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2B Daily News – Tuesday, October 23, 2012 By BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writer Way back in spring training, Hunter Pence hit a wicked grounder that smacked Miguel Cabrera in the face. A few months later, Pablo Sandoval launched a bases-loaded triple off Justin Verlander in the All-Star game. Here they all are again, with every- thing at stake. Tigers-Giants in the World Series. A driven team from Detroit, loaded Cabrera, Tigers vs Posey, Giants GIANTS Cabrera as a most formidable tandem in the middle of the lineup. Melky Cabrera joined the Giants with power bats and arms, guided by wily Jim Leyland and coming off an impressive sweep of the Yankees. A surging squad from San Francisco, boosted by its rotation and talented catcher Buster Posey, fresh from a Game 7 win over defending champion St. Louis. A Triple Crown winner in Cabrera vs. a perfect game pitcher in Matt Cain. The Motor City vs. the City by the Bay, starting with Game 1 on Wednes- day in the California twilight. A unique pairing, too. Both fran- chises have been around for well over a century and are stacked with Hall of Famers — Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Carl Hubbell, Al Kaline and many more — yet they've never faced each other in the postseason. and won MVP honors at the All-Star game. But he was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball a month later for a positive testosterone test, and isn't on the postseason roster. The Giants bolstered their infield by trading for scrappy Marco Scutaro in late July and fortified their outfield a few days later by getting Pence from Philadelphia. Not too much recent history, either. The clubs have played only 12 games since interleague action began in 1995, most recently last year at Comerica Park. That series was notable because the Tigers fired pitching coach Rick Knapp following the final game, a day after Barry Zito and the Giants trounced Max Scherzer in a 15-3 romp. Much has changed since then. Prince Fielder arrived in Detroit this year after a season-ending injury to Victor Martinez, and teamed with The Tigers, back in the World Series for the first time since 2006 and trying to win their first crown since Sparky Anderson's gang in 1984, relied on excitable closer Jose Valverde until the playoffs. But when he strug- gled against the Athletics and Yankees, Leyland looked for other options. Leyland has certainly had time to prepare for this matchup — not that it's PHOENIX (AP) — Heath Bell became the latest player jettisoned by the Miami Marlins when he was dealt Saturday to the Arizona Diamond- backs, who also acquired infielder Cliff Penning- ton from the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Chris Young. Arizona obtained Pen- nington and minor league infielder Yordy Cabrera from Oakland for Young and cash, then sent Cabr- era to Miami for Bell. The Marlins will pay $8 million of the remaining $21 million Bell is owed. Earlier in the day, Ari- zona exercised a $6.5 million option on closer J.J. Putz. The 35-year-old Bell has 151 saves the past four seasons. He signed a $27 million, three-year contract with Miami last offseason but lost his closer's job in July. He finished with 19 saves in 27 chances and a 5.09 ERA in 73 games. After failing to con- tend in the first season of their new ballpark, the Marlins traded former NL batting champion Hanley Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July and sent pitcher Ani- bal Sanchez and infielder Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers. ager Kevin Towers said Bell provides a right- handed power arm to help set up Putz, and Pen- nington adds experience at shortstop and second Arizona general man- base. Towers, who was the general manager in San Diego when Bell was the setup man for Trevor Hoffman, believes the pitcher will benefit from a return to the NL West. "I think he's excited to kind of be able to clean the slate," Towers said. Bell's contract calls for a $9 million salary in each of the next two sea- sons and includes a $9 million club option for 2015. Miami will pay $1.5 million next year, $3.5 million in 2014 and the $3 million deferred signing bonus he is owed. Young, Arizona's cen- bullpens this year. Closer Brian Wilson helped San Francisco win the 2010 World Series, but is out this season because of an elbow injury. The bearded reliever became a loud cheerleader in the dugout as the Giants overcame a 2-0 deficit against Cincinnati in the best- of-five division series, then rallied from a 3-1 hole to beat the Cardinals in the NL championship series. San Francisco closed out the Cards 9-0 on Monday night, getting the final out in a driving rainstorm at AT&T Park. Earlier this year, Pence's bad-hop grounder broke a bone below Cabr- era's eye and caused a bloody gash that needed eight stitches to close. Cabrera recovered fine, and will be the first Triple Crown winner to play in the World Series since Carl Yastrzemski and Boston lost in 1967. There's been a lot of shuffling in the off before starting the 2006 World Series, and the team from the Rust Belt looked rusty. Detroit pitchers made five errors in a five-game wipeout by the Cardinals. previous times one LCS ended in a sweep while the other went seven games, and each time the team that played Game 7 easily won the World Series. A troubling trend, perhaps: Three Then again, the Tigers have Verlan- der totally rested for the opener. The reigning AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner is dominating this postseason, going 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA, striking out 25 in 24 1-3 innings. Hardly the form he flashed in the All- Star game, when he couldn't control his 100 mph heat and Sandoval's triple highlighted a five-run first inning. Cain wound up with the win, the NL romped and earned home-field advantage in the World Series. Zito is likely to pitch Game 1 for Bruce Bochy's bunch. Left off the postseason roster in 2010 — his poor pitching didn't fit with the Giants' self- described group of ''misfits'' — he has resurrected his career this year and made a key start in the NLCS. Not so sure is what will become of Tim Lincecum. A star on the title team two years ago, the shaggy-haired two- time Cy Young winner struggled this season. Bumped from the playoff rota- tion, he excelled in the bullpen and earned a start, but was shaky in Game 4 against St. Louis. Athletics trade Pennington for Young ances at shortstop but was shifted to second base in August. A switch- hitter, Pennington hit .215 this year — includ- ing .168 against left-han- ders — and had 28 RBIs. "He had a down year. That happens. Guys have down years," Towers said. "Heath had a down year. That's why we were able to make these deals." Towers said he ter fielder for six seasons, was the odd man out in a crowded outfield with the team expecting young Adam Eaton, called up from Triple-A Reno late this season, to play center and be the Diamond- backs' leadoff hitter. But Towers said the job isn't automatically Eaton's. Gerardo Parra and A.J. Pollock also will com- pete for the spot. Young will be reunited with Bob Melvin, who was his manager in Ari- zona. believes Pennington can be an everyday shortstop, plus fill in behind Aaron Hill at second base. The team also has Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald at shortstop. Towers said Bell otherwise. might have been uncom- fortable with his high- profile signing during the Miami makeover last winter. "It caught me off guard a little bit, I'm not going to lie," Young said. "It's all settled in a couple hours now. I got an opportunity to talk to Billy (Beane) and got to talk to (Melvin). I'm excited to help. It's a new opportunity, a fresh start for me personally." The 28-year-old Pen- nington played in 125 games for the AL West champion A's this sea- son. He had 93 appear- Night Club Cardio Experience CLUB SWEAT INTRODUCING Friday Night Nov. 16th How would you like to feel the energy of a dance club during your workout? Club Sweat creates a night club environment while you get your cardio on! Get motivated while a Featured DJ Pumps an exclusive hit mix. Have fun with your friends while you do something REALLY GOOD for yourself! Have a blast as you train as hard as you dance in the club! Who said cardio has to be boring? Start the weekend off right with an hour or two of cardio! Train on our cardio equipment with laser lights beaming around you! Free to Member - Guests $8.00 Tehama Family Fitness Center Come to the cardio party at CLUB SWEAT! 2498 South Main St, Red Bluff • 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com "Maybe a lot of it had to do with the pressure, his first big contract," Towers said, adding that Bell "was really the first big signing" the Marlins had in the offseason. The Arizona general manager thinks his bullpen — led by Putz, David Hernandez, Brad Ziegler and now Bell — "is as good a bullpen as there is if not in the National League but in baseball." With considerable money invested in the bullpen, Towers said it's particularly important to have a strong group of relievers while Arizona's young starting rotation develops. He said Ari- zona still needs a late- inning left-handed reliev- er and perhaps a veteran starter. This could be a sign Beane, the A's general manager, might try to move center fielder Coco Crisp, who signed a $14 million, two-year con- tract in January that includes a $7.5 million club option for 2014 with a $1 million buyout. Beane, however, said he plans to keep Crisp, though he realized there would be speculation NASCAR Spring Cup Points Leaders 1. Brad Keselowski 2,250 2. Jimmie Johnson 2,243 3. Denny Hamlin 4. Clint Bowyer 5. Kasey Kahne 6. Martin Truex Jr. 7. Tony Stewart 8. Jeff Gordon 9. Matt Kenseth 10. Kevin Harvick 11. Greg Biffle 2,230 2,225 2,220 2,207 2,203 2,199 2,195 2,191 2,188 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,128 field," Beane said. "Everybody knows how important this guy is to this team and also has the benefit of being a person- al favorite of mine." Oakland already acquired shortstop Stephen Drew from the Diamondbacks this sea- son and he helped the Athletics down the stretch. The A's overtook Texas on the final day of the regular season to win the division and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They lost in five games to the World Series-bound Detroit Tigers. "I really like our out- Beane said the day after the season ended he planned to keep his young team intact as much as possible. Last offseason, Oakland trad- ed three top pitchers: Trevor Cahill to Arizona, Gio Gonzalez to Wash- ington and closer Andrew Bailey to Boston. The 29-year-old Young, a popular player in the Arizona clubhouse, has had three 20-homer, 20-steal seasons. He injured his right shoulder crashing into a wall while making a catch early this season and struggled at the plate afterward. A quadriceps injury in early September sent Young to the bench in favor of Eaton. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA y-QUAKES 19 6 8 65 71 42 x-Seattle 15 7 11 56 51 32 x-Salt Lake 17 11 5 56 46 35 x-Galaxy 15 12 6 51 58 47 x-Vancouver11 13 9 42 35 41 FC Dallas 9 13 11 38 40 45 Colorado 10 19 4 34 42 50 Portland 8 16 9 33 33 55 Chivas USA 7 18 8 29 22 56 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA y-Kan. City 17 7 9 60 40 26 x-D.C. 17 10 6 57 52 42 x-Chicago 17 11 5 56 45 40 x-New York 15 9 9 54 54 46 x-Houston 14 8 11 53 48 39 Columbus 14 12 7 49 42 43 Montreal 12 15 6 42 45 50 Philadelphia10 16 6 36 36 40 New England8 17 8 32 38 44 Toronto FC 5 20 8 23 35 60 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth y- clinched conference —————————————————— Wednesday's game Philadelphia at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at Portland, 3:30 p.m. New York at Philadelphia, 10:30 a.m. New England at Montreal, 11 a.m. D.C. United at Chicago, 1 p.m. Houston at Colorado, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. Sunday's games Toronto FC at Columbus, 1 p.m. Chivas USA at FC Dallas, 4 p.m. Seattle FC at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. a good thing. The Tigers will have had five days off since dismantling the Yankees, and the 67-year-old manager has done more than figure out how to use ALCS MVP Delmon Young when there's no designated hitter at in San Francisco. The Tigers also had nearly a week (Continued from page 1B) Series. Cain walked off the mound to a standing ovation when Jeremy Affeldt entered with two outs in the sixth. Affeldt then got Daniel Descalso to pop out with two runners on. Yadier Molina had four hits but got little help from the rest of the Cardinals, who went 1 for 21 with runners in scoring position over their final three games. Cain added an RBI single to his cause and got some sparkling defense behind him. in three straight games. Brandon Belt hit a solo homer in the eighth for his first clout of the postseason. everybody, even the pitchers, for these scrappy Giants to rally back from the brink one more time. It took production from Cain certainly did his part to keep the staff rolling. The 16-game winner, who didn't surrender an earned run during his team's title run two years ago, reached 46 pitches through two innings but settled in nicely the rest of the way to avenge a loss to Lohse in Game 3. The play of the game went to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who made a leap- ing catch of Kyle Lohse's liner to end the second inning with runners on sec- ond and third that would have been a run-scoring hit. In the third, Scutaro, the second baseman, made a tough stop on a short hop by Carlos Beltran, and left field- er Gregor Blanco ran down a hard-hit ball by Allen Craig in left-center to end the inning. Cain's second-inning sin- gle made San Francisco the first team in major league postseason history to have a starting pitcher drive in a run 49ERS (Continued from page 1B) remained in the game. ''We have other backs who can play the game pretty well. He didn't want it to get any worse.'' With two days off, Gore's attention will still be on foot- ball. ''It's basically like a mini bye week,'' he said. ''We appreciate it a whole lot. We get our bodies back. Watch a little film and chill out, relax.'' Gore has missed at least one game due to injury in all but one (2006) of his first seven seasons in the NFL coming into this season. Harbaugh said there was no plan to limit Gore's touches in order to preserve him for later in the season. With 601 yards on 103 carries through seven games, Gore is on pace for 1,373 yards, which would rank as the second-best total of his career. the best average of his career, outpacing his 5.4-yard clip in 2006, when he rushed for a career-high 1,695 yards. ''He's doing a great job,'' Harbaugh said. ''Been very productive when he has had the ball in his hands.'' Wide receiver Mario Manningham sat out the game against Seattle due to a shoulder injury sustained in the game against the New His 5.8 yards per carry is VOLLEYBALL Sac River League Enterprise League Overall WL W L T 4 0 West Valley 4 1 24 7 0 Shasta Foothill 3 2 1 4 Foothill at Red Bluff Shasta at Pleasant Valley West Valley at Enterprise Thursday's games Enterprise at Shasta West Valley at Foothill Northern Athletic League Yreka Lassen League Overall WL W L T 6 1 4 1 25 17 0 5 2 5 0 3 0 Central Valley 2 2 7 13 0 CARDINALS 14 5 Anderson Yreka at University Prep, late Today's games Lassen at Corning Central Valley at Anderson Thursday's games Corning at Central Valley Yreka at Lassen Five Star League WARRIORS 80 23 University Prep 7 2 BULLDOGS 62 30 Redding Christ. 4 3 Liberty Christian2 6 Chester Hayfork 1 7 0 8 Yreka at University Prep, late Today's games Los Molinos at University Prep Chester at Redding Christian Dunsmuir at Liberty Christian Wednesday's game Chester at Greenville Thursday's games Los Molinos at Redding Christian Mercy at Liberty Christian University Prep at Chester League Overall WL W L T 9 0 6 1 6 1 5 2 11 3 20 0 13 1 14 19 11 3 0 —————————————————— Monday's result 22 0 14 1 —————————————————— Monday's result 35 19 21 SPARTANS 05 9 5 0 13 0 15 0 16 0 —————————————————— Today's games Cain even got to repay Holliday for his hard slide into Scutaro at second base in Game 2 here a week earli- er. Cain plunked Holliday in the upper left arm leading off the sixth, drawing cheers from the crowd. The right-hander escaped trouble in the second with runners on second and third when Crawford made his catch. Holliday returned to the lineup after missing Game 6 a night earlier with tightness in his lower back. He received loud boos when he stepped in to hit in the first from a fan base still angry about his slide that injured Scutaro's hip. York Giants, but he is also expected to play against Ari- zona. Manningham's injury occurred on the first play against the Giants, but he stayed in for the rest of the game. NCAA AP Top 25 Schedule Thursday's game No. 14 Clemson at Wake Forest, 4:30 p.m. Friday's game No. 16 Louisville vs. Cincinnati, 5 p.m. Saturday's games No. 1 Alabama vs.No. 13 Miss.St., 5:30 p.m. No. 2 Oregon vs. Colorado, Noon No. 3 Florida vs. No. 12 Georgia at Jacksonville, Fla., 12:30 p.m. No.4 Kan.St.vs.No.15 Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m. No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma, 5 p.m. No. 7 Oregon State at Washington, 7:15 p.m. No. 9 Ohio State at Penn State, 2:30 p.m. No. 10 USC at Arizona, 12:30 p.m. No. 11 Florida State vs. Duke, 12:30 p.m. No. 17 South Carolina vs.Tennessee, 9 a.m. No. 18 Rutgers vs. Kent State, 12:30 p.m. No. 19 Stanford vs.Washington St., 3:15 p.m. No. 20 Michigan at Nebraska, 5 p.m. No. 21 Boise State at Wyoming, 12:30 p.m. No. 22 Texas A&M at Auburn, 4 p.m. No. 23 Ohio at Miami (Ohio), 12:30 p.m. NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Denver 3 3 0 .500 170 138 Chargers 3 3 0 .500 148 137 RAIDERS 24 0 .333 113 171 Kansas City 1 5 0 .167 104 183 East N. England 4 3 0 .571 217 163 Miami WL T Pct PF PA Houston 6 1 0 .857 216 128 Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 117 158 Tennessee 3 4 0 .429 149 238 Jacksonville 1 5 0 .167 88 164 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 5 2 0 .714 174 161 Pittsburgh 3 3 0 .500 140 132 Cincinnati 3 4 0 .429 166 187 Cleveland 1 6 0 .143 147 180 NFC West WL T Pct PF PA 49ERS 52 0 .714 165 100 Arizona 4 3 0 .571 124 118 Seattle 4 3 0 .571 116 106 St. Louis 3 4 0 .429 130 141 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 5 2 0 .714 205 137 Philadelphia 3 3 0 .500 103 125 Dallas 3 3 0 .500 113 133 Washington 3 4 0 .429 201 200 South WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 6 0 0 1.000171 113 N. Orleans 2 4 0 .333 176 182 Tampa Bay 2 4 0 .333 148 136 Carolina 1 5 0 .167 106 144 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 5 1 0 .833 162 78 Minnesota 5 2 0 .714 167 131 Green Bay 4 3 0 .571 184 155 Detroit Week 7 results Thursday's result San Francisco 13, Seattle 6 Sunday's results Oakland 26, Jacksonville 23, OT Dallas 19, Carolina 14 Green Bay 30, St. Louis 20 Houston 43, Baltimore 13 Indianapolis 17, Cleveland 13 Minnesota 21, Arizona 14 New England 29, N.Y. Jets 26, OT New Orleans 35, Tampa Bay 28 N.Y. Giants 27, Washington 23 Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 17 Tennessee 35, Buffalo 34 Monday's result Chicago 13, Detroit 7 Week 8 schedule Thursday's game Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 5:20 p.m. Sunday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Carolina at Chicago, 10 a.m. Indianapolis at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Miami at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. New England vs. St. Louis at London, 10 a.m. San Diego at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Seattle at Detroit, 10 a.m. Washington at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 1:25 p.m. New Orleans at Denver, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game San Francisco at Arizona, 5:30 p.m. Open: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston 2 4 0 .333 133 150 —————————————————— WL T Pct PF PA 3 3 0 .500 120 117 N.Y. Jets 3 4 0 .429 159 170 Buffalo 3 4 0 .429 171 227 South