A bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gave Milwaukee a 4-3 victory over the St Louis Cardinals on Friday in the National League, snapping the Brewers’ six-game losing streak in style.
After looking lethargic most of the game, the Brewers came alive after the Cardinals recorded two outs on the first two pitches of the ninth.
A single, a blooper to right field and a walk loaded the bases, and Rickie Weeks hit the two-run single to left field to win the game.
PHOTO: AP
St Louis has lost three straight for the first time this season.
Astros 7, Dodgers 1
In Los Angeles, Brian Moehler pitched five scoreless innings to steer Houston past Los Angeles.
Lance Berkman went 3-for-4 with a home run for the Astros.
Moehler, filling in because of injuries, allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five. He has spent the majority of his big league career as a starter, though had been used exclusively in relief since rejoining Houston last year.
Phillies 7, Giants 4
In San Francisco, Jimmy Rollins led Philadelphia to victory over San Francisco in his long-awaited return. The reigning NL MVP came off the disabled list and hit a two-run homer, an RBI double and a single.
The Giants lost their season-high fifth straight game to drop a season-worst eight games under .500.
Cubs 3, Diamondbacks 1
In Chicago, the home side downed Arizona in the first meeting between the teams since the Diamondbacks’ first-round sweep in last year’s playoffs.
Arizona’s Chris Young homered off Ted Lilly in Game 2 last October — prompting Lilly to slam his glove on the pitcher’s mound in frustration — and he did it again on Friday with a solo homer off the Cubs pitcher in the first inning.
But from there, Lilly gave up only two hits over the next six innings, striking out 10 against the team with the best record in the majors, and also drove in the tying run with a fifth-inning single.
In other games it was:
• Rockies 4, Padres 2
• Pirates 3, Braves 2
• Marlins 7, Nationals 3
AP, ST. PETERSBURG, Florida
James Shields pitched a one-hitter to steer the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League on Friday.
Evan Longoria’s two-run, ninth-inning homer snapped a scoreless tie. Shields rebounded from the second-shortest outing of his career to post his second shutout in his past three starts.
Twins 7, Red Sox 6
In Minneapolis, struggling Mike Lamb hit a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to give Minnesota a win over Boston.
Lamb, who entered the game to replace an injured second baseman, was averaging only .207 for the season before hitting Jonathan Papelbon’s two-out 1-2 pitch for the game winner.
Tigers 6, Yankees 5
In Detroit, Kenny Rogers pitched into the seventh inning to guide Detroit over New York.
Ivan Rodriguez had three hits, driving in a pair of runs for the Tigers. Rogers held the Yankees to two runs before New York scored three runs in the ninth.
Rogers picked off a runner at first base in the second inning, giving him the big league record with 92 career pickoffs. The stat has been kept since 1974.
Rangers 4, Athletics 0
In Arlington, Texas, the home side posted its third straight shutout to end Oakland’s four-game winning streak. Scott Feldman pitched six innings and then the bullpen combined to extend Texas’ pitchers’ scoreless streak to 31 in a row.
The last time a major league team had three consecutive shutouts was Florida in 2005. Minnesota was the last American League team to accomplish that feat, in 2004.
In other games it was:
• Indians 6, Blue Jays 1
• Orioles 7, Royals 4
• White Sox 4, Mariners 2
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but