Livan Hernandez used his off-speed pitching to lead the New York Mets to an 8-4 win over the Florida Marlins in the National League on Saturday.
Florida had been the last undefeated team in the majors, but Hernandez tamed the Marlins’ powerful offense, taking a shutout into the seventh inning.
He gave up only two runs in the longest outing this season by a starter for the Mets, who also got 15 hits.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PADRES 6, GIANTS 3
At San Diego, California, Jake Peavy struck out 10 batters in eight-and-a-third innings to steer San Diego to victory over San Francisco.
Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs and Henry Blanco homered twice for the Padres.
Blanco tied his career high with two solo homers, the second one leading off the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. Gonzalez added a two-out, three-run double in the inning to give the Padres a 5-1 lead.
CARDINALS 11, ASTROS 2
At St Louis, Missouri, Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to match a career high with seven RBIs, leading St Louis over Houston.
It was Pujols’ 24th multihomer game. He matched his career best for RBIs set on Aug. 22, 2006, against the New York Mets.
The All-Star first baseman went two-for-four and is batting .429 with three homers and nine RBIs in the team’s first six games.
PHILLIES 8, ROCKIES 4
At Denver, Colorado, pitcher Brett Myers extended his good record against Colorado.
Myers gave up three home runs but still got the win, improving to 5-0 at Coors Field and 7-0 in eight career appearances against the Rockies.
The right-hander allowed only four hits, striking out six and walking one for the defending World Series champions.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 5
At Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Alfonso Soriano made up for another poor performance by the Cubs’ bullpen, smacking a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning to lead Chicago over Milwaukee.
The Cubs entered the ninth trailing by a run, but with one out, Soriano clubbed a pitch into the second deck in left field.
DODGERS 11, DIAMONDBACKS 2
At Phoenix, Orlando Hudson homered, doubled and drove in three runs against his former team as Los Angeles routed Arizona.
PIRATES 10, REDS 2
At Cincinnatti, Ohio, Paul Maholm allowed only three hits in seven innings to lead Pittsburgh over Cincinnatti. Ryan Doumit hit his first career grand slam — one of three Pirates’ homers.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 3
In Atlanta, Georgia, Kenshin Kawakami pitched six effective innings to win his major league debut and steer the home team over Washington.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5