WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008
SPORTS
LAREDO MORNING TIMES | 3B
Baltimore Orioles Luke Scott guides Ramon Hernandez in to score on Adam Jones' first inning three-run double off New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina in their baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday.
Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP
Houston Astros' Hunter Pence (9) hits a grand slam in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs in a baseball game Tuesday in Houston. Houston won 4-2.
Pence’s grand slam lifts Orioles ruin A-Rod’s first Astros over Cubs 4-2 game back with Yanks
Photo by Kathy Willens | AP
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MLB ROUNDUP
innings one day after Jon Lester’s no-hitter against Kansas City and the Red Sox silenced the Royals bats again. Gil Meche (3-6) allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings and retired 16 of his last 18 batters after Boston took a 2-0 lead in the second. White Sox 4, Indians 1 CHICAGO — Jose Contreras outpitched C.C. Sabathia, and Jim Thome and Carlos Quentin hit solo homers to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians and their season-high sixth straight win Tuesday. It’s the White Sox’s longest streak since they won nine in a row from June 15-24, 2006. Quentin went deep in the first, hitting his American Leagueleading 12th homer and his second in as many games. Thome connected on the first pitch of the second inning, and Contreras (53) kept the American League’s weakest offense in check while leading AL Central leader Chicago to its ninth win in 12 games. Sabathia (3-6) was a toughluck loser after winning his previous two starts. NATIONAL LEAGUE Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 2 MIAMI — Maybe these firstplace Florida Marlins are no fluke. Dan Uggla hit his 14th home run and Kevin Gregg escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning to help the Marlins take the opening game in a series between division leaders, beating Arizona 3-2 on Tuesday night.
NEW YORK — Just when the slumping New York Yankees got Alex Rodriguez back, Derek Jeter went down with an injury that nearly led to a brawl with Baltimore. Adam Jones hit a three-run double during Baltimore’s sevenrun first inning against Mike Mussina (6-4), and the Orioles routed New York 12-2 Tuesday night in a testy game that included a late homer by A-Rod in his return from the disabled list. Angels 3, Blue Jays 1 TORONTO — John Lackey won for the first time since Sept. 28, pitching seven strong innings to help the Angels get a rare victory in Toronto. Making his second start of the year after returning from a strained triceps, Lackey (1-0) gave up a leadoff homer to Toronto’s Brad Wilkerson in the first, then blanked the Blue Jays the rest of the way. Francisco Rodriguez loaded the bases with three straight walks in the ninth, but held on to record his major-league leading 18th save. Tigers 12, Mariners 8 DETROIT — Justin Verlander struck out a season-high seven and Edgar Renteria hit one of Detroit’s four homers and matched a career high with five RBIs in the Tigers’ victory over Seattle. Verlander (2-7) gave up one run, four hits and walked one over six innings, earning his first win in nearly a month. Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen also homered for the Tigers, who had lost six of seven. Red Sox 2, Royals 1 BOSTON — Rookie Justin Masterson pitched 6 1-3 strong
Mark Hendrickson (6-2) needed 97 pitches to get through five innings but left with a 2-1 lead, and Gregg earned his eighth save. Micah Owings (5-2), who had a career-high 10 strikeouts but allowed three runs in seven innings. Braves 6, Mets 2 ATLANTA — Jorge Campillo pitched six scoreless innings for his first major league win, leading to the Atlanta Braves to a 6-2 win over New York on Tuesday night and a sweep of their doubleheader with the Mets. Atlanta won the opener 6-1 behind Tom Glavine. Campillo, making just his second career start at age 30, allowed three hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone. Kelly Johnson’s two-run triple capped a three-run third for the Braves, who improved the NL’s best home record to 18-5 with the sweep. Mark Kotsay added a two-run homer. Phillies 1, Nationals 0 WASHINGTON — Greg Dobbs’ RBI pinch-hit single in the ninth inning gave the Philadelphia Phillies the victory. Dobbs picked up the gamewinning RBI as a pinch hitter for reliever Tom Gordon. Dobbs has 10 pinch hits and nine RBIs in 22 at-bats this season. Brewers 7, Pirates 2 PITTSBURGH — Manny Parra pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings, and Mike Cameron and Corey Hart homered to help the Milwaukee Brewers snap a five-game losing streak. Parra (2-2) won for the first time since beating San Francisco on April 5, his first start of the season. The 25-year-old lefthander allowed only four hits and a walk, and struck out six.
