a thrilling burst in which he beat two Rangers to the n

CLEVELAND -- David Murphy doesnt know why or how or what happened to fix his broken swing. None of that matters. Hes not asking questions. He just wants to keep hitting. "I havent felt this way in a while," he said. Murphy hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs as the Cleveland Indians took advantage of outdoor batting practice and San Diegos sloppiness to beat the Padres 8-6 on Tuesday night in their delayed interleague series opener. Murphys shot in the fourth inning off Tyson Ross (0-2) gave the Indians a 6-2 lead. He added an RBI double in the sixth and is 6 for 8 with a homer and five RBIs in his past two games. Its a dramatic change for Murphy, who batted just .204 during spring training and then opened the season 2 of 14 in Clevelands first four games. But since finding his "feel" in the batting cage a few days ago, Murphy has been making solid contact in every at-bat. Hes stunned himself with his turnaround. "Thats whats so weird about it," said Murphy, batting .364 with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs in six games. "I felt so terrible most of spring training. I didnt feel like I necessarily resembled a big league hitter, and even in the first few games of the season. Its night and day." Corey Kluber (1-1) bounced back from a rough season debut in Oakland and pitched six solid innings. John Axford stopped San Diegos rally in the ninth for his third save. The Indians were rained out for the second time Monday and have endured wintry conditions so far at home. Theyve only had BP on the field twice and have scored 15 runs in those games. Nyjer Morgan had three hits and two RBIs for the Indians, who will play their second doubleheader this season Wednesday. Jedd Gyorko had three RBIs, Everth Cabrera had three doubles and Xavier Nady homered in the ninth, when the Padres scored three runs off reliever Vinnie Pestano before Axford closed it out. But San Diego couldnt overcome two errors, five walks, two wild pitches and a passed ball. "Weve played pretty sound, fundamental baseball," Padres manager Bud Black said. "It didnt happen tonight. We made some miscues." With the Indians leading 3-2, Murphy, who had four hits in Sundays loss to Minnesota, gave the Indians a four-run cushion with his first homer since signing with Cleveland as a free agent. He batted a career-low .220 -- .084 points below his average in 2012 -- last season with Texas but is off to a good start with his new team. "Like I said the other day, its one game. Now its two games," Murphy said. "Its early in the season, but hopefully something is working here." Ross fielding error -- he dropped the ball covering first -- with one out set up the inning. Lonnie Chisenhall followed with a single and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Ross got Yan Gomes on a grounder to third before he grooved a 3-1 pitch to Murphy, who knocked it into the right-field seats. Before the game, Indians manager Terry Francona couldnt wait to soak in some rare sunshine at Progressive Field. "Im excited to get out there, man," Francona said. "Im ready to go. We feel like weve been cooped up in here until game time." Despite getting in some extra cuts, the Indians had only one hit through three innings but led 3-0. They scored three runs in the third, when two walks, an error and a passed ball by the Padres helped their cause. Ross walked Gomes and Murphy before Yasmani Grandals passed ball put runners at first and third. Morgan hit a grounder toward right that second baseman Gyorko stopped with nice play before throwing wildly past second as Gomes scored and Murphy hustled to third. Nick Swisher hit an RBI groundout and Jason Kipnis delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. Gyorko made up for his mistake in the fourth with a two-run double, bringing in San Diegos 13th and 14th runs in seven games this season. NOTES: The Indians scored three runs in the third without a hit, the first time theyve done that since July 21, 2007. ... Indians RHP Trevor Bauer will start the second game of Wednesdays doubleheader. Bauer made four starts in his first season for Cleveland in 2013. ... Kluber is 6-1 in 11 starts following a loss since last season. Bill Russell Jersey . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. Danny Ainge Jersey . Woods said Friday that his charity event, which attracts a world-class field even without being part of any tour, will move in December 2014 to Isleworth, the course where he honed his professional game from 1996 until moving away to south Florida two years ago. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Dennis-Johnson-Jersey/ . Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny. Robert Williams Jersey .com) - In the absence of Dwight Howard, Donatas Motiejunas had a career night to keep the Houston Rockets winning streak alive. Paul Pierce Celtics Jersey . -- Deshorn Brown scored twice, the first coming 13 seconds into the game, and the Colorado Rapids beat the undermanned Seattle Sounders 5-1 Saturday night.PITTSBURGH -- New York Rangers forward Martin St. Louis spent Thursday night with his family in Montreal, grieving the loss of mother France after she died suddenly. When Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told St. Louis perhaps the veteran forward should remain at home rather than help the Rangers try to fend off elimination against the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis and his father held a lengthy heart to heart. Hours later, St. Louis was in Pittsburgh. By the end of the night he was near tears after an impassioned team effort in a 5-1 victory that forced Game 6 in New York on Sunday -- Mothers Day. "Im glad were able to get this win and stay alive," St. Louis said. "She was a great lady, the best human being Ive ever known in my life. I owed it to her to do it. I know she would have wanted me to play." Buoyed by the return of their teammate, one who has fit in quickly after being acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, the Rangers shook off a lethargic loss in Game 4 by blitzing the Penguins early. Derick Brassard scored twice and Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Klein added their first goals of the post-season for New York while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31 shots. St. Louis had one shot in 16:19 of ice time, all of it with his mother in his thoughts. "She was with me the whole way but this is probably the most comfortable place you can be as a hockey player," he said. The Rangers certainly looked at ease while the Penguins failed to win a close-out game for the sixth time in their last seven chances on home ice. Evgeni Malkin had his third goal of the series for Pittsburgh and Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves but lacked the crispness that allowed the Penguins to sweep Games 3 and 4 in New York. While Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma stressed the importance of not letting the Rangers back in the series, the fire he was looking for came from the other bench. Pittsburgh committed a pair of sloppy penalties the Rangers finally turned to goals and couldnt convert a lengthy 5-on-3 power play late in the second period as they tried to climb out of a three-goal deficit. "At the start I think we played like a team that looked like we had an automatic bid to the next round," Pittsburgh defenceman Rob Scuderi said. "When its 2-0 right off the bat and youre playing from behind its not easy." TThe Penguins held the Rangers to a 15 shots in Game 4, a franchise record for fewest shots allowed in a playoff game.dddddddddddd New York had 17 in the first period Friday night. Having its beleaguered power play finally look competent helped. The Rangers hadnt scored with the man advantage since Game 2 of the first round, an 0-for-36 stretch that often featured disinterested or disorganized play by New York whenever an opposing player skated to the penalty box. Kreider ended the miserable run 9:36 into the first period after Pittsburgh defenceman Robert Bortuzzo was called for delay of game for lazily flipping a puck over the boards in the Penguins zone despite having no pressure on him. Playing in his second game after missing more than a month with a hand injury, Kreider threaded a rebound from the bottom of the left circle in a small hole between Fleurys right pad and his blocker to give the Rangers their first lead in more than 180 minutes of play. Brassard made it 2-0 just over 5 minutes later, diving across the Pittsburgh crease to bang home Mats Zuccarellos rebound. The Penguins seemed to regain their swagger in the second period and Malkin cut the lead in half at the end of a thrilling burst in which he beat two Rangers to the net and did a 360- degree spin before slipping his own rebound by Lundqvist. The momentum didnt last. Brassard roofed a shot through a scrum in front of Fleury to make it 3-1 and McDonagh scored his first goal of the post-season with a shot through traffic from the point after Pittsburgh was whistled for too many man on the ice, the kind of untidy mistake the Penguins had avoided while winning three straight to take command of the series. Now its back to Madison Square for a series that suddenly looks competitive. "I dont think theres much good to take from it to be honest with you," Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby said. "So I think we have to make sure we come with the right mindset going to New York. Whatever mindset we were tonight it wasnt enough." NOTES: The line of Brassard, Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot combined for seven points (two goals, five assists). ... Pittsburgh forward Jussi Jokinens points streak ended at eight games. ... Pittsburgh scratched D Brooks Orpik, who appeared to suffer a lower-body injury in Game 4. ... The Rangers are 5 for 47 with the man advantage in the playoffs. ' ' '