MINNEAPOLIS: George Springer reached base in all six plate appearances and hit two of Houston’s season-high six home runs to lead the Astros to their seventh straight victory, 17-6 over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, Evan Gattis and Marwin Gonzalez also went deep for the Astros, who scored 40 runs in the three games to set a franchise record for runs in a series of any length. They had 19 hits on Wednesday and 37 in the series.
Brian Dozier, Eddie Rosario and Jason Castro homered for the Twins, who have lost four straight. Hector Santiago (4-5) gave up six runs and eight hits and walked three in six innings, three days after he was an emergency fill-in during the 15th inning of a loss to Tampa Bay.
Springer’s two homers traveled an estimated 900 combined feet, including a moon shot off of Ryan Pressly in the six-run seventh inning that landed just short of the third deck in left-center field. That was measured at 473 feet, the second-longest homer in the majors this season behind a 481-footer by Arizona’s Jake Lamb on April 29.
Michael Feliz (2-0) got the win and left-hander Reymin Guduan also made his big league debut, allowing one run on two hits in two innings.
Padres 2 Cubs 1: In San Diego, rookie Franchy Cordero tripled in the eighth and scored on Yangervis Solarte’s fielder’s choice as San Diego handed Chicago its season-high sixth straight loss.
Luis Perdomo and two relievers combined to hold the struggling Cubs to three hits. The rebuilding Padres won their season-high fourth straight game and swept the Cubs for the first time since Aug. 6-8, 2012.
The defending World Series champion Cubs, who were swept at the Dodgers during the weekend, finished their first winless trip of at least six games since Aug. 3-8, 2012, when they also lost three at Los Angeles and three at San Diego.
Overall the Cubs have lost seven in a row on the road.
Cordero, who made his big league debut on Saturday, tripled to right-center off Koji Uehara (1-3) leading off the eighth. Solarte hit a grounder to second baseman Ian Happ, whose throw home was not in time to get Cordero.
Brad Hand (1-3) pitched a perfect eighth for the win and Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Orioles 10 Yankees 4: In Baltimore, Adam Jones homered and drove in five runs and Chris Davis added a two-run shot as Baltimore beat Masahiro Tanaka and New York.
Baltimore took two of three from the AL East leaders after coming in with a seven-game losing streak. The Yankees have lost 11 straight series in Baltimore — the second-longest road skid in franchise history behind a 12-series drought at Oakland from 1985-91.
Back in the lineup after missing four straight games with a sore hip, Jones contributed an RBI double to a four-run third inning, hit a three-run homer in the fourth and drove in a run with an infield hit in the eighth.
Tanaka (5-5) lost his fourth straight start, extending the longest streak of his career. The right-hander gave up seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
The Yankees had 11 hits but stranded 11 and went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
Cardinals 2 Dodgers 1: In St. Louis, Dexter Fowler hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to back Carlos Martinez and give St. Louis a victory over Los Angeles.
Martinez (4-4) allowed one run and four hits while striking out nine as he pitched eight innings to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak.
Ross Stripling (0-3) lost for the first time since April 26 as he allowed Fowler’s seventh home run of the season, a 429-foot shot to right-center field. The Dodgers had their six-game winning streak end.
Seung-Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.
DDiamondbacks 6 Pirates 5, 14 innings: In Pittsburgh, Chris Owings singled home the go-ahead run in the 14th inning and Arizona outlasted Pittsburgh in a game that took more than 4½ hours to play — plus a 93-minute rain delay.
Paul Goldschmidt and Nick Ahmed homered for the Diamondbacks, who led in the ninth and 11th before finally putting away the Pirates. T.J. McFarland (3-0) pitched three hitless innings for the win.
Ahmed hit a solo shot in the 11th but Jordy Mercer tied the score in the bottom half with a home run of his own as steady showers began to fall. The game was delayed by rain after the 11th inning for 1 hour, 33 minutes.
David Peralta singled off Jhan Marinez (0-3) to start the 14th and advanced to second on Goldschmidt’s groundout. Jake Lamb was intentionally walked, and
Blue Jays 5 Reds 4: In Toronto, Devon Travis hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the seventh inning and Luke Maile also hit a two-run home run as Toronto beat Cincinnati to complete a three-game sweep.
