A year ago, the Tigers rode a hot bullpen all the way to the World Series. This season, their relievers might be the biggest reason they don’t make it back. Jack Cust hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs, and the Oakland Athletics rallied after blowing a seven-run lead to beat Detroit 16-10 on Friday night.
A compelling pitching duel between Baltimore ace Erik Bedard and Boston rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka turned into a wild affair with an ending the Orioles could not have possibly imagined. Brian Roberts led off the ninth inning with a double and scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Nick Markakis, giving Baltimore a 6-5 comeback victory Friday night.
Even grizzled old Bobby Cox found this one strange. Phillies starter Cole Hamels and Braves starter Chuck James each gave up four runs in the first inning, then kept the opposing lineup off the scoreboard — and without a hit — the rest of their outings. Jayson Werth finally scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by Yunel Escobar in the seventh inning, and Philadelphia hung on to beat Atlanta…
Billy Wagner barely got out of trouble in his previous outing. Not this time. Hanley Ramirez hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Wagner in the ninth inning and the Florida Marlins rallied past the New York Mets 4-3 on Friday night. “Just one of those nights where I didn’t make the pitches,” Wagner said.
Tom Brady got enough work to break a sweat. Randy Moss didn’t play at all. New England opened the preseason with a 13-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night, however it will be a bit longer before the Patriots get a chance to see their new passing tandem together in a game. Brady started and was in for 13 plays, while Moss, obtained in a draft day trade with Oakland, sat out as expected…
Joey Harrington looked comfortable running the Atlanta Falcons’ offense. He’s not Michael Vick, but he showed he can scramble a little bit, too. Thrust into the starting quarterback job while Vick is away from the team and facing federal dogfighting charges, Harrington led one scoring drive in his three series Friday night in a 31-16 loss to the New York Jets in the preseason opener for both teams.
Four-time Nextel Cup champ Jeff Gordon has a record nine road course victories in NASCAR’s top series and two-time series winner Tony Stewart has five. Although Juan Pablo Montoya has just one as he builds on his impressive rookie year, he’s poised to make some history of his own.
Thrown into the middle of a heated playoff chase, the 21-year-olds pitched like they belonged. The New York Yankees might not be aging so fast after all. Phil Hughes dominated Cleveland for six innings and reliever Joba Chamberlain overwhelmed hitters with a searing fastball as the Yankees began a challenging stretch with a 6-1 win over the Indians on Friday night.
Scott Podsednik helped the Chicago White Sox end a long championship drought. He may soon be in position to do the same for the Cubs. The Chicago Tribune, citing a major league source, reported on its Web site Friday that the Cubs claimed Podsednik on waivers. The White Sox had two business days to work out a trade with the Cubs, simply let him go to the North Side team or pull him off waivers.
Roger Clemens would rather sit than fight this time. Clemens declined to appeal the five-game suspension he received for plunking Toronto’s Alex Rios with a pitch earlier this week, and began serving the penalty when the New York Yankees opened a three-game series against the Indians on Friday night.
