MAJOR LEAGUES
The Boston Red Sox kept their noses in front in the American League wild-card race after Jacoby Ellsbury’s three-run homer in the 14th inning gave them a 7-4 win over the New York Yankees in the second game of a double header on Sunday.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak, which included a 6-2 loss in opener of the double bill, and allowed the Red Sox to remain one game ahead of the charging Tampa Bay Rays in the Amercian League wild-card race with three games remaining.
Photo: Reuters
Tampa Bay hit four home runs, including an inside-the-park drive by Ben Zobrist, to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 and keep the heat on Boston.
“Any time you’re in a run for the wild card and you allow your team to get a win, it can’t really get too much bigger,” Ellsbury said. “We’ve got to win these games to get in the playoffs. I view it as these are playoff games for us.”
After losing the first game in New York, the Red Sox looked set for another defeat when starter John Lackey gave up three runs in the first inning.
However, he settled and gradually found form to match Yankees starter Ivan Nova into the seventh inning, when both exited the game having allowed four runs each.
Five Red Sox relievers combined to pitch eight scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, with Franklin Morales picking up the win and Felix Doubront earning the save.
“Franklin was phenomenal,” said Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon, who pitched 2-1/3 innings. “Everybody contributed tonight, from top to bottom. Now we’ve got to go ball in Baltimore. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
Yankees reliever Scott Proctor gave up the home run to Ellsbury and took the loss.
In the National League wild-card chase, the St Louis Cardinals continued to track down the Atlanta Braves, closing the gap to one game.
The Atlanta Braves lost 3-0 to the Washington Nationals, while the Cardinals rallied to defeat the Chicago Cubs 3-2.
Yadier Molina hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to draw the Cardinals level with the Cubs and Rafael Furcal delivered the victory with a solo home run in the eighth.
Sunday’s other results:
‧ Athletics 6, Angels 5
‧ Rangers 12, Mariners 5
‧ Tigers 10, Orioles 6
‧ Twins 6, Indians 4
‧ Royals 2, White Sox 1
‧ Phillies 9, Mets 4
‧ Brewers 9, Marlins 5
‧ Diamondbacks 5, Giants 2
‧ Dodgers 6, Padres 2
‧ Rockies 19, Astros 3
‧ Reds 5, Pirates 4
WANG CHIEN-MING
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo confirmed early yesterday that his team is trying to seal a new deal with Wang Chien-ming, who made a great comeback after a serious shoulder injury.
Taiwan’s Wang proved he is still sharp in the big leagues after closing his first comeback season with four wins out of 11 starts, with reporters from Washington to Taiwan chasing after team executives over news of an extension deal.
“We have had a dialogue long before this,” Rizzo said a day after Wang’s four-strikeout, no-walk outing.
Rizzo confirmed that the team is seeking to keep Wang on the rotation.
“We have started the process,” he said.
Wang’s contract with the Nationals expires at the end of this season. The team will have exclusivity five days after the World Series ends to seal the deal. The World Series starts on Oct. 19 and is scheduled to finish before November.
“I don’t think the exclusivity gains us anything or costs us anything. I think there is a good relationship there. We are just going to try to hammer out a fair deal, if we can,” Rizzo was quoted as saying on MASNsports.com.
Wang limited the Atlanta Braves to only one run on four hits in his last start this season. After being sidelined for two years because of shoulder surgery and rehabilitation, he pitched a combined 62-1/3 innings over 11 starts and had an ERA of 4.04.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS