Soccer Sports News & Betting

NEW YORK -Sergio Mitre shook off the rust and pitched sharply before getting struck by a line drive in the seventh inning, combining with Chad Gaudin on a one-hitter as the New York Yankees routed the slumping Chicago White Sox 10-0 Saturday.

Working for the first time since a relief outing eight days ago, Mitre (3-1) was perfect until Jim Thome ripped a bad-hop double past Gold Glove first baseman Mark Teixeira with one out in the fifth.

That was Chicagos only hit. Mitre left with a bruised right forearm after being nailed by A.J. Pierzynskis liner, and Gaudin closed with 2 2-3 hitless innings.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 576th homer, and Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano each got three of New Yorks 14 hits.

The White Sox lost for the sixth time in seven games. Jose Contreras (5-13) fell behind 8-0 in the fourth and leads the AL in losses.

Rays 3, Tigers 1

DETROIT - David Price had the longest outing of his young career, lasting 7 1-3 innings and allowed a run and five hits.

Price (7-6) struck out four and walked one. J.P. Howell pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 23 chances.

Price worked out of a jam in the third inning, striking out Curtis Granderson and getting Placido Polanco to pop out with runners on second and third. Price also struck out Miguel Cabrera with a runner on second to end the sixth.

Nate Robertson (1-1) made his first appearance after coming off the disabled list Friday.

Rangers 3, Twins 0

MINNEAPOLIS - Scott Feldman gave the Rangers another strong start, holding Minnesota scoreless into the sixth inning and helping Texas keep pace in the wild-card chase.

First-inning RBIs by Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler put the Rangers in front right away against Carl Pavano (11-10). For insurance, Ivan Rodriguez went deep in the top of the ninth - his first homer since rejoining the Rangers 11 days ago.

Feldman (14-4) walked four and gave up four hits in 5 2-3 innings, and the bullpen backed him up. Frank Francisco picked up his 19th save with a perfect ninth, preventing the second-place Twins from gaining any ground in the AL Central on Detroit. The Tigers, who lost to Tampa Bay, are 4 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota.

Texas, in range of its first trip to the postseason in 10 years, is 2 1/2 games behind Boston in the wild-card race.

Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 2

BOSTON - Clay Buchholz allowed just three singles in 8 1-3 innings, and Alex Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroias RBI singles made up for a Boston offense that sputtered in the early innings.

The Red Sox won for fifth time in six games and maintained their 2 1/2 game lead over Texas in the AL wild-card chase. The Rangers beat Minnesota, 3-0, on Saturday.

Buchholz (3-3) gave up one run, struck out nine and walked two three days before the two-year anniversary of his no-hitter over the Baltimore Orioles in his second big-league start.

Ricky Romero (11-6) gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.

CINCINNATI -Manny Ramirez hit the first of Los Angeles four homers, and the Dodgers blew a four-run lead Saturday before powering their way to an 11-4 victory that ended the Cincinnati Reds longest winning streak of the season at five games.

Ramirez connected on a two-run shot in the first inning off left-hander Matt Maloney (0-3), his first homer since Aug. 11. Rafael Furcal hit a tiebreaking solo shot in the fifth, and Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson homered as the Dodgers pulled away.

Jeff Weaver (6-4) bailed out starter Charlie Haeger, who had a bad day with his knuckleball. Haeger squandered a 4-0 lead in less than three innings.

The NL West leaders improved to 21-4 against Cincinnati since 2006, their best mark against any NL team.

Cubs 11, Mets 4

CHICAGO - Jake Fox hit his first career grand slam and Milton Bradley extended his hitting tear to help Chicago beat New York.

Fox finished with a career-high five RBIs. His bases-loaded homer finished Mets starter Bobby Parnell (3-7) during a six-run fifth inning, and he added an RBI double off Lance Broadway in the seventh.

Bradley, who was 3 for 3 on Friday, got hits in his first three at-bats and finished 3 for 4 with a walk. Booed earlier in the week, he is 11 for 20 with four walks during the first five games of the Cubs homestand.

Ryan Dempster (8-7) allowed four runs over six innings to get the win.

Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner missed Saturdays game against the Orioles with soreness in his left shoulder, an injury that could keep him sidelined for several days.

If the shoulder is still sore Sunday, Hafner will be examined in Cleveland on Monday - an off day for the team.

It will be interesting to see how he feels tomorrow, Indians manager Eric Wedge said Saturday. If its the same tomorrow, (hes) definitely going to have it looked at.

