American LeagueWang Chien-ming (
Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada and Jason Giambi each added two RBIs.
Wang (15-5) has lost just once in nine starts since July 8, and is tied with Justin Verlander and Johan Santana for the second in wins in the majors -- one behind Roy Halladay.
Felix Hernandez (10-12) lost his third straight start by allowing nine hits and seven runs in 3 2-3 innings, his shortest start of the season. The Yankees blew open the game with a five-run fourth. Damon had a two-run single, Giambi a two-run double and Posada a run-scoring single to make it 7-0.
White Sox 7, Tigers 5
Jim Thome limped off the field in the second inning with a hamstring injury in the Chicago White Sox's 7-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.
The White Sox lost the first two matchups in the four-game series with the American League Central leaders, but bounced back with Joe Crede's two home runs and Jermaine Dye's three-run homer.
Chicago trails the Tigers by 6.5 games in the division and has a half-game lead over Minnesota in the wild-card race.
Freddy Garcia (12-8) allowed five runs and seven hits over 5 1-3 innings. Thornton and Mike MacDougal combined for 2 2-3 innings of scoreless relief before Bobby Jenks worked the ninth for his 36th save in 38 opportunities.
Rookie Zach Miner (7-5) gave up six runs, four hits and two walks in 1 1-3 innings, his shortest outing and third straight loss.
National League
Geoff Blum had four hits and three RBIs and the San Diego Padres beat Los Angeles 7-2 to pull within one game of the division-leading Dodgers.
Mike Cameron had three hits, including his 19th homer, and 40-year-old Woody Williams (7-4) threw seven solid innings to win his third straight start.
Astros 7, Reds 3
In Cincinnati, Aubrey Huff's bases-loaded single highlighted Houston's seventh-inning rally, and Houston avoided a sweep to Cincinnati.
Willy Taveras bunted for a single that extended his hitting streak to a club-record 26 games, and Adam Everett homered and drove in a pair of runs for the fading Astros, who won for only the third time in 12 games.
The Reds lost their cool during the Astros' six-run rally in the seventh that turned on an ejection.
Trying to hold Cincinnati's 2-1 lead, reliever Todd Coffey (6-5) gave up a single by Chris Burke that tied it, then intentionally walked Lance Berkman to load the bases. Coffey later became upset when plate umpire Wally Bell called a pitch to Morgan Ensberg a ball. Coffey took a couple of steps toward the plate, screamed and waved his arm before he was ejected.
Roy Oswalt (10-8), who missed his last start because of a bruised pitching hand, improved to 16-1 career against Cincinnati.
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
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
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