If only the St. Louis Cardinals played this way last October.
Matt Morris (7-0) pitched his first complete game of the season and contributed a squeeze bunt to help St. Louis beat Boston 7-1 on Monday in a World Series rematch. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals last fall for their first championship since 1918.
David Eckstein had three RBIs, eighth-place hitter Yadier Molina had two and the Cardinals chased Tim Wakefield (4-6) in the sixth inning.
PHOTO: EPA
The largest Busch Stadium crowd in eight seasons, a sellout of 50,270, watched the Cardinals win for the 16th time in their last 18 interleague games dating to 2003. Edgar Renteria got a generally warm reception, a mixture of early boos drowned out by cheers, in his first visit to St. Louis since signing with Boston.
Brewers 4, Yankees 3
Randy Johnson and the New York Yankees were no better off in Milwaukee. Geoff Jenkins ran down Derek Jeter's drive in the right-field corner for the final out, preserving the Brewers' victory and ruining New York's first trip to Milwaukee since 1997.
Junior Spivey hit a go-ahead homer, Jeff Cirillo also connected and Derrick Turnbow escaped a ninth-inning jam to send the slumping Yankees to their eighth loss in nine games.
The Yankees fell to 1-6 on their 12-game road trip and dipped below .500 at 28-29.
With a runner on second and two outs in the ninth, Jeter sliced a drive to right that appeared headed for the corner -- probably an extra-base hit that would tie the game. But Jenkins, running at full speed, reached out and made a terrific grab, leaving Jeter grimacing as he rounded first base.
Johnson (5-5) allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out eight.
Doug Davis (8-5) worked out of trouble for Milwaukee, striking out eight in six innings. Matt Wise pitched two perfect innings and Turnbow earned his ninth save in 11 opportunities.
Orioles 4, Pirates 3
At Pittsburgh, Rafael Palmeiro's tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth helped Baltimore come back after wasting a three-run lead, and Miguel Tejada and B.J. Surhoff homered in a victory over Pittsburgh.
After the Pirates tied it at 3 on Matt Lawton's homer in the seventh, the Orioles rallied in the eighth against Salomon Torres (2-2) and Mike Gonzalez with help from catcher Humberto Cota's errant throw.
Jorge Julio (2-1) retired all four batters he faced for the victory before B.J. Ryan struck out the side in the ninth for his 15th save in 17 opportunities.
Angels 4, Braves 2
At Atlanta, Darin Erstad barreled over catcher Johnny Estrada to score on Garret Anderson's go-ahead double, and Los Angeles beat Atlanta in the first meeting between the teams.
John Smoltz (4-5) retired his first 14 batters and carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth, but the Angels put runners at the corners with one out. Anderson's drive to right drove in Chone Figgins from third and Erstad, who scored from first base by knocking the ball from Estrada's grasp in a violent collision that knocked Estrada out of the game.
Blue Jays 4, Cubs 1
At Chicago, Gustavo Chacin pitched seven shutout innings, Reed Johnson hit a three-run homer and Toronto won in its first trip to Wrigley Field.
Chacin (6-4) won a matchup of rookie left-handers, outpitching John Koronka (1-1). Chacin allowed five hits, struck out six and was backed by two double plays.
White Sox 9, Rockies 3
At Denver, Freddy Garcia retired 22 straight batters after a rough start to help Chicago rout Colorado. Garcia (6-3) gave up a three-run homer to Brad Hawpe in the first inning, then didn't allow another baserunner. The right-hander walked none and had a season-high 10 strikeouts in eight innings. Shingo Takatsu completed the two-hitter -- only the eighth time two or fewer hits have been allowed at Coors Field.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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