Hafner had surgery on his right shoulder last October and had played in only 72 games this season while recovering from the operation. He began the season before being put on the disabled list from April 29-June 5 with shoulder soreness.

Hafner is batting .272 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs.

Current baseball contracts worth $100 million or more. Figures were obtained by The Associated Press from player and management sources and include all guaranteed income but not income from potential incentive bonuses. There is no distinction for money deferred without interest:

Player, Club Years Total

Alex Rodriguez, NYY 2008-17 $275 million

Derek Jeter, NYY 2001-10 $189 million

Mark Teixeira, NYY 2009-16 $180 million

CC Sabathia, NYY 2009-15 $161 million

Miguel Cabrera, Det 2008-15 $152.3 million

Todd Helton, Col 2003-11 $141.5 million

Johan Santana, NYM 2008-13 $137.5 million

Alfonso Soriano, Cubs 2007-14 $136 million

Barry Zito, SF 2007-13 $126 million

Vernon Wells, Tor 2008-14 $126 million

Carlos Beltran, NYM 2005-11 $119 million

Carlos Lee, Hou 2007-12 $100 million

Albert Pujols, StL 2004-10 $100 million

The Padres agreed to terms on a one-year deal with infielder Luis Rodriguez on Wednesday.

The switch-hitting Rodriguez batted .287 with 12 RBIs and 22 runs scored in 64 games in his first season with San Diego. Signed by Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in 1997, Rodriguez has a career average of .257 with six home runs and 50 RBIs over parts of four major league seasons.

San Diego also reached minor league deals with pitchers Kevin Correia, Chris Britton and Oneli Perez, and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo. The four were also invited to spring training.

Wally Joyner quit Tuesday as hitting coach of. The San Diego Padres with six games left in the season.
His departure came with the Padres tied for last in the major leagues in runs and on-base percentage.

“It’s a decision he came to on his own,” said manager Bud Black, who had talked to his friend Joyner about his job in recent days. “Wally’s a fine hitting coach. I thought he did a great job.”

Joyner was preparing to go to Los Angeles on Tuesday when general manager Kevin Towers called to say the team preferred he not be there, said Joyner’s agent, Barry Axelrod.

Axelrod said Joyner resigned due to “the frustration level with realizing that his philosophy, his approach, the way he wants to teach hitting just didn’t coincide with what they like to see in the organization. He was hoping as time went by that they could somehow coincide or overcome that, but it became evident that was not going to happen.”

Black said he would’ve supported Joyner returning for a second season. Instead, bench coach Craig Colbert will take over the role for the remaining games.

“We’ve all seen these guys for 156 games,” Black said. “There will be a lot of dialogue will all our hitters.”

Joyner was hired July 31, 2007, to replace the fired Merv Rettenmund. Joyner had previously served three seasons as a spring training instructor for the Padres.

The Padres will be looking for their fourth hitting coach in as many seasons.

Joyner was San Diego’s first baseman when the Padres won the NL West in 1996 and 1998. San Diego reached the World Series in 1998, when they were swept by the New York Yankees.

He had a .289 batting average in his 16-season big league career, with 204 homers and 1,106 RBIs.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella rested three regulars Tuesday night against New York Mets. While vowing to put a competitive team on the field as Chicago prepares for the postseason.

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez, catcher Geovany Soto and shortstop Ryan Theriot were out of the lineup one day after the Cubs secured home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs with a 9-5 victory over New York in the opener of a four-game series.

“We’re just going to play as nice of a lineup as we can with the fact that we’re going to do what’s best for the Chicago Cubs also,” Piniella said. “That’s all.”

Piniella could have a big impact on which team Chicago plays in the first round of the playoffs. New York was leading the wild-card race by one over Milwaukee before the game against the Cubs, and was 2 1/2 back of Philadelphia in the NL East.

After the series with the Mets, the Cubs close out the regular season with three games against the Brewers at Miller Park.

“We go from here to Milwaukee where basically we might be in a similar situation,” Piniella said. “We need to play competitive lineups, and we will.”

Piniella tinkered with his rotation before Monday’s win, opting to start Sean Marshall in the second game of the series against New York and move Rich Harden back to Thursday.

Henry Blanco was behind the plate for Marshall’s start, Casey McGehee was at third and Ronny Cedeno played shortstop.

Right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, hitting just .219 since the All-Star break, also was in the lineup after coming off the bench in Monday night’s win. He doubled in McGehee in the second against Johan Santana.

“We’re going to play him, see if we can get him some at-bats and get him swinging the bat well for the postseason,” Piniella said.

—-
Pirates OF Moss may need knee surgery.

Pirates outfielder Brandon Moss will get a second opinion on his left knee and may need surgery to repair a cartilage problem in the joint.

Moss, who had an MRI on Monday, said he will travel to Vail, Colo. on Thursday to talk about his options and a decision is expected to be made by Friday. If he needs surgery, he could miss up to 4-6 months and rehab would take him well into spring training.

Moss has not been experiencing pain in the knee and said he feels fine. The MRI determined that there was no ligament damage in the knee, only the issue with the cartilage. He was traded along with reliever Craig Hansen to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team deal that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles and Jason Bay to Boston.

Moss, who turned 25 last week, has played in 45 games for the Pirates, batting .222 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 158 at-bats.

Tuesday American League Capsules.

BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 4

BOSTON Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia have led the Boston Red Sox charge towards another playoff berth all season. How fitting they guided the club that last step Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Youkilis slugged a two-run homer and reached base all four times and Pedroia had a two-run double and scored the winning run to lead the Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians, clinching a postseason berth for the defending world champs.

Boston (92-65) has now reached the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. It still trails Tampa Bay (94-62) in the American League East Division by three games but has assured itself a chance to claim a third World Series crown in five years.

Jonathan Papelbon, the fifth pitcher on in relief of starter Tim Wakefield, came on to strand three inherited runners in the eighth and set down the side in the ninth to send Fenway Park into a frenzy now common this time of year in Boston.

He embraced catcher Kevin Cash when the last out fell into the glove of shortstop Alex Cora and was soon mobbed by his teammates.

In a season that saw its share of injuries, roster moves and the headline-grabbing exodus of superstar slugger Manny Ramirez, Youkilis and Pedroia have been the mainstays. Pedroia leads the team in runs, Youkilis in home runs and RBI and they rank 1-2 in batting average among regulars.

They teamed on Tuesday to help the Red Sox get the best of likely AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee (22-3), who lost for the first time since July 6.

After David Ortiz doubled to lead off the fourth in a scoreless game, Youkilis tagged Lees offering over the Green Monster in left for his 27th homer and first at home since August 17.

Some sloppy Boston defense allowed Cleveland to take a lead on four runs off Wakefield (10-11) in the fifth, but Pedroia had a quick reply.

After Coco Crisp reached on a fielders choice and Jacoby Ellsbury doubled with one out in the fifth, Pedroia hammered a 2-0 delivery from Lee off the wall in left to tie it, 4-4. Youkilis was intentionally walked one out later and Jason Bay made the Indians pay for the maneuver with a single to plate Pedroia.

Wakefield lasted one more inning and the Red Sox bullpen wiggled out of bases-loaded jams in the seventh and again in the eighth when Papelbon got Jamey Carroll to ground out.

The Indians (79-78) saw their season-high seven-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in Lees last 10 starts. The veteran left hander gave up five runs and nine hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking three.

MINNESOTA 9, CHI WHITE SOX 3

MINNEAPOLIS Jason Kubel homered twice and Scott Baker tossed seven strong innings as the Minnesota Twins pulled within 1 1/2 games of the lead in the American League Central Division with a 9-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

The Twins (85-72) can take the lead in the Central with a sweep of the three-game series against the White Sox (86-70).

Kubel started the offensive onslaught with a two-run blast in the second, and Minnesota added three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth before Kubel and Delmon Young capped the scoring with back-to-back homers in the seventh.

Baker (10-4) allowed one run and five hits while walking one and striking out four. The righthander worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and retired the last eight batters he faced en route to his third straight win.

NY YANKEES 3, TORONTO 1

TORONTO Mike Mussina earned his 19th win as the New York Yankees won their sixth straight game, a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jason Giambi homered and Robinson Cano also drove in a run for the Yankees (86-71), who were eliminated from playoff contention when the Boston Red Sox (92-65) posted a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

En route to tying his career-high for wins in a season, Mussina (19-9) hurled five scoreless innings while striking out six without a walk. Five relievers hurled the final four innings, including Mariano Rivera, who recorded his 38th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Scott Rolen drove in the lone run for the Blue Jays, who left eight runners on base.

TAMPA BAY 5, BALTIMORE 2 (1ST GAME)

BALTIMORE James Shields tossed seven effective innings and Fernando Perez went 3-for-3 with two RBI as the Tampa Bay Rays recorded a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader.

Shields (14-8) surrendered a two-run homer by Luis Montanez in the first inning, but that proved to be his only blemish. The righthander gave up two runs and eight hits while striking out eight en route to winning his third straight decision.

Perez smacked an RBI double off Baltimore starter Garrett Olson (9-10) in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, and Jason Bartletts run-scoring two-base hit a frame later gave Shields all the support he needed.

TAMPA BAY 7, BALTIMORE 5 (2ND GAME)

BALTIMORE Dioner Navarro smacked a two-run, go-ahead single to highlight a six-run eighth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to a 7-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader.

Trailing, 5-1, after the seventh, the Rays lineup came alive en route to shrinking their magic number to clinch the American League East Division to two. Willy Aybar smacked an RBI groundout and Evan Longoria connected on a solo home run off Orioles starter Alfredo Simon to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Jamie Walker (1-3) then came on in relief but surrendered a run-scoring single to Jason Bartlett before Navarro delivered his decisive hit. B.J. Upton capped the outburst with an RBI double.

Jeff Niemann (2-1) tossed 2 1/3 innings to notch the win and J.P. Howell got the final five outs to record his third save of the season for Tampa Bay.

KANSAS CITY 5, DETROIT 0

DETROIT The Kansas City Royals blasted three home runs en route to a 5-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Mike Aviles hit his ninth home run in the first inning; Ryan Shealy his seventh in the fourth; and Alex Gordon added his 16th, a two-run shot, later in that inning.

Zack Greinke (13-10) was the beneficiary as the Royals won for the 10th time in 12 games. The righthander threw seven solid innings, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking two. Leo Nunez finished up with two innings of hitless relief.

Freddie Garcia (1-1) was victimized for all three home runs, allowing seven hits and five runs in five innings. Garcia struck out six and walked two as the Tigers lost their fifth straight.

Kansas City (72-86) and Detroit (71-85) are in a virtual tie for fourth place in the American League Central.

TEXAS 6, OAKLAND 4

ARLINGTON, Texas Hank Blalock homered for the third straight game as the Texas Rangers pulled out a 6-4 comeback victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Blalock connected on a two-run shot in the seventh inning to snap a 4-4 tie and help Texas end to a five-game losing streak.

Sidelined for nearly half the season due to a recurring shoulder injury, Blalock continued to finish the year on a high note, improving to .346 (27-for-78) with six home runs and 17 RBI in 20 games in September.

Marlon Byrd also drove in a pair of runs for the Rangers, including an RBI single with two outs in the seventh that knotted the game at 4-4.

Oakland took its short-lived lead in the top of the seventh, when Daric Barton led off with a single and later scored on a fielders choice by Cliff Pennington.

SEATTLE 9, LA ANGELS 6

SEATTLE Kenji Johjima drove in three runs as the Seattle Mariners erased a four-run deficit and posted a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that snapped a 12-game losing streak.

Yuniesky Betancourt, Jeremy Reed and Wladimir Balentien each had two RBI for the Mariners, who pounded out 13 hits.

Trailing, 6-2, in the sixth inning, Seattle delivered a four-run outburst when Reed and Balentien ripped run-scoring hits before Johjima capped the scoring with a two-run double off Angels starter Jered Weaver. Each member of the aforementioned trio added a run-scoring hit in the seventh off Kevin Jepsen (0-1) to provide the final margin.

Weaver allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings while striking out eight without a walk for Anaheim.

Brewers interim manager Dale Sveum said he plans to pitch CC Sabathia again on short rest Wednesday.
After that, Sveum doesn’t have a clue, except to say that Sabathia would be available again for Sunday’s finale, if needed.

“We’ll just wing the rest of it,” said Sveum, who replaced Ned Yost last Monday. “Depending on what happens tonight and tomorrow, we’ll make those decisions as the next two days unfold.”

The Brewers are on their most important homestand since they last played in the postseason in 1982. They have a new manager and a one-game deficit to overcome against the NL wild card-leading Mets coming into Tuesday’s game with Pittsburgh.

And their rotation is a mess.

Before the game, Milwaukee activated right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who has been missing since the beginning of May after needing knee surgery. But Ben Sheets is nursing a sore elbow and is out until at least the weekend, Manny Parra has been sent to the bullpen and Seth McClung and veteran righty Jeff Suppan have been ineffective in recent starts.

“Whether people think its right or wrong, you still do whatever you can with your personnel to put best people out there that are going to win that game that day,” Sveum said. “That’s where we’re at.”

Yost came under some criticism earlier this year when he allowed Sabathia (9-2) to throw 130 pitches in a start. The free-agent-to-be is near the top of every team’s wish list and is seen as just a temporary rental for Milwaukee. Now Sveum could endure the same heat for pitching the big lefty so many times on short rest.

