Mike Hampton pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning for his first victory in more than a month and the Atlanta Braves beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1.
The Braves on Saturday snapped a seven-game winning streak by Seattle starter Jamie Moyer (10-3), who left with one out in the eighth after allowing an RBI double by Andruw Jones that made it 3-0.
PHOTO: AP
Atlanta evened the series between the top teams in the majors at a game apiece. Greg Maddux pitches for the Braves (45-21) on Sunday, while Gil Meche goes for the Mariners (44-22).
Hampton (3-3) hadn't won since May 11 against San Francisco. John Smoltz, who took over with no outs and the bases loaded in the eighth, earned his major league-leading 26th save in 27 opportunities. It was only the second time this season he pitched two innings.
Yankees 13, Cardinals 4
In New York, Jason Giambi hit a pair of two-run homers and Ruben Sierra and Raul Mondesi also connected as New York roughed up St. Louis.
Hideki Matsui drove in four runs, three on a first-inning double that got the rout started before a rain delay of 1 hour, 27 minutes.
A day after Roger Clemens earned his 300th career victory and got his 4,000th strikeout, the Yankees won with hitting. New York built an 11-2 lead after four innings, and that let Andy Pettitte (6-6) coast.
Dodgers 5, Indians 2
In Cleveland, Andy Ashby got his first win this season as Dave Ross homered and drove in three runs, leading Los Angeles to its fifth straight win.
The game also featured some heated trash talk between Cleveland's Milton Bradley and Los Angeles' Paul Lo Duca, who were wired with microphones for TV.
Ashby (1-4) had dropped his past eight decisions and hadn't won since Aug. 18 last season. The right-hander gave up two runs and five hits in five innings.
Athletics 5, Expos 4
In Oakland, California, Scott Hatteberg hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, and Eric Byrnes also homered as Oakland rallied to beat Montreal.
With the A's trailing 3-2, Mark Ellis was hit by a pitch leading off the eighth. Chris Singleton sacrificed and Byrnes singled, putting runners at the corners.
Hatteberg hit a 1-1 pitch from Luis Ayala (5-2) over the right-field fence for his first homer since May 4 at Yankee Stadium, a drought of 29 games and 121 at-bats. He has four this season
Cubs 4, Blue Jays 2
In Toronto, Moises Alou hit a two-run triple and scored on a throwing error as Mark Prior and the Chicago Cubs ended Toronto's five-game winning streak.
Sammy Sosa missed his fourth straight game while serving a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat. The Cubs are 2-2 without their cleanup hitter.
Carlos Delgado hit his major league-leading 22nd homer for the Blue Jays.
Pirates 12, Devil Rays 9
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Aramis Ramirez drove in four runs with a three-run double and a homer, and Pittsburgh held on to snap a six-game losing streak.
Four players were ejected during a bench-clearing brawl that started after Marlon Anderson was hit by a pitch from Josh Fogg in the fourth inning.
Jack Wilson had four hits -- three doubles -- for Pittsburgh, which had season highs for runs and hits (17). The Pirates, off to their worst June start in more than a century (2-9), ended a seven-game skid on the road -- barely.
Red Sox 8, Astros 4
In Boston, Derek Lowe pitched into the eighth inning and David Ortiz hit a three-run double as Boston beat former manager Jimy Williams and Houston for the second straight night.
Johnny Damon had three hits one day after his tiebreaking homer sent the Red Sox to a 4-3 win. Boston has won seven of 11 after a season-high five-game losing streak.
Giants 7, Royals 4
In Kansas City, Missouri, Edgardo Alfonzo, who had only one RBI since May 21, drove in four runs to lead San Francisco over Kansas City. Rich Aurilia had three hits and two RBIs for the Giants. Damian Moss (7-4) allowed three runs in 6 1-3 innings for his second win in seven starts.
Diamondbacks 9, Twins 2
In Minneapolis, Luis Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with four RBIs for Arizona in support of Miguel Batista as the banged-up Diamondbacks beat Minnesota.
Alex Cintron went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, Rod Barajas had two hits and three RBIs and Carlos Baerga added two hits and drove in two runs for Arizona, which tied a season high with seven doubles.
The Diamondbacks, though, lost a pair of regulars who were injured running down the first-base line. Center fielder Danny Bautista strained a hamstring legging out a grounder in the second, and second baseman Junior Spivey sprained his ankle doing the same in the sixth.
White Sox 6, Padres 5
In Chicago, Frank Thomas hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, rallying Chicago past San Diego. Carlos Lee hit a three-run shot and Magglio Ordonez also homered for Chicago. Billy Koch retired Ryan Klesko on a flyball with the bases loaded to end it.
The Padres, who are 8-25 on the road, have lost 23 of 30 overall.
Tigers 9, Rockies 7
In Detroit, Eric Munson hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning, helping Detroit snap an eight-game losing streak.
Warren Morris went 4-for-5 for the Tigers, who tied season highs for runs and hits (15).
The teams have split the first two games of the series. The Rockies have not won a road series this year, while the Tigers have not won one at home.
Brewers 8, Orioles 3
In Baltimore, Richie Sexson hit his 21st homer and nearly started a brawl after being hit by a pitch in Milwaukee's victory over Baltimore.
After connecting off Jason Johnson in the first inning, Sexson was struck by the first pitch from the right-hander in the third. The slugger took a few steps toward the mound and yelled at Johnson while being restrained by Orioles catcher Brook Fordyce.
Both benches and bullpens promptly emptied. Although dozens of players congregated near the mound, no punches were thrown. Both teams were warned and there was no more trouble.
Angels 13, Mets 3
In Anaheim, California, Garret Anderson went 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs and Brad Fullmer hit his fifth career grand slam as Anaheim routed the New York Mets.
The victory was one of the easiest of the season for Ramon Ortiz (7-5). The right-hander won his third straight start, allowing three runs -- one earned -- and five hits over seven innings while walking none and striking out two. The Angels have scored at least 10 runs in four of his wins, and eight in two others.
Jason Roach, making his major league debut, gave up seven runs and six hits and two walks over three innings.
Rangers 13, Marlins 2
In Arlington, Texas, Kevin Mench hit a three-run homer and Mark Teixeira added a two-run shot as Texas snapped a three-game losing streak.
Juan Gonzalez went 4-for-4 and scored four runs for the Rangers. Gonzalez also drove in two runs, giving him 1,366 career RBIs, the most for a player born in Puerto Rico. He moved past Orlando Cepeda for 57th place on the career list.
Ismael Valdes (6-2) allowed two runs and six hits over six innings to provide a lift to a rotation that had a 6.98 ERA in its last 16 starts.
Teixeira and Michael Young had three hits each for the Rangers, who ended a 22-inning scoreless drought in the second.
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
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
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
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
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