NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, WASHINGTON
Rafael Furcal hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on Thursday as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Washington 7-6 to hand the Nationals their 100th loss of the season.
Furcal’s drive off Ron Villone (4-6) was his fourth hit of the game. Ramon Troncoso (5-4) pitched 1-1/3 innings to get the win and Jonathan Broxton finished for his 36th save.
The win reduced the Dodgers’ magic number to one for clinching a National League playoff berth.
The Nationals, who were 59-102 last season, are the first NL franchise to lose 100 games in consecutive seasons since the San Diego Padres, who dropped 102 in both 1973 and 1974.
CUBS 3, GIANTS 2
At San Francisco, Jeff Baker hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning as Chicago staved off elimination in the NL Central for a day by handing San Francisco a blow to their postseason hopes.
Had the Cubs lost, the St Louis Cardinals would have clinched the Central. The Cardinals yesterday began a three-game series against the NL wild card-leading Rockies, who lead the Braves by 3.5 games with San Francisco and Florida four behind. The Cubs trail Colorado by 6.5 games with 10 to play.
Brian Wilson (5-6) walked Derrek Lee to open the inning but got Micah Hoffpauir and Mike Fontenot on infield popups before Baker hit his fourth home run.
PADRES 5, ROCKIES 4
At Denver, Nick Hundley homered to start the comeback and drove in the tiebreaking run with an eighth-inning single off Rafael Betancourt as San Diego dealt the NL wild card-leading Colorado a disheartening loss.
Also on Thursday, it was:
• Phillies 9, Brewers 4
• Reds 4, Pirates 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, CLEVELAND, OHIO
Justin Verlander pitched the Detroit Tigers closer to a division title and pushed the Cleveland Indians within one loss of matching a franchise record for futility with a 6-5 win on Thursday.
Verlander (17-9) struck out 11 in seven innings and Carlos Guillen had three hits and an RBI as the Tigers handed Cleveland their 11th straight loss. The Indians haven’t dropped 11 in a row since setting a club record with 12 consecutive losses in 1931.
Detroit moved three games ahead of the idle Minnesota Twins in the AL’s Central Division.
RED SOX 10, ROYALS 3
At Kansas City, Missouri, David Ortiz homered and drove in three runs, and Clay Buchholz took a shutout into the seventh inning to help Boston trounce Kansas City and move closer to the postseason.
Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits and two RBIs, Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to 23 games and Dustin Pedroia pushed his to 16 games, lowering Boston’s magic number for clinching the AL wild card to three.
Also on Thursday, it was:
• Athletics 12, Rangers 3
• Mariners 5, Blue Jays 4
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB