Daily Republic
Monday, June 7, 2021 SECTION B Paul Farmer . Sports Editor . 427.6926
Giants fall to Cubs 4-3, lose chance for 4-game sweep
TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350
Still own best record in baseball at 37-22 Tribune Content Agency
Pat Brandon/Special to the Daily Republic
Kyle Larson (5) leads Chase Elliott down the hill on his way to victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma
Raceway, Sunday. Larson won the first two stages and then outraced the field the final 50 laps for the win.
Larson holds off Elliott, Truex Jr. for first win at Sonoma Raceway Brian Arnold
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY REPUBLIC
SONOMA — Kyle Larson put his foot down on a shot at history for Martin Truex Jr. Larson, from Elk Grove, won the first two stages of Sunday’s Toyota/ Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, then outraced the rest of the field over the final 50 laps to claim victory in Wine Country. Truex Jr. was going for his unprecedented third straight win in Sonoma but wound up third behind second-place finisher Chase Elliott. “I had two of the best behind me (at the end),” Larson said. “(Elliott) kept the pressure on, and Martin was strong, too. But what a car (I had).” Tire issues always seem to be a problem on the 2.52-mile road course, but Larson made the best of it. “I didn’t notice much with the tires,” he said. “My car was really good. The grip in my tires stayed better that I’m used to (in Sonoma). My car was good. I fell off a little bit, but I didn’t fall off as much as I usually do.” Larson was also pleased to be back in his home state. “It was cool to be here today with the largest crowd California has seen since the pandemic started,” Larson said. “I got to hang out with a lot of my friends before the race. . . . It was nice to come out west. To cap it off with a win at my home track was awesome.” Larson, who led 57 laps on the afternoon, was on the front row with Elliott after a caution with three laps to go. Officials added two extra laps for over-
Pat Brandon/Special to the Daily Republic
Kyle Larson celebrates Sunday’s victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 by spitting wine into the air next to Jill Gregory, Sonoma Raceway president. time, making it 92 total, where Larson easily held off Elliott and Truex Jr. Elliott, who led 13 laps, gave all the respect to Larson and his team. “The No. 5 has been doing an amazing job,”
felt like (Larson) was better,” Truex Jr. said. “The Hendricks team is really strong right now. They are really fast. . . . The short runs were killing us. We needed it to (stay) green longer to
‘It was cool to be here today with the largest crowd California has seen since the pandemic started. I got to hang out with a lot of my friends before the race. . . . It was nice to come out west. To cap it off with a win at my home track was awesome.’ — Kyle Larson
Elliott said. “But I’m really proud of our NAPA group. We were a lot better at the end than we were at the beginning. I’m pleased with that. I just wish we could have got another spot, but we’ll try again.” As much as Truex Jr. wanted the three-peat, he knew who had the best car Sunday. “I felt good, but I just
have a chance.” This was the 270th career victory for Hendricks Motorsports and the seventh of the season. NOTES: 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was Sunday’s Grand Marshal, giving the field of 37 the command of ‘Drivers, Start Your engines!’ “This is my first (NASCAR
race),” Shanahan said before the race. “It’s fun to be here. I really didn’t know what I was getting into until I pulled up. This is awesome. I had no idea they had this big of a track here. I’m glad to be a part of this. I’m very curious about everything that goes into it. I’m interested in how all of it works.” . . . There were eight cautions in the race for a total of 18 laps. . . . The No. 38 car of Anthony Alfredo was sent to the rear of the field and crew chief Seth Barbou was ejected for an inspection violation before the race even started. . . . This was Larson’s ninth career win in 239 starts, his third victory of the season and first-ever at Sonoma Raceway. . . . There were 13 lead changes in the race, with seven different drivers leading a lap. . . . Chase Briscoe (17th) was the highest finishing rookie. Briscoe won the General Tire 200 ARCA Menards West Series race Saturday.
