AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore’s Nick Johnson hit his first homer in two years as the Orioles edged Tampa Bay 4-3 on Friday to stay top in the American League East division, one game ahead of the Rays.
Johnson’s two-run drive off Joel Peralta (0-2) put Baltimore in front 4-3, and the bullpen made the margin stand up. After spending last season in the minors, Johnson received an invite to spring training, made the team and was batting .143 before his game-changing home run.
Adam Jones and Nick Markakis also connected for the Orioles, who lead the majors with 53 homers.
Baltimore starter Darren O’Day (3-0) pitched the seventh for the win and Jim Johnson got three straight outs for the save.
Tampa Bay, hitless after the fifth inning, have lost five of six.
RANGERS 10, ANGELS 3
In Arlington, Texas, Josh Hamilton hit two more home runs as Texas trounced Los Angeles in a rain-interrupted game.
Both of Hamilton’s solo shots came after a two-hour rain delay in the first inning when the Rangers went ahead to stay against Angels starter C.J. Wilson (4-3), their No. 1 starter last season who decamped to Los Angeles in the off-season.
Hamilton has eight homers in his past five games. He leads the majors with a .407 batting average, 17 homers and 40 RBIs.
Rangers starter Yu Darvish (5-1) struck out seven as he worked into the sixth inning, staying on even after the long rain delay. His last pitch came four hours after his first one.
YANKEES 6, MARINERS 2
In New York, Raul Ibanez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer against his former team to give New York victory over Seattle.
Ibanez’s shot came off former teammate Felix Hernandez (3-2), who lost for the first time at new Yankee Stadium, where he previously had allowed only one earned run in 24 innings.
Robinson Cano had four hits for the Yankees, while starter Hiroki Kuroda (3-4) went seven innings.
ATHLETICS 11, TIGERS 4
In Oakland, Brandon Inge hit a three-run homer against his old team and drove in four runs for the fourth time in five games, powering Oakland past Detroit.
Inge hit his fourth homer since joining the A’s on April 30 after the Tigers cut him. It was his second long ball in two nights after he hit a Grand Slam on Thursday. He also hit a game-ending Grand Slam on Tuesday against Toronto.
Inge’s big bat backed A’s starter Tommy Milone (5-2), who struck out six in seven innings and retired his last 10 batters.
Josh Reddick homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs for Oakland, which set a season high for runs.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Red Sox 7, Indians 5
‧ White Sox 5, Royals 0
‧ Twins 7, Blue Jays 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ST LOUIS, MISSOURI
Atlanta’s Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning to lift the Braves to a 9-7 win over St Louis on Friday, putting damper on the Cardinals’ celebration honoring former manager Tony La Russa.
A sellout crowd was on hand to watch the Cardinals retire La Russa’s No. 10 in a pregame ceremony. However, seven Atlanta relievers combined for 7-1/3 innings of one-run ball.
The Braves ended a seven-game losing streak in St. Louis that included a three-game sweep last September that propelled the Cardinals past Atlanta for the National League wild card on the way to their second World Series -championship in five years.
Atlanta’s Livan Hernandez (1-0) got the win while Kyle McClellan (0-1) was charged with the loss.
NATIONALS 7, REDS 3
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Roger Bernadina and Danny Espinosa each hit two-run homers in one of Washington’s biggest scoring splurges of the season, beating Cincinnati.
Washington matched their season high for runs against Cincinnati starter Mike Leake (0-5), who lasted only three innings and remained winless in six starts. He gave up six runs, including the homers by Bernadina and Espinosa.
It is the second time Leake has failed to last four innings this season.
MARLINS 6, METS 5
In Miami, Greg Dobbs’ single with two outs in the ninth inning drove in the winning run as Miami rallied late to end New York’s five-game winning streak.
The Mets overcame an early 3-0 deficit and entered the ninth leading 5-4 before Giancarlo Stanton led off with a double off Frank Francisco (1-2). He took third on a flyout and scored on a single by Emilio Bonifacio.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Dodgers 7, Rockies 3
‧ Diamondbacks 5, Giants 1
‧ Astros 1, Pirates 0
‧ Brewers 8, Cubs 7, 13 inns
‧ Phillies 7, Padres 3
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