AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yu Darvish paid a high price for making one bad pitch to Toronto’s top hitter.
Edwin Encarnacion hit his 31st home run, J.A. Happ won his second straight start and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Darvish and the Rangers 3-2 on Friday night, handing Texas their fourth loss in five games.
“He was good,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said of Darvish. “We just didn’t support him with runs.”
Darvish (12-9) lost for the second time in three starts, allowing three runs and three hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out 10.
“From the beginning, I don’t think my fastball had a lot of life to it, but more often than not, I was able to keep the ball down with my cutter, slider, all my other pitches,” Darvish said through a translator. “Overall, I think I was able to stay down and be effective.”
For Darvish, it was the seventh time this season he has reached double figures in strikeouts, tying him with Jim Bibby (1973) for the Rangers rookie mark.
Darvish failed to win consecutive starts for the first time since a three-game winning streak in June, but allowed three earned runs for the second straight start after giving up 18 runs in his previous three outings.
Encarnacion, who became the first major leaguer to homer off Darvish when he took him deep in an April 30 Texas win at Rogers Centre, did it again with a second deck blast in the first, his 31st.
Rangers catcher Geovany Soto said location was to blame on Encarnacion’s homer, with Darvish leaving a pitch up in the zone.
“Only one [bad] pitch to a guy that’s having an unbelievable season,” Soto said. “It was just that one pitch, too. After that he had a really impressive outing. He was pounding the zone with his fastball and he was accurate.”
YANKEES 6, RED SOX 4
New York’s Derek Jeter hit his 250th career home run, while Nick Swisher homered twice as the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4 in Friday’s clash between the American League rivals.
New York hit four solo homers off Franklin Morales (3-4), and Swisher added another solo shot in the seventh.
Jeter’s homer gave the Yankees 10 players with 10 or more this season, tying the club record set in 1998.
New York starter Phil Hughes (12-10) survived his own throwing error in a rainy third inning that led to four unearned runs and had put the Red Sox ahead 4-3.
TIGERS 5, ORIOLES 3
In Detroit, Michigan, Prince Fielder hit a pair of two-run homers to lift Detroit to victory over Baltimore.
Fielder tied it 3-3 with a homer in the sixth. He then hit a soaring shot in the eighth to put the Tigers in front.
Detroit reliever Joaquin Benoit (2-3) pitched a perfect eighth inning for the win.
Darren O’Day (6-1) took the loss.
RAYS 12, ANGELS 3
In Anaheim, B.J. Upton went four for five with a home run and three RBIs, while Ben Zobrist and Jose Molina also homered as Tampa Bay dominated Los Angeles.
The Rays maintained a one-game lead over Detroit and Baltimore in the AL wild-card race.
Angels starter Jered Weaver (15-3) conceded a career-worst nine earned runs. He had his shortest outing of the season, giving up eight hits in three-plus inning.
Tampa Bay starter James Shields (11-7) allowed seven hits and no walks in six innings, while striking out eight.
ROYALS 4, WHITE SOX 2
In Kansas City, Missouri, Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning and Kansas City held on to beat Chicago.
Royals starter Luis Mendoza (7-8) pitched seven effective innings, giving up four hits.
White Sox ace Chris Sale (14-4) allowed four runs in 6-2/3 innings.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Athletics 6, Indians 4
‧ Mariners 5, Twins 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, GeOrgia
Atlanta’s Juan Francisco hit a two-out single in the 11th inning to give the Braves a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday in the National League and their fourth straight win.
Backup catcher David Ross and light-hitting Paul Janish kept the inning going with back-to-back singles off Brandon League (0-1) before Francisco punched s hot to left for the win.
Atlanta reliever Jonny Venters (4-3) earned the win.
The Braves rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the eighth on Martin Prado’s run-scoring groundout and Jason Heyward’s two-out single.
NATIONALS 6, METS 4
In Washington, Michael Morse hit a grand slam and Bryce Harper also homered as NL-leading Washington beat New York.
The Nationals became the latest team to tag struggling Mets ace Johan Santana (6-9) The two-time Cy Young award winner was impressive early, but the hosts strung together four consecutive hits in the fourth, capped by Morse’s homer.
Santana has a dismal 15.63 ERA over his past five starts, allowing at least six runs in each appearance.
PIRATES 2, CARDINALS 1
In St Louis, Missouri, James McDonald halted a string of ineffective starts with six dominant innings, helping Pittsburgh beat St. Louis in the opener of a series between NL Central playoff contenders.
McDonald (11-5) had allowed 20 earned runs over 21-1/3 innings, but turned that around on Friday.
Andrew McCutchen singled and scored on a passed ball in a two-run fourth for the Pirates, who got their other run on a wild pitch that inning.
Jake Westbrook (12-9) allowed six hits in 7-2/3 innings for the Cardinals, who managed only one run for the second straight game.
Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan worked the ninth for his NL-leading 34th save. Pittsburgh moved two games ahead of St Louis for the NL’s second wild-card spot.
BREWERS 6, PHILLIES 2
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 32nd home run as Milwaukee notched a ninth straight home win by downing Philadelphia.
Braun, Gallardo and Nyjer Morgan drove in two runs apiece for the Brewers. Braun has three homers in two games. Before that, he was in a six-for-42 skid (.142) with no homers in 10 games.
Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo (12-8) gave up one earned run in seven innings, striking out nine as he brought up a fourth straight win.
Phillies starter Vance Worley (6-8) allowed four earned runs in 4-2/3 innings.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Reds 7, Cubs 3
‧ Giants 10, Padres 1
‧ Diamondbacks 3, Astros 1
‧ Marlins 6, Rockies 5
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping