AMERICAN LEAGUE
Masahiro Tanaka extended his regular-season unbeaten streak to 40 starts, while Mark Teixeira homered and drove in three runs to help the Yankees rally past the Tampa Bay Rays 9-3 on Saturday and end a season-high, three-game losing streak.
Tanaka (4-0) gave up solo homers to Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers around an RBI single by Ryan Hanigan, falling behind 3-0 by the fourth. He is 32-0 in the regular season for Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles and the Yankees since losing to Seibu on Aug. 19, 2012.
Photo: Adam Hunger - USA TODAY
Kelly Johnson hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth off Josh Lueke (0-2).
Jake Odorizzi retired the first nine Yankees in order, then allowed New York to go four-for-eight with two walks before he was removed.
RED SOX 6, ATHLETICS 3
In Boston, Jon Lester (3-4) struck out a career-high 15, allowing one hit over eight scoreless innings — Craig Gentry’s leadoff bloop single in the third over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
Jonny Gomes hit a grand slam in the first off Tommy Milone (0-3), while David Ortiz and David Ross added solo homers in Boston’s second straight win after losing a day-night doubleheader to Tampa Bay.
After Oakland scored three runs in the ninth against Chris Capuano, helped by two errors, Koji Uehara got out of a one-out, two-on jam for his seventh save.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Twins 6, Orioles 1
‧ Mariners 9, Astros 8
‧ Indians 2, White Sox 0
‧ Tigers 9, Royals 2
‧ Angeles 5, Rangers 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, Georgia
Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Michael Morse led off innings with home runs as the streaking San Francisco Giants beat the slumping Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Saturday night in a matchup of first-place teams.
The NL West-leading Giants have won four straight and eight of nine. The Braves, who lead the NL East, have lost five straight for the first time since May 21 to 28, 2012.
San Francisco had only four hits, but have homered in 10 straight games, a feat they previously accomplished from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3, 2010.
Ryan Vogelsong (1-1) allowed one run, five hits and four walks in six innings, while Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save. Julio Teheran (2-2) gave up just four hits with no walks in seven innings, but allowed a season-high three runs.
PIRATES 8, BLUE JAYS 6
In Pittsburgh, Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth against Todd Redmond (0-3), capping a comeback from a 5-0 deficit.
A night after wasting a 5-3, ninth-inning lead in a 6-5 loss, Toronto led 6-2 in the seventh, but the Pirates tied the score against Aaron Loup on Josh Harrison’s RBI double, Pedro Alvarez’s run-scoring groundout and pinch-hitter Jordy Mercer’s two-run double.
Bryan Morris (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth, and Mark Melancon earned his first save of the season in place of injured closer Jason Grilli, retiring Colby Ramus on a game-ending groundout with two on. Pittsburgh, which overcame four errors, won consecutive games for the first time since beating St Louis and the Chicago Cubs on April 6 and 8.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Phillies 7, Nationals 2
‧ Reds 6, Brewers 2
‧ Cubs 3, Cardinals 0
‧ Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3
‧ Dodgers 9, Marlins 7
‧ Rockies 11, Mets 10
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
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Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two