Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs as the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 16-8 on Saturday.
A-Rod connected on the first pitch he saw, sending a shot down the left-field line. After pausing at the plate to see if it was fair, he trotted around the bases with a grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium cheered.
Rodriguez homered eight days after his 32nd birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas.
Rodriguez hugged teammates and blew a kiss toward the stands after completing his trip around the bases.
Robinson Cano tied a career high with four hits and Bobby Abreu scored four runs for New York, which has won five of its last six to improve to a season-best 10 games over .500. Mike Myers (3-0) got the last out of the fifth to earn the win.
Kyle Davies lasted just three innings in his first start for Kansas City, which acquired him from Atlanta on Tuesday. He gave up five runs and six hits in his first career appearance against the Yankees.
Red Sox 4, Mariners 3
In Seattle, Daisuke Matsuzaka continually wiggled out of trouble, Jason Varitek drove in two runs and Boston snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Mariners in Seattle.
Matsuzaka (13-8) pitched seven innings, matched his season-high with 10 strikeouts and allowed just a pair of solo home runs.
Blue Jays 9, Rangers 5
In Toronto, Frank Thomas hit two home runs to pass Eddie Murray for 20th place on the all-time home run list, and Toronto won a seventh straight game by downing Texas.
Thomas hit a three-run homer in the first and added a solo homer in the third, giving him 505 in his career. It was his second multihomer game of the season and the 31st of his career.
Athletics 2, Angels 1
In Oakland, pinch hitter Travis Buck hit a two-out, tie-breaking single in the seventh to give Oakland victory over Los Angeles.
Oakland starter Joe Blanton (9-8) ended a personal four-game losing streak.
Twins 3, Indians 2
In Minneapolis, Joe Nathan finished off five scoreless innings by the Minnesota bullpen as the Twins edged past Cleveland.
Michael Cuddyer drove in two runs and made a leaping catch in right field to help Minnesota beat Cleveland for only the third time in 10 games this season. The Twins moved within 5 1-2 games of the Indians, who began the day in first place in the American League Central.
Devil Rays 9, Orioles 2
In St Petersburg, Scott Kazmir won his third-straight home decision as Tampa Bay beat Baltimore.
Kazmir (8-7) has staged a big form turnaround at home. Prior to his last four starts, he had gone winless in 14 home starts dating back to July last year.
White Sox 7, Tigers 5
In Detroit, Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski each homered on Saturday and Chicago hung on to win its third straight by beating Detroit.
Chicago's Javier Vazquez (9-6) went seven innings and gave up three runs to take the win. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 31st save, and has now retired 29 straight batters.
Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer in the eighth, and Milwaukee came back from a four-run deficit to beat Philadelphia 6-5 on Saturday and remain in first place in the National League Central.
Corey Hart robbed Tadahito Iguchi of what could have been a game-tying homer in the ninth, and Milwaukee remained a game ahead of Chicago. Philadelphia (57-53) stayed five games behind the NL East-leading New York.
Milwaukee trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning and 5-4 heading into the eighth.
But with one out, J.J. Hardy singled. Ryan Braun popped out, bringing up Fielder, who hit a Tom Gordon pitch (1-2) deep into the right-field seats, delighting the sellout crowd.
Cubs 6, Mets 2
Ryan Theriot's infield single with two outs started a six-run third inning that set up Chicago's 6-2 win over New York on Saturday.
Chicago starter Ted Lilly (12-5) pitched seven-and-two-third impressive innings, allowing two runs. He has won seven of his last eight starts.
Braves 6, Rockies 4
In Atlanta, Tim Hudson pitched seven scoreless innings and hitting a two-run single as Atlanta downed Colorado.
Hudson (12-5) made his 12th start following an Atlanta loss. The Braves are 10-2 in those games.
Nationals 12, Cardinals 1
In Washington, Ryan Zimmerman hit two home runs as Washington extended its winning streak to a season-best five games by cruising past St. Louis.
Reds 9, Pirates 8, 10 innings
In Pittsburgh, Adam Dunn's two-run homer in the 10th inning saw Cincinnati edge Pittsburgh in a battle between the worst two teams in the National League.
Pittsburgh closer Matt Caps (4-5) gave up the tying run on a solo homer to Jeff Keppinger.
Marlins 6, Astros 5, 12 innings
In Miami, Miguel Cabrera tied the game with a homer in the seventh, then scored the winning run in bizarre circumstances as Florida beat Houston in extra innings.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set