very often. Left-hander Madison
very often. Left-hander Madison
CINCINNATI - The Giants bid goodbye to Cincinnati with high-fives. They havent done that very often. Left-hander Madison Bumgarner got his career-high sixth straight win, and San Francisco beat the Reds 6-1 on Thursday afternoon, taking a series in Cincinnati for the first time in five years. San Francisco moved a season-high 18 games over .500 with its 11th win in 14 games. The Giants have the best record in the majors at 39-21. After making four errors in the series opener and falling 8-3, the Giants were reminded that theyve had a tough time in Great American Ball Park the last couple of years. They won the next two games and moved on with smiles for a change. "Its been a tough park for us," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Gosh, between our defence and our pitching, we hadnt had a lot of success here. Of course we did bounce back at a critical time in 2012 (playoffs), but I know weve had some of our worst baseball here. "So it was good, particularly after losing the first game the way we did, to bounce back and play the type of ball we did the next two days." Cincinnati has been one of their most dreaded stops. The Giants won a series in Cincinnati for the first time since August 18-20, 2009. Theyve dropped 11 of their last 14 in Cincinnati during the regular season. The one bright moment was their division series win in Cincinnati in 2012, the starting point for their World Series title. Bumgarner (8-3) gave up three hits in eight innings, including Todd Fraziers homer, and retired the last 16 batters he faced. Hes 6-0 in his last seven starts, the best such streak of his career. Michael Morse hit a two-run homer, and Brandon Crawford broke out of a slump with a three-run shot off Mike Leake (3-5), who had overwhelmed the Giants the last four times he faced them. Bumgarner was the NLs Pitcher of the Month in May and carried it into June with another stingy performance on the road. Bumgarner has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last 20 road starts, a franchise record. The Reds came out swinging and got two of their three hits in the first inning. Once Bumgarner saw what was happening, he changed his approach early in the count and got them hitting the ball on the ground. "They came out aggressive," said Bumgarner, who retired 23 of the last 24 he faced. "After that first inning, when they came out swinging, I made some adjustments and the defence was phenomenal. They made a lot of good plays. "Today was the best you can hope for, really. I got a lot of quick outs and got the team back in the dugout." George Kontos retired the side in the ninth as the final 19 Reds went in order. Cincinnati didnt have a base runner after Frazier singled with two outs in the third inning. They won the series by finally getting to Leake, who was 4-0 in his last four starts against the Giants while allowing only three earned runs. Leake lasted only five innings and gave up eight hits, a walk and five runs. Morse homered for the second straight game, connecting for his team-high 13th homer in the second inning. That ended Leakes streak of six straights without giving up a homer. Crawfords seventh homer in the fourth inning was his first since May 21. The shortstop was in a 4 for 32 slump. Pablo Sandoval singled three times and scored a pair of runs, improving to 11 for 17 career against Leake with two homers. Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to six games. Frazier hit his team-high 12th homer in the first inning, his second homer in two games. Hes got a six-game hitting streak that includes three homers. NOTES: The Giants open a 10-game homestand against the Mets, Nationals and Rockies on Friday. Matt Cain (1-3) will be activated off the DL to face Jonathon Niese (3-3). ... The Reds continue their 10-game homestand against the Phillies, with Johnny Cueto (5-4) going against LHP Cole Hamels (1-3). ... Reds manager Bryan Price won a challenge in the third. Umpire Larry Vanover decided that Brayan Pena pulled his foot off first base while reaching for a throw, leaving Buster Posey safe. The call was overturned on review. ... The Reds are undecided on whether RHP Mat Latos, who left a rehab start on Wednesday night after 67 pitches because of a calf cramp, will need to make one more start in the minors before hes activated. Wholesale Shoes . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go. Cheap Shoes . These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. http://www.shoeschinacheap.com/. It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Cheap Nike Shoes China . The Italian side scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half to defeat former stars from S.Fresh off earning his second Olympic gold medal, Sidney Crosby will get back to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight when they host the Montreal Canadiens at CONSOL Energy Center. Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the action unfold on TSN Canadiens at 7pm et/8pm at. The game can also be heard on TSN Radio 690 at 7pm et/8pm at. Crosby famously delivered the overtime game-winner for Team Canada in the 2010 gold medal game against the United States, but unlike four years ago in Vancouver the Canadians didnt need a dramatic finish to repeat as Olympic champions. Montreal will try to bounce back from a loss in its first game after the Olympics. The Canadiens were handed a 2-1 overtime loss by visiting Detroit on Wednesday to have a three-game winning streak halted. The Habs did not have No. 1 goaltender Carey Price for their first game back after he suffered a lower-body injury at practice on Wednesday morning. Price, who also will miss tonights game, anchored Team Canada in its gold medal run in Sochi, posting a 5-0 record, a 0.59 goals against average and .972 save percentage. Peter Budaj started on Wednesday and he stopped 28 shots before allowing Detroits Gustav Nyquist to score with just 27.3 seconds remaining in OT. Budaj well get the call between the pipes again this evening. The Canadiens still managed to notch a point thanks to Brian Giontas game- tying tally with just 28.7 seconds left in regulation. "In the third we started to pressure their D a little more and it paid off in the end," Gionta said. "In the first two periods, they were able to come through out of their zone quite easily." Budaj could get another start tonight for the Habs. Montreal also recalled Dustin Tokarski from its AHL affiliate in Hamilton on Wednesday to take Prices place on the roster. The Canadiens and Penguins have split a pair of games so far this season, but Pittsburgh has won four of five and seven of