enjoyed the process. But we also are thoughtful of the guys who were deserving that we couldn't find a spot for. There's quite a few good names out there, but that's every year and that never will change." Among two themes sure to attract interest at the All-Star game are the heat — it was 118 degrees in Phoenix this week and even though the ballpark has a retractable roof, some of the festivities are outdoors — and Arizona's immigration law. The law requires immigrants to carry their registration documents and police who are enforcing other laws to ques- tion the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally. Last year, several All-Stars said they would boycott the game if picked. MLB The Championships, Wimbledon Giants 3 Detroit 6 Arizona 2 Athletics 7

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