Rick Ankiel and the St. Louis Cardinals put together a memorable home finale at the expense of Houston closer Brad Lidge. Ankiel’s two-run triple off Lidge capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning and the Cardinals beat the Astros 4-3 Sunday night. Ankiel, breaking out of a slump that coincided with reports linking him to human growth hormone, had his second straight three-hit game.
Agent Scott Boras says he hasn’t had talks with any of the possible bidders for the Chicago Cubs about Alex Rodriguez, denying a report on New York Magazine’s Web site. Rodriguez can opt out of the final three years of his contract with the New York Yankees, which calls for him to receive $27 million in each of the next three seasons.
A wild-card race that was already wild turned absolutely bizarre Sunday, and Milton Bradley was right in the middle of it for the San Diego Padres. Bradley was ejected and then hurt his right knee when Padres manager Bud Black spun him to the ground in an attempt to keep him from going after an umpire.
The Arizona Diamondbacks know exactly who’s chasing them — and what they must do to wrap up the NL West title. But the Diamondbacks wasted a chance to extend their division lead Sunday, losing 7-1 to Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers as Los Angeles stopped a seven-game skid. Arizona remained 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Diego, which lost 7-3 to the Colorado Rockies.
Ryan Getzlaf scored twice and Jonas Hiller made 40 saves as the Anaheim Ducks closed their exhibition season with a 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night. Bobby Ryan, the second overall pick behind Sidney Crosby in the 2005 draft, had four assists for the Ducks. Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists for Anaheim in his first game against Vancouver since being traded by the…
Jason Williams scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 preseason win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night. Martin Havlat and Rene Bourque also scored for Chicago (2-2-1), which snapped a three-game losing streak. Williams has two goals and three assists in three preseason contests.
Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and Kevin Curtis treated Detroit’s defense like a scout team. McNabb threw for 381 yards and four touchdown passes, Curtis had 221 yards receiving and three scores and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Lions 56-21 on Sunday for their first win. In a stunning offensive display, the Eagles (1-2) scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and had a…
The Indianapolis Colts lost all three AFC South road games last season. So winning two straight this year is encouraging, even if they didn’t play as well as they’d like on Sunday. Joseph Addai ran for two touchdowns and Adam Vinatieri added three field goals to lead the Colts (3-0) to a 30-24 win over the injury-ravaged and mistake-prone Texans to remain undefeated after beating Tennessee last…
Denny Hamlin’s car crashed into Kyle Petty’s bumper. Then a furious Petty got in Hamlin’s face. Hamlin responded with verbal threats about wanting to fight.
Shades of 2002. With John Lackey starting, Francisco Rodriguez closing and fans waving those rally monkeys, the Los Angeles Angels clinched their third AL West title in four years Sunday, beating the Seattle Mariners 7-4. “It’s a lot of fun today, but it’s just the beginning,” said owner Arte Moreno, champagne dripping from the championship cap he wore in the clubhouse celebration.
