Kuroda shut down Los Angeles into the seventh inning, Ichiro Suzuki homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Yankees spoiled Mattingly’s return to the Bronx with a 6-4 victory over the sloppy Dodgers in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

“Once the game started I didn’t really focus too much on who I was facing,” Kuroda said through a translator. “I was trying to contribute for the Yankees.”

Lyle Overbay hit a two-run double against South Korean rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-3) in the first game in New York between the old October rivals since Los Angeles clinched the 1981 World Series title with a win in Game 6 at the original Yankee Stadium. The teams that have met in a record 11 World Series — eight won by the Yankees — never faced off in interleague play at the Stadium before this week.

Baseball’s two injury battered $200 million teams have to pack a two-game series into one day because rain postponed Tuesday night’s opener. Los Angeles’ Chris Capuano was activated off the disabled list after the first game and was scheduled to start the nightcap against New York’s Phil Hughes.

Cuban rookie Yasiel Puig put on quite a show for a vocal contingent of Dodgers fans. He led off the eighth by daringly stretching a liner to left-center into a double — he got thrown out trying a similar play in the first. He also tried to throw a runner out at first on a single to right field in the second inning and struck out to end the game against Mariano Rivera.

“His talent’s great and his aggressiveness we love, because you love the way he plays,” Mattingly said. “But we’ve got to make sure that we continue to teach, and for him to understand the right times to take those chances.”

Suzuki made a leaping catch at the wall in right field for the first out of the eighth before Hanley Ramirez connected for a two-run homer off Preston Claiborne for his fourth hit of the game to cut the lead to 6-4. The Yankees had scored three times in the seventh thanks in part to reliever Ronald Belisario’s two errors on one play. The Dodgers made four errors overall.

David Robertson relieved Claiborne and walked his first two batters before ending the inning without further damage. Rivera was perfect in the ninth for his 25th save, ending hopes that Mattingly’s return to the city where No. 23 starred from 1982-95 would be a success.

He may be wearing the wrong shade of blue now but Yankees fans still love Mattingly.

There was the “Donnie Baseball!” chant from the Bleacher Creatures for the 1985 AL MVP ahead of the bottom of the first and a video tribute for a career enshrined with a plaque in Monument Park before the Yankees scored twice in the second. Both times Mattingly answered the applause with a wave of the cap from the visitors’ dugout.

“It means a lot. It’s always been part of me,” Mattingly said. “I played my whole career here, so it’s obviously a good feeling when people appreciate the way you played and acted.”

The Yankees quickly turned the attention back onto the field, scoring twice in the second against Ryu. After Neal and Suzuki led off with singles and advanced on David Adams’ sacrifice, Overbay laced a line drive over center fielder Andre Ethier’s head for the 2-0 lead.

Kuroda (7-5), who began his Major League career with the Dodgers in 2008 and won 41 games for them before coming to New York for 2012, limited Los Angeles to five hits and helped himself by catching a liner to start a double play with runners on second and third in the fourth before the seventh. He was lifted after giving up A.J. Ellis’ sacrifice fly and former Yankees utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr.’s two-out, RBI pinch-hit single in the seventh.

Kuroda allowed eight hits overall and two runs.

The Yankees added three more in the bottom half of the seventh, helped when, with runners on first and second, Belisario let Vernon Wells’ meek pop in front of the mound drop for an error. Jayson Nix advanced to third on the drop and scored when Belisario threw the ball into center field trying to get Robinson Cano at second base. Belisario hit Neal with a pitch, then Suzuki greeted Paco Rodriguez with a blooped two-run single to make it 6-2.

“It was just a combination of us not executing when we needed to make the plays,” Ellis said of the loss.

Suzuki homered for the first time this season in the sixth off Ryu, who gave up three runs and five hits.

Suzuki had three hits for his fourth multihit game in his last six games, but is not sure he’s finally done with a season-long slump.

“I have no idea,” Suzuki said through a translator. “Ask a fortune teller.”

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This just in: Winning a Stanley Cup is difficult.

Most of the current Bruins roster knows that firsthand, as two years ago they had to erase 2-0 and 3-2 deficits against Vancouver. They, of course, did that, forcing a Game 7 in Vancouver and winning 4-0 to earn that title. This year, it’s too early to say whether or not their season will have the same end result, but they’re unquestionably in a much better position to do it this time around.

But now, the real work begins. Nothing in the world was more important to the Bruins than winning Game 3 on Monday night. Now, it’s meaningless history, because anything short of a perfect effort Wednesday night in Game 4, and the balance of power in the series will shift right back to Chicago. While it may seem like the Bruins seized control of the series with Monday’s 2-0 win, the fact is that the Bruins have outscored the Blackhawks by just two goals over the course of nearly 13 full periods.

Now, nothing in the world is more important for the Bruins than winning Game 4, thereby inviting Lord Stanley’s Cup to the Windy City this weekend and putting a world of pressure on Chicago going forward. Here’s a look at how they can do it.

1. Survive Early
The greatest mystery of Game 3 was the impossible-to-explain appearance of the Blackhawks simply not giving an all-out effort. The Bruins likely deserve some credit for imposing their will and making it hard for Chicago, but overall, there was very little desperation on display by the Blackhawks. Once they fell behind by two goals, they looked like a team waiting to lose rather than one willing to fight to win — or at least try to win.

If this were an early round and if the Blackhawks were the clearly inferior team, it might be safe to assume they’d roll over and quit. But this is the Stanley Cup Final, and these Blackhawks were the best team the NHL had to offer all season long. They will not fade away quietly, and I expect them to come out guns a-blazing early on in Game 4.

For the Bruins, that might mean treating the first 10 minutes like a road game. If the Bruins can stick with their defensive game plan, limit Chicago opportunities, lay big hits whenever the opportunity presents itself, block shots and allow Tuukka Rask to see shots, keeping the Blackhawks off the board early may deflate their sails, allowing the Bruins to mount an attack of their own.

The Blackhawks are going to hit the ice looking to get an early goal and take the crowd out of the game. It’s up to the Bruins to withstand the surge.

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Charlie Furbush (1-3) faced only one batter to get the victory, striking out Josh Hamilton with runners at first and second to end the ninth. Rookie Yoervis Medina got three outs for his first major league save.

Kyle Seager sparked the winning rally with a two-out double in the 10th against Garrett Richards (2-4). Morales, who struck out his previous three times up, then lined a 3-2 pitch off the glove of shortstop Erick Aybar to give Seattle the lead.

It was only the third RBI for Morales in 30 at-bats against the Angels since he was traded to the Mariners in December for pitcher Jason Vargas.

Seattle grabbed the lead on consecutive homers by Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak in the second inning against Joe Blanton. But Mark Trumbo connected in the bottom half, and Albert Pujols tied it with a leadoff drive against Tom Wilhelmsen in the eighth.

Hamilton grounded into a double play his first three times up and struck out his next two at-bats. The 2010 AL MVP, who signed a five-year, $125 million contract in December, is batting .213 with 10 homers and 24 RBIs in 69 games.

Jeremy Bonderman pitched six innings of six-hit ball and Oliver Perez got three outs before Wilhelmsen yielded Pujols’ 12th homer on an 0-1 pitch. Until then, right-handed batters were only 5 for 48 against Wilhelmsen, who had not allowed a home run this season in 29 1-3 innings.

The 30-year-old Bonderman, who missed the previous two seasons due to injuries, is 1-0 with a sparkling 0.90 ERA over 20 innings covering his last three starts. The Mariners signed him to a minor league contract in January.

The Angels, who outscored Seattle 30-4 in the previous three meetings, got their first run when Trumbo drove Bonderman’s first pitch of the second into the rock pile in left-center for his team-high 16th homer and first since June 1. It ended Bonderman’s streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings, equaling his career best from 2007 with Detroit.

Blanton gave up six hits in 6 2-3 innings and tied a career high with 11 strikeouts, following an eight-day stretch between starts to work with pitching coach Mike Butcher on his fastball command.

Blanton, whose no-decision left him at 1-10, still shares the major league lead in losses with former Philadelphia Phillies teammate Cole Hamels. He has a 5.62 ERA in his first 14 starts with the Angels after signing a two-year, $15 million contract in December.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

It paid off for him on Tuesday.

And he’ll be back out there on Thursday — since the Miami Heat season still has one game remaining.

Allen’s 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped a huge Miami rally plus essentially took the championship trophy out of San Antonio’s hands, and the Heat found a way in overtime to hold off the Spurs for a 103-100 win.

A pair of free throws by Allen with 1.9 seconds left sealed it, and on the last play of the game, Danny Green — who took Allen’s 3-point Finals record earlier in this series — had no chance at getting a potentially tying shot anywhere near the rim, the play snuffed out by Miami’s Chris Bosh.

So Allen lost his record in these NBA Finals.

He still has a chance at what he wants most: A second championship. It’s why he came to Miami. And without him, it probably wouldn’t be happening for Miami.

The 2013 NBA championship comes down to one game: Winner take all, Game 7, Thursday night. No one could have envisioned this when the Heat talked Allen out of taking a longer, more lucrative deal to stay with the Celtics last summer and successfully lured him to South Florida instead.

He scored only nine points, grabbed one rebound, had two assists. The numbers were downright paltry compared to LeBron James’ 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but certainly Allen earned a ton of the credit.

When time expired, he skipped toward midcourt and let out a scream. A few moments later, he walked off the court coolly, a white towel draped over his neck, slapping a few hands.

Allen had been the best 3-point shooter in Finals history, making 22 of them in the 2008 series with the Celtics. Green took his record in Game 5, and now has 26 for the Spurs heading into Game 7.

Given a choice, there’s no question what Allen would want more: His record back, or a second ring.

His thoughts, down the stretch: “Until the clock runs out,” Allen said, “we still have an opportunity to win this game.”

So when Bosh turned and found him in the right corner with a few seconds left, the opportunity was not only there, it was his. He set his feet well behind the line, let that quick-release shot of his fly, and waited for the outcome.

All net. Referees reviewed it, but there was no question that the shot was a 3.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The teams will play a doubleheader Wednesday at 10:05 a.m. PST and 4:05 p.m. PST.

The earlier game will be broadcast on KCAL9.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings have reached agreement on terms of a new six-year contract with defenseman Slava Voynov.

The 23-year-old Voynov contributed six goals and 13 points during the Kings’ playoff run, which ended with a loss to Chicago in the Western Conference finals. He set a Kings single-season playoff record for most goals by a defenseman (6) and most game-winning goals (4).

Voynov totaled new career highs for points (25) and assists (19) during the regular season, with two of his six regular-season goals serving as game-winners.

Voynov is part of a core of young Kings who are already taking on significant roles, including defensemen Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

BOSTON (AP) — Five things learned in the Boston Bruins’ win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals Monday night:

___

SUPAH TUUKKA: Tuukka Rask is proving the Bruins right for putting their faith in him. Rask watched the Bruins’ entire 2011 Stanley Cup run from the bench while Tim Thomas led Boston to the NHL title, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the process. But after the enigmatic Thomas decided to take a year off from playing there’s been no drop-off. Rask’s numbers this postseason are even better than Thomas’ were two years ago: 14-5 with a .946 save percentage and a 1.64 goals-against average. (Thomas was 16-9, .940, 1.98). Rask had 28 saves Monday night to post his third shutout of the playoffs and extend his shutout streak to more than 122 minutes. He’s the biggest reason the Bruins are ahead 2-1 in the series.

___

LIVELY LINE: The revamped third line of Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin paid off for the second straight game. Boston coach Claude Julien bumped Paille up from the fourth line in Game 2 and he ended up scoring the winner in overtime. Kelly scored Boston’s other goal in the 2-1 win and assisted on Paille’s goal Monday that put the Bruins up 1-0. “I think we are just putting pucks on net and reading plays,” Paille said. “I think we are managing the puck a little bit better. Just on my goal, you saw Kells go in, and I went in and then I shot. I think we are just not giving them enough time to think with the puck and we are able to get it.” Kelly and Paille also drew penalties that led to Patrice Bergeron’s goal with 5:55 left in the second, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead. “We’re having fun. The three of us are working hard and having fun, which is nice,” Kelly said. “It’s always fun, but some days are more fun than others.” Indeed.

___

FACE-OFF FOLLIES: Patrice Bergeron won 24 faceoffs on Monday night. That’s eight more than Chicago won as a team, and nobody had a worse night in the circle for the Blackhawks than Michal Handzus, who was a perfect 0-for-10 for a Bluto-like average of 0.00. “That’s definitely something that we take a lot of pride in and we talk about a lot,” Bergeron said. “We have some really good centermen, so it’s not just about the four centers, it’s about everyone on the ice chipping in and helping to get those battles.”

