MAJOR LEAGUES
Jose Abreu drove in four runs and set a major league rookie record for RBIs through the end of the month as the Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 on Sunday.
Abreu, who had a two-run home run in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh, has 31 RBIs, smashing Albert Pujols’ previous mark of 27 set in 2001.
Photo: EPA
The homer was Abreu’s MLB-leading 10th and extended his personal record for home runs by a rookie through this month.
Also in the American League, Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira hit a tying homer and Jacoby Ellsbury scored the go-ahead run thanks to a passed ball and wild pitch in the eighth inning, sending New York past the Los Angeles Angels 3-2.
Masahiro Tanaka struck out a season-high 11 batters, including Mike Trout twice, and overcame an early bout of wildness in a pitchers’ duel with Garrett Richards.
Photo: AFP
David Freese homered for the Angels, who went 4-5 on a tough road trip to Detroit, Washington and New York.
In other AL games, Melky Cabrera — one of a record six players from the Dominican Republic in Toronto’s starting lineup — hit a go-ahead double as the Blue Jays crushed the Boston Red Sox 7-1 to end a season-worst four-game skid, while the Seattle Mariners edged the Texas Rangers 6-5, the Kansas City Royals downed the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 after Freddie Freeman’s single to the center-field wall scored Jason Heyward from second base with two outs in the 10th inning.
With two outs in the 10th, Heyward singled off J.J. Hoover (1-3) and B.J. Upton had a grounder off the pitcher’s glove for an infield hit.
Left-hander Manny Parra was summoned and Freeman hit a drive that bounced beyond center fielder Billy Hamilton’s reach.
In Milwaukee, Jason Hammel allowed just three hits over seven innings and Starlin Castro homered twice as the Chicago Cubs blanked the Brewers 4-0.
Elsewhere in the NL, the Philadelphia Phillies ended a 10-game road trip with a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Dillon Gee allowed just three hits over eight innings as the New York Mets shut out the Miami Marlins 4-0.
In Sunday’s other NL games, the St Louis Cardinals trounced the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0, the Colorado Rockies downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1, the San Diego Padres beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 and the San Francisco Giants outplayed the Cleveland Indians 4-1.
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