AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Oakland Athletics routed the Texas Rangers 12-5 to secure the American League West title for the first time in six years.
The New York Yankees were also celebrating on Wednesday night as they claimed their 13th American League East crown in 17 years with a 14-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Photo: EPA
The win also gave New York (95-67) the best record in the American League and home-field advantage throughout the post-season.
The Yankees are due to face the winners of today’s wild-card contest between Baltimore and Texas in the Amercian League Division Series, which starts on Sunday.
Oakland stood 13 games behind the Rangers on June 30, but the Athletics have gone an MLB-best 57-26 since then. That included their three-game season-closing sweep of the Rangers to clinch the 15th American League West crown in team history.
“We knew this is a beast of a team we would have to beat, and to be able to beat them three games in a row and win the division on top of it, really it’s a magical type thing,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.
Coco Crisp drove in two runs and scored twice, while Brandon Moss added three RBIs and a run scored for the A’s.
A’s pitcher Evan Scribner earned the win after throwing three scoreless innings in relief of starter A.J. Griffin. Griffin allowed five runs on seven hits in just 2-2/3 innings. Four of the five runs he allowed were earned.
Slugger David Murphy knocked in two runs and Adrian Beltre drove in one run for the Rangers, who will continue their quest for a third-straight World Series appearance when they play in a wild-card game today.
Baltimore finished second in the American League East after losing 4-1 to Tampa on Wednesday.
“You never know,” outfielder Josh Hamilton said. “This could be a blessing in disguise.”
Hamilton dropped a fly ball in the outfield for a two-run error that put Oakland ahead 7-5 in a six-run fourth inning.
Pitcher Derek Holland suffered the loss after giving up three runs on three hits and two walks in 2-2/3 innings of relief. Holland won 12 games and lost seven this season.
“You can have all the experience you want, but when you run into a team that is hot, experience has nothing to do with it,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
The A’s are just the third team in MLB history to win a division while spending just one day in sole possession of first place, joining the Minnesota Twins (2006) and the Giants (1951).
Japan’s Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven solid innings, while Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson each homered twice as the Yankees crushed the Red Sox.
Cano led a 15-hit assault by going four-for-four with three runs scored and tying a career-high with six RBIs.
Granderson drove in four runs for New York, who have belted a league-best 245 home runs to eclipse their previous season record of 244.
Kuroda (16-11) did his part by limiting Boston to just two runs and scattering seven hits. He is an impressive 4-1 over his past six starts.
Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-7) was roughed up for five runs and six hits in just 2-1/3 innings. Japan’s Matsuzaka, who finished with a dismal 8.13 earned run average, was likely making his last start of a lucrative six-year contract with Boston.
Cody Ross went two-for-three with an RBI single for Boston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AFP, WASHINGTON
Michael Morse, Tyler Moore and Ryan Zimmerman each blasted home runs as the Washington Nationals clinched the National League’s top seed with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
The National League East champions entered into Wednesday’s regular-season finale needing a victory, or a loss by the Cincinnati Reds, to get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“It’s quite an accomplishment [to have the best record],” Zimmerman said of the Nationals, who finished with an MLB-high 98 wins. “Obviously, winning the division was a goal, and now we have done that, and now we have a chance to go do some stuff in the playoffs.”
No Washington baseball team has made the playoffs since 1933.
Washington next play on Sunday against the winner of today’s wild-card game between Atlanta and St Louis.
Right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson gave up one run on six hits over 6-2/3 innings for the Nationals, who won the final two games of the three-game series against Philadelphia. Jackson fanned six and walked one batter.
Darin Ruf knocked in the only run for Philadelphia, who missed out on the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
Philadelphia were trying to finish with a record above .500 for a 10th straight season.
“It didn’t happen this year,” Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. “It’s pretty obvious the reasons why, no excuses. Reasons that we weren’t in the race pretty much for a lot of the season. We gave ourselves a chance when we got healthy.”
Nationals manager Davey Johnson left Wednesday’s game early because he felt numbness in his left leg, which was later diagnosed as a nerve issue.
In Pittsburgh, Ben Sheets made the 250th and final regular season start of his MLB career on Wednesday as the Braves shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0. The 34-year-old Sheets announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Matt Carpenter hit the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift St Louis to a 1-0 victory over the Reds.
Defending champions the Cardinals, who clinched the second wild-card spot on Tuesday, travel to Atlanta for today’s wild-card contest.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set