NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rick Ankiel hit a go-ahead RBI double as the St Louis Cardinals rallied from four runs down to beat the New York Mets 6-4 in the National League on Tuesday.
Ankiel’s hit came after Daniel Murphy misplayed Brendan Ryan’s line drive to left field for a triple.
PHOTO: AP
Albert Pujols had a two-run double, Ankiel broke out of a 1-for-20 slide with three hits for the Cardinals. Khalil Greene, Joe Thurston and Ryan Ludwick also had RBIs for St Louis.
Jason Motte (1-0) got two outs in the eighth to earn his first Major League win. Ryan Franklin pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
Ryan led off the bottom half with a liner off J.J. Putz (1-1) to left that Murphy charged in for, but Murphy misjudged the ball and fell trying to correct himself. The ball rolled to the wall and Ryan had a triple. Ankiel followed with his double to right.
Carlos Beltran had an RBI double, and Jose Reyes, David Wright and Murphy had RBI singles for the Mets.
PIRATES 3, MARLINS 2
At Pittsburgh, Jeff Karstens pitched six sharp innings and Freddy Sanchez homered as the surging Pirates beat Florida.
Cameron Maybin hit his first homer for Florida, who have lost two straight against the Pirates after opening the season with an 11-1 stretch.
Matt Capps pitched the ninth for his fourth save. Karstens (1-0) won for the first time since Aug. 6. Sanchez led off the third with a drive to left-center off Anibal Sanchez (1-1).
NATIONALS 4, BRAVES 3
At Washington, Adam Dunn homered as Washington’s beleaguered relievers tossed three scoreless innings for the second day in a row in a win over Atlanta.
After opening the season 0-7, then dropping to 1-10, Washington is 3-10. Atlanta has lost five of six games.
Shairon Martis (2-0) went six innings and gave up three runs — two earned.
Then came the procession of Nationals relievers: Mike Hinckley went one-and-two-third innings, Julian Tavarez got one out, and closer Joel Hanrahan had an adventurous ninth for his second save.
Also on Tuesday it was:
• Astros 8, Dodgers 5
• Cubs 7, Reds 2
• Phillies 11, Brewers 4
• Rockies 9, Diamondbacks 6
• Giants 8, Padres 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, CLEVELAND, OHIO
Grady Sizemore hit a three-run homer as the Cleveland Indians made double plays in six straight innings to beat the Kansas City Royals 8-7 in the American League on Tuesday.
Sizemore connected in Cleveland’s four-run fourth inning as the Indians built a 6-1 lead, but it was the six double-play balls that saved the day for the Tribe.
Aaron Laffey (1-0) gave up a run in the first — the only run he allowed in seven innings — and was helped by double-play grounders in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.
Coco Crisp bounced into an inning-ending double play in the seventh after the Royals loaded the bases.
Kansas City rallied for four runs in the eighth, but that threat ended when Jensen Lewis got Miguel Olivo to bounce into a double play with the tying run on first base.
The six double plays tied a club record for the Indians and set a team mark for the Royals.
YANKEES 5, ATHLETICS 3
At New York, Johnny Damon hit the only home run in the first night game at the new Yankee Stadium as New York downed Oakland.
Brett Gardner came through with a sensational catch and a two-run single for New York.
Damon’s sixth-inning shot off Andrew Bailey gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead, and they held on behind Brian Bruney and Mariano Rivera before a crowd of 42,065.
In Tuesday’s other games it was:
• Rangers 5, Blue Jays 4
• Angels 4, Tigers 3
• Mariners 4, Rays 2
• Orioles 10, White Sox 3
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite