Craig Biggio got one more chance to catch up on old times. In the next-to-last game of his 20-season career, Biggio caught two innings and had two hits, helping the Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 Saturday night. The 41-year-old Biggio primarily played catcher for his first four seasons in the majors — he had not crouched behind the plate since switching to second base in 1992.
The San Diego Padres are still waiting to clinch a playoff spot — and they can blame a familiar name. Tony Gwynn Jr., son of the Hall of Famer whose statue stands outside the Padres’ ballpark, hit a tying, two-out triple off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat San Diego 4-3 in the 11th on Saturday.
The Philadelphia Phillies spent all season trying to overtake the New York Mets. And once they took the lead, they gave it away. So now, the NL East race comes down to this: The Phillies and Mets are tied with one game left. Matt Chico pitched six solid innings Saturday and the Washington Nationals got in the Phillies’ way, winning 4-2 to leave the division all even.
Dominik Hasek posted a 13-save shutout, and Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and two assists in the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-0 victory Saturday night over the Toronto Maple Leafs that wrapped up the preseason schedule for both teams. Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary, and Mikael Samuelsson also scored for Detroit (6-3).
Tim Connolly broke a third-period tie, and Derek Roy and Dmitri Kalinin had a goal and an assist each to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night in the preseason finale for both teams. Connolly scored the winner with just under 6 minutes left, knocking a rebound past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after Fleury stopped Kalinin’s shot from the left circle.
Youth trumped experience when an aggressive Tiago showed up his elders. Taking on older horses for the first time, Tiago edged 4-year-old Awesome Gem by a nose to win the $500,000 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. Racing for the first time in 2 1/2 months, Tiago and Awesome Gem hooked up for a thrilling stretch duel that ended with jockey Mike Smith winning his second Grade 1 race of the…
Hard Spun turned the tables on Street Sense, going right to the lead and then holding off the Kentucky Derby winner in a determined drive to win the $350,000 Kentucky Cup Classic on Saturday at Turfway Park. Hard Spun broke from the inside post and was taken to the lead immediately by jockey Mario Pino, with Street Sense outside him just a half length back.
Hard Spun exacted a measure of revenge on Street Sense.
To get back into contention for the Nextel Cup title, drivers in the back of the standings need both a near-perfect performance and a collapse from the competition.
Wally Parks, an automobile enthusiast who founded the National Hot Rod Association and helped turn drag racing into a legitimate sport, has died. He was 94. Parks died Friday at Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center of complications from pneumonia, said Michael Hollander, a spokesman with the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona.
