who is going to finish at fenway? in the national league, the phillies and the mets doing battle before everyone starts interleague play. and on the golf course, phil mickelson with mixed emotions, but no question about the results. espnews, swinging your way now. >> hello up there, and welcome down here. espnews now available in high definition, along with jonathan coachman, i'm steve bunin, we're always keeping you current in the world of sports here on espnews. guys hit a home run, we'll show you usain bolt live in toronto. running for the first time since his car accident. and game 4, nba finals, magic and lakers, now orlando, they answered a lot of questions with their game 3 win on tuesday. it took incredible shooting to do it. the big question, tonight, can they continue that good play in front of a home crowd, pivotal. pivotal gam game 4. kobe, starting off, red hot, just like he did in game 3. 2-0, lakers. heed owe, heed owe turkoglu! driving to the hoop. andrew bynum, on the bench. pau gasol had gone to the

tremendous pitchers duel at fenway. and the mets up on the phillies, 3-2, top 7 as i mentioned. joining us to share some knowledge, big names for both teams. chien-ming wang and brad penny. what are the issues. >> verne:. >> bill: for the yankees, the questions after wang's disaster start, would they keep him in the rotation. in talking to people, he is going to stay in the yankees rotation. their feeling is he's an important member of our organization. a guy whoo won 19 games two yeas ago. we simply can't throw him aside after just a couple of really bad starts. so they're going to keep him in the rotation. continue to try to fix him. they feel like his stuff is really good. they feel like his arm speed is increased. his finger is working. here's the problem. his fastball command. that is a major c issue that hes going to be working on going forward. now, as far as t abrad penny is concerned, there are he questions about whether or not this start tonight, which will be his 12th with the red sox will b be his last start with te team. because of course, john smoltz is due back fr

who is going to finish at fenway? >> in the national league,il the phillies and the mets doing battle before everybody starts interleague play. and on the golf course. phil mickelson with mixed emotions, but no question about the result. espnews, swinging your way right now. [closed captioning provided by espn, inc.] >> welcome back to espnews. and quite a shot right there. along with jonathan coach man, i'm steve bunin, this is the place we keep you up to date on everything that's going on in the world of sports. ibanez has gone yard. more on that in moments. game 4 of the nba finals. the magic answered a lot of questions with their game 3 win. the question was could they take that incredible shooting into game 4, and even the series at 2 games apiece? >> kobe bryant said, hey, i didn't run into a wall. in game 3. heed owe turkoglu though. taking the scoring challenge. for the mets, he has 12 so far in the first half. >> but then, over j.j. redick. >> oh, i'll take kobe. kobe had to go to the bench. there's been a re

. -- hits it in the street in fenway. they have a way of rinsing f the bat, and turning the page real quick. he got an education the other night, and he learned from it and came up tonight, and lookd like he was spitting in this case cells and ready to go. big at-bat, but reimold had a big -- we've had a lot of nice experiences for our younger players, and they are starting to play like guys that got soe seasoning. so that's great for everyboy you have to spread it around. you can't count on the same guy all the time. it doesn't happen. >> k-rod got adam easily the last time. looked lie adam adjusted. >> let's give him a lot of credit. i can only imagine what's goig on in his computer when he's p there. he slowed down, didn't chase d pitches. he did not chase bad pitche. he shows a lot of poise, and that was a big at-bat, but i just told roberts, -- 9, you're going to bunt, okay? but a lot of guys wouldn't do it. lot of guys would look and say hey, what the hell are you do

still baseball to be played there at fenway. meanwhile mariners and orioles, in baltimore, jose lopez at the disch. at the dish. top of the sixth, one on, one out, that is gone off jeremy guthrie. lopez's second home run of the game, his eighth of the year, and the mariners win it by a score of 4-1. lopez's third home run in the last three games. the ms have suddenly won five of their last seven, ichiro with a personal 14-game hitting streak against the baltimore orioles. royals and indians in cleveland, gil meche, 4-9 in his career against the tribe, but meche looking good, shin-soo choo, nope, next batter, mark derosa. nope. he's looking. meche 11 ks in seven innings of work. alberto callaspo bases loaded off carl pavano, that is his third of the season, his first since may 5th, and first career grand slam, guillen 2 for 3, he also had a home run as well for meche the 11 ks set a career high. let's check in on the tampa bay rays over the angels, 9-5, pena solo shot, his 18th home run of the year, aybar has added an rbi single

