National LeagueGreg Maddux pitched Los Angeles back into the playoffs, outpitching star rookie Matt Cain, hitting a single and even stealing a base as the Dodgers won their sixth straight game, beating the San Francisco Giants 4-2 on Saturday.
After winning the National League West division in 2004, the Dodgers went 71-91 last year.
Los Angeles and San Diego both clinched postseason berths and were tied for the division lead heading into the season's final day. The Padres have the tiebreaker and will win the division if the teams finish with matching records.
Padres 3, Diamondbacks 1
At Phoenix, David Wells' first victory since he was traded to San Diego put the Padres in the playoffs for the second straight year.
Cardinals 3, Brewers 2
At St. Louis, pinch-hitter Scott Spiezio hit a bases-loaded triple with two outs in the eighth inning, moving St. Louis to within one win of clinching the NL Central division.
Phillies 4, Marlins 3
At Miami, Philadelphia overcame an early deficit and nursed a one-run lead through the final seven innings to beat Florida.
Mets 13, Nationals 0
At Washington, Julio Franco tied a career high with five RBIs, helping Tom Glavine earn his 290th career win for NL East champs New York.
Pirates 3, Reds 0
At Pittsburgh, Marty McLeary, a journeyman minor leaguer most of his career, pitched seven shutout innings in his second major league start as Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati.
Rockies 11, Cubs 9, 14 innings
At Chicago, Jeff Baker singled in two runs with two out in the 14th inning and Colorado recovered after squandering an eight-run lead to Chicago.
Astros 5, Braves 4
At Atlanta, pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro's single drove in the tiebreaking run as Houston scored three times in the ninth inning, then held off Atlanta to preserve its playoff hopes.
American League
Playoff-bound Detroit missed a chance to clinch the American League Central when David DeJesus hit a two-run triple in Kansas City's seven-run first inning on Saturday, leading the Royals to a 9-6 victory over the Tigers.
Detroit would have clinched the division with a win after the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 6-3 earlier in the day, cutting the Tigers' magic number to one.
Following a 1 1/2-hour rain delay at the start, Joey Gathright opened the game with a double against Zach Miner (7-6) and advanced to third when Esteban German singled to cap a 10-pitch at-bat. DeJesus hit the first of his two triples in the game for a 2-0 lead and Mike Sweeney followed with a two-run homer, giving the Royals a cycle with the first four batters.
White Sox 6, Twins 3
At Minneapolis, Jon Garland took a shutout into the ninth inning and Tadahito Iguchi had a homer among his three hits and three RBIs, leading Chicago past Minnesota. The Twins missed another chance to move ahead in the division race, leaving Detroit needing one win or a loss by Minnesota to clinch the AL Central.
Blue Jays 6, Yankees 5
At New York, Alex Rios smashed a go-ahead, two-run triple against T.J. Beam as Toronto rallied from a 4-1 deficit in a four-run seventh inning to beat New York, getting three unearned runs after an error by backup first baseman Andy Phillips.
Mariners 3, Rangers 1
At Seattle, Adrian Beltre homered twice and Felix Hernandez pitched seven strong innings to lead Seattle over Texas. Hernandez (12-14) allowed just four hits and faced only one batter over the minimum number possible through the first 6 1/3 innings.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 4
At Boston, Kevin Millar's two-run single in the ninth inning helped Baltimore to beat Boston and snap the Orioles' nine-game losing streak at Fenway Park. Miguel Tejeda and Jay Gibbons led off the ninth inning by hitting singles off Red Sox closer Mike Timlin (6-6). After a fielder's choice and passed ball enabled runners to go to second and third base, Millar hit a ball off the Green Monster to give the Orioles the lead.
Indians 6, Devil Rays 1
At Cleveland, Jake Westbrook allowed one run in seven innings and Casey Blake hit two solo homers to help Cleveland hand Tampa Bay its 100th loss. The Devil Rays became the first team in major league history to lose 100 games in a season despite having a winning record at home.
Angels 7, Athletics 6
At Anaheim, California, Chone Figgins, batting fourth for the first time in his career, drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning with a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning and Francisco Rodriguez set a club record with his major league-leading 47th save to lead Los Angeles.
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