Jason Grilli (2-4) pitched one inning for the victory as the Blue Jays won for the eighth time in nine games and finished May at 18-10. Toronto hit 49 home runs in May, going deep in 18 of its final 20 games.
Joe Smith worked the eighth and Roberto Osuna survived a shaky ninth for his 11th save. Scott Schebler homered on Osuna’s first pitch, his NL-leading 16th. A single, Ryan Goins’ fielding error, and a stolen base gave the Reds runners at second and third with one out, but Osuna preserved the win by striking out Billy Hamilton and Zack Cozart.
Brewers 2 Mets 1: In New York, Eric Thames hit his first home run in three weeks, Keon Broxton also went deep against an ineffective Jacob deGrom, and Milwaukee beat New York for just its third win in 10 games.
Released by the Mets following a 50-game minor league drug suspension in 2009, Junior Guerra (1-0) defeated New York for the first time. He allowed four hits in six scoreless innings, struck out four and walked three, baffling batters with his splitter.
Athletics 3 Indians 1: In Cleveland, Sean Manaea allowed three hits in seven innings, Chad Pinder homered twice and drove in all three Oakland runs in a 3-1 win over Cleveland.
Manaea (4-3) retired the first 10 hitters before Francisco Lindor homered with one out in the fourth. He gave up singles to Daniel Robertson and Edwin Encarnacion, along with a walk to Jose Ramirez.
Pinder, the Athletics’ No. 9 hitter, hit a solo homer in the third and broke a 1-all tie with a two-run shot in the fifth.
Mike Clevinger (2-2) gave up both home runs.
Springer hits 2 home runs vs. Twins; Astros in 7th straight win
Springer hits 2 home runs vs. Twins; Astros in 7th straight win
Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
Salah scored twice and provided two assists in the goal-spree in north London as Liverpool moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League.
The 32-year-old is the first Premier League player to bag at least 10 goals and 10 assists before Christmas, while his brace also took him into fourth place on Liverpool’s all-time list of scorers with 229 in all competitions.
Salah’s immense value to Arne Slot’s team is clear, but Liverpool have been unable to persuade the forward to sign a new contract as speculation mounts about his future.
With Salah’s current deal expiring at the end of this season, he will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club from January.
Having already made several comments earlier this season about this potentially being his last campaign with Liverpool, Salah once again made a cryptic reference to his future.
“It’s great to achieve that at such a big club, but the most important thing is that we won the game. Wherever I am going to end my career I am happy about it,” Salah told Sky Sports.
Salah added that there was “no update” on his contract situation, but Slot will surely be desperate to extend his talisman’s seven-year stay on Merseyside after he took his goal tally to 18 in all competitions this term.
With Salah to the fore, Liverpool have won 21 of their 25 games in all competitions since Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp as manager.
“I didn’t think about it before the game but I’m glad I have done it, something that makes me proud, I’ll keep working hard,” Salah said of reaching double figures in goals and assists this season.
Salah was less happy with Liverpool’s defending against Tottenham, adding: “We were quite good in front but I think we need to improve defensively as a team.
“Conceding three goals is quite hard. It’s quite good the result and hopefully we just keep going.”
Dortmund holds on with 10 men for 1st away win in Bundesliga
- Dortmund climbed to sixth ahead of the league’s winter break, but it’s not where the club aspires to be after a shaky start to the league
BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund held on after Pascal Groß’ sending off to beat Wolfsburg 3-1 for its first Bundesliga away win of the season on Sunday.
Donyell Malen got the visitors off the mark with a volley to a corner in the 25th, three minutes before Julian Brandt played in Maximilian Beier to score Dortmund’s second goal. Beier, who scored with the outside of his boot in off the left post, celebrated with a throwing-dart gesture.
Beier returned the favor for Brandt to score Dortmund’s third two minutes after that.
Despite the commanding lead, the visitors were second-best for long periods thereafter as Wolfsburg improved dramatically.
Coach Ralph Hasenhüttl made two changes at the break, including sending on Lukas Nmecha to face his brother Felix Nmecha, who was playing for Dortmund.
Denis Vavro pulled one back in the 58th, four minutes before Groß was sent off for a foul on Lukas Nmecha when the Wolfsburg forward was through on goal.
The home team pushed hard but Dortmund managed to hold on to ease the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin.
“A 3-0 lead should mean you can get through the game with confidence,” said Brandt, who complained about his team’s drop in performance. “We’re to blame for that. It’s not good, we need to play more confidently, we need to grow up.”
Dortmund climbed to sixth ahead of the league’s winter break, but it’s not where the club aspires to be after a shaky start to the league.
“We’ll try a reset and to play better in the new year,” Beier said. “It can’t be our goal to be sixth.”
Bochum celebrates
Bottom club Bochum defeated relegation rival Heidenheim 2-0 for its first win of the season.
“When we play like we did today it means there are lots of possibilities for the next 19 games,” said Bochum coach Dieter Hecking. “From that point of view I’m also glad we won because I couldn’t have handled many more games without a win.”
It was the visitors’ seventh straight Bundesliga defeat, the culmination of a busy schedule after clinching European qualification from its league debut last season and the offseason loss of star players like Jan-Niklas Beste, Tim Kleindienst and Eren Dinkci.
“We’re at the end of another ‘English week’ (with midweek games) again,” Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt said. “Everyone did their best, but we have to be honest – it wasn’t enough.”
Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
JOHANNESBURG: Rising star Saim Ayub hit his second century of the series — and his third in five innings — as Pakistan completed a series cleansweep over South Africa in the third one-day international at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.
Left-handed opening batsman Ayub made a sparkling 101 off 94 balls in a Pakistan total of 308 for nine.
Heinrich Klaasen thrashed 81 off 43 balls for South Africa — but the hosts were beaten by 36 runs chasing an adjusted target of 308. The match was reduced to 47 overs a side because of rain.
Ayub, 22, hit 113 not out in the second one-day game against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last month and 109 in the series opener against South Africa in Paarl last week.
In between his one-day appearances he made an unbeaten 98 in the second Twenty20 international against South Africa in Centurion.
In contrast to Ayub’s form, his opening partner Abdullah Shafique was out for his third successive duck after Pakistan were sent in to bat.
But Ayub was seldom troubled as he played shots all around the wicket in partnerships of 114 with Babar Azam (52) and 93 with captain Mohammad Rizwan (53).
Ayub fell to debutant Corbin Bosch, caught behind attempting an audacious flick to leg, after hitting 13 fours and two sixes.
Bosch, the son of the late Test and one-day international player Tertius Bosch, received a call-up after injuries hit South Africa’s fast bowling resources.
For the third successive match, Klaasen was the only South African to make a half-century. He kept South Africa ahead of the required run rate until he was sixth man out, caught on the square leg boundary off Shaheen Shah Afridi with the total on 194 in the 29th over.
Ayub followed up his century by taking one for 34 in 10 overs with his mixture of off-spin and carrom balls, claiming the key wicket of David Miller and producing the most economical figures by any bowler in the match.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 308-9 in 47 overs (Saim Ayub 101, Mohammad Rizwan 53, Babar Azam 52, Salman Agha 48; K. Rabada 3-56) v South Africa 271 in 42 overs (H. Klaasen 81, C. Bosch 40 not out)
Result: Pakistan won by 36 runs (DLS method)
Series: Pakistan won the three-match series 3-0
Toss: South Africa
Mbappe back from ‘bottom’ as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Mbappe, back after a brief absence with a thigh injury, scored for Madrid in midweek as they won the Intercontinental Cup
MADRID: Kylian Mbappe said he had bounced back from hitting rock bottom after helping Real Madrid thrash Sevilla 4-2 on Saturday to move second in La Liga above stuttering rivals Barcelona.
After Atletico Madrid beat Barca on Saturday to claim top spot at Christmas, Carlo Ancelotti’s side also took advantage with a comfortable home win which leaves them a point behind the leaders.
Madrid coach Ancelotti said ahead of Sevilla’s visit that Mbappe’s adaptation period had ended following his summer switch from Paris Saint-Germain and the French forward proved the coach right with a strong performance and his 14th goal of the season across all competitions.
Fede Valverde also netted a brilliant effort from range, with Rodrygo Goes and Brahim Diaz on the scoresheet for the hosts too, the latter assisted by a clever Mbappe pass.
