Sky wins first, 84-75 over Seattle

Chicago Sky

ROSEMONT—Sylvia Fowles scored 19 points to lead the Sky over the previously unbeaten Seattle Storm 84-75 Thursday night.Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half for the Sky, who got their first win of the season after an 0-4 start.Reserves Epiphanny Prince and Erin Thorn added 13 points each. Thorn made three 3-pointers.”That’s the beauty of our team, we’ve got players that can come off the bench and give us a lot of spark,” Fowles said. “They came out with a lot of energy and kept the lead up. You can’t ask for more than that.” Lauren Jackson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Seattle (4-1). Svetlana Abrosimova scored 13 points and Swin Cash had 12. The Sky finished the first half on a 13-2 run to lead 42-29.

Cubs edge Dodgers 1-0 on Fontenot triple and Colvin double in 8th.

 

Ted Lilly pitched seven scoreless innings, Tyler Colvin drove in the lone run with a double in the eighth, and the Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 on Thursday.Mike Fontenot led off the eighth with a triple down the right-field line and came around on a one-out double down the line by Colvin, who went to third when right fielder Xavier Paul had trouble picking up the ball and bumped into the wall.And there’s hardly any room between the wall and the line.That hit chased tough luck loser John Ely (3-2) and sent the Cubs to their eighth win in 11 games.Fontenot and Colvin had come on in the eighth for the Cubs, with Colvin going to left as part of a double switch in which Sean Marshall replaced Lilly.Fontenot replaced Jeff Baker at third when he walked off the field with a vision problem in his right eye following a leadoff single by Russell Martin. Marshall (5-1) also gave up a one-out single to Matt Kemp, putting runners on first and second, before Casey Blake lined to first and James Loney grounded to second.Carlos Marmol came on in the ninth and walked Blake DeWitt with one out before striking out pinch hitters Manny Ramirez and Garrett Anderson for his 11th save in 13 chances.Lilly pitched three-hit ball in his best start statistically this season but still is searching for his first win since April 24 — his first appearance after offseason surgery. He’s 0-4 in his last six outings.At one point, after a sixth-inning single, the Dodgers’ Casey Blake thought Lilly was off toward the third base side and not on the rubber when he was delivering pitches. First base coach Mariano Duncan got in between Blake and crew chief John Hirschbeck, the first-base umpire, and manager Joe Torre briefly came out.Lilly, who tends to stands toward the third-base side of the rubber, said the umpires never said anything to him and insisted if he did anything wrong, it was accidental. He couldn’t remember anyone raising the issue in the past, either.Ely, who grew up in Homewood, Ill., was about as dominant as Lilly, holding the Cubs to four hits in 7 1/3 innings in his first start in Chicago. He also robbed Starlin Castro of a hit, snagging his liner on one knee in the fourth — one of several neat plays by both teams, including a shoestring catch by left fielder Reed Johnson on Kosuke Fukudome’s liner to end the inning after Derrek Lee had doubled.A White Sox fan, Ely was drafted by them and spent three years in their system before he was dealt to the Dodgers as part of the Juan Pierre trade in December.

NOTES—Dodgers OF Andre Ethier, out with a broken right pinky finger, could return from the 15-day disabled list Monday. Manager Joe Torre said he’s scheduled to play for Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday and take Sunday off……The Dodgers designated RHP Ramon Ortiz for assignment and purchased the contract of right-hander Justin Miller from Triple-A…..Carlos Zambrano is day to day after going to a hospital for precautionary reasons because of lower abdominal pain.

Guillen,Buehrle both tossed,Sox barley hold on for 5-4 win over Cleveland

 

CLEVELAND — Mark Buehrle’s ejection in the third inning for arguing a balk didn’t rattle the White Sox, who regrouped after losing their starting pitcher and survived a scary ninth inning to beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 on Wednesday.Buehrle and Ozzie Guillen were both tossed by first-base umpire Joe West, who called two balks on the left-hander in the first three innings.Mark Kotsay hit a two-run homer off Jake Westbrook (2-3) and Mark Teahen drove in two runs as the Sox won two of three over Cleveland to capture its first road series this season.Bobby Jenks nearly blew a 5-1 lead in the ninth, allowing the Indians to score three runs before striking out Austin Kearns with the bases loaded and getting Russell Branyan to fly out. White Sox reliever Tony Pena (1-1), summoned in the fourth after Randy Williams left with an apparent foot injury, worked four scoreless innings and was credited with the win.The last-place Indians made a season-high four errors, and finished 4-11 at home in May.Buehrle didn’t make it out of the third, which was one inning longer than his manager lasted. Both were thrown out by West, who apparently felt the lefty’s pickoff move to first — regarded as one of the best in the game — was not within the rules.Matt LaPorta was on first in the second inning when West called the first balk on Buehrle, who wasn’t happy with the decision and had words with West before Guillen came out to defend his pitcher. West gave him a minute to plead his case and then threw out the fiery Guillen, who dropped his sunglasses, lineup card and other items on the track before heading into the dugout.In the third, Buehrle gave up an infield single to Jason Donald, and with Trevor Crowe up, he was called for a second balk. This time, Buehrle flipped his glove off and was immediately ejected by West, who stood with his arms folded near the first-base line.Buehrle tried to get at the ump and had to be restrained by several teammates and bench coach Joey Cora. Buehrle was eventually replaced by Williams, who then took a line drive by Crowe off his left foot. Williams remained in the game but faced only four batters before being pulled in the fourth.Westbrook got through the Sox lineup once without any trouble, but they scored three runs in the fourth, highlighted by Teahen’s two-out, two-run single.Juan Pierre led off with a double and Alex Rios walked with one out. Paul Konerko followed with an RBI single and took second on left fielder Kearns’ throwing error trying to get Rios at third. The Indians intentionally walked Kotsay to load the bases and Westbrook struck out Carlos Quentin for the second out.Teahen, who had three RBI in a win in the series opener, came through with his single to score Rios and Konerko.The Indians got a run back in the fourth on Jhonny Peralta’s sacrifice fly, but Rios singled to open the sixth and, one out later, Kotsay hit his fifth homer into the seats in right-center.

 

NOTES—Buehrle is the first Spx pitcher to have two balks in a game since Scott Radinsky in 1993. Radinsky is currently Cleveland’s bullpen coach. …The Sox start a four game weekend series with the Rays in St.Petersburg Thursday night.

Dempster, D.Lee lead Cubs past Dodgers 3-0

Cheers rained down on Ryan Dempster as he walked off the mound to end the top of the eighth, and moments later, it was Derrek Lee’s turn.If the Cubs are going to make a run, they’ll need more of this from those two.Dempster pitched three-hit ball over eight innings, Lee homered and drove in all the runs, and the Cubs beat the surging Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Tuesday night.Dempster simply dominated while earning his first win since April 23, and the struggling Lee backed him with three hits as the Cubs won for the seventh time in nine games.He drove in Ryan Theriot with a single off Clayton Kershaw (4-3) in the sixth after shortstop Rafael Furcal booted his grounder. Lee made it 3-0 in the eighth with a two-run shot off Ramon Trancoso — his sixth homer this season and 299th in all — after Starlin Castro reached on a throwing error by Furcal.That was enough for Dempster (3-4), who handed the Dodgers just their third loss in 15 games.He shut down a team that came in with a major league-leading .288 average against right-handers, striking out seven while walking one and retiring his final 13 batters after going 0-4 in his previous five starts.He walked off the mound to loud cheers after retiring the side in the eighth and had no problem turning it over to Carlos Marmol, who struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 12 chances.The Dodgers got shut out for the sixth time and wasted another strong effort by Kershaw, who took the loss after winning his previous three starts even though he allowed one unearned run and four hits over six innings.The left-hander did not allow a hit until Lee lined a one-out double to left center in the fourth, just past Manny Ramirez. Marlon Byrd, who came in on a 2-for-23 slump, then blooped a single to right to put runners on first and third, but Alfonso Soriano struck out and Xavier Nady grounded to third to end the threat.The Cubs finally broke through in the sixth, after Furcal’s first error.Back after missing 24 games with a strained left hamstring, he booted the ball trying to backhand Theriot’s leadoff grounder and the Cubs took advantage.Theriot stole second with one out and came around on Lee’s line-drive single to center, making it 1-0.Byrd lined another single to center, putting runners on first and second, but Kershaw escaped more damage by retiring Soriano on a pop and Nady on a liner to center following a visit by pitching coach Rick Honeycutt.Furcal made another error in the eighth when his throw pulled first baseman James Loney off the bag, allowing Castro to reach. Lee then drove a fastball from Trancoso out to right, making it 3-0.

