Bumgarner pitched the entire game and allowed just one hit, striking out eight to bring up his 10th win of the season. It was a franchise record fourth consecutive shutout victory for the Giants which, coupled with a 3-2 loss by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the New York Mets, gave San Francisco sole possession of the division lead. Bumgarner, now...

Jim Mcisaac/Getty ImagesRussell Martin holds onto the ball at home plate against Casey Kotchman of the Indians on Wednesday. Russell Martin’s sore back acted up again on Thursday and he was left out of the starting lineup for the Yankees game against the Chicago White Sox. Chris Stewart returned behind the plate. Martin said he did not reinjure the back during the...

His mistake to Chris Young contributed to Atlanta’s 3-2 loss to Arizona on Thursday night. “I missed a spot,” Kimbrel said. “He’s a good high-ball hitter, and I threw it right in his wheelhouse. I’ll come back tomorrow and start over.” Young hit a tiebreaking homer off Kimbrel (0-1) in the ninth inning. It...

Perhaps the problems are related, because it’s pretty tough taking the mound with very little margin for error. Wei-Yin Chen gave up six runs, and the Orioles mustered only seven hits in a 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night. J.J. Hardy homered for the Orioles, but that was the lone offensive salvo from a team that has now...

Then Clay Rapada threw the ball away. Rapada’s throwing error on a potential double-play grounder came one batter before Dayan Viciedo hit a three-run homer off David Robertson in the ninth inning that rallied the Chicago White Sox past New York 4-3 Thursday night. “I was going to mix and match. It was the second day in a row for...

Max Scherzer struck out seven in six innings and Miguel Cabrera had four hits and drove in two runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Rays on Thursday night. Detroit has won 10 of 12 against the Rays, compiling a 2.22 ERA over the stretch dating to August 2010. “We do not hit well against this team,” Tampa Bay manager...

Victor Garcia of Spain falling on the last hurdle as Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad of France runs past him Friday to win the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the European Championships in Helsinki. Garcia finished third.  Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/06/29/sports/20120629photoreplay.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Miguel Medina/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMelinda Czink playing against Serena Williams at Wimbledon on Thursday. Craig O’Shannessy, a frequent contributor to Straight Sets, is the creator of a tennis strategy Web site, www.thebraingame.net, and the director of Life Time High Performance Tennis Academy in Dallas. What is it like to coach against four-time...