Ben Zobrist set a Tampa Bay record with eight RBIs, hitting a home run and two doubles in the Rays’ 15-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Zobrist went four-for-six and scored twice. He hit an RBI single in the first inning, a three-run homer in the sixth and added two-run doubles in the seventh and ninth.
Zobrist broke the team RBIs record of seven set by Carlos Pena in 2007.
Photo: AFP
Johnny Damon had three hits, including an RBI triple, to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
B.J. Upton also had three hits to help the Rays match a season high with 19 hits.
Zobrist hit his sixth home run and Casey Kotchman hit his first.
Indians 8, Royals 2
In Cleveland, Ohio, Fausto Carmona, backed by four solo home runs, pitched seven solid innings as Cleveland earned their 10th straight home win, beating Kansas City.
Choo Shin-soo and Carlos Santana connected for consecutive homers with two outs in the first inning off Kyle Davies (1-3). Grady Sizemore opened the third with his fourth homer and Shelley Duncan began the fourth with his first of the year to make it 4-0.
Jeff Francoeur stretched his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games for Kansas City.
He doubled in the seventh and Wilson Betemit followed with a two-run double to make it 8-2.
Thursday’s other results:
‧ Blue Jays 5, Rangers 2
‧ Yankees 12, White Sox 3
‧ Red Sox 6, Orioles 2
‧ Mariners 7, Tigers 2
AP, HOUSTON, Texas
St Louis slugger Lance Berkman homered and drove in four runs in a nine-run sixth inning as the Cardinals beat his old team the Houston Astros 11-7 in the National League on Thursday.
Berkman’s three-run shot off Fernando Abad (1-2) gave St Louis a 5-4 lead and he then added a solo shot in the ninth. He finished with four hits
Matt Holliday drove in three runs during the sixth, while Kyle McClellan and David Freese each drove in a run as St Louis sent 14 batters to the plate in the sixth as Houston went through four pitchers.
McClellan (4-0) allowed eight hits in 5-2/3 innings for the victory. Fernando Salas worked the final 1-1/3 innings for the save.
Giants 5, Pirates 2
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ryan Vogelsong won in his first start in almost seven years, pitching effectively into the sixth inning against his former team in San Francisco’s victory over Pittsburgh.
Making just his third appearance in the majors since 2006, the 33-year-old Vogelsong (1-0) tied a career-high with eight strikeouts.
Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
San Francisco had lost five of their previous six.
Aaron Rowand had three RBIs and stole home as part of a double steal. He hit a two-run double during the Giants’ four-run third against Jeff Karstens (2-1).
Thursday’s other results:
‧ Nationals 4, Mets 3
‧ Diamondbacks 11, Cubs 2
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.
RSS