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SAN DIEGO -- Major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks pitched six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs finished off a three-game sweep, beating the San Diego Padres 6-3 on Wednesday.Hendricks (12-7) gave up two runs and four hits, striking out eight and leaving with a 2.19 ERA. He has allowed no more than three earned runs in 17 straight starts.There Cubs relievers took over for the NL Central leaders, with Aroldis Chapman pitching the ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.Willson Contreras homered and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs to help the Cubs win for the 22nd time in 27 games. At 81-45, they are 36 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 1945 season at 98-56.The Padres have dropped nine of their past 12. Paul Clemens (2-3) took the loss.YANKEES 5, MARINERS 0SEATTLE -- Rookie Gary Sanchez kept up his torrid stretch with his seventh home run in the past nine games, and Masahiro Tanaka won his fourth straight start in New Yorks victory over Seattle.Tanaka (11-4) threw seven shutout innings and got the better of the Mariners and former Japan League teammate Hisashi Iwakuma (14-9).The Yankees won their third straight road series. They took two of three from the Mariners, one of the teams theyre chasing in the AL wild-card race.Sanchez homered into the second deck in left field in the first inning on the first pitch from Iwakuma, his ninth home run in 18 games since joining the Yankees lineup Aug. 3.Sanchez added a double and his intentional walk in the seventh inning led to Mark Teixeiras RBI single for a 4-0 lead.RANGERS 6, REDS 5CINCINNATI -- Yu Darvish hit only the second homer by a Texas pitcher and Adrian Beltre had a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning in the Rangers 6-5 victory over Cincinnati.Darvishs solo shot to center field was one of three homers by the Rangers, who wasted a three-run lead before rallying late. Beltres double off Blake Wood (5-2) snapped a 5-5 tie.Nomar Mazara had a three-homer, and Ian Desmond followed Darvishs homer in the fifth with one off Tim Adleman. The Reds have given up 10 homers in the last three games, including four sets of back-to-backs.Darvish let a 5-2 lead slip away. He walked a season-high five batters and hit a batter in six innings. A passed ball and an error led to two unearned runs.Jake Diekman (4-2) went one inning and got the win. Sam Dyson pitched the ninth for his 28th save.RAYS 4, RED SOX 3, 11 INNINGSST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- David Ortiz hit his 30th home run in the first inning, but Tampa Bay came back from a three-run deficit to beat Boston to prevent the Red Sox from taking sole possession of the AL East lead.Luke Maile doubled with two out in the 11th and scored after Red Sox pitcher Heath Hembree (4-1) dropped a throw to first base on Kevin Kiermaiers grounder.Brad Boxberger (2-0) got the win with one inning of relief.Boston has won 10 of its last 13 games and remained tied for first with Toronto.Bidding to become the majors first 18-game winner, Rick Porcello allowed Evan Longorias tying homer in the eighth before leaving. It was Longorias 30th homer.ANGELS 8, BLUE JAYS 2TORONTO -- Albert Pujols moved into sole possession of 10th place on the career home run list with 584, Matt Shoemaker pitched six shutout innings and Los Angeles beat Toronto to snap an 11-game road losing streak.Pujols finished 4 for 4 with three RBI. After he and Mike Trout hit back-to-back homers in the first, Pujols hit a sacrifice fly in the second, singled in the fourth and sixth innings, then capped his night with an RBI double in the eighth.For Pujols, the homer broke a tie with Mark McGwire on career list. A three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star, Pujols is two home runs shy of tying Frank Robinson for ninth place.Two pitches after Trout hit his 24th home run, Pujols did the same. Both shots came off Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada (7-6).Shoemaker (8-13) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out three.ORIOLES 10, NATIONALS 8WASHINGTON -- Baltimore closer Zach Britton saw his remarkable streak of 43 straight games without allowing an earned run end, then shut down Washingtons ninth-inning rally.The Nationals scored five times in the ninth, one of them charged to Britton. But after his own mistake helped Washington put runners on first and second with one out, Britton got Ryan Zimmerman to ground into a double play.Manny Machado and Matt Wieters each homered and drove in four runs for the AL wild card-contending Orioles. Baltimore has beaten the NL East leaders three