Alex Rodriguez homered for the fifth-straight game, connecting for the seventh time during that span and sending the New York Yankees past the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.
Wang Chien-ming (王建民) earned his 18th win to remain tied for the lead in Major League Baseball, and Jorge Posada hit a tiebreaking, two-run double that helped New York extend its lead in the race for the American League wild-card playoff berth to four games over Detroit.
Indians 6, Angels 2
At Anaheim, California, Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer, Asdrubal Cabrera had two RBIs and Cleveland beat Los Angeles to split a four-game series between AL division leaders.
Cleveland's 13th victory in 16 tries increased its AL Central lead to six games over Detroit. The first-place Angels, who played without ailing right fielder Vladimir Guerrero again, have an eight-game cushion over Seattle in the AL West.
Aaron Laffey (3-1) pitched five innings for the Indians, allowing two runs -- one earned -- and six hits in his sixth major league start. Jensen Lewis, Rafael Perez and Joe Borowski combined for four scoreless innings of three-hit relief.
Red Sox 3, Orioles 2
In Baltimore, Josh Beckett allowed two runs in seven innings to earn his 18th victory, and the Red Sox completed another successful season at Camden Yards.
Coco Crisp singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, Mike Lowell drove in two runs and Dustin Pedroia had three hits for the Red Sox, who won six of nine in Baltimore this year.
In other games, it was: Mariners 14, Tigers 7; Twins 5, White Sox 2; Devil Rays 3, Blue Jays 2; Rangers 12, Athletics 9.
The Brewers became only the third team in US Major League Baseball history to open a game with three straight home runs when Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun connected Sunday off Phil Dumatrait in Milwaukee's 10-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Weeks and Braun each hit another homer and J.J. Hardy added two doubles -- all in the first four innings -- to keep Milwaukee in first place in Major League Baseball's National League Central Division.
Johnny Estrada also homered to give Milwaukee six in a game for the first time since April 29 last year, in a 16-2 win over the Cubs at Chicago.
Pirates 10, Cubs 5
In Pittsburgh, Freddy Sanchez's bases-loaded triple highlighted Pittsburgh's six-run second inning and rookie Nyjer Morgan make an exceptional catch and drove in two runs as the Pirates knocked the Cubs from first place in the Central Division.
Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson had doubles to add to Sanchez's three-run triple in the sixth.
Rookies Morgan and Steve Pearce also had run-scoring singles.
Diamondbacks 6, Cardinals 5
In Phoenix, Jose Valverde retired pinch-hitter Yadier Molina with the bases loaded for the final out, and the Diamondbacks held off the Cardinals for their fifth-straight victory.
In other games, it was: Mets 4, Astros 1; Phillies 8, Marlins 5; Rockies 4, Padres 2; Giants 4, Dodgers 2; Nationals 7, Braves 4.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later