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ARCADIA, Calif. -- Trainer Bob Baffert appeared to be holding a pretty strong hand when entries were drawn Monday for the $1.5 million Breeders Cup Sprint, with two of the top contenders in the field, including potential favorite Lord Nelson. But Bafferts chances of winning his fifth Sprint title suffered a major blow several days later when he was compelled to scratch Lord Nelson due to an infection.Fortunately for Baffert, his other Sprint candidate was the speedy and steadily improving 3-year-old Drefong, who proved he was more than a backup for Lord Nelson by outdueling 8-5 favorite Masochistic on the lead before edging away to an impressive 1-1/4-length victory in the Sprint under jockey Martin Garcia.Drefong, a son of Gio Ponti, is owned by the Baoma Corp. He completed six furlongs over a fast track in 1:08.79 and paid $9.80. Garcia was a last-minute replacement for Drefongs regular rider, Mike Smith, who opted to keep his regular seat aboard Masochistic.Masochistic broke best, with Smith rating him just outside and off Drefong, who sped to a short lead nearest the rail after an opening quarter in 21.41 seconds. Masochistic gained a short advantage on the turn and was seemingly going easiest at that point, but Drefong would not be denied, responding to some vigorous urging to dispose of Masochistic nearing midstretch before edging clear at the end.Mind Your Biscuits, last, as expected, in the run down the backstretch, finished best of all, falling just a nose short of catching Masochistic for second money.A. P. Indian had his six-race win streak come to an end after finishing fourth, 4-1/2 lengths behind the winner. He was followed by Limousine Liberal, a tiring Delta Bluesman, and Noholdingback Bear, who was eased to the wire after having his best chances compromised by a slow start. Like Lord Nelson, Joking was scratched this week.It really hurt losing Lord Nelson this week. He was doing so well, and it would have been nice to have him in here, said Baffert. But Drefong, he was ready to go. And it was a great time for Martin [Garcia] to reunite with me.Baffert and Garcia parted ways in April, just prior to the Kentucky Derby, before mending fences last week.Drefong broke with him [Masochistic], and Martin just let him ease up there the first part of it, said Baffert. When I saw the fractions, 21 and a tick, I thought that was manageable. Good horses could handle it.I could see Masochistic was bringing his A game, I knew it was going to be a battle. About the three-eighths pole, it looked like Masochistic was going to have the edge on us. But this little horse, when the running started, he just brought it, and at the eighth pole, he showed the will he has to win.Baffert won the Sprint for the first time with Thirty Slews in 1993. He also won the race with Midnight Lute in 2007 and 2008 and with Secret Circle in 2013.Thirty Slews was the first horse I ever bought, for $30,000, and when he won the Breeders Cup Sprint at Gulfstream Park, it was so exciting, I thought Id reached the pinnacle of my career, said Baffert. I never had that feeling again until I won the Kentucky Derby. And its still a thrill to win any Breeders Cup race because theres so much on the line, not only the money, but championships as well. Hopefully, this will put Drefong in the conversation.Garcia said he had no choice but to put Drefong on the lead after breaking from post 2.As fast as I was going, he was running easy, said Garcia. It looked like that other horse [Masochistic] outside went past us, and I just asked my horse a little bit, and he responded.Smith, who had ridden Drefong to three straight easy wins, including the Grade 1 Kings Bishop, said he thought he had control of the race on the turn.When we hit the turn, we were looking good, sitting perfect, but I know Drefong, hes a tough son of a gun, said Smith. He doesnt stop. Thats why I tried to put him away over there on the turn. I thought I did too, and here he comes again. Fake Nationals Jerseys . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Raudy Read Jersey . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. 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SAN DIEGO -- Just after being named a late addition to the National League All-Star team in July, left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz talked about pitching at Petco Park in San Diego, which was hosting the All-Star Game.Who doesnt like pitching here? Pomeranz said. Its a beautiful ballpark. Its a great field that slightly favors a pitcher. The weather is as good as you can find in the major leagues. Its a great place to pitch.Of course, the 27-year-old was a Padre back then and was experiencing something of a breakthrough season.He was 8-7 in 17 starts at the All-Star break with a 2.47 ERA that ranked among the top 10 in the National League. He had 115 strikeouts in 102 innings with a .184 opponents batting average. He was 4-3 with a 2.64 ERA in eight starts at Petco Park.As he prepared for his first All-Star appearance, Pomeranz was looking forward to the second half of the season.Then, at the end of the All-Star break, Pomeranz was traded by the Padres to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed pitcher, Anderson Espinosa, who immediately became the top-rated prospect in the San Diego organization.Pomeranz wasnt done with Petco Park, though. On Monday afternoon, he will make his ninth start of the season at Petco Park -- this time pitching for the Red Sox.Coincidentally, Pomeranz will be matched against the pitcher -- right-hander Edwin Jackson -- whom the Padres tabbed to take his place in the rotation.Pomeranz is 2/3 with a 4.06 ERA in nine starts since joining the Red Sox.Jackson is 3-4 with a 6.34 ERA in eight starts with the Padres after going 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in eight relief outings for the Miami Marlins earlier this year. The 32-year-old veteran is 0-3 over his past three starts while giving up 18 runs on 23 hits (including four homers) in just 11 2/3 innings.Other than Pomeranz and Jackson, there are few paarallels between the Red Sox and the Padres.ddddddddddddA 1-0 loss to the As in Oakland on Sunday dropped the Red Sox (76-70) a game behind the Toronto Blue Jays (77-59) at the top of the three-way battle for the American League East title. The Baltimore Orioles (74-62) sit two games behind the Red Sox.Meanwhile, the Padres (56-80) slipped back into fifth place in the National League West during a 3-6 road trip. They lost 7-4 to the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Sunday.While the Red Sox are playing to reach the playoffs, the Padres are playing to avoid one of the worst seasons in franchise history. San Diego is18-29 since the All-Star break -- although it finishes the season with 17 of its final 26 games at home after three straight long trips to the Eastern time zone.Half the Padres remaining games are against Boston, the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, teams needing wins to reach the playoffs.The goal is to play hard and finish strong, first-year Padres manager Andy Green said recently. This is an opportunity. Were going to be looking at a lot of new players with an eye on next season.However, the focus for the next three days will be more on the Red Sox than the Padres. Red Sox banners began popping up on establishments around Petco Park over the weekend. A number of fans adorned in Boston attire could be seen walking through San Diegos famed Gaslamp District even before the Red Sox arrived in town.We planned this vacation for a year, Greg Oliver of Boston said Sunday as he walked outside of Petco Park. Weve spent a week here and will see the three Red Sox wins before returning home. Were hoping we can make this feel like a home game.Certainly Pomeranz will feel as if he is home. ' ' '