Bruce homers as Reds beat Dodgers to clinch division crown

CINCINNATI — General manager Walt Jocketty hit the "send" button on his cellphone right at the final out, informing his manager that the Reds' championship celebration was on.

And with a familiar swing getting them there.

Jay Bruce was Cincinnati's Mr. Clinch again, hitting the homer that started the Reds toward a 6-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday that made good on their second try for the title. The only thing missing was the manager.

Dusty Baker spent another day in a Chicago hospital getting treated for an irregular heartbeat. Jocketty texted congratulations to the 63-year-old Baker on his fifth division title as a manager, including two during the last three years with Cincinnati.

"He is here everywhere," owner Bob Castellini said, standing in the middle of a soaked clubhouse that had beer and champagne dripping from the ceiling. "He is here in spirit, and everybody knows he's here. We hope to see him tomorrow."

The players toasted Baker before drenching each other.

"It's a shame he's not here," third baseman Scott Rolen said. "He digs this stuff. He's missed, there's no doubt about that."

The Reds videotaped the celebration, along with best wishes, to send to Baker. When they clinched two years ago, Baker wound up in the middle of a players' huddle, getting joyously soaked.

The 2010 party started with a dramatic Bruce homer, a first-pitch leadoff shot in the ninth against Houston's Tim Byrdak. On Saturday, he led off the fourth inning with a first-pitch homer off rookie Stephen Fife (0-2), putting Cincinnati ahead to stay with his team-leading 34th of the season.

"It's not the same as two years ago, but I'll take it," Bruce said. "We've been taking care of business for quite a while, so we knew this was coming. Today is a nutshell of what we've been doing all season."

Mat Latos (13-4) allowed six hits and didn't walk a batter in eight innings. Left-hander Aroldis Chapman made his first appearance since Sept. 10 — a tired shoulder had sidelined him — and finished it off by getting Hanley Ramirez to hit into a double play off a 160 kph fastball.

Giants 8, Padres 4

In San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner pitched the Giants to their second NL West title in three years and newcomer Marco Scutaro had three hits and three RBIs.

The Giants captured their eighth divisional crown — wrapping it up once again with a victory over the Padres in front of their home fans, just as they did on the season's final day in 2010 on the way to an improbable World Series championship.

Braves 8, Phillies 2

In Philadelphia, Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer to back Mike Minor and the Braves roughed up Roy Halladay to move closer to clinching a postseason berth.

Cardinals 5, Cubs 4 (10)

In Chicago, Jon Jay's RBI double in the 10th inning lifted St. Louis to the victory, bolstering the Cardinals' bid for another playoff appearance.

Nationals 10, Brewers 4

In Washington, Gio Gonzalez became the majors' first 20-game winner in 2012, and the first pitcher for a Washington baseball team with 200 strikeouts since Walter Johnson in 1916.

Norichika Aoki was 1-for-3 for the Brewers.

Mets 4, Marlins 3

In New York, R.A. Dickey earned his 19th victory with a strong performance, Jason Bay and Scott Hairston homered and the Mets barely held on in the ninth inning for their second straight home win.

Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 7

In Denver, Aaron Hill tripled and drove in four runs for Arizona.

Astros 4, Pirates 1

In Houston, Jason Castro hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Astros handed the fading Pirates their fifth straight loss.

View the original article here

Giants clinch 34th Central League pennant

For the last two years, the Yomiuri Giants have watched another team celebrate. Watched as another group of players paraded around the field clutching the Central League pennant.

No holding back: Captain Shinnosuke Abe (10) and his Giants teammates celebrate their pennant-clinching victory on Friday.

This year, someone else can do the watching.

Led by Hisayoshi Chono and MVP candidate Shinnosuke Abe, Japan's winningest franchise captured the CL title for the 34th time after a 6-4 win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in front of a packed house on Friday night at Tokyo Dome.

"I just have one thing to say to our fans and players," began Giants manager Tatsunori Hara, "Yusho omedeto gozaimasu (congratulations for this championship). This victory belongs to all of you.

"Our players, each and every one of them, played their hearts out all season long, and they deserve to be called champions."

Chono came up with the biggest hit on this night, breaking a 4-4 tie in the sixth with a bases-loaded single against reliever Ryo Hidaka to put the Giants ahead for good in front of a raucous crowd of 46,290.

Capturing the pennant gives the Giants, who last won the CL in 2009, both a one-game and home field advantage in the Central League Climax Series Final Stage, which begins Oct. 17 at Tokyo Dome.

"Our young players and the veterans all got together to make a great team," Hara said. "It was a fantastic season and a super pennant race. This is the best team I ever managed.

"We expect to carry the momentum of this season through the Climax Series and the Japan Series."

The Giants, who also won the interleague title, improved to 81-38-14 on the year and 11 games clear of the second-place Chunichi Dragons in the CL standings.

"After losing on Opening Day, the Giants recovered and showed great power, winning the interleague title, the first time a Central League team has won," said NPB commissioner Ryozo Kato in a statement. "On July 1, they moved into first place and never dropped out of first place after that, and went on to win the Central League championship."

Steady southpaw: Giants starter Tetsuya Utsumi picks up his 14th victory of the season on Friday.

Abe promised Giants fans a doage (a traditional victory toss for a championship-winning manager) after the team cut its magic number to one with a win over the Dragons on Wednesday in Nagoya.

Abe helped make good on his word with a home run in his first at-bat and an RBI single in his second, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. The Yomiuri captain, a favorite to win the CL MVP Award, leads Japan with a .335 average and 98 RBIs, and his 26 home runs trail only Swallows slugger Wladimir Balentien's 29.

Giants starter Tetsuya Utsumi helped his own cause with a successful squeeze play in the fourth and third baseman Shuichi Murata also drove in a run.

Utsumi (14-5), Yomiuri's Opening Day starter, moved to the top of the CL wins list despite allowing four runs on six hits in six innings on the mound. Satoshi Fukuda and Tetsuya Yamaguchi each worked a scoreless inning of relief and closer Kentaro Nishimura nailed down the title with his 30th save of the season.

Swallows first baseman Ryuji Miyade led a valiant effort by the Birds, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer. Balentien was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Hiroyasu Tanaka led all batters with three hits. Pitcher Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi (2-6) was charged with the loss.

Key moment: Yomiuri's Hisayoshi Chono delivers a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning against the Swallows, putting his team ahead for good.

Abe got the Giants off to a fast start with his solo home run in the first inning. The Yomiuri catcher drove in a run with a single in the third and Murata added another with a sacrifice fly.

A one-out single by Tanaka and a double by Miyade put runners on second and third for the Swallows in the fourth, and Balentien delivered with a single that just skipped off the outstretched glove of first baseman Yoshiyuki Kamei. Utsumi struck out Shingo Kawabata, then walked Shinya Miyamoto to load the bases. The next batter, Yasushi Iihara, worked the count full, and was nearly hit by ball three, before being retired on a pop-up in foul territory.

Utsumi retired the first two batters to start the fifth, then gave up a hit to Yuhei Takai. Tanaka also singled, and Miyade cleared the bases with his game-tying three-run shot to left-center.

Murata was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth and Kamei and pinch hitter Yoshinobu Takahashi drew walks to load the bases. The next batter, pinch hitter Yoshihito Ishii, hit into a fielder's choice, then Chono put the Giants ahead with his two-run hit to left.

Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref. — Chunichi's Tony Blanco ended Minoru Iwata's bid for a no-hitter with a three-run home run in the seventh inning as the Dragons defeated the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 on Friday night in the Central League.

Iwata (8-13) had walked the first two Dragons in the seventh inning at Koshien Stadium.

Matt Murton drove in both of Hanshin's runs with RBI singles in the fourth and sixth.

Masahiro Yamamoto started for Chunichi. The 47-year-old lefty allowed a run on three hits in five innings but got no decision.

BayStars 3, Carp 1

At Yokohama Stadium, the BayStars won for the first time since Sept. 7 as pinch hitter Tatsuya Shimozono overturned a 1-0 Hiroshima lead with a three-run triple, sending the Carp to their fifth straight loss.

Yokohama starter Yuki Kuniyoshi (4-11) worked seven innings to earn the victory.

The BayStars had gone 0-7 with three ties since their last win, when Kuniyoshi threw a three-hit shutout against the Carp in Hiroshima.

Carp ace Kenta Maeda came out of the game after throwing just 71 pitches in five shutout innings.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Lions 4, Fighters 2

At Seibu Dome, Seibu's Hideto Asamura tied the game in the eighth inning with his second RBI of the game, and Hiroyuki Nakajima tripled in two more runs as the Lions came from behind to beat tough Hokkaido Nippon Ham lefty Mitsuo Yoshikawa (13-5) and trim the Fighters' lead in the Pacific League to 1 1/2 games.