who iste going to finish at fenway? t the national league, phillies and the mets doing battle before everyone starts interleague play. on the golf course, phil mickelson with mixed emotions, but no question about the results. espnews swinging your way, now. >> royals-indians a crazy one here. look at the seagulls. the ball goes past coco crisp into centerfield. that was the replay of a game-winning single. one-more look. oh, straight up the middle. 2 on. hits the seagull. good hands. coco crisp says what about the bird? and the indians come back, you know, they say stranger things have happened? hawks the bird for the game winner? certainly not tonight. but #-3 final. and zach grain kia lous three earned runs. his era coming in was 1.5. with that, we welcome you to another half hour of espnews. along with jonathan coachman, i'm steve bunin, we're in high def. we always keep you up to date with everything going on in the world of sports. game-winning home runs off of birds. raoul ibanez, with the game winning home run. l

and -- fenway pawk and talk to curt chilg schilling and it's going to be real simple. i'll throw you two foul balls up and in. let you yank them foul. kurt could command his stuff and they were in off the plate. you can't hit them fair. if you do, you'll break your bat. >> gary: 0-2 delivery. way up high and away. 1-2. orioles bullpen, danys baez. orioles are in this. first game of three. guthrie a little offensive help here in the inning to make it a 4-2 lead for the mets and scott will take the pitch down low and a two ball, two strike count from pelfrey. pelfrey does a lot of wondering out there. he always comes off the mound entirely to get the ball back. obviously tonight if you're going to put your hand to your mouth, it's got to be done off the mound so he does that. then, walks around, gets back upon the first base side. 2-2 delivery. fouls that one off. took a little off that pitch. stays at 2-2. >> jim: think about it. the only other way to get moisture and it's the way i learned from davy leonard who was my roommate when i first got into the minor leagues is

they've added like in fenway park the way they did the 406 club the wind actually comes in and then swirls out. >> gary: 1-2 delivery to jones. slider away. pelfrey takes the count to two balls, two strikes. >> jim: think of an ice cream cone when you talk about swirls. >> gary: that's what you're thinking about tonight? >> jim: know, just -- it's gone. >> gary: it's gone now. >> jim: my mind was swirling. >> gary: 2-2, chopped foul at the plate. it will stay that way at 2-2. it's all right to have an ice cream on a summer night. >> jim: this is -- >> gary: this isn't a summer -- >> jim: no, it is but it isn't. >> gary: it is by date but not by temperature or by feel. jones trying to get it going here. >> jim: "usa today", he writes sports columns, it is cold. goirts not that bad. 2-2 to first base. murphy will take it to the bag. >> jim: well defense again to ground balls. ball hit pretty sharply. one thing about adam jones, watch him go out and cover that outside corner. the ball in the middle of the plate. talk about sinkerballer. there's another ground ball. >> gary: pelfrey is

. >> jim: how about fenway park when there is green paint on the back of your rear end after the game? the late pan dobb zonks we were always thinking, the red sox and the yankees and the tigers were some of our big opponents, and they traded for marty patton, and the late pat dobbson did a whole pan mime of pat pitching in fenway shake off signs. he never got to throw a pitch because he was so nervous. we had never seen him pitch there, but it is just there are certain ballparks that the bleachers are entirely too close. >> rob: did you have any ballparks that you didn't like the mound? >> jim: seattle. i just didn't like seattle. >> bob: that was a band box. and a fastball up in -- up and in that huff can't catch up with and the count go to 3-2. >> rob: so you weren't a big fan of arena baseball? >> jim: no. i'm trying to think where else. >> bob: minnesota maybe? >> jim: no, i liked -- they had some real good hitters there, but so did we. and it all kind of evened out on the teams i played for. >> bob: 3-2. we'll see if the o's do something with the runner a bouncing ball right sid

. >> rob: they would never be able to get away with that in places like fenway. people are too kind here in washington. >> bob: zimmerman strikes out here. what happened to jesus colome? >> debbi: he probably has a strained quad. probably day-to-day, bob. >> bob: and then tavarez came up. i would love to see adam dunn swing at anything that's close in this at-bat. he does not need our advice but adam did strike out on a borderline pitch in the 9th when we would rather see him hacking. it was 3-2 delivery and he could have been the potential winning run at first. he gets under that one. it's going to stay in the park. second out. elijah dukes had the ford drive of the game that put the nats up. >> rob: cristian guzman, elijah dukes and nick johnson with the doubles. elijah thrown out trying to go to third. ryan zimmerman and adam dunn 0- for-10 tonight with four strikeouts, three of them looking. it's opinion an odd night for the 3-4 guys. dukes pulls off a breaking ball, hits it right off the end of his bat. fair ball. picked by scott role en and a good throw and

throwing darts at fenway. but, hey, don't sleep on brad penny, folks. top story's on the

and atlanta hammered the red sox 8-2 at fenway tonight against dykes. 3-1. -- dies kay. >> rob: kawakamasuke matsuzaka matched up tonight? >> bob: it was. >> rob: wow, moodia must have been going bonkers. >> bob: 3-1 on rios. beimel walks him with two outs. >> rob: well, he got ahead of him. he got a little too fine on that outer edge. a lefty on deck. not the worst walk in the world. >> bob: that lefty is lyle overbay. >> rob: this is a very good contact hitter, very take russ -- dangerous guy. >> bob: 22 homers, 92 rbi's first gleer toronto looked like he was headed for stardom and then a right hand injury got him in '07 and last year he hit .270 with 15 home runs. >> rob: i saw him a lot when he was with the milwaukee brewers and he's got a really nice swing. built for power. >> bob: 87 rbi's and 72 there after coming over from arizona. >> rob: need to start getting out fans. pitcher gets one strike, two outs in an inning, get them up. get them clapping. get the word out on the street. >> bob: hey, buddy, rob wants you to stand up tomorrow. ok? >> rob: two strikes, two outs. you're on

elsewhere in the american league tonight, let's start with the red sox and the rangers at fenway parketter, top of the 5th, already 1-0 rangers. and kinsler makes it 4-0. boston strands 2 and texas holds on to win. kevin millwood was solid. >>> toronto, lyle overbay, a homerun off zach greinke, the first homerun that greinke has allowed. and overpay again pulls this one over the head. that made it a 6-0 game and the blue jays go on to win it by a final of 9-3. greinke suffers the loss. he goes just five innings, clearly his poorest outing of the year. rangers over 0 the red sox by a final of 5-1. elsewhere in the american league, the angels in detroit and a 2-1 final as ervin santana goes 8 2/3 to get the swing. justin verlander, 8 innings, no runs on 4 hits. the angels win it. carl pavano goes the distance on the shutout, three hitters as the indians beat the white sox 3-0. yankees rained out in new york. (announcer) you do have health insurance don't you? if you don't, now you're in luck. carefirst bluecross blueshield can cover you for as little as $75 a month. depending on the pla

let's go to fenway. tying run on second, top nine, papelbon, posada. flies out to left. and that is that. papelbon with the save, the red sox have beaten the yankees seven times this season without a loss, eight times overall in a row dating back to last season, 6-5 is your final, papelbon with 15 saves on the season. you see all the home runs, youkilis goes yard, so does lowell, teixeira a big night, damon and posada also with home runs. royals and indians in cleveland, that's gil meche, 4-9 in his career against the indians, looking good there, shin-soo choo swinging, mark derosa looking, for meche, 11 ks in seven innings of work. alberto callaspo crushes one, this blast came with the bases loaded, and we call that a grand slam. his first career slam since may 5th, olivo with a home run, the 11 ks for meche is a career high. just the fourth win in the last 19 games overall for the royals. >> and updating you, phillies-mets, they've got to extra innings, bottom of the tenth, and we have one out, and they are 4-4, cole hamels gave up four runs to the mets, 11 hits, five

lester, now, 19-4 at fenway park during his career. the best home win percentage among active pitchers with at least 15 career home starts. >> mets -- they couldn't get out of their own way vs. the nats. top four, 3-1, emil brown at the plate against castillo, elijah duke can't catch it. he thought duke made the catch. castillo at second -- total confusion on the basepaths -- woop, woop, woop -- which way did he go? which way did he go? brown passes castillo coming back. he's out. mets lose 7-1. >> that was ugly. u.s. and honduras in the first world cup qualifier ever played at soldier field -- the americans change four starters after being embarrassed by costa rica. early on, clint dempsey working for the u.s. midfield, the horrible turnover here, honduras on the break and carlos copley scores. u.s. down 1-0 quickly. u.s. tied it at 1-1 on a donovan penalty kick. then in the second half, great chip pass, dempsey wide open -- he blows it. another costly mistake. 68th minute, donovan takes the pick. boca negra who scores on the header.

>> we started in fenway park, a wild one, game two of a three-game set between the yankees and the red sox. the two teams began tied for first in the american league east. look at him. boston led virtually throughout this game, but now the yankees have pulled within one run. johnny damon a solo shot, his 13th, and mark teixeira went yard as well, for teixeira his 19th of the season, he's 4 for 4, 19th homer of the season, two doubles as well, posada with a home run, damon, and also lowell with a shot and kevin youkilis as well for the red sox. the rays lead this one 9-1, aybar has two home runs in his last three games. remember as soon as the baseball games go final, highlights right here on "espnews." >> after a one-run loss in the series opener at citi field, the phillies turn to cole hamels to take on the mets. hamels, 4-0 with a 2.84 e.r.a. over his last seven outings after going 0-2 in his first three starts. let's check in as to how this game is going at citi field. hamels gave up 11 hits, four runs, and the mets had a 4-1 lead, but in the top of the seventh, mike pelfrey gave up

lester is now 19-4 at fenway -- the best home win percentage among active pitchers with at least 15 careere starts. a routine play becomes anything but for the mets. how it became an adventure. >> last year he was the league's m.v.p. what kobe bryant is saying about his game might surprise you. hi there. looks like you found your car insurance. yeah, but, wow! it looks like you guys have everything. we sure do -- we help millions of people save. look -- we're number one in motorcycle insurance, a leader in boat and rv, and -- oh, wait, let me guess. you're the number-one truck insurer. wow, first guess! nailed it. oh, you're psychic! what am i thinking of right now? tacos? yes! helping you save money no matter what you drive. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> the lakers defended their home court advantage in game one, now kobe bryant three games from a fourth ring. dwight howard's team knows how to fight back. it's game two of the nba finals. coverage begins sunday at 7:30 eastern on abc. >> no, feel like i'm a much better player now than i was last year. i feel like i've im

lester is now 19-4 at fenway.est home win percentage among active pitchers with at least 15 career home starts. still to come, a routine play becomes anything but for the mets. how it became an adventure. >> who was the m.v.p. last -- he was the m.v.p. last year. but what kobe bryant is saying about his game might surprise (announcer) introducing tuscani pasta pairs from pizza hut. pick any 2 of our 4 restaurant quality recipes. that's three pounds of delicious pastas starting at $13.99 with breadsticks. tuscani pasta pairs. pizza and pasta from pizza hut. now you're eating. yep, born and raised. big-time deal minnesota. that "fargo" was a crazy movie, wasn't it? uh, that was north dakota. ah, you're right. you're right. minnesota -- you got the yoopers. no, that would be michigan. uh, upper peninsula, u.p. -- "yooper." oh, yeah. you ever meet prince? no. >> the lakers defended their home court advantage in game one. now, kobe bryant just three wins from a fourth ring. the magic have surprised in the underdog role

lester is now 19-4 at fenway -- the best home win percentage among active pitchers with at least 15 careere starts. a routine play becomes anything but for the mets. how it became an adventure. >> last year he was the league's m.v.p. what kobe bryant is saying about his game might surprise you. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who's faster... on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can browse the web faster, email business plans faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than floyd mayweather. (announcer) switch to the nation's fastest 3g network and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free. do you remember when making dinner meant finding just the right stick for your hot dog? when every new fork in the trail led to a new adventure? then keep the tradition going with great father's day gifts from bass pro shops. like the bass pro hammock chair for only $19.94. and a garmin nuvi 255 gps for only $149.94. and don't miss the family summer camp go

. >> red sox and marlins have been in a rain delay at fenway since about 9:00 eastern time, 2:15 worth the weather in boston now is not any better than what it was since then and it's not supposed to get any better but they continue to hold off on a decision. it is an official game, we're in the sixth inning. marlins up 2-1 on home runs by dan uggla and ronnie paulino. as soon as we know more, we'll pass it along to you here on espnews. >> the rain didn't just disrupt the u.s. open on thursday, it also kept the yankees and nationals from starting on time. scheduled it begin at one:05 p.m. eastern it didn't -- 1:05 eastern. you can run 2 1/2 new york marathons -- there is no official record of the longest rain delay in mlb history, but 5:26 certainly ranks up there with other wet games. we would tell you now, but then again, we don't want to delay the highlights and longer. this was the final meeting for the yankees and the nationals and the teams have only one common day off the rest of the season, so they had to play this one. joba chamberlain on the mound. ryan zimmerman lined one in

he was perfectly suited to play at fenway park. >> jim: as for florida, they were looking to get rid of the contracts, the salaries and boston was happy to take it on because of the players that came with those contracts. >> buck: what's really interesting too is boston has done such a great job of developing that they had to make a decision between a guy names dustin pedroia or hanley ramirez. they, too, made another good decision there. >> jim: cantu gets into one deep to left field down the line and it is foul! it hooked foul at the last moment. it's a lonely foul ball bouncing down the stairs. >> buck: cantu. we talk about the balance of power in this lineup. there are guys that can really do damage. an 86 -mile-per-hour fastball. they change their pattern a bit going with their fastball with two strikes. you can see it's clearly foul well to the left that have left field foul pole. >> jim: 1-2 is fouled off. there are no fans in the upper deck. they rarely sell tickets up there. that baseball is all by itself up there in the upper deck. somebody will find it. ball and two strike

the last time he played was at fenway park, may may 10th. he is one of those phillies who had done damage against our ball club but not the damage that utley and howard do. he is not a very good defensive player at all. they will dh him more often than not because he is not going to play left field with carl crawford in here. with the phillies, over nine years, he hit .257. there is the homerun total of .252, 844 rbis. >> rob: quite similar to adam dunn numbers, especially homeruns and rbis. onbase percentage close to adam. >> bob: he was 6-for-17 with a four-game hitting streak at the time his neck strain sat him down. pat burrell is now 32 years of age. he had eight consecutive 0- homerun seasons with the phils. he is a double play guy with you can get a ground ball. that's going a long way. is it fair or foul? and it goes hooking well foul before entering deep in the seeds. >> rob: that's what i'm talking about. that was a good pitch on the inner half and the open thing for you to do is to hit it foul. watch this. this is going to be a ru

milwaukee has a 3-0 lead over detroit and the braves from our division lead 1-0 at fenway park. 2-1 tozimmerman. off the end of the bat. that's why it's going to stay in the park. adam lind for the second out. >> rob: and to backup what you just said, brian tallet against right-handed hitters this year, they're batting .218 off him. he's only faced 76. about a third left-handed hitters, they're hitting .237 against him. they have a few more home runs, but with that changeup it keeps those righties off balance. >> bob: here is adam dunn. adam in the new york series, 4- 9 with three walks, a homer and two rbi's. big holmqvist is on. rolen -- big shift is on. scott rolen is playing up the middle shortstop position. if adam dunn wanted to get elijah dukes to the plate in the inning, he could play carlos pena and bunt one down the third-base line, but the nats want this big guy swinging the bat. that was a front door breaking ball on the inside corner. >> rob: nice hit by direction by adam dunn. >> bob: so, 47 of the 60, dead center or pull. of course, we remember one of those opposite fiel

