Chad Pennington was back as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Pennington was replaced last week at Baltimore by Kellen Clemens after spraining his right ankle in the season opener against New England. Pennington was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Friday, and said earlier in the week his goal was “to be available.” He received a loud…
Ryan Howard may be closing in on a forgettable record, but he’ll get a pass if he keeps sending the Phillies to late-season wins. Howard struck out in his first four at-bats before driving in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning Saturday night, helping Philadelphia beat the Washington Nationals 4-1 in 10 innings and keep pace in the NL East.
No speeches. A toast. And then it was back to work for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff spot, rallying on ninth-inning home runs by Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8-6 Saturday. The victory assured the Red Sox of at least the AL wild-card spot.
With a chance to pop champagne, the Cleveland Indians couldn’t even clinch a popup. An early misplay on Mark Ellis’ easy infield fly doomed Cleveland, Dan Haren pitched six strong innings and Jack Cust homered as the Athletics delayed the Indians from winning the AL Central with a 9-3 victory on Saturday night.
The pitching staff was spent. The hitters were exhausted. And manager Joe Torre had made enough nerve-racking decisions to last a lifetime. Then, after two long days of seemingly endless baseball, Melky Cabrera and the New York Yankees finally nudged a little closer to a playoff berth. Moments after starting a strong relay that cut down the potential go-ahead run at the plate, Cabrera singled home…
Alfonso Soriano’s slow start is long forgotten. Now that summer is turning to fall, Soriano is where he expected to be — leading the Chicago Cubs as they make a serious postseason run. Soriano hit two homers Saturday — giving him 11 this month — and the Cubs kept up their late-season power display to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-5 and solidify their lead in the NL Central.
Another day, another delay for the Los Angeles Angels. After rain held up the start of Saturday’s game, Seattle again kept the Angels’ champagne on ice. Miguel Batista pitched into the sixth inning and Ichiro Suzuki scored a run and drove in another in the Mariners’ 3-2 victory. “You don’t ever want to see a team clinch when you’re playing them,” said Seattle closer J.J.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)(AP) — Jeremy Roenick, Devin Setoguchi and Jonathan Cheechoo scored power-play goals to help the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Saturday night in a penalty-filled preseason game. Dimitri Patzold stopped nine of 10 shots and the Sharks dominated the injury-depleted Canucks from start to finish, outshooting the visitors 37-10.
Andrew Cogliano’s second goal of the game with 20 seconds left in overtime Saturday night gave the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 preseason win over the Calgary Flames. As the Oilers’ rookie cut through the slot, a bouncing puck landed right on his stick and after knocking it initially off the goal post, he was able to knock the rebound past Miikka Kiprusoff.
Francisco Cordero rarely gives up homers — especially with his Brewers one out from a win. Rickie Weeks rarely bobbles easy grounders. The extra-inning slips set up Mark Teixeira’s winning single in the 11th Saturday, giving the Atlanta Braves a 4-3 victory and leaving Milwaukee facing a 2 1/2 -game deficit in the NL Central.
