positive, trying to do from zgr123's blog
SAN DIEGO -- Eric Stults pitched seven strong innings to win for the first time in nearly two months and Alexi Amarista homered to lead the San Diego Padres to a 2-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday. Barry Sanders Jersey . Stults (3-11), winless in his last nine starts, was victorious for the first time since a 9-3 victory over Miami on May 10. The lefty held the Giants to four hits with six strikeouts and two walks as he snapped a six-start losing streak. The Padres won their season-high fifth straight game as they faced the Giants for the first time since they were no-hit by Tim Lincecum on June 25 in San Francisco. Lincecum is scheduled to start on Sunday. Although Stults had lost eight of his nine starts during his winless streak, he had pitched well in his last two. He continued that trend against San Francisco as he allowed just one runner to reach third base. Joaquin Benoit pitched a perfect eight inning and Huston Street got the final three outs for his 23rd save in as many chances to secure the four-hitter. It was San Diegos second straight shutout following Tyson Ross three-hit gem in Wednesdays 3-0 win over Cincinnati, and its third in four games. San Francisco continued to freefall with its 18th loss in 23 games. The Giants 5-18 record since June 9 is the worst in the majors as they have fallen out of first place in the NL West. It was the third time in five games the Giants have been shutout. Matt Cain (1-7) pitched well but had little to show for it as he lost his fourth consecutive decision and is winless in seven starts. He allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. Cain struck out six to become the fourth San Francisco pitcher to reach the 1,500-strikeout mark. Amarista led off the third inning with his second homer that barely cleared the right-field fence. Seth Smith doubled with one out and scored on Chase Headleys single for a 2-0 lead. Headley went 4 for 4. Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was 0 for 4 in his return to the Giants lineup after missing 50 games with a broken thumb. Notes: The last time the Padres won five straight was last season when they had a seven-game streak in June. ... The Giants have scored two or fewer runs in eight of their last 11 games. ... Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry and Lincecum are the other San Francisco pitchers with 1,500 strikeouts. Cain is the eighth pitcher in Giants franchise to reach the mark . ... Giants RHP Tim Hudson (7-5, 2.59 ERA) will face Padres RHP Odrisamer Despaigne (2-0, 0.66) on Saturday. Tahir Whitehead Womens Jersey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Marvin Jones Jr Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted Monday morning that Callahan - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is now open to a six-year contract at less than $7 million per season.The rematch is upon us. The San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat will meet for the second consecutive year in the NBA Finals, starting tonight at AT&T Center. The 2013 NBA Finals went seven games, a series that went down in history as one of the all-time greats. Watch it live on TSN and TSN GO and listen to it on TSN Radio at 8pm et/5pm pt. Last year in Game 6, the Spurs were three clear with five seconds left and staff at Miamis AmericanAirlines Arena started roping off areas in anticipation for a celebration. Ray Allen hit a circus 3-pointer to tie it. The Heat prevailed in overtime to force a Game 7, which Miami won by seven in South Beach. San Antonio was literally seconds away from a fifth title in franchise history, all, not so coincidentally, under the leadership of Tim Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich. The boss was extremely proud of this group. "I think they showed an unbelievable amount of fortitude," Popovich said after clinching a berth in the Finals. "If I can compliment my own team humbly, to have that tough loss, especially the Game 6, and not have a pity party, and come back this year and get back to the same position. I think thats fortitude, and Im really proud of them and even happier for them." And the Spurs welcome the challenge of taming the Heat and exacting revenge. "Weve got four more to win, and well do it this time," boasted Duncan. "Were happy its the Heat again. Weve got that bad taste in our mouths still." That sort of bravado is a little out of character for the mild-mannered Duncan, but perhaps the best illustration of how much the Game 6 loss still hurts. And, its also a testament to the Spurs focus. "They dont like us, they dont. I can sense it from Timmys comments over the last couple of days," LeBron James said after practice on Monday. "They wanted this, they wanted us and well be ready for the challenge. "They wanted us, they got us." This is the first Finals repeat since the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz both made it in 19997 and 1998. Anquan Boldin Womens Jersey. Chicago of course won both of those to complete its second three-peat. A win in this series and the Heat would earn three consecutive titles. The Los Angeles Lakers turned the same feat in between Michael Jordans Bulls and James Heat, but this Miami group is the first to reach four consecutive Finals since the Boston Celtics did it from 1984-87. "Im in the moment, I dont really think about it," said James. The Heat clinched their spot in the championship round first. They knocked off top-seeded Indiana in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals after sweeping Charlotte in the first round and needing five games against Brooklyn. The Spurs moved on with a Game 6 overtime victory over Oklahoma City Saturday night. San Antonio was pushed to a Game 7 in round one versus Dallas, but handled Portland in five games in round two. It was in the Dallas series Tony Parker injured his ankle. He sprained it and the All-Star sat out the second half of San Antonios clinching Game 6 victory over the Thunder. Thanks to four days of rest, Parker declared himself ready to go for Game 1 Thursday, but the injury could linger. "Im trying to be very positive, trying to do everything I can, eat healthy, get my rest, do all the treatment. I just trust my body," said Parker. "I had little stuff, wear and tear, but Im still here and I trust my body to hold up for the whole series." The two sides split two regular-season meetings with the home team prevailing both times. Including last years Finals, the Spurs are 5-2 in their building against the Heat, but Miami has won four straight over San Antonio and seven of their last eight at AmericanAirlines Arena. In looking for differences from last years Finals to this years, the format might be the biggest change. The NBA implemented a 2-2-1-1-1 format for this Finals as opposed to the 2-3-2 version of a year ago. Also, Miami had homecourt advantage in 2013 and this year it belongs to San Antonio, which finished with the best record in the NBA. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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