Paul Wilson held Sammy Sosa to a harmless single in seven strong innings on Thursday before being bloodied and ejected during Cincinnati's second brawl in a week as the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1.
Wilson and Kyle Farnsworth went after each other in the bottom of the seventh, after the hard-throwing Cubs reliever threw him an inside fastball as he tried to bunt. Wilson whirled and yelled at the mound, and the two pitchers charged each other.
Farnsworth tackled Wilson with his right shoulder, knocking the Reds pitcher on his back, then threw a punch that appeared to miss his face. They were quickly engulfed by teammates.
PHOTO: AP
The two pitchers were the only ones ejected. Wilson (5-4), who gave up only three hits, had a cut on the bridge of his nose that left blood spattered across his white jersey.
Scott Williamson got the final three outs for his 17th save in 18 chances. The Cubs loaded with the bases with one out before pinch-hitters Lenny Harris and Troy O'Leary struck out.
Mark Prior (8-3) couldn't get comfortable on the mound, which pitchers complain is flat. He allowed seven hits and two runs in six innings.
Phillies 3, Braves 2
In Philadelphia, Jimmy Rollins' RBI single with one out in the ninth inning beat John Smoltz and Atlanta to complete a Philadelphia rally after the Phillies were kept hitless into the eighth inning by Mike Hampton.
Marlon Byrd looped a single to right field to end Hampton's no-hit bid after 7 1-3 innings. Placido Polanco's two-run single off Smoltz tied it.
Smoltz (0-1) blew just his second save in 28 opportunities. Pat Burrell opened the ninth with a double and, after David Bell flied out, Rollins singled home pinch-runner Jason Michaels.
Jose Mesa (2-4) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Phillies manager Larry Bowa was ejected with one out in the top of the ninth for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Terry Craft.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 4
In Milwaukee, Albert Pujols hit his 20th homer and Bo Hart doubled and tripled in his major league debut as St. Louis Cardinals beat Milwaukee.
Jason Isringhausen got the final out for his first save of the season. The Cardinals' closer was activated June 10 after missing 61 games as he continued his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.
Hart, whose contract was purchased from minor league team Memphis before the game, doubled his first time up and hit a two-run triple to cap a five-run fifth inning. The second baseman was brought up when Miguel Cairo, who had been subbing for Fernando Vina (injured hamstring), went on the 15-day disabled list with a broken left pinky.
Brett Tomko (3-5) allowed two earned runs on nine hits in 6 1-3 innings for the win.
Expos 5, Pirates 2
In Pittsburgh, Brad Wilkerson and Edwards Guzman drove in runs in an infrequent multi-run inning for Montreal, as the Expos finished their demanding three-and-a-half-week trip by beating Pittsburgh.
The Expos stopped a season-worst six-game losing streak, winning for only the eighth time on a 22-game trip that covered 18,201km, 25 days and ranged from Seattle to San Juan, Puerto Rico, their part-time home.
Wilkerson had a sacrifice fly and Guzman added an RBI single in a go-ahead, two-run seventh inning against Pittsburgh's bullpen, only the second multi-run inning for the Expos in 70 innings, or nearly eight games.
Japanese pitcher Tomo Ohka (5-7) got the victory. Rocky Biddle pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 21 chances. Salomon Torres (4-2) took the loss.
Marlins 5, Mets 1
In Miami, Tommy Phelps pitched seven shutout innings and Mike Lowell hit a three-run homer as Florida defeated New York.
Lowell hit his 22nd home run, tying Toronto's Carlos Delgado and Cincinnati's Adam Dunn for the major league lead.
Phelps (3-2) gave up three hits in his longest outing of the year. He struck out a season-high six and walked two.
Mike Bacsik (1-2) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Diamondbacks 4, Astros 2
In Houston, Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Miguel Batista pitched into the ninth inning to lead Arizona past Houston.
Batista (5-3) gave up seven hits, struck out seven and walked one, lowering his ERA to 2.60 -- second in the National League behind Los Angeles Dodgers ace Kevin Brown (1.97).
He was lifted after allowing Morgan Ensberg's leadoff double in the ninth. Jose Valverde got three straight outs for his fifth save in five chances.
Tim Redding (4-6) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six.
Rockies 10, Padres 5
In Denver, Chris Stynes hit his first career grand slam and Brent Butler and Jay Payton added solo homers to help Darren Oliver remain undefeated at home for Colorado.
Todd Helton and Preston Wilson had four hits each for the Rockies, who salvaged a split in the four-game series. Wilson also had three RBIs.
It was the 200th career start for Oliver (4-5), who allowed three runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings.
He improved to 4-0 with a 3.08 ERA in six starts at home. He is 0-5 with a 6.91 ERA in eight starts away from Coors Field.
Brian Lawrence (4-8) gave up six runs and eight hits in four innings.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
RSS