“It’s still our best option to win tomorrow’s game, it’s the fact of the matter,” Sveum said. “Fortunately you’re able to have one of the best pitchers in all of baseball to endure three days’ rest. … The guy’s a horse and he’ll do everything he can.”

Sabathia, who has been easygoing in the clubhouse ever since being traded from Cleveland on July 7 for four prospects, said he’s ready to take the mound again Wednesday, and Sunday if needed.

“If we need to get in, if it’s still that urgent on Sunday, I believe I’ll be out there,” said Sabathia, dismissing the idea that the additional work might impact his free agency negatively. “If it was (another) team I played for and we were in this same situation, please believe I’d take the ball every time they’d give me a chance to.”

Sabathia started 9-0 and had six complete games, but recently he hasn’t been able to stop the reeling Brewers, who have lost 15 of the last 20 after starting September with a 5 1/2-game lead in the NL wild-card race. In September, Sabathia is 0-2 with a 3.04 ERA in four starts while getting just nine runs in support.

“He’s not going to get abused, we’re just pitching him on three days’ rest,” Sveum said. “No doubt in my mind if we had signed him and we have six more years, I’d be doing the same thing. So that’s the reality, whether people like or not.

“That’s not my problem or CC’s problem. That’s the reality of the Milwaukee Brewers trying to get to the playoffs.”

Sveum said Sheets definitely wouldn’t pitch until Saturday or Sunday at the earliest and that Suppan is not injured, even though he’s been terrible in his last four starts, going 0-3 with a 10.47 ERA.

“It’d be nice to have five guys lined up, be like the Cubs, that’s a pretty nice rotation to throw out there five days in a row,” Sveum said. “But we’re not, so the reality is we’ve got to deal with it.”

Gallardo also acknowledges he’s probably not ready to move into a starter’s role because he hasn’t had any practice hitting yet and he’s not sure how the reconstructed knee will respond.

“I haven’t swung the bat, I haven’t run the bases, so starting is kind of out,” said Gallardo, who had a 1.80 ERA and no record in three starts before the injury May 1. “I just want to go out there and get a couple of innings and help them.”

And Sveum and the Brewers need all the help they can get with time running out even with the manager still trying to get acclimated.

“There is a different feeling when you’re making such decisions every day on the pitching staff. Like I said, nobody said life was easy,” said Sveum, who has the lineup card from his first winning hanging in the office formerly occupied by Yost. “We’ve got one more week to see what happens.”

A specialist recommended injured Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter undergo surgery. For a compressed nerve in his shoulder, a procedure the team believes could have their ace back by spring training.

St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak on Tuesday described a “simple surgery” that could return the right-hander to activities in six weeks with an overall recovery time of about three months. Mozeliak said the injury is related to nerve damage that knocked Carpenter out for the 2004 postseason.

The Cardinals believe the diagnosis to be good news, and Mozeliak said the doctor, a thoracic specialist, believes “there’s a reasonable chance for him to be fine.”

“This is a situation that’s reared its head again, and if it can be solved I think that’s good news for him,” Mozeliak said. “Based on how he was throwing the ball before this happened, I would be willing to bet he’ll be someone who can really contribute to this club in a strong way.”

Mozeliak said Carpenter was encouraged by Tuesday’s diagnosis. The GM said doctors believe the injury “appears to be coming from the same nerve.”

Carpenter, the 2005 NL Cy Young winner, was shut down for the rest of the season on Sept. 12 due to what the team then described as persistent weakness from a muscle strain in the shoulder. He last pitched in relief at Arizona on Sept. 2, working an inning of relief.

The 33 year old has visited a number of specialists, all in St. Louis, and is set to be examined again by another specialist on Wednesday. If that specialist is in agreement, Mozeliak said surgery likely would be expedited.

Carpenter was the NL comeback player of the year in 2004 after missing the previous season and much of the 2002 season recovering from shoulder surgery. He was 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA that year before being sidelined in mid-September, and the Cardinals minus their ace were swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

Carpenter won 21 games in his ‘05 Cy Young season and was 15-8 in 2006, but has made only four starts and one relief appearance the last two seasons. He started on opening day in 2007 before being sidelined by an elbow injury that eventually required surgery in July.

The right-hander was one of three rehabbing pitchers who didn’t pan out this season for the Cardinals. Mark Mulder pitched 1 2-3 innings before reinjuring his shoulder and free agent pickup Matt Clement, also coming off shoulder surgery, was released in August.