SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It wasn’t luck that Cole Gillespie had on his side Sunday when he capped off the Giants’ 9-7 win against the Colorado Rockies with a walk-off home run. It was motivation.
With just two weeks of spring training games left, and just a few precious roster spots remaining, the up-and-coming Gillespie made a pretty solid argument for himself in the bottom of the ninth on a home run to center field on a 3-2 pitch on St. Patrick’s Day.
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PHOENIX — Adam Rosales hit two-run homers in the seventh and eighth innings, and the A’s beat a Chicago Cubs’ split squad 12-6 Sunday.
Rosales homered off Jason Berken in the seventh for an 8-6 lead, then homered against Steve Perakilis to drive in the final two runs.
Chris Young hit a three-run homer in the first off Scott Baker, making his first start since elbow ligament-replacement surgery while with Minnesota last April 17. Baker got one out and gave up three hits and two walks.
Josh Donaldson had a three-run homer in the third against Cory Wade.
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In its 13-year history, AT&T Park has already played host to three World Series, an All-Star Game, an annual college bowl game and countless concerts and events. Starting today, the park some think is the best in the business will add another event to its résumé when the World Baseball Classic comes to the shores of McCovey Cove.
The Giants’ organization is not taking its experience for granted, however, as the WBC will carry a unique feel with it to The City.
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Sergio Romo’s World Baseball Classic cameo — and let’s get real, it was nothing more — got entirely too much attention, and entirely too much gravitas was attached to everything he did for the Tres Colores.
That’s not to say there shouldn’t be some thought put into who might have to close for the Giants should Romo’s head or elbow explode.
But aren’t we forgetting Santiago Casilla, and Jeremy Affeldt, and even young Heath Hembree?
Relax.
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MIAMI (AP) — Horns honked, percussion pulsed and school kids squealed. Miami can make quite a din when the Dominicans win.
The visiting team on the scoreboard, the Dominican Republic made itself at home by beating the United States 3-1 Thursday night to earn a berth in the final round of the World Baseball Classic.
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PHOENIX (AP) — Ian Kinsler had an RBI double and scored twice, and Elvis Andrus had two hits, drove in a run and scored another, lifting the Texas Rangers to a 6-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.
Right-hander Randy Wells, making a bid for a spot in the Rangers' rotation, gave up a run — homer by Josh Reddick — and three hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out four.
Kinsler reached on an error to begin the game and Andrus followed with a single. Kinsler and Andrus scored on sacrifice flies by Lance Berkman and Adrian Beltre.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Japan roughed up San Francisco starter Yusmeiro Petit for four runs and six of its 11 hits in four innings, beating the Giants 6-3 on Thursday.
Sho Nakata had three hits, and Takashi Toritani added two hits and two RBIs for Japan, tuning up for its appearance in the World Baseball Classic semifinals in San Francisco on Sunday. Toritani had a two-run double in Japan's three-run second inning.
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GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Barry Zito and Bronson Arroyo each left their starts thinking they have more work to do before the start of the season.
Some Giants youngsters had a good time all around.
Zito allowed a run while pitching 3¹⁄³ innings and Arroyo gave up one earned run in four, and the Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-5 Wednesday.
Zito gave up five hits and struck out three for the Giants in an outing against the team the World Series champions rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat in a best-of-five NL Division Series.
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Billy Beane’s iconoclastic genius was immortalized in the silver-screen rendition of Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball,” but the A’s outdid Hollywood last summer, spinning a tale that wouldn’t have been believable had it been fiction.
Yes, the 2012 A’s are a tough act to follow, but Beane’s subtle string of moves this offseason should allow his team to put together a respectable follow-up performance.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tim Lincecum allowed three runs on four hits Tuesday night in his first spring training start since Feb. 26. The San Francisco Giants right-hander threw two scoreless innings before being undone in his third inning of work in the San Diego Padres' 6-2 win over the Giants.
Lincecum, the former two-time NL Cy Young Award winner who struggled to a 10-15 record last season, missed the past two weeks of spring training games with a blister on his right middle finger.
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