___

DAVE’S NOT HERE: Chicago defenseman Dave Bolland had a rough night. He was called for three of Chicago’s six penalties and made two mistakes that helped lead to Boston’s two goals. The first was a turnover that led to Paille’s goal 2:13 into the second period. The second was cross-checking Kelly into the net and Chicago goalie Corey Crawford with 8:00 left in the second. A second Chicago penalty led to a brief 5-on-3 for Boston. Bolland was out of the penalty box, but didn’t have time to get back into the play before Bergeron put Boston up 2-0 with 5:55 left in the second. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville didn’t have much to say about Bolland after the game. “Haven’t talked to him yet,” Quenneville said. “We’ll reassess and reevaluate the game.”

___

HISTORY MAY NOT HELP: The Chicago Blackhawks trailed the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in the Western Conference finals then won the next three games. So a 2-1 deficit against the Boston Bruins certainly isn’t too big to overcome. It’s just that one comeback may not be the same as another. “I think they’re a little bit different team than Detroit was,” Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford said of the Bruins. “They’re able to sit back and wait for us to collapse defensively. You can’t block everything. But we made some plays, we had some good shots and had a couple of the chances went just wide.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

After nearly three full games (13 periods), the Bruins and Blackhawks got past their pleasantries and engaged in a full-on brawl in the waning seconds of Game 3.

With roughly 20 seconds to go and the Bruins leading 2-0, Zdeno Chara dumped Bryan Bickell to the ice on front of the Boston net. Bickell tugged on Chara’s jersey and then cross-checked the much taller defenseman in the side.

Had the cross-check come in the middle of the game, Chara no doubt would have let it go without responding. Such is the price one pays while protecting the front of the net. However, with the game in hand, Chara decided to send a message to the Blackhawks that if they want to camp out in front of the net, they’re going to have to pay a price.

Chara clobbered Bickell, smothering him into the ice and remaining on top of him for several seconds until a sea of white and black sweaters converged upon them.

Out of the scrum emerged Brad Marchand and Andrew Shaw, who said before the series that he’d like to model his game after the pesky Bruins winger. Neither player landed any punches while standing, but after they wrestled each other to the ground, Shaw delivered a heavy right punch to Marchand, who was lying on his back on the ice. It may have violated “the code,” but it likely just canceled out Chara’s bullying of Bickell.

Given there’s so much at stake during these games, it’s almost a guarantee that neither team will be going out of its way to retaliate or threaten to drop the gloves in Game 4 and beyond — at least not unless a game is pretty much over, like it was in Game 3.

Regardless, messages were sent loud and clear. The Blackhawks, who could not generate any traffic in front of Tuukka Rask all game, know they’re going to have to endure a certain level of punishment if they hope to accomplish that. And both ways, the Bruins and Blackhawks know that they won’t be receiving Christmas cards with friendly holiday greetings from each other come December.

Game 4 will take place Wednesday night at the TD Garden.

After playing four extra periods in the first two games, the Bruins made an early night of it with second-period goals by Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron to win 2-0 and take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

Rask stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the 2013 playoffs.

Corey Crawford made 33 saves for the Blackhawks.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the matchup of Original Six teams returns to Chicago for a fifth game. The teams split the first two games there, with the Blackhawks winning Game 1 in triple-overtime and the Bruins stealing home-ice advantage on Paille’s goal in the first OT of the second game.

But this time the intrigue came before the opening faceoff instead of after the end of regulation.

Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and Chicago forward Marian Hossa were both injured during warmups. But while Chara needed just some stitches after his collision with teammate Milan Lucic, Hossa was a late scratch with an unspecified injury.

Hossa, who has three game-winning goals in the playoffs this year, was tied for the team lead with 15 playoff points and was third on the Blackhawks with 17 goals during the regular season.

It was a loss the Blackhawks couldn’t afford.

Not with Rask stopping everything that came his way.

The Bruins’ goalie, who was a backup to Conn Smythe-winner Tim Thomas in the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup run, didn’t face as difficult a test as in the first period of Game 2, when the Blackhawks sent 19 shots at him but managed just one goal. But he stymied them all game and got some help from the post on Bryan Bickell’s shot with 42 seconds left in the game.

The puck caromed off the right post and the goal light flickered on briefly, but play continued for another 30 seconds before the whistle blew and the game degenerated into fisticuffs. Chara was on top of Viktor Stalberg, pounding away, and Andrew Shaw got the better of Brad Marchand.

By the time it was all sorted out, the benches were a little emptier but the scoring column for Chicago was still blank.

After a scoreless first period, the Bruins made it 1-0 when Paille slapped in the puck at 2:13 of the second, falling to one knee for extra power. It stayed that way until late in the second, when the Bruins picked up their first power plays of the game on two nearly identical plays, with a Bruin racing to the net and a Blackhawk undercutting his skates and sending him crashing into the left post.

Boston set up their offense during the 11-second two-man advantage, and just five seconds after it expired — but before Dave Bolland was able to get back into the play — Jaromir Jagr slid one across the middle, past Lucic in the center to Bergeron on the other side for the easy one-timer.

It was Jagr’s 197th career playoff point in 199 games, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the NHL’s all-time postseason points list.

Notes: Jagr had been tied with Paul Coffey on the career postseason scoring list. … Two of Jagr’s playoff points came on goals scored against the Blackhawks when they were swept by Penguins in 1992 final. … Boston’s Gregory Campbell, who broke his leg blocking a shot in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, attended the game. … The Bruins have killed off 27 straight penalties in the playoffs. … Boston’s David Krejci entered the game tied with Chicago’s Andrew Sharp for the most goals in the postseason with nine. The Bruins center entered the game leading all scorers with 23 points. … The Bruins are attempting to win a Cup for the second time in three seasons for the third time in their history. They also did it in 1939 and ’41 and again in 1970 and ’72. … Bruins won their seventh straight home playoff game. … The Blackhawks fell to 3-5 on the road in the postseason. … Ben Smith, who played just one game this regular season and none in the playoffs, replaced Hossa in the lineup. … Stalberg replaced Brandon Bollig in the lineup for Chicago.

(© 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

Well, Crosby’s not even doing the complaining himself, leaving his agent, Pat Brisson, to be his mouthpiece. As Damien Cox of the Toronto Star passed along on Friday, “Sidney Crosby’s agent is convinced Zdeno Chara of the Bruins intentionally punched Crosby where he had broken his jaw in Game 1. Nasty.”

Game 1, in case you have forgotten, took place two full weeks before the agent spread the word. The reason may be because it took a while to not only find footage of the “punch” but to then display in slow-motion in such a way that it looked to be a heavy blow to the jaw. In real speed, Chara’s “punch” of Crosby was nothing more than a shove with his left arm, which only came after Crosby had grabbed the back of Chara’s shoulder pads following a whistle in front of the Boston net.

But in super slow-motion, and with some sort of mega zoom, Crosby and his agent were convinced that Chara had purposefully taken the time to carefully target Crosby’s exposed jaw with a direct jab in the middle of a scrum. And so they gathered the video and sent it along to TSN, which was happy to “report” on the wretched assault on hockey’s golden boy. (TSN’s Darren Dreger actually took Chara aside to show him the video. Chara is in the middle of playing for the Stanley Cup.)

The play in question came just five minutes into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Tuukka Rask covered a puck, and Chara shoved Brenden Morrow out of the crease. Crosby reached out with his left hand and grabbed the back of Chara’s neck. Chara turned, saw Crosby grabbing onto him, and shoved him with his left hand to separate himself from Crosby. The Penguins’ captain did not let go of the Bruins’ captain, and after exchanging a few words, they were eventually separated by officials.

While the Zapruder-esque slow-motion footage provided by TSN looks damning for Chara, the video at regular speed (uploaded to YouTube by user @dafoomie) of the “incident” shows it for it is: nothing.

First and foremost, if Crosby’s jaw was not able to withstand the punishment that takes place during Stanley Cup playoff games, then the plastic shield guarding his jaw should never have been removed from his helmet. But it was, and that’s not any opponent’s fault.

“[Team doctors are] comfortable with it coming off, being hit and things like that,” Crosby said of the removal of his face shield prior to the series against the Bruins, thereby indicating his jaw was OK.

If Crosby wanted special treatment due to an injury from which doctors determined he had already recovered, then he shouldn’t have been on the ice at all.

Secondly, and perhaps worst of all, is the fact that this may be the first time in history that a hockey player has complained publicly about generic post-whistle roughhousing two weeks after it happened. Hockey is a man’s game, played by self-respecting tough guys who can get gashed open by a skate blade and still pretend like it doesn’t hurt. And yet, there is Crosby, upset he was shoved by a man whom he had grabbed seconds earlier. Accusing Chara of targeting his jaw two weeks after the fact is no doubt an unprecedented move in hockey’s rich history. (Continued…)

The “intentional” assault on Crosby’s jaw was used to explain why the 25-year-old was so upset at the end of the second period of that game. On his way off the ice after the second with the Bruins leading 1-0, Crosby said something to Chara, drawing a laugh from the 6-foot-9 defenseman. Crosby then bumped into Rask and appeared willing to get into a jousting match with the netminder. Then, after Evgeni Malkin and Patrice Bergeron fought each other and fell to the ice, Crosby and Chara confronted each other at the center ice faceoff dot. They exchanged words, with Chara leaning over to look Crosby eye-to-eye, and they eventually walked to their respective locker rooms.

Crosby went on to be held without a single point as his Penguins were swept by the Bruins.

Crosby did sort of refer to the play in question after the game.

“They’re letting a lot go out there, and the more it gets like that, the more it’s going to escalate,” Crosby said of the referees, who penalized him for interference as well as slashing in Game 1. “You can only control and channel that stuff so much. You keep letting guys do that stuff, you’re just going to push the envelope. That’s something we obviously want to stay away from, but it’s kind of a natural thing when it gets like that.”

Crosby might not have referred to the “punch” specifically at the time, because he knew his video team would need some time to rewrite history before it went public.

Just like the many instances of Crosby doing things on the ice that the most talented player in the world does not need to be doing, it’s disappointing to see. It’s why those of us who had hoped we were seeing the next Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux have come to terms with the fact that we simply are not. Crosby may be more talented than anyone else on the planet, but the more he gets caught up in nonsense like this instead of simply dominating hockey games, the less likeable he becomes.

That shift Crosby had in double overtime of Game 3 in Boston, when he lost his helmet and went on a determined rampage to try to score the game-winning goal? That’s the Crosby we all want to see. Knowing he’s capable of that but seeing him get tangled up in this is what makes it so difficult to embrace Crosby as this generation’s greatest player.

By coming out and not only claiming a regular post-whistle shove was a direct punch but also claiming Chara purposely targeted an injured jaw is a legitimately low and contemptible action by Crosby, who continues to act like he is bigger than the game. Hopefully some day, he’ll learn he is not.

Read more from Michael by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

Alberto Callaspo matched his career high with four hits, driving in two runs during the Angels’ seven-run sixth inning. Peter Bourjos had three hits as Los Angeles battered Aaron Harang (3-7) and the Seattle bullpen in its fourth victory in five games.

Jason Vargas (6-4) yielded four hits and recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in seven strong innings, easily beating his former teammates in his second start against the Mariners since an offseason trade.

Nick Franklin hit an early two-run homer for Seattle in the opener of a four-game AL West series.

Howie Kendrick and Mike Trout drove in early runs as the Angels got a hit from all nine spots in their big-budget lineup. Los Angeles has 67 hits and 36 runs in its last five games after its first 20-hit performance in a nine-inning game since 2008.

Trout also scored his 200th career run in the sixth, reaching the milestone in just 249 games — the quickest major leaguer to the mark since 1940. Only seven players since 1916 reached 200 runs more quickly than last season’s AL Rookie of the Year, and five of those players are in the Hall of Fame, including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Lloyd Waner.

Erick Aybar and Chris Iannetta had run-scoring singles during the sixth, and they both scored on Franklin’s throwing error on Trout’s bases-loaded grounder. Callaspo also had a two-run single in the sixth while emphatically snapping a 10-for-64 skid.

Even Brendan Harris snapped an 0-for-24 skid with a pinch-hit single in the seventh. Los Angeles had its first 20-hit game since last Aug. 23 at Boston, and seven Angels drove in a run.

The Angels also pounded out eight hits and four runs in the first two innings against Harang, who threw a two-hitter against Houston in his previous start. Harang yielded 12 hits and four runs in five innings before the Angels beat up on Seattle relievers Carter Capps and Charlie Furbush in the sixth.