Yoshikawa, the PL's pitcher of the month for August, suffered his first loss since July 7. Lions right-hander Ryoma Nogami allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings, while reliever Randy Williams (4-3) collected the win after bailing Nogami out of trouble in the eighth.

Marines 3, Buffaloes 1

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Chiba Lotte ace Yoshihisa Naruse (12-10) allowed a run on three hits and two walks in seven innings to beat Orix and earn his first victory since Aug. 10.

The Marines scored twice in the first inning off Italy international Alesandro Maestri (3-3) on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Katsuya Kakunaka and Saburo Omura.

Hawks 1, Eagles 1 (10)

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Tohoku Rakuten's Wataru Karashima scattered nine hits and a walk to allow just a run over seven innings as the Eagles survived a strong game by Fukuoka Softbank southpaw Kenji Otonari to escape with a 10-inning tie in their 3-hour, 45-minute game.

Otonari surrendered a leadoff homer in the first to Ryo Hijirisawa, but didn't give up another hit until one out in the seventh. The Hawks tied it in the second on an RBI single by Kenta Imamiya.

View the original article here

Pacers roll back years, clinch first series win since 2005

INDIANAPOLIS — It was just like old times at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Full steam ahead: Indiana's George Hill scores past Orlando's Glen Davis during the Pacers' 105-87 win on Tuesday. AP

Finally.

After years of losing and players finding trouble, the Indiana Pacers finally gave their fans something to really cheer about. Danny Granger scored 25 points to help the Pacers defeat the Orlando Magic 105-87 on Tuesday night and clinch their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-1.

"I'm just so happy for our fans," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "They've endured a lot those years when we struggled. To finally see us come back and have a winning team again and somebody that has a chance to do something special this year. That's what they deserve. Pacers basketball is back."

The Pacers will play Miami or New York in the second round. Miami leads that series 3-1, and as the final minutes ticked away, fans began chanting, "Beat the Heat."

"It was electric," Granger said. "The crowd was crazy. They had a lot of momentum going. They pushed us in that fourth quarter."

It was a tough series for Orlando, which played all five games without All-Star center Dwight Howard because of a back injury. It took the opener, then watched Indiana put together its first series win since 2005 and its first clincher on its home court since the first round of the 2000 playoffs. No player on Indiana's roster had won a playoff series while playing for the Pacers.

"It's an unfamiliar situation for a lot of guys, but I just thought we stayed together," Indiana forward David West said. "They made some runs, made some shots. But ultimately, we stayed together as a team and won this game as a unit."

Granger finally got his first series win in year seven. Perhaps fans should take it easy on him — it took Reggie Miller six years.

"Close out game, you obviously want to play your best at these moments," Granger said. "I pride myself on that. I had a big night, but I'm just glad we got the win."

Darren Collison scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who trailed by two at the end of the third quarter but outscored the Magic 36-16 in the final 12 minutes.

Collison's complete dominance of Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson in the fourth quarter turned the game. Indiana had no answers for three quarters before Collison, who had lost his starting job late in the season, entered the game and took over. Collison made all seven of his shots in the fourth quarter and had four assists. Nelson made 1 of 5 shots in the period and missed both of his 3-point tries.

"That's a testament to the type of team we have," West said. "We're deep, man. We've got guys, that when their number's called, they're prepared. DC just had another gear that I don't think anybody else on the floor had."

Hawks 87, Celtics 86

In Atlanta, Al Horford scored 19 points in his first start since January, and the Hawks held on for the victory in Game 5.

Game 6 is Thursday in Boston.

The Celtics had a chance to clinch the series when Rajon Rondo stole Josh Smith's inbounds pass with 10 seconds remaining. But he got hemmed in along the sideline and Smith knocked away a desperation pass.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 16 points apiece. Rondo had 13 points and 12 assists.

Bulls 77, 76ers 69

In Chicago, Luol Deng scored 24 points and Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulls avoided a first-round playoff exit.

The top-seeded Bulls finally won without point guard Derrick Rose, building a nine-point halftime lead and staying in control down the stretch to pull within 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday in Philadelphia.

Nuggets 102, Lakers 99

In Los Angeles, Andre Miller scored 24 points, including two free throws with 12.8 seconds left, and Denver survived Kobe Bryant's 43-point performance to avoid playoff elimination.

JaVale McGee had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Nuggets, who trimmed the Lakers' series lead to 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday in Denver.

The Nuggets had a 15-point lead midway through the fourth quarter but Bryant hit four 3-pointers over the final 4:47 to make it 98-96 with 59 seconds left.

View the original article here