MAJOR LEAGUES
New York’s Brendan Ryan scored the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch by Jim Johnson after the Yankees blew a four-run lead before beating the Orioles 6-5 on Thursday.
Mark Reynolds and Curtis Granderson homered for the Yankees, who remained one game behind Tampa Bay for the second AL wild-card.
New York led 5-1 before Nick Markakis hit a solo shot in the seventh and Danny Valencia homered with two on against David Robertson in the eighth.
However, the Yankees bounced right back in the ninth with an unearned run against Johnson (3-8).
Mariano Rivera (6-2) got straight three outs in the bottom half and was given credit for the win by the official scorer because Robertson was ineffective in the eighth.
The start was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 18 minutes.
Elsewhere, Tampa Bay’s Wil Myers hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning to lift the Rays to a much-needed 4-3 win over Boston.
Cleveland also kept up in the wild-card race by routing the Chicago White Sox, while Oakland widened their lead in the AL West division by defeating Minnesota.
In the National League, Pittsburgh drew level with St Louis atop the Central division by downing the Chicago Cubs while the Cardinals were beaten by Milwaukee.
The Los Angeles Dodgers moved the brink of sealing the NL West title by edging San Francisco in 10 innings.
Tampa Bay’s Myers came up with the key hit to drive in Evan Longoria, who had also doubled off Rubby De La Rosa (0-1).
The result trimmed Boston’s lead in the AL East to a still comfortable 8-1/2 games.
The Red Sox got two men on base in the ninth with one out, but a line out and a pop out ended it.
Oakland moved 3-1/2 games clear of idle Texas atop the AL West by beating Minnesota 8-2.
Athletics pitcher A.J. Griffin (14-9) struck out eight and walked just one batter in seven innings to win his fourth straight start.
One team with few anxieties about their playoff hopes are the Los Angeles Dodgers, who stretched their lead in the NL West to 12-1/2 games by beating San Francisco 3-2.
The combined number of their wins and/or Arizona losses required to confirm the division title is now down to five.
Carl Crawford opened the 10th with a single off Jeremy Affeldt (1-5) and was advanced to second on a sacrifice before Adrian Gonzalez singled him home for the winning run.
There is nothing to separate Pittsburgh and St Louis atop the NL Central after the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1.
Jeff Locke (10-5) struck out five and gave up only three hits and one walk in seven innings to steer the Pirates to a fourth-straight win. It was his first victory in nearly two months.
Meanwhile the Cardinals suffered a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Milwaukee, ending a run of five consecutive wins.
Brewers pitcher Tyler Thornburg (2-1), making his eighth career start, gave up three hits in six innings.
Sean Halton, who had three RBIs, hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put Milwaukee up 4-0.
Atlanta retained their big lead in the NL East by beating Miami 6-1, with Freddy Garcia earning his first victory since joining the Braves last month.
Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Wilson Ramos all homered off Aaron Harang in his Mets debut as the Nationals beat New York 7-2.
Los Angeles’ Garrett Richards pitched 6 2/3 innings for his third straight win, steering the Angels to a 4-3 win over Toronto.
Cleveland’s Ryan Raburn went three-for-three with a homer and five RBIs to power the Indians to a 14-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, keeping the Tribe within 1 1/2 games of the second AL wild-card spot.
Philadelphia’s Carlos Ruiz had three hits and three RBIs while rookie Cesar Hernandez reached base four times, scored twice and drove in two runs as the Phillies rode a six-run first inning to a 10-5 win over San Diego.
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