Savage » hes learning to accept the change from being the star star

LOS ANGELES -- Sergio Romos reflexes gave him and the San Francisco Giants a hard-earned save. The Giants held off the Los Angeles Dodgers for a 4-2 win on Friday night when pinch-hitter Adrian Gonzalezs hard grounder went off Romos right foot. The ball bounced to third baseman Joaquin Arias, who threw to first for the final out after the Dodgers had runners on first and third with two outs. "Got a little scary there the last couple innings," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He got a break there at the end with a kick save." Hunter Pence homered and scored twice and the Giants got to Clayton Kershaw (14-9) with four consecutive singles -- the first three with two strikes -- to start the seventh. "Its one of the toughest things in baseball facing Kershaw on his way to probably getting the Cy Young," Bochy said. "We strung together some good at-bats. Guys werent trying to do too much." Mired in last place, the defending World Series champion Giants have been reduced to playing out the string. "We do want to finish strong," Romo said. "Theres a lot of pride here." Madison Bumgarner (12-9) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings, extending his streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer in each of his past 18 starts. The left-hander struck out six and walked two in picking up his first win since Aug. 2, a span of seven starts. "When youre going up against a guy like him (Kershaw), you got to try to at least keep it a tie," Bumgarner said. Romo got the final four outs to earn his 34th save in 38 chances. He gave up consecutive singles to start the ninth, putting the tying runs on with no outs. Yasiel Puig struck out swinging and Nick Punto hit into a fielders choice groundout before pinch-hitter Gonzalezs groundout. "I had to bear down. These guys are no joke," said Romo, who challenged Puig. "If youre going to get beat, you got to get beat with your best stuff." Los Angeles had its four-game home winning streak against the Giants snapped, but with second-place Arizonas 7-5 loss to Colorado, the Dodgers magic number was reduced to four for clinching their first NL West title since 2009. "It should have been three," Kershaw said. "Id really like to just have that peace of mind that we clinched because anything can happen." Kershaw gave up three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits in seven innings. The lefty who leads the majors in ERA struck out six and walked none. He had won three straight home starts against the Giants. "They came right back and battled me all night and got some big hits when they needed to," he said. "The breaks didnt go our way. It was my fault." Kershaw has hit a rough patch lately. After giving up a season-high five earned runs and career-worst 11 hits in five innings of a 10-8 road win over Colorado on Sept. 2, he served up two solo homers to Jay Bruce over seven innings in Sundays 3-2 loss at Cincinnati. Pences 22nd homer with two outs in the eighth off Chris Withrow extended the Giants lead to 4-2. Pence got a leadoff hit in the seventh and Pablo Sandoval followed with a single. Arias singled, scoring Pence, and Arias took second on a fielding error by Scott Van Slyke. Brett Pill followed with a single to right, scoring Sandoval and Arias to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. "We hit some balls hard all night and we thought eventually something would break through," said Pill, who came in just 5 for 33 since Aug. 3. The Dodgers had the tying run on third in the seventh, but Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning. Juan Uribe sent a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the sixth, scoring Michael Young, who singled. Notes: Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez sat out a day after leaving in the seventh inning with mild tightness in his left hamstring. The team said an MRI on Friday showed that Ramirez has an irritated nerve in his back rather than a hamstring issue. He received a cortisone injection and is expected to be available to play next week. Ramirez, the teams best hitter with a .342 average, has had two stints on the DL this season. ... Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that when LHP Chris Capuano returns from a strained groin, he will initially work out of the bullpen. ... Dodgers OF Andre Ethier left the game in the eighth after tweaking his ankle. ... Giants RHP Chad Gaudin, on the DL with carpal tunnel, threw 25-30 pitches to hitters in a simulated game. Air Max Pas Cher Belgique . - Dolphins safety Louis Delmas has been carted off the field with a right knee injury against the Ravens. Air Max Belgique . Summers has seen scant playing time with the Coyotes since being selected 29th overall by the club in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, having played in 47 career NHL games. http://www.airmaxpascher.be/ . Bobrovsky posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.58 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Blue Jackets (35-26-6) gain five of a possible six points last week. He capped the week by making 32 saves and stopping 2-of-4 shootout attempts in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Grossiste Air Max Belgique . Bobrovsky posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.58 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Blue Jackets (35-26-6) gain five of a possible six points last week. He capped the week by making 32 saves and stopping 2-of-4 shootout attempts in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Air Max Pas Cher . For the Bombers it has been a combination of things coming together at the most inappropriate moments in time. Quarterback, injuries, Canadian talent or depth and leadership are all issues. Trust me when I say being a Bomber is no fun right