CHICAGO -- Some hitters arent comfortable swinging at 3-0 pitches.
Marcos Diplan Jersey . Alexei Ramirez and Jose Abreu arent among them. Ramirez hit a grand slam to fuel Chicagos seven-run fourth inning and Jose Abreu hit his major league-leading 13th homer and drove in two runs -- both homers came on 3-0 pitches -- to lead the White Sox to a 9-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Ramirezs blast was his sixth career grand slam and broke open a 2-2 tie. "I was looking for a good pitch to connect, something that was over the plate," he said through a translator. "Thats what I did and I was able to hit it." Abreu was the designated hitter because of a nagging left ankle injury. He went 3 for 4 and leads the AL with 37 RBIs. His blast to straight away centre was estimated at 442-feet. "You dont see balls hit like that very much," said White Sox bench coach Mark Parent, who filled in for manager Robin Ventura in the postgame news conference although Ventura managed. "Well probably do the same thing tomorrow, DH him and try to get him a couple of days off on the road." Tyler Flowers also homered for the White Sox, who pounded out 15 hits. Andre Rienzo (3-0) allowed three runs on four hits in 5 2-3 innings and the bullpen pitched 3 1-3 scoreless innings. Brandon McCarthy (1-6) allowed nine hits and seven runs -- all in the fourth inning. "I have no idea what happened; I really dont know," McCarthy said. "I dont know if they changed their approach or just got super aggressive. I was throwing a lot of strikes, they just started jumping on everything." Arizona went up 2-0 on Gerardo Parras two-run homer in the third inning. The lead appeared secure because McCarthy was cruising, retiring all nine batters he faced in the first three innings on a total of 33 pitches. Things quickly turned in the bottom of the fourth. Alejandro De Aza broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff double and scored on a single by the next batter, Gordon Beckham. Following Conor Gillaspies single, Abreu drove in Beckham with a single to tie the score at 2 and make it four straight hits. Things were just getting started. Following a strikeout by Adam Dunn for the first out, Dayan Viciedo singled to load the bases and Ramirez broke the game open by sending a drive into the left-field bullpen. The White Sox werent done as the next three batters singled. McCarthy, who threw 31 pitches in the fourth inning, was knocked from the game on the last of those hits, a run-scoring single by De Aza, to make it 7-2. "Even looking back, theyre not terrible pitches, theyre not anything different than what I was doing the first three innings," McCarthy said. "Its just I dont know, I dont know how you get 9 hits out of 10 hitters, when I felt like I was doing the things I needed to do. Im baffled at this point." The Chicago hitters werent baffled by anything in the fourth. "The first time around, he was able to throw his sinker, he was able to throw his curveball efficiently," Ramirez said. "The second time, I just kind of lay off of that stuff and thats how I was able to get a good pitch. I think thats what everybody else did." The Diamondbacks got a run back in the top of the fifth on a run-scoring single by A.J. Pollock. Abreu then homered in the seventh to make it 8-3. Flowers had a leadoff homer in the eighth to close out the scoring. NOTES: Chicago RHP Nate Jones, whos been sidelined all season with a mysterious back injury, had surgery Monday to repair a pinched nerve. "It is a relief," he said, "because after surgery Im not feeling any pain in my hip." Jones isnt expected to begin baseball-related activity for four weeks, but expects to pitch this season. ... Chicago manager Robin Ventura will miss Saturdays game to attend the graduation of his daughter, Rachel, at Oklahoma State. Bench coach Mark Parent will manage. ... LHP Wade Miley (2-3) faces Jose Quintana (1-2) in the second game of the series.
Mitch Garver Twins Jersey . Lupul injured the hand in a fall at practice on Thursday. He will wear a cast for a minimum of 10 days before he can put a glove back on it and get some mobility back, said Carlyle, who added the winger wont go on the teams upcoming road trip.
Jorge Polanco Jersey .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.The Houston Rockets will try to even their Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night when the teams play Game 2 at the Toyota Center. Portland snatched Game 1, 122-120, in overtime on Sunday night in Houston thanks to amazing heroics from its two All-Stars. Damian Lillard finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists and LaMarcus Aldridge turned in a monster performance with 46 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out in the extra session. Aldridges 46 points set a Blazers franchise record for points in a postseason game. Down nine with less than five minutes to go in regulation, the Blazers employed the "hack-a-Howard" strategy. Dwight Howard, a 54.7-percent foul shooter, made his first two attempts, but missed the next four as the Blazers rallied with the next 11 points to tie the game on Aldridges two from the line with 2:46 left. James Harden got a tough jumper to fall just inside the final minute of regulation for a 102-99 lead and Aldridge cut it to one with a pair of free throws 13 seconds later. Jeremy Lin missed a runner on the other end, but Howard grabbed the rebound and was fouled. This time, Howard came through for his team and knocked down both free throws for a 104-101 edge. Lillard, however, buried a game-tying trey. On the inbounds pass, Lillard ran his defender Patrick Beverley into a brutal screen which sent him to the deck. Lillard then got Terrance Jones to bite on a pump fake before knocking down the triple. After Harden made it 106-104 with seven seconds left, Wesley Matthews attempted a three from the time out, but it drew iron. Lillard was there for the rebound, but his tip-in didnt fall. AAldridge, though, cleaned up that miss and tied the game again with 2.
Minnesota Twins Gear. 9 seconds left. Harden couldnt get a tough look from the corner to go as the horn sounded, sending the game into overtime. The Rockets scored the first six points of the bonus period thanks to three- point plays from Howard and Lin. Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, though, hit back- to-back treys and Matthews knocked down two free throws to give the Blazers their first lead since late in the first half. The teams traded blows until Lin blew by his defender and got a layup to fall for a 118-116 lead with 53 seconds left. Lillard, however, used a three-point play on the ensuing trip to put Portland in front. Garcia and Howard split from the stripe before Lillard made the go-ahead free throws. "That was a tremendous game. Obviously when we fouled Dwight he missed some of the free throws, that was a turning point," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. "They came out and scored the first six in OT, but we responded. We had to win one here, we did it, but were not satisfied. Tonight is behind us, we have to keep going." Howard and Harden both finished with 27 points while Howard pulled down 15 rebounds. Chandler Parsons added 24 and Lin chipped in 14 off the bench. Jones registered a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards. Beverley injured his knee, but it wasnt as bad as originally diagnosed. Hes expected to play Wednesday night. "Woke up at home, tried to put some weight on it, felt good. Squatted and felt good, one-legged jump felt good," said Beverley. "I did this all at home. I just have an ability to heal quicker than others I guess." Game 3 will be Friday night in Portland. ' ' '