Isaac Romero and Dodi Lukebakio scored for Sevilla, although they were thoroughly outplayed on veteran defender Jesus Navas’ final game for the club.
“I think that we know each other better, my arrival changed a lot of things, and now, as the coach said, the adaptation is over and I feel very good in the team,” Mbappe told Real Madrid TV.
“We can see on the pitch that I click better with my team-mates and now we’re all playing better.”
Mbappe, back after a brief absence with a thigh injury, scored for Madrid in midweek as they won the Intercontinental Cup.
It was welcome relief for the forward after missing two penalties in recent weeks against Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao, as well as suffering criticism for his form.
“I know I’ve got much more in my legs than I’m showing, but in the last games I’ve played better,” Mbappe added.
“The Bilbao game was good for me, I hit the bottom, I missed a penalty and it was a moment to realize that I have to give everything for this shirt and show my personality.”
With Vinicius Junior suspended, Mbappe took the reins and broke the deadlock in the 10th minute as Madrid brought the ball out from the back and worked it to Rodrygo on the left flank.
The Brazilian squared to Mbappe on the edge of the area, who took one touch to control, another to set himself and with his third, smashed a fierce effort past the helpless Alvaro Fernandez.
“I think (Mbappe) has been self-critical, he’s come out of a situation that could have been complicated for him,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“Yesterday I said his adaptation period was over, today he showed it, sometimes I’m not wrong.”
The coach said Madrid had found their footing after struggling at times in the first half of the season.
“We’re running a bit more, playing with more intensity, we’re doing things well again, as we have to do — they’ve been complicated months,” Ancelotti added.
Madrid’s second, 10 minutes later, was even better, with Valverde firing a screamer into the top corner from over 30 yards out after a short corner.
Ancelotti’s side were in full flow and the third followed in the 34th minute when Lucas Vazquez crossed for Rodrygo.
Sevilla hit back within a minute, with Romero nodding home from Juanlu Sanchez’s cross.
Madrid stretched their lead after the break with Mbappe dinking a superb pass through for Diaz to finish clinically.
Sevilla brought on Navas after the hour mark and he was applauded by the Santiago Bernabeu, with this his 705th and final appearance for the club, far more than any other player.
Madrid and Sevilla players together gave the retiring Spanish great — a World Cup winner in 2010 and two-time Euros champion — a guard of honor at the start of the game.
Navas, 39, won four Europa Leagues and two Copa del Rey trophies with Sevilla, but his final appearance ended in disappointment for the Andalusians.
Lukebakio pulled one back late on for Sevilla as Madrid were able to finish an impressive year, in which they became Spanish and European champions, with positive vibes.
“Today was a spectacle, I haven’t seen anything like that in my life at an away ground, it was crazy,” an emotional Navas told reporters.
“I was thinking of all the moments that I’ve lived through, the joys I’ve given to my Sevilla and my national team.”
Joao Fonseca follows Sinner as landmark NextGen champion in Jeddah
- Brazil’s Fonseca, 18, came through 2-4, 4-3 (10/8), 4-0, 4-2 to see off his left-handed American opponent
JEDDAH: Joao Fonseca became the second youngest champion of the NextGen ATP tournament on Sunday when he defied his lowly ranking of 145 to defeat Learner Tien in the final.
Brazil’s Fonseca, 18, came through 2-4, 4-3 (10/8), 4-0, 4-2 to see off his left-handed American opponent.
He is the youngest champion at the event since current world number one Jannik Sinner claimed the title also at the age of 18 five years ago.
“I was really nervous before the match. I knew it was going to be so difficult,” Fonseca said before lifting the trophy with tennis legend Rafael Nadal watching on from the stands.
“I played a final against Learner in juniors at the 2023 US Open and I know the way he can play. He is such a nice guy and a great player, so I knew it was going to be difficult, mentally and physically. But I got through.”
Fonseca, the lowest-ranked player in the eight-man field, won all five matches he played this week at the Red Sea venue.
He began the year ranked at 730 in the world and having made a maiden ATP quarter-final in Rio this year, he will be aiming to make significant progress in 2025.
“I need to believe when I go before a tournament that I can win,” Fonseca said.
“But now I have won it I am thinking, ‘Wow, I made it’. I am very proud of myself.”