now in a city that embraces football the way Winnipeg does. While Buck Pierce will be getting another shot, I think Max Hall does deserve another opportunity.New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is coming off a rookie season where he threw 21 interceptions to just 12 touchdowns. In the offseason, the Jets signed Michael Vick to compete with Smith, although the veteran signal-caller appears to have already surrendered the starting job. "I think everybody wants to start, but right now thats not my position," Vick told ESPN on Tuesday. "Geno was drafted in the second round and this is his second year and I think he deserves an opportunity to go out and play and show why hes been a high draft pick. It would be unfortunate for him to not get that opportunity." Head coach Rex Ryan reiterated on Tuesday that Vicks role is to push Smith for starting snaps, but admitted his role goes further than just holding the clipboard behind the West Virginia product. "Mikes role is to come in here and compete and be the best that he can possibly be and I think hes doing that," Ryan told TSN. "Also, it is to be a mentor to a young player like Geno Smith. We try to pride ourselves on creating a culture of competition and to make yourself the best you can be but also push the guy in front of you, behind you and across from you. I think when you do that, thats the best thing for this team and it develops the chemistry and thats what Mikes doing." Whether Vick is his backup or not, Smith is looking to take as much advice and experience from the former Philadelphia Eagle as possible as he attempts to improve on his disastrous 2013 stat line. "I look at him as a big brother" Smith said to TSN. "I look at him as the veteran that he is, a guy that can definitely lend a helping hand to us all, all of us younger guys in this locker room. Especially myself, you know, being that hes played in this system and been a quarterback in the NFL for 11 years now. Just learning from him as well as competing with him and us helping one another get better is definitely something thats helping me out." Ryan has yet to name the starter for the Jets, but he has hinted - albeit less strongly than Vick has - the nod will go to Smith. On Tuesday, the sixth-year coach praised Smiths improvement from the end of his 2013 season to his sophomore camp. "You have to start with how he finished last season," Ryan stated. "The first 12 weeks, I think he had a 28 quarterback rating and the last month he had the second highest rating in the NFL. It started with how he took care of the football and obviously became more accurate as he got used to seeing NFL coverages. "In the offseason, he prided himself on not just learning the offence but he wanted to build his body up, understanding the grind it takes in the NFL. Hes put on weight, hes put on muscle so hes improved physically, and mentally, hes really been in the playbook. The way he carries himself now on the practice field, its like hes been in the system for five years.ddddddddddddquot; Smiths offseason preparations ahead of 2014 had a one main focus; lowering his interception count from 21 - the fourth-most in the NFL last season. "The number one thing we studied is turnovers," said Smith, who also lost four of his eight fumbles in 2013. "Obviously we had a few too many turnovers last year and we feel that if we cut those down, wed have a pretty good year. The main thing was being able to improve on everything. My footwork, my reads and cutting down on my turnovers, taking less chances and being very careful with the ball." Smith also projects to improve in 2014 from the play of free-agent signees Eric Decker and Chris Johnson. Decker posted a career-high 1,288 receiving yards last season as he finished as the Denver Broncos second leading receiver. He has also posted back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. Johnson was released by the Tennessee Titans after posting a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry average in 2013. However, Johnson has never rushed for less than 1,000 yards in a season. Now five years removed from his 2,000 yard season, Johnson scored 10 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns last year. Smith should also benefit from the additions the Jets made through the NFL Draft in May. The Jets selected tight end Jace Amaro in the second round and later selected receivers Jalen Saunders and Shaq Evans in the fourth round. "Having those guys in addition to the guys we got coming back is definitely going to help us out," Smith said. "We all collectively have to come together and just keep getting better and keep pushing one another." As for Vick, hes learning to accept the change from being the star starter to the veteran backup. "Its a different transition," the veteran said. "You go from taking all the snaps with (the first-string offence) and the feeling of being in control and knowing that everything falls on you as far as responsibilities to the quarterback position. Its different, Im used to that. Not having to be in that situation right now, I wont say its a breath of fresh air. But, as of right now, I get to tighten my game up, catch my breath for a second and watch Geno grow as a quarterback." When the Jets will officially announce their starting quarterback remains a mystery, though the decision may remain simply a formality. "Well do it when we think its right," Ryan said. "You have to be true to your team values in creating competition. We havent named (defensive lineman) Muhammad Wilkerson a starter even though he should be a starter in the Pro Bowl but we still havent named him yet. Everything will play out the way its going to play out and give people opportunities." The Jets open their preseason against Indianapolis Colts on August 7, when both Smith and Vick are expected to take snaps at quarterback. ' ' '