MAJOR LEAGUES
Mark Teixeira hit a grand slam for his first homer of the season as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 7-4 on Monday to spoil Nick Swisher’s first game back in the Bronx.
Brett Gardner had a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning, after Andy Pettitte lasted only 4-2/3 innings in a wild return from the disabled list — his 500th career start. Shawn Kelly (3-0) got the win and Mariano Rivera retired Swisher with a flyball to left field with a runner on second for his 20th save in 21 chances, securing New York’s second win in nine games.
Photo: AFP
Yankees designated hitter Travis Hafner, wearing Swisher’s old No. 33, homered against his former team in the seventh off Justin Masterson (8-4), who matched a season high by allowing seven runs.
Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera had to be helped off the field after straining his right quadriceps running out a grounder in a three-run fifth. Manager Terry Francona said Cabrera is likely headed for the disabled list.
Swisher was greeted warmly when he came to the plate for the first time in the first inning, and again when he took his position at first base in the bottom half. He played for New York for four years before signing with Cleveland in the off-season.
Also in the American League, the last-placed Houston Astros completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 2-1 win after Chris Carter homered and Erik Bedard pitched seven strong innings for his first victory of the season.
Brandon Barnes drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the Astros finished a perfect six-game road trip with their seventh win over the big-budget Angels in 10 meetings this season.
In Seattle, Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer to help the Mariners down the White Sox 4-2 for Chicago’s seventh consecutive loss.
In the National League, Domonic Brown hit his eighth homer in eight as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 .
Delmon Young and Erik Kratz also went deep for the Phillies, while Kyle Kendrick allowed just six hits.
Brown, the NL player of the month for last month, continued his torrid hitting by going three-for-four. He had 12 homers and 25 RBIs last month, and already has connected twice and driven in six runs this month. He leads the NL with 17 homers.
Kendrick (6-3) retired his last 15 batters and beat the Marlins for the 12th time in 14 decisions. He lowered his ERA to 3.12 with his second complete game of the season and the fourth of his career.
Atlanta’s Brian McCann, Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman each hit a two-run homer as the Braves downed the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2, while Cincinnati pitcher Bronson Arroyo limited the NL’s most prolific offense to four singles in eight innings and Jay Bruce had a two-run homer among his three hits to lead the Reds past the Colorado Rockies 3-0.
In other games, the St Louis Cardinals thrashed the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1, the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the San Diego Padres 2-1 and the Oakland Athletics were convincing 10-2 winners over the Milwaukee Brewers in the only interleague matchup.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care