MAJOR LEAGUES
St Louis’ Matt Carpenter had four hits and scored the winning run on Matt Holliday’s single in the 12th inning, helping the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 6-5 on Thursday to tighten the race for the National League Central Division title.
The Cardinals’ second extra-inning triumph over Pittsburgh in three days saw them move within two games of the sagging Pirates, who have dropped five of six.
Photo: Reuters
Cincinnati stayed right on St Louis’ heels, beating Cleveland to be half a game back.
Over in the American League Central, Detroit increased their lead with a win over Kansas City and the fight for the AL East heated up as Boston lost a tight game against Toronto, while Tampa Bay closed in with a comfortable win over Seattle.
Pittsburgh led St Louis 4-0, but gave up that lead in just one inning.
Cardinals rookie Kevin Siegrist (1-1), the hosts’ seventh pitcher, struck out two in a perfect top of the 12th against the heart of Pittsburgh’s batting order.
In the bottom of the frame, Carpenter sparked the winning rally with a one-out walk. He went to third on Jon Jay’s single, before Holliday grounded a single up the middle off Bryan Morris (5-6) to drive in the winner.
Cincinnati’s Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning as the Reds held on for a 2-1 win over Milwaukee.
Cincinnati starter Tony Cingrani (6-2) allowed only one run, while pitching into the seventh inning.
The Reds have won five straight, thanks chiefly to their rotation. The starters are 4-1 with a 1.35 ERA in the past seven games.
Detroit’s Prince Fielder ended a three-week homer drought by hitting a two-run shot in the first inning which sparked the Tigers to a 4-1 win over Kansas City.
The Tigers took the opener of this key five-game series and pushed their AL Central lead over second-placed Cleveland to 6.5 games, with the Royals a further two games back.
Toronto pinch-hitter Mark De-Rosa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning which lifted the Blue Jays to a 2-1 victory against Boston. The defeat saw the Red Sox’ lead in the AL East sliced to two games over Tampa Bay.
Toronto starter Buehrle (9-7) came in 0-4 with a 4.97 ERA in his previous eight starts against the Red Sox, a team he had not beaten since 2009, but emphatically ended that run by going seven innings, allowing only one run.
Tampa Bay made up ground with a 7-1 win over Seattle, with Alex Cobb pitching five strong innings in his first big league game since being hit in the head by a batted ball two months ago.
Cobb (7-2) ended his night by striking out Nick Frankiln on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. He received a standing ovation as he walked off the field, having given up one run.
Los Angeles’ Chris Nelson hit his first two home runs of the season, including a grand slam against his former team, to send the Angels to an 8-4 win over the New York Yankees.
Washington pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Giants an unlikely 4-3 win over Washington.
New York’s Marlon Byrd lined a two-out double over the head of hesitant right-fielder Chris Denorfia, giving the Mets a 4-1 win over San Diego.
Oakland’s Sonny Gray struck out nine on the way to an impressive first major league victory, leading the Athletics to a 5-0 victory that averted a three-game sweep by lowly Houston.
Minnesota’s Chris Herrmann singled in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winner and give the Twins a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS