Die Macht » own a 3-pointer after Atlanta won a jump ball to cut the

SAN DIEGO - Sometime soon, a baseball will be getting a prominent spot among the trophies on Justin Verlanders mantle. Its the ball he hit up the middle for a single in the second inning Saturday night, the one that will forever shut up his teammates. Verlander had the first two hits of his career and recovered from throwing 31 pitches in the first inning to pitch seven strong innings and lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night. "It felt great. Its been a long time and I can finally get all these guys off my back ...," Verlander said. Verlander had been 0 for 26 with 15 strikeouts in his career when he stepped in against Ian Kennedy in the second inning and singled up the middle. When the ball came back to Kennedy, he tossed it to a ball boy near the Padres dugout. Home plate umpire Seth Buckminster motioned for the ball boy to throw it to the Tigers dugout. "I think the Padres and probably Ian didnt know that I had never had a hit," Verlander said. "Its been nine years in the big leagues now. They probably werent thinking about that but I sure as heck was. I was watching that ball like a hawk." The last time Verlander had a hit? "High school. Its been a long time," he said. "I guess I have no more leverage," catcher Alex Avila said. "Were all happy for him. It was fun to watch." Verlander cited a list of times when he came close to getting a hit. "I think its kind of been an anomaly that I havent had one yet," he said. "I feel like Ive probably hit five or six hard that have been caught." Verlander singled to right in the fourth, although he had to hustle to avoid being thrown out by Chris Denorfia. "I hit it pretty hard, too. It was a bang-bang play but I beat it out, thank goodness," said Verlander, who eventually scored on Torii Hunters two-run single. The sight of Verlander (1-1) on the mound at Petco Park was another reminder of how the Padres flubbed the top pick in the June 2004 amateur draft. Not wanting to pay a big signing bonus, the team passed on players such as Jered Weaver, Stephen Drew and Verlander in favour of local shortstop Matt Bush. Bush, who signed for $3 million, never reached the big leagues and had numerous off-field problems. In December 2012, he was sentenced to four years and three months in a Florida prison for a drunken driving hit-and-run crash. Verlander was taken by the Tigers with the second pick. He has thrown two no-hitters and came within two outs of a third, won the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011, was voted AL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and is a six-time All-Star. Verlander allowed two runs and eight hits, struck out eight and walked one. He improved to 2-0 against the Padres, having also beaten them at Petco Park in 2008. "Hes a guy who obviously has that power arm when he needs to," San Diegos Yonder Alonso said. "He works his way into the game and if he feels like hes in trouble, hes going to attack. He made some good pitches but we just missed a lot of guys on base." The Tigers had plenty of offence one night after being held to one hit by Andrew Cashner in a 6-0 loss. Austin Jackson hit a two-run double one batter after Miguel Cabrera was intentionally walked to load the bases in the ninth; Hunter, who missed the previous two games with a bruised left knee, hit a two-run single; and Cabrera and Ian Kinsler each had an RBI double. Rajai Davis scored three runs. San Diego got its runs on Jedd Gyorkos sacrifice fly and Yasmani Grandals RBI single. Kennedy (1-2) allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked one. NOTES: A candidate in the Padres in-season contest to find a new public address announcer committed a big flub in the first inning. As Cabrera, the two-time AL MVP, walked to the plate, he was announced as Austin Jackson. Cabrera turned and looked up at the booth. Frank Anthony, the Padres PA announcer since Petco Park opened in 2004, was fired in January so the team could hold open tryouts as part of the 10th anniversary of Petco Park. ... The series concludes Sunday when reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (0-0, 1.20 ERA) is scheduled to face Tyson Ross (0-2, 4.35). Air Max 1 Scontate .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. Air Max 95 Nere Scontate . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/ . "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. Air Max Plus Saldi Sconti . Some teams got significantly better, some teams divested themselves of talent and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping the status quo. Nike Air Max Tn Outlet . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position.Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Lance Stephenson banked in a 3-pointer as time expired in the second overtime, lifting the Charlotte Hornets over the Atlanta Hawks, 122-119, on Friday. The Hawks actually had the first chance to break the 119-119 tie, inbounding the ball with 2.7 seconds left. But Kyle Korver was called for an offensive foul. Following a timeout, Stephenson took a pass from Marvin Williams and hit the game-winning shot from the top of the arc. Stephenson ended with 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won two in a row since a three-game skid. Al Jefferson added 34 points and nine boards. Al Horford had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who fell to 1-3 on the young season. Jeff Teague and Korver tallied 22 and 20 points, respectively, with Teague also dishing out 15 assists. The Hornets first chance to win the game in double overtime came with 2.7 seconds remaining. Kemba Walkers shot was blocked by Teague and Charlotte was called for a 24-second shot clock violation. But Korvers offensive foul gave the Hornets another shot. Down 78-70, the Hornets started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 spurt to get within one. They kept it close and were able to tie things up in the final seconds. The Hawks took a 97-94 lead on Horfords slam with 54 seconds remaining. Cody Zeller responded with a tip-in at the other end and after Horfford was called for traveling, Jefferson went 1-of-2 from the line with 9.dddddddddddd.9 seconds left. Paul Millsap missed a jumper at the buzzer. The Hornets jumped out to a 108-102 lead with 24.3 seconds left in the first overtime. But Teague made a layup and Korver knocked down a 3-pointer after Atlanta won a jump ball to cut the Charlotte lead to 108-107 with 12 seconds to go. Walker responded with two free throws to give Charlotte a three-point edge. Mike Scott got two chances to tie things up at the other end. Scott missed a 3-pointer with 5.9 ticks on the clock, but the ball went out of bounds off the Hornets. Scott redeemed himself by making a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left. Walker missed a 3-pointer to send the game to a second overtime. The Hawks started the game on a 16-6 run and led 29-22 after 12 minutes of action. But the Hornets scored the first nine points of the second quarter to take a 31-29 lead. The remainder of the period was a back-and-forth battle that ended with Atlanta taking a 50-47 edge into the locker room. The Hawks led 78-70 after outscoring Charlotte by a 28-23 margin in the third stanza. Game Notes The Hornets snapped a six-game losing streak to the Hawks in Charlotte ... Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 10 points after missing the previous two games with a rib contusion. ' ' '