Ortmeier' Ninth-Inning Double Dooms Padres

First Series win in franchise history

(NEWSER) - The Rangers last night showed San Francisco that even their scores are bigger in Texas, notching their first victory in the World Series 4-2, after taking two beatings in California. Egged on by Rangers' royalty George W Bush and Nolan Ryan, the AP reports, Texas quickly slid into its comfort zone. "We wanted to get back home," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We knew we could finally put a good game together, and we did." More»

'I didn't know,' says player Eugenio Velez of spelling snafu

(NEWSER) - Outfielder Eugenio Velez made his season debut yesterday when his San Francicso Giants took on and beat the Houston Astros. That’s right—Velez played the whole game blissfully unaware that his jersey pegged him as a player from some mythical, misspelled version of the City by the Bay. “I didn’t know,” he tells the AP . “Increible!” And that’s not misspelled—it’s Spanish for “incredible.” More»

Controversial home run king won't find work, he finally admits

(NEWSER) - Barry Bonds will almost certainly never play again, his agent said today, finally admitting what had seemed a fait accompli. “If there was any chance he'd be back in a major-league uniform, it would have happened by now,” Jeff Borris tells the San Francisco Chronicle . “When 2008 came around, I couldn't get him a job. When 2009 came around, I couldn't get him a job. Now, 2010 ... I'd say it's nearly impossible. It's an unfortunate ending to a storied career.” More»

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/enhancedroster.jsp

(AP) - Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay were selected today as the starting pitchers for tomorrow night's All-Star game in St. Louis. Lincecum, last year's National League Cy Young Award winner, is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA for the San Francisco Giants; he got the nod from NL manager Charlie Manuel. Halladay, 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA for the Toronto Blue Jays, was chosen by American League manager Joe Maddon. More»

(AP) - Jonathan Sanchez, an unlikely candidate, pitched the majors' first no-hitter this season last night, dominating the San Diego Padres with an array of pitches in the San Francisco Giants' 8-0 victory. The 26-year-old left-hander returned to the rotation after a nearly 3-week demotion to the bullpen—and he only got the call because 303-game winner Randy Johnson went on the disabled list earlier this week with a shoulder injury. More»