National LeagueReliever-turned-starter Braden Looper allowed five hits in seven innings and Preston Wilson hit a long two-run homer in the seventh as the St. Louis Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Friday.
In his fourth major league start, Looper (3-1) outdueled Ted Lilly (1-2). Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Lilly (1-2) shut out the World Series champs on three hits for six innings. But after he walked Jim Edmonds with one out in the seventh, Wilson followed with his first homer, a line drive that cleared the left field bleachers for a 2-1 lead.
PHOTO: AP
Braves 7, Mets 3
At New York, Tim Hudson was stingy over eight sharp innings and Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer to help Atlanta beat New York.
Reds 2, Phillies 1, 10 innings
At Cincinnati, Scott Hatteberg hit a two-out, solo homer that tied it in the ninth and Brandon Phillips singled with the bases loaded in the 10th inning, sending Cincinnati past Philadelphia.
Astros 6, Brewers 5
At Milwaukee, Craig Biggio hit his first grand slam in 13 years with one out in the ninth and Houston extended its winning streak to five.
Nationals 6, Marlins 5
At Miami, Chris Snelling singled off first baseman Mike Jacobs' glove to score Ryan Church from second in the 14th inning to pace Washington against Florida.
Padres 11, Rockies 1
At Denver, Adrian Gonzalez homered and matched his career high with four RBIs and Chris Young continued his mastery of Colorado in a win for San Diego.
Giants 4, Diamondbacks 2
At San Francisco, Russ Ortiz stayed calm and collected and even singled to lead San Francisco over Arizona, the club that cut him last summer and that still pays the bulk of his salary.
Dodgers 10, Pirates 2
At Los Angeles, Randy Wolf struck out a season-high 10, hit a two-run double that highlighted a six-run third inning and Los Angeles trounced Pittsburgh to improve on the best record in the majors.
Alex Rodriguez hit two more homers, but Coco Crisp tied the game with a two-run triple and then scored on Alex Cora's blooper during a five-run eighth inning to help the Boston Red Sox overcome the New York Yankees 7-6 on Friday.
Indians 4, Devil Rays 3
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Travis Hafner hit a two-run homer and drove in the go-ahead run on a single in the ninth inning to help Cleveland beat Tampa Bay.
Orioles 5, Blue Jays 4
At Baltimore, Nick Markakis singled in the winning run in the ninth inning to cap Baltimore's rally against Toronto.
White Sox 5, Tigers 4
At Detroit, Darin Erstad's tiebreaking single in the seventh inning lifted Chicago over Detroit.
Athletics 16, Rangers 4
At Arlington, Texas, rookie Travis Buck hit his first career homer and drove in a five runs to help Oakland stretch its winning streak to four games by beating Texas.
Royals 11, Twins 7
At Kansas City, Missouri, Mark Grudzielanek's home run keyed a five-run fifth inning and carried Kansas City to a come-from-behind victory over Minnesota.
Angels 8, Mariners 4
At Anaheim, California, Virginia Tech alumnus Joe Saunders wore a Hokies college cap while scattering seven hits during six scoreless innings in Los Angeles' victory over Seattle. Vladimir Guerrero hit a solo homer to help the Angels end a six-game losing streak.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite