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Lakers Make It 3 In A Row With Win Against Kings

April 7, 2017

The Lakers made in 3 straight wins by beating the Kings 98-94 on Friday night at Staples Center. Once again, the win hurt the Lakers chances in the lottery, but helped the development of their current young players.

“I know my guys around me we don’t believe in going out there and trying to lose games,” Julius Randle said. “The basketball gods come back, I believe in that, it’ll come back and haunt you. So you don’t do that. You gotta treat the game with respect.”

Randle led the Lakers with 25 points and 6 rebounds. Brandon Ingram contributed 14 points as well. The win kept the Lakers 1.5 games better than the Phoenix Suns in the West. Phoenix, who has the 2nd worst record in the NBA, defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Lakers first round pick needs to land in the top 3 this year, or else they will have to trade it away to Philadelphia to satisfy the Steve Nash trade.

Skal Labissiere led Sacramento with 19 points. The Kings also have some incentive to improve their chances in the lottery, and rested three healthy players of their own: Kosta Koufus, Ty Lawson, and Garrett Temple.

The Lakers led 93-92 with 5 seconds remaining in the game, and Larry Nance Jr. at the foul line for two shots. Nance Jr. missed the first free throw, and made the second, which gave LA a two point lead. Corey Brewer stole in the inbounds pass from Buddy Heild on the next possession, and Brewer made two free throws to secure the win for the Lakers.

“We’re getting team effort really from everybody right now,” Laker coach Luke Walton said. “Everybody’s kind of rising to the challenge as far as the way they’re playing, competing mainly on the defensive end. … They’re having fun and competing. When we were playing well early in the year that’s what we were doing. Losing took that from us. We found it again in the last couple games.”

The Lakers have three games left on the season. Sunday night they’ll host Minnesota at Staples Center, followed by games against the Pelicans and Warriors. If the Lakers finish with the 3rd worst record in the NBA, they will have a 47% chance of keeping this years draft pick.

Rockies Edge Dodgers

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April 7, 2017

The Dodger struggles against left-handed pitching continued on Friday in Colorado. This time it was Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland leading Colorado to a 2-1 win at Coors Field.

Freeland pitched six strong innings, and gave up just one run on four hits. Colorado also got a solo homer from Dustin Garneau in the 5th off of Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Ryu only went 4 2/3 innings but had an encouraging start after sitting out much of the last two seasons with injury. Ryu gave up two runs on six hits and struck out five, while throwing 77 pitches.

The Dodgers only run of the game came on an RBI ground out from Kike Hernandez in the fourth inning. Nolan Arenado gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double off Ryu.

Both bullpens, as expected, were effective. Ross Stripling, Josh Fields, and Grant Dayton retired all 10 batters they faced.

The Rockies bullpen got three scoreless innings of their own, with Jake McGee pitching a scoreless ninth for the save, his first of the year.

The Dodgers stacked the lineup with 7 right-handed hitters and switch-hitting Yasmani Grandal. It didn’t help though, as the Dodgers were 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

Before the game, LA placed Rich Hill on the 10-day DL with another pitching blister.

Game 2 of the series will be tomorrow night. Clayton Kershaw gets the ball for LA, and he’ll go up against Jon Gray.

Angels Win Home Opener Against Mariners

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April 7, 2017

The Angels got home runs from Cameron Maybin and Kole Calhoun in their home opener, and beat the Mariners 5-1 at the Big A on Friday night.

Jesse Chavez gave up only 4 hits and 1 run in 5 2/3rd innings of work, as the Halos improved to 3-2 on the season.

“We played a good game,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We didn’t play a perfect game, but we played really good defense early. We scratched out a couple runs and we kept going.”

Mike Trout started the scoring for the Angels with a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning. Albert Pujols made it 2-0 in the 3rd after Kyle Seager bobbled a grounder that would have been an inning-ending double play with the based loaded.

In the 6th, Chavez ran into some trouble. Mitch Haniger, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz all singled in a span of seven pitches, making it 2-1. However, Jose Alvarez got the Angels out of the inning. Bud Norris, Andrew Bailey, and Blake Parker shut down the Mariners in each of the next 3 innings to secure the victory.

Maybin’s solo blast in the bottom of the 6th inning made it 3-1. It was his first home run as an Angel, which sailed into the right field stands. Calhoun would extend the lead to 5-1 on his 2-run bomb in the 7th.

Prior to the game, the Angels put Garrett Richards on the 10-Day DL after he suffered from a cramp in his bicep on Wednesday night. An MRI showed that there was no structural damage to the elbow that gave him trouble last season.

Game 2 of the series will be Saturday night at the Big A. Ricky Nolasco will go for the Angels, and he’ll go up against Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez.

Ducks Clinch Home Ice

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April 6, 2017

John Gibson made 37 saves and earned his 12th career shutout as the Ducks blanked the Blackhawks 4-0 on Thursday night in Anaheim. The win clinched home ice advantage for the Ducks in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Corey Perry scored a power-play goal, while Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist. Chris Wagner and Ryan Kesler also scored for Anaheim.

The Ducks played without the injured Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Nate Thompson.

The Blackhawks also played without many of their key players, opting to rest them with their playoff position secure. Chicago rested stars Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and did not have Niklas Hjarlmarsson because of a family matter.

“We’re playing well,” Gibson said. “At this time of the year, you want to be playing well to carry the momentum into the playoffs.”

Corey Perry also liked what he’s seeing from the Ducks heading toward the postseason.

“I think we’re playing the right way and everybody’s starting to play as a unit,” Perry said. “Everybody’s starting to fit into their role. We’re rolling four lines, and it’s creating havoc on the other end.”

The Ducks will finish the regular season on Sunday evening at the Honda Center against the Kings. A win will give Anaheim it’s 5th consecutive Pacific division title.

Flames Burn Kings

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April 6, 2016

The Flames got 3 second period goals on Thursday night and took down the Kings 4-1 at Staples Center.

Jon Gillies made 27 saves in his first career start, and Dennis Wideman, Freddie Hamilton and Alex Chiasson scored during the 3 goal blitz in a game that meant nothing to the Kings in the standings. The Flames on the other hand are trying to earn the top wild card spot in the West.

The Kings lone goal on the night came from Trevor Lewis, just over 6 minutes into the game. That tied the game at 1-1 after Sam Bennett gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at the 4:57 mark of the 1st.

Ben Bishop made 20 saves for the Kings, and has lost 5 of his 7 starts since being acquired just before the trade deadline.

“We don’t match up in our division very well, and we certainly did not tonight and it’s clear,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.

The Flames can now assure themselves a first-round matchup against the top team in the Pacific Division with a win against San Jose or a Nashville loss at Winnipeg on Saturday.

The Kings have two games remaining in their season. They’ll face the Blackhawks on Saturday at Staples, and finish the season on Sunday at the Ducks. Those will be the final two games that Hall of Fame Kings broadcaster Bob Miller will call for his storied career.

A’s Drop Angels For Split

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April 6, 2017

The A’s got a 4-run third inning on Thursday afternoon, and beat the Angels 5-1 to split their four game series with the Halos.

Andrew Triggs pitched into the 6th inning for his 2nd career win. Triggs, who has a business degree from USC, allowed just 1 unearned run on 4 hits in 5 2/3rd innings.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd on an RBI groundout from Albert Pujols. However, the A’s would strike back in the bottom half of the inning.

Marcus Semien tied the game with an RBI single off of Tyler Skaggs, and ended up at 3rd after a Mike Trout error. Semien would score on a sac fly from Khris Davis. Ryon Healy delivered the big blow after that with a 2-run homer. The A’s would add 1 more in the 6th on a Trevor Plouffe RBI single.

Liam Hendricks, Santiago Casilla and Sean Doolitte combined for hitless relief for Oakland.

The Angels generated only five hits, but pitching is the bigger concern again. None of the Halos starters went more than 5 innings in the first four game series.

Tyler Skaggs had gotten a victory in his first start each season from 2013-16 but that streak came to an end as he gave up five runs, five hits and three walks in 5 1/3rd innings.

Skaggs just seemed happy to be out there though, and was encouraged despite the results. “It was fun,” Skaggs said. “Besides the third inning, everything was really good.”

Mike Scioscia on the other hand knows that much improvement is needed. “We’ve got confidence in our rotation,” Scioscia said, “but they’re going to have to do a better job to get a little deeper into games.”

Dodgers Blow Out Padres Again

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April 6, 2017

The Dodgers got a pair of home runs from Yasiel Puig and beat up the Padres 10-2 on Thursday. It was the final game of a four game set with San Diego, in which the Dodgers took 3 of the 4 games.

Brandon McCarthy got his first win in his first start of the season. McCarthy went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 4. Luis Avilan and Chris Hatcher shut down the Padres the rest of the way.

The Padres only offense came on a 2-run homer from Wil Myers in the 6th, off of McCarthy. The Dodger right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 and suffered from a case of the yips last year.

Dodgers’ outfielder Joc Pederson was ejected in the seventh inning after he slammed his bat and helmet after being called out on strikes.

Puig’s two homers came off of former Angel Jered Weaver, who was making his Padres debut. Weaver went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits.

The Dodgers will now travel to Colorado to take on the Rockies for a 3 game set. LA will give the ball to Hyun-Jin Ryu, while the Rockies counter with Kyle Freeland.

Lakers Surprise Spurs

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April 5, 2017

The Lakers went in to San Antonio and shocked the Spurs 102-95 on Wednesday night. Tyler Ennis started in place of the injured D’Angelo Russell and scored 19 points, and the Lakers snapped an 8-game losing streak against Spurs.

LA got off to a fast start and lead by as many 26 points. Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t play in the 2nd half.

“I didn’t want to overplay anybody just to win a basketball game,” Greg Popovich said. “It doesn’t make much sense in the long run.”

The win was probably a bad thing for the Lakers lottery chances. LA is now 1.5 games better than Phoenix. The Suns have the 2nd worst record in the NBA. The Lakers 2017 1st round pick is top 3 protected.

“They’re having fun,” Los Angeles coach Luke Walton said. “We’re trying to build momentum for this off-season and hopefully we can stay healthy and keep playing a certain way.”

The Lakers outscored the Spurs 58-38 in the paint. Jordan Clarkson scored 17 points, and Larry Nance Jr. poured in 15 points and 9 rebounds.

The Lakers return home to play the Kings on Friday night at Staples Center.

Puig Leads Dodgers Over Padres

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April 5, 2017

Yasiel Puig hit his first home run of the season, and Rich Hill pitched 5 strong innings as the Dodgers defeated the Padres 3-1 on Wednesday night at the Ravine.

It’s was a rough spring training for Hill, but he got on track in his first start of the season. He went 5 innings, giving up just 2 hits, and allowing only Hunter Renfroe’s solo home run in the 4th inning. Hill also struck out 5 and walked 3.

“I only threw 75 pitches and I made one mistake on the home run, but it’s early, and I felt good tonight,” Hill said. “I made some mechanical adjustments, and I feel good about it.”

Sergio Romo, Alex Wood, and Kenley Jansen pitched the rest of the way, shutting down the Padres. Jansen picked up his first save of the season by pitching the 9th.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double from Adrian Gonzales, which scored Corey Seager. Gonzales would score later in the inning on a fielding error from Padres 1st baseman Will Myers.

After Renfroe cut the lead in half in the 4th, Puig put the ball over the left field wall in the Dodgers half of the 4th. It came on a 2-1 pitch to extend the Dodger lead to 3-1.

“I’m trying to make better swings,” Puig said through an interpreter. “I’m not used to batting that low in the order, but it keeps me in the lineup so I have to do my job.”

The 4th and final game of the series will be on Thursday night at the Ravine. Brandon McCarthy gets the call for the boys in blue. The Padres will counter with former Angel Jered Weaver.

Clippers Move Closer To 4th

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April 5, 2017

Blake Griffin scored 32 points and the Clippers won their 4th straight game by beating the Mavs 112-101 at Staples.

J.J. Redick scored 25 points, DeAndre Jordan had 20 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists. The Clips have won 8 of their last 10 games.

Harrison Barnes led the way for Dallas with 15 points. The Mavs have lost 6 of their last 7 games, and are out of the West playoff race. They have just four games left in the regular season.

It was the 3rd straight game that Griffin has scored 31 or more points. “We keep forgetting he missed a huge part of the season,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s getting ready.”

The Clippers made their first nine shots of the game. After the first quarter they shot 61% from the field and had built a 17-point lead.

Dallas got within seven in the second before the Clippers extended their lead to 18 and went into halftime ahead 62-49.

The 3rd quarter saw Yogi Ferrell score 9 points, which helped cut the Clippers’ lead to 6. “They just kept fighting,” Rivers said. “They had a lot of reasons to say `game over’ and that made us keep playing.” The Clippers would re-group and go on a 17-6 run. That pushed the lead back to 17 heading into the 4th quarter.

After a Mo Speights 3- points, the Clippers had their largest lead of the game, 20 points. The Mavs would rally again, but they never got closer than 9 points.

The Clippers moved to within a half game of idle 4th place Utah. The Clippers have three regular-season games remaining while the Jazz have four.

Up next for the Clips will be Saturday night against the Spurs in San Antonio.