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Monday, July 11, 2022 SECTION B

Giants open floodgates to rout Padres, secure series split

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SAN DIEGO — A day after Carlos Rodón turned in the most dominant showing by a Giants starter this season, Alex Wood followed on Sunday with an almost equally impressive performance.

While taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, Wood ensured the Padres wouldn’t sniff a lead, thanks to an offensive explosion from the Giants’ offense to take the finale of this fourgame series, 12-0, and secure a split with secondplace San Diego.

Whether it was the result of good vibes generated by Saturday’s pregame home run derby, the byproduct of the extra practice that came with it or simply the baseball gods reversing the Giants’ fortunes after a hellish past three weeks, the team turned in its most complete performance in ages and, in the process, won consecutive games for the first time since the middle of June.

Thairo Estrada started the assault with a two-run home run to left in the second inning, and Wilmer Flores added on the following inning with another two-run shot to left. The game entered blowout territory in the fourth when the Giants brought nine men to the plate and scored four more, making it 8-0. Flores added a second home run – his third in the past two days – off a position player to cap the onslaught, 12-0, in the ninth.

The 12-run differential was the Giants’ largest margin of the season and their dozen runs were their most since a 12-10 win inAtlantaonJune 21. Their 17 hits had been outdone only once previously this season, with 19 in their wild 13-12 win over the Mets back in May.

San Diego starter MacKenzie Gore, who had generated rookieof-the-year buzz with his 3.12 ERA entering Saturday, was out of the game before Wood allowed a hit.

In his best start of the season, Wood blanked the Padres for seven innings and struck out a season-high eight batters. After issuing a first-inning walk to Manny Machado, Wood retired 14 consecutive Padres until C.J. Abrams ended his no-hit bid with a single to left to lead off the sixth.

Wood, who needed only 83 pitches to complete seven innings, had pitched past the sixth only one other time this season. Since turning in the worst start of his career (1 IP, 6 ER at ATL), Wood has allowed four runs over his past 17⅔ innings, a 2.04 ERA over his past three starts.

The shutout, finished off by Yunior Marte, was the Giants’ third of the season.

By the end of the third inning, the Giants already had 10 hits, ending a drought of 14 straight games without recording double-digit base knocks. It had been 23 years since the club had come up so empty, for so long ( Sept. 14-30, 1999).

The cold snap at the

See Giants, Page B7

Julian Finney/Getty Images/TNS

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates winning match point against Nick Kyrgios of Australia during Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, Sunday.

Novak Djokovic beats Nick Kyrgios in four sets to win Wimbledon title

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Novak Djokovic won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles titles, holding off the combustible Nick Kyrgios in four sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Sunday.

It was the 21st Grand Slam championship for the Serbian star, one short of all-time leader Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic has won seven Wimbledon men’s singles championships, tying with Pete Sampras for second place behind Roger Federer (eight).

Whereas this was the first Grand Slam final for Kyrgios, Djokovic has played in a record 32 of them and has not been beaten on Centre Court since 2014. Sunday also happened to be his eighth wedding anniversary.

Kyrgios, an Australian with the best serve in the game, seemed to alternate explosive shots and emotional outbursts, frequently chiding friends and family members in the players’ box for not cheering loudly enough for him. There were multiple tantrums throughout the match.

At one point, he pressed the umpire to have a fan removed for distracting him while he was trying to serve.

“She’s drunk out of her mind in the first row, talking to me in the middle of the game,” he said, loud enough for the TV cameras and anyone in the vicinity to hear. “The one with the dress. The one who looks like she’s had about 700 drinks, bro!”

At No. 40, Kyrgios was the lowest-ranked Wimbledon men’s finalist since countryman Mark Philippousis reached the final as No. 48 in 2003. He wound up losing to Federer.

A’s pitcher Blackburn selected for All-Star Game

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OAKLAND — Athletics manager Mark Kotsay got to deliver some good news that he never got himself in an 18-year career.

Paul Blackburn, the right-handeed starting pitcher who was designated for assignment by the club in 2021, was named as the Athletics’ representative in the 2022 All-Star Game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Blackburn said. “The journey it’s taken to get here has been incredible. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity play and be in the All-Star game.”

Blackburn is 6-4 with a 3.36 earned run average with 73 strikeouts and 23 alks in 91 innings. The league mandates at least one player per team be selected, and the A’s, with the worst record in baseball at 29-57, had few candidates with solid credentials.

Having pitched at least five innings in 12 of 17 starts, Blackburn, 28 already has a careerhigh in innings pitched. A former first round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs out of Heritage High in Brentwood in 2012, Blackburn was traded from the Cubs to the Seattle Mariners in 2016 and then to Oakland in exchange for Danny Valencia that same season.

Along the way, Blackburn broke his hand with the A’s after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Trey Mancini and the next season dealt with a forearm injury. He was ineffective enough to be DFA’d a year ago, only to return as a nonroster invite.

The All-Star Game wasn’t a part of Blackburn’s thought process.

“There was never a point in the season where that crossed my mind,” Blackburn said. “My goal was to make the team coming out of spring training and that’s what happened. Then I wanted to be the best I can be. That’s how I’ve approached this year.”

Blackburn is looking forward to being a sponge around some of the great players in the game.

“Honestly I’m probably more excited to be around those guys and talk to them,” Blackburn said. “Talk to (Shohei) Ohtani. Talk to (Justin) Verlander. See what they’ve done to set themselves up for very successful careers and pick their brains.”

Given that Dodger Stadium constitutes a road trip, that could be a good omen for Blackburn should he get in the game. He is 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in seven home starts and is 5-0 and 1.28 in 10 on the road.

Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group Oakland Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) pitches against the Houston Astros in the first inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Friday.

Cal product Korey Lee has day to remember as Astros beat Athletics

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OAKLAND — It was a day to remember for Houston catcher Korey Lee, but another one to forget for the Athletics.

Lee, a first-round draft pick out of Cal in 2019, had three hits and drove in three runs in a 6-1 win over the Athletics Sunday before a crowd of 10,195 at the Coliseum. They were the first hits and RBIs of his major league career. Afterward, he was given the ball from his first hit as well as the lineup card.

“Hopefully one day whenever I get a house I’ll put it up in a little man cave,” Lee said. “I’ll just sit tight in that apartment right now and just remind me of everything.”

In attendance were Lee’s mother, brother and some friends from Cal.

“It’s crazy, being in Oakland,” Lee said. “The people here, the fans are really special so it was nice to get a little taste of home and do my thing here. It was a good day.”

The loss denied the Athletics (29-58) in a bid to win back-toback series for the first time this season, having taken two of three from Toronto coming into the three-game set with Houston.

The Astros, who have essentially lapped the field in the A.L. West, improved to 56-29.

The A’s offense was locked up by Houston starter Jake Odorizzi (4-2), who gave up four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in seven shutout innings. It was the first time this season Odorizzi has completed seven innings. He gave way to Phil Maton in the eighth and Bryan Abreu in the ninth.

The Athletics, who had precisely four hits in each of their previous four games, got their fifth and final hit in the eighth inning when third baseman Vimael Machin hit his first major league home run.

Lee got his first hit in the fifth against A’s starter and loser Cole Irvin (3-7), who pitched well with no offensive support. He added a two-run single in a three-run seventh against Austin Pruitt.

“Nothing any

See A’s, Page B7

How good is 49ers quarterback Trey Lance? Robert Griffin III weighs in

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San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has worked with a slew of quarterbacks throughout his 18 seasons as an NFL coach. But only one can relate to what Trey Lance is going through right now.

That signal-caller is Robert Griffin III, the No. 2 overall draft pick of Washington in 2012 who played for Shanahan when he was the offensive coordinator under his father, Mike. Like Lance, Griffin was a top draft pick with a dynamic skill set who challenged Shanahan to get creative with X’s and O’s to maximize his quarterback’s potential.

It’s Lance’s promise paired with Shanahan’s puppeteering of the offense that has Griffin optimistic about where the 49ers could be headed. But like many young quarterbacks, the development process might not be smooth.

“I think 49ers fans have to be ready for there to be ups and downs with Trey,” Griffin said in an interview with The Bee at the American Century Championship, the celebrity golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe.

“But the bottom line is Kyle Shanahan has had extreme success with guys like Matt Ryan and Jimmy Garoppolo, who are going to run the offense, and there’s going to be times when Trey, his talent and his ability takes over, and that’s what’s going to take over the hump to get them to the Super Bowl,” Griffins said. “Which is what they didn’t have with Matt