NOTES—The Dodgers placed left-handed reliever George Sherrill on the 15-day DL because of tightness in his mid-back…..Carlos Zambrano will likely be back in the Cubs’ rotation next week after throwing 75 pitches in a simulated game on Monday. Manager Lou Piniella says Zambrano will be available for short relief beginning on Thursday and probably start during the three-game series at Pittsburgh early next week…..Aramis Ramirez was out of the Cubs’ lineup for the third time in four games because of a sore left thumb. Jeff Baker started in his place.

Tribe beats Peavy,Sox 7-3. Series even 1-1

 

CLEVELAND—Rookie Mitch Talbot outpitched former NL Cy Young winner Jake Peavy to help the Cleveland Indians beat the White Sox 7-3 Tuesday night. Jason Donald and Shin-Soo Choo each homered in Cleveland’s three-run third inning off Peavy (3-4). The Indians made it 6-0 with a three-run sixth off the right-hander, who won the award in 2007 with the San Diego Padres.Talbot (6-3) allowed two runs and six hits over seven innings to win for the third time in four starts. He rebounded from his worst start of the season, when he gave up eight hits and six runs over six innings in a 9-3 loss to Kansas City on Thursday.Talbot, acquired from Tampa Bay in December in a trade for veteran catcher Kelly Shoppach, took a two-hit shutout into the seventh Tuesday before giving up four doubles.Alexei Ramirez doubled and scored on a one-out double by Andruw Jones. Mark Kotsay followed with an RBI double into the right-field corner, but was thrown out trying for third. He would have scored easily on Carlos Quentin’s double off the left-field wall.Talbot stranded Quentin at second by getting Mark Teahen to ground out to first. Teahen had three hits and three RBIs in the Sox 7-2 win Monday night.Chris Perez relieved Talbot in the eighth and got two quick outs before hitting Juan Pierre with a pitch. Ramirez doubled him home to make it 6-3.Cleveland got an insurance run in the bottom half on a suicide squeeze bunt by Luis Valbuena. Austin Kearns singled, went to third on a one-out single by Jhonny Peralta and took off for home on a pitch by reliever Scott Linebrink that Valbuena put into play with a bunt for the RBI.Donald opened the Indians’ third with his first career homer. One out later, Choo hit his seventh of the season. Travis Hafner followed with a ground-rule double. He scored on Russell Branyan’s two-out single to make it 3-0.Hafner extended his hitting streak to 12 games after taking a one-game rest on Monday night against John Danks. Cleveland made it 6-0 in the sixth. Peralta had an RBI double and scored on Luis Valbuena’s sacrifice fly fielded in foul territory by rightfielder Jones. Lou Marson added a sacrifice fly.Peavy gave up eight hits and six runs over six innings for his second consecutive start. After winning his first three starts in May, the 28-year-old also gave up eight hits and six runs in a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

NOTES—The Indians still do not have an update on Grady Sizemore, out since May 19 with a bruised left knee. Sizemore is visiting doctors in Colorado and New York to get second and third opinions on the best method of treatment. … Cleveland rescheduled a May 7 rainout with Detroit as a 1:05 p.m. game July 17, creating a day-night doubleheader with the regular game with the Tigers set for 7:05 p.m. … Pierre and Teahen both had seven-game hitting streaks snapped. … Cleveland has won six of eight against the White Sox this season.

Flyers close out Habs, heading for Chicago to open Finals with Hawks Saturday night.


PHILADELPHIA—Mike Richards said the heck with superstition and had his hands all over the conference championship trophy.Some teams refuse to as much as touch one until they have a firm grip on the Stanley Cup.Not these Flyers.The Philadelphia Flyers have rekindled some of their old “Broad Street Bullies” championship days and are back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 13 years.Richards had a highlight-reel goal early, Arron Asham and Jeff Carter scored 84 seconds apart in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals and the Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Monday night.The Flyers, who needed a shootout win in the last game of the regular season to clinch a playoff spot, will play the Western Conference champion Blackhawks in Game 1 at the United Center on Saturday.The Flyers have not won the Stanley Cup since consecutive titles in 1974 and 1975.Former Hawk Michael Leighton allowed a goal 59 seconds into the game, then shut down the Canadiens, who showed a resilient comeback spirit in the first two rounds.The Flyers took a 3-1 lead into the third period, leaving the final 20 minutes as one raucous coronation party. Nearly 20,000 giddy fans dressed in pumpkin-orange giveaway T-shirts chanted “Let’s Go Flyers!” but couldn’t exhale until the end.Once Carter scored an empty-netter in the final seconds, the crowd exploded in a championship frenzy.The finals seem a fitting result for a Flyers organization that still has some “Broad Street Bullies” in their bloodlines.Forget dropping the gloves: This year’s Flyers have shown an awesome ability to fight back on guts alone. Down 3-0 in the conference semifinals vs. Boston and trailing 3-0 in Game 7, the Flyers rallied to win in one of the sport’s all-time great comebacks. Carter, Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere all pushed through potential series-ending injuries to return earlier than expected and deliver a shot at the Stanley Cup to Philadelphia.For all the knocks Philly takes as a title-starved sports town, all four major pro teams have made the championship round of their sport in the last 10 years. The Phillies in 2008 have won Philadelphia’s only championship since 1983.Richards, their gritty gold medal-winning captain, scored a goal that will surely be shown over and over during the Finals.Playing short-handed and just trying to clear the puck from along the boards, Claude Giroux fired the puck about 175 feet down the ice and that sent Richards scrambling.Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak inexplicably skated toward the top of the circles to try and stop the puck. Richards dived head first and slid perfectly between Halak and Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik. The puck squirted away from the crashing Canadiens and Richards tapped it into an empty net to make it 1-1.Asham and Carter built the lead from there and gave Leighton all the room he needed.Asham scored from close range 3:07 into the second and Carter, who made a quick return after breaking his right foot last month, quickly made it 3-1. Richards fed Carter a nice pass, and he fired on one-knee to stun Halak.The Flyers’ run to the Cup finals has been solidified on second-period scoring. The Flyers outscored the opposition 26-7 in the middle period this postseason.Down 3-1 in the series and 3-1 in the third, Montreal kept playing for one more comeback.The Canadiens got in as the eighth seed and then knocked off Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington after falling behind 3-1 in the series. Montreal trailed Pittsburgh 3-2 before advancing past the defending Stanley Cup champions in the second round.Scott Gomez scored 6:53 into the third to give Montreal a sliver of hope. Not this time. Not against these Flyers. Leighton was perfect from there, and the goalie who wasn’t even on the active roster at the start of the playoffs, was in the center of a celebration once the final horn sounded.The Flyers played the requisite Rocky clips and fans erupted when Lauren Hart, the daughter of longtime former Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, sang God Bless America, alternating lyrics with Kate Smith, who was on a video image. Smith’s rendition of the song has been a rallying anthem for the Flyers since the mid 1970s.

