American LeagueBrian Tallet and two relievers combined on a two-hitter in place of injured starter Ted Lilly, and Lyle Overbay homered and drove in five runs to lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Baltimore Orioles 8-1 on Monday.
Tallet didn't allow a hit in the first 2 1-3 innings and was followed by Jeremy Accardo (1-0), who gave up both hits but didn't allow a run in 2 2-3 innings. Brandon League earned his first major league save by pitching the final four innings.
Tigers 9, Twins 3
At Detroit, Zach Miner won a matchup of impressive rookies and Detroit roughed up Francisco Liriano again in a win over Minnesota.
Liriano (12-3) has a 7.63 ERA against Detroit this season, more than five times higher than his ERA (1.39) against the rest of the major league teams. Liriano gave up four runs and a season-high 10 hits with four walks. He struck out five.
Angels 6, White Sox 3
At Chicago, Vladimir Guerrero homered and Kelvim Escobar earned a rare win against Chicago.
Robb Quinlan and Jose Molina also connected off struggling Chicago starter Mark Buehrle, dropping the White Sox 10 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
Athletics 7, Rangers 4
Mark Ellis drove in four runs with a homer and a bases-loaded double at Oakland, leading the surging Athletics over Texas.
Milton Bradley also homered and drove in two runs for the AL West-leading A's, who won for the eighth time in nine games.
Mariners 5, Devil Rays 4
At Seattle, Raul Ibanez hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning and Seattle's bullpen pitched 4 2-3 scoreless innings to help the Mariners beat Tampa Bay.
Ibanez's 23rd homer -- one short of his career high -- gave Seattle the lead for good and began to ease the bad memories of a weekend sweep by Oakland that left the Mariners 6.5 games back in the AL West.
National League
Yadier Molina homered during a five-run first inning and drove in four runs overall, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 13-1 and the early advantage in their pivotal matchup on Monday.
Chris Duncan, Scott Rolen and Scott Spiezio also homered for the National League Central leaders, who extended their lead over Cincinnati to 4 1/2 games.
Phillies 9, Braves 6
At Atlanta, Ryan Howard hit his 39th homer to surpass 100 RBIs, and Philadelphia scored five runs in the fifth inning during a victory over Atlanta.
Howard's two-run shot in the fourth was Philadelphia's first hit of the night and marked the 16th straight game in which the Phillies have gone deep.
Dodgers 7, Rockies 2
Jeff Kent homered, doubled and drove in three runs in his return from the disabled list, and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to 10 games with a victory over Colorado.
Giants 8, Diamondbacks 4
At Phoenix -- Jason Schmidt hit one of San Francisco's six home runs and pitched the Giants to a victory over Arizona.
Pedro Feliz homered twice and Ray Durham, Moises Alou and Shea Hillenbrand also connected for the last-place Giants, who are 4.5 games behind San Diego.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
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Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported £400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported £400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported £900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically