MAJOR LEAGUES
A.J. Pierzynski and Mike Napoli had run-producing hits in the first inning against their former team on Sunday, as the Boston Red Sox took a winning average for the first time since three games into the season with a series-clinching 5-2 victory at Texas in the American League.
Napoli put the Red Sox permanently ahead with an RBI double, two batters before Pierzynski’s two-run single. Both went to Boston as free agents after stints in Texas, where Pierzynski was the Rangers’ primary catcher last season and Napoli played the previous two years.
John Lackey (5-2) struck out nine and allowed two runs over seven innings, as Rangers lefty Robbie Ross (1-4) made it through 6-2/3 innings and a career-high 112 pitches.
Also in the AL, Kansas City slugger Alcides Escobar hit a grand slam and Johnny Giavotella added a three-run shot to give the Royals a dramatic 9-7 comeback victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Escobar gave the Royals a 4-0 lead in the second with his first career home run off starter Roenis Elias, but the Mariners rallied on the back of two homers from Dustin Ackley and one from Kyle Seager before Kansas City took the lead in the seventh, scoring four runs off reliever Danny Farquhar (1-1).
In other AL games, the Cleveland Indians edged the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5, the Houston Astros downed the Baltimore Orioles 5-2, the Los Angeles Angels downed the Toronto Blue Jays 9-3 and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3.
In the National League, Pablo Sandoval and Hector Sanchez hit RBI singles in the 10th inning, as the San Francisco Giants recovered to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 after closer Sergio Romo gave up a tying homer to Hanley Ramirez.
Brandon Hicks hit a two-run shot off Clayton Kershaw and Buster Posey had an RBI single for the NL West leaders, who beat the defending division champions for the seventh time in 10 this season.
In other NL games, the Cincinnati Reds downed the Colorado Rockies 4-1, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2, the New York Mets edged the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 over 11 innings, the San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins 5-4 and the Cardinals triumphed 6-5 over the Pirates.
In interleague play, the Brewers beat the Yankees 6-5, the Athletics crushed the Nationals 9-1 to complete a series sweep and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the Chicago White Sox 5-1.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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