MAJOR LEAGUES
The Baltimore Orioles jumped back into a tie for the lead with the New York Yankees in the American League East Division after taking down the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Saturday as the Yankees stumbled 3-2 to Toronto.
With the regular season just four games away from completion, the Orioles joined the Yankees on a 91-67 record thanks to a Manny Machado home run in the seventh, his blast over left field breaking a 3-3 deadlock.
Earlier the Orioles had jumped out to a 3-0 lead through four innings thanks in part to Chris Davis’s 30th home run of the season, but Boston tied things up after six before Machado proved the hero.
The Yankees had plenty of chances to stay ahead in the divisional race, but could not put enough runs on the board.
New York scored two in the first inning, but failed to post another run all night as the Blue Jays notched up runs in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
The losers of the divisional race still have a good chance of a wild-card berth, but are not yet guaranteed a place in the post-season.
Two wild-card sides will fight out in a one-game playoff with the winner joining the division champions in the post-season.
Oakland currently hold the second wild-card position a game back after a 7-4 win over Seattle, but could also still win the AL West as they pulled within 2.5 games of the Texas Rangers.
The Los Angeles Angels sit 2.5 games behind the Athletics in the wild-card race and Tampa Bay maintain the faintest of hopes —three games back after a 10-4 win over the Chicago White Sox.
The Angels were due to play the Rangers on Saturday, but rain ensured the game was postponed, forcing the teams into a double-header yesterday.
The White Sox loss to the Rays allowed the Detroit Tigers to open up a two-game lead in the American League Central after they downed Minnesota 6-4.
Leading 6-0, Detroit wobbled when Twin Ryan Doumit powered a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to pull within two runs, but the Tigers held on for an important victory.
“It hasn’t lacked for excitement,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of the divisional race.
The White Sox were extremely disappointing at home, trailing 10-0 until the bottom of the eighth.
They grabbed four runs in the penultimate inning, but it was too little, too late and could be the death knell to their year.
In the National League, the final wild-card spot remains up for grabs after the St Louis Cardinals fell 6-4 to Washington.
The loss, coupled with the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 win over Colorado, allowed the Dodgers to pull within two games with four to play.
Washington’s win did everything, but officially clinch the National League East division, as they are now four games clear of the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves won 2-0 over the New York Mets and, while they need a miracle to win the division, are already assured of the first wild-card place.
Cincinnati (Central) and San Francisco (West) won their divisional races earlier this month.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two