Freddy Garcia allowed one hit in eight shutout innings for the second straight start and A.J. Pierzynski hit a grand slam on Tuesday to help the slumping Chicago White Sox beat Detroit 7-0.
The Tigers' lead in the American League Central dropped to a half-game over Minnesota, which beat Boston 7-3. The White Sox snapped a four-game losing streak and stayed within 4.5 games of the Twins in the wild-card standings.
Garcia retired 23 consecutive batters, walking Curtis Granderson to start the game and allowing a single to the next batter, Ivan Rodriguez. He walked Brandon Inge with two outs in the eighth.
PHOTO: AP
Twins 7, Red Sox 3
At Boston, Justin Morneau had a career-high five hits, Jason Bartlett and Torii Hunter homered for Minnesota's win over Boston.
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3
At Toronto, Bobby Abreu hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and Johnny Damon made a great catch that saved three runs as New York lowered its magic number for a ninth straight AL East title to one.
Athletics 7, Indians 3
At Oakland, California, Bobby Kielty hit his first career grand slam, Kirk Saarloos struck out a career-high 11 and Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher also homered for Oakland.
Orioles 5, Devil Rays 4
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Ramon Hernandez's RBI double highlighted a four-run fifth inning and Baltimore handed Tampa Bay its season-high ninth straight loss.
Angels 5, Royals 2
At Kansas City, Missouri, Robb Quinlan and Vladimir Guerrero homered to back Los Angeles rookie Joe Saunders.
Mariners 9, Rangers 7, 10 innings
At Arlington, Texas, Adam Jones had a pinch-hit, two-run single with two outs in the 10th as Seattle beat Texas.
Jeff Weaver threw six strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals scored six runs in the seventh in a 12-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
The Cardinals reduced their magic number for clinching the National League Central for a third straight season to six, but they also found out closer Jason Isringhausen will miss the rest of the season.
Phillies 4, Cubs 1
At Philadelphia, Jamie Moyer pitched seven solid innings and Abraham Nunez had a two-run single to lead Philadelphia past Chicago.
Mets 3, Marlins 2
At New York, Tom Glavine pitched eight sharp innings and New York, fielding a makeshift lineup a day after clinching the NL East, rallied to hand Florida its fourth straight loss.
Reds 5, Astros 4
At Houston, Chris Denorfia hit a two-run homer and Ryan Freel had a two-run double for Cincinnati to back a strong start from Aaron Harang.
Nationals 9, Braves 2
At Washington, rookie Beltran Perez allowed one hit over six innings to win his first major league start and Washington trounced Atlanta.
Rockies 12, Giants 4
At Denver, Matt Cain allowed consecutive third-inning homers to Garrett Atkins as San Francisco lost for the sixth time in eight games.
Padres 5, Diamondbacks 2
At San Diego, Trevor Hoffman earned his 476th career save, Mike Cameron hit a three-run homer and San Diego beat Arizona to regain the NL West lead.
Pirates 10, Dodgers 6
At Los Angeles, Jose Bautista hit a grand slam, Ian Snell pitched six strong innings and Pittsburgh dropped the Dodgers into second place in the NL West.
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
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