Slotmachines » sank a pair of free throws, but consecutive tr

PHOENIX -- By locking into the fastball, Will Venable sets himself up for the breaking balls. And when those pitches come, particularly up in the zone, he hasnt been missing many. Venable drove in the first of San Diegos two runs in the first inning and hit a two-run homer to cushion the lead, helping the Padres avoid a three-game sweep with a 5-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. "Wills doing a good job of capitalizing on the high breaking ball, the mistake breaking ball, hes not missing it," Padres manager Bud Black said. Venable has been on a tear since August started, putting together a 15-game hitting streak and a current run of eight straight games. Against the Diamondbacks, he hit a run-scoring single off Wade Miley (9-9) in the first inning and later scored on Jesus Guzmans run-scoring single. With the game still close in the eighth, Venable helped give the padding San Diego needed, lifting a two-run homer off Heath Bell to become the first Padres outfielder to hit 20 homers in a season since Mike Cameron in 2007. "Just being ready for fastball for every pitch, just puts your body and your eyes in a position to recognize those pitches and continue on and make your swing," said Venable, whos hitting .390 with eight homers in August. "Hitting those off-speed pitches, thats just a product of being ready for the fastball." Guzman also hit a solo homer and Robbie Erlin (2-2) was sharp in his return to the majors, holding Arizona to a run and six hits. Miley was effective after his early troubles, but the Diamondbacks gave him little support, stranding 10 runners while going 1-for 8 with runners in scoring position. Willie Bloomquist had three hits, drove in a run and made some tough plays at shortstop in his first game off the disabled list for Arizona, which had its five-game home winning streak end. "We had some opportunities, but were unable to get the big hit, extra-base hit when we needed it," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. The series finale was relatively quiet after Tuesdays wild game of lead changes, hits (26) and lineup shuffling, including a major league-record five different third basemen used by the Padres. Erlin had a lot to do with it after being called up to take the rotation spot of Edinson Volquez, who was designated for assignment on Saturday. The young left-hander struggled in his last appearance with the Padres, allowing four runs in four innings in a loss to Washington on July 7. Erlin had pitched well before that, though, and was good early to start his fourth stint in the majors, working around a couple of baserunners in the third and fourth innings. Erlin got himself into a little trouble in the sixth, when he walked Eric Chavez with two outs and gave up a single to Aaron Hill. Bloomquist, who had been out since being hit on the left hand by a pitch on July 26, followed with a single to right to cut San Diegos lead to 2-1. "I really just try to keep it simple, throw strikes," Erlin said after his first win since beating Toronto on July 1. "It just comes down to executing. Executing gets outs." Miley has been good since the start of July, going 5-1 with a 2.26 ERA in 10 starts. He wasnt particularly fortunate over his previous three starts, earning three straight no-decisions despite allowing seven earned runs in 21 innings. Mileys tough luck continued. He struggled early against the Padres, giving up a leadoff single to Chris Denorfia, a run-scoring double to Venable and a run-scoring single to Guzman to fall behind 2-0 in the first inning. The left-hander worked through three baserunners in the second inning before settling into a rhythm. He allowed two runs on seven hits and walked five in seven innings, but still lost for the first time in seven home starts. "I thought I made some pretty good pitches in the first inning," Miley said. "They did a pretty good job of putting some balls in play and hitting the ball hard. Thats the way it goes." NOTES: Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt was given the night off after 47 straight starts. ... Arizona RHP Will Harris, outfielder/baserunning co-ordinator Joel Youngblood and Padres OF Carlos Quentin all shared a birthday on Wednesday. Quentin, on the DL since Aug. 10, will have surgery on his right knee and is done for the season. ... Arizona has Thursday off before opening a three-game series at San Francisco. RHP Randall Delgado, who will start the opener, is 3-1 with a 3.83 ERA his last seven starts. ... San Diego also has Thursday off before LHP Erick Stults faces LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu in the opener of a three-game series against the Dodgers. Nike Air Max 270 Kopen . "Youre next." Hardly. Iguodala tormented his former team with a game better than any he ever played in eight seasons with the 76ers. Nike Air Max 270 Dames Sale . Ferrer, the two-time defending champion in Buenos Aires, is aiming to win his 21st ATP tournament. Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the fourth seed, who defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7), 6-3 in another quarterfinal match. http://www.airmax270nederland.com/. To be fair, the celebrations are already anything but tame. Nerf ball tricks shots are just the tip of the iceberg for a group that has performed in zero gravity, faced pro-skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and an assembled team on the MTV series "Fantasy Factory", and even hit a basketball trick shot from a passing blimp. Air Max 270 Goedkoop . City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play. Nike Air Max 270 Uitverkoop . Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion.Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James scored 34 points with a full line and the rest of the Cavaliers core shined in Clevelands 108-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. James netted at least 25 points for the seventh straight game and contributed seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks as Cleveland extended its season-long win streak to six games. Kevin Love got back on track in a big way on Sunday, tallying 19 points and 13 rebounds while hitting 5-of-7 from behind the arc, and Kyrie Irving scored 21 points. Love had been 4-for-21 from 3-point range over his last six games. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both neared triple-doubles in the loss, but Westbrooks 7-for-26 shooting and just six combined points from starters Kendrick Perkins and Andre Roberson were too much for Oklahoma City to overcome. Durant posted 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds and Westbrook finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine boards. Dion Waiters, who spent the first two-plus seasons in Cleveland before a trade on Jan. 7 sent him to the Thunder, added 14 points on 5-of-15 off the bench in his return to Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland shot 6-for-21 in the first quarter and trailed 26-20 after one, but fliipped the script with a dominant second period.dddddddddddd James scored seven points during a 10-2 push to open the period that put the Cavs in front. It was tied with 4:59 left in the half after Westbrook sank a pair of free throws, but consecutive treys by J.R. Smith and Irving and an Irving runner had Cleveland on top 46-38. James layup eight seconds before halftime gave him 22 first-half points and sent the Cavaliers into the break leading 57-49. James only took one shot and didnt score in the third, but Love helped carry the load by connecting on all three of his tries from distance. Oklahoma City briefly took the lead twice late in the frame on layups from Westbrook and Waiters, but a 16-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters helped Cleveland regain control. James capped the flurry with a deep 3-pointer right in front of Waiters that gave the Cavs a 91-80 lead with under 10 minutes left. The margin never dipped under eight down the stretch. Game Notes The Thunder had been 10-1 in their previous 11 games against the Eastern Conference ... Smith had 14 points and Tristan Thompson grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds off the bench for Cleveland. ' ' '