SAN FRANCISCO -- Yasiel Puig believes he has the support from his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates and the club to help him keep his focus on baseball despite challenges off the field. Puig returned to the starting lineup in right field for Thursdays series finale against the Giants amid reports that smugglers who helped him defect from Cuba had threatened his life. "Im only concentrating on the season and being the best teammate and helping my teammates," Puig said, speaking in Spanish during an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday morning at his locker in AT&T Park. While Puig wont address the details specifically because of a pending legal case, he said he will focus on baseball and on helping the defending NL West champion Dodgers keep winning. He went 1 for 4 with a strikeout in Thursdays 2-1 victory. While he dropped a routine fly to right, he also made two nice catches on the run. "I have great teammates who are helping support me so much this season and to focus on the season when I get to the stadium so I am comfortable," Puig said. "That way I dont start thinking about anything negative in the stadium. Im only thinking about working on the things that are going to make me a better ballplayer." The 23-year-old, scratched from the starting lineup after arriving late for his teams home opener April 4, is hitting .250 with one home run and five RBIs in his second major league season. He said after the game he is committed to baseball "so those things that are happening dont torment me." "Were at the field right now. Weve just got to be thinking about baseball," teammate Hanley Ramirez said. "What Ive seen is hes been learning and hes just happy to be here. Hes playing today and he told me hes going to do everything it takes to win todays game." Manager Don Mattingly said he has read articles about Puigs journey and will offer support. He has spoken briefly with the outfielder, but not regarding specifics of his journey to the United States -- saying if Puig wants to keep those details private, he will respect that wish. Mattingly is committed to helping Puig, who signed a $42 million, seven-year contract. Court documents, part of a federal lawsuit in Miami, say smugglers who helped Puig leave Cuba on a speedboat have made death threats against him and against a Cuban boxer who says he defected with Puig. Boxer Yunior Despaigne says in an affidavit he is afraid of being harmed by the smugglers or their associates if Puig hasnt paid them money he owes. "He hasnt talked about his background. Nobodys told me about his background. Nobodys told me about his story," Mattingly said. "If its true, its a wild story." Other Cuban big leaguers have shared similar experiences. In Oakland, Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes discussed in February 2013 how he worried constantly about his family members the previous season as they made their way to the U.S. He wasnt sure whether they might be targeted because of his legal issues stemming from a former agent who claimed the outfielder owed him money. "If you care about Yasiel, you worry about some serious stuff there that he has to deal with," Mattingly said. "If you care about him as a person, you worry about what hes going through." AP Legal Affairs Writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report. Armani Watts Super Bowl Jersey . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers. Mitchell Schwartz Super Bowl Jersey . Or, for that matter, the aged. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-bashaud-breeland-chiefs-jersey/ . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Chris Jones Super Bowl Jersey .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line. Custom Chiefs Super Bowl Jerseys . - Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game on Feb.(The Sports Network) - Max Scherzer has a tough act to follow. The Detroit Tigers turn to baseballs lone 20-game winner this season tonight as they try to leave Boston with a 2-0 edge over the Red Sox in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. Scherzer topped the majors with a 21-3 record over 32 starts this past regular season, posting a 2.90 earned run average. He followed up with a pair of victories over Oakland in the ALDS, winning a Game 1 start before notching a win in relief last Tuesday in Game 4 to force a final fifth game in the set. The right-hander threw seven innings of two-run ball with 11 strikeouts to open the series, then yielded a run over two innings in relief. Scherzer, who has a lifetime postseason ERA of 3.64, doesnt expect the relief appearance to impact him tonight. "Oh, not at all. Im on normal rest, pitching Game 2, so Im fully ready to go. Arm feels good. My relief appearance was just needed," he said. Scherzer, 29, has posted a 7.02 ERA over eight career meetings with the Red Sox, but split two starts versus them this year with a solid 2.57 ERA. While Scherzer led baseball in wins, teammate Anibal Sanchez led the American League in earned run average and he kept the Red Sox off the board in a near no-hitter on Saturday night as the Tigers took Game 1 by a 1-0 score, holding Boston to just a single hit. Despite the shutout loss, Boston worked Sanchez as he threw 116 pitches over six scoreless innings. Sanchez walked six and struck out 12. Al Alburquerque, Jose Veras and Drew Smyly followed with two hitless innings and Joaquin Benoit came on in the ninth to protect the 1-0 lead and the no- hitter. Benoit struck out Mike Napoli to begin the frame before Daniel Nava punched a single into center field. "I wasnt thinking anything about the no-hitter at that point," Nava said of his final at-bat. "It was still a 1-0 game. We had been battling all night and hadnt gotten anything to fall. Fortunately, I got that one to fall." The Red Sox had the tying run on base despite having just gotten their first hit, but Benoit settled down to get Stephen Drew to fly out before an infield popout by Xander Bogaerts ended the game. "Besides the no-hitter, the mmost important thing is to win," said Sanchez.dddddddddddd"Especially in this series. In a short series, winning is key to getting ahead." Jhonny Peralta plated the games only run in the sixth, while Sanchez, Alburquerque, Veras, Smyly and Benoit racked up a franchise-record 17 strikeouts. Jon Lester was a hard-luck loser, giving up just one run on six hits and a walk over 6 1/3 frames for the Red Sox, who were shut out in a postseason game at home for the first time since Game 5 of the 1918 World Series. Boston will now try to split the first two games of this series at home before heading to Detroit for Game 3 on Tuesday. "I think well be ready to go (Sunday) night. If you havent been around us this year, we have the ability to put tonight behind us and well be ready to go," said Boston manager John Farrell, who turns to Clay Buchholz in Game 2. The 29-year-old righty was limited to just 16 starts this season due to a neck and shoulder issue, but still went 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 16 starts. He missed three months between June 8-Sept 10, going 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts to close the regular season. "In the starts that hes made since coming off the DL, theres still been a little bit of a building component, building his stamina and endurance inside of a given day," said Farrell of his starter. "But the touch and feel to secondary pitches are consistent to pre-injury. "And I think coming out of particularly the last three starts, where weve been able to get him over a hundred, 110 pitches on each of those outings, I think he comes away with greater confidence on the physical side of things." Buchholz made the second start of his postseason career last Monday, getting the start in Game 3 versus Tampa Bay. He did not factor into a 5-4 loss, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings. He did not face the Tigers this year, and is 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA in eight lifetime meetings. Boston and Detroit have been playing one another since 1901, but amazingly this is the first postseason matchup between the charter AL clubs The Tigers were 4-3 against the Red Sox in 2013, winning three of four at Comerica Park in June and dropping two of three at Fenway in September. ' ' '