Lester earns first win; Red Sox win sixth straight

CHICAGO -- A week ago, there was panic and there was outrage in the land known as Red Sox Nation. Manager Bobby Valentine went to his bullpen with an eight-run lead against the Yankees on national television, only to witness an implosion of epic proportions.

In other words, it's amazing how much things have changed for a team that is suddenly among the hottest in baseball.

This time, Valentine went to his relief crew for the final six outs with the narrowest of margins.

And they came through, leading the streaking Red Sox to a 1-0 win over the White Sox on Saturday night.

Boston has won six in a row -- all six victories coming in the aftermath of that blown 9-1 lead against the Yankees last Saturday.

"That's what they're going to do all year," said Adrian Gonzalez, who had the only RBI in the game. "We know that. For the first couple of weeks, as the guys [struggled], especially on a team like this where everything gets overblown, overdrawn, you start pressing a little bit, trying harder. As the season goes and you get into the flow of things, you just stop thinking about that and do what you can. That's what these guys are doing."

For the first time this season, Valentine's team is at .500. This, after a 4-10 start.

The strong relief performances of Franklin Morales, Vicente Padilla and Alfredo Aceves gave ace Jon Lester his first win.

"They're coming together," Valentine said. "You play the season to build the little parts of your team. I think the bullpen is coming together pretty nicely. Even though it's been Padilla-Morales, tonight it was Morales-Padilla and they got through that [eighth] inning nicely. Alfredo finished it off. But the 1-0 game is the toughest game to go to the bullpen, we all know that, especially on the road. You don't win a lot of games 1-0 on the road."

It was Boston's first 1-0 win since a 16-inning thriller at Tampa Bay on July 17 of last season.

For Lester, it was his first victory since Sept. 6, 2011.

"Well, sometime, either last night or today, he asked what he had to do," Valentine said. "I just said, 'Pitch like an ace, like Jon Lester is', and he pitched like an ace. He had both sides of the plate. Two-seamer away, cutter in. Had a good changeup. Very competitive. He was terrific."

And he needed to be. Lester's opponent was Jake Peavy, who pitched a complete game, only to get the tough-luck loss.

"Those games are fun. It's just a battle," Lester said. "I've been on the other end of those. You feel like you do everything you can to put your team in position to win, and the other guy just does a little bit more or you don't get the timely hitting or whatever. That was big tonight, grinding it out. Our hitters did a great job. Defense played awesome tonight. Those are more or less fun. Every win is important for a pitcher."

The Red Sox have gone a full turn through the rotation with every pitcher earning a win.

"When Josh [Beckett] won his game, we said maybe we'll put a string together," Valentine said. "Now we have them all winning. That's how you start building a real foundation of a team. Those other little things are just parts of a team but foundation is what those starters can do day in and day out. They're pretty good. I'll take those five that we're running out there right now."

Lester went seven innings, allowing five hits and no runs while walking one and striking out seven. He threw 122 pitches, 78 for strikes.

Then there was Peavy, who gave up four hits and one run, walking one and striking out seven.

"The ball bounced their way tonight," Peavy said. "We did all we could do. Lester was mighty good."

When Peavy buckled ever so slightly in the fourth, the Red Sox made him pay.

Ryan Sweeney started it, blooping one into right and hustling out of the box for a double.

"I knew if he didn't catch it that I would have a chance," Sweeney said. "I was just going to try to make something happen."

With one out, Gonzalez fought off a 2-2 fastball against Peavy, his former teammate in San Diego, and punched it into right for the RBI single.

"Fastballs in," Gonzalez said. "We go to 2-2 with fastballs in and I had a feeling he was going to stay with a fastball in and I just told myself, 'Get on top.' If he makes a good pitch down, offspeed down, then you have to tip your hat. I wasn't going to let him go up top again."

Lester held it right there, and handed it off to the bullpen.

After Morales and Padilla navigated their way through the eighth, on came Aceves. He was magnificent, mowing through the White Sox 1-2-3 and ending the game by striking out A.J. Pierzynski on a changeup.

"He was great," Valentine said. "You know, we talked to him that he doesn't always have to throw it 97 [mph]. Tonight, he threw some very effective fastballs at 94, 93, and then had his 96, 97. He pitched. He got the final strikeout with a changeup. That's what you have to do."

Lincecum makes sure he's best pitcher on this night

SAN FRANCISCO -- Brandon Belt went to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning wanting to see the ball as well as he could. Once he got ahead in the count, he locked in on something he could hit.

Belt's two-run double chased away some of the pressure of hitting with runners in scoring position and the San Francisco Giants rallied for a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

"You can't go up there looking for something against that guy because he can throw any pitch in any count," Belt said. "Fortunately I got something I could handle."

Tim Lincecum (2-2) made sure that was all the Giants would need in his first quality start of the season. The former Cy Young Award winner gave up an unearned run on three hits over a season-best eight innings. He walked four and struck out five.

"I was just trying to keep my rhythm going," Lincecum said. "It helps me not get too lax out there. I think that's where I've taken that new thing where I'm running off the field just to show that I still have energy."

Anthony Bass pitched like all he would need was the one run as he had a perfect game two outs into the sixth inning before Lincecum beat out an infield single.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game just because he's got good stuff and he had good numbers coming into the game," Lincecum said. "His slider was getting strikeouts and he had a live fastball. We knew it was going to be a grind and it turned out that way."

Melky Cabrera doubled leading off the seventh, but he was still there two outs later. Nate Schierholtz hit a slow grounder in the hole at second base. Orlando Hudson threw wide and it was ruled Yonder Alonso was unable to keep his foot on the base.

"It takes those things to win ballgames like these," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Earlier we had a leadoff double and couldn't do much with that. The only thing you can do is keep grinding."

Lincecum beat the Padres a fourth straight time and for the sixth time in his last seven decisions against them, all of which were quality starts. He has an 0.62 ERA in his last four starts against San Diego.

"Mentally I just felt a little more into the game from beginning to end," Lincecum said. "I'll just try not to overthink anything between now and next start. Hopefully it builds off itself." Bass did keep Pablo Sandoval off the bases, ending his 20-game hitting streak, a Giants franchise record for the start of a season and the longest to start a season since Edgar Renteria hit in 23 straight for the Atlanta Braves in 2006.

"He pitched a lot like I have seen the other guy pitch," said Padres manager Bud Black, comparing Bass to Lincecum. "Every pitch was made with a purpose."

Sandoval grounded out to first base with two runners on in the bottom of the eighth.

Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his third save.

Kemp's walk-off homer caps Dodgers' rally

LOS ANGELES -- For all the hype and buzz surrounding a Bryce Harper debut and a Stephen Strasburg start, only one player in the National League these days hears the "MVP ... MVP" serenade.

That would be Matt Kemp, who was at it again Saturday night, the game's hottest star stealing the headlines from Washington's pair of future stars. Kemp's walk-off home run leading off the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Dodgers a 4-3 win over the Nationals, securing a series win over the surprise leaders of the National League East, and helping L.A. reclaim the league's best record at 15-6.

"I've played with a lot of great players, but this guy is as good as it gets," said Jerry Hairston Jr., who survived a 97-mph Strasburg fastball off his left hand (X-rays were negative).

Kemp had to be special to upstage the 19-year-old Harper -- who doubled and had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in his heavily promoted promotion -- and Strasburg, who hooked up in a duel with Chad Billingsley. Each allowed one run over seven innings for no-decisions, Billingsley rebounding from a horrible start in Houston last weekend.

"It was an exciting game from the first pitch to the last," said Billingsley.

It was Kemp's 11th home run of the season, setting a Dodgers record for the month of April. It was his seventh walk-off hit, five of them homers.

"I hate to say he could be scary. He is scary. He's fun to watch," said manager Don Mattingly.

The homer was launched 423 feet to center field on a 1-2 slider from Tom Gorzelanny, and before Kemp had rounded first, the crowd of 54,242 was in full-throated hero-worship mode.

