Bryce Harper did it again, extending his remarkable homer streak with a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning that sent the Washington Nationals to a win over the Atlanta Braves 8-6 on Saturday.
Harper homered for the sixth time in his past three games, one off the major league record set by Shawn Green in 2002.
At 22, Harper had already become the youngest player in big-league history to hit five home runs in two games. His one-out drive pushed the Nationals over 0.500 for the first time this year.
Photo: USA Today
Harper homered three times against Miami on Wednesday and connected twice against Atlanta on Friday. Max Scherzer demonstrated the team’s newest victory celebration — he poured chocolate sauce over Harper during a post-game interview.
METS 3, PHILLIES 2
In Philadelphia, Juan Lagares homered and Jonathon Niese pitched seven strong innings to lead New York.
Niese (3-2) improved to 5-0 in his past seven starts against Philadelphia, surrendering two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Neither of the runs was earned.
Lagares, not known for his power, lined Aaron Harang’s 1-0 pitch into the seats in the left with one out in the seventh to put the Mets up 3-2. The two-run homer, Lagares’ first of the season and ninth of his career, broke an 0-for-16 skid.
Harang (3-3), who was pitching on his 37th birthday, gave up three runs — two earned — and eight hits with two strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.
ASTROS 6, ANGELS 5
In Anaheim, California, Chris Carter and Colby Rasmus hit two-run homers, while Dallas Keuchel pitched into the seventh inning in Houston’s victory.
Jose Altuve also hit an early homer off Matt Shoemaker (2-3) for the American League West-leading Astros, who won for just the second time in six games following their 10-game winning streak.
Mike Trout homered and had three hits for the Angels, but was intentionally walked by Chad Qualls after Kole Calhoun’s two-out RBI double in the ninth.
Qualls then got Albert Pujols to ground to shortstop, completing his third save and ending Pujols’ 11-game hitting streak.
Keuchel (4-0) was not in his unhittable form from last month, but the left-hander remained unbeaten, while his ERA rose from 0.8 to 1.39.
PADRES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 4
In Phoenix, Arizona, Justin Upton made up for an earlier gaffe with a home run in the 12th inning as San Diego beat Arizona in a game that included Padres closer Craig Kimbrel’s first blown save since June last year.
Arizona forced extra innings when pinch-hitter Danny Dorn doubled in two runs off Kimbrel to tie it in the ninth.
Dorn, who has spent nearly all of his 10 professional seasons in the minors, lined Kimbrel’s pitch down the right field line after Jordan Pacheco walked and Aaron Hill singled. It was Dorn’s third hit, first for extra bases and first RBIs in the majors. He ended Kimbrel’s string of 35 consecutive saves, nine this season.
Upton, the ex-Diamondback whose ill-advised dive for David Peralta’s hit turned into an RBI triple in the fourth inning, also singled in a run in the ninth.
In other games on Saturday, it was:
‧ Marlins 6, Giants 2
‧ Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 1
‧ Royals 6, Tigers 2
‧ Twins 7, Indians 4
‧ Pirates 7, Cardinals 5
‧ Brewers 12, Cubs 4
‧ Rays 7, Rangers 2
‧ Mariners 7, Oakland 2
‧ Reds 10, White Sox 4, Game 1
‧ White Sox 8, Reds 2, Game 2
‧ Dodgers, Rockies: postponed
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS