MAJOR LEAGUES
Matt Wieters drove in three runs, including the tiebreaker in the eighth inning, as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Tuesday on a soggy night at Camden Yards.
After blowing a three-run lead, the Orioles went back on top in the eighth. Adam Jones drew a leadoff walk from Tim Collins (1-1) and advanced when Luke Hochevar threw wildly to first base on a pickoff attempt. Wieters then lofted an opposite-field fly to left that landed just inside the foul line for a double.
Photo: AFP
Tommy Hunter (2-1) worked 1-1/3 innings of relief and Jim Johnson got three straight outs for his 12th save.
It was the fourth win in five games for the Orioles, who moved within a game of first-placed Boston in the American League East.
Baltimore starter Chen Wei-yin of Taiwan had a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning when rain forced a 48-minute delay. After play resumed, Brian Matusz got an out before yielding a two-run homer to Alex Gordon.
Photo: AFP
Chen allowed two runs and nine hits in 6-1/3 innings. He was backed by three double plays.
Ervin Santana gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings for Kansas City. The right-hander walked one and struck out four.
Baltimore went up 3-0 in the first. Singles by Manny Machado, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones produced a run before Wieters hit a two-out, two-run double.
In the third, former Oriole Miguel Tejada hit a one-out single and scored on a single by Alcides Escobar. In the bottom half, Tejada made a diving stop of Jones’ grounder to third and made a successful throw to first while in a sitting position.
Baltimore shortstop J.J. Hardy saved a run with a sparkling dive-and-throw play in the fourth. With two outs and a runner on second, Hardy went to the edge of the outfield grass to snare a grounder by Salvador Perez.
Santana regrouped from his shaky start to retire 12 straight batters until Nate McLouth singled with two outs in the fifth. Machado followed with a single before Markakis hit a fly to left.
In Cinncinnati, Ohio, the Reds’ Devin Mesoraco and Choo Shin-soo both hit two-out homers in the ninth inning to rally the home team to a memorable 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.
Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel struck out the first two Cincinnati batters in the ninth and was just one strike away from completing his 100th career save, moving to a full count against Mesoraco, who homered to center field.
Kimbrel, who had given up only one previous homer this season, conceded his second in five pitches as Choo hit his second homer of the game to end it.
In Denver, Colorado, Jorge de la Rosa pitched six scoreless innings in a steady rain to guide the Rockies to a 2-0 win over the Yankees.
Despite a stellar start from Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees lost their fifth straight game at Coors Field, dating to an interleague series in 2002. They were swept in a three-game set in 2007 in their last trip to Denver’s downtown ballpark.
De la Rosa (3-3) improved to 3-0 with a 0.98 ERA lifetime against the Yankees.
Milwaukee ended a five-game skid by beating Texas as Yuniesky Betancourt hit his eighth home run of the season to cap a five-run first inning that set up the Brewers’ 6-3 win at home over the Rangers.
Aramis Ramirez also homered for the first time this year and NL batting leader Carlos Gomez added a two-run double in the interleague matchup.
The Rangers have lost a season-worst fourth straight road games.
In San Francisco, California, Philadelphia’s Chase Utley and Ryan Howard homered to help the Phillies beat the Giants 6-2.
Utley had three hits and two RBIs, Howard reached base four times, while Kyle Kendrick (4-1) pitched seven strong innings to win his third consecutive decision. He extended his scoreless streak on the road to 25 innings before giving up a sacrifice fly in the third.
Minnesota’s Scott Diamond dominated over seven innings to guide the Twins to a 6-1 win over Boston.
Diamond (3-2) did not allow a runner past first base, issued no walks and retired the last 15 batters he faced. Ryan Doumit hit his first homer of the season for the Twins.
In Cleveland, Ohio, Zach McAllister (3-3) and two relievers combined on a shutout as the Indians beat Oakland 1-0 and notched their eighth win in nine games.
McAllister, Rich Hill and Chris Perez stymied the highest-scoring offense in the majors, not allowing a runner to reach second base.
Pittsburgh’s Jeanmar Gomez pitched five shutout innings while making a surprise spot start to help the Pirates down Seattle 4-1 in an interleague game at PNC Park in Pennsylvania.
Chicago’s Travis Wood pitched impressively into the seventh inning to outduel Lance Lynn and steer the Cuibs to a 2-1 win over St Louis.
In California, Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Diamondbacks to a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In St Petersburg, Florida, Toronto pitcher J.A. Happ was hit in the head by a line drive and taken off the field on a stretcher during the Blue Jays’ 6-4 win over Tampa Bay.
The Mets Matt Harvey pitched one-hit ball for nine innings in a nearly perfect performance as his team permitted just one baserunner all game to beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in 10 innings in Flushing, New York.
San Diego’s Eric Stults pitched strongly into the seventh inning, leading the Padres to a 5-1 win at home over Miami.
In Houston, Texas, Chris Carter hit a three-run homer to put the Astros ahead in the third as they held on for a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
The first of a three-game interleague series at Nationals Park between the Detroit Tigers and the Nationals was postponed because of rain and rescheduled for today.
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
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
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely