Tim Wakefield went from his shortest start in 15 years to one of his best of the season. The Boston Red Sox showed they can bounce back from disappointment, too. Wakefield pitched eight innings of shutout ball to help the Red Sox stop their AL East slide with a 7-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
David Wright hit a two-run homer and tied a career high with four hits, helping the New York Mets put away the pesky Washington Nationals 13-10 on Wednesday night after blowing a six-run lead. Carlos Delgado, whose streak of multihomer games ended at two, hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and Jose Reyes swiped a bag to became the Mets career leader for steals.
The surging Red Sox are one win from passing Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East. A message from both teams: Don't be deceived by the Rays' recent slide. "Obviously, they're still in first place and everybody knows why," Coco Crisp said after Boston's 3-0 win Monday night, "because they have a good team." A good team that, for two straight games, hasn't scored a single run.
Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell had an immediate impact in their return to the lineup for the AL wild card-leading Boston Red Sox. Beckett struck out seven over five scoreless innings in his first start in nearly three weeks and Lowell came off the disabled list to go 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs, helping Boston beat the Texas Rangers 8-1 on Friday night.
One shot was a little better, one cheer was a little louder, but when Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia climbed the hill to the 17th green and saw golf balls 10 feet and 4 feet from the cup, they didn't know which was which. They were tied for the lead Sunday afternoon in the PGA Championship. Advantage, Harrington.
Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro and Cliff Floyd homered to help the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians 8-4 on Tuesday night. Longoria's two-run drive in Tampa Bay's four-run seventh was his 22nd of the season, setting a team record for a rookie. Longoria hit two long drives that landed in foul territory then took a pitch before connecting against Rafael Betancourt.
All the Tampa Bay Rays needed to end their losing streak was a home game. Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer and James Shields allowed one run over seven innings to help the Rays snap a seven-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. Zobrist hit his fourth homer of the season off A.J.
Cliff Lee is going to the All-Star game on another shutout streak. Cleveland's left-hander pitched six stellar innings in a warmup for a possible All-Star start at Yankee Stadium as the Indians defeated Tampa Bay 5-0 on Friday night to extend the Rays' season-high losing streak to five games. "I'm just happy to be going," Lee (12-2) said of being selected to the AL squad for the first time.
Fernando Tatis turned this into an extra special win for the New York Mets. Almost left behind on baseball's scrap heap, the resurgent Tatis homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs as the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 Thursday for their sixth straight victory. "It's amazing," Tatis said.
David Ross and the Cincinnati Reds felt right at home with the wind blowing out of Wrigley Field on Thursday. The Chicago Cubs' friendly confines was even nicer to a visiting team, for once. Ross hit two of Cincinnati's seven homers, a long-ball barrage that included Ken Griffey Jr.'s 605th, and the Reds avoided a sweep with a 12-7 victory.
NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi shut down Dario Franchitti's race team Tuesday because of a lack of sponsorship, putting the former IndyCar Series champion's future in doubt.
Bills running back Marshawn Lynch had his driver's license revoked in traffic court on Friday after saying he didn't know he hit someone while driving on a Buffalo street last month. Administrative Law Judge Thomas Gagola found Lynch's behavior on May 31 "constituted a reckless disregard of human life or property." He also imposed the maximum $100 fine and $50 surcharge after Lynch pleaded guilty...
The New Jersey Nets decided to part ways with the second-leading scorer in franchise history, dealing Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee hours before the draft Thursday for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. "We certainly gave up a good player, but to get a good player you have to give up a good player.
