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LOS ANGELES —Put the Los Angeles Dodgers in front of Tim Lincecum and he cant
help but get pumped. John Matuszak Jersey . Buster Posey wasnt
catching Lincecum, yet he noticed “a little extra giddy up” in the pitcher
before Tuesday nights game. Lincecum bounced back from consecutive home losses
with his third straight road win to help the San Francisco Giants beat the
Dodgers 4-1 and extend their NL West lead to 1 1/2 games over their division
rival. “I was riding more adrenaline because it was the Dodgers and I knew it
was a big game,” he said. “I felt like I had a pretty good rhythm out there in
the bullpen and carried it into the game.” The two-time NL Cy Young winner
allowed one run and five hits in 5 2-3 innings after failing to pitch past the
fourth inning in his last start, a loss to Washington last week. Lincecum (7-13)
struck out four and walked one while the Giants provided him slightly more than
his average of 3.91 runs of support. On a humid night, Lincecum was throwing in
the low 90s. “It was good to see him throw like that,” Giants manager Bruce
Bochy said. “He mixed it up well and used all of his pitches. He had a good look
about him, good focus. That was a great sign for us and Timmy. He looked very
determined.” A night after Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw combined for 20
strikeouts and no walks in the series opener, Lincecum and Dodgers starter
Joe Blanton brought losing records into their matchup. But Lincecum got the job
done to earn his first win at Dodger Stadium in five starts and didnt allow any
of the big innings that have plagued him this season. Javier Lopez pitched the
ninth to earn his third save in five chances. Lincecum is focused on finishing
the season strong after his ups and downs in the first half. “You cant change
anything that happened. You can just make better pitches now,” he said. “Just
moving forward one batter at a time. I know its cliched, but when I break it
down small like that it relieves pressure on me.” Blanton (8-12) gave up four
runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out six and walked two to fall to 0-3
in four starts with the Dodgers since being acquired from Philadelphia on Aug.
4. “He did a great job of limiting the damage to two runs in the first inning
and getting out of that jam,” Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. “It gave us a
chance to stay in the game.” Posey, who started at first base while
Hector Sanchez took his spot behind the plate, got things started for the Giants
with a two-run single in the first inning. They added two runs in the fourth on
an RBI single by Brandon Crawford and run-scoring double by Angel Pagan. He
threw out Ellis at the plate for the first out of the sixth. “It definitely
pumped me up,” said Lincecum, who backed up the play. “I screamed my head off
when he made that play.” The Dodgers lost Monday nights series opener 2-1,
getting only a ninth-inning homer from Hanley Ramirez, and again failed to
generate much offence. Matt Kemps bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the sixth
accounted for their run. “I didnt come through on that one,” he said. “We got
one run, but it would have been better to hit one over the fence and tie the
game.” Kemp snapped his 0-for-21 drought with a ninth-inning single.
Andre Ethier struggled again, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Notes: The
Giants are 9-17 overall in Lincecums starts this season. ... Dodgers INF
Justin Sellers will undergo lower back surgery on Thursday. He has been on the
DL since May 23 with a bulging disk. ... The Dodgers reinstated RHP
Rubby De La Rosa from the 60-day DL and optioned RHP Javy Guerra to Triple-A
Albuquerque. Guerra had a 2-3 record with eight saves and a 2.66 ERA while
appearing in 44 games. De La Rosa had been on the DL since undergoing Tommy John
surgery last August. In the minors this season, he posted a 1-0 record and did
not allow a run to score over 12 innings in stints with Single-A Rancho
Cucamonga and the Arizona League Dodgers. Willie Brown Jersey . The star Scottish
midfielder will suit up for his first game with the Vancouver Whitecaps on
Wednesday as they visit the Colorado Rapids. Sebastian Janikowski Black Jersey . —
Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte expects to play Monday night against the
Dallas Cowboys after missing a game because of a sprained right ankle. http://www.nflraidersfansshop.com/philip-wheeler-womens-jersey/
. When something happens on the football field and when I think of why, and I do
not know, it makes me feel uneasy, insecure and almost incompetent. Ted Hendricks Jersey . Juuso Puustinen and
Ryan Thang each had a goal and an assist while Taylor Beck, Zack Stortini and
Michael Latta also scored for Milwaukee to make a winner of Ian Herbers in his
coaching debut. Fred Biletnikoff Jersey . Whether it was
reliever Francisco Cordero failing to cover first base to allow two runs to
score, or two players who were doubled up on line outs, the Blue Jays were in a
generous mood on Thursday. DALLAS —When the Dallas Mavericks let stalwart
defender Tyson Chandler go after winning their first NBA championship, there was
a big hole in the middle and plenty of questions about how drastically it would
affect them. Especially going into a season with a compressed 66-game schedule
and limited preseason workouts. Well, guess what? The Mavericks have been quite
defensive, even without Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson on the roster. And they
still have 11-time All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd
leading them on offence. Dallas (21-13) goes into the All-Star break as one of
the leagues top defences and still among the Western Conferences best teams. “I
really had no idea what to expect and you still really dont know how things are
going to play out,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. “Weve had to really depend
on our defence, so its changed us some. So I think thats where our depth has
really helped us, because can keep on bringing competent bodies that really know
how to play and are willing to defend.” The Mavericks started their four-day
break Thursday as the NBA leader in holding opposing teams to .416 per cent
shooting from the field and they are fourth allowing 90.8 points a game. Those
numbers are better than their championship season. “I think we could have
definitely been better,” said Shawn Marion, who has again been one of the
Mavericks top defenders and the only one to play in all 34 games. “But give and
take with the circumstances and the way we had to just get it together so
quickly, I think its not bad at all.” Chandler got a $56 million, four-year
contract with the New York Knicks in a sign-and-trade that was part of a
three-team deal at the start of training camp. Letting Chandler, J.J. Barea,
Caron Butler and Stevenson leave as free agents helped Dallas get some
salary-cap flexibility under the NBAs new collective bargaining agreement. Among
the potential free agents next summer are Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. But
thats after this season. Dallas acquired Lamar Odom in a similar salary dump by
the Los Angeles Lakers, and Brendan Haywood moved back into the starting role at
centre that he had expected to have before CChandlers arrival last season. Sebastian Janikowski Jersey. Even with the
personnel changes and shortened training camp, coach Rick Carlisle didnt lessen
his emphasis on defence. He instead is depending on it more. “We sell it. We
sell it,” Carlisle said. “We havent had the time to really spend a lot of time
on our offence. We play a lot of basic concepts. ... Our emphasis is the
defensive end, because we feel our flow game offence is good enough to where we
can create shots. But that doesnt happen if we dont get the stops.” Asked how he
gets players to buy into that defensive emphasis, he responded with title talk.
“The evidence of what we accomplished last year makes it an easy sell,” Carlisle
said. That didnt keep the Mavs from having a rocky start this season, losing
their first three games and giving up at least 104 points in each of them. They
rebounded after that by setting a franchise record when they held 15 consecutive
opponents under 100 points. “Dallas has turned into an incredibly good defensive
team,” Denver coach George Karl said. There was another stretch where 10
opponents in a row didnt reach 100 points. The Nuggets last week were held 20
points below what was then their NBA-high scoring average of 104. The Mavericks
have even overcome times without Nowitzki or Kidd. Nowitzki, who this week hit
No. 20 on the NBA career scoring list, had a planned four-game hiatus late last
month to strengthen his sore right knee. Kidd, No. 2 on the career lists for
steals and assists, is back from missing six games because of a strained right
calf muscle after being out four games earlier with a strained lower back.
Newcomer guard Delonte West is out a few more weeks after he broke his right
ring finger on a defensive play last week. When the Mavericks play Tuesday night
at home against New Jersey, it will be their first of nine games in 12 days.
That span includes a March 6 home game against the Knicks when Chandler will get
his NBA championship ring. “Weve got a better record than I thought we would at
this point, but we havent played great basketball yet,” Cuban said. “Weve shown
that weve got the pieces to be great, but we havent done it yet. A lot to like,
a lot to look forward to.” ’ ’ ’