Kendrick, who has been batting around .500 in June, had an RBI double to right field in the first inning, scoring Hamilton. After Trout’s long sacrifice fly brought home Callaspo in the second, Hamilton hit his two-run shot to the trees beyond center field, where a leaping Michael Saunders got his glove on the ball, but couldn’t haul it in.

After Endy Chavez got the Mariners’ first hit, Franklin connected for his third homer.

Vargas didn’t allow another runner past first base, and the Angels put it out of reach while sending 12 batters to the plate in the sixth.

NOTES: Aybar, the Angels’ former Gold Glove shortstop, booted a routine grounder in the second inning for Los Angeles’ MLB-worst 54th error. The Angels have committed an error in 10 straight games. … Seattle RF Jason Bay sat out the series opener with a sore hamstring. The veteran outfielder’s leg tightened up during Sunday’s game in Oakland. … Pujols hit a 390-foot line drive off the wall in deep center field in the second inning, but the burly $240 million slugger only managed a single.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

This season’s winner is Pittsburgh Penguins’ center Sidney Crosby.

Crosby wins his second Lindsay Award after posting 56 points in just 36 games, before breaking his jaw and missing the team’s final 12 games.

“It is nice to be recognized by the guys that you play against,” Crosby said. “I think it’s obviously a compliment.”

The Penguins’ captain returned to the form he had reached before his concussion issues began at Heinz Field during the Winter Classic in 2011.

“I was well rested,” Crosby joked. “I got [back] to the level that I wanted to.”

Crosby was also nominated for the Hart Trophy, which is the official league MVP. That award went to the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin.

Crosby wanted to win, but said losing out on the award will not cause him any lost sleep.

Crosby’s teammate, Kris Letang was nominated for the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. The award was given to Montreal’s P.K. Subban.

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Maybe they sensed that there would still be a lot more hockey before the night was over.

Ten periods into their championship series, the Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks headed to Boston for Game 3 on Monday night. No one would be surprised if this one’s as close as the first two.

“I think it’s pretty much what everybody expected,” Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said Sunday. “I mean, I don’t know if anybody expected to go to triple overtime the first game, but still it’s been tight, one-goal games. That’s usually how the playoffs go.”

Neither team skated on the off-day on Sunday, instead choosing to conserve their energy after playing four extra periods while trading overtime victories that left the series tied at one game.

“It’s a lot about getting your rest,” Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said after arriving in Boston about an hour late because of air traffic. “It’s not rocket science, you just get sleep and do as best you can and do all those little things to get ready to go.”

Read: 3 Keys For A Game 3 Victory

After their triple overtime win in Game 1, the Blackhawks dominated the first period of Game 2, outshooting the Bruins 19-4. Heading off the ice for the first break, Tyler Seguin ditched the microphone he had been wearing as part of the TV broadcast.

Then he went back into the dressing room so the team could hash out its problems in peace.

“It was really a mix of everybody saying something,” Seguin said. “I definitely knew it was coming, so I threw my shoulder pads in the training room and put a towel over it so no one could hear what we were saying. I think we needed that team wake-up call.”

Only Rask prevented things from getting worse.

“Not much needed to be said after that first period,” said Chris Kelly, who was one of the more vocal players in the dressing room.

“I think Tuukka pointed out that was a pretty terrible period by our team. If it wasn’t for Tuukka, it would have been a lot worse.”

Neither Kelly nor coach Claude Julien nor any of the other Bruins would divulge what was said in the room.

But something snapped them out of their funk.

“Claude came in a little bit later, but I think we were all equally upset about that first period,” said Daniel Paille, who scored at 13:48 of overtime to end it.

“Definitely, Claude let us know and it was a way for us to wake up. And, also, players were keeping each other accountable, too, so it was good.”

Whatever was said, the Blackhawks managed only 15 shots over the next two-plus periods to Boston’s 24.

For the game, the Bruins had 50 hits — 10 by Milan Lucic — to 34 for Chicago.

“They’re in the Stanley Cup final for a reason,” Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said. “It’s not like you’re going to have the momentum or dominate for three periods. Obviously, we’d love that.

“We know momentum is huge in the playoffs. You want to keep it as long as you can.”

But Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland said they relaxed after taking an early lead and dominating the first period. Another goal was disallowed when the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle moments before it rolled under Rask and over the goal line.

Read: 5 Things We Learned In Game 2

“You always have to have your foot on the gas against this team,” Bolland said. “They’re a physical team. You see the guys they have. They’re a big team and they play hard and they’re going to hit, so you’ve got to be ready for that.”

Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said he didn’t think the team lost momentum by having an extra day off before Game 1 on Wednesday and Game 2 on Saturday.

“We had a great first period,” he said. “We did everything we wanted except get to two (goals).”

Follow Jimmy Golen on Twitter at 
http://www.twitter.com/jgolen
 .

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

While it was mission accomplished in that sense, both of these teams know the series is a long way from being decided. The winner of tonight’s Game 3, though, will be in the driver’s seat with a 2-1 series lead.

For the Bruins to gain that lead, here are three keys to Game 3.

Milan Lucic, Wrecking Ball
In the days of Mark Recchi, the nickname “Wrecking Ball” was thrown around for the veteran’s willingness to skate to the dirty areas and take and give out the punishment that comes with the territory. But even Recchi himself never actually resembled a wrecking ball, at least not like Milan Lucic did in Game 2.

Sports Final: Bob Beers On Bruins’ Game 2 Win, Previews Game 3 Of Stanley Cup Final

The big-bodied left winger used his size to his advantage in Game 2, absolutely bullying the Blackhawks with clean but heavy body checks all night long. On the stat sheet, Lucic was credited with a game-high 10 hits, four more than any other player, and though there’s no way to properly quantify their impact, there’s little doubt he helped wear down the Blackhawks. It was evident in the third period, when Lucic would enter the Chicago zone on the forecheck. By that point, Blackhawks D-men could be seen taking circuitous routes to the puck in order to let Lucic get there first. The D-men likely figured they’d have a better chance battling for the puck than they would getting crushed into the end boards.

The question for Game 3 is whether Lucic wore down himself with all that hitting. After more than 38 minutes on the ice in Game 1 and a punishing 24:33 time on ice in Game 2, Lucic is no doubt a little tired heading into Game 3. Then again, so is everyone else. If Lucic can once again impose his presence the way he did in Game 2, it’ll be another long night for the Blackhawks.

Tuukka Being Tuukka
At this point, there’s really not much left to say about Tuukka Rask. He saves just about every single puck he sees, and even some he doesn’t. His numbers are absurd, and he was the sole reason the Bruins had any chance to even win Game 2.

Stanley Cup Notebook: Rask, Thomas Remain Connected

Fortunately for him, it would be hard to believe it could get much tougher than the first period of Game 2, when he stopped 18 of 19 shots, with only a Patrick Sharp shot through a couple of bodies finding its way into the net.

Unfortunately for Tuukka, the man across the ice has been just as good. Here’s how Corey Crawford’s numbers compare to Rask this postseason:

Crawford: 13-6 record, .935 save percentage, 1.72 goals-against average
Rask: 13-5 record, .944 save percentage, 1.73 goals-against average

For Rask, that means there’s no room for a letdown. While he didn’t really have much of a chance on three of Chicago’s four goals in Game 1, he may have to make an impossible save or two to keep similar shots out of the net going forward. Knowing how solid Crawford’s been for Chicago, it looks like these games will all come down to one goal. Rask is going to have to maintain his out-of-control pace as the team’s MVP for the Bruins to keep winning games.

O From D
A major part of the Bruins’ somewhat surprising run to the Cup Final was unlikely scoring from the blue line. Though Adam McQuaid made the play to keep the puck in the Chicago zone for the game-winning goal in Game 2, the defensemen have yet to find the back of the net for the Bruins this series.

Prior to the Final, the blue-liners chipped in with a healthy dose of complementary scoring. Johnny Boychuk netted five goals, which is still tied for fourth-most on the team this postseason. Torey Krug, quite memorably, scored four goals against the Rangers in the second round, while Adam McQuaid doubled his regular-season goal total with two, including the lone goal of the Bruins’ Game 4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In this series, goals from the D-men won’t be a necessity, but they may be the biggest key if the Bruins hope to try to build a lead bigger than one goal. Whether it’s a Boychuk blast through traffic, Krug on the power play or a well-placed wrister by Andrew Ference, Game 3 would be a good time for the D-men to get on the score sheet.

Read more from Michael by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

Wedding Dumb Bells?

This week the Boston Bruins’ Shawn Thornton told a reporter he puts his two Stanley Cup Wins on the list of all-time greatest days of his life.  Missing from that list?  The day he married his wife.

Now, I often say NHL players are the toughest athletes in professional sports.  I never say they are the brightest.

Story via CBS Boston

I want to hear from you! Got a fun story sports fans may have missed? Or an obscure, silly and perhaps gossipy tale we didn’t cover? E-mail Tara Lipinsky at tara.lipinsky@cbs.com or send me a Tweet @TaraLipinsky.

___

ALL TIED UP: Many believed Boston and Chicago were the two best teams in the NHL this season, both possessing a lethal blend of potent offense and stingy defense. (Pipe down, Pittsburgh fans. The goal-a-palooza that was Sid the Kid and Co. was a sight to behold, but you have to at least fake some defense.) So it is fitting that the Bruins and Blackhawks head to Boston tied at one game each. The first two games haven’t always been pretty — ahem, Brandon Bolllig — but they have been fast, entertaining and, most important, evenly matched. Fans are definitely getting their money’s worth, and few can argue that the Kings or Penguins would make for a better matchup.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Mark Katic reports

___

WORKING OVERTIME: Of course this game went to overtime. After Boston and Chicago needed OT to settle 10 games already in this postseason, including the 1-hour, 52-minute and 14-second marathon that was Game 1, there was no way this one was going to be settled nicely, neatly or in a timely fashion. At least this one didn’t turn into a night-day game, however, with Daniel Paille scoring 13:48 into the first overtime. No doubt there will be extended practices Sunday after such a short night. Boston is now 5-2 in overtime this postseason while Chicago is 4-2. Oh, and it’s not just the Bruins and Blackhawks logging extra hours. Game 2 was the 26th OT game of the postseason, tied for second most in NHL history. The record of 28 was set in 1993.

___

THE OLD MEN: Kids these days are such slackers. Jaromir Jagr has been playing longer than some of the Bruins have been alive. Really. That’s not an exaggeration. Yet there the old man was, leading Boston with five shots Saturday night, and coming close to ending the game a few times, including banging a puck off the crossbar in overtime. “I wanted to help the team. It was still a tied hockey game,” he said. “To score a goal would have been huge.” Jagr wasn’t the only one doing the senior set proud. Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, two of Chicago’s more veteran players, led the Blackhawks with seven shots each, and Sharp had Chicago’s only goal.

___

WHAT IF? Hossa’s disallowed goal isn’t the reason the Blackhawks lost Game 2, but it sure is fun to speculate. Shortly after Sharp gave Chicago the lead in the first period, Hossa appeared to double it. But the goal was waved off, with officials saying play should have been stopped because the referee had lost sight of the puck. Intermission came, the Bruins woke up, the Blackhawks dozed off and the rest is history. “It would have been nice to get it, but those guys make the call they see on the ice,” Sharp said. “As a team, we’ve been in situations where we’ve had some bad bounces and were forced to regroup quickly, so it didn’t affect us too much.” Had Chicago gotten that goal, however, who knows if Boston could have overcome a two-goal deficit?

___

HELLO AGAIN, CHRIS KELLY: Kelly’s tying goal in the second period was his first in the postseason since April 12, 2012, against Washington. Big deal, you might say, that was only last year. But the drought had dragged on for 23 games — or nearly the equivalent of the home schedule in this lockout-shortened season. “Just because he doesn’t see himself as a goal-scorer doesn’t mean he has to continue to have a goose egg on his stats,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “Sometimes that stuff, whether you like it or not, will weigh on you. When you get a night like that, it certainly takes a lot of weight off your shoulders and creates some positive thinking and some positive energy moving forward.” The other positive is Boston’s record when Kelly scores in the postseason: a sparkling 10-1, including Saturday night’s victory.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

By Christian S. Kohl

Both Clayton Kershaw and Clay Buchholz find themselves off to absolutely electric starts in the 2013 season. Their numbers in nearly every statistical category are downright silly, each dominating their leagues with extreme precision. Every GM would donate a kidney to sign either of these young dominate aces. So begs the question, which of them is the best?

>>More Sports Verdict Here

The nod in the early going from a pure stat splits perspective is Buchholz, who is pitching totally outside of his head. He sports a 1.62 ERA, 77 strikeouts in as many innings, and has surrendered just two home runs while featuring an unblemished 8-0 record. Kershaw, almost equally impressive, has fired his way to a 1.85 ERA across 87 innings, while recording 82 K’s as he compiles a more pedestrian 5-3 record. Clearly, run support factors in heavily in such a limited sample, however.

More to the point, in a comparison of the two in terms of who better to trust long term as a franchise ace, most if not all nods go to Kershaw. Not simply because he throws left-handed, or that he is 25 and Buch is now 28. The durability of Kershaw inspires more confidence than Buch. In what is his seventh year of work in the majors, Buchholz has never recorded a 200 inning season. Kershaw sports three, including two over 225 innings. He bests Buch in career WHIP, 1.11 to 1.30. Buchholz has also surrendered more home runs lifetime despite pitching 316 fewer career innings.

For the less statistically oriented and more subjective fan, Buchholz also is more of an unanswered question than Kershaw. Buch’s injuries in 2011 led to difficulties in 2012 relocating his elite stuff. He all reported issues with his delivery and kinks in his mechanics. While he exhibits an unquestioned mental toughness, the longevity of this run he is on remains difficult to handicap. Conversely, Kershaw has displayed a pattern of workhorse dominance more or less consistently throughout his entire career. He also applies less pressure to his defense, consistently recording strikeout totals which dwarf those of Buchholz by a margin of nearly 2:1 lifetime.

Right now, Buch is the better story, as everyone enjoys a good comeback. He has always been a tough competitor who battles during every start, and his ferocious beginning to 2013 feels entirely earned after putting in the difficult work to recapture his stuff these past few years. Kershaw is every scout’s dream, the robot who fits every physical and velocity profile and simply delivers without wavering. Both of these guys are incredibly special to watch, and their futures remain bright for the next decade and possibly beyond. But the more likely to maintain this level of play by the end of 2013 and beyond is Kershaw without question. Like every GM in the world, if tasked between picking either of these hurlers to anchor my staff, I take Kershaw without hesitation and sleep without an ounce of regret. He wins this week’s showdown of elite fireballers.

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Christian S. Kohl is a sports contributor for CBS Local Digital Media.

Hey, whatever works.

Adam Plutko and two relievers limited LSU to five hits, and UCLA turned both of the Tigers’ errors into runs in a tense 2-1 victory Sunday night.

“That was a grind,” Bruins coach John Savage said. “You’re talking about a crowd that was certainly in the favor of LSU, and we anticipated that. And I think at the end of the day it was our type of game.”

The Bruins (45-17) once again squeezed all they could out of their offensively challenged lineup and move on to play North Carolina State on Tuesday. The No. 4 Tigers (57-10) became the third of the three remaining national seeds to lose at the CWS and will meet No. 1 North Carolina in an elimination game.

The Bruins came to Omaha batting just .251, but they got their leadoff man on base in the fourth through ninth innings — including on an error, hit batsman and a strike-three wild pitch.

They bided their time as Plutko held the Tigers in check, and they ended up winning for the 16th time in 18 one-run games.

“I think we’ve been kind of flying under the radar all year long,” Plutko said. “We always talk about how we want to play our game. We don’t play the opponent, we play our game. Finally, we just we were lucky enough to break them down a bit.”

LSU scored its only run on Mason Katz’s fourth-inning homer. The Tigers, one of the best fielding teams in the nation during the regular season, made mistakes that allowed the Bruins to tie the game in the sixth and take the lead in the eighth.

Plutko (9-3) allowed four hits in seven innings for the win. David Berg worked out of trouble in the ninth to earn his 22nd save.

Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year Aaron Nola (12-1) gave up five singles in eight innings, and both runs against him were unearned.

“It was a tough, tough loss, that’s for sure,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “I’m certainly glad it’s a double-elimination tournament. That would be a tough one to end the season on.”

LSU made it interesting until the end. Mason Katz reached on shortstop Pat Valaika’s throwing error in the ninth but was erased on a double play, with second baseman JaCoby Jones’ throw to first narrowly beating Raph Rhymes.

Christian Ibarra walked, and pinch hitter Tyler Moore hammered a ball up the middle that knocked down Berg to put runners on first and second. Berg faked as if he made a wild pickoff throw into center field, but pinch runner Jared Foster didn’t take the bait and stayed put after diving back to second base.

Berg ran the count to 3-0 on Jones before inducing a fly ball to right to end the game.

Mainieri said he put a hit-and-run play on after Katz reached base and Rhymes failed to get a bunt down on the first two pitches. Rhymes’ hard grounder barely stayed to the inside of the third-base line, and Ibarra was able to scoop it.

“It was bad luck,” Mainieri said. “He hit it so hard that they got the force out before Mason could get there and turned the double play. I gambled, and we came up snake eyes.”

Plutko turned in a second straight strong start in the CWS. He gave up one run on four hits in seven innings against LSU after allowing one run on five hits in seven innings to earn a win over Stony Brook last year.

James Kaprielian relieved Plutko to start the eighth, and the side-arming Berg worked what undoubtedly was the most anxious of his 47 appearances this season.

Both runs against Nola, the Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year, were unearned. He’s now pitched 24 NCAA tournament innings without allowing an earned run.

“It was real frustrating, letting that leadoff guy get on,” Nola said. “But it’s happened to me before through the year. I battled as hard as I could until the last pitch. Unfortunately, we booted a couple balls around. You’ve got to forget about that, and we’re going to come out Tuesday and compete.”

LSU led 1-0 in the fourth when Katz drove Plutko’s 89-mph high fastball into the left-field bullpen for his 16th homer of the season and the first in four CWS games.

The Bruins got the run back in the sixth after Brian Carroll bunted for a single and took second on catcher Ty Ross’s wild throw to first. Carroll moved to third on a groundout and scored on Valaika’s sacrifice fly.

Pinch hitter Ty Moore, batting .208, singled to left on Nola’s first pitch of the eighth inning. Christoph Bono pinch ran and moved up on a sacrifice. He scored the go-ahead run when Eric Filia’s grounder to shortstop bounced off national freshman of the year Alex Bregman for his fourth error in six NCAA tournament games.

“We’ve been fortunate,” Savage said. “But good teams create their own breaks a lot of times.”

 (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Now he’s an NBA Finals record-holder, and a big reason why the MVP’s chances of a second consecutive championship are in serious trouble.

Setting a Finals mark with 25 3-pointers, Green finished with 24 points and went 6 of 10 from long range in Game 5 against the Miami Heat, helping lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 114-104 victory Sunday night.

Deemed too raw and unpolished to remain on the roster with James and Cleveland three years ago, Green is the most prolific 3-point shooter on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“It seems everything is going right for me. I feel truly blessed,” Green said. “The basketball gods are in our favor right now.”

Green is 25 for 38 from long range in the Finals — 66 percent — having hit at least four 3-pointers in every game against Miami except one.

Green set the mark playing against Heat guard Ray Allen, who set the record when he hit 22 3-pointers while helping Boston win its most recent title in 2008.

Yet even Allen — the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers — didn’t shoot with this kind of precision in the Finals. Allen, who has 11 3s against the Spurs, shot 52 percent in that six-game win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It’s an honor to be even playing on the same floor as some of these guys. Growing up, I watched him play all the time,” Green said of Allen. “To think I broke a record of his is surreal.”

Green still has at least one game left to add to his total, starting with Game 6 on Tuesday night in Miami.

Spurs forward Tim Duncan said he hopes Green doesn’t cool off anytime soon.

“He’s been unbelievable. Especially on this stage,” Duncan said. “He’s been shooting the ball so well. We’re asking him to defend Dwyane Wade and LeBron and all these guys. He’s got a lot on his shoulders and he’s stepped up and answered the bell.”

The Spurs are one win away from hoisting a fifth championship in the Duncan era.

But Duncan has never leaned on a role player so heavily like this in the Finals. Although the Spurs won their first titles with the help of a revolving cast of big-shot players — Sean Elliott, Robert Horry, Steve Kerr — none carried the scoring load like Green.

Green has emerged as the unlikely leading scorer for the Spurs this series, averaging 18 points. That’s nearly eight more than his season average, and his 90 points in these five games are more than what Green scored in his first two NBA seasons combined.

Not bad for a player coach Gregg Popovich cut twice before Green finally won him over last season.

“When you do it for 82 games, the only thing left is to see if you can do it when the real lights come on in playoff time,” Popovich said. “He’s pretty much answered that question.”

The Heat have yet to find an answer for Green. Miami guard Dwyane Wade, who has guarded Green this series, said he couldn’t remember many players who shot the ball this well in the Finals.

He said Miami must do a better job back home of defending Green.

James said Green is making the most of his opportunities.

“He’s trying to seize the moment,” James said. “And he’s doing great for his team so far.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Rose captured his first major championship on Sunday with remarkable calm and three pure shots on the punishing closing holes at Merion. A par on the 18th hole gave him an even-par 70, and that was good enough to become the first Englishman in 43 years to win America’s national championship.

Rose hit 5-iron to the first cut of rough, pin-high on the 17th for an easy par. He smashed the most important tee shot of his career down the middle on the final hole, about 15 feet short of the famous Ben Hogan plaque. And his 4-iron rolled near the pin and settled against the collar of the green.

“When I came over the hill and saw my ball laying in the fairway, I thought, `This is my moment.’ It was me hitting from the middle of the fairway,” Rose said.

As usual, someone’s big moment in the U.S. Open came at Mickelson’s expense.

Rose was in the scoring area a half-mile from the grandstands behind the 18th green where the fans began to chant, “Let’s go Phil!” as Mickelson paced off a last-ditch effort to force a playoff. It was a long shot — the 18th hole didn’t yield a single birdie all weekend.  From about 40 yards away, Mickelson’s chip for birdie raced by the cup, securing Rose’s victory.

Mickelson, already in the U.S. Open record book with five second-place finishes, added another that will hurt as much any of them.

Sunday was his 43rd birthday. It was the first time he was equipped with the outright lead going into the last day. His week began with a cross-country trip home to San Diego to watch his oldest daughter graduate from the eighth grade, returning just three hours before his tee time on Thursday. This was the same daughter born the day after his first runner-up finish in 1999.

All the stars were aligned. None of the putts fell in.

Mickelson surged back into the lead by holing out from 75 yards in thick rough on the 10th hole for eagle, another moment that made it seem like surely was his time. The cheer could be heard across the road, through the trees, loud enough that Rose knew exactly what had happened.

But on the easiest hole at Merion, Mickelson drilled a wedge over the green on the par-3 13th and made bogey.

What hurt Mickelson even more was a wedge from about 121 yards on the 15th hole. It should have given him a good look at birdie, but it came up so short that Mickelson’s best chance was to use one of his five wedges to chip from the front of the green. He hit that one too far, 25 feet by the hole, and the bogey wound up costing him a chance at the major he covets.

Mickelson wound up with a bogey on the 18th for a 74 and tied for second with Jason Day, who closed with a 71.

“Heartbreak,” Mickelson said. “This is tough to swallow after coming so close. This was my best chance of all of them. I had a golf course I really liked. I felt this was as good an opportunity as you could ask for. It really hurts.”

Day appeared to salvage his round by chipping in for bogey on the 11th hole, and he was still in the picture when he made a 12-foot par putt on the 17th to stay one shot behind. But he put his approach into the bunker left of the 18th green, blasted out to about 7 feet and missed the putt.

The back nine was a four-way battle that included Hunter Mahan, who played in the last group with Mickelson. He was one shot out of the lead until he three-putted the 15th hole for a double bogey, and then closed with back-to-back bogeys when his hopes were gone. Mahan had a 75 and tied for fourth with Billy Horschel (74), Ernie Els (69) and Jason Dufner, who had a 67 despite making triple bogey on the 15th hole.

Rose finished at 1-over 281, eight shots higher than David Graham’s winning score in 1981 when the U.S. Open was last held at Merion. The shortest course for a major championship in nearly a decade held up just fine. It was the third time in the last four years that no one broke par in the toughest test of golf.

The last Englishman to win the U.S. Open was Tony Jacklin at Hazeltine in 1970, though Rose added to recent dominance of the Union Jack at the U.S. Open as the third winner in four years. The others were Graeme McDowell (2010) and Rory McIlroy (2011) of Northern Ireland.

Walking off the 18th green, he looked through the patchy clouds and point to the sky, a nod to his late father, Ken, who died of leukemia in September 2002.

“I couldn’t help but look up at the heavens and think my old man Ken had something to do with it,” Rose said.

It seems like more than 15 years ago when Rose first starred on the major scene as a 17-year-old amateur who chipped in on the final hole at Royal Birkdale in the 1998 British Open and tied for fourth. He turned pro the next week, and then missed the cut in his first 21 tournaments. But he stayed the course and slowly picked off big tournaments — including the AT&T National in 2010 just down the road at Aronimink.

The U.S. Open takes him to another level and moves him to No. 3 in the world.

“Just for the last few years has been known as one of the best ball-strikers in the game. He showed that today,” said Luke Donald, who played alongside him. “To win a U.S. Open, you have to have the ultimate control of your golf ball. He did that. He hit some really clutch iron shots down the stretch.”

Tiger Woods turned out to be nothing more than an afterthought. He hit out-of-bounds on his second hole and made triple bogey, and closed with a 74 to finish at 13-over 293, his worst score as a pro in the U.S. Open, and matching his worst score in any major.

The score wasn’t nearly that bad considering the golf course, with its tricky contours on the greens and punishing rough.

Mickelson wore all black when he arrived for the final round, and in a brief TV interview he said, “The best for me is to play well and have fun.”

Sunday at the U.S. Open is rarely fun.

Just ask Donald, who was only two shots behind starting the final round. It all crumbled when he pulled his tee shot on the par-3 third hole — so long and hard that Donald hit a driver — and struck a standard-bearer. She was on the ground for several minutes, and Donald appeared visibly shook. He made bogey, and then followed that with two bogeys and a double bogey. He shot 42 on the back nine.

Steve Stricker took his lumps on one hole, and it was ugly. One shot behind, he pushed his tee shot on the par-5 second hole out-of-bounds. After hitting the next tee shot into the fairway, he tried to lay up with a 4-iron and hit a shank out-of-bounds. Stricker had to make a 7-foot putt to escape with a triple-bogey 8.

Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, trying to give South Africa a major for the fourth straight year, opened with a birdie and a tie for the lead. That became a distant memory, however, when he dropped seven shots over the seven holes and closed out his front nine with a 42.

Horschel wore pants with octopus prints, and he putted like he had eight arms. Out in 39, he opened the back nine with a pair of three-putts.

For a short time, it looked as though Mickelson might join this parade of pretenders when he three-putted for double bogey twice in three holes on the front nine. And then came his shot out of the rough on the 10th, and he was on his way — but not for long.

Rose made his share of mistakes, too, like the three-putt bogey on the 11th and a horrible shot out of the bunker on the 14th. The difference was his approach into the 12th to 3 feet, followed by a 20-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole.

With Mickelson watching so many putts graze the lip, that cushion was all that Rose needed.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The former Yankees star and current Dodgers manager will be back Tuesday night when Los Angeles opens a two-game interleague series at New York.

The Dodgers have not played in the Bronx since clinching the 1981 World Series at the old Yankee Stadium.

Mattingly left the Yankees as their bench coach after the 2007 season when he was bypassed in favor of Joe Girardi as a replacement for manager Joe Torre.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Mattingly said Sunday after the Dodgers lost 6-3 to Pittsburgh. “It will be fun to see a lot of people again. I have nothing but good memories of New York and being a Yankee. I’m proud of everything we did there.”

Mattingly followed Torre to the Dodgers and spent three years on the coaching staff before becoming manager prior to the 2011 season. He was on the Yankees’ coaching staff for four years.

The Yankees retired Mattingly’s No. 23 after he played 14 seasons for them as a first baseman. He was the American League MVP in 1985, won nine Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards, and was selected to six All-Star Games.

Mattingly has made one visit to the new Yankee Stadium. That came in 2010 for the unveiling of a plaque that commemorated late owner George Steinbrenner

Mattingly says he has no ill feelings about the Yankees skipping over him as manager.

“Not one bit,” Mattingly said. “Everything worked out for the best. I love being the manager of the Dodgers and am proud to work for another great organization.”

The Dodgers are coming off a 6-3 Loss to Pittsburgh, dropping their first series against the Pirates in three years and falling to a season-worst ten games under .500.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Los Angeles has been making its manager wait quite a while.

Rookie Gerrit Cole improved to 2-0 and Pedro Alvarez homered off Zack Greinke to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Dodgers 6-3 Sunday.

It was the Dodgers’ sixth loss in eight games and dropped them a season-worst 10 games under .500 at 29-39.

“It’s kind of been the same story,” Mattingly said. “We haven’t been able to win a series. We got a win (Saturday) then we’ve got Zack going and a chance to win the series and we weren’t able to get it done.”

Cole (2-0) allowed three runs on seven hits and no walks in 5 2-3 innings. The top pick from the 2011 draft won in his big league debut last week.

“I’m really happy to be able to come up here and pitch well enough to help the team win,” Cole said. “But I also know I need to do more. I’ve only gone 6 1-3 and 5 2-3 innings in my two starts. I need to get deeper than that. We’re getting the point in the season where the bullpen is going to start having aches and pains and I need to eat up more innings to help those guys out.”

Alvarez snapped a 2-all tie when he connected off Greinke (3-2) for a three-run homer in the fifth. Alvarez leads the Pirates with 15 homers.

His father Pedro was in the stands for Father’s Day. The elder Alvarez moved his family to New York from the Dominican Republic when his son was a 1-year-old, and dad made a living driving a livery cab. Alvarez also hit a home run against the Mets in New York on Mother’s Day.

“It just makes it extra special,” he said.

Alex Presley had three hits, including a home run, and Garrett Jones added a two-run single for the Pirates, who won for the sixth time in their last nine games.

Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig got three hits and raised his average to .479 in his first 48 at-bats in the majors.

Mattingly said before the game that Puig is likely to stay in the majors even after star outfielders Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford recover from hamstring injuries that landed them on the disabled list.

Considering Andree Ethier is also in the first year of a six-year, $95.95-million contract, it would seemingly make for a crowded outfield, though Mattingly said, “I think there will be playing time for everybody.”

Greinke (3-2) was touched for five runs and eight hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three while losing to Pittsburgh for just the second time in seven career decisions.

“His fastball command wasn’t great,” Mattingly said. “He wasn’t putting it where he wants and couldn’t get in good counts so he had to use more off-speed stuff and he left that curveball up to Alvarez.”

There were two outs and no one on in the fifth with the score tied at 2 when Jones singled and Neil Walker walked. Alvarez, who was 1 for 14 in his career against Greinke, then hit a drive into the shrubbery in dead center field.

“The main thing was some big situations came up and I made bad pitches in important situations,” Greinke said. “That’s what happened.”

After Jones gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the first, the Dodgers tied it. Puig led off the second with a single, stole second and scored on Tim Federowicz’s groundout. Ethier hit an RBI single in the fourth.

Los Angeles closed to 5-3 in the sixth when Ethier singled home Adrian Gonzalez, who had doubled.

The Pirates got the run back in the bottom half when Presley hit his second homer into the right-field stands off Matt Guerrier.

It was the first time the Dodgers dropped a series to the Pirates in three years.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

An average Sunday afternoon game swiftly turned into a memorable moment, and Mariano Rivera made it even better for the Yankees when he struck out Albert Pujols to close out New York’s skid-snapping win.

Rivera fanned Pujols on three pitches to end the Angels’ five-run rally in the ninth, and the Yankees stopped their five-game losing streak with a wild 6-5 victory over Los Angeles.

“The moment doesn’t really get to him,” Travis Hafner said of Rivera, baseball’s career saves leader. “As long as he’s got the lead, you feel he’s going to find a way to get the win.”

Rivera would have enjoyed his 632nd save a bit more if he hadn’t caused much of the drama himself in the park where he made his major league debut in 1995 and earned his first save a year later.

CC Sabathia pitched five-hit ball into the ninth and Hafner hit a three-run homer off Jered Weaver, but the Yankees barely got enough from Rivera. New York’s famed closer gave up three hits and a walk, but still got his 24th save in dramatic fashion.

“That’s what everybody comes and pays for,” said Lyle Overbay, who had an RBI double. “That was a little closer than we thought, but I didn’t sense a lot of panic.”

Jayson Nix also drove in a run during a five-run third inning for the Yankees, who salvaged the finale of their 10-game road trip by battering Weaver (1-3) early and hanging on by their fingernails late.

Sabathia (7-5) struck out six and walked three, but tired in the ninth, leaving with two runners on. After reliever David Robertson left with a 6-1 lead, Rivera gave up Erick Aybar’s RBI groundout, Alberto Callaspo’s two-run single and Peter Bourjos’ RBI single.

Rivera then walked Mike Trout to load the bases before getting Pujols.

“That was a great rally and a lot of fun to be a part of,” said Mark Trumbo, who drove in the Angels’ first run in the ninth. “You know the odds are heavily stacked against you, especially with a guy like CC out there. That’s exactly what we wanted to see. It was very, very close, and that’s about all you can hope for against a guy like Mariano Rivera. Maybe one more blooped (hit) and we win this ballgame.”

Former Angels outfielder Vernon Wells drove in what turned out to be the decisive run with a sacrifice fly off Jerome Williams in the eighth.

Despite the finish, Sabathia decisively won the matchup of both clubs’ top starters. Weaver gave up seven hits and four walks over six innings for the Angels, who had won three straight.

Los Angeles managed just four singles off Sabathia until the crazy ninth.

Sabathia left after Trout’s leadoff double and a walk to Pujols. Trumbo then got an RBI with a line drive that hit Robertson and bounced into right field for a single. Robertson stayed in the game, but loaded the bases with a one-out walk to pinch-hitter J.B. Shuck.

That created an unlikely save opportunity with a five-run lead for Rivera, but the 43-year-old wasn’t sharp. Aybar and Callaspo drove in runs before pinch-hitter Brad Hawpe delivered his first major league hit in two years.

Bourjos then singled home Callaspo to trim New York’s lead to one run. Trout drew a walk to load the bases for Pujols, but the Angels’ $240 million man couldn’t connect.

“We really executed well in the ninth inning and had some good at-bats,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “There was some good situational hitting and some guys off the bench did a good job. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get that tying run across. Rivera made some tough pitches to Albert at the end and closed the door, but our guys were upbeat the whole game.”

New York is without injured regulars Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Kevin Youkilis, but got offense from less likely sources in the series finale. Nix had three hits, while Hafner’s two-out shot ended his 0-for-23 skid for the Yankees, who hadn’t scored more than four runs in eight straight games before doing it in the third inning alone at Angel Stadium.

Weaver struck out six, but repeatedly found trouble in his fourth start since returning from a 45-game stint on the disabled list. A 20-game winner last season, the Angels’ longtime ace is winless in his last three starts.

Weaver had two outs and two strikes on Hafner before the veteran hit his 11th homer. Hafner had just five hits in his previous 53 at-bats before connecting against Weaver, including a 2-for-27 start to the road trip.

“I didn’t really accomplish anything that I try to accomplish through the course of a game,” Weaver said. “Walks were bad, first-pitch strikes were bad, and I obviously didn’t get deep in the game. It’s just one of those games where I found myself battling the whole game.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The Blackhawks failed to clear the puck along the boards. Tyler Seguin picked it up and delivered a cross-ice pass to Paille, who beat Corey Crawford on his glove side for the winner at 13:48 of the extra period.

Game 3 is Monday at Boston.

It’s the second consecutive year that the first two games of the finals have gone to overtime, this one coming after the Blackhawks won a triple-OT thriller 4-3 in Game 1.

Crawford and Boston’s Tuukka Rask were outstanding in goal again after coming up big in the opener, turning away shot after shot in the extra period until Paille scored.

Jaromir Jagr just missed scoring the game-winner in the opening minutes of OT when his shot from the right circle hit the right post, his second near miss in as many games. Chris Kelly, who scored in the second period for Boston, had a shot from the slot stopped by Crawford at 5:39 of overtime.

Rask also stood his ground down the stretch, just as he did in the opening period, when Chicago simply fired away at him.

The Blackhawks swarmed the Bruins in the early going, taking the lead in the first on Patrick Sharp’s ninth goal of the postseason.

They continued to dictate the tempo until Kelly tied it with just over five minutes remaining in the second. Paille skated out from behind the net, beating Nick Leddy with a neat move for a wraparound shot. Crawford made the save, but Kelly crashed the net and knocked in the rebound to tie it at 1-all.

The Bruins nearly grabbed the lead with just over a minute remaining, after Paille picked off Duncan Keith’s pass and flipped the puck to a breaking Brad Marchand. He got pulled down by Brent Seabrook as his shot hit the inside of the right post, preserving the tie.

Either way, the Bruins had to like the way the period ended after being dominated most of the way.

