Off the wire

HORSE RACING

Close Hatches pulls upset

Close Hatches beat 1-5 favorite Dream of Julia by 7¼ lengths Saturday to win the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Belmont Park. Close Hatches took charge on the final turn and was alone in the run to the wire. It was the biggest victory of her career, and the fourth in six starts. Joel Rosario was aboard for trainer Bill Mott for the 1 1/16 miles run in 1:41.36 on the fast track. Dreaming of Julia was trying to rebound from a trouble-filled trip in the Kentucky Oaks in which she ran fourth as the 3-2 favorite. There were no apparent excuses in the Mother Goose. Sluggish most of the race, Dreaming of Julia made a belated run to get second. Close Hatches paid $10.60, $2.60 and $2.10. Dreaming of Julia returned $2.10 and $2.10. Marathon Lady paid $2.20 to show.

Doinghardtimeagain finished 2½ lengths ahead of Iotapa to win the $150,000 Hollywood Oaks feature race at Betfair Hollywood Park on Saturday. Ridden by Rafael Bejarano for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, Doinghardtimeagain covered the 1 1/16 miles on cushion track in 1:43.27. It was the first graded victory of her career. The winner paid $3.60, $2.20 and $2.10 as the 4-5 choice. Iotapa, the 2-1 second choice, returned $2.40 and $2.20. Ondine paid $2.80 to show. Doinghardtimeagain has won five times in nine career starts. The latest win pushed her earnings to $573,770.

TENNIS

Lopez, Vesnina win titles

Feliciano Lopez of Spain won his third career title when he beat second-seeded Gilles Simon 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-0 in the Eastbourne final on Saturday, days before they meet again in the first round at Wimbledon. Meanwhile, Elena Vesnina of Russia won her second WTA title when she defeated American qualifier Jamie Hampton 6-2, 6-1 in their final. Lopezwon just four of 21 break points and Simon one of six. After an exchange of breaks midway through the first set, the Spaniard failed to win a set point at 5-4 before taking the tiebreaker. In the second set it was Simon who held a set point at 5-4 ahead of winning the tiebreaker, before Lopez responded by dominating the final set.

Nicolas Mahut of France won his first ATP title at the age of 31, playing impeccable serve-and-volley tennis to beat second-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in the Topshelf Open final in Rosmalen, Netherlands. Earlier, Simona Halep won her second title in two weeks, beating Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-interrupted women’s final. Mahut’s and Wawrinka’s match also was disrupted by rain and Mahut - appearing in his first final since 2007 - dealt with the interruptions better. The Frenchman’s victory on grass capped a comeback from a career-threatening knee injury that sidelined him for months.

BASEBALL

Phillies put Adams on DL

The Philadelphia Phillies have placed right-handed reliever Mike Adams on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis. The Phillies called up right-hander J.C. Ramirez from Class AAA Lehigh Valley on Saturday to replace Adams, who is 1-4 with a 3.96 ERA in 28 games. Infielder Michael Martinez was designated for assignment to make room for Ramirez on the 40-man roster. Ramirez was 2-2 with a 6.53 ERA in 23 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals have optioned struggling lefty Tyler Lyons, who lasted just 1 2/3 innings on Friday, to Class AAA Memphis. Right-hander Michael Blazek, a 35th-round draft pick in 2007, was recalled Saturday to add bullpen depth. Blazek, 24, made it to the majors for the first time earlier in the season but did not appear in a game, and had a 2.31 ERA and 1 save at Memphis in 8 games with 4 of his outings lasting 2 innings.

Boston’s Clay Buchholz is not expected to start Tuesday, and there is no timetable for when the unbeaten right-hander might be ready to return from a strained neck. Manager John Farrell said Buchholz (9-0) did not throw a bullpen session Saturday, although he did some long-toss and flat-groundwork. He’s been on the disabled list since June 9. The team had hoped he might be able to start Tuesday, but now Ryan Dempster is scheduled to make that start against Colorado. Buchholz said he’s just not to the point where he can get on the mound yet.

The San Diego Padres placed starting pitcher Clayton Richard on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain. The left-handed staple in the Padres’ rotation was removed from Friday’s start after just two pitches due to pain in the acromioclavicular joint of his left shoulder, which is near the collarbone. Richard received an injection Saturday morning to calm the inflammation that caused him pain, starting after a June 16 start where he allowed one run and eight innings against Arizona. Richard has had a difficult season, with a 2-5 record and a 7.01 ERA in 12 appearances.

The Seattle Mariners activated outfielder Franklin Gutierrez from the 60-day disabled list and placed outfielder/first baseman Mike Morse on the 15-day disabled list with a right quad injury. To make room on the 40-man roster for Gutierrez, the Mariners designated outfielder Eric Thames for assignment.

FOOTBALL

Joeckel signs with Jaguars

First-round draft pick Luke Joeckel has signed a five-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Joeckel signed the deal Saturday, leaving the team with three unsigned picks. Under the rookie salary cap, the No. 2 pick in April’s draft gets a signing bonus near $13.8 million and has a cap number around $3.85 million in his first season. The Jaguars selected Texas A&M’s standout offensive tackle with the second overall pick in April’s draft and expect him to help bolster an offensive line that allowed 50 sacks last season. He immediately moved from the left side to the right, working exclusively with the first-team offense the past two months.

Sports, Pages 22 on 06/23/2013

Upcoming Events