MAJOR LEAGUES
Joe Kelly began the season in the St Louis Cardinals’ bullpen with an electric fastball and an identity crisis.
Consider the crisis solved: Kelly has become The Stopper.
The right-hander allowed four hits over six solid innings to win his fourth straight start and the Cardinals moved back into a share of first place in the National League (NL) Central with a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Kelly walked two and struck out five, while remaining unbeaten since being moved to the starting rotation full-time in July.
“He’s kind of figured himself out,” St Louis manager Mike Matheny said.
Kelly received plenty of help from the offense, with Matt Holliday and David Freese driving in two runs each, while Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Yadier Molina and Shane Robinson added two hits each for St Louis.
Justin Morneau went one for three in his debut with the Pirates, a day after Pittsburgh acquired the first baseman from Minnesota to bolster the club’s bid for its first playoff appearance in 21 years.
The NL West-leading Dodgers edged San Diego 2-1 to complete a three-game sweep, their 10th of the season, with Zack Greinke allowing one run over seven innings and Yasiel Puig hitting a homer in the sixth.
Greinke (14-3) won his sixth straight start for the first time since winning nine in a row over the 2008-2009 seasons. The right-hander gave up two hits, struck out seven and walked two. Greinke, who came in batting .340, also singled with two outs in the fifth.
In Denver, Colorado, Todd Helton doubled for his 2,500th career hit, while Michael Cuddyer homered among his four hits and Colorado overcame the loss of starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood to beat Cincinnati 7-4.
In other NL games, the Giants beat the Diamondbacks 8-2, with Yusmeiro Petit striking out a career-high 10. The Marlins beat Atlanta 7-0 to end a six-game losing streak and the Cubs had a 7-1 win over the Phillies at Chicago, while the Nationals avoided a series sweep by beating the Mets 6-5.
In the American League (AL), Coco Crisp and Stephen Vogt homered and A.J. Griffin struck out seven in seven innings as the Athletics completed a three-game sweep of rival playoff contender Tampa Bay with a 5-1
After Crisp led off the bottom of the first with a home run, James Loney tied it with his own longball in the top of the second. Griffin (12-9) settled in after that to win his second straight outing following a four-start winless stretch.
Griffin allowed one run on five hits and walked one.
In Arlington, Texas, Kevin Correia pitched seven strong innings as the Twins clinched their first series victory at Texas in four years, beating the AL West-leading Rangers 4-2.
Correia (9-10) allowed one run and scattered five hits. The right-hander struck out two and got 14 outs on the ground, including a pair of double plays.
J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones hit three-run homers in the seventh inning as the Orioles beat the Yankees 7-3 to avert a sweep in a matchup of wild-card contenders.
Shut out on three singles on Saturday, the Orioles were blanked by Andy Pettitte for six innings before their seven-run rally against the 41-year-old lefty and a faltering bullpen.
In Detroit, Michigan, the Indians had a 4-0 win over the Tigers, with Mike Aviles hitting a grand slam in the ninth inning, ending a run of seven straight losses to the AL Central leaders.
The Royals had a 5-0 win at Toronto, while the Red Sox edged the White Sox 7-6 to complete a three-game sweep.
The Astros beat the Mariners 2-0.
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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