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Tour of California 2012 Standings: Peter Sagan Wins Stage 3 For 3rd Win On Tour

2012-05-16T03:42:14Z

Peter Sagan won Stage 3 for his third win of the 2012 Tour of California in as many tries. Heinrich Haussler once again came in second place. The 114-mile stage featured a brutal nearly 11-mile climb up Mount Diablo midway through to test riders vying for the King of the Mountain title. The finish was all downhill, however. Haussler tried to get a jump on Sagan by breaking first with 100 meters to go. Sagan responded immediately to edge out Haussler and take the win and the associated time bonus.

The pair of Pennsylvanians racing in Tour still have yet to make much of an impact near the front of the pack. West Chester's Scott Zwizanksi came in at 4:58:34 on Day 3, nearly eight minutes off the winning time. Pittsburgh's Mark Friedman finished over four minutes behind Zwizanski. Optum Pro Cycling is still in last place among the 16 teams competing. Collectively, they are 25:52 behind the 10 teams tied for the lead.

Here are the Top 10 riders atop the standings after Tuesday. You can check out the full results at the official site of the 2012 Tour of California.

1) Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 14:34:54

2) Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda -:12

3) Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team -:24

4) Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy -:26

5) Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling -:26

6) Marc De Maar (Aho) UnitedHealthcare -:27

7) Markel Irizar Arranburu (Esp) RadioShack-Nissan -:29

8) Josh Atkins (USA) Bontrager-Livestrong -:29

9) Greg Van (Bel) Avermaet BMC Racing -:30

10) Lawson (USA) Craddock Bontrager-Livestrong -:30

For more on the Tour of California, please be sure to check out our StoryStream right here on SB Nation Philly.

Vance Worley Injury: Phillies Pitcher Scratched From Wednesday Start With Elbow Soreness

2012-05-15T21:38:35Z

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Vance Worley has been scratched from Wednesday's series opener with the Chicago Cubs with elbow soreness (via Philly.com).

Worley (3-2, 3.07 ERA) was expected to start against Matt Garza on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. The Phillies have not yet decided if Worley will need to go on the disabled list. However, it appears Philadelphia anticipated that Worley might need a DL stint as Joe Savery will be on the two-game road trip with the team to Chicago. Savery has appeared in eight games for the Phillies in 2012 and has a 4.50 ERA in eight innings of work.

The bad news comes after Tuesday's 4-3 10-inning win over the Houston Astros and the Phillies' first three-game win streak of the 2012 season.

For more on the Phillies, please be sure to check out our blog The Good Phight and SB Nation Philly for all the latest news and updates.

Hunter Pence Walkoff HR Lifts Phillies Over Astros In Extra Innings

2012-05-15T20:35:24Z

Hunter Pence giveth and he taketh away. Pence’s fielding error in the bottom of the 9th blew what would have been Cliff Lee first win of the season, but his walk off home run in the 9th gave the Phillies their first three game winning streak this year. It was Pence’s second homer of the game and 10th of the season.

Pence, of course, came to the Phillies from the Astros in a near deadline last season and just to add to the irony of the situation, the man who served up Pence’s walk off today? Former Phillie Brett Myers.

As great as the end was, this was really yet another frustrating game for the Phils complete with another bullpen meltdown. Cliff Lee got the start and was, as usual, brilliant allowing just 1 run over 8 innings and striking out 10. He handed a 3-1 lead to the bullpen heading into the 9th, but an awful outing by Chad Qualls combined with the Pence error meant that Lee is still yet to record a victory on the season.

In his 5 starts this year, Lee has went at least 7 innings, has a 1.95 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, .190 BAA. He even pitched 10 shutout innings in a game and yet he has no wins to show for it.

Today marked the debut of 25 year old lefty RP Jake Deikman, who looked very impressive in a 1.1 innings of work, striking out three of the 4 batters he faced. Any sign of life in this bullpen is welcome and as Deikman was hitting 96 on the gun, he probably earned himself an extended stay in the majors.

The win completes a two game sweep of the Astros. The Phillies improve to 18-19 and now sit just 4.5 games back of the NL East lead.

2012 NBA Playoffs, 76ers Vs. Celtics: Sixers 'Becoming Men,' Says Doug Collins

2012-05-15T16:46:50Z

The Boston Celtics made their fourth-quarter surge as expected. Kevin Garnett had 11 points in the frame, Avery Bradley and Ray Allen hit timely threes on consecutive possessions, and the Celtics fought back from eight points behind to take two leads in the final three minutes.

But the Philadelphia 76ers hit each of their last five field goal attempts to hang on for a series-evening 82-81 win.

As Doug Collins explained, "Our young guys just keep growing and they’re really becoming men. I’m so proud of them. Doc Rivers is arguably the best coach in the NBA, and for our guys to just scrap through a game tonight -- we just found a way. All season long we couldn’t win these games and now our guys are believing they can do it, and it is pretty special to watch."

For more on the 76ers, please be sure to visit our blog Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly for all the latest news and updates.

Phillies Vs. Astros, Game 2: Cliff Lee Tries For First Win Of Season Against Visiting Houston

2012-05-15T15:13:19Z

Philadelphia Phillies ace Cliff Lee will try to collect his first victory of the season Tuesday, when the Phils' host the Houston Astros in the finale of a small two-game series at Citizen Bank Park. The first pitch is schedule for 1:05 p.m. ET, however, the weather forecast, which calls for isolated thunderstorms all day, could cause issues.

If the game goes off without a hitch, here's the starting lineup for the Phillies:

Jimmy Rollins SS
Juan Pierre LF
Shane Victorino CF
Hunter Pence RF
Placido Polanco 3B
John Mayberry 1B
Freddy Galvis 2B
Brian Scneider C
Joe Blanton P

Currently, the Astros starting pitcher is unknown. However, Zack Meisel of MLB.com is hinting it could be Triple-A call-up Jordan Lyles.

On Monday, the Phillies defeated the Astros 5-1, with help from Polanco's 2,000th hit which was a home run in the eighth inning.

For more on the Phillies, please be sure to check out our blog The Good Phight and SB Nation Philly for all the latest news and updates.

Tour of California 2012: Paul Sagan Solidifies Yellow Jersey With Stage 2 Win

2012-05-15T04:20:37Z

Paul Sagan won Stage 2 of the 2012 Tour of California with another impressive sprint to finish the day. He had no mechanical trouble on Monday, as he led the pack coming around the final bend before turning on the jets and pulling away from Heinrich Haussler, who for the second straight day came in second.

The pair of Pennsylvanians riding in the Tour once again finished well back of the leaders. Mark Zwizanski of West Chester came in at 5:16:01 over the 42-mile course, over 14 minutes off Sagan's winning time. Pittsburgh's Michael Friedman finished with the last pack of riders at 5:16:45. Optum Pro Cycling is still off to a slow start, though Alexander Candelario was able to come in with the first group of riders all earning times of 5:02:00.

Here are the Top 10 riders after two stages.

1. Peter Sagan, Liquigas-Cannondale in 9:44:15

2. Heinrich Haussler, Garmin-Barracuda at :08

3. Leigh Howard, Orica-GreenEdge :13

4. Jeffry Louder, UnitedHealthcare at :14

5. Fred Rodriguez, Exergy at :16

6. Ben Jacques-Maynes, Bissell at :16

7. Marc De Maar, UnitedHealthcare at :17

8. Markel Irizar Aranburu, RadioShack-Nissan at :19

9. Joshua Atkins, Bontrager-Livestrong at :19

10. Greg Van Avermaet, BMC Racing at :20

For more on the Tour of California, please be sure to check out our StoryStream right here on SB Nation Philly.

Phillies Vs. Astros Final Score: Polanco Homers 2,000th Hit In 5-1 Philadelphia Win

2012-05-15T02:20:19Z

Placido Polanco recorded his 2,000th hit on Monday night, a home run over left center off of David Carpenter in the eighth inning to add a two-run emphasis to the Philadelphia Phillies' 5-1 win over the Houston Astros. Joe Blanton earned the win with seven strikeouts, and just one earned run and six hits surrendered.

Astros' starter Lucas Harrell gave up five hits and three runs (two earned) before being pulled after 5 2/3 innings. Freddy Galvis (3-for-4 from the plate) scored Polanco twice on RBI singles in the fifth and sixth innings. Carlos Ruiz (2-for-3) scored Shane Victorino on another sixth-inning single, improving his major league leading .330 batting average among catchers.

Blanton's only big blemish came in the eighth inning when he allowed a solo home run to Marwin Gonzalez, pinch hitting for reliever Fernando Abad. Blanton then allowed a single to Jose Altuve before being relieved by Wilton Lopez with no outs.

The Phillies improved to 17-19 overall with the win to move within 5.5 games of the first place Washington Nationals in the NL East.

For more on the Phillies, please be sure to check out our blog The Good Phight and SB Nation Philly for all the latest news and updates.

2012 NBA Playoffs, Sixers Vs. Celtics: Philadelphia Wins Gritty Game 2, 82-81

2012-05-15T01:41:55Z

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics, 82-81, on Monday night in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference second round series. It would be kind to call the game a defensive battle. Both teams simply struggled from the floor throughout the night. For the game, the Sixers shot just 40.8 percent to 41.8 percent for the Celtics.

The Celtics began the fourth quarter in a six-point deficit after scoring just 11 in the third quarter. They chipped away as the Sixers scored just two points over a nearly five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. The Celtics finally took the lead back, 72-71, on an Avery Bradley 3-pointer with 2:20 to play, setting up what would be a tense final two minutes.

The lead changed hands three more times before the end of regulation, and became Philadelphia's for good on a falling Evan Turner layup with only 40 seconds to play.

Turner finished with 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting, in addition to six rebounds. Jrue Holiday pitched in 18 to lead the team, with 12 of those points coming from 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Spencer Hawes had 10 points to go with his eight rebounds. Lavoy Allen came off the bench to pitch in 10 points, including a shot clock-beating 22-foot 2-pointer to break a 65-65 tie. He has now hit double-digit scoring in three games this postseason after doing it only four times during the regular season.

Ray Allen shot 7-for-14 on his way to leading the Celtics with 17 points. Kevin Garnett had another solid outing, scoring 15 points with 12 rebounds. Rajon Rondo finished with eight points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

The win was Philadelphia's first postseason win in Boston since Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals. The Sixers have now played in three consecutive one-point postseason games, the first time that has ever happened among the 476 total playoff games the team has played. The series heads to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Wednesday.

For more on the 76ers, please be sure to visit our blog Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly for all the latest news and updates.