They ended up outshooting Chicago 8-4 in the second after getting outgunned 19-4 in that area in the first, with the Blackhawks holding a 28-19 edge through regulation.

Rask had 33 saves while Crawford had 26.

The Bruins nearly took the lead early in the third when Jagr made a cross-ice pass to Marchand for a one-timer. Crawford came across the crease to block it with his body. Boston also had some chances in the closing minutes, with a shot by Jagr getting deflected over the net by Keith and Johnny Boychuk’s attempt from the blue line getting stopped by Crawford.

The Boston rally was in stark contrast to the early going, when the Blackhawks teed off and finally broke through with 8:38 left after Rask stopped a backhand and wrist shot by Patrick Kane.

The flurry continued with a slapshot by Michael Rozsival, and with the Bruins scrambling in the zone, Sharp wound up with the puck on the right side. He fired it past a screened Rask to give the Blackhawks the lead, with the Bruins’ Kaspars Daugavins and Andrew Ference jammed in front trying to cover Dave Bolland.

Chicago continued the siege against Rask, who had 18 saves in the period, but couldn’t add to the lead.

Then again, the Bruins couldn’t get anything going on offense. Sharp alone had more shots than them in the opening period with six, and things didn’t get much better for Boston in the second.

Crawford wasn’t really tested in the early going, other than a nice glove save on a high shot by Jagr midway through the first period and point-blank stop on Rich Peverley with 1:35 remaining. Star wing Nathan Horton was in the lineup for the Bruins after leaving the series opener with an injured left shoulder, a huge boost for a team trying to tie the series.

Horton got tangled up with Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson in the first overtime, a pivotal moment for a key player to go down. But after watching Horton practice on Friday and skate on Saturday, coach Claude Julien declared him ready, saying he saw “absolutely no reason” not to play him.

For excitement alone, it would be hard to match what happened in Game 1, let alone top it.

From the late rally in regulation by the Blackhawks to the string of spectacular saves by Crawford to Jagr’s near-miss off the post and, finally, Andrew Shaw’s double-deflection goal to win it, that one was simply breathtaking. It added up to the fifth-longest Stanley Cup finals game in league history and a 1-0 series lead for Chicago.

Now the series is tied headed back to Boston.

The rest of the Los Angeles Angels are also looking sharp against the struggling New York Yankees.

Erick Aybar homered and drove in two runs, and Albert Pujols added two more RBIs in the Angels’ 6-2 victory Saturday night, sending New York to its fifth straight defeat.

Hanson (4-2) recorded a season-high eight strikeouts while pitching five-hit ball into the seventh inning for the Angels, who have won three straight after a four-game skid.

“This was the most confident I’ve felt all year,” said Hanson, just the third pitcher in 20 years to win in each of his first three career appearances against the Yankees. “Obviously, I needed a little time to deal with what I was dealing with, but I feel like I’m getting back to a rhythm. I’m back to a normal routine.”

The big right-hander delivered his strongest start since returning from a 27-day gap between starts in May while he was on the Angels’ restricted list, mentally dealing with his stepbrother’s death. Against the Yankees, Hanson walked just one and allowed the second-fewest hits in any start of his debut season with Los Angeles.

He also got plenty of help from his teammates.

Josh Hamilton had an RBI double, and Aybar hit an early homer before delivering a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth. Howie Kendrick had three hits and drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning of his fourth straight multi-hit game. Mike Trout drew three walks and scored two runs.

Combined with Pujols’ third straight multi-hit game, the Angels got another standout day from their inconsistent offense, which has 25 hits in the first two games of this weekend series.

“A lot of guys are really swinging the bats real well,” said Kendrick, who leads the AL with 24 hits while batting .500 in June. “One through nine, different guys are doing it every time. We just want to play good baseball. We’re not worried about the standings or whatever. We just want to win.”

Brett Gardner had an RBI triple for the Yankees, who matched their worst skid of the season. Jayson Nix drove in Gardner in the third inning, but New York managed just two more hits in the final six innings – both by Ichiro Suzuki, who also made two outstanding catches in right field.

“He’s a little funky out there with his mechanics,” Yankees catcher Chris Stewart said of Hanson. “It throws you off when the ball comes out at a weird angle, and we had shadows today, too, so it was a little tough to pick him up. He’s got extreme speeds – a real slow curveball, which he mixes with his slider, and his fastball kind of gets on you because of his motion.”

And it gets worse: Mark Teixeira left in the fourth inning with an aggravated right wrist, heading home to New York for further evaluation.

David Phelps (4-4) yielded nine hits and four runs while pitching into the seventh for the Yankees, taking a small step back from outstanding work in his two previous starts.

The Yankees have lost 27 of their last 39 games at the Big A, and their overall skid got even more foreboding with the latest injury setback for Teixeira, their $180 million slugger.

Teixeira flied out to right and popped out to third before leaving in the fourth inning when David Adams replaced him at first base. Teixeira is hitless in 12 at-bats and is just 8 for 53 since coming off the disabled list on May 31 with a torn sheath on his right wrist.

“It’s the first time he’s come to us, really, and said something,” New York manager Joe Girardi said. “I think he just doesn’t feel that he has the whip that he normally does, hitting left-handed, so we’ll see what it is. He came to us after the second at-bat and just said he feels like there’s not a lot of strength there, so we told him we’re going to take him out of there. I’ve always said that wrist is tricky, so I’m concerned.”

Aybar put the Angels ahead in the second inning with a low drive that barely cleared the short fence in the right-field corner for the shortstop’s second homer of the season.

After Aybar drove in Mark Trumbo with the go-ahead run in the sixth, Hamilton bounced an RBI double down the first-base line in the seventh against reliever Shawn Kelley.

NOTES: The Yankees stole four bases against Hanson, who has yielded 14 stolen bases this season. “I can’t hold runners on first base,” Hanson said with a chuckle. “I’m terrible at that.” … Suzuki doubled in the fourth inning, but was caught trying to steal third base. Television replays showed Suzuki might have been safe even though Hank Conger’s throw beat him to the bag, and Girardi had an animated argument with umpire Manny Gonzalez. … Yankees LHP Andy Pettitte turned 41 on Saturday, and Eduardo Perez turned 26.

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) Phil Mickelson has the lead after three rounds at the U.S. Open.

Mickelson shot an even-par 70 Saturday, including three birdies on the back nine, for a 1-under 209 total on the hard-to-read greens at Merion Golf Club.

Mickelson took the lead with a birdie at No. 17 and had a hard-fought bogey at the 18th – a hole that none of the 73 players in the field birdied in the third round.

He is one stroke ahead of Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker.

Mickelson is seeking his first U.S. Open title. He’s been a runner-up a record five times.

Tiger Woods finished 10 shots off the lead after a 76, matching his worst U.S. Open round as a pro.

Updated June 15, 2013

Ethier doubled off Vin Mazzaro (3-1) leading off the 11th then raced home when Uribe’s chopper went over the head of third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Nick Punto drove in Uribe with a double to the gap one batter later to provide some insurance.

Peter Moylan (1-0) picked up the win after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the 10th. Brandon League, who lost his job as the closer to Kenley Jansen this week, managed the final three outs for his 14th save.

Travis Snider capped a late Pittsburgh rally with a solo home run off Jansen with one out in the ninth to tie the game.

Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw scattered three hits over seven innings while lowering his ERA to a National League-leading 1.84, but failed to pick up his first win in three weeks when the Dodgers’ bullpen faltered.

Ethier finished 3 for 5 with an RBI and Skip Schumaker and Mark Ellis also drove in runs for Los Angeles, which won for just the fourth time in its last 16 road games.

Pittsburgh’s Brandon Cumpton allowed three runs on seven hits in five-plus innings during his major league debut. He struck out five of the first six batters he faced but faded as the game wore on.

The Pirates had a chance to win it in the 10th when Neil Walker smacked a ball down the right-field line with Russell Martin on first. Los Angeles rookie right-fielder Yaisel Puig had trouble with the ball, but Martin was held at third even as Puig’s throw went well up the third-base line. The Dodgers intentionally walked Pedro Alvarez and Mike McKenry flew out to right to extend the game.

League, who has blown four saves this season, nearly made it five. The Pirates put runners on second and third in the 11th, but Andrew McCutchen grounded out and Gaby Sanchez hit a sinking liner to left that Schumaker tracked down.

Kershaw is the third Cy Young winner the Pirates have faced in a five-day span. Pittsburgh beat San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito on Tuesday and Wednesday, knocking both around in the process.

Not this time.

The Pirates went up 1-0 early when Alex Presley doubled leading off and then scored on a fielder’s choice. That would be about it. The Pirates put two runners on in the third and sixth innings, but couldn’t scratch out a run, giving the Dodgers enough time to figure out Cumpton.

The 24-year-old’s first start in the majors came after Pittsburgh ace A.J. Burnett went to the disabled list with a strained right calf on Thursday. Cumpton began the season in Double-A Altoona before being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis in April. While his numbers were fine (4-4 with a 3.31 ERA) the biggest reason the Pirates turned to him is because it was simply his turn to pitch.

Cumpton appeared immune to the nerves early, striking out the side in the first. He retired the first eight batters he faced before walking Kershaw in the third.

The third trip through the lineup, however, proved problematic.

Schumaker drove in A.J. Ellis in the fifth to tie the game before Cumpton unraveled in the sixth.

Adrian Gonzalez led off with a double and moved to third on Hanley Ramirez’s single. Ethier drove home Gonzalez and Mark Ellis hit a sacrifice fly off reliever Justin Wilson to put the Dodgers up 2-0.

Pittsburgh closed within a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Neil Walker, but reliever Paco Rodriguez got Alvarez to ground out meekly to first to end the threat.

Jensen came on in the ninth and blew his first save since inheriting the closer’s job from League when Snider took a 2-2 fastball and put it well into the center-field seats for his third homer of the year.

League allowed infield singles to Snider and Jordy Mercer in the 11th but survived.

NOTES: The Pirates left 13 runners on base. … Los Angeles reliever J.P. Howell began his two-game suspension for his role in a brawl between the Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks this week. Howell planned to appeal but dropped it on Saturday. … Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte missed a third straight game due to discomfort in his ribs. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said the team will give Marte another day to rest before deciding whether he goes on the disabled list. Pittsburgh begins a four-game series in Cincinnati on Monday. … Puig went 1 for 5 and has hit safely in 10 of 12 games since making his debut last month. … The series wraps up on Sunday. Pittsburgh rookie Gerrit Cole (1-0, 2.84 ERA) faces Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.68 ERA).

Wilson (5-5) allowed two runs and five hits, struck out four and walked three while winning for only the second time in his last eight starts.

Ernesto Frieri followed Kevin Jepsen out of the bullpen and pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save in 16 attempts, helping hand the Yankees their fourth straight loss following a three-game sweep at Oakland.

Pettitte (5-4) gave up four runs and 11 hits through seven innings on the eve of his 41st birthday.

The three-time All-Star lefty struck out four, increasing his total as a Yankee to 1,944 and putting him within 12 of Whitey Ford’s franchise record.

The game was tied 2-all when Pujols led off the sixth with a ground-rule double that landed just inside the right field line on the warning track. But the way he chugged into second on that sore left foot and surgically repaired right knee of his was a preview of what was to come.

Trumbo followed with a single to left, and former Angel Vernon Wells made a perfect throw on the fly to catcher Austin Romine for the tag on the struggling Pujols as he made a headfirst slide after being waved around by third base coach Dino Ebel. But Iannetta put Los Angeles ahead three batters later with an RBI single.

Wilson struck out the side in the seventh, and Peter Bourjos led off the bottom half with a towering popup that fell midway between shortstop Reid Brignac and rookie second baseman David Adams behind the bag for a base hit. Two outs later, Pujols singled and Trumbo singled home Bourjos for a 4-2 lead.

Mike Trout ended the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth off former Angels reliever Chris Bootcheck, who was recalled from Triple-A on Friday. Bootcheck ended the inning by retiring Pujols on a first-pitch popup with the bases loaded after getting a visit from pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

The Yankees, coming off a draining 3-2 loss, 18-inning loss Thursday that took 5 hours and 35 minutes, didn’t get their first hit until Robinson Cano bounced a single between third baseman Alberto Callaspo and the bag with two out in the fourth.

Wells’ single put runners at the corners before Wilson walked just-promoted Thomas Neal to load the bases. Adams, getting a rare start at second base with Cano as the designated hitter, put New York ahead 2-1 with a two-run single that ended an 0-for-12 drought. A walk to Brignac loaded them up again, but Wilson minimized the damage by retiring Romine on a fielder’s choice grounder.

The Angels tied it in the bottom half on Iannetta’s sacrifice fly. They got their first run on a first-inning RBI double by Howie Kendrick, who came in 4 for 24 against Pettitte. Kendrick is batting .402 over his last 28 games, and his .344 average against the Yankees since 2006 is the highest by any player with a minimum of 175 at-bats against them during that stretch.

Kendrick also came up big with the glove, robbing Adams of a hit in the sixth inning with a diving stop just to the right of second base and flipping to shortstop Erick Aybar to start an inning-ending double play.

NOTES: Three of the seven Yankees who played a defensive position through all 18 innings against Oakland weren’t in the starting lineup for the opener of this three-game series – RF Ichiro Suzuki, C Chris Stewart and 3B Kevin Youkilis, who went on the DL again Friday with a back problem. Cano started as DH for only the third time this season. … Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who is retiring at the end of this season, made his final trip to the ballpark where he made his major league debut on May 23, 1995 – in a starting role. The man who would become baseball’s all-time saves leader struck out his first two batters that night at the “Big A,” but allowed five runs in 3 1-3 innings, including a three-run homer by Jim Edmonds. Rivera’s mound opponent was Chuck Finley, who beat the Yankees 10-0 with a two-hitter and a career-high 15 strikeouts. … The Yankees are 516-361 in the regular season since Joe Girardi became manager. He has just 10 fewer wins than Joe Torre did through his first 877 games in pinstripes. … Wilson, who spent his first five big league seasons as a reliever, is two innings away from 1,000 for his career. … Pettitte is 2-6 with a 5.75 ERA in his last 10 starts against the Angels. He has never had a complete game at Anaheim in 19 starts here.

Woods says otherwise, and after a marathon stretch of play Friday that helped him creep into contention at Merion Golf Club it’s still possible he could be the one having the last say.

Trying to break a winless streak in major championships that now spans five full years, Woods played 25-plus holes in a respectable 1-over-par to move up the leaderboard on a day when many other players were going the other way.

It wasn’t good enough to get under par, or even crack the top 10. But he was just four shots back and in prime position to make a move on the weekend on an Open course that is playing much tougher than a lot of people expected.

Asked if he liked his chances, Woods didn’t hesitate to answer, “Yes.”

Woods had some issues on a day that began for him in the early morning and didn’t finish until mid-afternoon. He missed some putts he might ordinarily expect to make, barely moved a chip a few inches forward, and guessed wrong on a couple of shots.

But that’s U.S. Open golf, and the best player in the world stood at 3-over 143 after two rounds — the same as playing partner and budding buddy Rory McIlroy.

“I just made a couple of mistakes out there today, but I really played well,” Woods said. “Maybe I could have gotten one or two more out of it, but it was a pretty good day.”

The night before, Woods underwent some treatment on his left elbow, which he shook several times after hitting bad shots in the first 11 holes of a rain-delayed round. He said he hurt the elbow at the Players Championship and that it was painful at times, though on his good shots it didn’t seem to bother him at all.

“It is what it is,” Woods said.

McIlroy said he didn’t even notice Woods was having difficulty with the elbow.

“I haven’t seen anything wrong with him,” McIlroy said after finishing with his own 73-70.

More worrisome than the elbow for Woods might be the fact he’s never won a tournament after playing over par for the first two rounds. He’s also never won a major championship coming from behind in the final round.

And then there’s that winless streak in major championships that now stretches back to the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

But while Woods remains stuck at 14 in his chase of the record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, it doesn’t mean he’s forgotten how to win in conditions favored at the Open.

“Just keep grinding,” he said. “You don’t ever k now what the winning score is going to be. You don’t know if the guys are going to come back. We have a long way to go, and these conditions aren’t going to get any easier.”

The conditions Friday were challenging enough, though Woods and McIlroy got the better of the weather. For the most part, they avoided winds that started to pick up in the afternoon as the rain-saturated course began drying out.

The two are the main golf stars for Nike and have become increasingly friendly over the past few years, though they are 13 years apart in age. Woods has 12 more major titles than McIlroy, but the star from Northern Ireland has won his two during Woods’ winless drought.

McIlroy said he and Woods chatted during the round, though both tried to keep focused on the task at hand. After missing a final birdie putt on their last hole, the 10th, McIlroy told Woods that he was trying to make the putt so he didn’t have to play with Woods on Saturday.

“So he’s got the pleasure of playing with me,” McIlroy said. “But, no, we had a good laugh out there and just because it’s the U.S. Open doesn’t mean anything.”

McIlroy, the 2011 Open champion at Congressional who has struggled this year after switching to Nike equipment, had his moments, including an iron shot to the eighth hole that gave him a tap-in birdie and put him under par for the day. But he gave it back on the next hole and had to hit a great shot out of the deep rough on his final hole to finish off his even par second round.

The kind of challenge Merion has been so far was reflected in the score of both players. They made six birdies apiece during the first two rounds, but both also made nine bogeys — an average of one in every four holes.

“It tests every aspect of your game,” McIlroy said, referring to Merion. “You’ve got to drive it well. Where these pins are, you got to hit great iron shots. You got to be very tactical.  You got to be mentally really well there and have a good game plan.”

Like Woods, McIlroy was comfortable with where he was midway through the championship.

“There were people talking about 62s and 63s at the start of the week and, I mean, I never saw that at all,” he said. “I still think that something very little under par is going to win this week. If or if not that, around even par.”

Coming off its first win of the season, Phoenix raced past the Sparks in the second half without forward Candice Dupree (suspension) or much help from rookie center Brittney Griner.

The Mercury played well without the two star players, using big runs in the third and fourth quarters to end a five-game losing streak to Los Angeles.

Charde Houston had 15 points and Griner finished with 10 points and four blocked shots in 15 minutes after missing the previous game with a sprained left knee.

Kristi Toliver scored 18 points, Candace Parker added 15 and Nneke Ogwumike had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which played without Alana Beard because of a sore hamstring.

The Mercury struggled to get in a groove with Griner early in the season, losing their first three games as they tried to find ways to get the ball into their 6-foot-8 center.

With Griner out last Saturday due to a sprained knee, Phoenix reverted to its run-and-gun style against Indiana and beat the defending WNBA champions by 15 behind Taurasi’s 26 points.

Seeing the success his team had with playing fast, Phoenix coach Corey Gaines decided to stick with the up-tempo style, even with Griner back in the starting lineup.

The Mercury did run, too, putting up shots as soon as they got an open look, rarely working the shot clock down.

They had to do it without much help from Griner, though.

She opened with a bucket inside and blocked a shot, then sat down after three minutes. Griner started the second quarter and quickly went back to the bench, finishing the first half with four points and two blocks in 5:39.

Taurasi made up for her absence, scoring 15 points, while Bonner added 12.

Problem for the Mercury was that the Sparks were able to keep up by taking advantage of Griner’s absence.

Slashing into the lane and snaring offensive rebounds without much resistance, Los Angeles led 50-48 at halftime. Ogwumike and Parker had 11 points each, Toliver had 10 and the Sparks scored 12 second-chance points in the half.

Phoenix started to pull away in third quarter behind its defense.

Hounding the Sparks even after Griner went back to the bench, the Mercury pressured the Sparks into difficult shots and turnovers. Phoenix was making shots at the other end as well, using an 11-2 run to build a 74-64 lead after three quarters.

The Mercury poured it on to open the fourth quarter, with Taurasi and Houston hitting 3-pointers during a 9-2 run that put them up 83-69 and the game out of reach.

Locke (6-1) struck out five and walked one to win his sixth straight decision while shaving his ERA to 2.19. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the third inning off Stephen Fife (1-2).

Jason Grilli worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth for his National League-leading 24th save.

The Dodgers played without manager Don Mattingly, who served a one-game suspension for his role in the brawl with Arizona earlier in the week. Bench coach Trey Hillman filled in for Mattingly. Los Angeles has lost five of six to fall a season-worst 10 games under .500 (28-38).

Los Angeles had chances in the eighth and ninth innings. Pittsburgh reliever Mark Melancon struck out pinch-hitter Juan Uribe with runners in scoring position in the eighth.

Yaisel Puig and Nick Punto hit consecutive singles off Grilli to start the ninth. Grilli then retired Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Mark Ellis to remain a perfect 24 for 24 in save opportunities.

Puig finished 2 for 4, including a bunt single leading off the game. He was quickly retired on a double play as Locke continued his unlikely ascension into the role of ace.

The 25-year-old left-hander began the season as the fifth starter and lost his first game of the year, a 6-2 defeat in Los Angeles on April 10. He hasn’t been beaten since and appears to be growing stronger each time he takes the hill, a welcome development for a starting rotation in tatters.

A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald and Jeanmar Gomez are all on the disabled list, leaving Locke and veteran Francisco Liriano as the top-end starters for one of baseball’s biggest first-half surprises.

If the spotlight is getting to Locke, it doesn’t show.

Deftly changing speeds and working both sides of the plate, Locke needed just 75 pitches to get 21 outs. The Dodgers didn’t even get a runner to second against him, every baserunner either stranded at first or getting forced out in a double play.

McCutchen gave the Pirates all the offense they would need when he doubled to the corner in right field in the third, scoring Alex Presley and Russell Martin. Fife, making just his fourth start of the season, settled down and escaped without further damage when McCutchen was gunned down at home trying to score on a ground ball and Clint Barmes flew out to left with the bases loaded later in the inning.

Fife gave up six hits in five innings, walking three and striking out four.

Locke had little trouble getting through seven before turning things over to Pittsburgh’s dominant bullpen, though Melancon ran into trouble during his first appearance in a week.

Andre Ethier singled with one out and Jerry Hairston Jr. doubled to the gap in left-center one batter later. Ethier held up at third rather than try to score, and it cost the Dodgers when pinch-hitter Juan Uribe struck out.

Pittsburgh added an insurance run when McCutchen singled leading off the bottom of the eighth and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Neil Walker.

Grilli made it stand up against the meat of Los Angeles’ lineup.

NOTES: Locke singled off Fife in the third to end an 0-for-30 skid dating to last season … Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis went 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts in his return from the disabled list. He also threw out two would-be base stealers. Ellis missed 14 games with a strained oblique. To make room for Ellis, Los Angeles designated C Ramon Hernandez for assignment. Hernandez hit .208 with three homers and six RBIs in 17 games with the Dodgers … The series continues on Saturday when rookie Brandon Cumpton makes his major league debut for the Pirates, replacing Burnett. Clayton Kershaw (5-4, 1.88 ERA) starts for Los Angeles … Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell pitched two perfect innings in relief. Howell is appealing a two-game suspension for his role in the brawl with the Diamondbacks. Reliever Ronald Belisario sat out to serve his one-game suspension.

League sources also say Howard and Paul would prefer to play for the Clippers, but to get Howard, it would have to be a sign-and-trade with the Lakers.

                 Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have been in consistent contact recently about the possibility of becoming teammates next season, according to league sources.

                  Paul and Howard will be the biggest free agents on the market this summer, and their desire is to play together, the sources said.

                 “They would love to play together if somebody can make it happen,” one of the sources said.

                  The Atlanta Hawks could make it happen. Atlanta, which is Howard’s hometown, has the cap room to sign both players to maximum-salaried contracts.

                 Howard is not particularly fond of the idea of returning to Atlanta, but he would do so to team up with Paul, the sources said. [ESPN]

The free agency begins July 1^st and all eyes will be on Howard and CP3.

As for team Lakers captain Kobe Bryant, his comeback from achilles injury will be known as, “the last chapter” of his career.

According to reports, he wants two more shots at winning two NBA titles(7), which would make it one more than Jordan’s 6.

Bryant is hopeful that he will be ready to play by start of next season

A part of Boston’s top line, Horton was injured during Wednesday’s 4-3 triple-overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Game 2 is Saturday at the United Center, and coach Claude Julien said Thursday the Bruins are “keeping our fingers crossed” that he won’t miss any time.

He said he’s “not going there” when asked what Boston will do if Horton is unavailable because “that decision hasn’t been made.”

Horton got tangled with Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson with about seven minutes remaining in the first OT. He skated off the ice and headed to the locker room.

Losing Horton would be a big blow for the Bruins. He has seven goals and 11 assists in the playoffs and leads the league at plus-22 in the postseason. He also suffered a concussion during Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals against Vancouver and missed the rest of the series as the Bruins went on to win the championship.

“He’s a guy that’s been coming up big for us in the playoffs,” defenseman Torey Krug said. “To not have him in the rest of that game definitely hurt us. But we have confidence in our guys.”
(TM and © Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

He was one of three rookies the Boston Bruins were relying on to stabilize an injured blue-line as they began their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the New York Rangers, and he burst into the playoffs with a bang.

In his first playoff game, he scored his first NHL goal — on the power play nonetheless — to help Boston to a 3-2 overtime victory. He’d score three more times in the four remaining games of the series, as Boston convincingly advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

With injured veteran defensemen Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg returning from injury, both rookies Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski found their way back to the ninth floor. But Krug, with a new nickname and veteran-like presence on the ice, remained as the Bruins swept their way to the Stanley Cup Final against the favorite Pittsburgh Penguins.

Read: Bruins Shake Off Triple-OT Loss In Game 1

But Krug quickly returned to earth with one errant pass in Wednesday night’s Game 1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. As he attempted to clear the puck out of the Boston zone his pass was picked off by Andrew Shaw, giving the Blackhawks a two-on-one that ended with Dave Bolland beating Tuukka Rask.  That pulled Chicago within a goal midway through the third period, and would be a huge swing in momentum as the Blackhawks tied the game just a few minutes later, and Krug found himself on the bench until his fresh legs were needed during the triple-overtime affair.

Welcome to the Stanley Cup, kid.

Mistakes happen to everyone. Some are big, some are small, but they happen. Whether they are a simple typo, a missed meeting, or a turnover that leads to a goal in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, they happen.

What matters most is how people bounce back from those mistakes. And that is why Claude Julien was quick to back his rookie defenseman on Thursday, and from all that the head coach said, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be making any changes on Boston’s blue line because of one error — however costly.

“When you look at games, there are a lot of mistakes made,” Julien said from the team’s hotel on Thursday. “Some end up as goals, and some you’re able to recover from. We certainly shouldn’t look and judge this player on one game where he might have been average instead of real good, like he has been. Those are part of a player getting better and it doesn’t mean we lose confidence in him because we still had the confidence to put him out there in overtime.”

Read: Leftover Thoughts From Game 1

“It is what it is,” said Julien. “It’s easy to focus in on one thing, and yes, it was a mistake to throw that puck up the middle, but if you look back at the play, I didn’t think we had a good line change and he didn’t have a ton of options. There could be some blame shared on that goal.”

As for Krug, he’s just looking for an opportunity to make up for his error.

“When you make a mistake like that all you want to do is get out there and redeem yourself, make sure you can help your teammates,” the anxious 22-year-old said Thursday. “There’s a group of guys in there that you feel like you let down. I’m itching to get back on the ice to have that opportunity.”

“For me it’s once again earning the coaches trust,” he said. “Taking that responsibility and making something out of it, that opportunity and using it to your advantage.”

“My game is a risky game,” he explained. “That was a risky play that I would probably try again in the future — I would just execute it differently. Playing that way you have to have a short-term memory, and I think the best players do. I’ll quickly forget about it; I’ll learn from it but I’ll forget about it.”

That, in a nutshell, is the Boston Bruins. They’ve made it a point to learn from, but move on from those kinds of mistakes. As Julien said, the Bruins had other opportunities they did not take advantage of and committed other mistakes throughout the marathon loss in Game 1.

Read: Injured Horton Day-To-Day

But that is all behind them, as their focus has shifted on to Saturday night’s Game 2.

“What makes this team special is just having that short-term memory and understanding this is a series. They made it that way for a reason and it’s not over until it’s over,” said Krug. “We’ve been on both sides of that. It’s one of those things you can lean on the guys that have been through everything and use it to your advantage.”

Krug has plenty of veteran players to lean on and learn from, and he should get a chance to show what he’s learned from that one play come Saturday night.

Tune in to every game of the Bruins-Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage begins one hour before, with full postgame coverage with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers after each game.

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Major League Baseball issued suspensions and fines Friday to Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondback players and coaches who were involved in a brawl during Tuesday night’s game.

The following suspensions were issued:

• D-backs pitcher Ian Kennedy has received a 10-game suspension for intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area of Zack Greinke of the Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh inning, after a warning had already been issued to both Clubs earlier in the game
• D-backs infielder Eric Hinske has received a five-game suspension for leaving the dugout and for his aggressive actions during the incidents
• Pitcher J.P. Howell and infielder/outfielder Skip Schumaker of the Dodgers have each received two-game suspensions for their aggressive actions during the incidents
• Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire has received a two-game suspension for his conduct during the incidents
• Dodgers pitcher Ronald Belisario has received a one-game suspension for his aggressive actions during the incidents
• Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has received a one-game suspension for the actions of his Club and for his conduct during the incident
• D-backs manager Kirk Gibson has received a one-game suspension for the intentional actions of Kennedy after a warning had been issued

In addition to the suspensions, MLB issued undisclosed fines to Greinke, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero and Diamondbacks outfielder Garardo Parra.

The Dodgers were fined for allowing players on the disabled list to leave the dugout, violating MLB rules. During the weekend’s games, both clubs will not be allowed to have players on the DL in the dugout.

Mattingly and Gibson are expected to serve their suspensions during Friday night’s games. Dodgers are playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at 4:05 p.m. at PNC Park, and the Diamondbacks are scheduled to play the San Diego Padres at 7:10 p.m. at Petco Park.

RELATED STORY: Dodgers, Diamondbacks Brawl On Field After Four Batters Hit By Pitches

Riding big performances from their Big Three, the Miami Heat tied the NBA Finals with a 109-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night in Game 4.

James had 33 points and 11 rebounds after failing to break 20 points in any of the first three games of the series, and Wade scored 32 points, 11 more than his previous high this postseason.

Bosh matched his playoff high with 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, he and Wade supplying the baskets that finally put the Spurs away for good midway through the fourth quarter.

Just like they have for the last five months, the Heat bounced back from a loss with a victory — a lopsided one at that. They are 12-0 after losses since Jan. 10, outscoring opponents by 19.8 points in the previous 11 victories.

“Right now it’s a three-game series,” Wade said. “Two great ballclubs, we just want to come out again and play well.”

Tim Duncan scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have one more game here on Sunday. They fell to 10-3 at home in finals games, failing to back up their 113-77 victory in Game 3 that was the third-most lopsided game in the history of the championship series.

James insisted he would be better after shooting 7 of 21 from the field with no free throws in that game, saying he was the star and it was his job to lead his team.

But while James — and millions of critics worldwide — wanted to pile all the pressure on the league’s MVP, it was Wade on Wednesday who said it was the Heat’s three All-Stars who had to lead them together, or there would be no championship.

He was right. And now those championship hopes are right back on track.

Tony Parker had 15 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who made a finals-record 16 3-pointers on Tuesday but got up only 16 attempts in this one. Gary Neal scored 13 points and Danny Green had 10, solid nights but nothing like when they combined for 13 3-pointers two nights earlier.

The Heat guaranteed they will get at least one more game on their home floor. Game 6 will be Tuesday night, where they could have a chance to clinch a second straight championship.

Wade, battling right knee pain throughout the spring, put it away for Miami early in the fourth. He followed a basket with a steal and dunk, pushing the lead to 90-81, and after he made another jumper, Bosh scored the next six Heat points, taking the load off of James.

The Heat switched their lineup, inserting Mike Miller, who made 10 of his 11 shots, going 9 of 10 on 3-pointers, in the first three games of the series. They changed uniforms, too, switching from their road reds to their blacks.

The only change they really needed was in the performances of their Big Three.

James called it a “must-win” and it probably was: No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

And the way their three stars played, they couldn’t lose.

The Heat blocked shots, made stops, and occasionally flopped, playing with renewed aggression after what coach Erik Spoelstra called a “miserable” day of watching and analyzing their passive performance from Tuesday.

They still haven’t lost two in a row since Jan. 8 and 10.

Parker played through a strained right hamstring, shooting 7 of 16, but the Spurs couldn’t match the Heat’s speed.

After the teams traded blowouts in the previous two games, momentum swung wildly in a first half that ended tied at 49. San Antonio raced to a quick 10-point lead, fell behind by 10 with 7 minutes left in the half, then finished with an 11-2 spurt sparked by reserve Boris Diaw. Bosh dove for a dunk that came just after the buzzer, Spurs owner Peter Holt waving it off from his seat along the sideline.

James rocked back and forth during the national anthem, a bundle of energy ready to get going. It took a few minutes after the game started, but he began playing with the speed and power that makes him unguardable at his best, grabbing rebounds on defense and rushing the ball up the floor himself to get the Heat into their offense.

He and Wade combined to make 10 of 11 shots and score 21 points in the first quarter, helping the Heat erase their early 10-point deficit to go ahead 29-26.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich even lit into Duncan during an early second-quarter timeout with Miami on its way to a 41-31 advantage, but the Spurs had it back to even by the time the teams headed to the locker room.

Notes: Sebastien De La Cruz, an 11-year-old mariachi singer, sang the national anthem again after his Game 3 performance set off a barrage of racist tweets by what Popovich called “idiots.” … Popovich and Spoelstra congratulated him at midcourt after his performance, which earned him a rousing ovation. … James passed Hakeem Olajuwon (3,755 points) to move into the top 10 in career playoff scoring. James has 3,777.

——

Woods finished only 10 holes in the rain-delayed first round at Merion, spending far too much time trying to gouge out of the thick rough with a wedge. On at least four occasions, he was either flexing or shaking his left hand after the forceful shots.

He was 2-over par when play was suspended because of darkness, leaving him about a 4-foot par putt on the 11th hole when he returns at 7:15 a.m. Friday.

It was probably a good time for Woods to stop.

He pulled his tee shot with an iron well left of the 11th fairway, and only the thick grass kept it from going into the creek. He took another powerful hack out of the rough to clear the winding creek that fronts the green, and then played a flop shot from the rough to 4 feet.

When a USGA official mentioned that his wrist appeared to be a problem, Woods replied, “It’s fine.”

With a better forecast the rest of the week, Woods will play 25 full holes on Friday and try to make up ground on the leaders. Phil Mickelson completed his round of 67, while Luke Donald was at 4-under and approaching the difficult, five-hole finish.

“I’ve got a lot of holes to play tomorrow,” Woods said. “And hopefully, I can play a little better than I did today.”

Woods has gone five years without winning a major, though his four PGA Tour wins in eight starts indicates that his game is in good shape.

As he’s done in other majors, Woods began with poor tee shot that found the rough on the gentle, opening hole at Merion. He grimaced after digging into the gnarly rough to hack out to the fairway and started with a bogey.

The key to Merion is to hang on for the opening six holes, take advantage of the short stretch of holes in the middle, and try not to give back shots at the end. After that six-hole start, Woods had one par, two birdies and three bogeys. Two of the bogeys came from poor chip shots from just off the green at No. 3 and No. 5. What saved him was a 50-foot birdie putt on the sixth hole.

But he failed to convert birdie chances on the seventh, eighth and 10th holes — all of them under 400 yards — and he three-putted the 237-yard ninth hole from about 65 feet to drop another shot.

“It’s going to be a fast night,” Woods said as he left the course.

“We’re efficient out here running plays,” McClain said Thursday after the Chargers finished their mandatory minicamp.  “Everybody gets the same amount of reps. It’s just about the tempo of doing it. We switch in and out of personnel so fast, switching in and out of groups and in and out of stations so fast. With him, he wants everything fast. It’s getting us better as a team. I’m enjoying it.”

The players are off until training camp starts in late July.

“We look pretty good, this offense,” McClain said. “I can’t wait until we strap it on against Houston and get going that first game so people can see the work we’ve been putting in. It’s only the beginning. We’ve got a long way to go.”

The Chargers are coming off a third straight season of missing the playoffs. They’ve reshuffled their offensive line after quarterback Philip Rivers was sacked 49 times last year and committed 22 turnovers. Additionally, running back Ryan Mathews has had a fumbling problem.

McCoy said the Chargers are doing certain drills to work on cutting down on the number of turnovers.

“We work the whole football team. It’s something we stress,” McCoy said. “We’ll do drills during training camp. Obviously when you get more pads on you can do some more things. We’ll have turnover circuits and everything not only for the offense but for the defense, how to create turnovers. It’s a mindset.”

All of the spring practices have been in just shorts, jerseys and helmets.

Locked in a 3-3 tie more than 10 minutes into the third overtime of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Michal Rozsival hit a shot from the right point that was tipped by Dave Bolland before Andrew Shaw put the puck in the net, beating Tuukka Rask for the win in the fifth-longest Stanley Cup Final game in history.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty,” Shaw said. “It was a great shot, great shift. It was unbelievable. All the guys deserved this. It was a great battle for us.”

With a 1-0 series advantage, the Blackhawks will face the Bruins again at the United Center on Saturday evening for a chance to go up 2-0.

Watch the video here.