Tue, Jun 14, 2005 News Editorials 487998899 visits
 Photo News
 More Sports
 More IELTS
 Johnny Neihu
  • Back Issue

  •   << >>   Full List

  • TaipeiTimes
  •   Subscribe
  •   Advertise
  •   Employment
  •   FAQ
  •   About Us
  •   Contact Us
  •   Copyright
  • Search Most Read Story Most Viewed Photo
     Print
     Mail
     wiki links

    Major League


    AP, Washington
    Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005, Page 19

    Junior Spivey hit a two-run homer and Tony Armas Jr. pitched for five scoreless innings to give Washington Nationals a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, their 10th straight win to equal a franchise record.

    The Nationals, who played from 1969-2004 as the Montreal Expos, completed a 12-1 homestand to improve to 24-9 at home, the best in Major League Baseball.

    Ryan Franklin (2-8) took the loss, giving up all of Washington's runs on six hits plus three walks in five innings.

    Red Sox 8, Cubs 1

    In Chicago, Johnny Damon fell a single shy of the cycle, and Tim Wakefield pitched seven strong innings to help the Red Sox avoid a three-game sweep.

    Wakefield (5-6) allowed one run and four hits, and didn't walk a batter.

    Damon doubled in the third, homered in the fifth and broke open the game with a two-run triple in the sixth. He also walked in the eighth and flied out in the ninth.

    Derrek Lee had two hits for Chicago, which was trying for a sweep of the first series between the teams since the 1918 World Series.

    Glendon Rusch (5-2) was the loser.

    Cardinals 5, Yankees 3

    In St. Louis, Scott Seabol hit his first career homer, a two-run, pinch-hit shot in the seventh inning, to lead the Cardinals past the Yankees.

    The Cardinals concluded a high profile week by taking two of three from the Yankees, New York's fifth straight series loss, after taking two of three from the Red Sox in a World Series rematch.

    Angels 4, Mets 3

    In New York, pinch-runner Robb Quinlan scored the go-ahead run on David Wright's error in the ninth inning, and Los Angeles rallied against New York.

    Trailing 3-0 going into the fifth inning -- thanks partly to Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez's first RBI in nearly nine years, the Angels recovered after blowing a 3-2 lead in the 10th inning Saturday night.

    Mets closer Braden Looper (2-2) walked Jose Molina to start the ninth. Quinlan advanced to second on pinch-hitter Josh Paul's sacrifice and moved to third on a groundout. Darin Erstad then hit a grounder down the third-base line that Wright tried to backhand, but ball skipped off his glove, allowing Quinlan to score.

    Devil Rays 7, Pirates 5, 13 innings

    In Pittsburgh, Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the 13th inning after Tampa Bay blew a three-run lead for the fifth time in eight games, and the Devil Rays ended a seven-game losing streak.

    Franklin Nunez (1-0), called up from the minors following an 18-2 loss Saturday night, pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings for Tampa Bay's second victory in 14 games since May 27.

    Reds 10, Orioles 6

    In Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a go-ahead home run, helping the Cincinnati Reds overcome Sammy Sosa's two homers.

    Griffey finished a triple short of the cycle. Rich Aurilia homered and drove in a season-high four runs for the Reds, who had 16 hits and wrapped up a 5-1 homestand.

    Rangers 6, Marlins 2

    In Miami, Ricardo Rodriguez pitched five effective innings in his season debut and Richard Hidalgo homered to help the Texas Rangers snap a season-high five-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory Sunday over the Florida Marlins.

    Rodriguez (1-0) allowed two runs and seven hits, walked one and struck out five. John Wasdin, whose contract was purchased from Oklahoma earlier Sunday, pitched four perfect innings for his first save of the season.

    Astros 3, Blue Jays 0

    In Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched his first career two-hitter and won his sixth straight home start, leading the Astros to their season-high fifth straight victory.

    Oswalt (7-7) retired 24 of his final 25 batters and needed only 88 pitches for his second complete game of the season and seventh of his career. He struck out three and walked none.

    Athletics 11, Braves 5

    In Atlanta, Eric Chavez was 5-for-5 with a pair of homers and four RBIs, helping the Athletics get their first road series win since the opening week of the season.

    Mark Kotsay also drove in four runs. His three-run homer in a six-run seventh inning helped the A's put away the game and send the Braves to their fifth straight series loss.

    Rockies 7, Tigers 3

    In Denver, Preston Wilson homered twice and Kim Byung-hyun pitched six strong innings for his first win in nearly a year.

    Wilson ended a 1-for-10 slump with three hits against the Tigers on Saturday and seemed to gain confidence from his breakout game. He hit Nate Robertson's second pitch of the fourth inning out to left to tie the game at 2, then put the Rockies up 4-2 in the sixth -- again on Robertson's second pitch of the inning -- with his 11th homer.

    That was plenty enough for Kim (1-5), who allowed two runs and five hits to win for the first time since last Oct. 2, when he beat Baltimore while pitching for Boston. Kim also struck out a career-high eight.

    Indians 5, Giants 3

    In San Francisco, Casey Blake had two hits, including a three-run homer, and the Indians completed a three-game sweep of the Giants.

    Cliff Lee (7-3) allowed five hits over seven innings to win for the third time in four decisions as the Indians completed their second series sweep of the season, and their first on the road.

    White Sox 8, Padres 5, 10 innings

    In San Diego, Aaron Rowand hit a three-run homer off Trevor Hoffman in the 10th inning to lead the White Sox, who have the best record in MLB at 42-20.

    Chicago started the winning rally with one-out singles by Tadahito Iguchi and Scott Posednik. Rowand then hit an 0-2 fastball for a homer to beat Hoffman (0-3) and the Padres.

    Royals 9, Diamondbacks 4,

    12 innings

    In Phoenix, Mark Teahen's broken-bat single in the 12th inning scored Ruben Gotay, starting a six-run rally that lifted the Royals over the Diamondbacks.

    Ryan Jensen (3-1) couldn't hold one-run leads in either the 10th or 11th, but stayed in to finish the game. The Royals have won three of four series since Buddy Bell became manager.

    Choi Hee-seop homered three times for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins in the 4-3 win for LA.

    The 26-year-old first baseman from Chun-Nam, South Korea, homered in the first, fourth and sixth innings off Twins starter Brad Radke. Choi also homered twice against the Twins in a 6-5 victory Friday night, and once in a 5-3 loss Saturday night.

    "Unbelievable," he said. "The best game of my career."

    Two of Choi's homers Sunday came on the first pitch, including a line drive that just cleared the fence in right field in the sixth and gave the Dodgers a 4-3 victory.

    Each time, fans erupted in chants of "Hee-Seop Choi."

    He homered six times in the three-game series, all on fastballs, including three on the first pitch. He struck out against Terry Mulholland in his final at-bat Sunday.

    "I feel very comfortable every at-bat," he said. "I see the ball and swing."

    Choi had six homers in 144 at-bats this season prior to Friday. Now he has six in his last 12 at-bats -- including five solo shots.

    Choi was the first Major League Baseball player to hit three homers at Dodger Stadium since Philadelphia's Mike Lieberthal did so on Aug. 10, 2002.

    It was the 16th time in Dodgers history that a player homered at least three times in a game. The most recent was Shawn Green, who homered four times at Milwaukee on May 23, 2002.
    This story has been viewed 1373 times.

  • Advertising