Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/678960
ByKyleHightower TheAssociatedPress BOSTON JackieBradleyJr.had two home runs and six RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 13-3 win on Wednesday night. Boston scored six runs in the first four innings and then had four more in the fifth to post its third straight game with at least 10 runs. Dustin Pedroia added a home run and the Red Sox fin- ished with a season-high 17 hits. For the series Bradley finished 8 for 14 with three homers and 13 RBIs. The Red Sox outscored the Athletics 40-15. Oakland has lost a season- high five straight. Rick Porcello (6-1) got the win, and has now pitched six or more innings in 15 straight starts — extending the longest active streak in the majors. Eric Surkamp (0-3) took the loss after giving up four runs in just 2 2-3 innings of work. Bradley also had six RBIs in the series opener on Monday. The Athletics have now al- lowed 11 or more runs in each of their last four games, the longest such streak in franchise history. Boston has thrived early in games this season and entered Wednesday having outscored its opponents 38-11 in the first in- ning. This time it took an inning BASEBALL Bradleyhomerstwice,RedSoxsweepA's Oakland has now lost season-high 5 straight games, giving up 11 or more runs in last 4 CHARLESKRUPA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt slides home safely while scoring on a double by Yonder Alonso during the second inning Wednesday in Boston. By Jerry McDonald Bay Area News Group SAN FRANCISCO With one mighty non-swing of the bat, the San Francisco Giants walked out of a frustrating homestand with a 5-4 win Wednesday over the Toronto Blue Jays in 13 in- nings. The end came after four hours and 20 minutes when Ryan Te- pera, the 15th pitcher of the game, walked Buster Posey on four pitches with the bases loaded. It finished an unlikely rally where the Giants never got the ball out of the infield before what was left of a crowd of 41,372. "I was looking to zone some- thing on the first two pitches," Posey said. "After that he was going to have to throw me a strike." Tepera never did, so Giants reliever Albert Suarez, who wriggled out of trouble in the top of the 13th inning, got his first major league win. The Gi- ants were out of pitching at that point, with starter Jake Peavy the next man up if necessary. Since the Giants had blown a 4-1 lead in back of starter Mad- ison Bumgarner, it felt good to depart for an Arizona-San Diego road trip even if the homestand ended up 3-4. Toronto had won the first two games of the series. "It's huge," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To have a lead like that, and cough it up, it would have been tough to get swept." Trailing 4-3 in the ninth, To- ronto tied the score on a leadoff home run by Michael Saunders, his fifth, against closer Santiago Casilla. With the Giants unable to hit with runners in scoring posi- tion (2-for-17 in the game, 4-for- 43 over the last five), Toronto obliged by helping the winning run across the plate. It began when Brandon Belt, who started the day out of the lineup with a virus, was hit by a pitch. Denard Span followed with a bunt in front of the plate, which catcher Russell Martin threw into the dirt at second. Span was given a sacrifice and Belt moved up on the fielder's choice. After a Tepera wild pitch mmoved runners to second and third, Joe Panik was walked in- tentionally, bringing up Posey. Although he singled in the sec- ond inning, Posey was mired in a 1-for-24 slump when he walked on four pitches to bring in the winning run. "We're in a grind right now, 33 games in 34 days, and you're not always going to feel your best," Posey said. "It was good just to get a win." Suarez, called up from Triple- A Sacramento on May 6, gave up a hit to the first man he faced in the 13th but Ryan Goins was thrown out by Gregor Blanco trying for a double, with a re- play challenging overturning the original call. Consecutive singles by Kevin Pillar and Saunders and a force out by Josh Donaldson left the Blue Jays with runners at first and third, but Suarez got Jose Bautista to pop up on a 3-2 pitch for the third out. Although Suarez was in trou- ble, Posey said "it didn't faze him . . .he even shook me off on the 3-2 pitch to get the pitch BASEBALL Poseydrawswalkin 13th,givesGiantswin San Francisco wins 5-4 in marathon a er blowing 4-1 lead in start by Bumgarner PHOTOS BY ERIC RISBERG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The San Francisco Giants' Denard Span bunts the ball in the 13th inning Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays in San Francisco. San Francisco won the game 5-4. San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner lasted into the sixth inning Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays in San Francisco. REDSOX13,ATHLETICS3 Up next: Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays, 4:10p.m. Fri- day, TV on CSN-CA. THESCORE GIANTS 5, BLUE JAYS 4 (13) Up next: San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. Thursday, TV on CSN-BA. THESCORE By Curtis Pashelka Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE San Jose Sharks de- fenseman Paul Martin has all kinds of experience in Game 7 situations. Just three times as a player in the NHL, mind you, but on countless other occasions in his head as a kid, when he'd al- ways imagine himself scoring the game-winning goal. "You still do sometimes," Mar- tin said Wednesday. "Even in pre- game nap, it just takes one shot, a tip or a screen. You never know." Having to play a decisive Game 7 at home on Thursday against the Nashville Predators wasn't what the Sharks were hoping for earlier this week when they first had a chance to close out the sec- ond round playoff series. But the Sharks are confident that if they play like they did in their last home game against the NHL PLAYOFFS Sharks go to Game 7 filled with confidence Defense needs to clamp down on quick Predators MARK HUMPHREY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) is congratulated by Brent Burns (88) a er Couture scored against the Nashville Predators in Game 6of a Western Conference semifinal series Monday in Nashville, Tennessee. SERIES TIED 3-3 Game 7: Nashville Predators at San Jose Sharks, 6p.m. Thursday, TV on NBCSN. TUNEIN LEO CORREA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Health workers get ready to spray insecticide Jan. 26to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus under the bleachers of the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro. By Maria Cheng and Stephen Wilson The Associated Press LONDON With the opening cere- mony in Rio de Janeiro less than three months away, a Canadian professor has called for the Olym- pics to be postponed or moved be- cause of the Zika outbreak, warn- ing the influx of visitors to Brazil will result in the avoidable birth of malformed babies. "But for the games, would any- one recommend sending an extra half a million visitors into Brazil right now?" University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran, who spe- cializes in public health, said in an article published this week in the Harvard Public Health Re- view. Brazil is by far the country most affected by Zika, a mos- quito-borne virus which has now been scientifically proven to cause a range of disturbing birth de- fects, including babies born with abnormally small heads and neu- rological problems. In February, the World Health Organization declared the epi- OLYMPICS Professor says games should be postponed for Zika virus SHARKS PAGE 2 OLYMPICS PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, May 12, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1