Toronto’s Shaun Marcum won a pitching duel to lead the Blue Jays to a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox in the American League on Friday.
Marcum matched Chicago’s Mark Buehrle pitch for pitch and Shannon Stewart drove in the only runs for Toronto.
Marcum struck out nine and won for the first time in three starts, lowering his ERA to 2.70. He allowed just two hits, both singles.
Buehrle gave up only two runs — both unearned — in eight innings.
Orioles 4, Angels 3
In Anaheim, California, Jeremy Guthrie won for the first time in 16 starts as Baltimore downed Los Angeles to start a 10-game road trip with a win.
Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora each drove in two runs for the Orioles.
Guthrie got his first win since July last year. The right-hander allowed only three hits over seven innings.
Twins 11, Tigers 1
In Minneapolis, Livan Hernandez baffled Detroit’s sluggers for seven innings to give Minnesota victory.
The Twins then beat up the Tigers’ normally reliable bullpen.
Hernandez gave up just one run to bounce back from a horrendous start in Texas, and the Twins scored four runs in the seventh inning to get some breathing room in their third straight win.
The defeat was a letdown for a Tigers outfit coming off its first sweep of the Yankees in New York since 1966.
Rangers 4, Athletics 3
In Oakland, California, Milton Bradley had three hits against his former team as Texas downed Oakland.
The Rangers took advantage of four errors to post its first three-game winning streak of the season.
Red Sox 7, Rays 3
In Boston, Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs, including a two-run single in a five-run fourth inning, as Boston beat Tampa Bay.
The start was delayed 2 hours, 27 minutes by rain. Only a couple thousand fans remained in Fenway Park when the game ended at 12:48 am local time.
AP, ST LOUIS, missouri
Skip Schumaker hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning to give the St Louis Cardinals a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Schumaker clubbed the one-out pitch into the stands, getting struggling closing pitcher Jason Isringhausen off the hook after he had given up the lead in the ninth inning.
Schumaker has connected for the go-ahead hit in three of the Cardinals’ past seven victories.
Isringhausen has blown two of his past three save chances.
Braves 2, Reds 0
In Atlanta, the home side ended a four-game losing streak by closing down Cincinatti.
Tim Hudson pitched his 11th career shutout and Brian McCann hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who finally won a close game. Atlanta is a league worst 0-9 in games decided by one run.
Hudson struck out 10 and walked none. McCann’s sixth homer of the season came in the fourth, sending the Reds to their third straight loss.
With just one victory in his previous three starts, Hudson gave the Braves’ ailing pitching staff a boost after John Smoltz said before the game that he’s likely to return from tinjury as Atlanta’s closer instead of rejoining the rotation.
Phillies 6, Giants 5, 10 innings
In Philadelphia, Pat Burrell hit a storybook homer in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting Philadelphia over San Francisco.
The Giants had taken a one-run lead in the top of the tenth, before Burrell crunched a pitch into the left-field seats.
Mets 7, Diamondbacks 2
In Phoenix, Jose Reyes had four hits and almost hit for the cycle as New York downed Arizona.
Reyes, who had two triples and scored three times, was thrown out at home plate in the eighth inning while trying to complete the cycle with an inside-the-park homer.
Dodgers 11, Rockies 6
In Denver, Los Angeles won its seventh straight game by overpowering Colorado.
Rafael Furcal had three hits, including a three-run homer in a seven-run sixth inning.
Pirates 11, Nationals 4
In Washington, the home side’s season-high four-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of Pittsburgh.
Jose Bautista homered twice and drove in four runs for the Pirates, who won after both teams were forced to sit out a 25-minute power failure in the fourth inning.
The Pirates bullpen gave up just one hit in five innings.
Pittsburgh scored six runs in the third, sending nine men to the plate.
Astros 7, Brewers 4
In Houston, Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee hit consecutive home runs in a four-run sixth inning as Houston downed Milwaukee.
The Astros trailed 4-2 before Tejada’s two-run shot to left with one out in the sixth. Berkman followed with his home run to almost the exact same spot, and after a brief conference on the mound, Lee smacked a third.
Marlins 6, Padres 4
In Miami, Dan Uggla hit two home runs, leading Florida over San Diego.
Mark Hendrickson pitched seven effective innings, allowing five hits as the Marlins ended a three-game losing slump.
Uggla’s second homer, a three-run shot that traveled over the left-field scoreboard, was followed by a homer from Luis Gonzalez.
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