cal ripken at fenway park 1988 right in his 1 -- played in his 1,000th straight game. that was obviously not only halfway to the record, and he was on a roll. hard to believe he was the -- as of 1988 he was not even at the halfway point. >> jim: two away. brian roberts taking his time getting to the plate to get rich hill back to the bench for a breather and he takes low. southwest does not yet have a three up, three down inning. he's retired the first two down here in the fifth. orioles had three hits and a walk and all four of those base runners have been left stranded. it's high, ball three. there's a four-pitch walk with two men down. second walk allowed by sean west. >> buck: that's what we talk about when you talk about inexperienced young pitchers just not being able to make adjustments in the course of an at-bat. you've got a five-run lead to get two outs. you have the leadoff batter up who throws four straight balls and gives the orioles a little encouragement here. it's all about experience gaining that experience being able to control your emotions, control

it is not unlike fenway park when if you keep the hitters to center and right field, you have a lot ofoom to pick up some outs. >> jim: matt wieters takes. 2-0, the count on matt. wieters, 1-07 -- 1-7 on the trip. he caught two of the three games in philadelphia. gregg zaun lad the huge game when he caught on saturday night. matt started friday and sunday. he is batting at .246. there is a high chopper towards third. bonifacio in to play the hop and quickly across and the orioles go three up and three down on three ground ball outs. the middle of second, and florida and koji going back to work with the lead. eal good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. >> jim: here is a way to sa on tickets and pick up exclusively meme bee i can't. when you buy a flex pack, you save on four upcoming games of your choice including a prime game. for a limited time if you purchase two seats, you'll receive an autographed photo of nolan reimold and purchase four seats you get an autographs photo of matt wieters. go to 888-bird or just go online to

. >> jim: on the marlins last road trip, he homered at fenway park. the 20th different ballpark he's hit a home run in. there's a good-looking breaking ball for a called strike. here -- here is his home run last night against koji uehara. >> buck: koji uehara up 1-0, 0- 2 breaking pitch doesn't get away. stays out the outer half of the plate. he hammered it to the seats in left field. his 14th. >> jim: berken 2-26789 he went too far. that's strike three. uggla is down and berken gets out it have without further damage. walk, an error and two-run single left to the second 2-0. e content to sit around and wait. wait for something to happen. for business to pick up. but for you, it's time to kick it in gear. time to get going. time to get tough. take control. you're not gonna run and hide. because backing down's not your style. grab your bag. it's on. ( ding ) grab your bag. it's on. times may be tough today, but the things we all look forward to haven't changed. like owning a home. watching our children grow. and retiring with confidence. so whatever yo

the orioles beating the mariners 3-0 and then the big score of the day, the red sox at fenway park upyankees. big papi in the lineup and producing a two-run home run, his third of the year. quickly keith law, if you were in charge of the red sox, would big papi have been in your lineup tonight? >> they were reaching the point where they had to think about benching him. i guess it worked out for one night. >> this might buy him a little more time as he's under .200. >> major league baseball draft as expected, steve strasburg the number-one pick of the washington nationals. the product out of san diego state above average fastball, great breaking ball, superb control this year, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was something legends are made of. i guess he's a bit of a, at least some of the scouts speak of him in that tone. joined by keith law to break down the major league baseball draft. everyone expected strasburg to go number one. even with scott boras and the crazy numbers that are being thrown out there, you think at the end of the day, the nationals will be forced to sign him. >> r

we start at fenway, a place the texas rangers have found near impossible to win in, losers of eight straight in beantown but the men in blue did enter friday night leading the majors in home runs with 86. brad penny on the mound for boston looking for career win number 100. top three, getting some defensive help. watch dustin pedroia, catch, turn, throw all in one motion, fantastic defense. ian kinsler, career .232 hitter against the red sox, three-run jack. kevin millwood solid, seven strong, five strikeouts, no earned runs. boston has their four-game winning streak snapped. >> philadelphia leads this game 3-2. jonathan broxton on for l.a. trying to keep it a one-run game. jamie moyer in line for career win number 251. two earned, four hits in seven innings. phils have the seven-game winning streak on the line. highlights of this one as soon as it goes final. >> elsewhere in los angeles, kobe bryant has been receiving a lot of attention for his game face but there are so many different types of game faces. for instance, there is the thoughtful game face. then, there is the "i know something