Mike Trout on Monday night got his 1,000th career hit and also homered on his 26th birthday, but Manny Machado hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the seventh inning of the Baltimore Orioles’ 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Trout doubled down the left-field line in the fourth inning to become the 11th player with 1,000 hits in an Angels uniform.
The two-time American League Most Valuable Player also tied it in the sixth by homering on his birthday for the fourth time in his six-year career, sending his 23rd of the season high off the left-field pole.
Machado connected moments later against J.C. Ramirez (10-10) for his fifth career grand slam.
Dylan Bundy (11-8) recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts while pitching seven innings of five-hit ball for the Orioles.
Baltimore won the opener of a three-game series between two teams on the fringe of the AL wild-card race.
The Orioles have won eight of their past 10 games, while Los Angeles have followed up a 6-1 stretch with three consecutive losses.
CUBS 5, GIANTS 3
In San Francisco, Javier Baez hit an inside-the-park homer to back Jake Arrieta’s 11th win in the champion Cubs’ first visit to AT&T Park since eliminating San Francisco in Game 4 of the NL Division Series in October last year.
Baez’s 16th homer took a tricky bounce off the low wall in right-center and deflected past oncoming right fielder Carlos Moncrief nearly 100 feet back in the direction of the corner in right.
The NL Central leaders moved 1-1/2 games ahead of second-placed Milwaukee.
San Francisco rookie Ryder Jones hit his first career home run with a two-run shot in the sixth off Arrieta (11-8).
Wade Davis got three outs for his 24th save in 24 tries.
San Francisco left-hander Matt Moore (3-12) was charged with five runs and eight hits in six innings.
NATIONALS 3, MARLINS 2
In Washington, Max Scherzer pitched seven sharp innings for Washington in his first start since he was sidelined by neck spasms.
Bryce Harper homered for Washington and pinch hitter Adam Lind singled in the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning.
The Nationals expanded their lead in the National League East over second-placed Miami to 14 games.
Brandon Kintzler (4-2) worked the eighth inning and Sean Doolittle got three outs to earn his sixth save.
Giancarlo Stanton hit his major league-leading 37th homer for the Marlins, matching his previous career high. Jarlin Garcia (0-2) got the loss.
Scherzer struck out nine and gave up two runs.
The right-hander was coming off an abbreviated start against the Marlins six days earlier, when he was pulled from the game after one inning due to neck spasms.
In other results, it was:
‧ Cardinals 11, Royals 3
‧ Twins 5, Brewers 4
‧ Pirates 3, Tigers 0
‧ Reds 11, Padres 3
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38