MAJOR LEAGUES
Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart and Todd Frazier hit upper-deck homers to power the Reds to a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh on Monday, moving a game-and-a-half clear of the Pirates and to a season-best 15 games over .500.
Cincinnati hit four solo homers in all, extending their best start since 1995 — the last time they won a playoff series.
Photo: AFP
Cozart connected in the fourth and Frazier in the sixth off Francisco Liriano (5-3), who had not allowed a homer in his seven previous starts.
In Arlington, Texas, the Rangers ended a six-game losing skid by beating Oakland to close the gap in the race for the American League East Division crown.
Nelson Cruz homered twice as the Rangers edged Oakland 8-7, moving within two games of the Athletics atop the AL West.
Cruz’s second homer was a two-run shot in the fifth and he added a run-scoring double in the seventh.
A.J. Pierzynski drove in three runs as Texas snapped a six-game losing streak — all at home — in which they only scored eight runs.
Meanwhile, Detroit pitcher Max Scherzer improved his record to 10-0 in the Tigers’ 5-1 win at home over Baltimore.
Scherzer became the first pitcher to begin a season 10-0 — with all decisions coming in starts — since Roger Clemens went 11-0 for Toronto in 1997, according to STATS. He allowed one run in six innings.
Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer for Detroit, while Baltimore’s Chris Davis hit his Major League-leading 24th homer of the season.
In Missouri, St Louis rookie Shelby Miller pitched five shutout innings to guide the Cardinals to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Miller (8-4), who had to wait out a rain delay of 1 hour, 59 minutes to start the game, left due to cramping in his right leg.
Yadier Molina had a two-run double for St Louis.
At AT&T Park in San Diego, California, the Padres won their seventh straight by downing San Francisco 5-3 over 13 innings.
Will Venable made an incredible game-saving catch in the 12th inning, allowing pinch-hitting pitcher Andrew Cashner to drive in the go-ahead run in the 13th.
Venable’s diving grab on the center-field warning track with his back to home plate ended the 12th and stole a game-winning hit from Juan Perez.
Moments later, Alexi Amarista started the winning rally with a single and went to third on Chris Denorfia’s single. Cashner came up to face Jose Mijares (0-1) and dropped a bunt single between the mound and third base for his sixth career hit and second RBI.
In Toronto, the Jays’ winning streak reached six with a 2-0 victory over Colorado.
Toronto’s Maicer Izturis hit a two-run single in the eighth inning for the only score of the game.
Rajai Davis singled to start the eighth-inning rally, just the second hit of the game for the Blue Jays.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Domonic Brown hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Phillies a 5-4 win over Washington.
In Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City pinch-runner Elliot Johnson scored from third base on a wild pitch by reliever Matt Albers in the ninth inning, giving the Royals a 2-1 win over the Indians.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Dillon Gee, giving the Braves a 2-1 stunning victory at home over the New York Mets in a game that was delayed nearly four hours by rain.
Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols had an RBI double among his four hits and Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer as the Angels pounded out a season-high 21 hits in an 11-3 win over Seattle in California.
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton drove in all three Marlins runs with a pair of homers as the hosts beat Arizona 3-2, handing the Diamondbacks a fourth straight loss.
In Houston, Texas, Chicago’s Dayan Viciedo hit a bases-loaded triple in the sixth as the White Sox beat Houston 4-2 to avoid their first four-game sweep since 2008.
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