AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, BALTIMORE AND OAKLAND
AND STAFF WRITER WITH CNA
PHOTO: AP
At Oakland, California, Jason Giambi and Jack Cust broke out of funks with two-run homers, Dallas Braden ended a four-start winless span, and Oakland beat Detroit 5-1.
Giambi, with an AL-low .197 batting average, homered in the sixth off Justin Verlander (8-4). Cust had been 4 for 24 with 13 strikeouts in his previous seven games.
Braden (6-7) pitched seven strong innings to win for the first time in five starts since June 5.
Taiwanese player Ni Fu-te pitched for 0.2 inning with one strikeout for the Tigers.
Reliever Ni replaced starter Verlander in the second half of the seventh inning. After the first hitter Travis Buck made a two-base hit, he grounded out the second, as Buck took the third base. He then struck out Adam Kennedy before being replaced by Zach Minner, who struck out the next hitter and ended the inning.
Ni tossed 10 pitches with eight strikes and struck out one, securing a scoreless inning for the Tigers.
The Tigers placed the injured Nate Robertson on a 15-day disabled list on Sunday morning, replacing him with the 26-year-old Ni of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, the first Taiwanese player to pitch for the Tigers and the sixth Taiwanese to make the Major Leagues.
After Ni’s first two games on Tuesday and Wednesday he has a 3.86 ERA (earned run average), allowing two hits, four strikeouts and no walk.
YANKEES 4, MARINERS 2
At New York, Alex Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking homer and Andy Pettitte pitched seven strong innings to lead New York to a seventh straight victory.
Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera also went deep for the Yankees, who won their 10th straight home game against Seattle.
Rodriguez hit a two-run drive in the sixth.
Pettitte (8-3) outpitched fellow lefty Jarrod Washburn (4-6).
In other matches it was:
• Red Sox 6, Orioles 5
• Blue Jays 5, Rays 0
• Texas 9, Angels 7
• Twins 5, Royals 1
• White Sox 6, Indians 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, LOS ANGELES
The Los Angeles Dodgers prepared to welcome back Manny Ramirez by edging the Colorado Rockies 1-0 on Wednesday, the last game of the star slugger’s doping suspension.
Rafael Furcal had a pinch hit RBI single in the eighth inning, providing the victory that gave the NL-leading Dodgers a 29-21 record during Ramirez’s absence.
Brad Ausmus led off the eighth with a single and advanced on a sacrifice. Catcher Russell Martin ran for Ausmus and scored when Furcal stroked a single to right field.
In other matches it was:
• Cardinals 2, Giants 1, 10 innings
• Mets 1, Brewers 0
• Braves 11, Phillies 1
• Cubs 4, Pirates 1
• Astros 7, Padres 1
• Reds 1, Diamondbacks 0
• Marlins 5, Nationals 3
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11