MAJOR LEAGUES
Chris Davis hit his major league leading 46th home run and Adam Jones also homered, as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep.
Davis connected against Jeremy Hellickson (10-7) leading off the fifth inning. The drive landed on Eutaw Street beyond the wall in right field to give the Orioles a 4-2 lead.
Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin (7-6) gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings to help Baltimore win for only the third time in nine games. The left-hander was backed by three double plays, two of which he started.
Darren O’Day worked a perfect eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Wil Myers in the ninth before Brian Matusz walked pinch-hitter James Loney.
Tommy Hunter then got two straight outs and with runners on the corners, Kelly Johnson was thrown out trying to steal second. It was Hunter’s fourth save.
Baltimore’s usual closer, Jim Johnson, did not get up in the bullpen after he blew three consecutive save opportunities and surrendering three hits in a non-save situation on Tuesday.
Jason Bourgeois and Sean Rodriguez hit solo homers for the Rays, whose second loss in eight games left them a game behind first-placed Boston in the American League East Division.
Hellickson allowed four runs and seven hits in 4-1/3 innings. The right-hander is 0-4 with an 8.06 ERA in five starts since July 26.
The Orioles used a two-run first inning to take their first lead in the series. After Nate McLouth led off with a single to snap a 0-for-17 skid, Manny Machado singled and Davis walked to load the bases.
Jones drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder and Matt Wieters hit a sacrifice fly after a double steal.
Bourgeois hit a solo shot in second for his third career homer and first since 2011.
In the bottom half, the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs for Davis, who hit a routine fly to left.
Jones made it 3-1 in the third with his 26th home run, a drive to dead center that traveled an estimated 136m. Rodriguez answered in the fourth with his third homer.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was