Livan Hernandez used his off-speed pitching to lead the New York Mets to an 8-4 win over the Florida Marlins in the National League on Saturday.
Florida had been the last undefeated team in the majors, but Hernandez tamed the Marlins’ powerful offense, taking a shutout into the seventh inning.
He gave up only two runs in the longest outing this season by a starter for the Mets, who also got 15 hits.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PADRES 6, GIANTS 3
At San Diego, California, Jake Peavy struck out 10 batters in eight-and-a-third innings to steer San Diego to victory over San Francisco.
Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs and Henry Blanco homered twice for the Padres.
Blanco tied his career high with two solo homers, the second one leading off the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. Gonzalez added a two-out, three-run double in the inning to give the Padres a 5-1 lead.
CARDINALS 11, ASTROS 2
At St Louis, Missouri, Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to match a career high with seven RBIs, leading St Louis over Houston.
It was Pujols’ 24th multihomer game. He matched his career best for RBIs set on Aug. 22, 2006, against the New York Mets.
The All-Star first baseman went two-for-four and is batting .429 with three homers and nine RBIs in the team’s first six games.
PHILLIES 8, ROCKIES 4
At Denver, Colorado, pitcher Brett Myers extended his good record against Colorado.
Myers gave up three home runs but still got the win, improving to 5-0 at Coors Field and 7-0 in eight career appearances against the Rockies.
The right-hander allowed only four hits, striking out six and walking one for the defending World Series champions.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 5
At Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Alfonso Soriano made up for another poor performance by the Cubs’ bullpen, smacking a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning to lead Chicago over Milwaukee.
The Cubs entered the ninth trailing by a run, but with one out, Soriano clubbed a pitch into the second deck in left field.
DODGERS 11, DIAMONDBACKS 2
At Phoenix, Orlando Hudson homered, doubled and drove in three runs against his former team as Los Angeles routed Arizona.
PIRATES 10, REDS 2
At Cincinnatti, Ohio, Paul Maholm allowed only three hits in seven innings to lead Pittsburgh over Cincinnatti. Ryan Doumit hit his first career grand slam — one of three Pirates’ homers.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 3
In Atlanta, Georgia, Kenshin Kawakami pitched six effective innings to win his major league debut and steer the home team over Washington.
The Taiwan Daredevils yesterday won one and lost one in the Taiwan Premier League, dispatching TCA with ease, but stumbling against Formosa. In the morning match at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), the Daredevils’ Johan Koekemoer carried his side to 141-6 with 44 from 45 in their 20 overs. George Klopper’s right-arm spin dominated in the run chase. He claimed 4-5 from 3.3 overs as TCA slumped to 77 all out. The highlight of the innings was a stunning catch at cover as Jeff Black turned back the years to pull in a full-blooded drive on the dive
The Hsinchu Titans yesterday made a strong start in Group A of the Taiwan Premier League in Taipei, winning two games as the 10-team T20 competition began at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground. Chetan Sharma scored 57 from 30 deliveries in the morning match as the Titans made 178-7 against the Taipei Indians, who helped their opponents’ cause with 26 extras. Pramod Mandal took 3-11 as the Indians struggled to 126-8 in reply. The Taipei Stallions posed a greater hurdle to the Titans in the afternoon match, posting 163-7 after choosing to bat first. Hassaan Samad smashed 77 from 44 with seven fours and six
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his
Shohei Ohtani’s first walk-off hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday was also his first game-ending hit in the majors in nearly four years. His still-new teammates and fans who celebrated with him at Chavez Ravine expect to see many more feats from a superstar who is somehow getting even better in Dodger blue. Ohtani pulled a low fastball to right with two outs in the 10th inning, scoring Jason Heyward and ending the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Two teammates doused Ohtani with water, while a crowd of 52,656 roared for the latest feat by the US$700 million slugger. “We