Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rafael Furcal and Matt Kemp combined for seven hits with a home run each and Vicente Padilla earned his first victory since beating the Giants on April 16 as the Dodgers completed a series sweep with an 8-2 rout of San Francisco on Wednesday. Furcal had four hits (a homer and three singles) and scored three runs. Kemp, starting for the first time since Saturday, homered and had a pair of singles for three RBIs. Jamey Carroll, spelling third baseman Casey Blake, doubled twice, walked twice and scored three runs. The Dodgers played without Manny Ramirez, who...

Call the Class of 2006 for the National Baseball Hall of Fame the calm before the storm. Bruce Sutter was the only player who received enough votes from baseball writers to be elected to the Hall. And he barely got in, receiving just 1.9 percent more than the necessary 75 percent of the vote to gain entrance. So on July 30, the Sutter family will be in Cooperstown along with a few other tourists. Let's face it, the split-fingered fastball may have saved 300 games, but few fans will make a pilgrimage to pay homage to Bruce Sutter. He may...