Josh Collmenter went eight innings and gave up three hits, only one of which made it to the outfield. He retired 21 of his final 22 batters in his longest outing of the season, the only blip in that stretch a bunt single.

Yup, Collmenter was that good in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

“I think today was the culmination of everything that I can do as a pitcher,” the rookie right-hander said. “I really had everything working, mixing it in and out. Henry (Blanco) behind the plate was great, moving in and out, up and down, changing speeds. Just kept them off balance.”

Collmenter (5-5) struck out a career-best seven and walked none while running his scoreless streak to 14 innings, all against the Brewers over his last two starts. Ryan Roberts homered for the second straight day and David Hernandez finished for his ninth save in 11 chances, wrapping up the game in an efficient 2 hours, 14 minutes.

Collmenter baffled the Brewers again with his unorthodox overhanded pitching style that he says he learned throwing tomahawks as a kid in rural Michigan, adding an occasional curveball to his usual mix of fastballs and changeups, all thrown with pinpoint precision.

“It is his deception. He is a good little pitcher,” Milwaukee center fielder Nyjer Morgan said. “It is one of those things we don’t really know him yet.”

Collmenter was 0-4 with a 5.97 ERA in his last five starts. His previous victory came on June 3 against Washington, when he pitched seven innings in Arizona’s 4-0 victory. But in his last start, he pitched six innings and got a no-decision in the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 loss at Milwaukee.

“It’s definitely good to get back on track on the last one before the (All-Star) break and now this one coming out of the break,” he said, “and kind of give our rotation momentum as we kind of turn things over each time.”

In Arizona’s three consecutive victories, starters Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and Collmenter have allowed a combined three runs in 24 innings.

Randy Wolf (6-7) pitched 7 1-3 innings for Milwaukee and was charged with three runs, two earned, and eight hits. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 4.94 ERA in his last four starts, including two losses against the Diamondbacks.

“I did everything I could do,” Wolf said. “I made a mistake but that happens. I did my job to the best of my ability.”

The Brewers were shut out on the road for the ninth time this season and fell to 18-32 away from Miller Park.

Chris Young singled, doubled and scored twice for Arizona.

Roberts hit a two-run shot to left to put Arizona up 3-0 in the sixth. Young doubled into the left-field gap with two outs, then Roberts hit Wolf’s 1-0 pitch into the seats in left for his 13th homer.

Roberts flew out to deep left his first time up.

Arizona loaded the bases with no outs in the third without getting the ball out of the infield. Henry Blanco singled off the glove of second baseman Rickie Weeks, then Wolf threw the ball away trying to force Weeks at second on Collmenter’s sacrifice attempt. Wolf threw right at second base umpire Brian Runge rather than at Weeks.

Willie Bloomquist’s sharp shot off the glove of the first baseman Prince Fielder loaded the bases, but Diamondbacks got only an unearned run out of the situation when Blanco scored on Gerardo Parra’s double-play grounder.

Morgan made two big catches, leaping against the wall to take an extra-base hit away from Justin Upton in the sixth, then a diving shoestring grab to rob Blanco in the seventh.

Bloomquist, playing at shortstop to give Stephen Drew the night off, saved a run in the first when he made a diving stop to his right on Fielder’s bouncer and, from his knees, threw out Morgan trying to score from second.

NOTES: Hernandez has converted seven consecutive save opportunities since closer J.J. Putz went down with a sore elbow. … There was dust in the air at first pitch, the result of a severe dust storm that moved through downtown Phoenix. … In addition to Drew, fellow regulars 2B Kelly Johnson and C Miguel Montero were out of the Arizona lineup. … The Chase Field fans kept up the booing of Fielder that began in the Home Run Derby after the slugger failed to pick Upton for the NL team. Fielder went on to win the All-Star game MVP award.

At 31 and a longtime member of the ATP world tour, James Blake knew what to expect coming back from a long rain delay.

“I think generally it favors the person who’s down because they’ve got a chance to stop the momentum and get back out there with a new attitude where they feel like they’re the underdog,” he said. “You’ve got a little bit of a nothing-to-lose attitude and you can play your best tennis.”

Blake rallied to win a second-set tiebreaker and overcame a 1-hour, 18-minute rain delay Monday night for a 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships.

“I wanted to really focus on getting that hold and once I did, I definitely let loose in that 4-2 game where he was serving,” Blake said. “I felt like if I could get a break there, it would make life a little easier for me.”

Blake will face No. 3 seed John Isner, his friend and doubles partner, in the second round.

No. 8 seed Somdev Devvarman of India held off Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to earn a second-round match against Japan’s Tatsuma Ito, a 7-6 (6), 6-4 winner over Michael Berrer of Germany.

Gilles Muller of Luxembourg beat No. 7 seed Alex Bogomolov Jr., 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Michael Russell advanced to a second-round meeting with No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa with a straight-set win over Donald Young.

Isner, the runner-up to defending champion and top-seeded Mardy Fish last year in Atlanta, isn’t exactly looking forward to facing Blake.

“He is always going to be a tough out,” Isner said. “To be honest if he wins tonight I would rather not play him only because he is a good friend of mine. It’s a tough dynamic when you play a good friend but it is what it is so we will see.”

On Tuesday, No. 5 seed Grigor Dimitrov, a former junior No. 1, will face qualifier Rajeev Ram. Sixth-seeded Igor Kunitsyn of Russia plays qualifier Marinko Matosevic of Australia

Isner, who starred at the University of Georgia and is ranked 35th in the world, is looking forward to playing the crowd favorite for the second straight year even though the event has moved seven miles south from the swank Atlanta Athletic Club.

“This is definitely a kind of a hometown feel for me given all the Georgia fans in this area and in this state,” Isner said. “I remember all the support I had last year. It was phenomenal, so I hope to get that same support this year. That’s one of the main reasons I played well and made it all the way to the finals last year.”

For Blake, the key to beating Gulbis timing his opponent’s serve.

“It was tough,” Blake said. “He can be very sneaky. He can play great, especially with the way he served at the end of the first set and at the beginning of the second set. There wasn’t really much I could do. There wasn’t really much anybody could do with the way he was serving there.”

Blake had to manage an emotional letdown even though the stadium court of the Racquet Club of the South had nearly cleared out after the rain delay.

“Just kind of staying the course, I played a couple of loose points there at 4-all in the second but I didn’t want to hang my head and get down and say that it was impossible to break him,” he said. “Anyone, no matter how good they are, they feel that pressure when they’re serving out the match. I almost gave it back at the end, too. Got down 30-love on a couple of big serves by him and then got some looks at a couple of second serves and took advantage.”

Charlie Morton is just so-so against every team in the league not named the Cincinnati Reds. Against the Reds, he’s spectacular.

The right-hander continued his mastery of the Reds on Monday night, pitching five innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-0 win.

Morton improved to 8-5 overall — including 3-0 against Cincinnati — after wiggling out of a first-inning jam as the Pirates moved into first-place in the crowded NL Central.

“We haven’t scored a run off the guy this year!” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said.

It only seems that way.

Morton has limited the Reds to one run in 23 innings, including none on a muggy night at PNC Park that seemed to stifle the life out of Cincinnati’s bats.

The Reds managed just three hits against four pitchers and didn’t get a runner to third base over the final eight innings.

“It’s hard to win when you don’t score,” Baker said. “They know how to pitch us, evidently, because we’ve had as much trouble against them as anybody, so we just have got to make better adjustments and realize what they’re doing to us.”

The defending division champions hoped two wins against St. Louis over the weekend would give them a much-needed boost. Instead they let a solid performance by pitcher Dontrelle Willis slip away.

Willis gave up two runs in 4 2-3 innings, throwing 51 of 69 pitches for strikes.

“I felt good mechanically, first time in a long time mechanically,” Willis said. “But Morton, he pitched a great game. It was one of those games where a base hit here could have decided it, and it was just one of those things where we were on the other side of the fence today.”

Willis’ only hiccup came in the fourth as the Pirates scratched across two runs in what is becoming very Pirate-like fashion.

Chase d’Arnaud and Neil Walker led off the fourth with singles. Andrew McCutchen brought d’Arnaud home with an RBI groundout and Walker soon followed on Matt Diaz’s sacrifice fly.

That was more than enough for Morton and Pittsburgh’s steady bullpen as the Pirates improved to 6-1 against the Reds this year. Morton is just 5-5 with a 4.56 ERA against teams other than the Reds this season.

“The Pirates have had our number all year, man,” Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips said. “I don’t know what it is, but I’ll tell you one thing: They’re a good team, they’re for real.”

Morton included, though he needed a little bit of help from Mother Nature to get out of the first inning.

The start of the game was delayed 55 minutes by rain, but the sky briefly cleared, giving Morton just enough time to get in trouble.

He hit Drew Stubbs to lead off the game and Zack Cozart followed with a sharp single to put runners on the corners. An intentional walk to Jay Bruce with two outs loaded the bases.

Morton jumped ahead of Miguel Cairo 1-2 when a massive thunderclap shook the stadium and lit up the downtown Pittsburgh skyline. Umpire Tony Randazzo ordered the teams off the field and gave Morton a much-needed breather.

Cairo worked the count to 2-2 when play resumed but was robbed by d’Arnaud, who dived into the hole to field a grounder then flipped the ball with his glove to Walker at second base to force out Bruce.

“I’ve only done that play two other times in my life,” d’Arnaud said.

Neither mattered more than his gem on Monday.

“I wanted to make contact with the ball and I put the ball in play and the shortstop made a great play and they got out of the inning,” said Cairo, who stranded five runners on base.

It would be as close to home plate as the Reds would get on a night the Pirates moved into first-place by themselves.

Joel Hanrahan worked a perfect ninth for his 27th save as Pittsburgh moved a half-game in front of Milwaukee.

NOTES: Walker’s single in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 12 games … Cincinnati third baseman Scott Rolen was given the day off by Baker, who was concerned about Rolen’s sore right shoulder, which has been operated on three times. Rolen is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday. … Pittsburgh could take shortstop Ronny Cedeno off the DL by Friday. Cedeno went on the seven-day DL on earlier this month with concussion-like symptoms. … d’Arnaud left the game in the fifth inning with stiffness in his neck after sliding hard into third base in the fourth.

China showed there’s no better country at 1-meter diving, with Shi Tingmao and Wang Han finishing 1-2 in the women’s event Tuesday to complete a springboard sweep in the world championships.

It was a close contest, with Shi totaling 318.65 points and Wang just 8.45 points behind for silver with 310.20. Wang improved on her third-place showing two years ago in Rome.

“I was nervous today, so it’s hard to win. But I feel pretty good at last,” Shi said. “My opponents are strong so I stayed in a low key before the contest. The biggest achievement is that I am now a world champion, not just a national champion anymore.”

Italy’s Tania Cagnotto earned the bronze with 295.45.

Wang led after the first round before Shi took over the top spot through the last four rounds.

Wang received her lowest marks on her second dive.

“It’s a pity that I failed to win the title. I made mistakes in my second dive, which I usually did well,” she said. “I should have had more practice.”

Their teammates, Li Shixin and He Min, won gold and silver in the men’s 1-meter event Monday.

Shi’s victory gave China its fifth gold in diving with five events remaining. The Chinese have won seven medals overall at the outdoor pool.

Shi led Wang by just 4.55 points after four dives. Both women performed reverse 1 1-2 somersaults with 1 1-2 twists on their last dives — with equal 2.6 degree of difficulty — but Shi received marks of 9.0 and higher, while Wang’s marks ranged from 8.0 to 9.0.

“The Chinese are really consistent, and they are beautiful divers,” said American Abby Johnston, who was sixth.

Anastasia Pozdniakova of Russia was in position to claim the silver, but she badly missed on her fourth dive and dropped from second to last in the 12-woman field.

Pozdniakova came out of her dive and landed on her belly, creating a huge splash. She received marks ranging from 1.5 to 3.0, and with only one dive remaining had no chance to move up.

The other U.S. diver, Kelci Bryant, finished ninth.

China had a chance to add to its golden haul in the men’s 3-meter synchro final later Tuesday.

Rodrigo Lopez figured this wasn’t going to be an easy night. He just made it look that way.

Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena homered to back a dominant start by Lopez, and the Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 6-1 Monday on a night when Roy Halladay left the game because of the heat.

“Pitching against Roy Halladay, it’s always going to be tough,” Lopez said.

Even tougher on a night such as this.

Besides going up against one of the game’s best pitchers, Lopez had to contend with the stifling heat and humidity.

That’s something Halladay (11-4) simply could not do. Lopez, however, got through it thanks to “a lot of Gatorade” and some big swings from Ramirez and Pena.

“We talked about how important the long ball is,” manager Mike Quade said. “When you get a night like this, it’s pretty conducive to hitting it out.”

Ramirez gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first when he drove his 17th homer — and 12th in 23 games — to the basket in left-center field.

Chicago added two runs in the third when Lopez led off with a single and scored on Ramirez’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly to deep right. Pena then lined a single, making it 3-0, and it was during that inning when Manuel started noticing his pitcher wasn’t quite right.

Lopez (2-2) gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollins in the fourth after retiring the first nine batters, but that was all the scoring he allowed.

He gave up five hits and left to loud cheers, tipping his cap as he headed to the dugout after John Mayberry Jr. singled with two outs in the seventh.

The Cubs got RBI doubles from Darwin Barney and Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth, and another run in the seventh when Pena drove his team-leading 20th homer out to center, making it 6-1.

Embattled closer Carlos Marmol worked the ninth after being shut down following two brutal outings against Florida on Thursday and Friday. He issued two-out walks to Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown before striking out Mayberry to end the game.

“Better, better,” Quade said.

Good enough to put him back in the closer role?

“Right now, I’m just happy that he threw well today,” Quade said.

Marmol spent the past few days working with pitching coach Mark Riggins, trying to correct a mechanical issue, and he thinks it’s paying off.

“I have to throw strikes … but I feel good,” he said.

As for Halladay?

Team spokesman Greg Casterioto said he “absolutely” expects to make his next start against San Diego on Sunday. The pitcher was not available for comment after the game.

Halladay doubled over and was visited by a trainer after Starlin Castro led off the fifth inning with a single. Drew Carpenter came in to replace him.

Halladay was drenched in sweat on a humid night in which the game-time temperature was 91. The heat clearly affected him.

“He got a little dizzy,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We were a little concerned about dehydration, brought him in here and got (the Cubs’) doctor and he was looking at him.”

Halladay gave up three runs and seven hits and took his first loss since May 15. He had his first outing since starting for the National League in last week’s All-Star game and pitching two perfect innings, and pitching coach Rich Dubee said the hectic schedule might have contributed to the problem.

“You have to have the All-Star game, I understand that, but guys who go to the All-Star game come back a little drawn,” he said. “It’s a busy three days. You’ve got (New York Mets CF Carlos) Beltran out with the flu, Doc tonight.it’s just a hectic schedule. They fly out there, different time zones.there’s a bunch to it. This guy takes tremendous care of himself. He’s doing better now, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”

Notes: The Phillies plan to activate OF Shane Victorino, out with a sprained right thumb, from the 15-day disabled list when he’s eligible on Tuesday after they optioned IF Pete Orr to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the game. … Quade said he hadn’t heard from Major League Baseball about his postgame rant against the umpires on Sunday. Quade let loose after a 7-5 loss to Florida, saying the umpires made unprofessional comments to his players. He took issue in particular with one call at second base in the top of the eighth. The Cubs thought they had picked off Brett Hayes, but umpire Lance Barrett called him safe. Hayes went on to score the go-ahead run. “I obviously disagreed with a few calls,” Quade said. “It was a rough series in a lot of different ways. It was frustrating.” Quade added he has “all the respect in the world” for the umpires. … Ramirez again made it clear he’s not waiving his no-trade clause. “Right now, I’m not interested in a trade,” he said. … Pena’s homer was his 250th.

Britain’s Olympics minister says the 2012 London Games will be delivered under budget.

Hugh Robertson says the anticipated final cost of the Olympic construction project has decreased by $25 million to $11 million since May.

Discussing the overall $15 billion cost of the games, Robertson told reporters on Tuesday that he is confident that the Olympics will come in under budget.”

As London prepares to mark the one-year countdown next week, the Olympic Delivery Authority says 88 percent of the construction is complete.

Robertson says the ODA has driven down costs, and “can celebrate one year to go with confidence and a real sense of excitement and expectation.”

Russia dominated synchronized swimming at the world aquatic championships, winning the team technical competition Tuesday for its third gold medal in as many nights.

Russia scored 98.3 points to beat China, which finished with 96.8. Spain won the bronze with 96.0 points.

On Monday, Russian Natalia Ishchenko won her second gold medal, teaming with Svetlana Romashina to win the duet technical final a night after taking the solo gold.

The competition has four more gold medals to be awarded, all in the freestyle events — solo, combination, duet and team.

Becky Hammon scored 26 points to lead the San Antonio Silver Stars to a 79-69 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday night.

Sophia Young had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jia Perkins added 14 points as the Silver Stars improved to a league-best 5-1 on the road.

San Antonio (9-4) let a 15-point, first-quarter lead dwindle to one in the fourth before holding on to win their second straight following three consecutive losses.

Jantel Lavender and Natasha Lacy scored 14 points each for the Sparks (6-8), while Jenna O’Hea finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

After Lacy’s runner in the lane got the Sparks within 61-60, Perkins hit a jumper and Young had a jumper and a steal that led to a layup to put the Silver Stars ahead 67-61 with 6:13 remaining.

The Sparks lost their second straight at home after opening the season 4-0 at Staples Center. They blew a 24-point lead early in the third quarter during Sunday’s 89-85 overtime loss to Washington. It was the second-largest comeback in WNBA history.

“You never want to lose at home, you always want to protect your home court,” Lacy said. “We have to get more victories wherever we play.”

Hammon broke out of a mini-slump by hitting 8 of 15 from the field including going 4 of 8 from 3-point range. She leads San Antonio in scoring with a 16.3 average but had just 10 points on 4-of-24 shooting in her last two outings.

Hammon is hoping to be named an All-Star for the seventh time when the league announces reserves Tuesday for the July 23 game at ATT Center in San Antonio.

“It would be great,” Hammon said. “I know we are going to have a great crowd, our city and fans are really excited about it. To be a part of it, obviously, is a huge honor.”

Los Angeles starters combined for only 15 points, with new coach Joe Bryant giving heavy minutes to the reserves as he continues to mix-and-match his rotations. Tina Thompson, the WNBA’s career scoring leader with 6,546 points, was held without a point for the first time in 413 regular-season games.

“Not that I know of,” Thompson said. “And I don’t think I ever played less than five minutes either.”

After Ebony Hoffman scored the game’s first basket for the Sparks’ lone lead, the Silver Stars followed with 15 straight points. Hammon hit a 3-pointer and a layup in the run for the 15-2 lead midway through the quarter.

The Sparks, who missed 10 of their first 11 shots, snapped a 4:47 scoring drought on Ebony Hoffman’s free throw. Trailing by 10 points at halftime, they trimmed the deficit to 45-41 when O’Hea buried a 3-pointer from the corner.

Another 3-pointer from O’Hea capped a 10-3 run to close the quarter as Los Angeles made it 57-55 heading into the fourth.

It’s the age-old excuse: the sun got in my eyes. Only this time, it was the truth.

Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said he’s inquired about putting up some sort of retractable shield on the northwestern facade of Coors Field to block the sun.

Only problem there is that such a contraption would block the majestic view of the mountains, too.

Helton was burned Monday night, losing third baseman Ty Wigginton’s throw on pitcher Derek Lowe’s routine ground ball with the bases full and two outs in the second inning. Two runs scored as the ball sailed past Helton into foul territory, igniting Atlanta’s 7-4 win at Coors Field.

Helton said he should have reminded Wigginton about the setting sun that inning so that he could have gone to another base for the force out instead.

“It’s probably the one time I didn’t say anything to him and it happened,” Helton said. “It worked out for the worse.”

Jason Hammel (5-9) was walking off the mound toward the dugout when Lowe grounded weakly to Wigginton.

“Yeah, I got the ground ball that I wanted,” Hammel said. “You can’t count on the sun being in the way, though. That’s just one of those freak things of baseball. It’s nobody’s fault. Ty made a good throw and Todd was on the bag, but you can’t look into the sun and expect to see anything.

“It’s been that kind of way for a while now.”

Helton said there’s no other ballpark that gives him fits as Coors Field does this time of year.

“It’s one of those things that’s a worse-case scenario, a nightmare: bases loaded, pitcher’s hitting,” he said. “But I couldn’t see it. I put my glove up where I thought the ball was going to go. It’s just a bad break.”

Once on first, Lowe saw exactly what Helton was talking about.

“When I was at first base, I mean, you can’t see,” Lowe said. “He was kind of mad at the guy that threw it. He was mad that he threw it to first base. When you play here all the time you probably know early on don’t throw it to first base (at that time). It’s definitely a stadium fault.

“When we were over there, we were talking about it, you can’t see. Even if the pitcher threw over there, you can’t see. And it was a huge part of the game. You take those two runs away and who knows what would have happened?”

Lowe joked that he should have been given a base hit and two RBIs. After all, he argued, if an outfielder loses the ball in the sun and it drops to the grass, that’s not an error.

Lowe (6-7) gave up four runs and eight hits over 6 1-3 solid innings on a 92-degree night, finally fading in the seventh when he left with a 7-2 lead and watched his bullpen allow two more runs.

Rookie Craig Kimbrel recorded his 16th straight scoreless appearance, striking out the side in the ninth for his 29th save in 34 chances.

Hammel (5-9) allowed six runs, four earned, and eight hits over five innings.

One night after his first career game-winning hit, a single that lifted Atlanta past Washington 9-8, Freddie Freeman delivered again for the Braves, driving a fastball in the third inning into the rock pile in center for a two-run homer, the rookie’s 14th. He finished with three hits and three RBIs.

“He must be eating from a different box of Wheaties right now,” Hammel said. “He’s

Eric Hinske also homered for Atlanta, hitting a solo shot, his ninth, one out after Freeman went deep.

The Rockies were limited to Helton’s RBI single until the seventh, when Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki hit run-scoring bloop singles and Helton added a sacrifice fly.

Notes: Hammel hasn’t won consecutive starts since April. … Seth Smith hit his fifth triple of the season. … C Chris Iannetta is 8 for 16 over his past five starts at home.

___

Arnie Stapleton can be reached at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

Yao Ming should make it official on Wednesday, announcing what is widely expected to be his retirement from the NBA and a sport that made him a household name in China.

The 7-foot-6 center for the Houston Rockets played for eight seasons in the NBA, but has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years. His career, including frequent appearances for the Chinese national team at Olympics and world championships, has been punctuated by leg and foot injuries.

On Wednesday, a large reception hall at a hotel in the Pudong section of Shanghai — Yao’s hometown — has been booked for what will likely be the country’s media event of the year.

Ryan Vogelsong’s selection for the All-Star game might have raised a few eyebrows. Now that the right-hander leads the National League in ERA, the critics may have to quiet down.

Vogelsong pitched into the seventh inning and combined with two relievers on a seven-hitter to lead San Francisco to a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.

“This guy’s done everything and beyond since he’s come up here,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who ran the NL team and picked Vogelsong for the squad. “It’s nice to see him finally qualify and now maybe get recognized as he should.”

Vogelsong (7-1), coming off his first All-Star appearance, scattered seven hits over 6 2-3 innings, finishing with five strikeouts and a walk while lowering his ERA to 2.02.

The journeyman right-hander already had the lowest ERA in the NL but hadn’t logged enough innings to qualify. Four days shy of his 34th birthday, he finally has the top spot, just ahead of Atlanta’s Jair Jurjjens.

“Doesn’t matter,” Vogelsong said. “It’s important for me to prove (Bochy) right. They can say whatever they want to say. It doesn’t bother me one bit but he stuck his neck out for me to pick me so I want to show people he made a good decision.”

Pablo Sandoval had three hits, including his ninth homer, for NL West-leading San Francisco, which has won eight of 10. Nate Schierholtz added two hits and an RBI, continuing his torrid pace that started when Bochy moved him into the cleanup spot last week.

Cody Ross’ two-run double in San Francisco’s four-run sixth helped the Giants break it open.

Juan Uribe had two singles against his former club but the Dodgers hit into two double plays and were shut out for the 10th time this season while losing their fifth straight against their division rivals.

Chad Billingsley (8-8) yielded five runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. He had allowed only four runs in his previous four starts but his ERA jumped to 4.07 after his shaky outing against San Francisco.

“He kept missing spots,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “When you do that you end up getting hurt.”

Vogelsong retired the first eight batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Matt Kemp’s one-out single in the fourth. Juan Rivera followed with a soft dribbler to the right side on a hit-and-run, moving Kemp to third, but Vogelsong got out of it with some nifty defense of his own.

James Loney hit a grounder back up the middle that Vogelsong bobbled momentarily before recovering and throwing to shortstop Brandon Crawford, whose relay to first just beat Loney to complete the double play.

The Dodgers had two runners on with no outs in the sixth but Kemp grounded into a double play and Vogelsong got Rivera to pop out to shortstop to end the threat.

Jeremy Affeldt and Ramon Ramirez finished up after Vogelsong departed.

The Giants gave Vogelsong plenty of support.

Schierholtz had an RBI single in the big sixth inning and is batting .417 (10 for 24) in five games in the cleanup spot. San Francisco is 5-0 in those games.

Sandoval connected on Billingsley’s first pitch in the bottom of the fourth. The third baseman also singled and scored in the sixth.

“I hope this is more us than what we were doing earlier in the season,” Bochy said. “You can’t depend on this pitching on a daily basis, so this is a good thing what we’re seeing.”

Crawford entered the game after the Giants lost Miguel Tejada to a lower abdominal strain in the third inning. The veteran infielder bobbled Rafael Furcal’s sharp grounder for an error, then slid to the turf.

A team trainer and Bochy came out to check on Tejada, and the three walked off the field together.

Earlier in the day the Giants were invited to visit President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday in honor of the team’s World Series win last year.

The White House said Obama also will recognize the Giants’ efforts to give back to the community.

“It’s going to be very special,” Bochy said. “I’m certainly looking forward to it. The guys can spend some time there and get a chance to meet the president, which is always an honor. It’s going to be a thrill for everybody.”

NOTES: Billingsley didn’t walk a batter for the first time this season. … San Francisco backup C Chris Stewart left in the sixth after getting hit in the back of the head by Aaron Miles’ bat. Eli Whiteside replaced him. … Giants LHP Jonathan Sanchez allowed six runs in 2 2-3 innings of his first rehab start but Bochy remains encouraged. Sanchez will pitch again Friday for Triple-A Fresno. … Dodgers INF Casey Blake (cervical strain) is eligible to come off the disabled list but is still receiving cortisone injections and will remain out indefinitely. … Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan and actor Benjamin Bratt were among those in attendance.

The Milwaukee Brewers have faced Arizona’s Josh Collmenter twice this month. They have yet to score a run against him.

The rookie right-hander baffled Milwaukee again Monday night, throwing eight innings of three-hit ball in a 3-0 victory in the opener of a four-game series.

“It is his deception. He is a good little pitcher,” Milwaukee’s Nyjer Morgan said. “It is one of those things we don’t really know him yet.”

Collmenter has 14 consecutive scoreless innings in his last two outings, both against the Brewers, who are having a hard time adjusting to his unorthodox straight overhand delivery.

“One of those things that around the league no one has really seen this kid,” Morgan said. “He has good stuff, he is a contact guy and definitely will throw you strikes. Once you see him a few more times you will get a better understanding about him.”

While Morgan was restrained in his assessment of Collmenter, Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke was a bit more effusive.

“You don’t pick it up well and he spots the ball,” Roenicke said. “His fastball, he doesn’t give you a good look at it over the middle of the plate. It always seems to be on the corner, he has the great changeup and throws the curveball for strikes when he needs to.”

Collmenter retired 21 of his last 22 batters in his longest outing of the season. Yuniesky Betancourt reached on a bunt single leading off the sixth for Milwaukee’s only hit during the stretch.

“I think today was the culmination of everything that I can do as a pitcher,” Collmenter said. “I really had everything working, mixing it in and out. Henry (Blanco) behind the plate was great, moving in and out, up and down, changing speeds. Just kept them off balance.”

The Brewers were shut out on the road for the ninth time this season and fell to 18-32 away from Miller Park, the second-worst road mark in the NL.

Randy Wolf (6-7) pitched 7 1-3 innings for Milwaukee and was charged with three runs, two earned, and eight hits. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 4.94 ERA in his last four starts, including two losses against the Diamondbacks.

“I did everything I could do,” Wolf said. “I made a mistake but that happens. I did my job to the best of my ability.”

Collmenter (5-5) struck out a career-best seven and walked none. Ryan Roberts homered for the second straight day and David Hernandez finished for his ninth save in 11 chances, wrapping up the game in an efficient 2 hours, 14 minutes.

Chris Young singled, doubled and scored twice in Arizona’s third straight victory.

Collmenter was 0-4 with a 5.97 ERA in his previous five starts. His previous victory came on June 3 against Washington, when he pitched seven innings in Arizona’s 4-0 victory.

But he was coming off a strong effort on July 6 at Milwaukee, where he pitched six scoreless innings and got a no-decision in the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 loss.

In consecutive starts, Arizona’s Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and Collmenter have allowed a combined three runs in 24 innings.

Roberts hit a two-run shot to left to put Arizona up 3-0 in the sixth. Young doubled into the left-field gap with two outs, then Roberts hit Wolf’s 1-0 pitch into the seats in left for his 13th homer.

Roberts flew out to deep left his first time up.

Arizona loaded the bases with no outs in the third without getting the ball out of the infield. Blanco singled off the glove of second baseman Rickie Weeks, then Wolf threw the ball away trying to force Weeks at second on Collmenter’s sacrifice attempt. Wolf threw right at second base umpire Brian Runge rather than at Weeks.

“I wasn’t very good at the no-look pass today,” he said.

Willie Bloomquist’s sharp shot off the glove of the first baseman Prince Fielder loaded the bases, but Diamondbacks got only an unearned run out of the situation when Blanco scored on Gerardo Parra’s double-play grounder.

Morgan made two big catches in center field, leaping against the wall to take an extra base hit away from Justin Upton in the sixth, then a diving shoestring grab to rob Blanco in the seventh.

Bloomquist, playing at shortstop to give Stephen Drew the night off, saved a run in the first when he made a diving stop to his right on Fielder’s bouncer and, from his knees, threw out Morgan trying to score from second.

NOTES: There was dust in the air at first pitch, the result of a severe dust storm that moved through downtown Phoenix. … In addition to Drew, fellow regulars 2B Kelly Johnson and C Miguel Montero were out of the Arizona lineup. … The Chase Field fans kept up the booing of Fielder that began in the Home Run Derby after the slugger failed to pick Upton for the NL team. Fielder went on to win the All-Star game MVP award.

Chad Billingsley usually has an answer for Pablo Sandoval. On Monday night the answer landed in the bleachers in right field.

Sandoval had three hits, including his ninth homer, for the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, who have won eight of 10 after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0.

“He covers all parts of the plate,” Billingsley said of a pitch that was up and in. “He hits balls that others couldn’t even reach.”

Billingsley (8-8) has not won in San Francisco since April 2009, a span of six starts.

“Just ground balls up the middle,” Billingsley said. “I kept trying to keep the ball down in the zone and they kept going up the middle. There’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to find a way. I missed a couple of spots. I wanted to go inside but I couldn’t get it in there.”

Juan Uribe had two singles against his former club but the Dodgers hit into two double plays and were shut out for the 10th time this season while losing their fifth straight against their division rivals. They have lost three straight since their season-high five-game winning streak.

Sandoval connected on Billingsley’s first pitch in the bottom of the fourth. The third baseman also singled and scored in the sixth.

“I hope this is more us than what we were doing earlier in the season,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “You can’t depend on this pitching on a daily basis, so this is a good thing what we’re seeing.”

Ryan Vogelsong (7-1) pitched into the seventh inning and combined with two relievers on a seven-hitter.

Vogelsong, coming off his first All-Star appearance, scattered seven hits over 6 2-3 innings, finishing with five strikeouts and a walk while lowering his ERA to 2.02.

Vogelsong retired the first eight batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Matt Kemp’s one-out single in the fourth. Juan Rivera followed with a soft dribbler to the right side on a hit-and-run, moving Kemp to third, but Vogelsong got out of it with some nifty defense of his own.

James Loney hit a grounder back up the middle which Vogelsong bobbled momentarily before recovering and throwing to shortstop Brandon Crawford, whose relay to first just beat Loney to complete the double play.

“That was a momentum changer right there,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “We have a chance to take the lead and they turn the double play and then Pablo hits the home run and now they have the lead instead of us.”

The Dodgers had two runners on with no outs in the sixth but Kemp grounded into a double play and Vogelsong got Rivera to pop out to shortstop to end the threat.

“He hits a seed down the line and Pablo makes a great pick,” Mattingly said. “Those are the balls that you see bounce off the heel of the glove.”

Billingsley yielded five runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. He had allowed only four runs in his previous four starts but his ERA jumped to 4.07 after his shaky outing.

“Chad was throwing the ball well,” Mattingly said. “He seemed to run into some trouble in the sixth and couldn’t get out of it. He kept missing spots. when you do that you end up getting hurt.”

NOTES: Billingsley didn’t walk a batter for the first time this season. … San Francisco backup C Chris Stewart left in the sixth after getting hit in the back of the head by Aaron Miles’ bat. Eli Whiteside replaced him. … Giants LHP Jonathan Sanchez allowed six runs in 2 2-3 innings of his first rehab start but Bochy remains encouraged. Sanchez will pitch again Friday for Triple-A Fresno. … Dodgers INF Casey Blake (cervical strain) is eligible to come off the DL but is still receiving cortisone injections and will remain out indefinitely. … Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan and actor Benjamin Bratt were among those in attendance.

Manger Eric Wedge’s daily briefings have turned into a psychological examination about the Seattle Mariners’ offense woes.

The brief optimism of a month ago when Seattle was a half-game out in the AL West race has been replaced by the reality of another rebuilding season. The anemic Mariners scored just two runs in dropping four straight in Texas after the All-Star break and have lost nine in a row to fall 11½ games behind the first-place Rangers.

If the Mariners don’t improve soon, they could turn out to be one of the worst offensive teams since the designated hitter was added to the American League in 1973.

After being swept by the Rangers, Seattle is hitting just .221, eight points lower than anyone else in baseball and 15 points worse than any other team in the AL. Only five members of Seattle’s current roster are hitting above .240. Rookie Greg Halman is the best at .279 and he has only 68 plate appearances.

Even the normally consistent Ichiro Suzuki is slumping through the worst year of his career. Suzuki ended Sunday hitting .262, an astounding 65 points below his career average of .327. His streak of 200 hits in every season since arriving in the majors in 2001 is at risk, with just 102 hits through 94 games.

Meanwhile, veterans such as Chone Figgins, Miguel Olivo, Jack Wilson and Jack Cust are all hitting below .230.

“Everybody goes through stuff like this, through slumps and stuff like that,” Wilson said Sunday after getting his fourth start in the last month. “… You don’t want to stand on this last homestand and what we did offensively, so you gather yourself together in Toronto and say ‘it’s going to be a good series.’”

Beyond just a lack of hitting, the Mariners simply aren’t getting on base, and at a record pace. They are the only team in the American League with an on-base percentage below .300 at just .286 nearly 100 games into the season. Since the addition of the designated hitter, only two AL teams — the 1981 Toronto Blue Jays and 1981 Minnesota Twins — have finished a season with an on-base percentage below .300 and both those came in a strike-shortened season.

Additionally, the Mariners are on pace for just 94 home runs, which would be fewest in a full season and is severely bringing down the Mariners OPS — on-base plus slugging percentage. Seattle currently stands at .611, headed toward the worst total in baseball in nearly four decades since the 1972 Texas Rangers had an OPS of .581.

It’s all adding up to an anemic offense. Wedge has regularly expressed his disappointment with his veterans being unable or unwilling to change their approach at the plate and correct what he views as problems. He said Sunday that with some of Seattle’s young prospects, the struggles are part of playing young kids at the major league level. He has less tolerance for veterans still struggling.

“With a kid it’s somewhat understandable. With a veteran, it’s not. This is the big leagues,” Wedge said. “There is a lot of baseball they’ve played before getting up here. With younger kids, that’s one thing, but with veterans there shouldn’t be any excuses. You should be going up there with a plan and sticking with your plan to at least give yourself a chance to have success.”

The offensive woes are coming at a time when the Mariners are getting exceptional pitching. Seattle has a team ERA of 3.27, on pace to be the best pitching staff in franchise history by nearly a half-run. Despite getting swept by the Rangers, Seattle’s starting rotation all has minuscule ERAs, with Jason Vargas at 3.68 being the high mark.

Wedge has endured this before while leading the Indians rebuilding project.

“I know it’s going to get better. Anytime you went through it before it helps you the next time you go through it,” Wedge said. “The first time I went through this it was more drastic in so many different ways. I think the one thing you have to realize is we’re not playing bad baseball, we’re just not hitting at all.

“This will make them tougher, and they’ve got to get tougher.”

French rider Thomas Voeckler led the Tour de France after the second and final race rest day as the pack heads out on the hilly 16th stage from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap, with title contenders hoping to save energy before hard days in the Alps later this week.

The 32-year-old Voeckler has had the lead since the crash-marred ninth stage.

Barring an accident, Voeckler should still be in yellow after the 101-mile route that includes only one significant climb, the col de Manse, near the finish.

The fast run-in to Gap takes the 170 remaining riders down the La Rochette descent made famous in 2003 when Spanish rider Joseba Beloki took a nasty fall on sticky tarmac, forcing Lance Armstrong to swerve dramatically and dash across a bumpy field to rejoin the race.

While standout Brazilian sprinter Cesar Cielo waits for his status to be determined by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it is obvious where the Dutch stand in the women’s signature events at the world swimming championships.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo, who has overcome a recent serious bout of meningitis, is among the favorites next week for the 50- and 100-meter freestyle races and will team with Frederike Heemskerk, Inge Dekker and Marleen Veldhuis in the 400 freestyle relay.

The four women have won the relay at the last two major international meets — the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 worlds in Rome — when they also set the world record.

They’re the latest in a long line of Dutch sprinting standouts, starting with the likes of Pieter van den Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn — who won a combined 15 Olympic medals at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games.

“We’re long and tall people — maybe that’s good for sprinting freestyle,” Veldhuis said.

The historic legacy also helps.

“As a little child I was sitting in front of the TV watching Pieter and Inge de Bruijn,” Kromowidjojo said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Now they’re retired, but a few years ago I was training with them, so it was really nice and awesome to swim with your idols.”

The 20-year-old Kromowidjojo and Veldhuis, who is returning from a maternity leave, train together at the Pieter van den Hoogenband swim stadium in Eindhoven, and “VdH” still checks in on his former teammates from time to time.

Dutch head coach Jacco Verhaeren is the link between old and new generations, having coached van den Hoogenband for 15 years.

“In all club teams in the Netherlands the top event is 50 and 100 freestyle, so there’s a lot of focus on it — maybe a little bit too much, to be honest,” said Verhaeren, who would like to see his younger swimmers branch out into other events.

In such a small country, however, it’s difficult to excel in every discipline.

“If we can choose, we choose 50 and 100 freestyle and the relays,” Verhaeren said.

Kromowidjojo is the Dutch team’s budding star. She swept the 50 and 100 frees at the short-course worlds in Dubai in December for her first major international individual titles.

However, Britta Steffen — the German who won the sprints in both Beijing and Rome — did not compete in Dubai, so it’s difficult to pick favorites here.

“It’s a very close race — Therese Alshammar, Marleen Veldhius, Britta Steffen, me — so I don’t see myself as the favorite and I don’t think there is one favorite,” Kromowidjojo said.

Other top sprinters include Francesca Halsall of Britain, Jeanette Ottessen of Denmark, and Americans Natalie Coughlin and Jessica Hardy.

Kromowidjojo’s father is from Suriname and his grandparents came from Indonesia, but Ranomi was born and raised in the Netherlands.

“She’s a completely typical Dutch girl,” Verhaeren said.

She pronounces her name “just how you write it,” as she likes to say.

Kromowidjojo’s victories in Dubai were all the more impressive considering that she was struck with meningitis midway through last year, forcing her out of the European championships in Budapest.

“It was really serious, I was really ill,” Kromowidjojo said. “I didn’t swim for seven weeks, but after I recovered really fast and two, three months later we had Europeans (short course) and I had four gold medals and four weeks later we had worlds (short course). It was amazing.”

Meningitis is an infection of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, and at one point Kromowidjojo was wondering if she would ever swim again.

“Yes, everything is in your head. Maybe I cannot swim, maybe I cannot walk. You hear stories like people are deaf or cannot work anymore or nothing be the same as they were,” she said.

Fortunately for Kromowidjojo, the illness left her with no disabilities. It did, perhaps, give her more motivation.

On her right wrist, Kromowidjojo has a tattoo featuring the Chinese character for water, the No. 1 and the letter ‘K’ for her relay gold in Beijing. She’ll be looking to add another tattoo in Shanghai — and lead her teammates to gold in the relay.

Cielo hopes to have a chance to win gold here, too. The world title holder in the men’s 50 and 100 freestyle races, Cielo is awaiting a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing after testing positive to a banned diuretic, furosemide.

Swimming’s governing body FINA challenged a Brazilian federation decision to give Cielo and three teammates only a warning after testing positive in May. Cielo blamed his positive test on a contaminated batch of a food supplement he regularly used.

The hearing will begin Wednesday in Shanghai. A decision is expected by Friday, two days before the Sunday start of the eight-day pool swimming program.

The Milwaukee Brewers are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Miller Park by asking fans what they love about it.

Officials want fans to share photos of themselves with family or friends and in 100 words or less describe their favorite reasons to come Miller Park. Entry into the contest runs through July 29.

The Brewers will select six finalists and host an online vote the first week of August to determine the Grand Prize winner who’ll receive two 20-game ticket packages in the Loge Outfield Box next season.

The five other finalists will be awarded another prize that includes things like game tickets, autographed jerseys or a $100 shopping spree to the Brewers team store when the winner is announced Aug. 8.

___

Online: http://www.brewers.com/whatilove

Sean Rodriguez’s foul ball brought about a strange delay.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ second baseman hit a ball in the eighth inning of Sunday night’s game against Boston that broke a light on an overhanging catwalk down the third-base line.

Parts of the light dropped to the playing surface in foul ground between third base and the Boston bullpen. No one was hit by the debris, which took around three minutes to clean up.

Rodriguez struck out in the at-bat against Boston starter Josh Beckett.

Matee Ajavon scored 27 points and the Washington Mystics overcame a 24-point deficit, completing the largest second-half comeback in WNBA history, with a 89-85 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.

The Mystics (3-10) trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and were down by 14 heading into the fourth quarter before surging back. Washington scored the first five points of overtime to go ahead 82-77 on Marissa Coleman’s layup.

“The whole time, we were confident we could come back,” Ajavon said. “And our coach is confident in us, and we have faith as well. We just fought the whole way through.”

Detroit owned the previous record, coming back from a 21-point deficit on two occasions. The Shock achieved the feat against Indiana on June 9, 2004 and versus Chicago on Sept. 12, 2009.

Crystal Langhorne finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Coleman added 10 and nine boards for Washington, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

Washington was one point shy of matching the all-time WNBA comeback, set by Detroit against Los Angeles on June 26, 2005.

“With this team, I’m not surprised by anything,” Langhorne said. “It just shows how much heart we have as a team. We’re always gonna fight back.”

The Mystics, who scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime, went ahead for the first time since the opening quarter when Coleman’s 3-pointer made it 73-70 with 1:40 remaining in regulation.

Kristi Toliver led the Sparks (6-7) with 21 points, while Jantel Lavender had 13.

Toliver’s two free throws put the Sparks up 51-27 with 8:45 left in the third quarter, matching the game’s largest lead and putting her squad in line for a third straight win. But Washington’s 64 points on 58 percent shooting after halftime would erase the deficit completely.

“The second half, we started playing slower and they were really aggressive,” Toliver said. “It’s extremely disappointing for us to just give the game away like this.”

The Mystics used a 9-0 run early in the fourth to trim the lead to single-digits and followed with a spurt on 10 unanswered points minutes later to tie things up 70-70

Sparks guard Ticha Penicheiro stole the ball and made two free throws with 24 seconds to go for the 77-75 advantage. Ajavon then milked the clock and was fouled on a jumper with 3.4 seconds left. She hit both freebies to level the score again.

The Sparks had a chance to win it but Tina Thompson missed a driving layup before the horn sounded.

Coleman’s 3-pointer in the extra session capped five straight points to put the Mystics up by five. The Sparks went scoreless the first 2:49 of overtime, eventually scoring on Toliver’s layup to get within 82-79. But they would get no closer.

The loss was the Sparks’ first in three games under Joe Bryant, who was promoted from assistant to head coach after the team fired Jennifer Gillom on July 10.

Majestic City drew away in the final sixteenth of a mile to beat Brigand by 2¼ lengths and win Sunday’s $100,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship on closing day of Hollywood Park.

Imponente Purse won the $100,000 Sunset Handicap and Bob Baffert won his first training title at the track’s spring-summer meet, while Joel Rosario won the riding title.

Ridden by David Flores, Majestic City ran six furlongs in 1:10.45 and paid $3.80, $2.60 and $2.10. The 2-year-old colt is undefeated in three career races with earnings of $135,570.

Majestic City overcame some anxious moments in the paddock before the race.

“He got startled by the crowd in the paddock and he sucked back and lost his footing,” trainer Peter Miller said. “He didn’t flip over, but he kind of fell sideways. He got real antsy behind the starting gate, which he had never done before. So we’ve got more schooling to do with him, but the way everything is going, we’re happy.”

Brigand returned $4 and $2.20, while Night Tide was another 1¼ lengths back in third and paid $2.20 to show.

In the Sunset Handicap, Imponente Purse ran 1½ miles on the turf in 2:26.65 to win by 1¾ lengths and snap a seven-race losing streak. Jockey Chantal Sutherland won her fourth stakes race of the meet.

Imponente Purse paid $7.60, $4 and $2.60. The 5-year-old has four wins in 19 career starts and earned $188,627.

Falcon Rock returned $5 and $2.80, while 3-2 favorite Celtic New Year was another 1¾ lengths back in third and paid $2.20 to show.

Nyjah Huston has become the first pro skateboarder to win three straight Street League contests.

The 16-year-old Huston, from Davis, Calif., easily finished ahead of Ryan Sheckler and Chris Cole in the field of 10 on Sunday. He earned $150,000, bringing his season total to $450,000. In two seasons of Street League, he’s won more than $700,000.

Huston had already qualified for the $200,000, winner-take-all Street League Championship on Aug. 28 in Newark, N.J.

Huston won the overall tour standings last year, winning the first stop and finishing third at the other two stops.

Street League was founded by pro skateboarder and MTV star Rob Dyrdek.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon was thrown out of Sunday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox during a pitching change — and his bench coach soon followed.

Maddon was ejected by plate umpire Chad Fairchild in the 11th inning. Maddon was on the mound with several players and appeared to make comments about balls and strikes toward Fairchild.

Later in the 11th, a fan ran onto the playing surface and was tackled by security guards in center field after a brief chase.

The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs but couldn’t score. The threat ended when Marco Scutaro fouled out to catcher Kelly Shoppach. Scutaro slammed his bat to the ground and it ended up between Shoppach and the stands.

Tampa Bay bench coach Dave Martinez rushed out to complain about the bat throwing and was ejected by Fairchild.

A civil court judge has ordered swimmer Nick D’Arcy to pay at least $190,000 in damages to former Commonwealth Games champion Simon Cowley, who was injured in a bar room fight in 2008.

D’Arcy was convicted in a criminal court in 2009 of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to Cowley — causing fractures to his jaw, eye socket, cheekbone and nose — but his 14-month jail sentence was suspended, meaning he did not spend any time in prison.

D’Arcy was also kicked off Australia’s team for the Beijing Olympics and was not allowed to compete in the 2009 world championships.

Alberto Contador knows he is running out of time, and stages, to close the gap on his Tour de France rivals.

The Spaniard says this year’s race is “probably the hardest Tour I’ve done,” with a combination of bad luck and a nagging knee injury having conspired to made it difficult for him to launch his trademark attacks in the mountains.

A fourth Tour title is still within Contador’s grasp, but he must find a way to claw back from a four-minute deficit on race leader Thomas Voeckler. He’s also lost time to Andy and Frank Schleck and two-time runner-up Cadel Evans.

Contador says his Saxo Bank team “need to attack, that’s for sure,” in the high climbs of the Alps later this week.

Warm conditions will almost certainly be a factor for the open water swimming events at the world championships. A tight 90-degree turn 200 meters into each race could prove more challenging.

“When you have 56 people diving in off a dock straight into a turn, there’s going to be some contact. I’ve never seen that before,” said United States open water coach Jack Fabian, whose daughter Eva will be among the competitors in the women’s 10-kilometer race that opens the competition Tuesday.

“I don’t think it’s a great idea. There’s a chance for injury,” added Fabian, who was among several coaches who expressed concern during a pre-race meeting Monday.

However, swimming governing body FINA and local organizers said it wouldn’t be a problem.

“They’re pretty confident in the course design,” Fabian said. “But you’re really going to have to get into good position for that first turn. It’s going to be like a bunch of horses, and nobody wants to see one of their horses get hurt.”

Safety has become a major concern in open water swimming following the death of American Fran Crippen in the United Arab Emirates last year. Organizers here have also unveiled a high-tech sonar system to quickly locate any swimmer that drops below the surface.

Crippen, a six-time U.S. national champion, died in October near the end of a 10K World Cup event in warm temperatures. No one noticed him slip beneath the surface and his body was not found until two hours later.

FINA has arranged early morning start times for the races but the water temperature is still expected near the newly recommended limit of 88 degrees.

“It’s warm, but I think the athletes are prepared for that,” Fabian said. “It looks like the conditions will be within the guidelines.”

Racers will be monitored by 12 safety boats at Jinshan City Beach, which is located about an hour’s drive from Shanghai. It’s a 1-square mile, man-made embankment, with sea water pumped in through a floodgate. The sea water is supposed to turn clear after treatment.

Keri-Anne Payne of Britain won at the last full worlds in Rome two years ago, while Italians Martina Grimaldi and Giorgia Consiglio placed 1-2 at the open water worlds last year in Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec.

Angela Maurer of Germany and Poliana Okimoto of Brazil are also challengers, while the United States will be represented by Christine Jennings.

The top 10 finishers in the 10K events will qualify for next year’s London Olympics, where the only open water races will be the 10Ks.

“There’s probably about 16 people that could be in the top 10, if not more,” Fabian said.

The men’s 10-kilometer event is Wednesday, with 2009 winner Thomas Lurz of Germany and 2010 champion Valerio Cleri of Italy among the favorites.

Racing continues in Jinshan with a 5-kilometer team event Thursday, men’s and women’s 5K races Friday and the marathon 25-kilometer events Saturday.

Start times for the 25-kilometer races have been moved an hour earlier to 7 a.m. for men and 7:15 a.m. for women to avoid warmer conditions in the afternoon.

Many competitors will try to recover in time for some of the pool events next week, namely the 1,500-meter freestyle.

The streaking Boston Red Sox worked some serious overtime for their latest victory.

Dustin Pedroia singled with two outs in the top of the 16th inning, snapping a scoreless tie and giving the AL East leaders a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night.

Josh Beckett and five relievers combined to pitch a three-hitter for the Red Sox, who won for the eighth time in nine games, retaining a 1½-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the division.

Pedroia lined a single to right field off Adam Russell (1-2), driving in Josh Reddick from third base. Reddick drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on Marco Scutaro’s infield hit.

“I just wanted to go home. I think everybody did,” said Pedroia, who was 3 for 7 while the remainder of the Red Sox went 2 of 45 against nine Tampa Bay pitchers.

“They threw the ball outstanding all night and we did, too. It was a great game. I’m just happy we won.”

Alfredo Aceves (5-1) pitched three scoreless innings for the win. Jonathan Papelbon worked the bottom of the 16th for his 21st save in 22 opportunities.

It was the longest 1-0 game in the major leagues since the Brewers at Angels on June 8, 2004, went 17 innings, according to STATS LLC. The longest 1-0 game ever was 24 innings between the Mets and Astros in 1968.

Both teams got outstanding performances from their starting pitchers, with Beckett allowing one hit — an infield single — and Tampa Bay’s Jeff Niemann limiting the Red Sox’s potent lineup to pair of singles through eight innings. They both also wasted opportunities to win it long before it ended after 5 hours, 44 minutes — the longest by time in Rays history.

Beckett limited the Rays to one hit in a 3-0 complete game shutout at Tropicana Field last month, and the All-Star right-hander was equally tough on them this time.

Reid Brignac’s third-inning, infield single was Tampa Bay’s lone hit off Beckett on June 15. Evan Longoria’s grounder back to the mound bounced off the pitcher’s right foot with two outs in the first and was the only blemish on his pitching line Sunday as he struck out six and retired the last 22 batters he faced.

Niemann was almost as good while working a season-high eight innings, allowing a two-out single to Adrian Gonzalez in the first and Pedroia’s single down the left field line leading off the fourth. The 6-foot-9 right-hander walked Reddick with one out in the fifth and Scutaro with two outs in the eighth, fanned a career-high 10 and didn’t allow a runner past second base.

Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 15 games, one shy of his career best. He’s also reached base in 27 consecutive games dating to June 15, the longest current stretch in the majors.

“By that time it’s not just physical, but it’s mentally draining,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Pedroia’s winning hit. “That’s probably the one guy you know is going to figure out a way.”

Both teams wasted opportunities to win it in the ninth.

The Red Sox loaded the bases on Pedroia’s double and two walks before reliever Kyle Farnsworth escaped by getting Reddick to fly to center field. Longoria flied to right, sending the game into extra innings after Boston’s Daniel Bard gave up a two-out single to Johnny Damon and walked Ben Zobrist in the bottom of the ninth.

Sean Rodriguez had Tampa Bay’s third hit, a leadoff single in the bottom of the 11th.

“We shut them down for 16 innings, that’s pretty impressive,” Pedroia said. “One run scored in 16 innings, that’s unbelieveable.”

Boston narrowly missed going ahead when Gonzalez lined a pitch toward the left field corner that tailed into foul territory in the 10th, then failed to score after loading the bases with no outs on three walks in the 11th. Jake McGee struck out Reddick and Cruz fanned Varitek and got Scutaro to foul out to get out of the inning.

Rays manager Joe Maddon and bench coach Dave Martinez were ejected by plate umpire Chad Fairchild during the 11th inning. Maddon was tossed during a pitching change, leaving Martinez to lead the Rays. Martinez was ejected after leaving the dugout to have words with Fairchild after Scutaro slammed his bat to the ground in frustration after popping up.

The bat bounded toward catcher Kelly Shoppach, but did not prevent him from making the catch.

The Red Sox improved to 12-2 since June 30, hiking the best record in the AL to 57-36. The third-place Rays have lost 9 of 15 to fall a season-high seven games off the pace in the division.

“It was a nice win. It was a long win,” Francona said. “But they don’t give us extra credit.”

Beckett was scratched from the All-Star game in Phoenix last Tuesday night after feeling soreness in his left knee while warming up in the bullpen. The right-hander pitched just five innings in his last start before the break against Baltimore after slightly hyperextending his knee on a wet mound at Fenway Park.

Since spending six weeks on the DL because of lower back strain, Niemann has turned his season around with four strong performances over five starts since his return on June 20 against Milwaukee. In six starts prior to going on the DL, he went 1-4 with a 5.74 ERA.

NOTES: Gonzalez went 1 for 15 in the series, dropping his batting average 12 points to Boston manager Terry Francona said LF Carl Crawford (strained left hamstring) will be in the starting lineup for Monday night’s game at Baltimore. He finished a two-game rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday. … Tampa Bay RF Matt Joyce was scratched from the starting lineup because of a sore knee. The first-time All-Star was injured when he fouled a ball off his right kneecap during the fifth inning Saturday. He pinch hit in the ninth against Bard and lined out. … Red Sox LHP Jon Lester (strained back muscle) is scheduled to rejoin the rotation a week from Tuesday and pitch against Kansas City. … David Ortiz had no news about his appeal of a four-game suspension stemming from Boston’s bench-clearing melee with Baltimore on July 8. The slugger thinks he could get an update Monday.

Warm conditions will almost certainly be a factor for the open water swimming events in the world championships.

Swimming governing body FINA has arranged early morning start times for the races that start Tuesday, but the water temperature is still expected near the newly recommended limit of 88 degrees (31 Celsius) — part of a series of measures adopted following the death of American swimmer Fran Crippen in the United Arab Emirates last year.

The venue at Jinshan City Beach is about an hour drive from Shanghai. It’s a square-mile, man-made embankment, with sea water pumped in through a floodgate. The sea water is supposed to turn clear after treatment.

Crippen, a six-time U.S. national champion, died near the end of a 10-kilometer marathon World Cup event in warm temperatures. No one noticed him slip beneath the surface and his body wasn’t found until two hours later.

Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones is set to be arraigned in a Cincinnati court on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

The 27-year-old’s scheduled arraignment Monday stems from his July 10 arrest in Cincinnati. Court documents accuse Jones of being disorderly and shouting profanities at a downtown bar and trying to pull away as officers arrested him.

The charges add to a list of off-the-field troubles that have marred his career. Those include at least six arrests and a dozen instances involving police intervention.

Jones denied the allegations to WCPO-TV after leaving jail and said he hadn’t been drinking. Jones was wearing a neck brace as he recovers from a neck injury last fall that required surgery.

The Bengals have declined to comment.

The last of 12 walks cost the Tampa Bay Rays in a marathon loss.

Dustin Pedroia singled with two outs in the top of the 16th inning, snapping a scoreless tie and giving the Boston Red Sox a 1-0 victory over the Rays on Sunday night.

“I’d say this is probably the toughest loss of the year, to know that our pitching kept us in the whole game,” Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton said.

Pedroia lined a single to right field off Adam Russell (1-2), driving in Josh Reddick from third base. Reddick drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on Marco Scutaro’s infield hit.

“Anytime you have a leadoff walk it’s a recipe for disaster,” Russell said. “It just can’t happen that late in a game.”

Nine Tampa Bay pitcher combined for 12 walks and 16 strikeouts. Rays’ hitters drew just one walk and fanned 13 times.

“It’s never fun to lose a game like that,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “You use a lot of pitchers and a lot of emotion, but I’m really proud of the way our boys handled tonight.”

Maddon and bench coach Dave Martinez were ejected by plate umpire Chad Fairchild during the 11th inning. Maddon was tossed during a pitching change, leaving Martinez to lead the Rays. Martinez was ejected after leaving the dugout to have words with Fairchild after Scutaro slammed his bat to the ground in frustration after popping up.

The bat bounded toward catcher Kelly Shoppach, but didn’t prevent him from making the catch.

The Red Sox improved to 12-2 since June 30, hiking the best record in the AL to 57-36. The third-place Rays have lost nine of 15 to fall a season-high seven games off the pace in the division.

“My takeaway is that we can beat the Red Sox and they know it,” Maddon said. “My takeaway from the 1-0 loss to the Yankees the other day (last Sunday) is that we can beat the Yankees and they know it. We’re not going away. It’s just a temporary inconvenience right now.”

Josh Beckett and five relievers combined to pitch a three-hitter for the Red Sox, who won for the eighth time in nine games, retaining a 1½-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.

Alfredo Aceves (5-1) pitched three scoreless innings for the win. Jonathan Papelbon worked the bottom of the 16th for his 21st save in 22 opportunities.

It was the longest 1-0 game in the major leagues since the Brewers at Angels on June 8, 2004, went 17 innings, according to STATS LLC. The longest 1-0 game ever was 24 innings between the Mets and Astros in 1968.

Both teams got outstanding performances from their starting pitchers, with Beckett allowing one hit — an infield single — and Tampa Bay’s Jeff Niemann limiting the Red Sox’s potent lineup to pair of singles through eight innings. They both also wasted opportunities to win it long before it ended after five hours, 44 minutes — the longest by time in Rays franchise history.

Beckett limited the Rays to one hit in a 3-0 complete game shutout at Tropicana Field last month, and the All-Star right-hander was equally tough on them this time.

Reid Brignac’s third-inning, infield single was Tampa Bay’s lone hit off Beckett on June 15. Evan Longoria’s grounder back to the mound bounced off the pitcher’s right foot with two outs in the first and was the only blemish on his pitching line Sunday as he struck out six and retired the last 22 batters he faced.

Niemann was almost as good while working a season-high eight innings, allowing a two-out single to Adrian Gonzalez in the first and Pedroia’s single down the left field line leading off the fourth. The 6-foot-9 right-hander walked Reddick with one out in the fifth and Scutaro with two outs in the eighth, fanned a career-high 10 and didn’t allow a runner past second base.

“Everything considered it was a great baseball game,” Niemann said. “It’s really unfortunate we came up on the short side of it.

Pedroia finished with three of the Red Sox’s five hits. The rest of the team was 2-for-45.

Since spending six weeks on the DL with a lower back strain, Niemann has turned his season around with four strong performances over five starts since his return on June 20 against Milwaukee. In six starts prior to going on the DL, he went 1-4 with a 5.74 ERA.

NOTES: Tampa Bay RF Matt Joyce was scratched from the starting lineup because of a sore knee. The first-time All-Star was injured when he fouled a ball off his right kneecap during the fifth inning Saturday. He pinch hit in the ninth against Bard and lined out. … The Rays didn’t have a runner reach third. … Tampa Bay C Jose Lobaton was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game because of a sprained left knee. C Robinson Chirinos was recalled from Triple-A Durham.

Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart delivered quite the 1-2 punch in New Hampshire.

Newman and Stewart started first and second. They crossed the finish line that way, too.

Not a bad way to stamp Stewart-Haas Racing as an organization that intends to be in the hunt for Chase spots.

Newman held off Stewart, his boss and teammate, Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his first victory of the season.

“We’ll relish this moment and figure out what we did right so we can keep doing it,” Newman said.

Newman and Stewart made it the first front-row start for SHR in qualifying Friday and they followed up with first- and second-place finishes for the first time on race day. It was a banner weekend for SHR, and Newman and Stewart have jostled themselves in position to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Even the usually gruff Stewart enjoyed this celebration.

“It was a perfect day for the organization for sure,” Stewart said.

It was needed, too.

Newman won for the first time since April 2010 in Phoenix and Stewart earned only his second top-five of the season. It was a pair of near-flawless runs for the drivers as they gear up for a championship run.

Stewart joked that he asked for just one day where something didn’t go wrong with the race teams. They got it on a day when only four of the top-10 drivers in the points standings had a top-10 finish.

“It’s no secret we’ve been struggling this year,” Stewart said. “But it really shows me the depth of the people we got in our organization. It’s been one of the weirdest years as far as weird things and bad luck happening to both of us.”

Newman became the 13th driver to win in Sprint Cup this year, matching the total from last season after only 19 of 36 races.

Only seven races remain until the Chase field is set. The top-10 drivers automatically earn a spot. Two spots in the Chase will go to the winningest drivers ranked between 11 and 20.

Stewart is peeking outside the contenders in 11th place. Newman is in eighth.

“It puts us in a lot better position that’s for sure,” Newman said.

Newman was at home in New Hampshire’s Victory Lane. He also won the Modified Tour race Saturday.

He choked up after taking the checkered flag as he dedicated the victory to the military and a close friend who died of cancer. There was a catch in his voice as he talked about the friend who died in April. Newman wears a bracelet in his honor.

Newman drives the No. 39 Chevrolet for the U.S. Army and there was a healthy military presence in Victory Lane and at his news conference.

“I told him I was proud of him and it was a great day for our organization, great day for the Army,” Stewart said.

Newman carried the burden of trying to win for so many supporters, especially Stewart. But ease up because his boss was on his bumper? Never.

“He was the one I didn’t mind seeing in my mirror,” Newman said.

He also saw the rest of the field. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.

Hamlin nipped at Newman late and made a serious push until fuel concerns forced him to ease off.

“As bad as I wanted to go up there and race those guys, I had to make the smart move and finish the race,” he said.

Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who finished 11th, both rallied from major setbacks for strong finishes. Kyle Busch, who started the race as the points leader, had tire issues, was forced to the garage and finished 36th.

Carl Edwards finished 13th and retook the points lead.

With some of the top drivers scuffling, Newman and Stewart stayed out front down the stretch. Newman led 119 of the 301 laps for his 15th career Cup victory and third at New Hampshire.

Newman’s major concern was stretching his fuel tank over the long, sweeping corners to the end. Crew chief Tony Gibson warned him several times he was running low and to conserve gas.

“I didn’t think he was going to make it,” Gibson said.

Stewart shared those concerns.

“I don’t mind running second and having him win the race, versus us winning the race and him running out of fuel,” Stewart said. “This is a much more gratifying weekend for me.”

More gratifying, yes. Perhaps just as puzzling, though, as why the duo have failed to find the winning combination before this weekend. Whatever they hit on worked and the off weekend before the Brickyard 400 should be a fun one.

“We need to sit down and figure out why this weekend was so great,” Newman said.

They need more great ones ahead if they want to race for the title in September.

China claimed its third gold medal and fourth overall in diving at the world championships, with Li Shixin winning the men’s 1-meter competition.

Li’s teammate, He Min, claimed the silver medal Monday, giving the host country four medals in three diving events so far.

Pavlo Rozenberg of Germany took the bronze.

Li totaled 463.90 points in the six-dive final of the non-Olympic event. He had 444.00 and Rozenberg 436.50.

American Chris Colwill was fourth — 9.35 points out of a medal — and his teammate Aaron Fleshner ninth.

Boats and a helicopter searched northern Lake Michigan on Monday for two people who went missing when their sailboat capsized during the annual Chicago-to-Mackinac Island race, the Coast Guard said.

The crew of a competing boat, Sociable, notified the Coast Guard early Monday that the 35-foot sailboat, WingNuts, capsized near the Fox islands, west of Charlevoix, during the Chicago Yacht Club’s annual Race to Mackinac, Petty Officer George Degener said. Charlevoix is about 270 miles northeast of Chicago, on the eastern coast of Lake Michigan.

The Sociable crew said eight people aboard WingNuts went into the water, and that they recovered six of them, according to the Coast Guard. All six of the people recovered were wearing life preservers, and they were taken to the Coast Guard station in Charlevoix for evaluation, the agency said.

Authorities did not release the names of the missing crew members. WingNuts is based in Saginaw, and seven of the eight crewmembers registered for the race are from Michigan, including three from Midland, two from Saginaw, and one each from Ann Arbor and Grandville, according to the race website. One of the crewmembers is from Chicago.

The Coast Guard located the overturned boat and was searching the surrounding area in boats and a helicopter. Thunderstorms had reportedly moved through the area overnight, and the air and water temperatures early Monday were in the low 70s, with 4- to 6-foot waves.

On their website, race organizers said the tracking system racers and fans use to follow the competition online failed, and that the Coast Guard was closely monitoring the fleet and reporting positional information to race officials.

Degener said the tracking system’s failure did not hinder or delay rescue efforts, and the Coast Guard said in a news release that a private company that monitors locator beacons notified it that two beacons aboard WingNuts had been activated.

According to the race website, 355 boats and roughly 3,500 crew members took part in this year’s race, which starts at Chicago’s Navy Pier and finishes off of Mackinac Island, near where lakes Michigan and Huron meet. The first race was held in 1898, and organizers began holding it every year starting in 1921. This year’s race is the 103rd running.

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Online:

http://www.cycracetomackinac.com/

A Greek court has formally opened the appeal trial of sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, convicted of faking a motorcycle crash after missing a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The two were found guilty of perjury in May over the scandal — a major embarrassment to the host nation — and given suspended 31-month jail sentences that they immediately appealed.

Neither athlete was present in the Athens appeals court Monday, and the case was adjourned for Thursday because of the court’s workload.

The May court decision also sentenced the athletes’ coach, Christos Tzekos, to 33 months in jail. Seven state hospital doctors who treated the runners and two people who said they witnessed the alleged crash were given sentences of between six and 15 months. All the sentences were suspended.

Natalia Ischenko of Russia won her second gold medal in synchronized swimming at the world championships, teaming with Svetlana Romashina to win the duet technical final Monday a night after taking the solo gold.

Ischenko and Romashina finished with 98.200 points.

China’s Huang Xuechen and Liu Ou won the silver in 96.500 and Spain’s Ona Carbonell and Andrea Fuentes placed third with a score of 95.400.

Lil Kiara held off Little Stitch by a half-length to win the $65,000 Spruce Fir Handicap at Monmouth Park on Sunday.

Carlos H. Marquez Jr. guided Lil Kiara over the mile and 70 yards in 1:42 3/5 on a fast track.

The 4-year-old filly returned $6.00, $3.80 and $2.60, Little Stitch paid $8.60 and $5.20, and Ms Glory Be was another seven lengths back in third and earned $3.00.

It was the fourth win in 14 career starts for the Cathal Lynch-trained Lil Kiara, who has earned $246,445.

Jeff Gordon battled with his alternator and blew a tire on the last lap.

He somehow finished 11th Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in perhaps his wildest race of the season.

“It was a pretty crazy day for us,” Gordon said.

Gordon led 19 laps, fell as far back as 35th, then rallied to run up front with the leaders. If not for a bad alternator, Gordon might have won his 85th career Sprint Cup race. He had one of the fastest cars out there when the No. 24 Chevrolet was on full power. It was just keeping running perfectly that was a problem.

Gordon radioed, “We’re done. I’ve got no power,” early in the race and plummeted a lap down to 35th. He turned off his air conditioner and brake fans — which likely caused the blown tire — to conserve energy.

His battery was swapped multiple times on pit stops, making the 11th-place finish even more impressive. Gordon was fourth entering the final lap until the tire blew.

“My goodness the car was so good,” Gordon said.

Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson would rather deal with these issues now than during the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Gordon has two wins and is seventh in the points, making him a near-lock to qualify for the 10-race Chase. The second Chase race is back in New Hampshire — and Gordon believes if they can work out the kinks, he can win.

“You have to survive these races in a lot of different ways,” the four-time Cup champ said. “So it was a challenging day in a lot of ways. But it was certainly something. We’re excited about coming back here later in the year to this race track. Our car was fast.”

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EARLY EXITS: Kyle Busch went from hitting the 100-win mark to hitting the wall.

One day after winning his 100th career NASCAR race, Busch blew a tire and slammed into the wall only 60 laps into the race. Busch’s grip on the points lead evaporated and he dropped to fifth. He returned to the race 76 laps down. Busch completed 224 laps and finished 36th.

“Kind of knew things weren’t going to go our way today,” Busch said. “Woke up and everything went wrong that could go wrong. Pretty much seemed right.”

Busch won the Nationwide Series race Saturday to join the 100-win club. Only Richard Petty and David Pearson have hit that milestone in NASCAR.

Brad Keselowski had similar problems when he wrecked with a blown tire. Keselowski finished 35th and his chance at qualifying for the Chase took a serious blow. He’s in 23rd place, and is in bad need of a victory — or more.

“I was pushing a little too hard, but that’s what you’ve got to do,” Keselowski said. “You have to stay in front and try to save our day. It wasn’t meant to be and ended up blowing a tire, probably from brake heat.”

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SUMMER SHOWDOWN: NASCAR title sponsor Sprint announced a $3 million prize as a potential payoff during a six-week race showdown.

Any driver who wins one of the five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events between Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway will become a finalist for the $3 million Sprint Summer Showdown payout on Labor Day Weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

If one of those five drivers wins at Atlanta, then the driver, the driver’s charity and one race fan will each collect $1 million. For contest rules and additional information, visit sprint.com/speed.

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PAGING GOLDEN TATE: Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate was ripped by NASCAR fans after a series of Twitter posts last week stating drivers weren’t athletes. Jimmie Johnson, the victim of his first barb, found humor in the posts, but strongly disagreed this weekend with Tate’s stance. Tate eventually backed down and apologized.

Are drivers athletes?

It’s a question elite racers have always dealt with.

Winner Ryan Newman poked a little fun at his profession after more than three hours baking in his car. He said he welcomed the upcoming week off before the Brickyard 400 on July 31.

“Doing what we do, you’ll take a week off any time you can get it,” he said. “This is a demanding sport. I don’t know that we’re athletes, but this is a demanding sport.”

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PIT STOPS: Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Bruton Smith and track general manager Jerry Gappens told fans at a QA they’d like to see a night race at New Hampshire. Gappens said “the wheels are in motion” for pursuing lights. Smith was asked about his favorite driver. He said “41 of the 43,” while refusing to name them. Smith said he “just didn’t like” two drivers in NASCAR. … Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney mingled with the drivers before the race. “Let’s take a picture together!” said excited driver Jamie McMurray. Romney also chatted with Brian Vickers. … Clint Bowyer made his 200th career start.

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Follow Dan Gelston on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APgelston

Danielle McCray is beginning to show why she was such a high draft choice.

McCray scored a career-high 22 points in her second career start Sunday, leading the Connecticut Sun to a 76-71 win over the Indiana Fever.

“”When we drafted her we felt she had a chance to be a really good player but when you come in as a rookie I think it’s important to give them as much as they can take and let them find their way and then when you know matured, then you kind of let them have more,” Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said.

The Sun took McCray as the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2010 draft. She missed last season with a knee injury she sustained during her senior year at Kansas.

“My teammates found be on the weak side and when I had the ball, I knocked it down. They were cheating inside because when we have a good post player like Tina Charles, the other team is going to double-team her,” McCray said. “So when they were doubling on Tina, Coach Thibault put me on the back side and I knocked the shots down.”

Tina Charles added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun (8-5) who are the lone team in the Eastern Conference undefeated at home (6-0).

Tamika Catchings led Indiana with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Indiana (10-5) trailed 72-65 with 39 seconds remaining before Jessica Davenport made two free throws. Catchings stole the ensuing inbounds pass and assisted on Katie Douglas’ basket to cut it to 72-69 with 34 seconds left.

Connecticut guard Renee Montgomery made one of two free throws to push the Sun lead to four at 73-69. Catchings made a layup with 18 seconds left to make it 73-71 before Kalana Greene made one of two free throws to make it 74-71 with 18 seconds left.

The Fever had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but Catchings threw an errant pass to Douglas that went out of bounds with 7.7 seconds left.

Kara Lawson’s two free throws sealed it with 6.9 seconds remaining.

Montgomery added 10 points for the Sun, including six in the fourth period.

Douglas had 12 points and Davenport 10 for Indiana, which has lost two straight.

“Yeah, it’s a little bump, but we know that nothing is going to be gift wrapped and handed to us. We know that we are one of the most hunted teams in the WNBA and we are going to have to fight on the road even more,” Douglas said. “We would like to regroup and gather and go to Atlanta, a team we have not seen all season, we can make the adjustments we need to make and be ready to go on Tuesday.”

Boston left-hander Jon Lester could rejoin the rotation in about one week, while left fielder Carl Crawford will be back in the lineup Monday.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said before Sunday night’s game with Tampa Bay that Lester, on the 15-day disabled list since July 6 due to a strained muscle in his back, is scheduled to pitch one week from Tuesday against Kansas City.

Crawford, sidelined by a strained left hamstring, will return for the opener of a three-game series at Baltimore.

Lester, 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA this season, will have the first of three bullpen sessions Monday.

“He was actually aggravated,” Francona said. “He wanted to pitch Friday, so I think that’s good news.”

Crawford, placed on the DL June 18, signed a $142-million, seven-year deal with the Red Sox during the offseason. He is batting .243 with six homers, 31 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

“His batting average might be lower this year than we’re used to, but if he comes back for the last couple months and is, you know, the guy that causes havoc, what a lift,” Francona said.

Crawford completed a two-game minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket Saturday.

“He didn’t swing the bat great, but he was real healthy,” Francona said. “No issues physically. Felt really good, so that’s great.”

Banker’s Buy, the longest price in a field of five New York-bred fillies and mares, caught pacesetter Cody Samora in the stretch and drew away to a 2¾-length win on Sunday in the $58,800 Miss South Shore Stakes on closing day at Belmont Park.

John Velazquez was aboard for Nick Zito as the 5-year-old ran the mile in 1:36.91, notching her first win since July of last year.

Banker’s Buy paid $11, $4.80 and $3.20. Cody Samora returned $3.40 and $2.10 while Go Unbridled, $2.70, closed for third as the 2-1 favorite.

Racing shifts to Saratoga on Friday.

The Chicago Cubs thought Brett Hayes was out. Hayes thought he was safe, and second base umpire Lance Barrett agreed.

Good thing for the Florida Marlins that Barrett had the final call.

Hayes scored the go-ahead run on Greg Dobbs’ bases-loaded walk in Florida’s three-run eighth inning, and the Cubs lost 7-5 at Wrigley Field on Sunday.

Hanley Ramirez homered during Florida’s three-run first, belting a long solo drive for his ninth of the season. John Buck hit three singles and reached four times.

The Marlins went ahead for good during the wild eighth.

Mike Stanton started the inning with a strikeout but hustled to first when Wood’s fastball struck home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi in the mask and rolled back to the screen. Mike Cameron hit into a double play, but Wood hit Buck and walked pinch-hitter Wes Helms.

Hayes came in to run for Buck and nearly was picked off second, but second base umpire Lance Barrett ruled he was safe. Cubs manager Mike Quade ran onto the field to protest and replays suggested he had reason to complain.

“It’s getting tough to watch some of this,” Quade said. “I get bang-bang (plays). I have all the respect in the world for these (umpires). We’ve heard a lot of comments lately and I try to stay out of it, but there were a couple of calls in this series that were mind-boggling.”

Emilio Bonifacio then reached on an infield single, setting the table for Dobbs’ four-pitch walk against Wood (1-5). Logan Morrison then hit a two-run single to center that made it 7-4.

“Terrible, absolutely terrible,” Wood said about the call at second. “I didn’t make pitches after that obviously. … (Barrett) was right on it, right on top of it, and butchered it.”

Chicago (38-58) dropped three of four in the series to fall to 20 games under .500.

“It was not a good series for us, but we had company,” Quade said, referring to the umpires. “And I hope that as accountable as we need to be, those guys are being accountable.”

Hayes said he thought he was safe but Helms disagreed.

“He out. I can lead off first base and see you were out,” Helms said.

“Well apparently I was out,” Hayes responded.

Aramis Ramirez hit a two-out RBI double in the bottom half of the eighth but Randy Choate came in and got Carlos Pena to bounce out to end the inning. Leo Nunez allowed Marlon Byrd’s leadoff single in the ninth before retiring three straight for his 26th save.

Four Florida pitchers retired 20 straight batters after Darwin Barney’s single in the second, the streak ending with Starlin Castro’s two-out walk against Steve Cishek in the eighth.

Reed Johnson, Castro and Ramirez each doubled and scored during Chicago’s three-run first. Johnson added a sacrifice fly in the second.

Randy Wells allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings for Chicago. The right-hander has surrendered at least four runs in each of his last five starts and is winless since he beat Arizona in his first game of the season on April 4, a span of nine starts.

“(Wells) is nowhere near where we want him to be,” Quade said. “I thought he was better after the first inning.”

Wells’ first-inning problems continued on Sunday. He walked leadoff hitter Bonifacio and Dobbs followed with an opposite-field homer that landed in the basket in left-center.

“You warm up and come out and try to establish a plan,” Wells said. “It’s pretty obvious where it went wrong.”

One batter later, Ramirez launched a 3-2 pitch that nearly left Wrigley Field just a shade to the left of center. The ball landed behind the camera booth behind the batter’s eye.

Wells has allowed 13 first-inning runs in 10 starts this season, including five of the 10 homers he has surrendered.

“(Wells) battled to get through six,” Quade said. “Kept us in the game on a tough day to pitch. Wish we could have tacked on a few late.”

NOTES: The Marlins play at New York on Monday to make up a May 17 rainout. RHP Clay Hensley will start for the first time this season. He’s been on the disabled list since June 3 with a right shoulder sprain and before that pitched out of the Florida bullpen. McKeon said Hensley won’t be on a strict pitch count and will “go as long as he can go.” … Quade said before the game that he planned to give struggling closer Carlos Marmol another day off. Marmol, who has allowed six runs and walked six batters over his last 1 2-3 innings, is working with pitching coach Mark Riggins to iron out some mechanical issues. … Bonifacio extended his career-high hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single to start the fifth. It’s the longest active streak in the major leagues.