The New York Mets wanted to get off to a fast start on their season-ending homestand. By the end of the night, they just wanted to move on. The Mets squandered a chance to widen their lead in the NL East as Austin Kearns hit a three-run homer and Ronnie Belliard drove in three more in the Washington Nationals’ 13-4 victory Monday.
Nearly 33,000 fans were on their feet cheering, hoping the Detroit Tigers would rally in the ninth inning to maintain their flickering playoff hopes. They let out a collective sigh when Detroit fell short and took another step toward losing a chance to defend the American League title. Minnesota’s Carlos Silva shut down Detroit over 7 2-3 innings in a 2-0 victory Monday night that put the Tigers on…
Chris Simon and Ryan Hollweg have more bad blood between them. In the first meeting between the New York heavyweights since the Islanders’ Simon received a 25-game suspension for a stick-swinging attack against his Rangers counterpart on March 8, the teams engaged in a fight-filled preseason game Monday night that had all the venom of a contest that counts.
Brian Rolston scored both goals to help the Minnesota Wild edge the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in exhibition play Monday night. Rolston, who led the Wild in goals last season, netted the game-winner early in the third period when left alone between the faceoff circles. Pierre-Marc Bouchard won a battle along the boards and slid the puck to Eric Belanger, whose pass from the corner set up Rolston’s…
Rex Grossman still had his health when he walked off the field. But he may not have his starting job much longer after his latest meltdown. Grossman threw three interceptions as the Chicago Bears fell to the Dallas Cowboys 34-10 on Sunday night, and he did not get a vote of confidence from his coach a day later.
Houston Texans defensive tackle Cedric Killings was able to stand in the hospital on Monday and doctors are confident he’ll soon be walking. Killings’ progress came one day after he left the field on a stretcher after a headfirst collision with Indianapolis receiver Roy Hall. Killings fractured his C-4 vertebra and was unable to move any of his limbs for a time on the field on Sunday, said Dr.
The New York Yankees took a day off Monday. At least, that’s how it looked. The Yankees’ drive for a playoff spot paused, with Andy Pettitte falling behind early and a smallish crowd watching Toronto rookie Jesse Litsch pitch the Blue Jays to a 4-1 victory. “It definitely felt like a makeup game,” Pettitte said.
Lou Piniella called upon decades of baseball knowledge when the Chicago Cubs were scuffling for the first two months. He watched intently, took mental notes and then started swapping out the parts. Finally, he used some theatrics to literally kick-start his team. Turns out, a dirt-kicking temper tantrum against umpire Mark Wegner on June 2 was just what the Cubs needed, whether it was premeditated…
Patrick Eaves scored 53 seconds into overtime to help the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Monday night. Christoph Schubert added two goals for Ottawa, which is 4-0 in the preseason. Dany Heatley scored the other goal for the Senators. Mats Sundin, John Pohl and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Leafs (2-1-2).
Martin St. Louis scored two power-play goals to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in a preseason game Monday night. St. Louis tied it 2-2 on his first goal, coming midway through the first. His second put Tampa Bay ahead 4-2 at 14:39 of the second. Andre Roy and Andreas Karlsson also scored for the Lightning.