"MVP ... MVP ... MVP."

"That goes back to last year," said Kemp. "It gives me goosebumps. It's definitely emotional, and it makes me play better. Keep doing that. It's always good to see Dodger Stadium filled like that. That's the Dodger Stadium I remember two or three years ago. Every Friday and Saturday, 56,000 fans. It helps a lot to have them on your side."

After the customary scrum at home plate that gave reliever Jamey Wright his first Dodgers win, Kemp made his way to the dugout seats to acknowledge his mother.

"She's been here when I got 30/30, when I tried for 40/40 in Arizona -- she's my hero, and I look up to her," said Kemp. "She's my little good-luck charm when she's there to see me. I'm very blessed. It's fun for my whole family to experience this ride we're on. I have to keep her here. Might have to buy a condo, or she can stay with me as long as she stays in L.A."

Kemp got the chance to win it only through an improbable rally in the bottom of the ninth, after the Nationals scored runs off Dodgers relievers Scott Elbert and Javy Guerra, who was making a shaky first appearance since taking a line drive off the jaw Wednesday night, in the top of the frame.

Adam LaRoche, who homered in the seventh inning off Billingsley, singled off Elbert leading off the top of the ninth, and was erased at second base on an attempted sacrifice bunt by Rick Ankiel. Danny Espinosa singled off Guerra to send LaRoche to third, and he scored on Harper's sacrifice fly to left. Wilson Ramos then singled home Espinosa.

The Dodgers answered with two runs in the bottom of the ninth off Henry Rodriguez to send the game into extra innings. They opened the ninth with three consecutive hits -- singles by Mark Ellis and James Loney and an RBI ground-rule double by Juan Uribe. The tying run scored on a wild pitch to Dee Gordon, plating Uribe, one of three wild pitches by Rodriguez.

The Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the seventh. Jerry Hairston was hit on the left hand. Loney followed with a chopper that was booted by second baseman Espinosa. Uribe, failing to bunt, struck out.

A.J. Ellis (2-for-4) then singled to left. Harper made a perfect throw to catcher Ramos ahead of the sliding Hairston, who slapped the ball out of Ramos' glove with his left hand, Hairston scrambling back to the plate on all fours to score the tying run. Nats manager Davey Johnson argued plate umpire Mark Carlson's call, to no avail.

"I slide like that all the time," said Hairston. "It's an aggressive slide, and it so happens I hit his glove. It happens."

Harper finished the night 1-for-3 with a double and RBI.

"I wish we would have gotten the W, of course." Harper said. "We played a great team today. Billingsley threw a great game. We fought until the end. That's not the way you want to start off your career. I just wish we got a W."

How sweep it is: Mets rally in ninth

NEW YORK -- For years, the Mets diligently kept track of their record with and without Jose Reyes in the lineup. Now, they can proudly document how they do when they play against him.

The Mets used a late comeback to take a 3-2 win and a series sweep Thursday, and they even kept Reyes from being a factor. Reyes went 0-for-4 and hit into a double play in the eighth inning Thursday, and he went 1-for-12 in his first series against the team that signed and developed him.

New York, meanwhile, was quiet for most of the day and patient when it mattered most. The Mets drew four walks in the ninth inning against Miami closer Heath Bell, and rookie leadoff man Kirk Nieuwhenhuis drove home the winning run on a single over right fielder Giancarlo Stanton's head.

"Closers don't usually throw 50 pitches. I thought that might've worn him down," said manager Terry Collins. "You just don't see guys at this level get walked that much. I've never seen anything like it."

David Wright, the first batter of the final frame, took two called strikes and walked on six pitches. He wound up moving to second base on a Lucas Duda grounder, giving the Mets their first runner in scoring position since the third inning.

Ike Davis walked on four pitches, and Bell walked catcher Josh Thole on six to load the bases. That brought up pinch-hitter Justin Turner, who engaged the veteran closer in an epic 13-pitch at-bat. Turner fouled off eight pitches -- including four in a row -- before walking on an errant fastball.

