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Hudson hammered as Giants skid hits 5

By WTOP Staff

JOHN JACKSON
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — A week ago, the San Francisco Giants had the best record in baseball, a near double-digit division lead and they were piling up the wins seemingly with ease.

But manager Bruce Bochy knew a rough stretch was coming.

“I don’t care how good you are, you’re gonna have your ups and downs,” he said. “You’re gonna have your hiccups, your bumps in the road and you know it.

“What’s important is how you deal with it.”

What the Giants are dealing with now is a five-game losing streak.

Ace Tim Hudson was roughed up for seven runs — serving up homers to Cuban rookie sensation Jose Abreu and Adam Dunn — and the Chicago White Sox swept the brief two-game series with a 7-6 victory on Wednesday.

Abreu reached 20 homers in his 58th game, the third fewest in major league history behind Wally Berger (51 games) and Mark McGwire (56 games).

“I wasn’t aware of this happening, but it’s a good thing,” Abreu said through a translator. “I welcome it and I want to continue to help the team win. That’s what it’s all about right now.”

White Sox ace Chris Sale (6-1) labored, giving up three runs on eight hits through six-plus innings for Chicago. Ronald Belisario, pitched the final 1 2/3 innings to earn his seventh save.

Chicago now has won two straight following a four-game skid.

“Our guys, they’re tough,” manager Robin Ventura said. “They just keep grinding. We know we didn’t play well against (Kansas City), but put it behind you and you keep going. If you want to look in the rearview mirror and wallow on that, you’re going to get beat a lot more. These guys seem to stay with it and grind it out.”

Hudson (7-3) allowed seven runs and 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings, his shortest outing this season. He entered the game with an MLB-leading 1.81 ERA.

“It’s frustrating, no doubt about it,” Hudson said. “The guys, they played their butts off all day behind and fought right there ’til the end. You score six runs on a day I pitch, we should win these games.

“For me, that’s the frustrating part.”

Abreu’s liner into the left field bullpen put Chicago ahead 2-0 in the first.

Tyler Flowers singled up the middle with the bases loaded in the fourth to drive in two runs and extend Chicago’s lead to 4-0.

The Giants cut it to 4-2 in the fifth when Buster Posey singled in a run and Pablo Sandoval hit a sacrifice fly, but Dunn’s homer to right against Hudson with none out in the bottom of the inning put Chicago up 7-2.

“Obviously, the big blow was that homer from Dunn,” Hudson said. “I just didn’t get that pitch where I wanted to and elevated a four-seamer. It wasn’t quite high enough and ran out over the plate.”

Sale was replaced by Jake Petricka with none out in the seventh after Juan Perez singled and Gregor Blanco walked. The Giants loaded the bases, but got only one run, on Posey’s sac fly to make it 7-3.

Blanco doubled in a run and Hunter Pence scored one on a fielder’s choice in the eighth off Zach Putnam, the third of four Chicago relievers. The Giants added their final run in the ninth on Colvin’s sacrifice fly.

“These guys didn’t lay down,” Bochy said. “They came back and fought hard today. We’ll come out of this. You hate going through ’em, but it’s all about being resilient and this is a resilient club. We’ve gone through some tough losses.

“We faced two very good pitchers here. We needed our guys to be on top of their game and, unfortunately, they weren’t.

Notes: Dunn’s homer was his 452nd, tying him for 35th with Carl Yastrzemski. . Sale made his first career start against San Francisco. He hit two batters in the game after hitting only one all season. The game started 12 minutes late because of rain. … Giants OF Angel Pagan (lower back) was out of the lineup for a third straight game and is listed as day-to-day. … Posey was back behind the plate. He was at DH on Tuesday night after taking a foul off mask on Sunday. … The White Sox open an 11-game road trip on Thursday night at Minnesota. Chicago’s Jose Quintana (3-7) is scheduled to face Minnesota’s Yohan Pino (0-0), who will make his MLB debut. The Giants’ next game is at Arizona on Friday. Tim Lincecum (5-4) will face Josh Collmenter (4-4).

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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