As rally past Astros, 7-3

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2007 SPORTS LAREDO MORNING TIMES | 3B A’s rally past Astros, 7-3 ASSOCIATED PRESS MLB ROUNDUP Dustin McGowan (3-2) won his third straight decision and also added a single, and Adam Lind walked twice in the same inning. The Blue Jays concluded a six-day, sixgame road trip with a 3-3 record. McGowan struck out six in six innings and Toronto won in San Francisco for the first time in six tries, improving to 2-7 alltime against the Giants. He allowed two runs and seven hits with four walks. Former Giant Jeremy Accardo finished for his eighth save in 10 chances. Angels 6, Reds 3 CINCINNATI — Vladimir Guerrero emerged from his deep slump by driving in four runs, and John Lackey became the major leagues’ first 10-game winner, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds The AL West leaders extended the majors’ best surge — 24-9 since May 9. They also improved to 6-2 in interleague play, showing the depth and versatility to win in either league. They’ve carried on lately without much from Guerrero, who was in an 0-for-14 slump when he got back in the swing against the NL’s worst team. Guerrero drove in runs with a grounder and a pair of doubles off Kyle Lohse (3-8), who had pitched well in his last three starts. The four RBIs matched Guerrero’s season high. Padres 9, Devil Rays 0 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Jake Peavy allowed two hits in seven innings and the Padres hit three home runs and snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak, 9-0 over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Terrmel Sledge went deep for San Diego. Peavy (8-1), who lowered his NL-leading ERA to 1.82, struck out eight and walked three while limiting the Devil Rays to a pair of fifth-inning singles by Carlos Pena and Dioner Navarro. The right-hander also extended his major league-leading streak of consecutive innings without allowing a home run to 69, spanning 10 starts. Gonzalez and Kouzmanoff homered during San Diego’s five-run first against Edwin Jackson (0-8), who allowed seven of the eight batters he faced to reach base. Khalil Greene added a three-run double in the third off Jason Hammel, and Sledge hit a solo homer off Brian Stokes to make it 9-0 in the eighth. HOUSTON — Mark Ellis hit a two-run double in the eighth inning off Dan Wheeler as the Oakland Athletics rallied past the Houston Astros 7-3 on Wednesday night. Eric Chavez added a two-run single during the five-run eighth and also homered for the A’s, who have won nine of their last 11. Jason Kendall’s leadoff homer in the sixth off the facade in leftcenter was his first home run since May 31, 2006, a span of 157 games and 619 at-bats. It ended the second-longest drought in the majors among active players. Wheeler (0-4), demoted from the closer role after blowing a save in Colorado last Thursday, struck out the first two A’s he faced in the eighth before Kendall and Marco Scutaro singled. Scutaro pinch-hit for Oakland starter Joe Blanton. Mark Kotsay then drove a double into the left-field corner to score Kendall and tie the game, and Ellis lined Wheeler’s next pitch off the left-field wall to bring home Scutaro and Kotsay. Blue Jays 7, Giants 4 SAN FRANCISCO — To the San Francisco Giants, Tim Lincecum is “Franchise.” Toronto treated him like a typical freshman. Aaron Hill hit a two-run single in the Blue Jays’ five-run fourth inning, Matt Stairs added two RBIs and Toronto handed Lincecum his first major league loss and avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-4 victory. Lincecum questioned his poise, one of the characteristics the Giants have long praised. “I was pretty frustrated and showing it, and that’s not something I should be doing,” said Lincecum. “I’ll talk to some guys and get my head back in it. I always thought that was my best asset. My dad said, ‘Don’t ever show emotion,’ and I did today.” Yankees 7, Diamondbacks 2 NEW YORK — Mike Mussina won his first game in more than a month, Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 25th homer and the New York Yankees beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 Wednesday night to extend their season-high winning streak to eight. Hideki Matsui hit a three-run drive and Jorge Posada also connected for New York (32-31), which has won 11 of its last 13 to move above .500 for the first time since it was 8-7 on April 20. Mussina (3-3) allowed two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings to earn his first win since beating Texas on May 9. He also became the first major league pitcher with 20 interleague wins, running his record to 20-10 in 40 starts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Mussina, who was 0-2 with three no-decisions over his previous five starts, yielded one run in six innings in his previous start against the Chicago White Sox but was lifted after just 79 pitches. Mussina said he was disappointed about being pulled, leading to a discussion between the pitcher and manager Joe Torre. Pirates 8, Rangers 1 PITTSBURGH — Ian Snell pitched his first career complete game, Jose Bautista had three hits and three RBIs and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Texas Rangers 81 on Wednesday night. Jose Castillo had two hits and an RBI, Freddy Sanchez drove in two runs and Chris Duffy added a pair of hits and an RBI for Pittsburgh, which has won the first two games of the interleague series. The Pirates entered the series having lost nine of 12 but have beaten up on the Rangers, who have lost 15 of their last 20 at home. The Rangers came into the night one of three teams in the majors with a worse record than Pittsburgh. Snell (6-4) gave up an unearned run and seven hits, striking out seven. He has allowed only three earned runs during his three starts in June, and his ERA, already eighth in the NL coming into the contest, dropped to 2.63. Brewers 3, Tigers 2 DETROIT — Bill Hall’s go-ahead, tworun homer in the eighth inning sent the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. One night after Detroit’s Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against Milwaukee, Mike Maroth pitched seven sharp innings as the Tigers tried to build on the buzz at Com- Photo by Nam Y. Huh | AP Seattle Mariners’Jose Guillen (6) is out on a fielder’s choice at second base as Chicago Cubs second baseman Mike Fontenot, center, jumps to avoid a collision and throws to first base and shortstop Ryan Theriot watches during the sixth inning of an interleague baseball game Wednesday, in Chicago. The Mariners’ Raul Ibanez was out at first base. erica Park. Fernando Rodney (1-5) was one out from getting through the eighth with a 21 lead, but Hall drove a full-count pitch over the left-field fence — the latest failure for Detroit’s struggling bullpen. Prince Fielder was aboard on a one-out single. Twins 6, Braves 0 MINNEAPOLIS — Carlos Silva pitched his second career shutout, Torii Hunter dropped down a rare bunt for an RBI single and later hit the last of Minnesota’s three home runs and the Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 6-0. Lew Ford went deep and Justin Morneau hit a two-run shot to support Silva (4-7), who was coming off his worst start of the season. Silva struck out only two, but avoided a walk and scattered eight singles — rebounding from a nine-hit, seven-run, three-inning disaster last week. Silva’s wife, Maria, gave birth to a boy named Justin on Tuesday. Silva got double-play balls hit by Willie Harris in the third, Brian McCann in the fourth and Jeff Francoeur in the seventh. As Silva fanned Kelly Johnson to finish the eighth, the pitcher bent over and leaned forward — his body language encouraging a called strike from home plate umpire Ed Rapuano — before pumping his fist as he sprinted off the mound. Rockies 12, Red Sox 2 BOSTON — Todd Helton drove in four runs, Brad Hawpe hit a three-run homer and the Colorado Rockies roughed up Curt Schilling in his first start since his near nohitter, beating the Boston Red Sox 12-2. Schilling (6-3) followed perhaps the best start of his career with one of his poorest since he came to Boston before the 2004 season. Last Thursday, he beat Oakland 1-0 and allowed one hit — a single by Shannon Stewart with two outs in the ninth. Cubs 3, Mariners 2 CHICAGO — Sean Marshall pitched eight strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs beat Seattle 3-2 to snap the Mariners’ seasonhigh five-game win streak. Mike Fontenot’s two-run single with the bases-loaded in the fifth broke a 1-1 tie, sending the Mariners to just their second loss in 11 games. After winning five straight in their final at-bat, there were no heroics for the Mariners. Marshall won his third straight start, allowing two runs and seven hits with no walks, striking out one. He made one mistake against Richie Sexson, who led off the second with his 10th homer. Otherwise Marshall (3-2) kept a team that began the night with a major leagueleading 13-3 mark against lefties in check. Ryan Dempster pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances. Earnhardt Jr. replacing Busch in Hendrick’s race team next season By JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joining Hendrick Motorsports, hopefully moving one step closer to a championship that has eluded him while driving for his late father’s company. Rick Hendrick said Earnhardt will replace Kyle Busch on his star-studded roster of drivers. The announcement Wednesday ended five weeks of recruiting for NASCAR’s most popular driver, who became a free agent May 10 when he said he would leave DEI at the end of this season. His criteria for a new team included finding a place he