HOUSTON— Hunter Pence hit a grand slam to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. A day after snapping a career-high 16-game hitting streak with an 0-for-4 night, Pence had three hits, including a shot to the first row in right field in the fourth inning. It landed near a neon orange sign that read “Hunter Pence Rocks” in bold block letters. Pence also had a single and a double and has 18 RBIs in the last 18 games. Miguel Tejada doubled in the fourth inning for his 1,800th hit. He is the 44th shortstop in major league history to reach the milestone and has the most RBIs (34) and hits (64) of any player at his position this season.
Lance Berkman walked before Carlos Lee popped out. Geoff Blum then walked to load the bases before Pence’s second career grand slam. Astros closer Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save in 16 opportunities. Aramis Ramirez’s two-run homer to left-center field put Chicago up 2-0 in the fourth inning. It was his second consecutive game with a home run after going 20 games without one. Derrek Lee doubled before the homer by Ramirez. Astros starter Chris Sampson (3-3) continued his success against the Cubs, allowing seven hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings. Sampson is 3-0 in four career starts against Chicago with four earned runs allowed. Sampson gave up a pair of singles with two outs in the first before retiring the next seven batters. After the home run by
Ramirez in the fourth, he retired nine of the next 10. He was replaced in the seventh inning by Doug Brocail after giving up a pair of singles and a walk. Ryan Dempster (5-2) allowed six hits and four runs with five strikeouts in six innings. Jose Ascanio, called up from Triple-A Iowa after Monday night’s game, allowed two hits and walked two in two scoreless innings. Kosuke Fukudome saved the Cubs from another homer with an impressive leaping catch at the right-field wall on a ball hit by Geoff Blum in the eighth inning. N o t e s : Cubs 2B Mark DeRosa extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with two hits. ... Berkman was 1-for-3 with a walk and a pair of strikeouts after snapping his 17game hitting streak on Monday night. On his second strikeout, he lost the bat, sending it flying toward Carlos Lee who had to duck to avoid it.
Cowboys extend contracts for Barber, Newman through 2014
ByJAIME ARON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING — The Dallas Cowboys signed running back Marion Barber and cornerback Terence Newman to long-term extensions Tuesday, just in time to beat a deadline that would’ve changed how the money is spread over the salary cap. It wasn’t cheap, though, costing Jerry Jones roughly $95 million. At least he knows he’ll have both players through 2014. Newman’s deal is a six-year extension to the final year left on his initial contract. It’s worth more than $50 million, with a $12 million signing bonus and $22.5 million guaranteed over the first three years. Barber, a restricted free agent, received a $45 million, seven-year contract that includes $16 million in guaranteed bonuses. It’s worth $21 million over the first three years, all of which puts him in the salary range of LaDainian Tomlinson, Edgerrin James and Larry Johnson — heady stuff for a guy whose only career start came in his last game. “He kept repeating the numbers over and over,” agent Drew Rosenhaus said. “He sat there at least an extra 20 minutes after we got the deal done in a state of shock.” The urgency to get both deals done stemmed from NFL owners voting unanimously Tuesday to end their labor agreement with the players’ union in 2011. Deals signed after 3 p.m. Tuesday
Photo by Rick Havner | AP
In this Dec. 22, 2007 file photo, Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber carries the ball during a game in Charlotte, N.C.The Cowboys signed Barber and cornerback Terence Newman to long-term extensions Tuesday just in time to beat a deadline that would have changed how the money is spread over the salary cap.
would’ve had to follow different rules. Because the Cowboys were expected to keep both players, the sense of urgency helped get the deals done. “It’s going to be a little more complicated for teams to negotiate contracts going forward,” Rosenhaus said. “It was nice to get a good deal and not have to worry about dealing with the new system we’re going to have. It was a plus for both sides to get a deal done.” Barber led the NFC in rushing touchdowns two seasons ago, then made an even bigger impression on the club last season despite backing up Julius Jones. His powerful style has earned him the nickname “Marion the Barbarian” and made him a fan favorite. And a Pro Bowler.