The Minnesota Twins completed a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 6-4 victory Sunday.
Shannon Stewart went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Twins, who have bounced back to life after an awful end -- 22 losses in 28 games -- to the first half.
"We finished off a very big series," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Hopefully we'll be able to carry it over and get back in this race."
PHOTO: AP
Doug Mientkiewicz hit a three-run homer and Torii Hunter added a two-run shot for the Twins.
Kenny Rogers (8-5) beat Ted Lilly (5-8) in a drawn-out battle of two wild lefties, as Minnesota finished the season 8-1 against Oakland and swept a four-game set from the A's for the first time since August 1993.
Royals 7, Mariners 5
In Kansas City, Missouri, Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer off Arthur Rhodes (2-2) in the 10th inning, giving Kansas City a victory over Seattle.
The Royals took three of four in a series between first-place teams. The AL Central leaders improved to 54-42, their best record at this point since 1989.
Kris Wilson (5-0) got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 10th after Jason Grimsley was ejected for hitting Ichiro Suzuki with an 0-2 pitch.
The Royals led 5-3 going into the ninth, but John Mabry homered off All-Star closer Mike MacDougal. Seattle rallied to tie it when second baseman Carlos Febles lost Mark McLemore's popup in the sun.
Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 4
In Boston, Pedro Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings, getting homers from Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar to lead Boston over Toronto.
Martinez (7-2) allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked none to earn his first decision in three starts. He has not lost in nine starts since May 9. John Wasdin (0-1) gave up six runs on six hits and two walks in 2 2-3 innings.
Garciaparra hit a three-run shot for his 14th homer of the season and added an RBI double. Ramirez had a two-run homer and Trot Nixon hit a two-run triple.
Yankees 7, Indians 4
In New York, Jorge Posada's two-run homer sparked New York's six-run sixth inning, and Mike Mussina pitched shutout ball into the seventh as the Yankees completed a four-game sweep of Cleveland.
Derek Jeter had three hits and an RBI and Alfonso Soriano drove in two runs in the Yankees' fifth straight victory, and sixth in a row at home.
Mussina (11-6) allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings as New York swept its eighth series this season. Mariano Rivera got three outs for his 18th save in 19 opportunities.
White Sox 10, Tigers 1
In Chicago, Frank Thomas hit two of Chicago's five home runs and Esteban Loaiza shut down Detroit for seven innings.
Loaiza (12-5), a non-roster invitee to spring training, set a career high for wins and snapped a personal three-game skid. He gave up five hits and one run in his first appearance since starting the All-Star game last Tuesday in Chicago.
The White Sox have won three straight against Detroit since manager Jerry Manuel predicted Friday they would sweep their remaining games against the Tigers. The teams play three more times in Detroit on Aug. 29-31.
Jeff Bagwell homered twice to become the 35th member of the 400-homer club, leading the Houston Astros to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
"I'm glad I got it over with," Bagwell said. "More important, I'm just glad that we won. It just means that I've played a long time."
Bagwell drove in Houston's first four runs as the Astros beat Cincinnati for the 10th straight time. The Reds have lost seven in a row at home, matching their longest skid since dropping nine straight in Cincinnati in 2001.
Bagwell connected in the fourth and sixth off Danny Graves (4-10) to reach 400 homers.
Cubs 16, Marlins 2
In Miami, Dontrelle Willis failed to retire a batter following a 67-minute rain delay in the bottom of the second, and the Cubs ended the rookie's eight-game winning streak.
Chicago chased Willis (9-2) with six consecutive hits and a walk in the third. He was charged with six runs in the worst outing of his brief career, inflating his ERA from 2.08 to 2.67.
Carlos Zambrano (7-8) allowed one run in 6 1-3 innings for his first victory in five starts. He also went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs.
Braves 11, Mets 8
In Atlanta, pinch-hitter Javy Lopez's three-run homer keyed an eight-run rally in the eighth as Atlanta finished a four-game sweep. Pinch-hitter Marcus Giles drove in the go-ahead run as Atlanta got nine hits in the eighth to complete a stirring comeback. The Braves, who earned their first four-game sweep of the Mets since moving to Atlanta in 1966, are 13-1 since July 3.
Giants 8, Rockies 4
In San Francisco, Alberto Castillo hit a grand slam for his first homer in two years, helping San Francisco complete a four-game sweep.
Rookie Jesse Foppert (6-8), recalled before the game to make the start, matched his career high with 10 strikeouts in six-plus innings. He allowed four runs and three hits. Rich Aurilia matched his career high with four hits for the first-place Giants, who have won nine of 12.
Castillo sent a 1-2 pitch just inside the left-field foul pole to break a 1-all tie in the fourth.
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