AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim clinched their second consecutive American League West division title on Wednesday with the help of a 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees.
The Angels won their fourth division title in five years, all under manager Mike Scioscia, and won the seventh division title in franchise history.
In 2002, the team won the AL pennant and World Series as a wild-card entry into the playoffs.
“It’s a great feeling and it never gets old,” Angels owner Arturo Moreno said. “I’m happy for Mike and everyone. Just want to finish out the year and get prepared to play for the playoffs. I don’t wear jewelry, but I will take a [World Series] ring.”
At 88-57, the Angels own the best record in baseball and can now spend their final 17 games setting up their pitching rotation for the playoffs.
They saw their magic number dwindle after Dustin Moseley tossed six stellar innings and Robb Quinlan hit a key two-run double in the victory over the Yankees.
That assured them of at least a share of the AL West championship, and they claimed the title outright when the Seattle Mariners completed an 8-7 victory over the Texas Rangers an hour later.
Anaheim will now try to do something none of their previous division-winning teams have accomplished — reaching the World Series.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” general manager Tony Reagins said.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 2, 14 INNINGS
At Boston, Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer in the top of the 14th, then Tampa Bay reliever Jason Hammel escaped a major jam in the bottom of the innings to beat Boston.
After playing more than five hours, the Rays increased their lead in the AL East to 2.5 games over the Red Sox. Boston’s wild-card lead was cut to five games by Minnesota.
Tampa Bay was only 1-for-35 with runners in scoring position in this series before Pena homered.
Boston loaded the bases with no outs in the 14th against closer Troy Percival. Hammel took over with a 4-1 lead and retired three straight batters for his first save since he pitched at Class A Hudson Valley in 2002. Mike Timlin (4-4) gave up Pena’s 28th homer.
Trevor Miller (2-0) pitched one hitless inning for the win.
In other games it was:
• White Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
• Twins 7, Royals 1
• Indians 7, Orioles 1
• Athletics 5, Tigers 2
• Mariners 8, Rangers 7
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, SAN DIEGO, California
Manny Ramirez hit two two-run homers, giving him 524 for his career, as Los Angeles beat San Diego 7-2 on Wednesday for the Dodgers’ 10th win in 11 games.
The Dodgers extended their lead in the National League West to a season-high 3.5 games over Arizona, which lost 4-3 to San Francisco.
Derek Lowe (13-11) allowed three hits and one run in 5 1-3 innings before leaving the game in the sixth after being hit on the right leg by a one-hopper by Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Ramirez’s first homer came in the fifth off starter Shawn Estes (2-2). His second was off Dirk Hayhurst in the ninth.
James Loney homered for the Dodgers, hitting his 12th to ignite a three-run second inning.
CUBS 4, CARDINALS 3
At St. Louis, Ted Lilly pitched eight sharp innings and Chicago capitalized on shaky fielding by injured Troy Glaus’ replacement for its second win in nine games.
Backup third baseman Felipe Lopez made a fielding error and throwing error on consecutive plays in the second inning, helping the Cubs score four runs.
Chicago held its 4.5-game lead in the NL Central over Milwaukee and won for the 15th time in its last 19 road games. The Cubs improved the league’s best record to 87-58.
Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer off Cubs closer Kerry Wood with one out in the ninth. Wood finished for his 28th save.
Lilly (14-9) allowed a run in a shaky first but nothing the last seven innings while striking out five and walking none.
Giants 4, Diamondbacks 3
At San Francisco, Eugenio Velez hit a two-out, two-run triple in the ninth inning as San Francisco rallied to edge Arizona and complete a three-game sweep.
The Giants matched their season-high win streak of five straight while Arizona lost its sixth straight overall and 10th consecutive on the road.
In other games it was:
• Brewers 4, Reds 3
• Marlins 7, Phillies 3
• Mets 13, Nationals 10
• Astros 7, Pirates 4
• Braves 9, Rockies 5
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