"I was feeling pretty comfortable," said Turner. "He was making some pretty good pitches and I was able to foul them off. When you're up there for that long, you kind of get that locked in feeling. He ended up yanking a fastball a little ... just off the plate. I still missed a lot of decent pitches I should've hit."

That may be the case, but it hardly mattered. Turner's walk brought home the tying run, and after Scott Hairston grounded into a fielder's choice, Nieuwenhuis drilled the game-winning hit to right.

That single gave the Mets their second one-run victory of the series and their sixth comeback victory of the year. New York scored in the first inning Thursday but didn't push a runner to scoring position in between the fourth and eighth before taking advantage of Bell's wild streak in the ninth.

"This guy, I believe in him," said Miami manager Ozzie Guillen of Bell. "I don't know about tomorrow. He threw more pitches than [Ricky] Nolasco. But he's the guy right now. He's my closer. I'm not going to change my mind until I change my mind. We have confidence in him. I think he will be fine."

Collins said he was pleased with his team's patience, especially against a pitcher as good as Bell.

"As a position player, I always thought the onus is on [the pitcher]," said Collins. "He's the one that's got the bases loaded. He's the one that's got to make the pitches. You've just got to relax and still hunt the strike zone. It's a really tough situation for the pitcher, especially in that kind of weather."

Jon Niese pitched well for the Mets, going seven innings and allowing just four hits. Niese struck out six batters and didn't walk any, and he was charged with isolated runs in the third and fifth. Miami's go-ahead score was set up by a leadoff double and crossed the plate on a double play in the fifth.

The Marlins (7-10) got a strong start from Nolasco, who matched Niese for most of the day. Nolasco held the Mets to five hits and a walk and left after the seventh. Nieuwenhuis, the game's hero, led off the first inning with a triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly.

His later hit sent the stadium into histrionics, but it never would've happened without Turner's resilience. That larger point wasn't lost on Niese, who spent the final inning inside the clubhouse.

"Turner's at-bat was phenomenal. That was so fun to watch," said Niese of the payoff. "I was in here watching on the TV, but it was nerve-wracking. My hands are numb from clapping so hard."

The Mets (10-8) were held to fewer than three runs in each end of their doubleheader loss to the Giants on Monday, and they followed that up by earning 2-1 and 5-1 wins over Miami, ruining Reyes' return to Flushing.

Collins said that Reyes, the recipient of a few scattered catcalls during the series, may have been feeling the pressure.

"Jose Reyes is a human being. He's one of the nicest people I've ever been around," said Collins. "If it didn't bother him, I'd be shocked. He gave his heart and soul to the people here."

The Mets got some bad news after the game regarding starter Mike Pelfrey, who estimated that he is 99 percent certain that he'll undergo a season-ending surgery on his pitching elbow. The Mets will recall rookie Chris Schwinden from Triple-A Buffalo to start Friday's opener against the Rockies.

That's a concern for the next series, though, and not part of the thought process on Thursday. For one day, at least, Collins could be thrilled with the way his starting rotation has performed.

"Obviously, it starts on the hill," said Collins of the Miami series. "We got great pitching -- tremendous pitching -- this series. So did they. Jon pitched really well today and deserved better fortune. He did what the starter's supposed to do, and that's kept you in the game and give you a chance to win."

Crawford has sprained ulnar collateral ligament

CHICAGO -- Left fielder Carl Crawford has been diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his left elbow and will be shut down from baseball activity, the Red Sox announced Thursday.

"Carl Crawford was examined by the Red Sox medical staff," the team said in a news release. "He was diagnosed as having a left elbow ulnar collateral ligament sprain. A conservative treatment protocol was recommended. Carl was also examined by Dr. James Andrews, who was in agreement with the assessment and plan. Carl received a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection and will be shut down from baseball activity during the initial phase of his treatment."

The Red Sox did not give a timetable as to when Crawford will return to action.

News of Crawford's elbow injury first surfaced before the Red Sox's home opener. On Wednesday, manager Bobby Valentine said in an interview with WEEI that Crawford might have felt discomfort in the elbow in February. Crawford had left wrist surgery in January and then was shut down in Spring Training when he developed inflammation in the wrist. Previous to Wednesday, the elbow was believed to have been a later development.

Clemens' lawyer says trial a 'tale of two men'

WASHINGTON -- Defense attorney Rusty Hardin presented an opening statement Tuesday that portrayed the federal perjury trial of Roger Clemens as a "tale of two men" -- namely, his client and Clemens' former strength and conditioning trainer, Brian McNamee.

In an hour-plus presentation before the jury panel in Judge Reggie Walton's courtroom at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Hardin told jurors Clemens was a driven athlete who from his teenage years had the best work ethic coaches and fellow players had ever seen, and that he became a Major League star whose best work had nothing to do with his association with McNamee.

By contrast, Hardin described McNamee as an unreliable witness who advertised on his tie during the 2008 Congressional hearings that led to this case, joked with Howard Stern about Clemens ending up in prison garb and continues to try to make money off his association with his client, accusing McNamee of lying and manipulating key evidence.

"You can't go with the government's case unless you have no reasonable doubt about Brian McNamee," Hardin told the jurors, then telling them McNamee lied to the government, to Mitchell Report investigators and to the prosecution, as well as to law-enforcement officials investigating a charge against him in Florida in 2001.

Following Hardin's opening statement, the government began its case against Clemens with Congressional staffer Phil Barnett explaining in great detail the background of why Clemens testified before Congress in 2008. Barnett's testimony lasted more than two hours before Walton put the trial into recess until Monday because he has an out-of-town commitment as an instructor at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev.

Clemens, who won a record seven Cy Young Awards in his 24-year Major League career, is charged with one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making a false statement and two counts of perjury stemming from his February 2008 testimony and deposition before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, during which he denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs. McNamee is the key witness against Clemens and provided the government with needles and medical waste the prosecution says substantiates the strength trainer's assertion before Congress that he injected Clemens with steroids and human-growth hormone on numerous occasions.

Barnett, who interviewed Clemens during his Feb. 8, 2008, deposition, went through with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Durham a detailed account of where the deposition and hearings were held and what authority Congress had to question Clemens. Barnett's testimony was stopped by the recess as various audio excerpts of the deposition were being played for the jury.

Earlier, Hardin began his opening statement saying he was disappointed that Durham had literally pointed the finger at his client in his opening statement the day before, using words like deceit, dishonesty and betrayal.

"We're here because a man dared to publicly deny that he committed a crime" and "in every form known to man" professed his innocence after being named as a user of steroids and HGH in the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

Hardin also broke down the 15-point obstruction of Congress charge, of which the government must prove just one to get a conviction, and said only four are really at issue in the case. His statement was interrupted four times by Durham's objections, the last time causing Hardin to shake his head and mutter when the objection was raised.

"Let me say this as nicely as I can: Much of what Mr. Durham told you [Monday] in many different incidences was only half the story," Hardin said to the jury.

By then, Hardin already had shown the jury photos of McNamee wearing a tie that had a logo for a supplement company, another one of him laughing in Stern's radio studio and, finally, a proposed cover jacket for an as-yet-unreleased McNamee memoir, "Three Constants in Life ... Death, Taxes and Mac," with the "X" in "Taxes" made of syringes.

Bringing out "the sharp knives" for McNamee, as Durham foretold jurors his opponent would, Hardin proceeded to show a different picture, literally, of the key evidence McNamee had kept for years that includes steroids and Clemens' DNA on it. McNamee kept gauze, cotton balls and syringes he says he used to give Clemens steroids stashed in an empty Miller Lite beer can from August 2001 until turning it over to federal authorities in early 2008 prior to the Congressional hearing. Clemens claims that all McNamee ever injected into him was vitamin B12 and lidocaine.

