AMERICAN LEAGUE
Taiwan’s Chen Wei-yin of the Baltimore Orioles held the Tampa Bay Rays scoreless in five innings on Wednesday in St Petersburg, Florida, but the bullpen failed to carry the team through, losing the game 8-7. Chen got out of the first five innings unscathed, and left the mound with a 4-1 lead and one on and two outs in the sixth, after yielding a double and a single. Luis Ayala took over the job, only to see the Rays tie the game 4-4 with a single and a three-run homer.
The Orioles’ offense added one run in each of the next three innings, but Orioles reliever Pedro Strop gave up three runs in the bottom of the seventh and the Rays walked off with a solo home-run off Tommy Hunter in the bottom of the ninth.
Photo: AFP
Despite five scoreless innings, Chen’s work in his first start of the season was less than impressive. He struck out four, but gave up two earned runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He also needed double plays to get out of trouble in the first three innings after allowing lead-off singles.
“To be honest with you, my control and my command wasn’t there early in the game. I just tried to throw strikes, and it’s hard for me especially [because] they swing at everything. It was hard for me in the beginning,” he was quoted as saying by the Baltimore Sun.
The lefty, 27, also said on his Facebook page that “it was a shame I couldn’t help the team win.”
He admitted he got too relaxed in the sixth inning.
“With one more out, that could have been a quality start for me. I’m mad that I always make the same mistake. I knew it was a bad habit and I let it happen,” he said.
However, Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a different view.
“Wei-yin presented himself well,” he said. “Chris Davis continues to swing the bat ... I liked the way our guys kept fighting back.”
“It was entertaining for most people here. Didn’t like the way it ended, but good things happened. We’ll dwell on those,” Showalter was quoted as saying in an AP report.
Meanwhile, Clay Buchholz silenced the Yankees’ bats and speedy Jackie Bradley Jr got his first major league hit as the Boston Red Sox beat New York 7-4 to open a season with consecutive wins for the first time since 1999.
Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda became the latest Yankees player to get hurt, leaving in the second inning with a 2-0 deficit, four batters after Shane Victorino’s line drive bruised the middle finger of his pitching hand.
While the Red Sox under new manager John Farrell are off to their best start since going 5-0 in 1999, New York have been outscored 15-6 and outhit 26-15. The Yankees have failed to hold a lead at any point in their opening two games for the first time since 1998.
Boston burst ahead 6-0 with a four-run third against Cody Eppley, and the Yankees never challenged.
Buchholz (1-0) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. Joel Hanrahan pitched the ninth for his first save with Boston.
New York said Kuroda was being sent for X-rays and other tests.
In other American League games on Wednesday it was:
‧ Rangers 4, Astros 0
‧ Indians 3, Blue Jays 2
‧ White Sox 5, Royals 2
‧ Twins 3, Tigers 2
‧ Athletics 6, Mariners 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, Georgia
Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and rookie Evan Gattis homered, helping Paul Maholm and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-2 on Wednesday night.
Freddie Freeman had three RBIs as the Braves chased Roy Halladay in the fourth inning. Upton belted a two-run shot in the first to give him a pair of homers in his first two games for Atlanta.
Halladay (0-1), who struggled with a sore shoulder last season and had a difficult spring training, gave up five runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out nine, but dropped to 0-4 with an 8.00 ERA in his last seven starts against Atlanta.
Paul Maholm (1-0) allowed six hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Gattis led off the fourth inning of his first major league game with a drive to left.
The Phillies were just 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
In other National League games on Wednesday it was:
‧ Nationals 3, Marlins 0
‧ Mets 8, Padres 4
‧ Pirates 3, Cubs 0
‧ Rockies 7, Brewers 3
‧ Giants 5, Dodgers 3
‧ Diamondbacks 10, Cardinals 9
INTERLEAGUE
AP, Cincinnati, Ohio
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Brandon Phillips hit a three-run homer in his new role as the Cincinnati Reds’ cleanup hitter, and Joey Votto drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single as the Reds beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4.
Votto’s first hit of the season off left-hander Scott Downs (0-1) deflected off the glove of first baseman Albert Pujols and rolled into the outfield, allowing Choo Shin-soo to score from second base. Choo reached when he was hit by a pitch and advanced on a sacrifice.
Votto had been 0 for 6 heading into the decisive at-bat.
Phillips moved into the cleanup spot because of Ryan Ludwick’s injury and hit the Reds’ first homer of the season. He connected for a three-run shot against C.J. Wilson in the fourth inning.
Left-hander Aroldis Chapman (1-0) walked one in the ninth, throwing a 99mph pitch that hit the backstop screen.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
RSS