AP Source: Irving to be named NBA’s top rookie (Yahoo! Sports)
AP Source: Irving to be named NBA’s top rookie (Yahoo! Sports)
CLEVELAND (AP) Kyrie Irving began his first pro season as the top pick and ended it as the top rookie. Cleveland’s smooth, playmaking point guard has been chosen as the NBA”s Rookie of the Year, a person familiar with the voting told the Associated Press on Sunday. Irving’s selection is hardly a surprise since the 20-year-old led all first-year players in scoring – 18.5 points per game – and renewed hope for Cleveland’s franchise. He’ll receive the award on Tuesday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not yet announced the winner. ESPN.com and The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported Irving’s win. Results of the voting won’t be available until Tuesday, but it’s safe to assume Irving’s victory will be lopsided. After Minnesota guard Ricky Rubio suffered a season-ending knee injury, Irving was far and away the best all-around player in the rookie class. The Cavs used the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft to select Irving, who played in just 11 games as a freshman at Duke because of a toe injury. However, it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-3 Irving to establish himself as one of the game’s rising stars. With a fearlessness on the floor, Irving made clutch shots, orchestrated fourth-quarter comebacks and managed to keep the Cavs competitive and in the playoff picture for several months before they traded guard Ramon Sessions in March and injuries took their toll. Irving is the second Cavaliers player to win the award, joining LeBron James in 2004. Irving’s is the final postseason award to be announced by the league. On Saturday, James, who spent seven seasons in Cleveland before signing with Miami, won his third MVP award in four seasons. Irving recently treated himself to a postseason vacation in the Bahamas. In June, he’s expected to play on the Cavs summer league team in Las Vegas and will be part of a U.S. Select Team which will train against the American Olympic team going to the London Games.
Beltran powers Cardinals to 12-3 rout of Pirates (Yahoo! Sports)
Beltran powers Cardinals to 12-3 rout of Pirates (Yahoo! Sports)
ST. LOUIS (AP) Trying to explain his 3 for 32 slump earlier in the day, Carlos Beltran said he just hadn’t been seeing the ball very well lately. But the St. Louis Cardinals cleanup hitter added several times, it was nothing to worry about. Beltran said bye-bye to the bad times in a big way, driving in a career-best seven runs with a pair of three-run home runs and RBI single in the first three innings, leading the way as the Cardinals punished A.J. Burnett and the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-3 on Tuesday night. ”Lately, God knows, I’ve been searching at the plate, trying to find my swing, trying to feel comfortable, trying to be able to go out there and have quality at-bats,” Beltran said. ”This game can be like this. It’s a funny game. You have to stay positive.” Manager Mike Matheny found it somewhat humorous after so much pre-game attention was devoted to discussing Beltran’s tailspin. ”I think the one person that wasn’t even beginning to panic was Carlos,” Matheny said. ”He just knows what he’s doing. It was nice to see him have a huge day like that.” Matheny had been set to give Beltran a day off on Thursday and wasn’t sure whether the big day changed anything. Rookie Lance Lynn (5-0) joined James Shields as the major leagues’ only five-game winners, allowing three hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings with six strikeouts to beat the Pirates for the second time in three starts. Lynn has a 1.60 ERA as the replacement starter for Chris Carpenter, sidelined indefinitely with nerve issues in his right shoulder. ”It means we have five wins when I’m pitching, so that’s good,” Lynn said. ”That’s all I’m trying to do is help us win when I’m out there. I’m off to a good start and the team’s really been carrying me.” Burnett (1-2) entered with a 1.38 ERA, and worked seven scoreless innings against the Cardinals for his lone victory on April 21 at home, but trailed 4-0 after six pitches. The right-hander surrendered 12 runs on 12 hits in 2 2/3 innings, as the Pirates tried to save their bullpen. ”I stunk,” Burnett said. ”There is nothing more I can say. I was up all night, I couldn’t get anything down. It doesn’t matter who you pitch against, if you get your pitches up you’re going to get hammered.” The runs allowed topped Burnett’s previous worst of nine on four occasions, the last time Aug. 26, 2011 at Baltimore. He allowed 12 or more hits for the seventh time, exiting one shy of his career worst Aug. 3, 2011 at the Chicago White Sox. Pirates catcher Rod Barajas was ejected for complaining about home plate umpire Angel Campos’ calls in the second inning, tossing his mask in disgust after a pitch called a ball for a 1-2 count against Beltran. Manager Clint Hurdle was subsequently tossed for defending his player, his first of the season and sixth in his second season with Pittsburgh. ”Things just kind of got a little heated,” Barajas said. ”I felt one way, he felt the other way. You get a little frustrated when things don’t go the way you think they should.” Hurdle said he was frustrated because ”We’ve had some disagreements for two days out there. Rod was out there trying to protect his pitcher, making sure we got a fair shake.” Beltran had one double among his three hits and three RBIs the last nine games, a slump that started three games after he was moved to cleanup. He said after batting practice that he hadn’t been seeing the ball well but several times expressed confidence it would be over soon, then turned it around with his first swing, a three-run shot to right that made it 4-0. ”When I hit the first one out, it was a changeup, I was able to stay on that pitch and drive it out of the ballpark,” Beltran said. ”It’s always a good feeling knowing that you’re staying back, you’re seeing the ball well. ”After that i was able to feed off that.” Beltran had an RBI single in the second before launching another three-run homer in the third that made it 12-1, a drive to left center for Beltran’s team-leading seventh homer after a replay overturned the initial umpire ruling and justified fireworks and a sign in the shape of a truck grill that blinked its headlights even though Beltran initially had to put the brakes on at second base. Beltran topped his previous RBI high of six and he added a broken-bat single in the fifth to match a career best with his 21st four-hit game. The top four in the lineup – Rafael Furcal, Jon Jay, Matt Holliday and Beltran – were a combined 9 for 9 with two homers, 10 RBIs and seven runs the first three innings. Jay had three hits and was hit by a pitch his first four trips and is batting .429 with an 11-game hitting streak. Furcal singled twice with a steal and sacrifice fly, Holliday had two hits, a walk and an RBI and the Cardinals got triples from Daniel Descalso and Matt Carpenter, who had three hits. The Cardinals have outscored the Pirates 22-10 the first two games. It was the most lopsided loss for Pittsburgh since a 15-1 whipping at Los Angeles Sept. 18. The NL Central leaders have won five of six and will go for a three-game sweep Thursday with Jake Westbrook (3-1) opposing Erik Bedard (1-4). The Cardinals have outscored their opponents by 65 runs, best in the majors, after 24 games. NOTES: Umpire C.B. Buckner, who left Tuesday’s game in the seventh inning due to illness, was replaced by D.J. Reyburn manning 3B. … Pirates OF Andrew McCutchen got his first day off. … Cardinals C Yadier Molina stole two bases in a game for the second time in his career on Tuesday, and despite a distinct lack of speed he’s 4 for 4 on the year. … The Pirates have been outscored 22-7 in the first innings. … Jay is 21 for 43 (.488) during his hitting streak. … Josh Harrison had a pair of RBI singles for Pittsburgh, the first as a pinch hitter in the seventh. … Lynn has six career victories, all against NL Central opponents.
Gasquet, Wawrinka move into Estoril quarterfinals (Yahoo! Sports)
Gasquet, Wawrinka move into Estoril quarterfinals (Yahoo! Sports)
OEIRAS, Portugal (AP) Richard Gasquet powered past Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-1, 6-1 at the Estoril Open on Wednesday to reach his fifth quarterfinal of the season. The second-seeded Frenchman broke twice in the opening set and three times in the second to close out a commanding performance on clay in 66 minutes. Gasquet, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2007 Estoril final, hit 24 winners. Third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka recovered from a shaky start to beat Spanish qualifier Ivan Navarro 7-6 (5), 6-1. The big-serving Swiss saved break points in his first two service games before being broken in the sixth game on a double-fault. He broke back immediately and had five set points at one stage in the tiebreaker. Wawrinka overpowered his opponent in the 20-minute second set, serving out the match in damp and windy conditions at the rain-disrupted event. Sixth-seeded Robin Haase topped Inigo Cervantes 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, and Daniel Munoz de la Nava knocked out eighth-seeded Flavio Cipolla 6-4, 6-4. In the women’s event, top-seeded Roberta Vinci advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Maria Joao Koheler. Karin Knapp rallied to defeat second-seeded Maria Kirilenko 1-6, 6-1, 7-5, and Silvia Soler-Espinosa beat third-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Fourth-seeded Petra Cetkovcka downed Heather Watson 6-3, 6-1, and sixth-seeded Kaia Kanepi ousted Vania King of the United States 6-4, 6-4. Galina Voskoboeva knocked out 2006 champion Zheng Jie 6-4, 6-1.
