AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas pitcher Yu Darvish had a season-high 10 strikeouts and worked out of a couple of jams for the Rangers, delivering a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday and getting the better of Japanese compatriot Hiroki Kuroda.
In only the seventh MLB matchup ever of Japanese starters, Darvish (3-0) walked a season-low two in 8 1-3 innings. The 10 strikeouts were the most by a Texas pitcher this season.
Ian Kinsler put Texas ahead to stay when he led off the first with a deep homer off Kuroda (1-3), who limited Texas to two runs over 6 2-3 innings.
Kuroda, who fell to 1-3, allowed five hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings for the Yankees who won seven of their nine contests against the Rangers last year.
The marquee matchup featured Kuroda, with the fifth-most wins by a Japanese pitcher in Major League Baseball history, against Darvish who is perhaps the most-hyped pitching ace to come out of Japan.
This was the seventh matchup between Japanese starters and the first since 2010 when former Los Angeles Dodger Kuroda tossed eight shutout innings to defeat Hisanori Takahashi’s New York Mets 2-0.
ORIOLES 2, BLUE JAYS 1
In Baltimore, pitcher Tommy Hunter only allowed one runner past first base in six innings, steering Baltimore over Toronto.
Hunter (2-1) gave up a long homer to Eric Thames in the third, but was otherwise in command.
Baltimore’s Matt Wieters homered off the glove of Thames.
Pedro Strop pitched the ninth for his first career save. Baltimore’s usual closer, Jim Johnson, skipped the game with illness.
Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez (0-2) took the loss despite allowing only two runs over seven innings.
ATHLETICS 2, WHITE SOX 0
In Oakland, Tommy Milone outdueled Gavin Floyd, leading Oakland past Chicago.
Daric Barton drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and after a strikeout, Matt Thornton relieved Floyd (1-3). Kurt Suzuki doubled to left and Barton scored easily, then Eric Sogard added an RBI single as the A’s ended a 16-inning scoreless stretch.
The White Sox had their four-game winning streak snapped along with a six-game road winning streak.
Milone (3-1) matched Floyd all night until Oakland’s offense finally capitalized.
Tuesday’s other results:
‧ Mariners 7, Tigers 4
‧ Rays 5, Angels 0
‧ Indians 4, Royals 3
‧ Red Sox 11, Twins 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
In Cincinnati, Mat Latos finally got his first win for his new team, pitching seven shutout innings to lead Cincinnati 9-2 over San Francisco.
Latos (1-2) came to the Reds in a trade from San Diego and acknowledged trying too hard to impress his new team. He was back on his game against the Giants, allowing only four singles.
Brandon Phillips hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Giants starter Matt Cain (1-1) after initially being called out on a foul tip. The umpires changed the call and gave him another swing.
NATIONALS 3, PADRES 1
Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez ran his scoreless innings streak to 20, setting up the National League East-leading Nationals for a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
Gonzalez (2-0) allowed two singles in six innings, and struck out six.
Chad Tracy hit a two-run single in the seventh to end the night for Padres starter Clayton Richard (1-2). Richard allowed two runs in 6 1-3 innings and walked five.
CUBS 3, CARDINALS 2
10 innings In Chicago, Alfonso Soriano hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning as Chicago edged St. Louis, ending the Cardinals’ run of 13 consecutive winning series.
Tony Campana sparked the winning rally with a one-out single off Fernando Salas (0-1). Campana then stole second in a close call that led to the ejection for Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.
Tuesday’s other results:
‧ Mets 2, Marlins 1
‧ Braves 4, Dodgers 3
‧ Pirates 5, Rockies 4
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