David Ortiz hit two home runs, including a drive in the 11th inning that gave the Boston Red Sox a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.
Manny Ramirez also homered for the Red Sox, who recovered after wasting a 5-0 lead and moved 3.5 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
Ortiz hit a solo homer off Ted Lilly in the fourth before his go-ahead drive against Pete Walker (6-5), which gave him his eighth multihomer game this season. Ortiz has 40 homers, one short of the career high he set last year, and joined Carl Yastrzemski (1969 and '70) as the only Boston players with consecutive 40-homer seasons.
Jonathan Papelbon (1-1) pitched three innings for his first major-league victory.
Orioles 4, Rangers 2
At Arlington, Texas, Daniel Cabrera struck out seven to win his second consecutive start since coming off the disabled list and Baltimore scored twice on a dropped fly ball to beat Texas.
Cabrera (10-11) allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, staying in after Kevin Mench led off the second with a line drive that ricocheted off the pitcher's backside. It was Mench's fielding error in the top of that inning that led to two Orioles runs.
Baltimore had two runners on in the second after B.J. Surhoff reached on an infield single that hit Rangers starter Edison Volquez (0-3) on the foot. After a walk, David Newhan drove in a run with a grounder and Geronimo Gil hit a fly to right that off the top of Mench's glove and rolled into the right-field corner. Two runs scored and Baltimore led 3-1.
B.J. Ryan got three straight outs for his 32nd save in 37 tries.
Athletics 2, Indians 0
At Cleveland, Dan Haren limited baseball's hottest team to four singles in 6 2-3 innings and pushed Oakland higher in the AL wild-card standings as the Athletics beat Cleveland 2-0 on Monday night, stopping the Indians' seven-game winning streak.
Haren (13-10) made sure the A's took the opener of a three-game series they can't afford to lose. Oakland, a major league-best 36-20 since the All-Star break, pulled within 1.5 games of the wild card-leading Indians.
Cleveland, 19-7 since Aug. 16, has a one-game edge over the idle New York Yankees, who opened a three-game set yesterday at Tampa Bay.
The A's made three errors but did just enough offensively to hand C.C. Sabathia (13-10) his first loss since July 30. Jason Kendall hit an RBI single in the third off the left-hander, and Mark Kotsay delivered a sacrifice fly in the seventh against reliever Scott Sauerbeck.
Twins 2, Tigers 1
At Detroit, Kyle Lohse won in his first start since a tirade following his early removal from a game, leading Minnesota over Detroit. Lohse (9-12) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings, stopping Minnesota's three-game losing streak.
Juan Rincon pitched a one-hit eighth, and Joe Nathan finished with a perfect ninth for his 37th save in 42 chances. Minnesota, which has faded from contention in the AL wild-card race, won for only the second time in seven games.
Joe Mauer had four of the Twins' 13 hits, including a go-ahead single in the seventh. Detroit has lost 10 of 12.
With the score 1-1, Shannon Stewart doubled off Chris Spurling (3-2) with one out in the seventh and Nick Punto walked. Left-hander Vic Darensbourg came in to face the left-handed-hitting Mauer, who lined a pitch into left field.
Mariners 8, Angels 1
At Seattle, Joel Pineiro pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning, Raul Ibanez homered and had four hits and Seattle beat Los Angeles.
The loss cut the Angels' lead in the AL West to one game over Oakland.
Richie Sexson hit a two-run homer in the third, his 35th, to put the Mariners ahead 2-1. Ibanez stole home on a double steal in the fifth and hit his 18th homer in the seventh, a solo shot.
Pineiro (7-9), who entered with a 5.43 ERA, has turned a dismal season around this month. In three starts spanning 22 1-3 innings, he has allowed only four runs for a 1.61 ERA.
The Angels' Ervin Santana (8-8) pitched five innings, giving up eight hits and four runs.
Barry Bonds is just a foot or two shy of his old sluggin' self. In his season debut for San Francisco, Bonds strode to the plate Monday night, tipped his batting helmet to the roaring, flashbulb-popping crowd, then helped the Giants beat the first-place San Diego Padres 4-3.
Bonds, who went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, worked a 3-2 count in his first at-bat and lined a double off Adam Eaton (10-4) that fell just shy of clearing the wall in left-center. It appeared at first that he had homered in his first trip to the plate since last October, but a fan reached over the fence and interfered with the ball, and the play was ruled a double.
The scoreboard briefly flashed "704" -- which turned out to be premature. Bonds scored moments later on Ray Durham's single.
Durham also hit a solo homer that tied the game at 3 in the fourth, and finished with three hits and two RBIs. Mike Matheny hit a go-ahead single in the fourth, and Matt Kinney (1-0) pitched 5 2-3 shutout innings of relief for the win.
Marlins 8, Astros 2
At Houston, Dontrelle Willis gave Florida the NL wild-card lead with an outstanding all-around effort.
The effervescent lefty homered and pitched his seventh complete game this season, earning his 21st victory in the Marlins' win over Houston. Florida moved a half-game ahead of the Astros in the wild-card standings, taking the top spot for the first time since after games of Aug. 30.
Willis (21-8) tied St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter for the major league lead in victories and complete games by winning his sixth straight start. He connected for a two-run shot off Scott Strickland in the sixth inning, giving the Marlins a 6-1 lead. It was his third career homer and first since April 14 last year, against Montreal in Puerto Rico.
Carlos Delgado, Miguel Cabrera and Jeff Conine also homered for Florida, which won for the fifth time in seven games. The Astros have lost three of four and are a half-game ahead of Philadelphia for second place in the wild-card chase.
Brandon Backe (8-8) lasted five innings and allowed four runs, three earned, and seven hits in his second game back after missing five weeks with a ribcage injury.
Phillies 4, Braves 1
At Philadelphia, Eude Brito tossed three-hit ball over six shutout innings in his third career start, keeping Philadelphia in the hunt for the NL wild card.
Pat Burrell had three hits and two RBIs, Jimmy Rollins extended his hitting streak to 18 games and three relievers allowed one run over three innings for the Phillies. Philadelphia entered 1.5 games behind wild card-leader Houston and one game behind Florida.
Other games
At Chicago, Javier Valentin and Wily Mo Pena homered off Greg Maddux on consecutive pitches to start the fifth inning, and Cincinnati beat Chicago 5-2 behind strong pitching from Aaron Harang.
At St. Louis, the Cardinals beat the Pirates 4-3, while the Dodgers beat the Rockies 7-0 at Los Angeles.
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
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely