National League
Roy Halladay won his 13th straight decision and Vernon Wells homered as the Toronto Blue Jays ended a four-game losing streak with a 10-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday.
Halladay (13-2) became the first 13-game winner in the majors. The 26-year-old right-hander is the first Toronto pitcher to win 13 straight decisions since Roger Clemens won a club-record 15 in a row in 1998.
PHOTO: AP
Halladay, who hasn't lost in 17 starts since April 15 against New York, allowed two runs on four hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking none.
Frank Catalanotto hit a go-ahead, two-run single off Mike Mussina (10-6) in the seventh, giving Toronto a 4-2 lead. The Blue Jays, who had 14 hits, broke it open with six runs in the eighth against New York's bullpen.
Jason Giambi hit his 25th home run for the Yankees, who entered the day two games ahead of Boston for first place in the AL East.
PHOTO: AFP
Athletics 5, Orioles 3
In Oakland, California, Scott Hatteberg hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Hector Carrasco (0-1) in the eighth inning and Terrence Long had a three-run shot as Oakland beat Baltimore.
The defending AL West champions won their fourth straight and matched their season high at 14 games over .500.
Jim Mecir (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win and Keith Foulke worked the ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances.
Long connected for his 10th homer of the season on a 2-1 pitch from Pat Hentgen in the second.
Angels 6, Twins 1
In Anaheim, California, Darin Erstad hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the seventh inning and Jarrod Washburn pitched seven solid innings as Anaheim kept Brad Radke winless in his last 10 starts.
Scott Spiezio went 3-for-4 with an RBI single and sacrifice fly, helping the Angels win for the 11th time in 15 games. Washburn (8-9) allowed a run and five hits, striking out five and walking one.
Radke (5-9) was charged with four runs -- three earned -- and eight hits over seven innings while striking out seven. The beleaguered right-hander is 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA since beating Chicago 18-3 on May 16 for his fourth straight victory.
Red Sox 4, Tigers 2
In Detroit, Johnny Damon homered and hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 11th inning as Boston won its fifth straight.
Pedro Martinez pitched seven sharp innings and Trot Nixon also homered for the Red Sox, who moved within one game of the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
Martinez left leading 2-1, only to see the Boston bullpen cost him a win for the fifth time this season. Alan Embree gave up a two-out RBI double to Carlos Pena that tied it in the eighth.
Todd Jones (2-0) struck out three in a scoreless 10th inning for the victory. Byung-Hyun Kim got three outs for his fifth save in five chances.
White Sox 7, Indians 4
Indians 4, White Sox 2
In Cleveland, Travis Hafner had three RBIs and Jake Westbrook got his first win since May 9 as Cleveland beat Chicago for a split of their day-night doubleheader.
In the opener, Paul Konerko hit a three-run homer off Terry Mulholland (1-2) in the 10th inning as the White Sox rallied for a victory.
Shane Spencer added a solo homer and made two nice catches in right field for the Indians in the nightcap.
Hafner and Westbrook (4-4) were both recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Buffalo. Westbrook allowed one run and three hits over five innings in his first start since May 26.
Danys Baez, who threw away Cleveland's win with a two-run error in the ninth inning of the day game, worked another shaky ninth for his 21st save.
Reliever Damaso Marte (3-1) got the win, and Tom Gordon earned his 100th career save in the opener. Gordon is the 14th pitcher with 100 career wins and saves.
Royals 8, Rangers 2
In Arlington, Texas, Jose Lima pitched seven scoreless innings to win his fifth consecutive start, and Carlos Beltran had four hits as Kansas City beat Texas.
Beltran also drove in three runs, and Michael Tucker added a pair of RBIs for the Royals, who extended their lead to 6 games over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.
Kansas City's Aaron Guiel went 3-for-5 and hit his fourth home run of the season.
Lima (5-0) allowed four hits -- all singles -- and struck out three. The right-hander is the first Royal to win five straight starts since Paul Byrd did it July 25-Aug. 16, 2001.
National League
In Milwaukee, Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the fifth straight game and Jimmy Haynes threw seven sharp innings as Cincinnati defeated Milwaukee.
Griffey's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth tied Johnny Bench's franchise record set May 30 to June 3, 1972. Griffey tied a major league record when he homered in eight straight games from July 20-28, 1993.
Dale Long (1956) and Don Mattingly (1987) also did it.
Haynes (2-9) allowed four hits, including a leadoff home run to Eric Young, to win for the first time in five decisions. After Young's 12th homer, the Brewers did not get a runner past first against Haynes.
Wayne Franklin (5-6) went 6 1-3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits.
Expos 7, Marlins 1
In Montreal, Livan Hernandez pitched his second straight complete game and Jose Vidro hit a three-run homer, leading Montreal over Florida.
Hernandez (9-6) scattered three hits, including Juan Pierre's RBI single with two outs in the eighth, for his 26th career complete game and third this year.
A discount tickets and hot dogs promotion drew 28,170 to Olympic Stadium, the third-largest crowd in 29 games in Montreal this season.
Vidro hit his 11th homer off Mark Redman (7-4) as Montreal scored four in the first before adding single runs in each of the next three innings.
Pirates 5, Astros 2
In Houston, Kip Wells won for the first time since May 31, and Brian Giles and Aramis Ramirez each drove in two runs in a four-run first inning as Pittsburgh beat Houston.
The Pirates won in Houston for the first time since last July 16, snapping a nine-game losing streak at Minute Maid Park.
Wells (3-4) pitched 6 1-3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Mike Williams got three outs for his 25th save in 30 chances. Ramirez hit a two-run shot, his 10th.
Roy Oswalt (5-5), who also got the loss the last time Pittsburgh won in Houston, allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings. Jeff Bagwell hit his 17th homer for the Astros.
Rockies 5, Dodgers 3
In Denver, Todd Helton hit his third homer in two games and drove in two runs, and Preston Wilson homered and stole a potential tying home run from David Ross as Colorado beat Los Angeles.
Colorado has won four straight and eight of 12 to tie Los Angeles for third in the NL West.
Jolbert Cabrera had two homers for Los Angeles, which lost for the 12th time in 16 games. Alex Cora also connected for the Dodgers. Rockies starter Jason Jennings (9-6) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Last season's NL Rookie of the Year is 6-1 over his last eight starts and 6-0 at Coors Field this season. Justin Speier got his fifth save.
Andy Ashby (2-6) gave up four runs in five innings.
ESPN broadcasts Major League Baseball games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Taiwan.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and