Remember when the Giants went 29-31 last year, and that was a good thing? The abbreviated 60-game season came and went, and the Giants framed it as a positive step forward even though they missed the expanded playoffs and recorded their fourth straight losing season. Fast forward to 2021, and the Giants are closing in on their 60th game. Sunday’s 4-3 loss came in game No. 59, and even on a gloomy day in which bad news was revealed on Evan Longoria and a four-game sweep was road-blocked, this team is light years ahead of 2020. The Giants finished their homestand 4-2 following a 5-1 trip through Arizona and Los Angeles, and they still maintain the best record
in the majors at 37-22 . Some of the Giants’ best ball has come recently, the evidence on display as they took three of four against both the Dodgers and Cubs, two of the game’s top teams, and were a play or two from completing an unlikely sweep of Chicago. “ We’ve played great baseball,” said catcher Buster Posey, who commended teammates who have filled in for injured players. “I think it just speaks volumes about the guys who are able to step up and take some at-bats and take the ball on the mound. We’re all confident we can continue to win games while some guys are a little nicked up.” The Giants led 2-0 and 3-1 but allowed the Cubs to tie the score in the fourth and move ahead See Giants, Page B8
A’s can’t capitalize on scoring opportunities for sweep, but get series win in Colorado Tribune Content Agency Even in a hitter’s paradise can offense run dry. The Oakland A’s set up and couldn’t cash in on a few scoring opportunities in an attempt to get the series sweep, losing to the Colorado Rockies, 3-1, on Sunday at Coors Field in Denver. They finish the road trip with a 4-2 record. A’s pitchers this series have struggled to keep stay winded and keep their breaking pitches down in unfamiliar Coors. Without his best stuff, James Kaprielian gutted through five innings while allowing just two runs with six strikeouts and three walks. Things could have gotten out of hand for Kaprielian in the fourth inning. The Rockies loaded the bases with no outs, and Kaprielian succumbed only to a run scored sacrifice fly,
escaping the inning on a strikeout and fly out by the Rockies pitcher German Marquez. The A’s had ample opportunity to score, but their only run came via Sean Murphy’s RBI double in the sixth, scoring Tony Kemp, who had doubled to lead off the inning. An Elvis Andrus single and Mitch Moreland reaching on an error put runners on the corners in the seventh inning. But Rockies reliever Mychal Givens recorded backto-back strikeouts to end the threat. A Chad Pinder double play ended a scoring threat in the eighth inning with runners on the corners. Yusmeiro Petit allowed the Rockies an insurance run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, but like Kaprielian didn’t let the inning cascade when he loaded the bases with no outs.
Simone Biles extends her reign at U.S. championships The Washington Post Simone Biles hasn’t officially earned her place on the U.S. team heading to Tokyo. That will come later this month. But she is ready - not only to return to the Olympic Games but to take her commanding reign in her sport to new heights. Biles makes that obvious each time she performs, executing wildly difficult skills with ease and precision as she widens the gap ahead of her peers. At the U.S. Gymnastics
Championships in Fort Worth, Biles had a twopoint edge entering the second day of the women’s competition Sunday, and her lead only grew on her way to a seventh national all-around title. Biles’s final score of 119.650 was nearly five points ahead of runner-up Sunisa Lee. Biles has begun incorporating a goat emblem on her leotards – a symbol of her status as the greatest of all time – and her skills prove that she is worthy of that acclaim. Biles soared off the table
on both of her vaults, even though she didn’t perform the stunning Yurchenko double pike she unveiled last month. Unlike in Friday’s competition, she managed to control her power and adrenaline on floor. Biles improved upon her already terrific Day 1 performance with a 60.100 all-around score Sunday, which is her best mark since October 2018. With just three weeks until the Olympic trials, time is running out for the group of gymnasts in contention to prove they
should make the team. The top eight finishers from the U.S. championships qualified for the trials, and other gymnasts chosen by the selection committee will be added to the field. That two-day competition will be the most critical moment for these athletes, but with their performances this week, a few have already emerged as favorites – none more so than Lee and Jordan Chiles. Those two gymnasts finished second and third in Fort Worth and delivered two sets of
solid routines, each one bringing them one step closer to Tokyo. Lee, one of the world’s best on bars, performed a terrific routine on that event packed with connected release elements for a personal-best 15.300 on Friday. On the second day of competition, she didn’t connect all of the skills as she hoped, which lowers her difficulty score. But Lee still managed a 14.900 to secure the event title. Lee has dealt with an ankle injury lately, but she
had solid outings on vault and floor this weekend, which strengthens her position to earn a spot on the four-member Olympics team. The United States will need all-arounders to fill those spots because all four gymnasts perform every event in the qualification round, with three scores counting toward the team total, and three compete each event in the final. Lee, who also finished second to Biles at 2019 nationals, reaffirmed See Biles, Page B8
