American League
Alex Rodriguez made the New York Yankees forget Kei Igawa's forgettable debut.
A-Rod hit a grand slam off Chris Ray with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Yankees a memorable 10-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
PHOTO: AFP
Rodriguez homered twice, doubled and drove in six runs. Two days earlier, he popped out with the bases loaded to end the eighth in a 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay.
Igawa left after five mediocre innings trailing 7-3.
But Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Danys Baez to get the Yankees close. Ray (0-1) got the first two outs of the ninth before Robinson Cano singled, Derek Jeter walked and Bobby Abreu was hit by a pitch.
Rodriguez then connected on a 1-2 pitch,and knew it was gone as soon as he hit it.
The ball landed in the black section of the bleachers in center for his 14th career grand slam and, after Rodriguez reached the dugout, Jeter shoved him back on the field for a curtain call.
Mariano Rivera (1-0) got the win with a one-hit ninth.
Tigers 6, Royals 5
In Kansas City, Missouri, Gary Sheffield, Ivan Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson homered to help Detroit beat Kansas City on a cold afternoon. All the Tigers' home runs came off Gil Meche (1-1). Mike Maroth (1-0) picked up the victory.
White Sox 3, Twins 0
In Chicago, Javier Vazquez allowed one hit in six-and-two-thirds scoreless innings and four relievers completed the frosty three-hitter to help Chicago beat Minnesota. Vazquez walked four and struck out five.
Rangers 8, Red Sox 4
In Arlington, Texas, Sammy Sosa hit his first home run since 2005 to help the Rangers get the win. Kevin Millwood (1-1) went six innings for the Rangers.
Angels 2, Athletics 1
In Anaheim, California, John Lackey earned his second victory and the Angels beat the Athletics for their fifth win in six games. Vladimir Guerrero drove in his major league-leading 10th run for the Angels.
Blue Jays 8, Devil Rays 5
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Frank Thomas hit career homer No. 488 off Devil Rays starter Casey Fossum.
Vernon Wells, Troy Glaus and Reed Johnson also drove in runs for the Blue Jays.
National League
Jeff Kent hit a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak in San Francisco to seven games with a 4-1 victory on Saturday.
Braves 5, mets 3
In Atlanta, John Smoltz outpitched former teammate Tom Glavine to help the Braves hand the Mets their first loss of the season. Smoltz (1-0) went six innings and allowed two runs and seven hits.
Reds 7, Pirates 5
In Cincinnati, Adam Dunn's wind-blown fly ball deflected off Xavier Nady's glove and cleared the wall for a two-run homer as the Reds won. Dunn's third homer off Tony Armas (0-1) helped the Reds improve to 4-1 on a cold afternoon.
Cubs 6, Brewers 3
In Milwaukee, Carlos Zambrano allowed three runs in seven innings and hit an RBI single to lead the Cubs to the win. Zambrano (1-1) struck out four of the first six batters he faced.
Astros 5, Cardinals 1
In Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched a five-hitter and Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman homered to lift the Astros to their first victory of the season.
Diamondbacks 7, Nationals 1
In Washington, Brandon Webb struck out eight in seven sharp innings for the Diamondbacks. Webb (1-0) allowed one run and seven hits. Eric Byrnes homered for the Diamondbacks.
Marlins 8, Phillies 5
In Miami, Dontrelle Willis pitched six innings for his second victory and Josh Willingham drove in four runs for Florida.
Padres 3, Rockies 2
In San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI double in the ninth to give the Padres the victory. San Diego snapped the Rockies' three-game winning streak. Jose Cruz Jr. started the rally with a leadoff single and Gonzalez hit the first pitch to deep left-center to score Cruz.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice yesterday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo. “Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
CRICKET Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as
RSS