Roy Halladay recorded a National League-best 19th victory of the season behind strong offensive support as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 10-5 on Wednesday.
Halladay (19-10) struck out nine, but allowed 10 hits and three runs over six innings.
“It wasn’t the prettiest,” Halladay told reporters. “From my standpoint I expect to do well every time I go out. My approach is the same.”
Having spent the first 12 years of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays before being traded to Philadelphia this past off-season, Halladay has high hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time.
The Phillies (86-61) stretched their NL East lead over the Atlanta Braves to three games with 15 to play.
Winners of eight of their last nine games, the streaking Phillies have also claimed six in a row over Florida (73-72) in a little more than a week.
Philadelphia scored nine runs in the first five innings to take a commanding 9-2 lead and were never threatened.
Raul Ibanez went 3-for-5 with a two-run double in the first and Chase Utley bombed a home run in the third.
Marlins starter Jorge Sosa lasted just 2 1/3 innings and allowed six runs in the loss.
Florida’s offense pounded out 12 hits, but could not capitalize, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Gaby Sanchez homered in the sixth and the home side had the bases loaded in the ninth, but only earned one run.
Giants 2, Dodgers 1
In San Francisco, Matt Cain pitched seven shutout innings to guide San Francisco past Los Angeles.
Cain (12-10) walked none and didn’t allow a runner to get past first base. Brian Wilson allowed a two-out homer in the ninth before getting his 43rd save in 47 chances.
Mike Fontenot broke a scoreless tie with a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning. It was San Francisco’s first run of the series and ended a streak of 29 2/3 innings without an earned run against Chad Billingsley (11-10).
Billingsley allowed six hits in seven innings. He lost to San Francisco for the first time in five starts this season, but still has an 0.74 ERA against the Giants this year.
Cubs 7, Cardinals 3
In St Louis, Missouri Chicago beat the sliding Cardinals to complete their first three-game sweep in St Louis since 1988.
Carlos Zambrano (9-6) allowed only one earned run in six innings, improving to 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his past seven starts. He is 7-1 with a 1.29 ERA in 12 starts in St Louis.
Tyler Colvin hit a three-run homer for the Cubs.
Brewers 8, Astros 6, 10 innings
In Houston, Texas, Mat Gamel hit the go-ahead double in the 10th inning as Milwaukee beat Houston to avoid a series sweep.
With the game tied 6-6, Carlos Gomez singled off Matt Lindstrom (2-5), stole second and took third on an error. Gamel doubled in Gomez, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single.
Ryan Braun homered and drove in three runs for the Brewers, who led 5-0 then fell behind 6-5 in the ninth.
Milwaukee reliever John Axford (8-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.
In other games it was:
• Rockies 9, Padres 6
• Nationals 4, Braves 2
• Reds 7, Diamondbacks 5
• Mets 8, Pirates 7
AP, ST PETERSBURG, Florida
The Tampa Bay Rays regained top spot in the seesawing race for the American League East crown by beating the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday.
The teams with baseball’s top two records flip-flopped positions in the standings for the third straight night. The first two games of the series went to extra innings, with the Rays winning 1-0 on Monday and the Yankees regaining the division lead by a half-game with an 8-7 win on Tuesday.
Dan Johnson hit a pair of two-run homers on Wednesday off Phil Hughes (16-8), who gave up a two-out single then allowed Johnson’s second shot in the seventh.
New York had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh via Curtis Granderson’s two-run homer off Chad Qualls (1-0).
In other games it was:
• Twins 9, White Sox 3
• Rangers 11, Tigers 7
• Red Sox 5, Mariners 1
• Royals 6, Athletics 3
• Orioles 3, Blue Jays 1
• Angels 7, Indians 0
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