its last nine meetings with Montreal. The Habs, who are playing five of their next six games on the road, have dropped five straight in the Steel City. Pittsburgh returns from the break with a healthy 16-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division, but the club still has injury concerns to deal with. Defenseman Kris Letang is still out due to a stroke suffered prior to the Olympics. Fellow blueliner Paul Martin is out for at least a month after injuring his hand while representing the U.S. in Sochi. The Pens were 4-1-1 in their final six outings before the Olympics. The clubs next game will be played outdoors when Pittsburgh visits the Chicago Blackhawks for Saturdays game at Soldier Field, home of the NFLs Chicago Bears. Maurices Jets welcome Coyotes to MTS Centre The Winnipeg Jets have thrived under Paul Maurice despite injury limiting Evander Kane to just four games under the new head coach. Kane is expected to return to the lineup tonight when the Jets face the Phoenix Coyotes. Viewers in the Jets region can watch the action live on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game can also be heard on TSN Radio 1290 at 7pm ct/8pm et. Winnipeg has gone 9-3-1 in 13 games since replacing Claude Noel with Maurice, who made his coaching debut with the club in a 5-1 win over the Coyotes on Jan. 13. Ondrej Pavelec made 18 saves and the Jets got goals from five different players to beat the Coyotes for a second straight time following a six-game series losing streak. The Jets have also won both of their meetings at home versus the Coyotes since relocating from Atlanta. Coincidentally, the Coyotes franchise used to call Winnipeg home before moving to Phoenix prior to the 1996-97 season. The current Jets have endured just one losing streak under Noel, a current two-game slide that includes a shootout setback to St. Louis in the final game before the Olympic break. Kane missed the last six games with a hand infection and has been limited to just four games since Jan. 7 due to injury. He has 15 goals and 29 points in 42 games this season. The fourth overall pick of the 2009 draft is likely to skate on a line tonight with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. "I want him to play his game in our framework," Maurice said of what he wants to see out of Kane. "Thats what Im asking from everybody. Keep the individual things that make you special, jjust fly in formation, especially when we dont have the puck.dddddddddddd" The Jets come in with 62 points, two fewer than the Coyotes, who trail the Vancouver Canucks by just one point for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Phoenix also is six points behind Los Angeles for third place in the Pacific Division. Consistency has been an issue for the Coyotes, who lost their final game before the Olympic break and are 4-5-1 since last winning back-to-back games on Jan. 16 and 18. Phoenix returns five players to its roster who competed in the Sochi Olympics, including goaltender Mike Smith, who won a gold medal with Team Canada even though he did not get into a game during the tournament. "I knew going over there that thered be a good possibility that I wouldnt get into a game," Smith told Phoenixs website. "I was just doing everything I could to be a part of the team and kind of keep the dressing room light and get to know a lot of the guys I play against (in the NHL)." Like the Coyotes, Smith has had an up-and-down season, going 20-17-9 with a 2.77 goals against average and .913 save percentage. Smith yielded all five goals on 38 shots in the earlier loss to the Jets, falling to 7-6-0 with a 2.53 GAA against the franchise. Pavelec is 2-1-1 in his career versus the Coyotes, posting a 1.73 GAA. Granlund, Ortio to make NHL debuts as Flames host Kings Fourteen points out of a playoff spot and considered a team still rebuilding, the Calgary Flames may feature a number of new faces down the stretch of the season. That will be the case tonight when a pair of players make their NHL debuts in a clash with the Los Angeles Kings. Watch the game live on TSN at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. Goaltender Joni Ortio and forward Markus Granlund are both expected to play tonight for the Flames after putting together solid campaigns so far with the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League. The 20-year-old Granlund, a 2011 second-round pick of the Flames, has netted 23 goals and 44 points in 50 games with the Heat. He is expected to center the fourth line between Paul Byron and Kevin Westgarth. "You can play only one first NHL game, so Im just going to try and enjoy the game," said Granlund. Ortio, who like Granlund hails from Finland, is 20-6-0 in 28 games with the Heat this season, posting an impressive 2.22 goals against average. His start tonight will give Swiss Reto Berra some extra time to recover after having traveled to Sochi, Russia for the Olympics. Flames goaltender Karri Ramo is currently out with a sprained right MCL, opening the door for Ortio to debut along with Granlund. "Its exciting. Im happy that we get to make our debut at the same time," Ortio grinned. "Its a fun coincidence and its going to be fun." The Flames sit 14 points out of a wild card spot despite winning six of eight going into the Olympic break. They have managed to beat the Kings twice already this season in Los Angeles and will try to defeat the club at home for the first time in five encounters. The Kings will play their second game following the Olympic break, having bested the hosting Colorado Avalanche 6-4 last night. Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist, while Justin Williams and Jeff Carter helped the rally with a goal and an assist each. Kopitar and Carter scored 2:04 apart in the second period to tie the game at 4-4 and Kopitars power-play goal 3:13 into the third frame put his club ahead for good. "Those two quick (goals) at the end of the second were huge and we carried that momentum into the third," Kopitar said. "Its nice to start off the third with a power play." Robyn Regehr and Jarret Stoll also lit the lamp as the Kings have won two straight following a four-game slide. They did so by scoring six goals, nearly half the output of the 15 goals they had scored in their previous 11 games. Backup Martin Jones stopped 25-of-29 shots in the victory, giving No. 1 goaltender Jonathan Quick some more rest after Quick served as the starting netminder for Team USA in the Olympics. Quick may start tonight and is 8-5-1 with a 1.62 GAA and .935 save percentage in 14 previous meetings with the Flames. Los Angeles is five points ahead of Vancouver for third place in the Pacific Division. ' ' '