MAJOR LEAGUES
Max Scherzer allowed just three hits and struck out nine over eight innings as the American League-leading Detroit Tigers blanked the Houston Astros 2-0 on Monday for their season-high sixth straight victory.
Rajai Davis broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh and Victor Martinez hit a solo homer in the eighth, while catcher Alex Avila threw out two runners in the late innings for the Tigers and Scherzer (4-1) earned his fourth consecutive win.
Houston have now lost three in a row and have the worst record in the majors.
Also in the AL, Eduardo Escobar homered to lead off the 10th inning against Cleveland closer John Axford as the Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0.
Escobar, who entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, connected on a 1-0 pitch from Axford (0-3), driving it over the wall in right for his first homer since June last year and fourth of his career.
In other AL games, the Mariners downed the Athletics 4-2 and the Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Yankees 4-1.
In the National League, Matt Carpenter’s two-run double in the fifth inning helped carry the St Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 win over the Braves, who lost their seventh in a row.
Desperate to beef up their offense, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez batted pitcher Aaron Harang eighth and put second baseman Ramiro Pena in the ninth spot. Pena had two hits, including a seventh-inning homer that brought the Braves within a run, but they could not overcome a 4-0 deficit.
Exploiting Atlanta’s shaky defense, Carpenter doubled in two runs and Matt Holiday followed with a run-scoring single before Peter Bourjos had an RBI single in the sixth to extend St Louis’ lead.
In other NL games, the Miami Marlins edged the New York Mets 4-3, the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-10 over 13 innings, the Milwaukee Brewers trounced the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-0 and the Washington Nationals shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 and the San Diego Padres took 12 innings to beat the Kansas City Padres 6-5.
In interleague play, Jose Reyes hit a leadoff homer and J.A. Happ allowed three hits over five innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0, the Chicago White Sox edged the Cubs 2-1 over 12 innings and the Colorado Rockies downed the Texas Rangers 8-2.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and