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Written by Associated Press
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The Mets didn't wait until the last play of the game to be done in by their defense against the Yankees.
Three errors by Mets infielders led to a four-run second inning, Alex Rodriguez added his 564th home run to pass Reggie Jackson on the career list and CC Sabathia pitched the Yankees to a 9-1 win Friday night in the first Subway Series game at Citi Field.
Fill-in leadoff batter Brett Gardner had a career-high five hits, including his third home run of the season and a triple. Rodriguez made it 7-1 with a two-run, opposite-field drive in the eighth off reliever Elmer Dessens, into the right-center field bullpens for his 11th homer this season.
Actress Kate Hudson, who has attended some of A-Rod's recent games, was looking on from the stands as he moved into sole possession of 11th place on the career list. Before homering at Atlanta's Turner Field on Thursday night, Rodriguez hadn't hit one on the road since his first swing of the season, on May 8 at Baltimore.
The Mets drew their second straight sellout, a Citi Field record crowd of 41,278. After selling out the opener, the Mets fell short for 34 consecutive games before a discount-assisted full house Thursday afternoon against St. Louis.
Fans got to see some abysmal defense, with third baseman David Wright, shortstop Alex Cora and first baseman Nick Evans contributing to the Mets' first three-error inning in five years.
Sabathia (7-4) was the beneficiary. He left Sunday's start at Florida after 1 1-3 innings because of tightness in his left biceps, a problem he said wasn't major.
His arm appeared to be fine Friday, with the stadium radar clocking him at up to 98 mph, and he started 18 of 24 batters with strikes. Sabathia allowed the Mets' only three hits, in seven innings, struck out eight and walked one.
Mike Pelfrey (5-3) dropped to 1-3 in his last nine starts, allowing four runs — two earned — and six hits in five innings. Gary Sheffield homered in the fifth for the Mets, who remained one-half game behind NL East-leading Philadelphia.
Exactly two weeks earlier in the first Subway Series at new Yankee Stadium, second baseman Luis Castillo dropped what would have been a game-ending popup by Rodriguez, allowing two runs to score and giving the Yankees a shocking 9-8 win.
This time, Castillo fielded flawlessly. Fans applauded loudly when, with the bases loaded in the seventh, he caught consecutive popups by Francisco Cervelli and Pena.
After a 52-minute rain delay, for four innings it appeared Sabathia might achieve in Citi Field's 37th game what Philadelphia's Jim Bunning accomplished in Shea Stadium's 31st, back in 1964: A perfect game.
Although he went to three-ball counts four times, Sabathia retired his first 12 batters. The 40-year-old Sheffield, who missed the four-game series against St. Louis, was back in the lineup following a cortisone shot to relieve inflammation and a fluid buildup in his right knee. He drove a 1-1 breaking ball into the left-field seats for his ninth homer this season and No. 508 of his career. Two weeks ago, he was 6-for-13 against his former team with a pair of homers at Yankee Stadium.
The Mets put two on with one out, but Sabathia struck out Omir Santos and pinch-hitter Argenis Reyes.
Melky Cabrera had led off the second with a slow bouncer to third that Wright barehanded and threw past first, allowing Cabrera to wind up at second. One out later, Ramiro Pena hit opposite-field double to left, driving in the first run. Sabathia, who hadn't hit in a game since last Sept. 28, singled up the middle on the next pitch for his 14th career RBI.
There were chants of "Let's go Yankees" as Gardner blooped a single down the left-field line, with Sabathia huffing and puffing his way to second. Johnny Damon then hit a sharp grounder to Cora that should have been an inning-ending double play. But the shortstop threw the ball into right field, allowing Sabathia to score.
Mark Teixeria grounded to first, and Evans fumbled the ball with both his glove and bare hand, knocking it into foul territory as Gardner scored for a 4-0 lead. A walk to Rodriguez loaded the bases, and fans applauded when Robinson Cano hit a soft liner to Castillo for the second out. Cabrera's grounder to second ended the inning.
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Written by Sports Know It Alls Staff
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Blake Griffin, the first number one pick to come from Oklahoma, says that he is ready to begin his career across the country.
The 20-year-old took the stage at Madison Square Garden last Thursday as the NBA’s top draft choice, having been selected by the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers general manager is more than happy about their selection.
“We feel like Blake definitely is a sure thing,” commented Mike Dunleavy, the team general manager and coach.
Griffin was the college player of the year after leading the nation with 14.4 rebounds per game and 22.7 points per game for the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Clippers confirmed that they would select the 6-foot-10, 251-pound forward when they drew the first pick in the lottery last month.
“I felt pretty solid, but I kept saying in the back of my mind, ‘Don’t get too comfortable because something could happen,’” Griffin said. “I tried to stay ready.”
Griffin recorded 30 double-doubles to lead the nation. He shot over 65 percent from the floor and grabbed 504 rebounds, giving him the highest season total since Larry Bird recorded 505 rebounds in the 1978-79 at Indiana State.
“The fact is we're getting an incredible player, incredible person, an impeccable work ethic and a guy that we plan on having in L.A. for many years to come,” Dunleavy said. “He's going to be a great, exciting fit for our ballclub.”
Griffin hugged his parents in front of a capacity crowd in New York, then he took the stage and shook hands with NBA commissioner David Stern. He’s expected to join the Clippers on Monday.
"I'm ready to show the fans of L.A. what I can do," he said.
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Written by Associated Press
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Just call Daniel Alves the spoiler.
Alves scored the only goal on a free kick with just two minutes left at the Confederations Cup on Thursday, sending Brazil into the final against the surprising United States and ending host South Africa's upset bid.
The Americans stunned Spain 2-0 Wednesday in the other semifinal, handing the top-ranked team its first loss since November 2006.
Sunday's final at Ellis Park will be a rematch of last week's game in group play, when the five-time World Cup champions crushed the Americans. Brazil is 13-1 in head-to-head meetings with the United States, and has outscored the United States 26-8.
The lone American victory was a 1-0 upset at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.
"Brazil, we know well because they beat us pretty badly a week ago," Landon Donovan said after the U.S. beat Spain. "They would probably be comfortable playing against us, but I think we're in a better place now."
Brazil was a heavy favorite against South Africa. Spurred on by the deafening buzz of their delighted fans' vuvuzelas, though, Bafana Bafana unsettled Brazil with a frantic, hustling game of quick challenges and tight defense.
As the game wore on and the raucous home crowd sensed another upset in the making, the whistles and cheers grew even louder.
Brazil, normally so smooth and fluid, looked short of ideas and labored in its efforts to find an opening. Just four days after routing reigning World Cup champion Italy 3-0, the ball inexplicably seemed to get stuck under the players' feet.
With central defender Matthew Booth snuffing out almost every attempted attack from the wayward Luis Fabiano and ineffective Robinho, Brazil's best chances had been shots from Ramires, Andre Santos and Kaka that goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune easily saved. Only Kaka seemed able to direct his passes with any regular accuracy as Bafana Bafana matched their illustrious opponents in skill and surpassed them in effort.
"We knew Brazil would have a lot of possession and we had to get players behind the ball," Booth said. "But we had a go at them."
After Ramires was tripped up by South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena, sending him tumbling to the ground, Alves bailed out Brazil.
On the field only six minutes, he stepped up and curled a shot into the far top corner, prompting celebrations by the Brazilians and almost silencing the raucous home crowd.
"The game was very close so I put on a very quick player, a very aggressive player, who is strong on set pieces," Brazil coach Dunga said. "It was one of the few opportunities we were going to have. The foul was right in front of the goal area, so it was perfect for us."
Despite the loss, the South Africans can take pride in this effort. Bafana Bafana outplayed Brazil, matched their opponents' 12 shots on goal and showed their fans they can be something of a force when they host next year's World Cup.
South Africa displayed far more purpose and skill than in its first-round group, where it progressed with a 0-0 draw with Iraq and 2-0 win over lowly New Zealand.
Teko Modise put three disappointing games behind him and came close to securing a famous win when his 58th-minute shot deflected off defender Luisao and almost beat goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
"Maybe with a year's preparation, we can win a game like this against Brazil," South Africa coach Joel Santana said. "You cannot make these mistakes."
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