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2B – Daily News – Monday, May 3, 2010 GIANTS Continued from page 1B ‘‘I’m a big believer in this kid and have been for a long time,’’ Tracy said. ‘‘I was a believer last year when his fastball com- mand was eluding him. ... He showed me glimpses when I started here as a coach.’’ For the second straight series, the Giants lost the finale with a chance to sweep. San Francisco still finished an impressive 6-3 homestand against three 2009 playoff teams: St. Louis, Philadelphia and Colorado. ‘‘It’s difficult. A lot has to go your way. To sweep you have to be clicking everywhere, pitching and hitting, and hope that they scuffle on all ends,’’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘It’s a good homestand. It could have been a great one with this win.’’ San Francisco leadoff man and center fielder Aaron Rowand went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts in his return from the dis- abled list. He missed time with small fractures of his left cheekbone and a mild concussion after he was hit by a pitch from Vicente Padilla on April 16. Jason Giambi, in the lineup as Todd Helton got the day off, had his 19th career stolen base and first since June 22, 2008, against Cincinnati with the Yankees. ‘‘I’ve been saving up for that,’’ Giambi said, grinning. The Rockies still must go to San Diego and Los Angeles on this nine-game road trip during a stretch of 12 straight games against NL West teams. ROUT Continued from page 1B hits in 3 1-3 innings, walked two and struck out two. ‘‘I would say my location hasn’t been this bad since my rookie year,’’ Sheets said. The switch to the American League this season has been tough. ‘‘When you come to a new league its kind of like you’re a rookie again,’’ Sheets said. ‘‘There’s no comfort zone.’’ Velocity and health aren’t the problem, Sheets said, so he’ll try to work on mechanical issues before his next start. ‘‘My breaking ball is absolutely getting walloped every time,’’ Sheets said. ‘‘I’m going to keep working on that, try to get it breaking like I know it should.’’ Marcum, who also missed all of last season after elbow ligament replacement surgery, won for the first time since Sept. 11, 2008, a road win over the Chicago White Sox. Marcum allowed one run and six hits in 6 1-3 innings, walked four and struck out six. The crowd of 14,725 gave Marcum a standing ovation when he was replaced by left-hander Rommie Lewis in the seventh, and he tipped his cap as he entered the dugout. He was low-key after the game, claiming to have no special feelings about ending his long wait between wins. ‘‘Maybe later,’’ Marcum said. ‘‘I go grab some sushi later and maybe it will hit me then. Other than that, it’s just a game we won. That’s all I’m worried about.’’ Lewis worked 1 2-3 innings and Josh Roenicke pitched the ninth for the Blue Jays. Toronto jumped on Sheets with a four-run first. Hill and Vernon Wells hit RBI doubles and Gonzalez drilled a two-run shot to left, his eighth home run of the season. The Blue Jays added two more runs in the second. John Buck dou- bled and scored on John McDonald’s triple, and Lewis hit a sacrifice fly that made it 4-0. Oakland loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth but man- Kobe rallies Lakers past Jazz LOS ANGELES (AP) — While the Los Angeles Lakers’ reserves haplessly gave away the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz celebrated every basket with increasing glee, spilling off their bench in anticipation of an upset. Even the Hollywood crowd was tense, with many fans anxiously kneading or waving the giveaway white T-shirts they apparently were too cool to wear. ‘‘It was tough,’’ Kobe Bryant said. ‘‘But when it got really tough for me, I just checked myself in.’’ A few minutes after Bryant checked in, the Jazz were checkmated in these familiar rivals’ sec- ond-round opener. Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the final four minutes, and the Lakers blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 104- 99 victory Sunday. Pau Gasol had 25 points and 12 rebounds while blocking five shots for the top-seeded Lakers, whose backups were near- ly run off the court by the fired-up Jazz before Bryant seized control. Last season’s NBA finals MVP coolly scored seven consecutive points to erase Utah’s four-point lead, followed by a dynamic slice through the lane for a layup with 22.6 seconds left. Los Angeles also did it with defense, holding the Jazz to one field goal in the final 4:10. and despite an inconsistent regular season and a play- off run that hasn’t dazzled anybody to date, their team appears capable of contending for its 16th crown. ‘‘We want to make sure MCT photo Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant drives through the Utah Jazz defense to score a basket in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals in Los Angeles, Sunday. ‘‘We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole and let them gain all the momen- tum,’’ Bryant said. ‘‘At that point, you’ve just got to buckle down.’’ Los Angeles will host Game 2 of the best-of- seven series Tuesday night. The clubs are meet- ing in the postseason for the third consecutive year after the Lakers ended Utah’s last two seasons, including a first-round vic- tory in 2009. Perhaps that familiarity was one reason the Lakers again had trouble getting too excited for this one — a mood matched by the home crowd. After the Lakers’ con- secutive first-round losses to Oklahoma City inspired a crackling atmosphere for their blowout victory in Game 5 last week, Staples Center reverted to its usual relaxed state. Los Angeles handed out thousands of white shirts in an apparent attempt at a whiteout crowd to go with the Lak- ers’ Sunday white uni- forms, but the majority of fans didn’t bother to actu- ally wear them. Lakers fans get excited about titles, not T-shirts — we work and we put more effort into keeping leads and building on leads and stretching the games out,’’ Gasol said. ‘‘It’s always a little bit frustrating when you lose leads and you’re on the bench and you can’t do anything. It happens hopefully not very often, but we got stagnant. Guys weren’t sharp out there.’’ Deron Williams scored 24 points for fifth-seeded Utah, which went 3:51 without a field goal after taking a 93-89 lead. Utah has lost 15 straight to the Lakers at Staples Center, including seven playoff games. ‘‘We got a little rattled coming down the stretch — put up some shots, they just didn’t fall,’’ said Paul Millsap, who scored eight of his 16 points early in the fourth quarter. ‘‘We’re not playing to get close. We’re playing to win the game.’’ Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while C.J. Miles added 16 points, including several difficult baskets in the fourth quarter while the Jazz surged ahead with a 12-1 run. But the Lakers had plenty of time to surge back, leaving Utah again lamenting its finishing skills. Scoreboard MLB American League By The Associated Press East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 18 7 .720 — New York 16 8 .6671 1/2 Toronto 13 13.5005 1/2 Boston 11 14.440 7 Baltimore 7 18.280 11 Central Division WL Pct GB Minnesota 16 9 .640 — Detroit 16 10.615 1/2 Cleveland 10 14.4175 1/2 Chicago 10 15.400 6 Kansas City10 15.400 6 West Division Texas WL Pct GB 13 12.520 — Oakland 13 13.500 1/2 Los Angeles12 14.4621 1/2 Seattle 11 14.440 2 ——— Saturday’s Games Chicago White Sox 7, N.Y.Yankees 6 Detroit 3, L.A. Angels 2 Oakland 4, Toronto 3 Texas 6, Seattle 3 Kansas City 4, Tampa Bay 2, 11 innings Baltimore 12, Boston 9 Cleveland 5, Minnesota 4, 11 innings Sunday’s Games N.Y.Yankees 12, Chicago White Sox 3 Detroit 5, L.A. Angels 1 Minnesota 8, Cleveland 3 Toronto 9, Oakland 3 Baltimore 3, Boston 2, 10 innings Tampa Bay 1, Kansas City 0 Texas 3, Seattle 1, 11 innings Monday’s Games Baltimore (Guthrie 0-3) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 3-1), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (Cecil 1-1) at Cleveland (Talbot 3-1), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Saunders 1-4) at Boston (Buchholz 2-2), 4:10 p.m. Detroit (Scherzer 1-1) at Minnesota (S.Baker 2-2), 5:10 p.m. Kansas City (Meche 0-2) at Chicago White Sox (Peavy 0-2), 5:10 p.m. Texas (Harden 1-1) at Oakland (Braden 3-1), 7:05 p.m. Tuesday’s Games Baltimore at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Toronto at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Detroit at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Kansas City at Chicago White Sox, 5:10 p.m. Texas at Oakland, 7:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. National League East Division WL Pct GB New York 14 10.583 — Philadelphia13 10.565 1/2 Florida 13 12.5201 1/2 Washington13 12.5201 1/2 Atlanta 11 14.4403 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB St. Louis 17 8 .680 — Chicago 13 13.5004 1/2 Cincinnati 12 13.480 5 Milwaukee 10 15.400 7 Pittsburgh 10 15.400 7 Houston 8 16.3338 1/2 West Division WL Pct GB San Diego 16 9 .640 — San Francisco 14 10 .5831 1/2 Colorado 12 13.480 4 Arizona 11 14.440 5 Los Angeles11 14.440 5 ——— Saturday’s Games Chicago Cubs 7, Arizona 5 St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 3 Atlanta 10, Houston 1 Philadelphia 10, N.Y. Mets 0 San Francisco 6, Colorado 1 Florida 7, Washington 1 Milwaukee 2, San Diego 1 L.A. Dodgers 5, Pittsburgh 1 Sunday’s Games Florida 9, Washington 3 Atlanta 7, Houston 1 St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 0 Chicago Cubs 10, Arizona 5 Colorado 4, San Francisco 1 San Diego 8, Milwaukee 0 L.A. Dodgers 9, Pittsburgh 3 N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia, late Monday’s Games St. Louis (J.Garcia 2-1) at Philadelphia (Blanton 0-0), 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (O.Perez 0-2) at Cincinnati (Leake 2-0), 4:10 p.m. Arizona (C.Valdez 0-0) at Houston (F.Paulino 0-3), 5:05 p.m. Colorado (Jimenez 5-0) at San Diego (Correia 4-1), 7:05 p.m. Tuesday’s Games Atlanta at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. St. Louis at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. San Francisco at Florida, 4:10 p.m. Arizona at Houston, 5:08 p.m. Colorado at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. NBA Playoff Glance By The Associated Press FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7) (x-if necessary) EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland 4, Chicago 1 Saturday, April 17: Cleveland 96, Chica- go 83 Monday, April 19: Cleveland 112, Chica- go 102 Thursday, April 22: Chicago 108, Cleve- land 106 Sunday, April 25: Cleveland 121, Chica- go 98 Tuesday, April 27: Cleveland 96, Chica- go 94 Orlando 4, Charlotte 0 Sunday, April 18: Orlando 98, Charlotte 89 Wednesday, April 21: Orlando 92, Char- lotte 77 Saturday, April 24: Orlando 90, Char- lotte 86 Monday, April 26: Orlando 99, Charlotte 90 Atlanta 4, Milwaukee 3 Saturday, April 17: Atlanta 102, Milwau- kee 92 Tuesday, April 20: Atlanta 96, Milwaukee 86 Saturday, April 24: Milwaukee 107, Atlanta 89 Monday, April 26: Milwaukee 111, Atlanta 104 Wednesday, April 28: Milwaukee 91, Atlanta 87 Friday, April 30: Atlanta 83, Milwaukee 69 Sunday, May 2: Atlanta 95, Milwaukee 74 Boston 4, Miami 1 Saturday, April 17: Boston 85, Miami 76 Tuesday, April 20: Boston 106, Miami 77 Friday, April 23: Boston 100, Miami 98 Sunday, April 25: Miami 101, Boston 92 Tuesday, April 27: Boston 96, Miami 86 WESTERN CONFERENCE L.A. Lakers 4, Oklahoma City 2 Sunday, April 18: L.A. Lakers 87, Okla- homa City 79 Tuesday, April 20: L.A. Lakers 95, Okla- homa City 92 Thursday, April 22: Oklahoma City 101, L.A. Lakers 96 Saturday, April 24: Oklahoma City 110, L.A. Lakers 89 Tuesday, April 27: L.A. Lakers 111, Oklahoma City 87 Friday, April 30: L.A. Lakers 95, Okla- homa City 94 San Antonio 4, Dallas 2 Sunday, April 18: Dallas 100, San Anto- nio 94 Wednesday, April 21: San Antonio 102, Dallas 88 Friday, April 23: San Antonio 94, Dallas 90 Sunday, April 25: San Antonio 92, Dallas 89 Tuesday, April 27: Dallas 103, San Anto- nio 81 Thursday, April 29: San Antonio 97, Dal- las 87 Phoenix 4, Portland 2 Sunday, April 18: Portland 105, Phoenix 100 Tuesday, April 20: Phoenix 119, Port- land 90 Thursday, April 22: Phoenix 108, Port- land 89 Saturday, April 24: Portland 96, Phoenix 87 Monday, April 26: Phoenix 107, Portland 88 Thursday, April 29: Phoenix 99, Portland 