NATIONAL LEAGUE
Raul Ibanez homered twice and hit a game-winning double in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
The Phillies trailed 5-3 in the eighth when Ibanez hit a two-run shot for his second homer of the game.
He doubled to right off Tony Watson (0-2) in the 10th to score Hunter Pence and help the Phillies complete a three-game sweep.
Ibanez hit a solo homer in the second off Pirates starter Jeff Karstens and his tying drive was off Jose Veras.
Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 3
In Los Angeles, Joe Saunders came within four outs of his second straight complete game and Gerardo Parra homered twice as Arizona beat Los Angeles.
Ryan Roberts also homered for the Diamondbacks, who won for the 10th time in 15 games. Coupled with San Francisco’s loss at Cincinnati, the victory helped them climb within two games of the NL West-leading Giants.
Nationals 3, Mets 2
In Washington, Rick Ankiel scored off Ian Desmond’s shot up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Washington a win over New York.
With runners on second and third and the infield in, Desmond bounced the ball over pitcher Bobby Parnell (3-3), who deflected it with his glove. Second baseman Willie Harris’ throw was too late to get Ankiel.
Cubs 6, Cardinals 3
In St Louis, Missouri, Starlin Castro and Marlon Byrd had key hits as Chicago broke up Jake Westbrook’s perfect game with a four-run sixth inning and held off St Louis to avoid a three-game sweep.
Reds 9, Giants 0
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Johnny Cueto allowed just three. His three-hitter, Joey Votto had a three-run homer and tied his career high with five RBIs, and Cincinnati completed a three-game sweep of San Francisco.
Todd Frazier hit his first career home run and Drew Stubbs had a career-best four hits as the Reds rebounded from being swept by the New York Mets.
Marlins 3, Braves 1
In Atlanta, Georgia, Ricky Nolasco scattered 12 hits and Emilio Bonifacio homered as Florida handed the Atlanta Braves the 10,000th loss in franchise history.
The Braves squandered numerous scoring chances to become only the second team in big league history with 10,000 losses.
The Phillies reached that mark in 2007.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, DETROIT
Justin Verlander came within four outs of another no-hitter, outpitching an angry Jered Weaver as the Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Sunday in a testy game that grew particularly heated in the late innings.
Yankees 4, Orioles 2
In New York, Brett Gardner hit a bases-loaded triple to power New York past Baltimore for their third consecutive win.
Freddy Garcia (10-7) struck out six in six innings to send the Yankees to 22 games over .500, their highest point of the season.
The Yankees improved their major league-best record in day games to 31-7 and won for the 20th time in their last 26 home games. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 27th save.
Red Sox 5, White Sox 3
In Chicago, Dustin Pedroia hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh and Jason Varitek homered as Boston beat Chicago to win the weekend series at US Cellular Field.
Alfredo Aceves (7-1), who relieved starter Andrew Miller in the sixth, pitched a scoreless inning to get the victory.
White Sox star Paul Konerko left with a bruised left calf after being hit with a pitch from Miller in the bottom of the fourth inning. X-rays were negative.
Jesse Crain (5-3) surrendered Pedroia’s hit, and Adrian Gonzalez doubled in a run in the ninth to give Boston a 5-3 lead.
Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the bottom half for his 24th save.
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