Story Archive for 06/15/2008
Show/Hide Archive Navigation
Angels Best Braves To Avoid Sweep
Published on June 15, 2008 at 11:37PM
ANAHEIM, Calif.-Joe Saunders earned his 10th win of the season and Casey Kotchman provided all of the offense the Los Angeles Angels needed as they blanked the Atlanta Braves, 2-0 Sunday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in interleague play. Atlanta’s offensive futility caused a solid performance by Braves pitcher Jorge Campillo to be wasted as he only surrendered seven hits in eight innings. The win improved the Angels to 42-28 on the season, while the Braves fell to 34-36. In National League play Sunday, St. Louis defeated Philadelphia, 7-6 in 10 innings. In other interleague action, Cleveland gashed San Diego, 7-3, Detroit held off the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4, the Chicago Cubs outlasted Toronto, 7-4, Texas edged the New York Mets, 8-7, Boston battered Cincinnati, 9-0, Pittsburgh handled Baltimore, 5-4 in 10 innings, Florida smoked Tampa Bay, 9-3, Colorado tripped up the Chicago White Sox, 5-3, Milwaukee doubled up Minnesota, 4-2, the New York Yankees decimated Houston, 13-0, Oakland blasted San Francisco, 5-3, Washington trounced Seattle, 6-2, Kansas City blew past Arizona, 8-3, and the New York Mets snuck past Texas, 4-2.
Lakers Evade Elimination In Sending Things Back to Boston
Published on June 15, 2008 at 11:22PM
LOS ANGELES-While making their last appearance in front of their home crowd this season, the Los Angeles Lakers stayed alive for at least one more game as they held off the Boston Celtics, 103-98 Sunday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Staples Center. With a sellout crowd watching them on Father’s Day, the Lakers built a 39-22 lead after the first quarter, while the Celtics went on a 30-16 second quarter run to make things interesting for the remainder of the game. Kobe Bryant had 25 points for Los Angeles, including a clutch dunk in the closing seconds off of a steal which gave the Lakers a 99-95 lead with less than a minute left, while Los Angeles came up with several other key plays down the stretch to pull out the victory. While Bryant had a strong performance, he also received plenty of assistance as Lamar Odom chipped in with 20 points, and Pau Gasol amassed 19 points and 13 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 38 points and eight assists for the Celtics, who nearly overcame a 19-point second half deficit after pulling within three points at 55-52 at intermission. Despite their loss, the Celtics have propitious circumstances as they have, if necessary, two shots in front of their home fans to close out the Lakers. Additionally, history is on Boston’s side as in 28 previous instances when a team has trailed 3-1 after four games in the Finals, the team that has incurred the deficit has lost in all cases. Game 6 will take place Tuesday in Boston.
Colorado Rocks ChiSox in Interleague Play
Published on June 15, 2008 at 12:01AM
CHICAGO-Willy Taveras stole a career-high five bases and Jorge De La Rosa struck out eight batters, while allowing only one hit in five innings of work as the Colorado Rockies blanked the Chicago White Sox, 2-0 Saturday at U.S. Cellular Field in interleague play. Despite Colorado’s solid play, the Rockies were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position which enabled the White Sox to remain within striking distance. The win improved the Rockies’ record to 27-41 while the White Sox fell to 38-30 in defeat. In National League play Saturday, St. Louis edged Philadelphia, 3-2 and in other interleague action, the Chicago Cubs waxed Toronto, 6-2, Detroit bested the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-7, Boston outlasted Cincinnati, 6-4 in 10 innings, Tampa Bay torched Florida, 4-1, Baltimore surged past Pittsburgh, 8-7, San Diego bludgeoned Cleveland, 8-3 in 10 innings, Minnesota gashed Milwaukee, 9-4 in 12 innings, the New York Yankees doubled up Houston, 8-4, Kansas City shellacked Arizona, 12-3, Atlanta smacked the Los Angeles Angels, 9-4, Oakland smoked San Francisco, 4-0, and Washington humbled Seattle, 5-2.