AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
New York pitcher C.C. Sabathia came close to a no-hitter as he steered the Yankees to a 10-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League on Saturday.
Sabathia had not yielded a hit for 7 2-3 innings when his former battery mate Kelly Shoppach got a hit. There was no visible reaction from the exhausted Yankees ace.
Manager Joe Girardi immediately removed Sabathia, who struck out five. The left-hander threw 69 of his 111 pitches for strikes and benefited from some spectacular defensive plays in the field.
TWINS 2, WHITE SOX 1
In Chicago, Jason Kubel’s two-run homer in the seventh inning was enough for Minnesota to edge Chicago.
Twins starter Scott Baker pitched seven sharp innings, having struggled on opening day. He allowed just one run, striking out three.
Jesse Crain got two outs in the eighth and stranded Chicago’s Mark Teahen at second, and Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save.
TIGERS 4, INDIANS 2
In Detroit, Jeremy Bonderman gave up one hit in five innings to guide Detroit to victory against Cleveland.
Bonderman retired the first 11 he faced, then allowed a run on a wild pitch, single and two walks. He started for the first time at home in nearly two years since having surgery to break up a blood clot in his throwing shoulder.
Magglio Ordonez had a two-run homer for the Tigers.
ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 3
In Anaheim, California, Hideki Matsui singled home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning, giving Los Angeles victory over Oakland.
Bobby Abreu started the winning rally with the Angels’ sixth double of the game.
A’s pitcher Craig Breslow intentionally walked Torii Hunter, then Matsui lined the next pitch just inside the right-field line for his first game-ending hit with the Angels.
In other games it was:
• Mariners 4, Rangers 3
• Red Sox 8, Royals 3
• Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, SAN FRANCISCO
The Atlanta Braves inflicted San Francisco’s first defeat of the season, beating the Giants 7-2 in the National Legue on Saturday.
Jason Heyward hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and added an RBI single to cap a four-run seventh.
Braves starter Derek Lowe scattered four hits over six innings, taking a win despite issuing a career-worst seven walks.
The Giants were charged with four wild pitches, tying the most in San Francisco history. They entered as the only unbeaten team in the majors but failed to take advantage of nine walks by Braves pitching.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 1
In Milwaukee, Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer to boost St. Louis over Milwaukee.
Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo struggled in his first outing since signing a big contract extension with the Brewers, giving up six runs in five innings.
Jaime Garcia was sharp in his debut as the Cardinals’ No. 5 starter, giving up one run in six innings.
In other games it was:
• Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 3
• Marlins 7, Dodgers 6
• Nationals 4, Mets 3
• Cubs 4, Reds 3
• Phillies 9, Astros 6
• Padres 5, Rockies 4, 14 innings
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