Juan Rivera hit a go-ahead, three-run double in the sixth, John Lackey pitched seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Angels prevented Oakland from winning the American League West on Saturday with a 6-2 victory over the Athletics.
Oakland's magic number to clinch its first division title since 2003 remained at two, so the A's could still do it at home with a win in yesterday's series finale. They lead Los Angeles by seven games with eight to go, including the final four of the season against the Angels in Anaheim.
Dan Haren was to take the ball for the A's yesterday against fellow 14-game winner Ervin Santana.
Lackey (12-11) allowed two runs and four hits to beat Joe Blanton (16-12). The A's had their four-game winning streak snapped with only their second loss in 10 games.
Twins 8, Orioles 5
At Baltimore, Torii Hunter hit his 29th homer, Rondell White had four hits and Minnesota took advantage of some sloppy defense in a victory over Baltimore.
The outcome eliminated Boston from postseason contention and enabled the Twins to reduce their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to three. Any combination of Minnesota wins and Chicago White Sox losses totaling three will ensure the Twins no worse than a wild-card berth.
White Sox 11, Mariners 7
At Chicago, Paul Konerko hit a go-ahead homer in a five-run eighth inning and Chicago rallied after a long rain delay to beat Seattle, maintaining its faint playoff hopes.
Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 3
At Toronto, Lyle Overbay and Troy Glaus hit consecutive homers, and A.J. Burnett pitched seven strong innings to lead Toronto over Boston, which was eliminated from playoff contention.
Tigers 15, Royals 4
At Kansas City, Missouri, Curtis Granderson homered, tripled and drove in three runs in a 10-run first inning to help the Tigers rout the Royals.
Devil Rays 8, Yankees 0
At St Petersburg, Florida, Ty Wigginton and B.J. Upton homered for the Devil Rays, spoiling Randy Johnson's bid to become the American League's third 18-game winner.
Indians 6, Rangers 3
At Arlington, Texas, Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in three runs to help Cleveland beat the Rangers.
Trevor Hoffman tied Lee Smith's career saves record with No. 478 and the San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Saturday to retain their lead in the National League West.
Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 3
At Los Angeles, Miguel Batista overcame a shaky start to pitch eight strong innings for his first win since Aug. 9, Eric Byrnes had four hits, and the Diamondbacks beat the fading Dodgers.
Phillies 8, Marlins 6
At Philadelphia, Carlos Ruiz and Jeff Conine each drove in three runs, Jon Lieber pitched seven solid innings and Philadelphia beat Florida to continue its playoff push.
Mets 12, Nationals 6
At New York, David Wright's three-run homer capped a six-run fifth inning, and New York rallied past Washington.
Astros 7, Cardinals 4
At Houston, Luke Scott hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in the ninth inning to give Houston a victory over St Louis.
Brewers 10, Giants 8
At Milwaukee, Barry Bonds hit his 734th career home run to break Hank Aaron's NL record, but Milwaukee rallied past San Francisco for its third consecutive win over the struggling Giants.
Cubs 11, Reds 4
At Cincinnati, Carlos Zambrano hit his sixth homer, tying the Cubs' record for a pitcher, and Aramis Ramirez had a two-run shot that sparked Chicago to a victory over bumbling Cincinnati.
Rockies 10, Braves 9
At Denver, Kaz Matsui hit a two-run triple in a six-run third inning and Jeff Francis became the winningest lefty in Rockies history during Colorado's frigid victory over Atlanta.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two