MAJOR LEAGUES
Detroit’s Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Tigers a dramatic 7-6 win over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, boosting their commanding lead in the American League (AL) Central division.
Detroit’s win, combined with Cleveland’s loss at Atlanta, meant the Tigers led the division by 6.5 games, with the teams having 28 and 29 games left respectively. The Tigers and Indians were set to begin a vital series yesterday.
Elsewhere, Baltimore put some life back into its flagging playoff hopes with a win over Boston, while Pittsburgh’s post-season ambitions hit a speed hump with a home defeat by Milwaukee.
Detroit scored four times in the ninth off A’s reliever Grant Balfour (0-3). A two-out walk set up Victor Martinez’s RBI single, and then Hunter connected for the walk-off homer as the Tigers avoided a four-game series sweep.
Detroit starter Max Scherzer (19-1) was denied his 20th win, taking a non-decision after giving up six runs in five innings.
Star Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera hurt his abdomen making an awkward slide while attempting a double in the fifth inning. He insisted he would be back in the lineup yesterday for the start of their key series against Cleveland.
Oakland slipped three games behind Texas in the fight for the AL West division lead.
Atlanta catcher Brian McCann hit a three-run homer, which was enough to give the Braves a 3-1 win over Cleveland.
McCann went deep in the third after Justin Upton kept the inning going with a two-out single. Upton had to leave the game in the sixth after being struck on the left hand by a pitch, but X-rays showed no fracture.
Braves starter Kris Medlen (11-12) pitched seven scoreless innings to cap a series of dominant pitching by the Braves, who surrendered just three runs in three games.
Baltimore’s Chris Tillman pitched seven strong innings to earn his 15th victory of the season and steer the Orioles to a 3-2 win over Boston, who avoided a three-game sweep.
Tillman (15-4) allowed two runs, while striking out eight.
The Red Sox remained 2.5 games ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East, with Baltimore another four games back.
Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo pitched seven scoreless innings to guide the Brewers to a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh.
The Pirates fell one game behind National League Central-leading St Louis, who were scheduled to start a three-game series at Pittsburgh yesterday.
Gallardo (10-9) allowed one walk, while striking out five, and improved his career record against the Pirates to 11-4, including 5-2 in Pittsburgh.
Aramis Ramirez homered for the Brewers against his old side, having also gone long on Tuesday for his 350th career home run.
Los Angeles’ Jason Vargas pitched seven scoreless innings to give the Angels a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay, and a fifth win in six games.
Kansas City’s Bruce Chen bounced back with a solid start as the Royals downed Minnesota 3-1 to complete a sweep for their fifth straight win.
New York’s Carlos Torres held Philadelphia scoreless over the first six innings to set up the Mets’ 11-3 win over the Phillies.
Washington’s Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond each hit a three-run homer, leading the Nationals over Miami 9-0.
Seattle’s Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run homer after Nick Franklin gave Seattle an early lead with a solo shot, providing enough for the Mariners to beat Houston 3-2 and end a six-game skid.
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
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
Naomi Osaka is braced for a “battle” after yesterday setting up a clash with Coco Gauff in the round-of-16 of the China Open, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also marched on. Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and next faces Gauff in a showdown of former US Open champions in Beijing. World No. 2 Sabalenka swatted aside Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th consecutive victory and plays another American in 24th-ranked Madison Keys. Looking ahead to the Gauff meeting, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka said: “She’s very athletic, obviously.” “For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve,
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