ROCKIES SHUTOUT AT HOME BY KERSHAW, DODGERS
DENVER (AP) – Clayton Kershaw tossed a four-hitter for his second shutout of the season and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig had three more hits, including a solo homer, to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
The 22-year-old Puig also added a double and a single to raise his average to .443 this season. Kershaw (7-5) kept the Rockies off balance all night, even top hitter Michael Cuddyer, who had his franchise-record 27-game hitting streak halted after going hitless in four plate appearances. Cuddyer flied out to Puig in right to end the game.
The hard-throwing Kershaw had eight strikeouts and walked none. He only allowed one runner to get to second all evening. Tonight, 4 and 1 righthander Tyler Chatwood takes the mound for the Rockies against the Dodgers’ crafty righty, Zach Greinke (5-2).
ELSEWHERE IN SPORTS…
LONDON (AP) – Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro set up a semifinal meeting at Wimbledon, each winning in straight sets Wednesday in quarterfinal matches that wrapped up within five seconds of each other. Top-seeded Djokovic defeated No. 7 Tomas Berdych 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3, and eighth-seeded del Potro beat No. 4 David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5).Neither man has dropped a set on the way to the final four. Djokovic is 8-3 lifetime against del Potro, who is in his first Wimbledon semifinal.
Del Potro hyperextended his heavily taped left knee on the fifth point of the match and rolled to the ground. He needed a medical timeout and was moving gingerly when play resumed. But he got two first-set breaks against Ferrer and didn’t look back.
UNDATED (AP) – Max Scherzer is the first major league pitcher in 27 years to be sporting an unblemished record after 12 straight decisions to open a season. The Tigers right-hander is looking to make it 13-0 when he makes a scheduled start against the Blue Jays in Toronto tonight. The last pitcher to open a season this well was Roger Clemens when he went 14-0 to open the 1986 season for Boston.
The Tigers could use Scherzer’s best after falling a half-game back of Cleveland for first in the AL Central.The Indians will be looking for their sixth straight win when they continue their series in Kansas City. The Tribe has won nine of its last 11 road games.
Oakland is also holding onto a slim half-game lead over Texas at the top of the AL West. The Athletics have 40-year old Bartolo Colon scheduled to start tonight against the Cubs. He’s 11-2 and has won his last eight starts. Texas hosts Seattle.
Pittsburgh saw its nine-game winning streak go down the drain against Philadelphia last night. Jeff Locke is hoping to make amends for that in tonight’s rematch. Locke has won seven in a row to get to 7-1 on the season heading into his scheduled start tonight.
The slumping Cardinals are trying to keep Pittsburgh in sight at the top of the NL Central standings. St. Louis goes into tonight’s game against the Angels trailing the Pirates by two games after dropping seven of its last ten. The Angels have won seven in a row, but that still leaves them three games below .500 and 8 1/2 games behind division-leading Oakland. The Mets Matt Harvey is being touted as a potential All-Star game starter later this month at Citi Field. He tries to improve his credentials when he takes a 7-1 mark and 2.00 ERA to the mound against NL West-leading Arizona tonight.
Fifteen games are scheduled under the lights in the majors.
MLB-YANKEES-RODRIGUEZ
A-Rod set to play again
CHARLESTOWN, S.C. (AP) – Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to be back in the starting line-up for the second game in his rehab assignment with the Class-A Charleston RiverDogs tonight. He’s trying get himself back in shape to join the Yankees following hip surgery in January. The All-Star third baseman says he’ll probably need all 20 rehabilitation games allowed to get ready before returning to the Yankees.
OLYMPICS-2020 BIDS
Bidding for 2020
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) – The three cities vying to host the 2020 Olympics are making their pitches to IOC members, hoping to seize the momentum in the final two months before the vote.Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo are laying out their plans to the general assembly of the International Olympic Committee, the first time they have made presentations directly to the electorate.It’s a potentially pivotal moment for the cities in the run-up to the Sept. 7 vote in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was at a similar meeting in 2009 that Rio de Janeiro won over the members in the race for the 2016 Olympics.
