AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Tampa Bay Rays belted four home runs to overcome Boston 6-4 on Wednesday, the defeat dropping the Red Sox two-and-a-half games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East race.
All of Tampa Bay’s runs came off homers as the third-placed Rays moved to within three games of the Red Sox following a third consecutive victory.
PHOTO: AP
“It feels good whenever you can beat those guys, especially when you can win all the games from them,” Carl Crawford told reporters after Tampa Bay won both games in the two-game series. “We’re trying to climb back up in the standings. We needed both of them.”
Carlos Pena and Crawford both had two-run homers for Tampa Bay, who beat Boston for last year’s American League championship. Pena’s came in the second and Crawford celebrated his 28th birthday with his blast in the third to open a 4-1 lead.
“That’s what everybody wishes for on their birthday when you’ve got to play a game,” Crawford said, adding it was the third time he had homered on his birthday. “For it to happen, I was definitely excited about it.”
Pat Burrell and Jason Bartlett added solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Red Sox got home runs from Jason Bay in the second and Victor Martinez in the sixth. Their other runs came off ground-outs in the seventh and eighth innings.
Rookie David Price (5-4) held the Red Sox to two runs and six hits over six innings, while striking out five.
Boston starter and loser Brad Penny (7-6) had a rough outing, yielding five runs off three homers in six innings. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out five.
YANKEES 8, BLUE JAYS 4
In Toronto, Johnny Damon hit a solo home run and had three RBIs in New York’s win over Toronto.
Nick Swisher also connected for the Yankees, who used a four-run seventh inning to win their third straight game.
The American League East-leading Yankees, winless in eight games against the second-placed Red Sox, return home to open a four-game series against Boston.
WHITE SOX 6, ANGELS 2
In Chicago, Jim Thome homered twice, giving him 561 for his career, as Chicago downed Los Angeles.
Thome hit a three-run shot in the sixth — his second of the game and 20th of the season. With 561 homers, the 38-year-old is now only two homers behind Reggie Jackson, who is in 12th place all-time.
Gavin Floyd pitched into the ninth for the White Sox, who won their fifth in six games. Floyd, aided by three double plays, allowed two runs in eight-plus innings.
Wednesday’s other results:
• Athletics 7, Rangers 5
• Tigers 4, Orioles 2
• Indians 8, Twins 1
• Mariners 11, Royals 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PHILADELPHIA
J.A. Happ struck out a career-high 10 in his second shutout of the season, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-0 win over the Colorado Rockies in the National League on Wednesday.
Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz all homered.
Happ (8-2) tossed a four-hitter in his latest outstanding outing, making a strong argument to remain in Philadelphia’s rotation, but it may not be enough for the rookie left-hander.
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez threw six innings in a rehab start 105km away for Double-A Reading. If Phillies officials are convinced Martinez can start in the major leagues, he likely would send Happ to the bullpen.
Manager Charlie Manuel says it’s still too early to talk about what the rotation will look like once Martinez joins the Phillies.
GIANTS 10, ASTROS 6
In Houston, Texas, Joe Martinez came off the disabled list to win his first major league start and Eli Whiteside hit a grand slam for his first career home run as San Francisco downed Houston.
Martinez (2-0) pitched in the majors for the first time since he was struck on the head by a line-drive from Milwaukee’s Mike Cameron on April 9, his second outing of the season.
The 26-year-old rookie right-hander gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings.
Whiteside’s slam gave the Giants a 7-3 lead in the sixth against Brian Moehler (7-7), who dropped to 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his last three starts.
Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer for Houston, who have lost nine of 12.
Wednesday’s other results:
• Nationals 5, Marlins 4
• Reds 4, Cubs 0
• Mets 9, Cardinals 0
• Braves 6, Padres 2
• Diamondbacks 4, Pirates 3
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
RSS