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
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans