MAJOR LEAGUES
The Rays took the lead for the first American League wild-card spot after Wil Myers homered and had three RBIs to lead Tampa Bay past the Texas Rangers 6-2 on Monday.
Myers had a second-inning solo shot and hit a two-run double during a four-run fifth inning, as Alex Cobb (9-3) allowed two runs and six hits in eight innings while striking out 10 batters.
Photo: AFP
Detroit’s Rick Porcello struck out 10 batters in six innings as the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 to move a step closer to their third straight AL Central title.
Victor Martinez broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a run-scoring single and Omar Infante followed with his own RBI single.
James Shields kept Cleveland off balance for six innings, while Salvador Perez led a scrappy Kansas City offense as the Royals won the opener of a three-game set 7-1 with significant playoff implications.
Shields struck out a season-high 10 for the Royals (79-71), who moved within 2.5 games of the second AL wild-card berth. The Indians (81-69) remained a half-game behind Texas.
Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson allowed four hits over seven innings for a career-best 17th win as Los Angeles downed Oakland 12-1 to become the first team in nearly four months to beat Athletics starter Jarrod Parker.
In the other AL game, the Chicago White Sox trounced the Minnesota Twins 12-1, while in the only interleague game the Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros 6-1.
In the National League, Andrew Cashner carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and faced the minimum 27 batters in a one-hitter that sent San Diego Padres to a 2-0 win over the Pirates, who lost for the second time in eight games after entering the day tied for first place in the NL Central with the St Louis Cardinals, who beat the Colorado Rockies 6-2.
Elsewhere in the NL, Cliff Lee had three hits for a career-high four runs and struck out a season-high 14 batters to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 12-2 win over the Florida Marlins.
Caleb Gindl had three hits, including a two-run home run, as Wily Peralta pitched six strong innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers past the Chicago Cubs 6-1, while the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS