The New York Yankees beat the slumping Chicago White Sox for the second straight time on Wednesday, riding Wang Chien-ming (王建民) of Taiwan's complete game to a comfortable 5-1 victory.
The win was the fifth in the last seven games for the Yankees, who expect to be bolstered by the return of Roger Clemens tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Clemens, who signed a pro-rated US$28 million free agent deal to come back to the Yanks, was originally supposed to start the opener of the series in Chicago, but was pushed back because of a groin problem.
PHOTO: EPA
The victory lifted the Yankee record to 26-31, and put them to within 10 games of the Boston Red Sox.
"We're feeling pretty good," centerfielder Johnny Damon, who had two doubles, told reporters. "It's fun when things start going your way."
Wang (5-4) pitched New York's first complete game of the season and the third of his career, as he tossed a five-hitter and sent the White Sox to their seventh loss in the last eight games.
The Taiwanese right-hander, who needed just 104 pitches to get the job done, is 4-1 with a 2.50 ERA his last five starts and the complete game marked the Yanks' first complete-game win since Wang beat Tampa Bay with a two-hit shutout on July 28 last year.
"He was great," New York manager Joe Torre told reporters. "That pitch count, it doesn't come any better than that, that's for sure."
Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs in a four-run fourth inning and Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer to carry the New York offense that made a loser of former Yankee Javier Vasquez (3-4).
The win was the 1,999th of Torre's managerial career.
Twins 8, Angels 5
At Anaheim, California, Nick Punto, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Bartlett homered and Kevin Slowey lasted long enough to get his first victory in Major League Baseball as the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-5 on Wednesday.
The Twins took advantage of a key error by shortstop Orlando Cabrera to stop a four-game losing streak. The Angels had won five in a row.
Orioles 9, Mariners 5
In Seattle, Jay Gibbons ended a 0-for-22 slide with two hits and started a five-run rally that helped Baltimore beat Seattle to stop a five-game losing streak.
Baltimore's bullpen, which failed to protect late leads the previous two nights, held on in the ninth with Chris Ray to end Seattle's four-game winning streak. Ray pitched for the first time since giving up a game-ending homer on Sunday to the Los Angeles Angels' Vladimir Guerrero.
In other AL action it was:
* Athletics 3, Red Sox 2
* Royals 4, Indians 3
* Tigers 10, Rangers 0
* Devil Rays 6, Blue Jays 2
Trevor Hoffman became the first big leaguer to reach 500 career saves when he saved the San Diego Padres' 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances this season. He jogged in from the bullpen accompanied by rock band AC/DC's ominous Hells Bells as usual, and a standing ovation from the crowd of 31,541 at Petco Park.
Greg Maddux (5-3) has won five straight home starts following his loss to Colorado in the home opener on April 6.
The Padres chased Randy Wolf (7-4) after five innings, handing him his first loss since April 30.
Rockies 8, Astros 7
At Denver, Brad Hawpe had a two-run tiebreaking triple in the seventh inning to help Colorado beat Houston.
Kaz Matsui had tied the game 5-5 with a homer, and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Matt Holliday was 3-for-3 with an RBI.
Diamondbacks 1, Giants 0
At Phoenix, Chris Young broke a scoreless tie with a home run to center field leading off the seventh inning, lifting the surging Arizona over San Francisco -- a night after his game-ending shot in the 10th for the Diamondbacks.
Brandon Webb (6-3) matched his season high with four walks but still pitched a gem to win his third straight start. He struck out seven and allowed six hits in seven innings, keeping the Diamondbacks unbeaten at home in five games against San Francisco this season.
Cubs 6, Brewers 2
At Milwaukee, Carlos Zambrano controlled his temper and his pitches, and Chicago overcame Prince Fielder's 21st home run to beat Milwaukee.
Zambrano (6-5) melted down in his last start, giving up a career-high 13 hits last Friday against Atlanta and getting into a dugout skirmish with catcher Michael Barrett. The hostilities continued in the clubhouse, and Barrett sustained a cut lip and went to a hospital for stitches.
In other NL action it was:
* Marlins 7, Braves 4
* Phillies 4, Mets 2
* Cardinals 6, Reds 4
* Nationals 6, Pirates 5
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