Jon Lieber retired his first 11 batters, then gave up four straight hits before getting 11 more outs in a row, leading the New York Yankees over the Anaheim Angels 7-4 on Thursday.
Ruben Sierra, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams hit solo homers off John Lackey (3-4), with Williams getting his first three-hit game of the season.
Jason Giambi hit a pair of opposite-field RBI singles for the Yankees, who took two of three against the team that knocked them out of the 2002 AL playoffs.
New York's Joe Torre posted his 1,700th career win, making him only the 13th major league manager to reach the mark.
Lieber (2-1), making his third start since an elbow ligament was replaced in August 2002, didn't allow a runner until Jeff DaVanon singled with two outs in the fourth.
Overall, Lieber allowed three runs and five hits in eight innings, struck out six and walked none.
Mariano Rivera finished for his 13th save in 14 chances.
White Sox 6, Orioles 5, 2nd game
In Chicago, Paul Konerko broke out of a 2-for-31 slump with a go-ahead three-run homer off Erik Bedard (0-1) and had five RBIs, and Chicago beat Baltimore to gain a split of their doubleheader.
In the opener, Daniel Cabrera (1-0) made an impressive major league debut, allowing two hits in six strong innings to spark Baltimore's victory.
Rafael Palmeiro hit a solo shot in the second inning of the second game, the 533rd of his career and one shy of tying Jimmie Foxx for 12th place.
Mike Jackson (2-0) got the win with 1 2-3 innings of one-hit relief. Billy Koch pitched the ninth for his six save.
In the opener, Melvin Mora had an RBI single off Jon Garland (2-2), and Rodrigo Lopez pitched two innings of one-hit relief, striking out Willie Harris with runners at first and third in the seventh and retiring three straight batters in the eighth.
Jorge Julio completed the three-hitter with a perfect ninth for his sixth save.
Twins 1, Mariners 0
In Minneapolis, Johan Santana allowed six hits over seven innings, and Minnesota completed its first home sweep of Seattle in 12 years.
Michael Cuddyer hit an RBI double in the second inning, and Santana (2-0) got some help from center fielder Torii Hunter to preserve the shutout and the Twins' first sweep over the Mariners in Minnesota since 1992.
With two outs in the seventh inning and Scott Spiezio on second, Santana gave up a single to pinch-hitter Dan Wilson. Hunter's perfect throw just beat a sliding Spiezio, who was tagged out by catcher Henry Blanco.
Santana, who walked two and struck out five, and Terry Mulholland, J.C. Romero and Joe Nathan completed the eight-hitter. Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save.
Tigers 3, Athletics 1
In Detroit, Mike Maroth won again, pitching eight sharp innings and leading Detroit over Oakland.
Maroth (4-1) was 9-21 last season and did not post his fourth victory until July 5.
He ended the Athletics' season-high three-game winning streak, allowing one run and five hits.
He walked one and struck out four.
Ugueth Urbina pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save in as many tries.
Mark Redman (2-2) pitched a complete game, giving up 12 hits in his first start against his former team.
Devil Rays 6, Rangers 3
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Carl Crawford snapped a sixth-inning tie with an RBI single and had three hits, and Tampa Bay ended its season-high seven-game losing streak.
Mark Hendrickson (2-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings as the Devil Rays won for just the third time in 17 games.
Crawford snapped a 3-all tie with his run-scoring single off R.A. Dickey (4-2).
Danys Baez got the last four outs for his fourth save in four opportunities.
Michael Young had a solo homer and an RBI single for the Rangers, finishing 3-for-5 for his major league-leading 20th multihit game.
Blue Jays 12, Red Sox 6
In Toronto, Orlando Hudson tied a franchise record with five runs scored, Miguel Batista earned his first win with his new team and Toronto beat Curt Schilling and Boston.
Hudson, Toronto's new leadoff hitter, went 4-for-4 with a walk for the Blue Jays, who have won six straight at SkyDome after starting the season 1-9 at home.
Toronto's Frank Catalanotto went 4-for-5 and tied a career high with four RBIs.
Batista (1-3) won for the first time in eight starts, allowing five runs and eight hits while striking out six and walking two in 6 1-3 innings.
Schilling (4-3) pitched a season-low five innings, allowing three runs and eight hits.
In National League action, Doug Davis threw eight strong innings and the Milwaukee Brewers posted their third straight come-from-behind win over the Montreal Expos, 7-4 on Thursday.
Lyle Overbay extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games and Bill Hall hit a two-run homer as the Brewers swept the Expos for the first time since joining the National League in 1998.
Three Milwaukee errors led to three unearned runs in the third. Davis (3-2) scattered three hits and struck out two.
Sun-Woo Kim (2-1) had a two-run double for his first RBIs in the majors. But he gave up seven runs and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Dan Kolb relieved with two on and got the last out for his eighth save.
Cubs 7, Dodgers 3
In Los Angeles, Carlos Zambrano allowed two hits in eight innings, and Chicago avoided being swept for the first time this season.
The Cubs capitalized on Hideo Nomo's lack of control by turning three consecutive walks and four hits into six runs in the second inning.
Zambrano (4-1) has given up just one unearned run in his last 24 innings. He allowed an unearned run in the fourth, and finished with 11 strikeouts.
LaTroy Hawkins got one out for his second save.
Nomo (3-4) gave up six runs and three hits in 1 1-3 innings.
Braves 6, Cardinals 5
In St. Louis, J.D. Drew homered against his former team for the second straight day and Chipper Jones had three hits, helping Atlanta avoid a three-game sweep.
Marcus Giles, Johnny Estrada and starter John Thomson each drove in a run for the Braves.
John Smoltz got four outs for his fifth save in six chances.
Reggie Sanders hit a two-run homer and Albert Pujols drove in two runs in his first three-hit game of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Antonio Alfonseca (4-0) got two outs in the fifth for the win.
Jeff Suppan (3-4) lasted 3 1-3 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits.
Pirates 11, Rockies 2, 2nd game
In Denver, Oliver Perez pitched his second complete game of the year and Pittsburgh had a season-high 21 hits in the nightcap, giving the Pirates a doubleheader split.
Colorado won the opener behind Shawn Estes in the first traditional doubleheader at Coors Field -- there have been 15 day-night twinbills in which fans had to buy separate tickets for each game.
Rob Mackowiak tripled, doubled, singled and drove in three runs in the second game for Pittsburgh. Daryle Ward homered for the first time since 2002 and finished a triple short of the cycle. Jack Wilson was 4-for-6 and a homer shy of the cycle.
Perez (3-1) allowed seven hits and no runners past first base after the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked one in the first nine-inning complete game at Coors Field this season.
Jason Jennings (2-5) gave up three runs and 10 hits in five innings.
Royce Clayton, Jeromy Burnitz and Luis Gonzalez homered for the Rockies in the opener. Estes (5-2) held the Pirates to two runs and three hits in 6 1-3 innings, and Shawn Chacon got his ninth save.
Kris Benson (3-3) had two RBIs, but allowed six runs in 6 1-3 innings.
Phillies 4, Giants 3
In San Francisco, Jason Michaels homered for the first time this season, Vicente Padilla pitched 6 2-3 effective innings and drove in a run, and Philadelphia improved to 5-1 on its road trip.
Ryan Madson worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for his first career save.
A.J. Pierzynski hit his first homer, but flied out in the ninth to end it.
Padilla (2-4) allowed nine hits and two runs.
Kirk Rueter (1-4) was the loser.
Perez (3-1) allowed seven hits and no runners past first base after the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked one in the first nine-inning complete game at Coors Field this season.
Ryan Franklin (2-3) gave up one run on seven hits.
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