NOTES—The Flyers are in their eighth Stanley Cup Final. They have lost five straight series since winning consecutive titles in 1974 and 1975….The only time the Blackhawks and Flyers have met in the Playoffs was in the first round(quarter-finals)in 1971 and the Hawks swept that series in four games.

Sox jump all over Masterson, Tribe 7-2.

 

CLEVELAND—Omar Vizquel has already borrowed Luis Aparicio’s No. 11. And for now, he’s sharing another number with his boyhood idol.Vizquel moved into a tie with the Hall of Famer for the second-most career hits by a shortstop, and Mark Teahen drove in three runs as the White Sox snapped a five-game losing streak to Cleveland by beating the hapless Indians 7-2 on Monday night.Vizquel singled in the fifth inning off Aaron Laffey for his 2,764th hit, tying Aparicio, his Venezuelan countryman and a man Ozzie Guillen called “an icon” in their homeland.Vizquel singled again in the ninth, but it came after he had been moved to third base so he remains tied with Aparicio.”That doesn’t count?” Vizquel said with a smile. “That’s a shame. What’s Ozzie doing?” Vizquel’s hit total as a shortstop is second only to New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, who entered the week with 2,782.Teahen hit a two-run double in the Sox four-run first inning off Justin Masterson (0-5), who lost his 11th straight decision. The right-hander hasn’t won in 16 starts since Aug. 20.Alex Rios hit his ninth homer for the White Sox. Masterson’s season-long slide shows no signs of slowing.The right-hander needed 44 pitches to get out of the first, and by the time he retired Vizquel on a fly to deep right for the third out, the Indians were already in a 4-0 hole.The Sox scored on Rios’ RBI groundout, Mark Kotsay’s run-scoring double and Teahen’s two-run double to left-center.Danks, meanwhile, set down the Indians on 13 pitches in the first and had four strikeouts in two innings before Cleveland threatened with a leadoff single and double in the third. The left-hander worked out of the jam, but couldn’t escape a similar mess in the fourth.The Indians, who have lost seven of eight, closed within 5-2 on Matt LaPorta’s RBI groundout and Lou Marson’s run-scoring single.The Sox answered with a run in the seventh when second baseman Mark Grudzielanek couldn’t handle Teahen’s hard single up the middle with a runner at third.

NOTES—Vizquel did pass Dave Parker for 58th place on the career hits list….Once a team that regularly fielded several All-Stars, the Indians are virtually being ignored in fan balloting. Shin-Soo Choo is the only Cleveland player being noticed, ranking 14th among outfielders…..Choo got his fifth assist in the ninth, throwing out Andruw Jones at the plate.

Cubs beat Rangers, take two of three

ARLINGTON—Carlos Silva is getting plenty of help from Cubs hitters to make quite a starting impression.Given a four-run lead before even throwing a pitch, Silva worked into the sixth inning of the Cubs 5-4 interleague series-clinching victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Silva became the first Cubs starter in 43 years to have a perfect record after six decisions — and the first to begin his Cubs career that way since Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean in 1938.Alfonso Soriano’s two-run homer capped a four-run first that put Silva and the Cubs ahead to stay before the big right-hander took the mound on a hot, sunny day in Texas.Silva, who came to the Cubs in the offseason trade that sent Milton Bradley to Seattle, was done after 5 1/3 innings and 81 pitches. He allowed three runs and six hits before being relieved after Vladimir Guerrero’s comebacker for an out to start the sixth.Carlos Marmol, the fourth Cubs reliever, earned his ninth save in 11 chances. The right-hander struck out three, including Michael Young and then Guerrero for the final out with a runner at second to get his second save in a row after Texas won the series opener 2-1. Bob Howry, re-signed by the Cubs on Friday after being released by Arizona with a 10.67 ERA in 14 appearances, allowed an RBI double to Young after coming on with two runners on in the seventh. Left-hander Sean Marshall got Josh Hamilton on an inning-ending liner with the bases loaded.After Elvis Andrus had a leadoff single in the third, Young hit his fifth homer on the next pitch.Cruz led off the fourth with the only walk from Silva, then scored on Julio Borbon’s two-out single.The Cubs opened the game with three consecutive singles. Starlin Castro, the 20-year-old rookie shortstop, beat out a bunt for an infield single before Derrek Lee’s RBI bloop single made it 1-0. Marlon Byrd then drove in a run with a groundout before Soriano hit his ninth homer of the season, his second two-run shot in two games.

NOTES—The Rangers had won five straight to open their homestand. They have three of the next eight days off, and don’t play at home again until June 4……Young has 320 career doubles, matching Juan Gonzalez for third on the Rangers’ list, one behind Rafael Palmeiro and 32 behind Ivan Rodriguez…… Aramis Ramirez was out of the lineup again with recurring soreness between his left thumb and index finger. Ramirez had missed two games before being the DH on Saturday night, when he was 0 for 5 with four strikeouts……Wilson, the former reliever, had gone nearly 88 innings over 44 appearances without allowing a homer until two in the final inning of his previous start Tuesday. Then another in the first Sunday……The attendance for the three-game series was 122,900, the largest at Rangers Ballpark since the Yankees visited in July 2006…..The last 6-0 Cubs starter was Ken Holtzman in 1967, when he finished 9-0 in 12 starts.C.J. Wilson (3-2) allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings and lost for the first time in seven starts.Xavier Nady scored what proved to be the decisive run for the Cubs with a gutsy headfirst slide in the sixth. He made it 5-3 when he lunged and reached his left arm between the legs of catcher Matt Treanor to slap the plate just before getting tagged by right fielder Nelson Cruz’s strong throw after Koyie Hill’s single.

Hawks West Champs, Sweep Sharks, await East winners.

The Blackhawks are in the Stanley Cup Finals, thanks to another big goal by Dustin Byfuglien, who scored his third go-ahead goal of the Western Conference finals, converting on a third-period power play as the Blackhawks rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 and completed a four-game sweep Sunday that sent the Blackhawks to the finals for the first time since 1992.will play either Montreal or Philadelphia and be in search of its first NHL title since 1961.The 257-pound Byfuglien was parked in front of the net with seven seconds left on the power play. He took a nice pass from Patrick Kane and knocked the puck past goalie Evgeni Nabokov to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead at 14:05 of the final period.Kris Versteeg added an empty-net goal with 42 seconds left, and the red-clad fans at the United Center erupted, littering the ice with souvenir towels.Byfuglien also had the winner Friday night in overtime as the Hawks captured Game 3, 3-2. He also put the Blackhawks ahead to stay with a goal in their 2-1 victory in the opener and scored a goal in all four games. He has eight in this postseason.Logan Couture scored in the first period for the regular-season Western Conference champion Sharks, and Patrick Marleau had a short-handed goal in the second as San Jose built 2-0 lead.But Brent Seabrook was credited with a goal after a video replay reversed an initial on-ice ruling of no goal. Dave Bolland then tied the game at 2-2 at 18:38 of the second.The Sharks had a chance to regain the lead a minute into the final period, but a shot from the high slot by Devin Setoguchi deflected off the stick of teammate Joe Thornton and hit the crossbar.The Hawks had a pair of power plays to work with in the final period, and Byfuglien converted.On his tying goal, Bolland scrapped for the puck behind the net and gained control. After hesitating, he fired a wraparound shot that appeared to deflect off the stick of San Jose’s Kent Huskins before it went past Nabokov.It was the fifth goal of the playoffs and second in two games for Bolland, whose defense was a key throughout the series.Marleau scored the short-handed goal from the right circle at 7:35 of the second, shortly after the Sharks started a break when Marc-Edouard Vlasic blocked a shot by Kane. That put the Sharks in position to take control, but they couldn’t maintain it. fter Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was called for cross-checking during a scramble at the net, leaving each team a man down, Seabrook took the puck toward the goal. As Marian Hossa battled to get control at the side, the puck slipped between Nabokov’s legs. It also gave the Blackhawks the momentum they had been looking for since the first period.Couture converted a high rebound past goalie Antti Niemi after a shot by Setoguchi from the left boards was deflected, putting the Sharks up 1-0 at 11:08 of the first. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, had trouble getting anything going offensively and managed just one shot in the first 14 minutes.But the Hawks then peppered Nabokov with seven shots over the final three minutes. He responded with nice stops on Troy Brouwer, Kane and Versteeg. Niemi made 16 saves for Nabokov finished with 23.Couture’s opening goal was the first for the Sharks by someone other than Marleau since Jason Demers scored in Game 1. Marleau’s goal was his fifth of the series and eighth of the postseason. The Sharks had seven goals total in the series. … Duncan Keith was hit in the face during the rush that led to Marleau’s goal, but he returned to the game minutes later. …Andrew Ladd played 2 minutes, 14 second in the first period but missed the rest of the game because of an apparent injury.

Sox drop finale to Marlins 13-0

 

Cody Ross hit two of Florida’s five homers and Josh Johnson pitched six sharp innings to help Florida defeat the White Sox 13-0 on Sunday. Ronny Paulino, Dan Uggla, and Jorge Cantu also went deep for the Marlins, who snapped a three-game losing streak.Gaby Sanchez, Uggla and Ross all finished with three RBI, and Cantu was 3 for 3 and scored three of the team’s season-high 13 runs, after the Marlins scored only three runs total during its skid against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright and Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd.Ross ignited the Marlins offense early with a two-run shot in the first off Freddy Garcia.Johnson (5-1) improved to 5-0 in nine starts since an opening day loss to the New York Mets, and has pitched 18 scoreless innings since giving up a run May 13 against the Mets. He did not strike out a batter, but left the bases loaded in the first and stranded runners on second and third in the second. He ended up scattering six hits and two walks.Florida had a season-high 18 hits, while Johnson and Co. pitched their third shutout.Garcia, who won his last three starts, lasted 2 1/3 innings and left after surrendering seven runs on seven hits. He gave up a season-high three homers after coming into the game with a 19-7 mark in 32 interleague games — and a big-league best 2.57 ERA. Plate umpire Adrian Johnson issued warnings to both teams after A.J. Pierzynski was hit in the right forearm by Marlins reliever Dan Meyer in the seventh. In the fifth inning, White Sox reliever Randy Williams hit Brett Carroll with a pitch after Carroll, who also was hit by a pitch in the fourth, stole second with a 7-0 lead. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was upset with Carroll stealing with a big lead.Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said Carroll was running on his own.Garcia was also upset with Carroll running.After struggling at the plate the previous three games, the Marlins gave Johnson an early cushion. With one out in the first, Sanchez singled and Hanley Ramirez doubled down the left-field line. Cantu followed with another double, and Ramirez scored on Uggla’s groundout. Moments later, Ross homered to left to give the Marlins a 4-0 lead. It was his third of the season.Garcia (3-3) was tagged for another home run by Paulino in the second inning, and he walked Cantu in the third before Uggla hit the third homer for the Marlins in as many innings.Williams was greeted by Ross in the fifth inning with his second home run of the game, and Cantu went deep off him in the sixth.Sanchez hit a ground-rule two-run double in the seventh and Ramirez drove him in with a single. Then in the eighth, Sanchez had an RBI single off White Sox reliever Tony Pena.

NOTES—Ozzie Guillen has no plans to send struggling 2B Gordon Beckham to the minors. He came in with a .187 average and went 1 for 2. “If his mentality is not good enough to not overcome and survive this game we will do something, but I think he is fine right here,” Guillen said. … Marlins leadoff hitter Chris Coghlan was 0 for 6 with three strikeouts. … It was Ross’ seventh career multihomer game, his last coming Aug. 20, 2009, against the Cubs.