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2B Daily News – Thursday, August 2, 2012 A's (Continued from page 1B) night. To win each series is about as good as it gets right now.'' Jeff Keppinger scored twice and Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts also drove in runs for the Rays, who moved within 1 1/2 games of Oakland for the second wild-card spot in the American League. Cobb (5-8) followed up James Shields' shutout on Tuesday night with a strong start of his own, settling down after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first. He allowed four hits and one walk, striking out six as the Rays lowered their ERA to 1.70 on the trip. ''It's just a contagious thing,'' Cobb said. ''You see one pitcher doing RAIDERS (Continued from page 1B) Shawntae Spencer were signed in the offseason to replace released start- ing corners Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson after Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie targeted the secondary for a makeover. Bartell and veteran good and you want to match him. You definite- ly don't want to be that guy to be the weak link in the rotation. As long as we can keep feeding off each other and throw strikes we'll be fine.'' After getting only one run of support while losing his previous three starts, Cobb took the mound with a 1-0 lead thanks to some rare small ball by the Rays. Desmond Jennings led off against Parker (7-5) with a single, advanced to second on B.J. Upton's first sacri- fice bunt of the season and scored on a two-out hit by Joyce. Cobb struck out Bran- don Moss with the bases loaded to end the bottom half, starting a run of 10 straight batters that he retired. That was snapped when Inge led off the fifth inning with his 12th homer pass. worked out with receivers such as Anto- nio Brown of Pittsburgh, Chad Johnson from Miami and Cleveland's Greg Little in an attempt to refine his techniques. This year Van Dyke He also got a little scolding from his moth- er when he went home in the offseason. Both are expected to start when the Raiders open the season at home Sept. 10 against San Diego, but Allen and defensive coordinator Jason Tarver are keeping their options open. That includes Van Dyke, a 6-foot-1, 183- pound cornerback who played in 14 games with four starts as a rookie. He didn't put up big numbers (13 tackles, one interception) and often allowed himself to get pushed out of plays by bigger receivers. But Oakland's entire pass defense took a beating in 2011. The Raiders were 29th in total defense a year ago, and 27th against the GOLD (Continued from page 1B) silver and a bronze. Seven- teen-year-old Missy Franklin also claimed her second gold swimming the leadoff leg, and Dana Vollmer now has two golds in London. Shannon Vree- land rounded out the gold medal-winning quartet. Like the Aussies, the record book also took quite a beating. ''I went home and my momma told me, 'DeMarcus, I'm your No. 1 fan, but you dropped too many inter- ceptions last year,''' Van Dyke said. ''I'm trying to work on catching the ball and turning my head when the ball is in the air. I did one-on-one workouts with guys. I tried to go up against big receivers, small receivers and the shifty ones.'' have been in training camp less than a week, Van Dyke has managed to stand out. Though the Raiders to cut Tampa Bay's lead to 2-1, but Cobb pitched around a double by Kurt Suzuki to preserve the lead. ''He did a great job of getting strike one, a great job, all day long,'' Inge said. ''He was 0-2 on a lot of guys and he made his pitches. He was effective.'' Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 31st save in 32 chances. Keppinger doubled and scored on a two-out hit by Roberts to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead in the fourth. The Rays were unable to capitalize on another sac- rifice bunt by Upton in the fifth when Ben Zobrist hit into a fielder's choice with runners on second and third and Joyce grounded out. Pena's RBI double in the sixth made it 3-1. drill on Monday and fol- lowed it up with another solid workout on Tues- day. ''I'm taking every- thing (the coaches) tell me and putting it on the field,'' Van Dyke said. ''I'm just going out there and trying to get better at my craft and trying to make plays.'' in Wednesday's practice was focused on tackling techniques, something the Raiders have strug- gled with for several seasons. Hitting was kept to a minimum and only on a few occasions were players tackled to the ground. Much of the attention In addition to the play he made on Heyward- Bey during Oakland's first practice in full pads, Van Dyke broke up a pair of passes dur- ing a team scrimmage We're so happy for him.'' Adrian watched Soni's record on television while chatting with reporters in the mixed zone. ''Whoa, Rebecca just set The biggest hits might have been deliv- ered by veteran safety Tyvon Branch and rook- ie wide receiver Thomas Mayo. The two got into a heated exchange toward the end of the scrimmage drill and both threw punches until being separated. ''It's just camp,'' Branch said. ''The first day of pads, every- body's amped up. Just a little squabble. Nothing major.'' a world record,'' he said. ''I'm overshadowed by Rebecca setting a world record.'' Daniel Gyurta and Rebecca Soni both set world records in the 200 breaststroke. The Hungari- an won gold, while Soni set her mark in a semifinal heat, further proof that its still possible to go fast — really fast — even without the now-banned bodysuits. Five records have fallen over the first five days at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, defying those who felt it would take years, maybe even decades, to take down some of the marks set with technological assistance. ''If I feel good, I don't want to hold back. I should- n't,'' Soni said. ''I just went for the last 50 and I started to hear the crowd halfway through and just kept going with it. ''It's been four years since I swam close to that fast, so it's great to be back on top like that.'' Adrian was on top of the by now, swimming for a team that includes Phelps and Lochte. But Adrian gave a glimpse of his poten- tial in the 4x100 free relay, going faster than Mag- nussen on the opening leg, a shocker given that the Mis- sile had looked unbeatable at last year's worlds and went a stunning 47.10 at his country's national trials. Unfortunately for the Aussies, Magnussen hasn't been at his best when it real- ly mattered, and these Olympics are turning into a downright bummer for the swimmers from Down Under. ''I just felt pretty much He should be used to that Gyurta needed every bit of speed in his race to finish off Michael Jamieson, who made a furious bid for Britain's first gold at the pool. The Hungarian touched in 2:07.28, shaving 0.03 off the previous mark set by Christian Sprenger of Australia at the 2009 world championships in a suit that is no longer allowed. Soni showed plenty of speed, too, and it wasn't even for a medal. She touched in 2:20.00 to break yet another of the bodysuit records, a time of 2:20.12 set by Canada's Annamay Pierse at the '09 worlds. world after touching in 47.52, giving the U.S. its first title in swimming's sig- nature event since Matt Biondi at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Canada's Brent Hayden took silver in 47.80, his country's first medal ever in the furious down-and-back sprint. ''We were in the ready room and we watched it and just went nuts,'' Lochte said. ''We were screaming and everything. That was one of the greatest finishes. bulletproof coming into this Olympics,'' Magnussen said. ''It is very humbling.'' Australia, which normal- ly battles with the Ameri- cans for pool supremacy, has eight medals but its only gold came in the women's 4x100 free relay. The Americans are pulling away in the medal table with eight golds and 18 medals overall. ''I have a lot more respect for guys like Michael Phelps who can come to the Olympics and back it up under that pres- sure,'' Magnussen said. ''It is a pretty tough time to learn you are human.'' The Americans are feel- ing good about themselves, producing more of a team effort after Phelps dominat- ed the last two Olympics. ''We've had a great week so far,'' Phelps said. ''We are just starting to pick up more and more steam, so hopefully we can finish it.'' Jiao Liuyang of China set an Olympic record to win the women's 200 but- terfly. She was second at the final turn but sprinted into the lead to touch in 2:04.06 seconds, 0.12 quicker than country- woman Liu Zige's time at the 2008 Beijing Games. Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain took silver in 2:05.25 and Natsumi Hoshi of Japan finished in 2:05.48 to take bronze. Gyurta trailed two-time defending Olympic cham- pion Kosuke Kitajima mid- way through the men's breaststroke, but seized control on the third leg as the Japanese star began to fade. Making the final turn, Gyurta seemed to be in control. and down in the water, heading for home, Gyurta suddenly felt Jamieson surging up on his right shoulder. The Aquatics Centre was in a frenzy as the two approached the wall, but Gyurta got there first. Then, as he popped up MCT photo Eric Sogard completes a double play at first in the sixth inning Wednesday. Penske has said his DROP (Continued from page 1B) able. He understands, although he wishes it was different, he understands the position we're in.'' Allmendinger, who was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR last week for the positive test in late June, thanked Penske for the sup- port during a ''difficult time'' the past few weeks. ''I apologize for the dis- traction, embarrassment and difficulties that my cur- rent suspension from NASCAR has provided,'' he said. way to come back to the series is to complete NASCAR's rehabilitation program and he pledged to do so he can compete again ''in the near future.'' Allmendinger was sus- pended July 7, just hours before the race at Daytona and forcing Penske to bring in Hornish at the last moment. His backup urine sample, tested last week, confirmed the initial posi- tive test. That sealed his fate at Penske. ''Anybody in his shoes can tell you, until the final answer, there's always hope Allmendinger's only podium to thank every- one,'' Jamieson said. Kitajima was edged for a spot on the podium by six-hundredths of a second. His countryman Tateishi slapped the water when he saw his third-place posi- tion, while Kitajima was again denied in his bid to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual race in three straight Olympics. ''I have no regrets,'' Kitajima said. Back to you, Mr. Phelps. While the American has missed on his first two tries at an unprecedented threep- eat, finishing fourth in the 400 individual medley and second in the 200 butterfly, he's got two more chances to pull it off: the 200 IM and the 100 fly. One night after becom- ing the most decorated Kitajima is done. MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 57 47 .548 3 A's 59 43 .578 — 56 48 .538 4 Seattle 49 57 .462 12 East Division WL Pct GB New York 61 43 .587 — Baltimore 55 50 .524 6.5 Tampa Bay 55 50 .524 6.5 Boston 53 52 .505 8.5 Toronto 51 52 .495 9.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 57 47 .548 — Detroit 55 50 .524 2.5 Cleveland 50 54 .481 7 Minnesota 44 60 .423 13 Kansas City43 60 .417 13.5 ------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday's results N.Y.Yankees 12, Baltimore 3 Chicago White Sox 3, Minnesota 2 Tampa Bay 4, Oakland 1 Detroit 7, Boston 5 L.A. Angels at Texas, 8:05 p.m. Kansas City 5, Cleveland 2 Toronto at Seattle, late Today's games Minnesota (Deduno 2-0) at Boston (Lester 5-8), 4:10 p.m. L.A. Angels (C.Wilson 9-7) at Texas (Dempster 0-0), 5:05 p.m. Jamieson nearly broke the old mark, as well, set- tling for silver in 2:07.43. Ryo Tateishi of Japan took bronze in 2:08.29. ''I've received so many messages of support and I was desperate to get on the Cleveland (Kluber 0-0) at Kansas City (B.Chen 7-9), 5:10 p.m. Toronto (H.Alvarez 7-7) at Oakland (B.Colon 7-8), 7:05 p.m. Friday's games Cleveland at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Minnesota at Boston, 4:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at Chicago White Sox, 5:10 p.m. Texas at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Toronto at Oakland, 7:05 p.m. it will be different,'' Cindric said. ''I think he understood the position we were in.'' Hornish can certainly make his case to keep his ride with a string of strong performances, but there's a deep talent pool of drivers potentially available in 2013 for Penske. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano could move into that seat next season. Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and former Chase driver Brian Vickers may also be in the mix for what's sure to be one of the most desired rides in NASCAR. ''We have a pretty clear understanding of the oppor- tunities in the garage area,'' Cindric said. ''We have a bit more time to focus on what those opportunities would mean and what the best fit for us is going forward. For- tunately, we have some time.'' NASCAR has not said what substance All- mendinger was suspended for, but his business manag- er has said it was an amphetamine. All- mendinger has said he did- n't knowingly take a banned substance and has hired an independent labo- ratory to help determine what caused the positive test. Olympian ever with his 19th medal, Phelps had a relatively light day, swim- ming the prelims and semi- finals of the 200 IM. Lochte also competed in the medley, as well as the two rounds of the 200 backstroke — one of his toughest days in London. fastest time in the backstroke semis, his time of 1:55.40 trailing only fellow Ameri- can Tyler Clary's 1:54.71. Then, in the IM, he was fastest in 1:56.13, ahead of Hungary's Laszlo Cseh (1:56.74) and Phelps (1:57.11), whose mind might have been on other things. Lochte posted the second- On the way to the pool, Phelps got a call from Presi- dent Barack Obama, con- MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 56 47 .544 — Dodgers 56 50 .528 1.5 Arizona 54 51 .514 3 San Diego 44 62 .415 13.5 Colorado 37 64 .366 18 East Division WL Pct GB Washington 61 42 .592 — Atlanta 59 45 .567 2.5 New York 50 54 .481 11.5 Miami 48 56 .462 13.5 Philadelphia47 57 .452 14.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 63 41 .606 — Pittsburgh 60 44 .577 3 St. Louis 55 48 .534 7.5 Milwaukee 48 56 .462 15 Chicago 43 60 .417 19.5 Houston 35 71 .330 29 ------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday's results Milwaukee 13, Houston 4 Pittsburgh 8, Chicago Cubs 4 Arizona 4, L.A. Dodgers 0 Philadelphia 3, Washington 2 Miami 4, Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 6, San Diego 4 St. Louis at Colorado, late N.Y. Mets at San Francisco, late Today's games San Diego (Ohlendorf 3-1) at Cincinnati (Cueto 13-5), 9:35 a.m. N.Y. Mets (C.Young 2-5) at San Francis- co (Zito 8-7), 12:45 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 11-5) at Washing- ton (Detwiler 5-4), 4:05 p.m. Miami (Eovaldi 2-6) at Atlanta (Minor 6- 7), 4:10 p.m. St. Louis (Lynn 13-4) at Colorado (White 2-6), 5:40 p.m. Friday's games Miami at Washington, 1:05 p.m., 1st game Arizona at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Houston at Atlanta, 4:35 p.m. Miami at Washington, 4:35 p.m., 2nd game Milwaukee at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. San Francisco at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. N.Y. Mets at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. employees are subject to random drug testing and he has released employees who have tested positive in the past. He also said he has told Allmendinger that other people with higher profiles have bounced back from similar career- threatening issues. Allmendinger is the second Sprint Cup Series driver suspended under NASCAR's tightened drug policy implemented in 2009. Jeremy Mayfield was the first and he unsuccessfully sued to have the results over- turned. Court documents showed that Mayfield tested positive methamphetamine. for Allmendinger was hired in late December by Penske to fill the seat that opened when Kurt Busch split with the organiza- tion. It was the most prolif- ic ride of Allmendinger's career, and both driver and team seemed thrilled with the pairing even as All- mendinger struggled at times in the No. 22 Dodge. He was 23rd in the Sprint Cup Series standings head- ing into Daytona, where he won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race in January. gratulating him on becoming the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands set an Olympic record to lead the women's 100 freestyle semi- finals, while defending champion Britta Steffen of Germany failed to advance. Kromowidjojo was timed in 53.05, seven-hundredths faster than Steffen's swim at the 2008 Beijing Games. Melanie Schlanger of Australia qualified second in 53.38, while Franklin was third in 53.59. Steffen was a dismal 12th. LONDON 2012 Medal Count Wednesday's totals 73 of 302 total medal events Nation G S B Tot China U.S. 17 9 4 30 11 8 9 28 S. Korea 6 2 4 12 France 5 3 4 12 N. Korea 4 0 1 5 Germany 3 8 2 13 Italy 3 4 2 9 Kazakhstan 3 0 0 3 Japan 2 4 11 17 Russia 2 4 5 11 Britain 2 3 4 9 Hungary 2 1 1 4 Ukraine 2 0 4 6 South Africa 2 0 0 2 Australia 1 5 2 8 Romania 1 3 2 6 Brazil 1 1 1 3 Netherlands 1 1 1 3 Georgia 1 0 0 1 Lithuania 1 0 0 1 Slovenia 1 0 0 1 Venezuela 1 0 0 1 Colombia 0 2 1 3 Cuba 0 2 1 3 Mexico 0 2 0 2 Canada 0 1 5 6 Indonesia 0 1 1 2 Norway 0 1 1 2 Czech Rep. 0 1 0 1 Denmark 0 1 0 1 Egypt 0 1 0 1 Poland 0 1 0 1 Spain 0 1 0 1 Sweden 0 1 0 1 Taiwan 0 1 0 1 Thailand 0 1 0 1 N. Zealand 0 0 2 2 Slovakia 0 0 2 2 Azerbaijan 0 0 1 1 Belarus 0 0 1 1 Belgium 0 0 1 1 Greece 0 0 1 1 India 0 0 1 1 Moldova 0 0 1 1 Mongolia 0 0 1 1 Qatar Serbia 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 Singapore 0 0 1 1 Uzbekistan 0 0 1 1