In the first attempt last July to try Clemens, which ended in a mistrial when the government showed the jury inadmissible evidence, a photo taken by federal agents of the medical waste and the beer can organized neatly within the frame was shown to the jury during the prosecution's opening statement. In Monday's opening statement, the prosecutors showed the jurors only tightly cropped photos of a needle and three cotton balls. Hardin, on the other hand, showed a photograph -- actually taken by members of McNamee's defense team, he said -- that had the beer can and medical waste strewn about in an unorganized fashion.

"Can I have the garbage again, please?" Hardin said in asking an associate to display the photo to the jury again. "It is the most mixed-up hodgepodge of garbage you could ever imagine," adding that it's "ludicrous" it could ever be evidence in a criminal case.

Hardin suggested the evidence was tainted by McNamee and touched on another hot issue -- whether the government should be pursuing a case like this. Introducing the subject by saying, "I'm not talking about government wasted resources, that's not my issue," Hardin displayed a graphic he used during the first trial of a map of the United States with icons spread around the country for each of the attempts to corroborate McNamee's story. Hardin pointed to the listing of 187 witnesses, 268 witness reports, 79 locations and, raising his voice, "103 federal law-enforcement officers on whether a baseball player used steroids."

Hardin, who said he and his client have no issues with Clemens' friend and Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, stumbled by saying that Clemens was born in 1982, not 1962. But he had the jurors smiling when he called himself Columbo while shuffling for notes, and he used softer tones at the end of his presentation, imploring the jurors to recognize that all Clemens ever has done is deny the allegations about him.

"Our government should never punish someone for trying to clear his name," Hardin said.

Before the jury came into the courtroom, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Butler wanted to get on the record that Hardin had mistakenly -- and angrily -- said that Debbie Clemens, the defendant's wife, had been allowed in the courtroom last year, but this year was not going to be allowed inside during the trial. In fact, as a potential witness, Debbie Clemens was not allowed to watch the proceedings last year, either, as Butler pointed out.

"Your honor, counsel is absolutely right. . . . I misremembered," Hardin said, borrowing a famous line from Clemens' testimony before Congress. "The only thing I'd ask is you not charge me with perjury."

Zimmerman out with sore shoulder, to have MRI

SAN DIEGO -- Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's sore right shoulder held him out of the lineup again on Tuesday, and Zimmerman will have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. Manager Davey Johnson expressed concern and said the results of the MRI should be known following the series opener against the Padres.

"I don't have a good feeling," Johnson said. "He's had three days off, and he had treatment for inflammation. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but we'll know after they take the MRI."

The third baseman has not played since Friday, and he said the pain is only present when he swings a bat.

"It felt perfectly fine throwing," Zimmerman said. "There's nothing wrong structurally with the shoulder. I can throw and it felt fine, it's just a little sore when swinging. It's like a jammed finger or sprained ankle, I guess is the best way to explain it, except it's in my shoulder."

Johnson fears that Zimmerman could miss even more time.

"I think the feeling is that there could be a little strain," Johnson said. "If that shows up positive, he's probably going to be down for at least a week, maybe more."

Strasburg disappointed he won't pitch at Petco

SAN DIEGO -- While Stephen Strasburg was enjoying his return to his hometown, the San Diego native did express some disappointment about missing a chance to start at Petco Park.

"Yeah, a little bit," Strasburg said. "Obviously, it would be fun to pitch in front of the hometown crowd, but it's just not the way the rotation fell this year."

Strasburg may have been in line to pitch in the series finale on Thursday, but a rainout on Sunday pushed the starting rotation back, and with Monday's off-day, Strasburg will start on Saturday in Los Angeles instead.

"As a San Diego kid, it would be way different if I was pitching here," Strasburg said. "L.A. is just another park."

Strasburg, who still lives in San Diego during the offseason, spent most of the off-day on Monday visiting friends and family members throughout the county. He attended West Hills High School about 15 miles east of San Diego, and also went to college at San Diego State University.

Strasburg twice pitched for his college team at Petco Park, and looks forward to the chance to do so again down the line.

"Obviously, with the rain on Saturday, it got pushed back, so I kind of knew it probably wasn't going to happen," Strasburg said. "I've pitched here in college twice before, so I know it's just going to be a matter of time before I get that opportunity."