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San Francisco Giants' Marlon Byrd hits a two- run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jeff Locke in the first inning Friday in Pittsburgh. KEITH SRAKOCIC — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ByCarlSteward BayAreaNewsGroup PITTSBURGH Just call 'em the B&B Boys — Byrd and Bumgar- ner. Marlon Byrd slammed a two- run homer and had three hits in his first game with the Giants on Friday night, backing another strong pitching effort by Madi- son Bumgarner in a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Speaking of strong, Bumgar- ner got into the act with the bat, too. He crushed his fifth homer of the season and the 11th of his ca- reer, slamming a two-run homer in the second inning that trav- eled significantly farther than Byrd's did in the first. Without question, though, Byrd's blast in the first seemed to instantly transform the Gi- ants into an offensive force once again after they'd scored just six runs total in the first four games of this seven-game trip. They banged out 14 hits, and the only starter who didn't have a hit was Buster Posey, who drove in the Giants' first run with a sac- rifice fly. Byrd, wearing funky white shoes in his Giants debut, quickly fell behind 1-2 against Pirates starter Jeff Locke (6-8) in his opening at-bat, fouled off two pitches, then launched a ball into the left field seats for his 20th homer of the year, but the first with his new club that so desper- ately craved his offensive produc- tion. The Giants may not have ex- pected such a barrage right out of the chute, but they'll take it. Byrd singled to right in his sec- ond at-bat and doubled to right- center in his third. He had two cracks at the cycle but struck out and grounded out in his last two plate appearances. As for Bumgarner, he wasn't as razor-sharp as he was in his last three starts, when he pitched two NATIONAL LEAGUE Byrd,BumgarnerstarforSF New outfielder, ace pitcher both homer in win against Pirates By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press BRISTOL, TENN. Denny Ham- lin set a track record in leading a Toyota sweep of the first two rows in qualifying at Bristol Mo- tor Speedway. Hamlin turned a lap Friday at 131.407 mph to break the mark of 131.362 mph set last August by Kevin Harvick. "It looks like I really got the car working the way I needed to there in that final practice," Ham- lin said. It was Hamlin's 22nd career Sprint Cup pole and continued a recent dominant trend by Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR drivers have won five of the last six Sprint Cup Series poles, and Hamlin also won the pole for Friday night's Xfinity Series race. JGR teammate Kyle Busch qualified second and was followed by JGR driver Carl Edwards. Da- vid Ragan, from Michael Waltrip Racing, was fourth to give Toyota the top four starting spots Satur- day night. It was a huge lift for Ragan, NASCAR Hamlin leads Toyota sw ee p in qualifying By Joedy Mccreary The Associated Press GREENSBORO, N.C. Tiger Woods signed up for his first Wyndham Championship knowing a win would definitively keep his sea- son from ending. He's halfway there. Woods shot a 5-under 65 on Friday to share the second-round lead with rookie Tom Hoge. "I'm only at the halfway point," Woods said. "Only 36 holes. We've still got a long way to go." Woods and Hoge were at 11-un- der 129. Hoge shot a 67. The sport's biggest name put himself in prime position to con- tend for his first victory in more than two years, one that would send him into the FedEx Cup play- offs. Woods followed his best round since 2013 — a first-day 64 — with one almost as good. He made his big move up the leaderboard on the back nine, with birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 and an eagle on the par-5 15th GOLF Woods claims share of lead at Wyndham Floyd Kephart, the business- man once heralded as offering Oakland's best chance to keep the Raiders, submitted a refined plan for the Coliseum City mega development Friday. RAIDERS Kephartsubmitsfinal plan for Oakland stadium REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/SPORTS By Jimmy Durkin Bay Area News Group MINNEAPOLIS Neither Amari Coo- per nor Ben Heeney looked like a wide-eyed rookie in his exhibition debut, with Heeney flying around making plays on second-team de- fense and Cooper getting four touches on the team's opening drive. But both will try to slow down the game one more notch here Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings, even if those who've walked in their shoes are preaching a patient approach. "It's still going to go really fast for them," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "Things kind of slow down with the experience and with the time. For a young guy, I'm sure it happens fast." The Raiders wasted no time get- ting Cooper some experience with three catches and an end around handoff on the opening drive. Coo- per said that helped settle him in. "It's always nice to have the ball in your hands, to get involved early, to have a feel for the game," Cooper said. "After you get the ball a cou- ple times, you get excited and confi- dent. If you're a confident player out there, you can be lethal." Heeney, who had a sack and led the team with eight tackles, played well enough to gain considerable confidence as well, but he saw enough on film to push him to seek improvement. "I need to use my hands better getting off blocks," Heeney said. "I made a couple plays, but there were other plays out there to be made." Heeney said Del Rio told him he could've had 13 tackles, so he'll be searching for those other five. "I'm not satisfied," said Heeney, a fifth-round pick. "I had a decent game, but I'm not content." NFL RAIDERS ROOKIES FOCUS ON GROWING Cooper, Heeney plan to take full advantage of their preseason snaps in game against Vikings TONY AVELAR — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper runs against the St. Louis Rams during a preseason game in Oakland. PHOTOS BY TONY AVELAR — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland Raiders inside linebacker Ben Heeney tackles St. Louis Rams running back Trey Watts during a preseason game in Oakland. Jerry Jones has suggested that the Cowboys could sit quarterback Tony Romo and other starters for a preseason game in San Francisco over concerns with the problem turf at Levi's Stadium. NFL Cowboys concerned with 49ers' turf REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/SPORTS The Washington Redskins acquired tight end Derek Carrier from the 49ers Friday. The Redskins gave up an undisclosed dra choice for Carrier, who played in 11games for the 49ers last season. TRADE 49ers tight end Derek Carrier goes to Redskins PAGE B2 RAIDERS AT MINNESOTA When: Saturday, 5 p.m. TV: FOX TUNEIN Get your puzzles fix with the NEA Crossword, 7Little Words and Celebrity Cipher, start your day off right with your horoscope, and read the latest advice doled out by Amy Dickinson. YOUR DAILY BREAK Fun and games inside today PAGE B8 RAIDERS PAGE 2 GOLF PAGE 2 NASCAR PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, August 22, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1