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.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS