AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Kevin Kouzmanoff scored the go-ahead run on second baseman Ben Zobrist’s fielding error in the eighth inning as Oakland again beat Tampa Bay by one run, 5-4 in the American League on Friday.
Rajai Davis hit a tying sacrifice fly in the eighth, then Cliff Pennington hit a grounder to second and wound up part of the decisive play for the third straight game.
Tampa Bay missed a chance to move into a first-place tie with the Yankees in the AL East. The Rays lost a late lead against the A’s for the second night in a row.
Oakland’s Henry Rodriguez (1-0) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for his first major league win. Tampa Bay’s Joaquin Benoit (0-2) allowed two runs, one earned, and took the loss. Craig Breslow worked the ninth for his third career save and second this year.
MARINERS 6, YANKEES 0
In New York, Felix Hernandez nearly became the first pitcher in more than 25 years to throw four straight complete games against New York, and steered Seattle to an impressive victory.
Hernandez (9-10) kept New York off-kilter for eight innings, striking out 11. The Mariners won their third in a row under interim manager Daren Brown.
Seattle’s Russell Branyan hit a pair of homers off A.J. Burnett (9-11) and drove in four runs.
TIGERS 6, INDIANS 0
In Detroit, Michigan, Armando Galarraga dominated Cleveland again, pitching seven scoreless innings for Detroit.
Facing the Indians for the first time since his near-perfect game on June 2, Galarraga started just as quickly this time. He retired his first 14 hitters.
At one point, Galarraga had retired 41 of the 42 Cleveland batters he faced this season. The only one to reach base had been Jason Donald, incorrectly called safe to ruin what would have been Galarraga’s perfect game. Galarraga (4-5) received a loud ovation from the crowd of 33,936.
He matched a career high with eight strikeouts.
The Tigers ended a three-game skid by roughing up Cleveland starter Justin Masterson (4-12).
In other AL play, it was:
• Blue Jays 16, Red Sox 2
• Twins 7, Angels 2
• Rangers 2, Orioles 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ST LOUIS, MISSOURI
Rookie Madison Bumgarner pitched into the eighth inning to guide the San Francisco Giants to a 5-2 win in the National League on Friday that condemned the St Louis Cardinals to a season-worst fifth straight loss.
The Giants got home runs from Pablo Sandoval and Aubrey Huff.
St Louis led the NL Central by a game after a dramatic sweep of Cincinnati on Aug. 11, but have since dropped to four-and-a-half games behind the division-leading Reds.
REDS 3, DODGERS 1
In Los Angeles, the hosts made it seven straight wins by defeating Los Angeles.
Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey (3-2) pitched seven solid innings in his second start for the suspended Johnny Cueto, allowing only one run and striking out six.
Brandon Phillips backed him with three hits and three RBIs as the Reds took their largest lead in the NL Central since 2002, when they held a five-game lead but finished third. They are seeking their first division title since 1995.
PHILLIES 1, NATIONALS 0
In Philadelphia, Roy Halladay pitched seven scoreless innings to lead Philadelphia over Washington.
The Phillies remained two-and-a-half games behind the Braves in the NL East. Halladay (16-8) won his sixth straight while striking out five.
It was the ninth time this season he hasn’t allowed a run and the 25th time in 26 starts he has pitched six or more innings.
The lone run came via Raul Ibanez’s double off Jason Marquis (0-6) in the third inning.
BRAVES 5, CUBS 3
In Chicago, Rick Ankiel hit a bases-loaded triple off a wild Carlos Marmol with two outs in the ninth inning to give Atlanta victory over Chicago.
Marmol entered with a 3-2 lead but walked three of the first four batters he faced. After striking out one batter for the second out, Marmol served up a pitch that Ankiel lined into the right-field corner.
In other NL play, it was:
• Brewers 10, Padres 6
• Marlins 9, Astros 0
• D’backs 4, Rockies 3, 10 innings
• Mets 7, Pirates 2
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but