straight times this week.Daniel Murphy hit a grand slam for the Nationals in the ninth, making it 10-7 and bringing Britton into the game with one out in a non-saved situation.Wade Miley (8-10) allowed two runs on seven hits in five-plus innings. Tanner Roark (13-7) gave up five runs in five innings and hit three batters.MARLINS 3, ROYALS 0MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings and appeared to avoid a serious injury when he tweaked his right leg on his final pitch, helping Miami snap Kansas Citys winning streak at nine.Fernandez (13-7) pulled up after striking out Christian Colon to end the seventh, and rubbed his right knee before limping to the dugout. The Marlins pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the seventh.Fernandez had nine strikeouts to increase his season total to 213, breaking the Marlins record of 209 set by Ryan Dempster in 2000. Fernandez also had the Marlins first two hits, hiking his average to .286.Fernando Rodney pitched around two singles and walk for his 25th save and eighth with Miami.Dillon Gee (5-7) took the loss.CARDINALS 8, METS 1ST. LOUIS -- Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty homered off New York starter Jacob deGrom to power St. Louis.Carpenter set the tone, hitting a leadoff home run in the first inning. The Cardinals went on to win for the seventh time in nine games.Piscotty and Yadier Molina each had three of the Cardinals season high-tying 19 hits.Carlos Martinez (12-7) gave up one run and four hits over eight innings. He also got two hits himself.Roughed up for the second straight start, deGrom (7-7) allowed five runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He was tagged for a career-worst eight runs and 13 hits in his previous outing against San Francisco.ATHLETICS 5, INDIANS 1OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kendall Graveman pitched into the seventh inning to become Oaklands first 10-game winner this season, and the Athletics beat Cleveland.The As took two of three games from the AL Central leaders. Cleveland went into the day with the best record in the American League, but was held to one run for the third consecutive game.Khris Davis tripled and scored as part of Oaklands five-run second inning off Trevor Bauer (9-6).Roberto Perez homered, and Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall had two hits apiece for Cleveland.Graveman (10-8) extended his scoreless streak to 16 innings before Perez homered in the seventh.Graveman allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings and won for the ninth time in his last 11 decisions.ASTROS 5, PIRATES 4PITTSBURGH -- Evan Gattis hit his 20th home run, leading Collin McHugh and Houston over Pittsburgh for the Astros fifth victory in six games.McHugh (8-10) gave up three runs in five innings, ending an 0-4 rut in his last five starts. Ken Giles closed for his fifth save. Gerrit Cole (7-9) allowed five runs in five innings.Jordy Mercer homered for Pittsburgh.BREWERS 7, ROCKIES 1MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun hit two home runs and Milwaukee tied a season high with its fourth straight victory, beating Colorado.Braun hit a solo drive off Tyler Anderson (4-5) in the fourth inning. He connected for his 24th homer, a two-run shot, off Chad Qualls in a four-run seventh.Colorados Nolan Arenado hit his NL-leading 34th homer in the first. The Rockies went on to load the bases, but Zach Davies (10-6) escaped further trouble.TIGERS 9, TWINS 4MINNEAPOLIS -- Miguel Cabrera hit his 28th home run and had four hits, Justin Upton added a three-run homer and Detroit beat Minnesota.Matt Boyd (5-2) tied his career high with seven strikeouts in six innings to win his fifth straight decision.Cabrera had his fifth four-hit game of the season and was a triple shy of the cycle. He opened the scoring with a deep blast to straightaway center field in the first inning.Brian Dozier hit his career-high 30th homer for Minnesota, but starter Tyler Duffey (8-10) allowed six runs in three innings. The Twins have lost sixth straight.PHILLIES 5, WHITE SOX 3CHICAGO -- Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez homered to back Jerod Eickhoff, and struggling Philadelphia beat Chicago.Joseph and Hernandez each had two hits and went deep against James Shields (5-16). Aaron Altherr added two RBI singles.Eickhoff (9-12) allowed two runs and four hits over six innings. Jeanmar Gomez worked the ninth for his 34th save in 38 chances.Tom Jackson Youth Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Brian Dawkins Broncos Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.thebroncosstoreonline.com/Youth-Gary-Zimmerman-Broncos-Jerseys/ .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. DeMarcus Ware Youth Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Joe Flacco Youth Jersey .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament.RIO DE JANEIRO -- You may have to wait until halfway through the medal race to see why defending Olympic champions Eric Murray and Hamish Bond have never been beaten in the eight years they have competed in the mens pair.When rowing becomes a journey through pain and lactic acid and other crews start losing pace, the blond New Zealanders tend to keep theirs, pulling away from the field stroke by stroke until the TV cameras struggle to fit the second-place boat in the same shot.Arguably the best rowers ever, Murray, 34, and Bond, 30, head into the mens pair final set for Thursday with 68 consecutive wins since 2009, including two in the qualifying heats in Rio de Janeiro. So what do they do differently from other crews?Were just better looking, Murray joked to The Associated Press after the semifinals Tuesday. Honestly, we dont do a hell of a lot differently. We train hard; they train hard. We just try to refine our technique and our training philosophy that makes us go fast.Known as the Kiwi pair in the rowing world, Murray and Bond are in a category of their own. As physically fit as anyone, they also have the mental strength to win even when theyre not having a good day.In the semifinals, they looked relaxed throughout the 2-kilometer course even as their opponents were clenching their teeth and grimacing in red-faced agony. After the race they leisurely rowed back down the side of the course while the other crews were recovering in the finish area, bent over their boats, gasping for oxygen.An interesting feature of the Murray-Bond phenomenon is they rarely lead a race from start to finish. Sometimes theyre even in last place at the 500-meter mark and you start wondering whether this is it, theyre done, the spell is broken.Then the battle with fatigue kicks in and other boats start seeing their stroke rate go down.Whereas the New Zealand pair just keep the pace from the start, and then go quicker, said Eelco Meenhorst, who coaches Dutch pair Roel Braas and Mitchel Steenman. Nobody can do that.Except Murray and Bond.Meenhorst said one of the secrets behind their supremacy is their power-to-weight ratio. They are as strong as the biggest rowers but lighter, giving them a weight advantage on the water.He noted that Braas, a 6-foot-6 (2-meter) mountain of muscle, weighs 220 pounds (100 kilograms), whilee Bond is just 187 pounds (85 kilograms).dddddddddddd Still, the New Zealander rows with nearly the same power.That makes a difference, Meenhorst said. Physically they are really, really remarkable.In London, French pair Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette were half a boat-length ahead of the Kiwis at 500 meters, but the gap closed with each stroke and halfway through the course Murray and Bond were in front. At 1,500 meters, the French were fighting for silver, already trailing the Kiwi pair by 5 seconds.Chardin and Mortelette will give it another go in Rio, though they admit theres nothing that suggests the New Zealand crew has gotten any easier to beat.From what Ive seen for four years, I dont think so, Mortelette said. But there are boats which have got close.Pete Reed and Andy Hodge of Britain were just three-tenths of a second behind Murray and Bond in the 2010 world championships. But they never got any closer than that, and after three years of finishing second Reed and Hodge switched to the mens four in time for the London Olympics -- a move that paid off with a gold medal. Theyre now racing in Britains eight.Though Murray and Bond havent tasted defeat in the mens pair, it was a bitter loss in another event that paved the way for their current success. Both were part of the mens four that was expected to win the gold for New Zealand at the 2008 Olympics but didnt even make the final.That disappointment prompted Murray and Bond to break out into a pair, and it was clear from the first races how well they clicked. They kept improving thanks to a brutal training regime and years of fine-tuning little details to make the boat go quicker, Murray said.We know what works, he said. Weve got that eight years of experience over pretty much everybody else in our field.Though they gel perfectly in the boat, Murray and Bond go their separate ways once its out of the water. They have different lives and dont really hang out outside working hours.Ive got my family. Hamish has got his partner and everything. We dont go and socialize and live in each others pockets, Murray said. We just make sure that were doing the business in one sense and then doing our own thing in the other. ' ' '