American League
Pablo Ozuna scored the go-ahead run on Scot Shields' ninth-inning wild pitch, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 on Sunday for a three-game sweep of the team they defeated in last year's Major League Baseball AL championship series.
Chris Widger singled off Shields (1-2) leading off the ninth and drove in two runs for the defending World Series champions, who swept a regular-season series in Anaheim for the first time since August 1994. Chicago also tied a franchise record with its 17th victory in April.
PHOTO: AFP
Cliff Politte (1-1) got two outs, and Neal Cotts pitched a perfect ninth for his first MLB save.
Devil Rays 5, Red Sox 4
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Scott Kazmir (3-2) struck out 10 in seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits in his second win over Boston this year.
Seeking to join Babe Ruth (1917) and Pedro Martinez (2000) as the only Red Sox pitchers to win five games in April, Curt Schilling (4-1) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings and struck out nine.
Yankees 4, Blue Jays 1
In New York, Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer, and Mike Mussina (4-1) allowed one run and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven.
Johnny Damon had three hits for the second consecutive day as he prepared for his return to Fenway Park with his new team. Andy Phillips also homered for the Yankees, who took two of three in the series and finished 6-3 on their first long homestand of the season.
New York manager Joe Torre and Toronto skipper John Gibbons were ejected for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Adam Dowdy.
Tigers 6, Twins 0
In Detroit, Kenny Rogers (4-2) and Todd Jones combined on a two-hitter, with Jones pitching a perfect ninth.
Vance Wilson hit a three-run double and Marcus Thames hit a two-run homer for the Tigers, who outscored Minnesota 33-1 and completed a three-game sweep of the Twins for the first time since April 2002. Detroit (16-9) had its most April wins since 1993, the last year the Tigers finished over .500.
Mariners 4, Orioles 3
In Baltimore, Carl Everett hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Rodrigo Lopez (1-3) in a three-run fifth that erased a 3-1 deficit.
Jamie Moyer (1-2) improved to 17-3 against his former team. The 43-year old left-hander allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Athletics 13, Royals 6
In Kansas City, Missouri, Nick Swisher hit his 10th homer and drove in four runs. Eric Chavez and Dan Johnson also homered for Oakland, which won its 12th straight at the Royals.
Joe Blanton (3-2) gave up five runs -- four earned -- six hits and a career-high five walks in five innings. Luke Hudson (0-3) pitched to four batters in the sixth, didn't retire any and allowed four runs.
Rangers 8, Indians 4
At Cleveland, Michael Young and Phil Nevin each drove in two runs during Texas' six-run seventh inning.
After Young's single tied the score, Mark Teixeira doubled home the go-ahead run against Jason Davis (1-1), who came on with two on and none out and failed to protect a 4-2 lead.
Vicente Padilla (3-1) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings for the win. C.J. Wilson worked a scoreless seventh, Antonio Alfonseca got out of bases-loaded jam in the eighth and Joaquin Benoit pitched the ninth.
Kevin Mench had two singles, extending his career-high hitting streak to 14 games for Texas. Victor Martinez had a career-high three doubles, extending his streak of reaching base safely to 40 games since Sept. 17.
National League
Jeff Francoeur homered and had a career-high five RBIs, leading Atlanta to an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets that snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday.
The Braves lost the first two games in the series, scoring only two runs, and dropped seven games behind first-place New York in Major League Baseball's National League East Division -- their largest deficit since being 7 1/2 games off the lead on June 2, 2001.
Francoeur went 4-for-5, including a two-run homer in the sixth. The five RBIs were two more than his previous best in a game. He also ended the game with a diving catch near the right-field line with two runners on.
Brewers 9, Cubs 0
In Chicago, Carlos Lee hit his 10th homer to set the Brewers' record for April, and Chris Capuano pitched a five-hitter for his first career complete game.
Taking advantage of a strong wind blowing out to left, Lee connected in the second inning off Carlos Zambrano (0-2), who finished April winless for the first time since he became a starter in mid-2002. Making his 63rd major league start, Capuano (4-2) struck out six and walked none.
Astros 3, Reds 2
In Cincinnati, Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer and rookie Taylor Buchholz earned his second consecutive win for the Astros.
Jason Lane added a solo homer for Houston, which salvaged the final game of its three-game series in Cincinnati. The Astros also snapped the Reds' six-game winning streak.
Buchholz (2-1) allowed just one baserunner to reach second base in the first five innings of his third major league start and fifth appearance. He gave up three hits and two runs in 6 1-3 innings.
Cardinals 9, Nationals 2
In St. Louis, Jeff Suppan held Washington to two runs in six innings to complete a record-setting April for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jim Edmonds and So Taguchi drove in three runs apiece for the Cardinals, who finished the month with a 17-8 record. The total topped the previous franchise mark for April wins, set when the Cardinals went 15-7 last year.
Suppan (2-2) gave up five hits, struck out three and walked two.
Phillies 5, Pirates 1
In Pittsburgh, Pat Burrell drove in two runs with a home run and a double and the Phillies avoided a three-game weekend sweep.
Philadelphia starter Gavin Floyd (2-2) gave up one run and five hits over 6 2-3 innings, taking a shutout into the sixth before allowing Jack Wilson's fifth homer. Floyd walked five but was helped out by a pair of double plays.
Padres 6, Dodgers 5, 10 innings
In San Diego, Mark Bellhorn hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Padres snapped a five-game losing streak.
San Diego scored five runs in the ninth inning to tie it. Brian Giles and Mike Piazza drew one-out walks against Tim Hamulack (0-2) in the 10th before Bellhorn grounded a single down the left-field line to drive in Giles.
Bellhorn also had an RBI single in San Diego's ninth-inning rally. Scott Linebrink (2-2) pitched a scoreless 10th to get the win.
Rockies 3, Marlins 1
In Miami, Kim Byung-hyun struck out a career-high nine in his first start of the season to help the Rockies complete a three-game sweep.
Kim (1-0) pitched four times for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic and had been on the disabled list after straining a hamstring on March 28 in his only spring training appearance for the Rockies.
He allowed one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings and walked one.
Diamondbacks 8, Giants 2
In San Francisco, Johnny Estrada went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBIs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a three-game sweep.
Brandon Webb won his fourth straight start, helping the Diamondbacks finish a 5-4 trip and win the finale in San Francisco after having swept the Padres in San Diego.
Barry Bonds doubled in a run in the seventh for his 1,357th extra-base hit and climbed past Babe Ruth to be third among MLB's career leaders.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later