AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Minnesota Twins piled on five runs in the ninth inning to rally for an 11-8 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, closing in on the leadership of the American League Central division.
The Twins moved within one-and-a-half games of Chicago, while the Rays saw their lead in the American League East sliced to the same margin over Boston.
PHOTO: AP
Evan Longoria hit three home runs for Tampa Bay, the first of which contributed to a five-run first inning.
He added solo shots in the fourth and seventh, appearing to have keyed another Rays victory, but the Twins came roaring back. Alexi Casilla hit a two-run homer that tied the game 8-8 and set Minnesota’s winning rally.
YANKEES 9, WHITE SOX 2
In New York, stumbling Chicago fell to defeat at out-of-contention New York.
With 10 games to play, the White Sox are coming under sustained pressure from Minnesota in their divisional race, which will likely be decided by their three-game series next week.
Bobby Abreu homered twice for the Yankees and drove in six runs, while starter Mike Mussina kept up his hopes for a 20-win season.
Mussina earned his 18th victory of the season for his 268th career win, tying Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 33rd on the career list. He gave up just one run in six-plus innings.
ANGELS 6, ATHLETICS 4
In Oakland, California, Los Angeles hit three consecutive homers in a span of just four pitches in the seventh inning, sinking Oakland.
Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood all connected off Keith Foulke to record the Angels’ first instance of three straight homers since 2004.
The A’s failed in their bid for a season-best five straight victories. Oakland were held scoreless until the final inning, when they loaded the bases with no outs. Four runs came against one out, but the final two batters were retired.
BLUE JAYS 3, ORIOLES 2
In Toronto, pinch-hitter Gregg Zaun doubled home the tying and go-ahead runs in the sixth inning as Toronto edged Baltimore.
The last-place Orioles have lost 19 of 22 games and dropped their past nine series. Baltimore are 2-17 in their past 19 one-run games.
Jose Bautista homered for the Blue Jays.
ROYALS 12, MARINERS 0
In Kansas City, Missouri, the home team completed their first four-game sweep of Seattle for 19 years.
Zack Greinke combined with two relievers on a three-hitter and Mike Aviles hit a three-run homer.
The Royals led 9-0 after four innings, setting up what was the Royals first four-game sweep of any opponent for three years.
Kansas City’s seven successive wins are their longest streak since winning their first nine games in the 2003 season.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, CHICAGO
A tying three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning set up the Chicago Cubs’ dramatic 7-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, putting them closer to clinching the National League Central division.
Geovany Soto hit the tying long-shot and Derrek Lee singled in the winning run in the 12th inning, putting the Cubs 9 games ahead of the Brewers with only 11 games to play.
Milwaukee’s form slump and this crushing defeat leaves them one-and-a-half games behind wild-card holders New York.
The Brewers took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth before Chicago staged an improbable four-run rally with two outs.
PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 3
In Atlanta, Georgia, Philadelphia edged Atlanta to complete an unprecedented road sweep of the Braves and maintain their lead in the National League East.
The Phillies stayed half-a-game ahead of New York in the East and moved two games above potential wild-card rivals Milwaukee.
Pat Burrell hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the sixth inning for Philadelphia, who have won seven straight games and became the first team to sweep a season series longer than four games in Atlanta, taking all nine.
DODGERS 4, PIRATES 3, 12 INNINGS
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles scraped past Pittsburgh to maintain their buffer atop the National League West.
The Dodgers got 11 walks for the game and loaded the bases in the 12th on the last of them. James Loney then hit a line-drive single to score the go-ahead run in the 12th inning.
The Dodgers withstood two Pittsburgh comebacks for their 15th victory in 18 games and stayed three-and-a-half games ahead of Arizona in the National League West with nine to play.
The Pirates got the potential tying run to third base in the bottom of the 12th, but could not get him home.
METS 7, NATIONALS 2
In Washington, New York comfortably beat Washington to keep pace with their rivals in a high-wire playoff race.
The Mets stretched their lead in the wild-card race to one-and-a-half games and stayed only half-a-game behind Philadelphia.
Thursday’s other results:
• Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2
• Marlins 8, Astros 1
• Cardinals 5, Reds 4
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