American League
Frank Thomas hit a three-run shot in the first inning of the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins in the American League on Thursday, becoming the 21st major leaguer to reach 500 home runs.
He also had an RBI double and tied his season high with four RBIs, then was ejected in the ninth inning by plate umpire Mark Wegner after being called out on strikes for the second time in the game. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons came out to argue and was also ejected.
PHOTO: AP
Torii Hunter homered twice and Jason Bartlett also connected for Minnesota, which rallied from a 5-1 deficit to gain the win for Carlos Silva (6-8). Jason Frasor (1-3) was the loser.
Thomas has hit 50 career homers against the Twins, his most against any team and the most by an active player against Minnesota. Rocky Colavito hit 52 against the Twins and Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson each hit 51.
Indians 4, Athletics 3
At Cleveland, Jason Michaels hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Cleveland held off Oakland.
An ill-advised throw by Michaels from left field let the Athletics put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth, but closer Joe Borowski completed his 22nd save in 24 chances.
The Indians trailed 3-1 when Michaels hit his sixth home run. He connected off Ron Flores (0-2) and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Dan Johnson homered, doubled and singled twice for Oakland, which held an early 3-0 lead. The Athletics fell to 1-6 on their nine-game road trip.
Paul Byrd (7-3) allowed three runs in seven innings for Cleveland.
Tigers 5, Rangers 2
At Detroit, Kenny Rogers allowed one run over six innings in his first home start since shoulder surgery, leading the Tigers over the Texas.
Rogers (2-0) missed the first 12 weeks of the season after surgery to remove a blood clot from his throwing shoulder. When the left-hander returned last week, he gave up two hits in six shutout innings at Atlanta.
This time, he helped Detroit stop a two-game losing streak in his first start at Comerica Park since Oct. 22 when he won Game 2 of the World Series -- the Tigers' only victory against St. Louis.
Gary Sheffield hit a two-run homer, his team-high 18th.
Texas starter Kevin Millwood (4-7) gave up three runs, five hits and six walks in six innings, striking out six.
White Sox 5, Devil Rays 1
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Javier Vazquez allowed one run in seven innings, Paul Konerko hit a pair of solo homers and Chicago completed a four-game sweep.
Vazquez (4-5) won for the second time in his last 13 starts. He gave up seven hits, three walks and had 10 strikeouts -- his 30th career game with 10 or more.
Konerko homered in a two-run second off Scott Kazmir and later made it 5-1 on a seventh-inning shot against Jason Hammel. It was Konerko's second multihomer game this season and 21st in his career.
Tadahito Iguchi added a fourth-inning homer for the White Sox, who hadn't recorded a series sweep since last August against Detroit.
Kazmir (5-4) threw 114 pitches in 5 1-3 innings. He allowed four runs and six hits, and ran his winless streak at home to 14 starts -- including four losses -- since last July 3.
National League
Scott Olsen struck out his first five batters and finished with 10, one shy of his career high, as the Florida Marlins defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-7 to avoid a three-game sweep in the National League on Thursday.
Mike Jacobs and Hanley Ramirez each had three of Florida's 15 hits and Matt Treanor hit a two-run homer, his first since June 20 last year.
Florida led 5-0 after two innings and 8-2 before Pittsburgh closed with five runs in the seventh.
Adam LaRoche had a two-run homer for the Pirates.
Olsen (6-6) gave up five runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, becoming the first Marlins pitcher to start a game with five strikeouts.
Zach Duke (3-7) allowed six runs and 12 hits in four innings.
Dodgers 9, Diamondbacks 5
At Phoenix, Russell Martin spoiled pitcher Randy Johnson's return with a home run and finished with three hits as Los Angeles took three of four from Arizona.
Randy Wolf (9-6) allowed three runs in six-plus innings and Jeff Kent drove in three runs for the Dodgers.
Johnson (4-3), who went on the disabled list with muscle tightness in his buttocks and a sore back, never looked comfortable in his first start in 18 days. He threw most of his 70 pitches thigh-to-chest high with velocity topping out at 151kph in the first inning and declining thereafter.
The 43-year-old left-hander allowed four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in three innings. He struck out two, walked two and hit a batter with a pitch.
Phillies 8, Reds 7
At Phildelphia, Jimmy Rollins had four hits, including the game winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning as Philadelphia edged Cincinnati.
Chase Utley hit a pair of two-run homers for the Phillies, who pulled within three games of NL East-leading New York.
Alex Gonzalez, Adam Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion each homered for Cincinnati, which finished its road trip at 3-6.
Astros 8, Rockies 5
At Houston, Craig Biggio became the ninth man in baseball history to get 3,000 hits with one club, while Carlos Lee's walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning extended Colorado's season-high losing streak to seven games.
Lee's shot to left field off Brian Fuentes (0-3) came on his first pitch. It was the third time in seven days Fuentes has allowed a game winning hit.
Biggio became the 27th player to reach the 3000-hit milestone with a single to center field in the seventh inning.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS