Boxengasse » the clubhouse by San Diego Padres players in the 1984 Nationa

LOS ANGELES -- Corey Seager has become an NL MVP Award candidate as a rookie with timely homers and a big batting average.He made himself the difference in a game Sunday just by running hard to second base.Brock Stewart and four relievers combined on a four-hitter and Andrew Toles scored on a fielders choice in the eighth inning thanks to Seagers hustle, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers over Jon Lester and the Chicago Cubs 1-0.With one out in the eighth, pinch-hitter Toles was hit by a pitch, and then Trevor Cahill (3-4) threw away Howie Kendricks short roller, allowing Toles to reach third.After an intentional walk to Seager and a strikeout, Adrian Gonzalez hit a soft grounder to the left side, away from the shifted Cubs defense. Javier Baez stumbled backward to field it and made a casual throw to late-arriving second baseman Ben Zobrist. Umpires ruled a sliding Seager beat Zobrist to the bag, allowing Toles to score, and a review upheld the call.As soon as I saw him (Baez) throw to second I knew I had a chance of being safe, Seager said. Fortunately, it worked out for us.Seagers right foot slid into the base with Zobrists left foot barely inches from coming down on the bag.I didnt expect to be late on the play, but we didnt communicate on the play, Baez said. (Seager) beat the throw. Next time, I will be better and will be in my spot.We made a mental mistake at second and it costs us, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. (Javier Baez is) a young player but he has as much instinct for this game as anyone Ive ever seen. Im not going to beat up my guys.The Dodgers took two of three from the Cubs over the weekend and maintained a two-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.Stewart struck out eight over five innings of two-hit ball, and then Jesse Chavez, Grant Dayton, Joe Blanton and Kenley Jansen closed up shop. Blanton (5-2) got the win and Jansen got three outs for his 39th save.Were very excited for Brock, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. We believe in Brock. He was throwing his fastball, slider and change pitches with conviction.Stewart began the season with Class A Rancho Cucamonga and was making just this third big league start. He struck out eight of the first 12 batters to set a career high and struck out six in a row during one stretch.He also got his first major league hit with a single in the third off Lester. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth after throwing 80 pitches.I could have thrown more, but it is not my decision, he said. And we got the win and that is all that matters.Lester struck out six and pitched three-hit ball over six innings, and the Cubs also four-hit the Dodgers.I felt efficient early in the game but in the fifth and sixth innings they ran deep counts and made me work, Lester.Kendrick walked to lead off the first and reached third on an errant pickoff attempt by catcher David Ross, but Lester struck out Seager, Justin Turner and Gonzalez successively to end the threat.DISASTER AVERTEDSeager and second baseman Charlie Culberson bumped into each other and nearly dropped a pop-up by Addison Russell in the eighth inning. Both players called for the ball beyond second base, and Seager got his glove on it first but was brushed by Culberson. The ball popped out of Seagers glove and hit off Culbersons mitt before Seager barehanded it for the third out.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RHP John Lackey (right shoulder strain) will throw a bullpen session Monday at home, and manager Joe Maddon said Lackey is scheduled to throw a second bullpen session during Chicagos homestand before a decision is made about when he will be activated.Dodgers: OF Andre Ethier (broken right tibia) went 0 for 3 and played four innings in right field for Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday night in his second rehab game. Hes been out since spring training. ... Louis Coleman (right shoulder fatigue) is on rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City and has tossed scoreless innings in three rehab games there and with the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers.ROAD WARRIORSEntering this game, the Cubs (37-27) were one of two NL teams at least 10 games over .500 on the road. The St. Louis Cardinals were the other (38-24).UP NEXTCubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (16-5, 2.62) will open a seven-game homestand Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last time out, Arrieta gave up two hits in eight scoreless innings to earn his league-leading 16th victory against the San Diego Padres.Dodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (13-7, 3.37) will start at Colorado on Monday. He has gone 5-0 in his last six starts and has limited opposing hitters to a .226 average. Custom Glen Wesley Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Hurricanes Jerseys China . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. http://www.customhurricanesjersey.com/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Glen Wesley Jersey Large . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Cheap Custom Hurricanes Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Claire Smith, the first African-American female newspaper reporter to cover Major League Baseball on a daily basis, has won the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, the top honor for a baseball writer.The Spink Award goes to a writer for meritorious contributions to baseball writing and is presented during Hall of Fame Weekend, July 28-31, 2017, in Cooperstown, New York. The announcement, based on balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, was made Tuesday during the winter meetings.Smith, who received 272 votes from 449 ballots, including three blanks, represented the New York chapter of the BBWAA.Smith is a coordinating editor for ESPNs universal news group, with an emphasis on baseball. She previously worked as a reporter for the Hartford Courant, as a national baseball columnist at The New York Times and as a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.Smith was given a standing ovation when her election was announced, and she asked the other half dozen women in the room to stand alongside her as she spoke.Her voice quavering, Smith thanked the guys that stood up to the athletes and teams and said that we are your peers and we deserve to be treated like you.I want to thank you as well as the women who walked the walk and fought the battles and got all of us to this point, she said. No one does this by themselves.Among Smiths other honors, she has earned the Legacy Award from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2011 and the Mary Garber Pioneer Award from the Association for Women inn Sports Media in 2000.dddddddddddd. Smith also has been honored with the Sam Lacy Legacy Award by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and MLB.com.Smith, 62, is a trailblazer for women in sports media and fought for equal access. Notably, she was physically removed from the clubhouse by San Diego Padres players in the 1984 National League Championship Series with the Chicago Cubs. Former MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who once fought to keep female sports writers out of major league clubhouses, later called her the best baseball writer in America.Scott Powers, deputy sports editor of the Courant, said he uses Claire as an example to new writers of how to treat co-workers. Such a kind person to editors working inside, and writers in the field, he said. Pure grace under fire.When an earthquake struck at the 1989 World Series in Oakland, California, Powers said Smith was there with another Courant writer, Jack OConnell. When Smith was finally able to find a working phone, her first question to Powers was, I cant find Jack. Have you heard from Jack? After he was able to reassure her that Jack was fine, and she made sure he contacted Jacks family, a magnificent, newsy story was filed by Claire, Powers said.Award finalist Jim Reeves, the longtime Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist and Texas Rangers beat writer, received 118 votes; Juan Vene, of the South Florida chapter, had 56. ' ' '