AMERICAN LEAGUE
Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Cliff Floyd added a pair of run-scoring singles, helping the Tampa Bay Rays stop Ervin Santana from becoming the first seven-game winner in Major League Baseball’s American League with an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
Santana departed with a 5-4 lead with one runner on and two outs in the sixth inning, but the game quickly shifted when Justin Speier (0-3) entered and gave up a double to Akinori Iwamura and Crawford’s third homer of the season.
PHOTO : AP
B.J. Upton doubled for the third consecutive hit off the Angels reliever. He took third base on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch by Speier, who struggled for the second time in three days against the Rays.
TWINS 9, RED SOX 8
At Minneapolis, Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with two of light-hitting Minnesota’s three home runs and four RBIs, and the Twins hung on for a victory over Boston.
Joe Nathan gave up two runs in the ninth, but won a showdown with pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez by getting him to ground out to shortstop with the tying run on second base to pick up his 12th save in as many chances.
Monroe had his third career multihomer game and Adam Everett also went deep during an atypically brutal start for Tim Wakefield (3-2) in the Metrodome. Nick Blackburn (3-2) earned the victory.
ROYALS 4, ORIOLES 0
In Kansas City, Missouri, Brian Bannister allowed two singles in eight innings and the Royals ended their 12-game skid against the Orioles.
It was Kansas City’s first victory over Baltimore since July 25, 2006.
Bannister struck out five and walked two to end a personal four-game losing streak. He did not allow a runner to reach second.
Joakim Soria tossed a perfect ninth to finish Kansas City’s fourth shutout of the year.
ATHLETICS 12, RANGERS 6
In Arlington, Texas, Emil Brown hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to help the Athletics beat Texas, ending the Rangers’ season-best five-game winning streak on Sunday.
Frank Thomas drove in two runs to give him 1,695 RBIs, tying him with Cal Ripken for 21st all-time.
Ian Kinsler had three hits for the Rangers, who had won nine of their previous 11.
MARINERS 6, WHITE SOX 3
In Seattle, Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer in the third inning and the Mariners beat the White Sox to snap a five-game losing streak.
Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki each went 3-for-4 for the Mariners, who finished with 13 hits.
Seattle got to Gavin Floyd (3-2), who has been one of the toughest pitchers to hit so far this season, for five runs and nine hits over 3 2-3 innings.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, NEW YORK
Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church hit consecutive homers in the fifth inning to support Oliver Perez and lead the New York Mets to an 8-3 victory on Sunday over the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds batted out of order in the ninth after an earlier double switch, with backup catcher David Ross coming to the plate in the No. 8 spot instead of Corey Patterson. Ross flied out to right.
Once Mets manager Willie Randolph informed the umpires of the mistake, the out was charged to Patterson after a prolonged discussion by the umpires, and Ross batted again. This time, he singled.
MARLINS 5, NATIONALS 4
In Washington, Dan Uggla’s second home run was a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Marlins to their seventh straight win.
Uggla drove in two runs and has seven RBIs and three homers in two games; he hit a grand slam on Saturday and has 11 homers this season.
The Marlins have won all six of their games at Nationals Park, which opened this season, and their seven-game win streak overall is their best run since winning nine straight in August 2006.
BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 3
In Milwaukee, Ryan Braun hit a pair of solo home runs, Jeff Suppan pitched seven solid innings and Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse combined to pitch the Brewers through the ninth.
Torres allowed a leadoff double and a walk before giving way to Shouse with two outs. Shouse, a left-handed specialist, gave up an RBI single to Yadier Molina before finishing for his first save and fifth of his career.
The Brewers won for only the second time in nine games.
DIAMONDBACKS 4ARDINALS 3
In Chicago, pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Cubs rallied again to beat the Diamondbacks.
Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save in 10 chances and finish off Chicago’s three-game sweep of Major League Baseball’s National League West Division leaders.
GIANTS 4, PHILLIES 3
In San Francisco, Steve Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning for his first major league home run, and the Giants held on for a victory in the rubber game against the Phillies.
Holm homered in his first at-bat on the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero (3-1) after replacing Bengie Molina in the top of the seventh, sending the ball into the seats in left-center.
Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and came in with an 0.63 ERA over his first 17 outings of 2008.
PADRES 6, ROCKIES 1
In San Diego, Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene homered to spoil Greg Reynolds’ first start, leading the Padres to a victory over the Rockies and their first series win in nearly a month.
The consecutive wins match the Padres’ season high, giving them just six in 24 games and still leaving them with the worst record in MLB (14-24).
ASTROS 8, DODGERS 5
In Los Angeles, Hiroki Kuroda took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the Dodgers before the Astros broke out for seven hits and six runs in the eighth inning to pull out a victory.
Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence had RBI singles against reliever Jonathan Broxton (1-1), and Brad Ausmus added a two-run single against the right-hander as the Astros won for the eighth time in nine games.
Houston also completed its first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles since Sept. 25-27, 1992.
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
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two