AMERICAN LEAGUE
Mark Teixeira belted a three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the New York Yankees to a 5-3 comeback victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Curtis Granderson, with a double and a home run, helped spark the Tigers to a 3-2 lead in support of rookie left-handers Lucas French and Taiwanese reliever Ni Fu-te.
PHOTO: AP
When hard-throwing right-handed reliever Joel Zumaya (3-3) came on to pitch, the Yankees rallied.
Derek Jeter fisted a lead-off single to right, Johnny Damon doubled high of the wall in right field and Teixeira turned on a 3-1 fastball and launched the decisive blast into the second deck in right.
“You don’t try to overswing when a guy is throwing that hard and I put a good swing on it,” Teixeira said of Zumaya, who hit 99mph on the radar gun during the inning.
Asked about Teixeira’s 22nd roundtripper of the year, New York manager Joe Girardi grinned.
“Three-run homers are nice, especially late in a game,” he said.
Phil Hughes (4-2) registered six outs, all by strikeout, to pick up the win in relief of starter A.J. Burnett in the team’s first game following the All-Star break.
“I guess the break gave me a little rest. I felt strong out there,” said 23-year-old Hughes, who is thriving this season out of the bullpen after being groomed as a starter.
“It’s nice to be in the game when it matters and counts,” he said. “I guess I’ve kind of found a comfort zone out there.”
After a rain delay of nearly an hour, Mariano Rivera came on to seal the victory in the ninth for his 24th save.
The victory improved the Yankees to 52-37 and dropped AL Central leading Detroit to 48-40.
RED SOX 4, BLUE JAYS 1
In Toronto, Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer to lift Boston over Toronto.
Boston’s Clay Buchholz pitched five-and-two-third innings to earn his first major league win in more than a year, in his first start this season.
Youkilis went long in the first inning to set the Red Sox away for a fourth straight win. The Blue Jays have lost 13 of 16 to drop a season-worst three games below .500.
TWINS 5, RANGERS 3
In Arlington, Texas, Jason Kubel hit a tiebreaking three-run homer to set up Minnesota’s win over Texas.
Kubel’s homer in the third, after consecutive hits, put the Twins up 5-2 before both side’s pitchers took control.
ATHLETICS 7, ANGELS 3
In Oakland, California, Rajai Davis scored the go-ahead run from first base on an errant pickoff attempt as Oakland snapped a four-game home losing streak to Los Angeles.
In other AL action, it was:
• Rays 8, Royals 7
• White Sox 12, Orioles 8
• Mariners 6, Indians 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, MIAMI
Chase Utley hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 12th inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Florida Marlins 6-5 on Friday and extended their National League winning streak to seven.
The Phils were up 4-1 when pitcher Cole Hamels left after a rain delay midway through the sixth inning. The bullpen blew the lead and then escaped several jams in the final innings.
With the score 4-4, Jimmy Rollins led off the 12th with a single, took second on a sacrifice and came home on Utley’s single. Jayson Werth singled home another run.
In the bottom of the 12th, Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge, pitching for the first time in a week, walked two and gave up a run on a wild pitch but hung on to earn his 19th save.
The Phillies have won 11 of their past 12 games and have won seven straight games in Miami, five this season.
REDS 4, BREWERS 0
In Cincinnatti, Ohio, Bronson Arroyo threw seven shutout innings to steer Cincinnatti over Milwaukee.
Arroyo was coming off another shutout win, over New York on Friday. Edward Encarnacion tied his career high with the four hits, including a solo homer that left him 7 for 7 in the first two games of the series.
In other NL action, it was:
• Cardinals 6, Diamondbacks 1
• Pirates 2, Giants 1, 14 inns
• Braves 11, Mets 0
• Cubs 3, Nationals 1
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