American League
Tim Wakefield pitched seven solid innings and David McCarty hit a three-run homer to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-3 on Monday.
Kevin Youkilis had a two-run double during a three-run fifth as the Red Sox rebounded from two straight losses to American League Central-leading Minnesota. Boston trails the Yankees by nine games in the AL East and the Texas Rangers by a half game in the wild card race.
Wakefield (7-6), celebrating his 30th birthday, gave up three runs, four hits, four walks and struck out three. The knuckleballer is 10-1 all-time against Tampa Bay.
McCarty gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead with his home run in the second. It was his first homer since May 30 against Seattle, a span of 63 at-bats.
Tampa Bay starter Mark Hendrickson (8-9) allowed six runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings. He had complete game victories in two of his three previous starts.
Tino Martinez hit a two-run shot in the first for Tampa Bay, which is 5-2 on a season long 13-game homestand.
Blue Jays 6, Indians 1
In Toronto, all-star Ted Lilly won for the first time in more than a month and Vernon Wells homered before leaving with a calf injury as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians.
Cleveland starter Cliff Lee (10-4) threw his hat and glove into the stands after allowing six runs -- two earned -- on nine hits in 4 1-3 innings -- the third straight start he's been rocked.
Wells left the game after fouling a ball of his left calf in the fifth inning.
Toronto's Chris Gomez reached on second baseman Ronnie Belliard's fielding error, and Alex Rios singled before Wells hit a three-run homer off Lee in the first.
Fenerbahce on Thursday earned a rare 2-1 win in England, but were still knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Nottingham Forest in the playoffs. Forest entered the second leg with a healthy 3-0 lead from the opener in Istanbul — where Vitor Pereira made an impact in his first game in charge — and that proved enough to advance to the round-of-16 with a 4-2 aggregate score. The result was a boost for Forest, struggling at 17th place in the Premier League, in their return to Europe after three decades. They next face Real Betis Balompie or Kerem Akturkoglu gave Fenerbahce
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
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