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SEPANG, Malaysia -- Fernando Alonso has shrugged off the 30-place grid penalty he faces at this weekends Malaysian Grand Prix, saying it was always going to happen at some point before the end of the season.Alonso is running Hondas updated engine during Friday practice this weekend, but will switch back to the old-spec power unit for the race. In doing so he will incur a 30-place grid penalty for changing the internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, energy store and control electronics, but will be able to race his Friday engine for the first time without a penalty at Hondas home race in Japan.We knew we had a plan from the middle of the season of where to introduce new engines, Alonso said. I lost one in Australia in the accident, and we were on engine number two in the second race. We had some further problems.So we knew these penalties would come, and one of the best places was Spa because of the conditions of our engines at that point. The second best was maybe Malaysia because the weather could play a big factor in the race, and also Japan is the next race, our home grand prix, and we want to arrive there with some safety in terms of reliability.Were ready to take the penalty. In Spa, starting last, I was fourth or fifth after many incidents, so you never know. We will start the weekend and the race optimistic about the chance of being in the points, and thats the target for both cars, even if I start last then hopefully we can recover places quite soon.Alonso caused controversy a year ago when he referred to his Honda power unit as a GP2 engine over team radio at the Japanese Grand Prix. He believes the quote was blown out of proportion by the media but also praised the step forward Honda has made in the last 12 months.Yeah, my radio messages first of all are quite interesting all the time. Ive heard many radio drivers from other drivers, world champion drivers, and they dont have that impact, so it means Im more funny, or something like that, which is good.I think we change a lot from last year. The engine last year was not ready to compete. I said from the beginning of the year, in all the interviews, our boss from Honda was saying the project was immature and we were learning a lot of things, and in the process to improve the engine.So I was not saying anything differently. This year we are all saying the same thing, which is weve made a lot of progress, we are happy with the direction we are going and we are able to compete with all the other teams. .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. NEW YORK -- Mac Williamson had crossed paths with Ivan Nova before.Fun fact about Nova. I had TJ the same day he did, the San Francisco Giants rookie said, thinking back to their visit to Dr. James Andrews for Tommy John surgery on April 29, 2014. How many guys face each other after you have surgery, the same day, the same surgeon? Thats kind of cool.Williamson started the comeback with a home run off Nova leading off the fifth inning, then hit a tiebreaking single in the 12th that lifted San Francisco over the New York Yankees 2-1 on Saturday to give the relieved Giants their first victory since the All-Star break.I think every good team goes through a little lull at some point in the season, Williamson said.NL West-leading San Francisco had lost a season-high six straight games and had held just one lead in 57 innings following the break: when Buster Posey hit a go-ahead home run leading off the 10th inning at San Diego on July 16 only to have the Padres rally for a pair of runs in the bottom half against Santiago Casilla.Williamson had allowed the Yankees to go ahead in the fourth. With Didi Gregorius on first, Mark Teixeira singled to right against Johnny Cueto, and Williamson allowed the ball to kick off his glove for an error that let Gregorius come home.I really was upset with myself, Williamson said. I rushed the play down the line there trying to keep the double play in order there for Cueto.His sixth home run this season came on a flat sinker and was just his second in 29 at-bats against right-handers. Even before the error, Williamson was peeved because he was thrown out at the plate in the second when he tried to score on Ramiro Penas double.New Yorks No Runs DMC trio of Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances held the Giants scoreless for four innings before Trevor Brown hit an opposite-field double to right off Anthony Swarzak (1-1) leading off the 12th. Williamson singled up the middle with one out, just past the glove of diving Gregorius at shortstop. San Francisco had been 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, dropping to 7 for 63 (.111) since the All-Star break.Were not getting that timely hit, but we finally did tonight -- it is night now, isnt it? Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after the 4-hour, 25-minute game.Bochy was impressed that Williamson didnt let his error get him down.He put that behind him. He didnt let it bother him, Bochy said. Thats what you have to be in this game: resilient..San Francisco had joined the 1991 Los Angeles Dodgers as the only teams to enter the break in first place, then lose its first six games of the second half, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.dddddddddddd And after making four errors in the series opener, San Francisco had two more.Jeff Samardzija had been listed as San Franciscos starter, but Bochy said his intent all along was to start Cueto and attributed the mixup to a failure to inform his media relations staff.In a late-afternoon start on a 93-degree day, Cueto struggled with deep counts but allowed just the unearned run and six hits in six innings. He struck out nine -- including five in a row -- and threw 117 pitches, two shy of his season high.Cheered on by hundreds of orange-clad fans in the Giants old hometown, San Francisco escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 10th when Casilla (2-3) retired Brian McCann on a shallow flyout and Starlin Castro on a foulout. Hunter Strickland pitched a perfect 12th for his second save.Casilla has heard the rumors the Giants are seeking to trade for a closer with a high-strikeout ratio.At first it would bother me. Ive been doing the job, he said through a translator. I have a lot of experience during the regular season, the playoffs. I have three World Series rings and I have shown that I can do the job.NOT SO SIMPLEWith Angel Pagan on third in the 11th, McCann signaled for an intentional walk to Brandon Crawford, and Betances threw the ball to the screen. But Pagan, held closely at third by Chase Headley, decided to stay, and Crawford hit an inning-ending grounder.RALLYINGSan Francisco leads the majors with 30 come-from-behind wins.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: OF Hunter Pence (hamstring) was 1 for 4 with a double in six innings Saturday for Triple-A Sacramento. He is to play seven innings Sunday and then take a day off. ... INF Joe Panik (concussion), who hasnt played for the Giants since June 27, played for Sacramento on Tuesday and Wednesday but is sidelined again for a couple more days. ... INF Matt Duffy, out since June 19 because of a strained left Achilles tendon, is running 60-yard sprints at 75 percent. ... RHP Cory Gearrin, who hadnt played since July 5 because of a strained right shoulder, is to pitch to hitters Sunday.UP NEXTSamardzija (9-5) faces Nathan Eovaldi (8-6) on Sunday.---A previous version of this story incorrectly said Mac Williamson was a 46th-round pick by San Francisco in 2011. He was unsigned as a 46th-round pick by Boston in 2011, then signed with San Francisco after being selected in the third round in 2012. ' ' '
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