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.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB