An error by reliever Randy Choate helped Kansas City score twice in the ninth inning, and the Royals held on to beat the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday.
Scott Podsednik reached first base safely to start the ninth when Choate (0-2) misfielded a ball back to the mound. After Billy Butler singled and Jose Guillen was hit by a pitch, Alberto Callaspo gave the Royals a 2-1 lead with his sacrifice fly. Mitch Maier’s single made it 3-1.
Evan Longoria nearly won it for the Rays in the bottom of the ninth, but his long drive to left with two runners on base was caught at the wall for a sacrifice fly, and Joakim Soria retired B.J. Upton on a fly ball for his sixth save.
PHOTO: AFP
Royals reliever Josh Rupe (1-1) threw a scoreless eighth to take the win.
Tigers 10, Angels 6
In Detroit, Michigan, Scott Sizemore and Brennan Boesch hit their first career homers in an eight-run fourth inning that powered Detroit over Los Angeles.
Sizemore’s homer, which came one pitch after Gerald Laird’s first of the season, tied the game 4-4. Miguel Cabrera added an RBI single later in the inning before Boesch’s grand slam to center field.
Austin Jackson went 5 for 5, making him the first Tigers rookie with five hits in a game since Curtis Granderson in 2005.
Detroit starter Rick Porcello (2-2) won despite allowing five runs in five-and-one-third innings. Angels starter Joel Pineiro (2-3) gave up a career-worst 10 runs in three-and-one-third innings.
Yankees 6, White Sox 4
In New York, Derek Jeter hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the seventh inning and drove in four runs to lift New York over Chicago.
With two on and one out in the seventh, Jeter sliced a pitch from Matt Thornton (2-2) past diving right fielder Jayson Nix and into the corner. Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner scored easily to give New York a 6-4 lead.
Jeter also hit a tying, two-run homer in the fifth for New York, which notched a third consecutive win. He went 3 for 4 and is batting .538 (7 for 13) in his past three games.
Paul Konerko set a White Sox record with his major league-best 11th homer in April and Gordon Beckham added two hits as Chicago lost for the 12th time in its past 14 games in New York.
Yankees reliever Alfredo Aceves (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to improve his career record to 13-1.
In other AL play, it was:
• Twins 9, Indians 3
• Blue Rays 10, Athletics 2
AP, PHILADELPHIA
New York’s winning streak reached eight games as Rod Barajas homered twice to help the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-1 in the National League on Friday.
David Wright and Jeff Francoeur also homered for the Mets, riding their longest winning streak since a 10-game run in 2008.
New York starter Jonathon Niese (1-1) pitched seven impressive innings, shutting down Philadelphia’s powerful lineup, allowing only one run and matching a career high with seven strikeouts.
He yielded Carlos Ruiz’s RBI single in the second, then retired 14 straight until a single leading off the seventh.
Wright and Francoeur connected during a three-run second inning against Kyle Kendrick (0-1).
Cubs 11, Diamondbacks 5
In Chicago, Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer and Chicago connected for four in all while rallying to beat Arizona.
Kosuke Fukudome, Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd added solo shots as the Cubs shook off a 13-5 beating by the Diamondbacks in the previous game and stopped a three-game skid.
The big blow was Soriano’s three-run drive off Rodrigo Lopez (1-1), capping a four-run sixth that put Chicago ahead 6-4 and made a winner of Randy Wells (3-0). The Cubs broke it open with three in the seventh, getting two bases-loaded walks. Chris Snyder homered for Arizona.
Braves 4, Astros 2
In Atlanta, Georgia, Jason Heyward hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer to lift Atlanta over Houston and end a nine-game losing streak.
Heyward homered for the second consecutive night to break a 2-2 tie and Nate McLouth also went deep against Brett Myers (1-2).
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