90 Utah 4, Denver 2 Saturday, April 17: Denver 126, Utah 113 Monday, April 19: Utah 114, Denver 111 Friday, April 23: Utah 105, Denver 93 Sunday, April 25: Utah 117, Denver 106 Wednesday, April 28: Denver 116, Utah 102 Friday, April 30: Utah 112, Denver 104 CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland 1, Boston 0 Saturday, May 1: Cleveland 101, Boston 93 Monday, May 3: Boston at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Friday, May 7: Cleveland at Boston, 4 p.m. Sunday, May 9: Cleveland at Boston, 12:30 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 11: Boston at Cleve- land, TBD x-Thursday, May 13: Cleveland at Boston, TBD x-Sunday, May 16: Boston at Cleveland, 12:30 p.m. Atlanta vs. Orlando Tuesday, May 4: Atlanta at Orlando, 5p.m. Thursday, May 6: Atlanta at Orlando, 5 p.m. Saturday, May 8: Orlando at Atlanta, 2 p.m. Monday, May 10: Orlando at Atlanta, 5 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Atlanta at Orlan- do, TBD x-Friday, May 14: Orlando at Atlanta, TBD x-Sunday, May 16: Atlanta at Orlando, TBD WESTERN CONFERENCE Phoenix vs. San Antonio Monday, May 3: San Antonio at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5: San Antonio at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Friday, May 7: Phoenix at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 9: Phoenix at San Antonio, 5 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 11: San Antonio at Phoenix, TBD x-Thursday, May 13: Phoenix at San Antonio, TBD x-Sunday, May 16: San Antonio at Phoenix, TBD L.A. Lakers 1, Utah 0 Sunday, May 2: L.A. Lakers 104, Utah 99 Tuesday, May 4: Utah at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8: L.A. Lakers at Utah, 5 p.m. Monday, May 10: L.A. Lakers at Utah, 7:30 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Utah at L.A. Lak- ers, TBD x-Friday, May 14: L.A. Lakers at Utah, TBD x-Monday, May 17: Utah at L.A. Lakers, 6 p.m. NHL Playoff Glance By The Associated Press CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) EASTERN CONFERENCE Pittsburgh 1, Montreal 1 Friday, April 30: Pittsburgh 6, Montreal 3 Sunday, May 2: Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 1 Tuesday, May 4: Pittsburgh at Montreal, 4p.m. Thursday, May 6: Pittsburgh at Montreal, 4 p.m. x-Saturday, May 8: Montreal at Pitts- burgh, 4 p.m. x-Monday, May 10: Pittsburgh at Mon- treal, 4 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Montreal at Pitts- burgh, TBD Boston 1, Philadelphia 0 Saturday, May 1: Boston 5, Philadelphia 4, OT Monday, May 3: Philadelphia at Boston, 4p.m. Wednesday, May 5: Boston at Philadel- phia, 4 p.m. Friday, May 7: Boston at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. x-Monday, May 10: Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Boston at Philadelphia, TBD x-Friday, May 14: Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m. WESTERN CONFERENCE Vancouver 1, Chicago 0 Saturday, May 1: Vancouver 5, Chicago 1 Monday, May 3: Vancouver at Chicago, 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 5: Chicago at Vancou- ver, 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 7: Chicago at Vancouver, 6:30 p.m. x-Sunday, May 9:Vancouver at Chicago, 5 p.m. x-Tuesday, May 11: Chicago at Vancou- ver, 6:30 p.m. x-Thursday, May 13: Vancouver at Chicago, 5 p.m. San Jose 1, Detroit 0 Thursday, April 29: San Jose 4, Detroit 3 Sunday, May 2: Detroit at San Jose 5p.m. Tuesday, May 4: San Jose at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 6: San Jose at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. x-Saturday, May 8: Detroit at San Jose, 7 p.m. x-Monday, May 10: San Jose at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 12: Detroit at San Jose, TBD MOVES By The Associated Press BASEBALL American League CHICAGO WHITE SOX—Optioned C Donny Lucy to Charlotte (IL). MINNESOTA TWINS—Recalled C Wil- son Ramos from Rochester (IL). Placed RHP Pat Neshek on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 29. NEW YORK YANKEES—Placed OF Curtis Granderson on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Mark Melancon from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). National League SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS—Activated CF Aaron Rowand from the 15-day DL. Optioned RHP Waldis Joaquin to Fresno (PCL). COLLEGE By The Associated Press EAST Hofstra 13, Towson 7 Manhattan 4, Niagara 2 Molloy 9, C.W. Post 2 Susquehanna 4, Merchant Marine 3 SOUTH Charlotte 8, Temple 7 Drury at Kentucky Wesleyan, ppd., rain Georgia at Vanderbilt, ccd. Georgia Southern 14, Furman 8 Indianapolis at N. Kentucky, ppd., rain Morehead St. at Austin Peay, ccd. North Florida at Belmont, ppd. Rose-Hulman at Centre, ppd., rain Tennessee 3, Kentucky 1 Tennessee Tech at E. Kentucky, ppd., rain Transylvania 9, Manchester 8 MIDWEST Augustana, S.D. 22-17, Northern St. 5-9 Nebraska 1, Texas A&M 0 North Dakota St. 13-12, S. Utah 7-4 St. Thomas, Minn. 5, St. Scholastica 1 South Dakota St 9, Centenary 7 SOUTHWEST Auburn 13, Arkansas 2 Houston Baptist 11, Chicago St. 10 Tarleton St. 6, SE Oklahoma 2 Texas 4, Baylor 1 Texas-Arlington 19, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4 Texas Tech 16, Missouri 15 FAR WEST California 9, Oregon State 3 Pacific 18, Cal St.-Fullerton 10 TOURNAMENT Skyline Conference Championship Farmingdale St. 11, Old Westbury 10 aged just one run on a two-out single by Rajai Davis. Cliff Pennington ended the threat by grounding out. Toronto chased Sheets by scoring three more runs in the fourth. Lewis hit a two-run shot to right, his first of the year, and Hill followed with a drive to left, his second. It’s the third time this season the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back homers. Sheets struck out Adam Lind but left after Vernon Wells singled. ‘‘They hit the ball hard,’’ Sheets said. ‘‘The outs were hard, every- thing was hard. I’m not sure why except balls were in the middle of the plate.’’ NOTES: Oakland’s Adam Ros- ales hit a two-run single in the eighth. ... Toronto OF Travis Snider was a late scratch with flulike symptoms and was replaced by McDonald, with Jose Bautista moving to right. ... Wells made a leaping catch up against the wall in center to retire Eric Chavez in the sixth. ... Buck went 3 for 4 with a career high three doubles, all to left. ... Gonzalez hit eight home runs in 291 at bats last season. Celtics need more than Rondo in Game 2 CLEVELAND (AP) — As the Boston Celtics wore down and showed their age in the fourth quarter of Game 1, one of them was still accelerating. The Cavaliers couldn’t slow Rajon Rondo. Shaquille O’Neal took care of that. Cle v eland’ s humongous center flattened Rondo on a drive to the basket in the closing minutes, a hard — and mostly clean — two-handed foul that may have contributed to the Cav- aliers’ 101-93 win as much as LeBron James’ 35 points or Mo Williams’ surpris- ing slam dunk over Paul Pierce. As Rondo, who finished with 27 points and 12 assists, approached the bas- ket, O’Neal came across the lane and knocked the Celtics’ speedy point guard to the floor. After spend- ing a few minutes gathering himself and making sure all his Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James enjoys a laugh during the presentation ceremony of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for NBA Season Most Valuable Player at the University of Akron Rhodes Arena Sunday. limbs were still functioning, Rondo missed the first free throw before making the second. He didn’t score again. ‘‘Shaq has always fouled me like that,’’ Rondo said Sunday as the Celtics prepared for Monday’s Game 2 at Quicken Loans Arena. ‘‘That’s going to happen, but I’m still going to get up.’’ The Celtics led by 11 in the third quarter of Game 1 and would be up in this best-of-seven series if not for a second- half fizzle that can be partially blamed on their aging ros- ter as well as some blown opportunities late in the game. With Cleveland leading 92-91, Ray Allen missed a 3- pointer when he was accidentally bumped by referee Jason Phillips. Boston trailed 94-91 when Pierce tried a short jumper that bounced off the rim. Kevin Garnett was alone underneath for an easy putback but misfired. The Celtics had their chances. They missed them. MCT photo