could win championships, and Hendrick is the perfect fit. Hendrick has won six championships, and has 10 wins through 14 points races this season. “It became apparent to me the man I wanted to drive for,” Earnhardt said at a news conference. “He competes with integrity and most importantly, he wins races ... So today, it is with great honor to introduce my new boss for 2008, Mr. Rick Hendrick.” It was not immediately clear what number Earnhardt will drive, and who will sponsor the car. Since starting in NASCAR, Earnhardt has driven the No. 8 Budweiser Chevro- let. It’s possible that Hendrick could trade Busch’s No. 5 to DEI for the No. 8, should he wind up signing with Earnhardt’s old team. “We haven’t even began to work around that and see what the options are and opportunities are and that’s something we’ll work out down the road,” Earnhardt said. Hendrick has longtime ties to Earnhardt’s family. He fielded a car in 1983 for Dale Earnhardt Sr., who drove it to a Busch Series win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. That entry was co-owned by Robert Gee, who is Junior’s maternal grandfather. Joining Hendrick’s stable could anger Earnhardt’s followers because it will team him with Jeff Gordon, a driver generally de- spised by his rabid fans. Following several of his recent wins, Earnhardt’s fans have thrown beer cans at Gordon, most notably after career win No. 76 — in April at Talladega Superspeedway. The win tied Gordon with the elder Earnhardt on NASCAR’s victory list. “We do have a personal competition. If you want to call it a rivalry, fine,” Earnhardt said. “He’s fun to race with, and especially if you beat him, it’s a good feeling. ... We can both challenge each other to be better race car drivers.” DALE EARNHARDT JR. Polk, Bulldogs seek first CWS title By CHRIS TALBOTT ASSOCIATED PRESS STARKVILLE, Miss. — By making perhaps his most unlikely run to the College World Series, Mississippi State baseball coach Ron Polk has quieted his critics — for now. The Bulldogs arrive for Friday’s opener against North Carolina on a five-game winning streak that brought out Polk’s sly grin. “Now people are coming up and hugging me and shaking my hand, and I don’t know who I’m shaking hands with,” Polk said after his team swept Clemson in Saturday’s super regional. “They love me right now. No, I know what the fans are all about. The Internets and blogs and all that, they can be a little tough on coaches.” His 1,350 wins — No. 7 on the career list — should be enough to get a coach some leeway. But not in Starkville, where winning no longer seems to be the point for some fans. If it were, no one would peep at Polk. He’s never had a losing season in 34 years as a head coach. He’s guided his teams — Georgia Southern, Mississippi State, Geor- gia, and after a brief retirement Mississippi State again — to the NCAA postseason 24 times and to eight College World Series, including six with the Bulldogs. He’s the winningest coach in SEC history in any sport. But vocal fans at fireronpolk.com and other Internet blog sites don’t think winning is enough. They want the national title, something Polk has not been able to deliver. Mixed in with statistical breakdowns and reviews of Polk’s coaching style is a little barb that really hurts. Despite the coach’s 69-51 postseason record, his teams are 7-14 in the Series. Few coaches have as much experience as the 63-year-old Polk. He pointed out he’s been to the College World Series in five different decades as a coach — as a graduate assistant with Arizona in 1966, as head coach at Georgia Southern in 1973, with Mississippi State in the 1980s and ‘90s, and now both Georgia and Mississippi State in the 2000s. When Polk talks about what it takes to win in Omaha, his players tend to listen. “We achieved our goal to go to Omaha,” Polk said he told his players. “Let’s don’t feel like that’s it, we’re done. We’d like to play for the national championship.” That’s a scenario almost no one could have imagined at the end of the regular season. The Bulldogs, picked to finish last in the SEC’s Western Division, played well enough to earn the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament. Mississippi State had lost eight of 10 going into the Tallahassee regional after being swept out of the league tournament. It appeared the Bulldogs’ season was over, and the bloggers were making noise. The din was impossible to ignore. “We’ve heard it, but we can’t really let that affect us,” closer Aaron Weatherford said. “If anything that has drawn us closer together.” And that helped them shock Florida State with two upsets to advance to the super regional against Clemson, the team that knocked them out of the postseason a year ago. Every move the outgunned Polk made against the Tigers worked and Clemson coach Jack Leggett couldn’t help but admire Polk’s pluck.