MAJOR LEAGUES
Chris Sale took a perfect game into the seventh inning, before allowing just one hit as the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Mike Trout’s sharp single to center ended the perfect game bid with one out in the seventh, on Sale’s 70th pitch.
Photo: AFP
Sale (4-2) struck out seven on just 98 pitches for his first career shutout and third consecutive win. Sale’s one-hitter is Chicago’s first since Zach Stewart had one on Sept. 5, 2011, against Minnesota.
Alexei Ramirez’s two-run two-out single in the bottom of the seventh drove in Tyler Flowers and Tyler Greene to give Sale the lead.
Houston’s Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer among four hits, and David Murphy and Leonys Martin hit home runs as the Texas Rangers downed the Houston Astros 12-7.
Beltre doubled twice and drove in four runs. He homered for the second straight day, hitting a drive that was ruled a double and changed to a homer after a video review. Beltre connected off Edgar Gonzalez, signed by the Astros earlier in the day.
Jose Bautista hit two of Toronto’s five home runs as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 12-4 to take two of three games in the series.
Emilio Bonifacio, Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie also homered for the Blue Jays.
New York’s Vernon Wells homered for the second straight game and Robinson Cano also connected as the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 to wrap up a three-game sweep.
Hiroki Kuroda (5-2) won for the fifth time in six decisions.
In the National League, Pablo Sandoval splashed a home run into McCovey Cove to back Tim Lincecum’s strong pitching performance as the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1.
Brandon Belt and Marco Scutaro also homered for the Giants. Lincecum (3-2) struck out seven in seven scoreless innings to end a three-start winless stretch in which he went 0-2. He also stopped a four-start skid against Atlanta, beating the Braves for the first time since April 11, 2010.
Colorado pitcher Jorge De La Rosa held St Louis hitless into the seventh inning, while Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run homer to down the St Louis Cardinals 8-2.
De La Rosa did not allow a hit until David Freese’s two-out single in the seventh, answering a pair of pitching gems by St Louis over the weekend.
Charlie Blackmon added a two-run homer off Jaime Garcia (4-2) for the Rockies, who snapped a four-game losing streak. In other NL games, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 over 10 innings, the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the New York Mets 3-2, the Cincinnati Reds downed the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals 2-1 and the Los Angeles Dodgers wan out 5-3 winners over the Florida Marlins.
In the AL, the Cleveland Indians held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners were 6-1 winners over the Oakland Athletics. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the San Diego Padres 4-2 in the only interleague game.
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