AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas’ Yu Darvish pitched 7-2/3 strong innings to steer the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
Darvish (6-1) struck out seven. After giving up his only run in the first, Darvish settled down and retired 11 of the last 15 batters he faced. He lowered his ERA to 2.60.
Photo: Reuters
Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer for the Rangers.
Oakland rookie pitcher Tommy Milone (5-3) gave up four runs in seven innings.
RAYS 2, RED SOX 1
In St Petersburg, Florida, Jeremy Hellickson pitched six solid innings to guide Tampa Bay to victory and end Boston’s five-game winning streak.
Hellickson (4-0) allowed one run and struck out six en route to winning a career-best sixth consecutive decision, dating to last season.
Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for the save.
Luke Scott had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly for Tampa Bay.
Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz (4-2) gave up six hits over five-plus innings.
BLUE JAYS 8, YANKEES 1
In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer and J.P. Arencibia added a two-run drive in Toronto’s win over New York.
Jose Bautista and Kelly Johnson added solo home runs as the Blue Jays tagged Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda (3-5) for seven runs, matching a career-worst.
Blue Jays starter Kyle Drabek (3-4) snapped a four-start losing streak, notching five strikeouts.
ORIOLES 4, ROYALS 3, 15 INNINGS
In Kansas City, Missouri, Adam Jones homered in the 15th inning, lifting Baltimore to a marathon victory over Kansas City.
Jones was hitless in six at-bats before connecting for his team-leading 12th home run of the season — nine of which have either tied a game or put the Orioles ahead. With one out, he sent a pitch from Nate Adcock (0-1), the fifth Kansas City pitcher, far over the left-field wall.
The Orioles improved to 5-0 in extra-inning road games.
Baltimore’s Kevin Gregg (1-1) pitched two hitless innings for the win. Jim Johnson earned the save.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Indians 9, Mariners 3
‧ Angels 7, White Sox 2
‧ Twins 11, Tigers 7
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, Georgia
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and possibly saved two runs with a diving catch as the Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 8-4 on Wednesday, adding another win to their impressive record this month.
Miami are 12-3 this month after a slow start last month. The Marlins moved three games over .500 for the first time this season.
The Marlins led 6-1 off struggling Braves pitcher Mike Minor (2-3) before Atlanta scored three runs off Mark Buehrle (3-4) in the sixth.
Stanton’s homer, which drove in Austin Kearns after his second double, pushed the lead to 8-4 in the seventh.
Kearns and Emilio Bonifacio each had two hits and drove in two runs. Omar Infante had two hits and scored two runs.
Minor (2-3) gave up six runs in 4-2/3 innings, the fourth straight start he has allowed six or more runs.
NATIONALS 7, PIRATES 4
In Washington, Adam LaRoche broke open a tight game with a homer and a three-run double to bring up his 1,000th career hit and power Washington past Pittsburgh.
LaRoche, with his 999th hit, and Xavier Nady hit consecutive homers off Erik Bedard (2-5) in the sixth.
Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez (5-1) struck out 10 batters in seven innings, taking over the National League’s strikeout lead with 60, ahead of teammate Stephen Strasburg.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Cardinals 4, Giants 1
‧ Reds 6, Mets 3
‧ Padres 4, Dodgers 2
‧ Phillies 9, Cubs 2
‧ Astros 8, Brewers 3
‧ Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 1
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS