MAJOR LEAGUES
Coco Crisp hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the fifth inning that was confirmed by a video review as the Oakland Athletics pulled into a share of first-place with Texas atop the American League West by beating the Rangers 4-2 on Monday.
Yoenis Cespedes homered leading off the second inning and Chris Young added an RBI single in Oakland’s fourth straight win.
Photo: AFP
Crisp set a career-high with his 17th homer that stayed just fair of the left-field foul pole, topping his 16 for Cleveland in 2005. He fouled a ball off the area below his right knee in the sixth. He stayed in and struck out, and then was removed for what the team called a shin contusion.
Boston’s Doug Fister rebounded from a miserable start with seven sharp innings to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in a matchup of teams with the AL’s best records.
The Tigers won despite missing Miguel Cabrera for the third straight game. He has been sidelined by a strained abdomen, although general manager Dave Dombrowski said the Triple Crown winner has been more hampered by a groin problem.
In New York, Derek Jeter ended a slump with two hits and two RBIs, while Alex Rodriguez reached base twice in an eight-run fourth inning as the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 9-1 in a game interrupted for nearly two hours by rain.
Alfonso Soriano, Mark Reynolds Austin Romine, Vernon Wells, Brett Gardner and Jeter all drove in runs during the fourth-inning barrage.
The offensive outburst made life easy on David Huff (2-0), who entered for Phil Hughes with one out in the second when play resumed.
Anaheim pitcher Garrett Richards worked around a career-high seven walks over five innings and Erick Aybar drove in four runs as the surging Angels downed the Tampa Bay Rays 11-2.
In other AL games, the Baltimore Orioles downed the Cleveland Indians 7-2, the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1 and the Minnesota Twins were 10-6 winners over the Houston Astros.
In the National League, Clayton Kershaw surrendered a career-high 11 hits in five innings and got the win, while Yasiel Puig scored the go-ahead run before leaving with a strained right knee as the surging Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 10-8.
Puig was called out for interference on the bases in the first inning. He then hurt his knee on an awkward slide into third base and gingerly jogged home on Hanley Ramirez’s sacrifice fly in the sixth, before being replaced in right field.
Neil Walker hit a three-run homer for Pittsburgh and Charlie Morton pitched seven strong innings as the Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 to retake the NL Central lead.
The Pirates moved one game ahead of St Louis. Pittsburgh won the first of a nine-game road trip.
Cincinnati’s Choo Shin-soo and Joey Votto homered as the Reds beat the St Louis Cardinals 7-2 in the opener of a four-game series between the NL Central rivals.
In other games, the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Washington Nationals 3-2, the Atlanta Braves downed the New York Mets 13-5, the San Diego Padres routed the San Francisco Giants 4-1 and the Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3.
In the only interleague game, the Toronto Blue Jays won 4-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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