AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas’ Nelson Cruz hit a grand slam and tied his career high with eight RBIs, while Josh Hamilton added his 19th home run of the season as the Rangers belted the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3 on Friday.
Cruz’s grand slam came in the seventh inning and gave Texas a 14-1 lead. He also had a three-run double in the first and an RBI single in the sixth.
Toronto starter Brandon Morrow (5-3) was knocked out after recording just two outs in the first. The right-hander, who had two shutouts in his prior four starts, gave up six runs in the shortest start of his career.
Rangers starter Derek Holland (4-3) struck out a season-high nine in 7-1/3 innings, and allowed two runs.
RAYS 7, RED SOX 4
In Boston, Matt Joyce hit his second grand slam in six games and Elliot Johnson had a two-run shot in Tampa Bay’s win over Boston.
Carlos Pena, inserted into the leadoff spot after a miserable slump, added a solo homer for the Rays.
The Red Sox (22-23) failed to move above .500 for the fourth time this season. It’s the latest into a season they haven’t passed that mark since 1996.
Benches and bullpens cleared in the top of the ninth, when Boston reliever Franklin Morales threw at Luke Scott with the first pitch and hit him in the hip area. Scott was restrained by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ White Sox 9, Indians 3
‧ Orioles 8, Royals 2
‧ Yankees 6, Athletics 3
‧ Angels 6, Mariners 4
‧ Tigers 10, Twins 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, LOS ANGELES
Lucas Harrell took a shutout into the eighth inning, steering Houston to a 3-1 win over Los Angeles.
Harrell (4-3) scattered five singles during the longest of his 15 big league starts. The Astros clung on for their fourth straight win, using four relievers to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth.
J.D. Martinez homered for Houston.
Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (4-2) was charged with three runs over seven innings.
MARLINS 7, GIANTS 6
In Miami, Chris Coghlan snapped out of a season-long slump with a tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth as Miami rallied past San Francisco.
Giancarlo Stanton became the first player to hit the Marlins’ home run sculpture in their new ballpark when he connected against Tim Lincecum (2-5), who has lost his past three decisions and has an unexpected 6.41 ERA.
The Marlins improved to 17-7 this month, best in the majors, and broke the franchise record for victories in May.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Nationals 7, Braves 4
‧ Phillies 5, Cardinals 3, 10 inns
‧ Rockies 6, Reds 3
‧ Mets 6, Padres 1
‧ Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 1
‧ Pirates 1, Cubs 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