Jack Hannahan hit a leadoff single and later drove in two runs, and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer as the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox with a 6-3 victory on Sunday.
Jon Lester (3-3) allowed seven hits and four runs over five innings, taking the loss in his first start since throwing a no-hitter on Monday night against Kansas City. The Boston left-hander scuffled through early trouble before retiring the last six batters he faced.
Joe Blanton (3-6) labored through six inconsistent innings to win for the first time in five May starts, allowing five hits and four walks while striking out seven. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances.
PHOTO: EPA
White Sox 3, Angels 2
At Chicago, Carlos Quentin led off the ninth inning with his second homer off John Lackey (1-1), and Chicago beat Los Angeles to avoid a three-game sweep.
Rangers 2, Indians 1
At Cleveland, right fielder Ben Francisco misplayed a simple single into a costly error in the 10th, enabling Jarrod Saltalamacchia to score from first base with the winning run as Texas edged Cleveland.
Saltalamacchia drew a two-out walk on the 10th pitch he saw from Masahide Kobayashi (2-2).
Yankees 6, Mariners 5
At New York, Jose Molina hit a two-out RBI double to cap a four-run eighth inning, and New York rallied past Seattle for its fifth straight victory.
Blue Jays 3, Royals 1
At Toronto, Shannon Stewart drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice amd Toronto’s Dustin McGowan won for the first time in four starts. Kansas City have now lost seven straight.
Twins 6, Tigers 1
At Detroit, Jason Kubel hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning and Glen Perkins shut down Detroit’s offense to take two of three in the series.
Rays 5, Orioles 4
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Evan Longoria drove in the winning run with a double in the ninth inning, giving Tampa Bay a three-game sweep of Baltimore.
AP, SAN DIEGO, California
The lights were on and the sun was going down when Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 18th inning on Sunday to give the San Diego Padres a 12-9 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
It was the fourth time the Padres played at least 13 innings this season. They played a 22-inning game at home against Colorado on April 17 and April 18, losing 2-1.
The last team to play a game of at least 22 and 17 innings in the same season was the 1989 Los Angeles Dodgers, who played two 22-inning games and a 17-inning game.
Scott Hairston started the winning rally with a one-out walk off Edinson Volquez (7-2), the second starting pitcher the Reds put on the mound in extra innings. Brian Giles reached on first baseman Joey Votto’s two-out throwing error, moving Hairston to third.
Gonzalez then hit a full-count pitch over the fence in straightaway center field for his 14th homer.
The game lasted five hours, 57 minutes. It was the third-longest game in Reds history.
Rockies 4, Mets 1
At Denver, Willie Randolph didn’t get the pick-me-up he needed when New York lost to the Colorado Rockies, whose patchwork lineup included four recent call-ups.
One of them, Seth Smith, hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot off John Maine to back an impressive start by Aaron Cook (7-3).
In other games it was:
• Phillies 15, Astros 6
• Pirates 6, Cubs 5, 11 innings
• Diamondbacks 9, Braves 3
• Marlins 8, Giants 6, 1st game
• Marlins 5, Giants 4, 2nd game
• Nationals 7, Brewers 6
• Dodgers 4, Cardinals 3
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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