NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington’s Bryce Harper hit a tie-breaking double in the sixth inning, lifting the Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Washington starter Ross Detwiler (3-1) allowed one run over 6-1/3 innings in his longest outing this season.
Photo: Reuters
Arizona starter Ian Kennedy (3-1) lost for the first time in 13 starts, snapping a personal nine-game winning streak.
The National League East--leading Nationals have won five of six over the Diamondbacks this season. Henry Rodriguez pitched the ninth for the save.
PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 0
In Atlanta, Georgia, Joe Blanton pitched his first shutout in five years to guide Philadelphia past Atlanta.
Blanton (3-3) did not walk a batter and had six strikeouts in his third career shutout.
Shane Victorino hit a two-run homer for the Phillies.
Braves starter Randall Delgado (2-3) allowed six hits in eight innings.
PIRATES 6, CARDINALS 3
In St Louis, Missouri, Erik Bedard struck out a season-high 11, including a team-record seven in a row as Pittsburgh set a club mark by fanning 17 batters in the win over St Louis.
Bedard (2-4) was pulled after five innings, but Pittsburgh’s relievers kept piling up the strikeouts — the 17 strikeouts were the most by Pittsburgh in a nine-inning game since 1900, the team said.
Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook (3-2) gave up four runs in 6-1/3 innings.
MARLINS 3, GIANTS 2
In San Francisco, California, pitcher Anibal Sanchez allowed only one run in seven innings to steer Miami to a tight win over San Francisco.
Sanchez (2-0) struck out five and walked only one batter.
Hanley Ramirez drove in a pair of runs without a hit for the Marlins, who completed a three-game sweep.
Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong (0-2) was tagged for eight hits in seven innings, walking four while throwing 116 pitches.
REDS 4, CUBS 3, 10 INNINGS
In Cincinnati, Ohio, the hosts scored three runs in the ninth to tie the game, then Scott Rolen hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th to give Cincinnati victory over Chicago.
Cubs closer Carlos Marmol walked three of the five batters he faced, one with the bases loaded. He has blown three of his five save chances, walking 12 in 8-2/3 innings.
Chicago starter Ryan Dempster returned from injury and pitched eight shutout innings on his 35th birthday to be in line for his first win over the season before Marmol blew it.
Opposing starter Homer Bailey was also celebrating a birthday, his 26th. It was the first time in major league history that both starters pitched on their birthday, according to information provided by the Reds, citing the Elias Sports Bureau.
Rafael Dolis (1-2) was the loser. Logan Ondrusek (2-0) pitched the 10th for the win.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
Tampa Bay’s Jeff Keppinger hit a two-run homer to help the Rays to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, completing a four-game sweep.
Desmond Jennings added a two-run triple for the Rays, who scored all their runs in the second inning off Kevin Millwood (0-3).
Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann (2-3) allowed seven hits over 5-2/3 innings as the Rays notched their 11th win in 12 games. Fernando Rodney worked a scoreless ninth for his ninth save in as many opportunities.
The Mariners concluded a 10-day, 10-game road trip on a season-worst six-game losing streak.
INDIANS 7, WHITE SOX 5
In Chicago, Illinois, Jason Kipnis hit a three-run homer and finished with a career-high four RBIs, leading Cleveland over Chicago.
Kipnis, a native of suburban Chicago, also tripled in a run, walked and scored twice.
Cleveland starter Justin Masterson (1-2) picked up his first win of the season, holding the White Sox to three runs over 6-1/3 innings.
White Sox starter John Danks (2-4) allowed seven runs over seven innings.
BLUE JAYS 5, ANGELS 0
In Anaheim, California, Brandon Morrow pitched his second career shutout to steer Toronto over Los Angeles.
Morrow (3-1) won his third straight start, striking out eight and walking none to help the Blue Jays open an 11-game trip with their fifth win in six games.
J.P. Arencibia hit a three-run homer and Toronto added two more runs on a throwing error by converted third baseman Mark Trumbo.
The Angels had only two singles and a leadoff double in the ninth, which ended a string of 14 consecutive batters retired by Morrow.
Los Angeles starter Dan Haren (1-2) gave up five runs in seven innings.
ROYALS 4, YANKEES 3
In Kansas City, Missouri, New York lost the game to Kansas City, but more worryingly, lost ace closer Mariano Rivera to a likely season-ending knee injury during pre-game batting practice.
Mike Moustakas matched a career high with three RBIs and made a defensive gem in the ninth for Kansas City, backing a strong start by Danny Duffy (2-2). Jonathan Broxton was helped by two stellar defensive plays to finish for the save.
Yankees pitcher David Phelps (0-1) allowed six hits over four innings in his first major league start.
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