Johan Santana breezed through seven innings in his first start at Citi Field as the New York Mets took advantage of a key error to scratch out the only run they needed in a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Santana (2-1) allowed five hits and struck out seven without issuing a walk. He never allowed a Brewers baserunner past first.
Yovani Gallardo was just as good for Milwaukee, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving way to reliever Carlos Villanueva (1-2), who gave up an RBI fielder’s choice to Jose Reyes.
PHOTO: AFP
Turning it over to their suddenly stout bullpen, J.J. Putz set the Brewers down in order in the eighth, and new closer Francisco Rodriguez worked around a leadoff single to Ryan Braun for his third save of the season.
PIRATES 10, BRAVES 0
At Pittsburgh, Craig Monroe hit a pair of three-run homers and Ian Snell allowed four hits in seven-plus innings, lifting the Pirates to their second consecutive shutout of the Braves.
Monroe homered off Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-1) with two outs in the sixth inning and off reliever Buddy Carlyle with two outs in the seventh.
Snell (1-2) walked three, struck out three and benefited from three double plays. The right-hander was replaced by Sean Burnett after walking Martin Prado to lead off the eighth.
Jesse Chavez worked a perfect ninth to complete the four-hitter.
DODGERS 9, ROCKIES 5
At Los Angeles, Manny Ramirez hit his first two home runs of the season — and dropped a flyball for his first error — as the Dodgers extended their winning streak to seven games.
Andre Ethier also homered twice to drive in four runs while batting second for the first time this season. Chad Billingsley (3-0) allowed three runs and four hits over six innings with six strikeouts and three walks.
Aaron Cook (0-1) gave up five runs and eight hits over four innings, allowing three home runs.
CUBS 7, CARDINALS 5, 11 INNINGS
At Chicago, Aramis Ramirez hit a game-winning two-run homer in the 11th inning and Derrek Lee hit a two-run double to lead Chicago past St Louis.
Dennys Reyes (0-1) walked leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano in the 11th inning, then Kosuke Fukudome bunted into a fielder’s choice.
With two outs, Ramirez hit a 1-0 pitch from Reyes into the left-center bleachers to win it with his third homer of the season.
Khalil Green homered for the Cardinals, who have dropped the last two games after winning the opener of a four-game series against the Cubs.
Angel Guzman (1-0) pitched a scoreless 11th inning for his first career victory.
MARLINS 9, NATIONALS 6, 11 INNINGS
At Washington, Jeremy Hermida hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning after tying it with a two-run shot in the ninth as Florida beat the Nationals for their sixth straight win.
Hermida, whose two-run homer tied it at 6 with two outs in the ninth, hit a 1-2 pitch from Wil Ledezma into the right-center field stands for the lead.
Kiko Calero (1-0), Florida’s fifth pitcher, worked one-and-a-third scoreless innings for the win.
In Saturday’s other games it was:
• Padres 8, Phillies 5
• Astros 7, Reds 0
Lyle Overbay hit a two-out, two-run homer off Dan Giese in the 12th inning as Toronto beat Oakland 4-2 on Saturday.
After a two-out walk to Jose Bautista, Overbay hit a towering drive to center off Giese (0-1), who was called up from Triple-A earlier in the day.
Right-hander Jason Frasor (2-0) got two outs for the win for Toronto.
Blue Jays starter Brian Tallet gave up two runs — one earned — and four hits in five-and-a-third innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Trevor Cahill allowed two runs and five hits in five-and-a-third innings, walking five for Oakland.
TIGERS 2, MARINERS 0
At Seattle, Edwin Jackson baffled Seattle again, allowing five hits while working into the eighth inning for Detroit.
Jackson (1-0), who beat the Mariners twice last season and has a career ERA of 0.40 against them, struck out six and walked one in seven-and-two-third innings.
He outpitched Seattle’s Erik Bedard (1-1), who allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out eight in his first start at Safeco since he beat Detroit on July 4.
Brandon Inge singled in a run in the sixth and another run scored on right fielder Ichiro Suzuki’s throwing error.
WHITE SOX 8, RAYS 3
At St Petersburg, Florida, Paul Konerko homered and drove in three runs and Mark Buehrle pitched effectively into the seventh inning as Chicago downed Tampa Bay.
Buehrle (2-0) gave up eight hits, three walks and struck out five in six-and-two-third innings.
Carlos Quentin also homered for Chicago, who have won five of seven.
In Saturday’s other games it was:
• Twins 9, Angels 2
• Red Sox 6, Orioles 4
• Royals 2, Rangers 0
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB