BOSTON: Opening his final weekend with yet another game-winning homer, David Ortiz lined a two-run shot into the right-field stands to break a seventh-inning tie and help the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 on Friday.
The AL East champion Red Sox ended a three-game losing streak and stayed one game ahead of Cleveland, which beat the Kansas City Royals 7-2, in the race for home-field advantage for the playoffs.
The Blue Jays fell one game behind Baltimore in the wild-card race and are now within range of Detroit and Seattle in the fight for the AL's final postseason berth.
With his image mowed into the grass in center for the final regular-season series of his career, Ortiz hit his 38th homer of the year — and No. 541 of his career — to help Boston rally from a 3-1 deficit with four runs in the seventh. It was extra-base hit No. 1,192, tying Ken Griffey Jr. and Rafael Palmeiro for eighth on baseball's all-time list.
Dustin Pedroia had three hits for Boston, and Brad Ziegler (2-3) picked up the win with one inning of scoreless relief. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 31st save.
Devon Travis had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and Jose Batista homered for Toronto.
Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 47th home run, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones also went deep in a six-run fifth inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 8-1 to maintain their AL wild-card lead.
Trumbo and Jones homered off Michael Pineda (6-12).
Schoop tied his career high with five RBIs, hitting a go-ahead, two-run double in the fourth and adding a three-run homer in the fifth against James Pazos — Baltimore's big league-high 250th home run this season.
At Arlington, Texas, Yu Darvish looked playoff-ready with a season-high 12 strikeouts in six innings as the Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 and clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Texas can be tied by only the Cleveland Indians and they own the tie-breaker by winning the teams' season series. The AL owns home-field advantage in the World Series thanks to its win in the All-Star Game.
In the National League, Madison Bumgarner lined a key two-run double in the sixth and emphatically pumped his arms while yelling in celebration at second base, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-3 to maintain its slim lead for the second NL wild card.
Brandon Belt added a three-run homer in the seven-run inning and Bumgarner (15-9) beat the Dodgers for the first time in seven starts since May 21, 2015. It was win No. 100 of his career.
Matt Holliday hit an emotional home run and the St. Louis Cardinals shut-out the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 to keep within one game of San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.
Holliday, out since Aug. 12 because of a thumb injury, was club informed by the club earlier this week that it is not planning to pick up the $17 million option on his contract for 2017, and instead will pay him the $1 million buyout.
Holliday was given a standing ovation before he pinch-hit in the seventh. He responded with his 20th home run, and came out for a curtain call.
Elsewhere Friday, Carlos Rodon tied an AL record by striking out the first seven batters and Tim Anderson finished a double shy of the cycle to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 win, handing the Twins their 103rd loss — the most losses since the Washington Senators went 50-104 in 1949.
Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs, Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton also connected and the Detroit Tigers beat the Atlanta Braves 6-2 and pulled within a half-game of Toronto for the second AL wild-card spot.
Jay Bruce homered for the third straight game and drove in three runs, Robert Gsellman threw six sharp innings and the New York Mets moved to within one game of securing a NL wild-card berth with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Also, the in-form Chicago Cubs topped the Cincinnati Reds 7-3, the Miami Marlins beat the NL East champion Washington Nationals 6-4, the Los Angeles Angels thrashed the Houston Astros 7-1 and the Seattle Mariners stayed in wild-card contention, beating the Oakland Athletics 5-1.
Ortiz delivers another HR as Red Sox top Jays 5-3
Ortiz delivers another HR as Red Sox top Jays 5-3
Saudi Arabia’s Mashael Alobaidan and teammate Dani Clos win season opener of UIM E1 World Championship
- oki Racing Team, sponsored by leading DJ Steve Aoki, triumph in Jeddah race
- UIM E1 is the world’s only all-electric power boat race circuit
JEDDAH: The Aoki Racing Team of Mashael Alobaidan from Saudi Arabia and Spain’s Dani Clos won the season opener of the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF in Jeddah on Saturday.
The event marked the start of a second season of the world’s only all-electric power boat race circuit.
E1 features top teams owned by some of the best-known celebrities in the world, including sport stars Tom Brady, Didier Drogba, and Rafael Nadal, and actor Will Smith.
Each team has two pilots — one male, one female — driving futuristic, all-electric “RaceBirds.”
The team backed by international DJ Steve Aoki surged to victory on the Red Sea in front of thousands of spectators.
Alobaidan and Clos finished ahead of Rafael Nadal’s Team Rafa in second place, and Virat Kohli’s Team Blue Rising, who made their first appearance on the podium in third.
Aoki pilot Alobaidan — Saudi Arabia’s first woman rally driver — said the win was the best of her career so far.
“Last year, I think we placed last or close to last,” she said. “So, it just goes to show the underdog has a chance when you have determination, passion, and love for the sport.
“We came together and we retooled everything we possibly could; we put our heart and determination into it, and just to see this all happening right here, right now, winning this one, it’s just a dream come true.”
Her teammate Clos is a former Formula 1 test driver and new to the team for the 2025 season.
Following the Jeddah event, the E1 season travels to six more stops, including Doha, Lake Como, Monaco, and Miami.
Haaland leads Man City revival to beat Chelsea
- Josko Gvardiol levelled for Pep Guardiola’s men before Haaland showed his blend of strength
- Marmoush was close to a perfect start to his City career when he blasted wide from Haaland’s pass after the Norwegian was picked out by a long ball from Ederson
MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland inspired a Manchester City fightback from 1-0 down to beat Chelsea 3-1 and move into the Premier League top four at the Blues’ expense on Saturday.
City recovered from a nightmare start to Abdukodir Khusanov’s debut as he gifted the visitors the opening goal, scored by Noni Madueke.
Josko Gvardiol levelled for Pep Guardiola’s men before Haaland showed his blend of strength and skill to chip in 22 minutes from time.
The Norwegian then turned provider for the in-form Phil Foden to secure City’s fourth win in five league games after just one in their previous nine.
Chelsea have won just once in their last seven Premier League games to fall to sixth and will once again reflect on the need to upgrade on goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after his positioning led to Haaland’s crucial goal.
City’s victory puts them back in pole position to qualify for next season’s Champions League, just days before they try to save themselves in this season’s competition.
The English champions must beat Club Brugge on Wednesday to reach the playoff round after collapsing from 2-0 up to lose 4-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
Guardiola reacted by throwing in new signings Khusanov and Omar Marmoush for their debuts.
But that decision backfired spectacularly in the case of Khusanov inside three minutes.
The first ever Uzbek to play in the Premier League did not properly connect with an attempted header back toward his own goal and Nicolas Jackson pounced to tee up Madueke for a tap in.
Moments later Khusanov was fortunate to get away with only a yellow card for chopping down Cole Palmer.
By contrast, Marmoush was showing why only Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane had scored more Bundesliga goals than him this season prior to a £59 million ($72.6 million) move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Egyptian thought he had equalized when he pounced to fire home the rebound after Sanchez parried Ilkay Gundogan’s effort, but was flagged offside.
Gvardiol’s marauding runs from left-back were causing City’s biggest threat.
Chelsea did not heed a warning as the Croatian prodded inches wide with his left foot after storming into the box.
Just before half-time, Gvardiol had a simple task for his fifth Premier League goal of the season.
Matheus Nunes this time made the break from full-back and after he was denied by Sanchez, the ball fell for Gvardiol to roll into an empty net.
Guardiola cut his losses with Khusanov at the start of the second period. He was replaced by John Stones and City were rarely troubled thereafter at the back.
Marmoush was close to a perfect start to his City career when he blasted wide from Haaland’s pass after the Norwegian was picked out by a long ball from Ederson.
But again Chelsea did not learn their lesson. Moments later from another Ederson clearance, Haaland outmuscled Trevoh Chalobah and then chipped Sanchez, who had charged out of his goal and ended up in no man’s land.
Despite City’s struggles, Haaland has remained a reliable source of goals as he took his tally for the season to 24, six of which have come in the last six games.
And he created he third goal as his layoff sent Foden clear to slot home his sixth goal in his last four league games.
Napoli beat Juventus to continue Serie A title charge
- Antonio Conte’s side bounced back from Randal Kolo Muani’s strike moments from half-time in his Juve debut
- Napoli won their seventh straight match thanks to a bullet header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Romelu Lukaku’s 69th-minute penalty
MILAN: Napoli continued their Serie A title charge on Saturday by coming from behind to win a feverish contest with rivals Juventus 2-1 and go six points clear at the top of the pile.
Antonio Conte’s side bounced back from Randal Kolo Muani’s strike moments from half-time in his Juve debut. Napoli won their seventh straight match thanks to a bullet header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Romelu Lukaku’s 69th-minute penalty.
Napoli are hunting a second Scudetto in three seasons and Saturday’s win, and in particular their dominant performance in the second half, was another sign that they, and not Inter Milan, are the team to beat.
Six points from clashes with Atalanta and Juve in successive weeks have kept Inter at bay with the reigning champions at lowly Lecce on Sunday hoping to halve the gap that separates Simone Inzaghi’s team from Napoli.
The roar that accompanied the hosts’ goals and the final whistle underlined the renewed belief that supporters have in their team after watching Napoli put up a dreadful defense of the Scudetto title last season.
Juve, meanwhile, are 16 points behind Napoli in fifth after falling to their first league defeat of the season, not the position expected when Thiago Motta replaced Massimiliano Allegri as coach in the summer.
Kolo Muani gave Juve a deserved half-time lead two days after finally completing his loan move to Turin from Paris Saint-Germain, where he had been frozen out by coach Luis Enrique.
He was in the right place at the right time in the 43rd minute to spin and lash home his third club goal of the season after Anguissa challenged for the ball and sent it straight to the France forward.
But Napoli were a different team after the break. After Alex Meret somehow kept out Lukaku’s close-range header the Juve goalkeeper could do nothing to stop Anguissa thumping home the leveller from Matteo Politano’s cross.
And there was only going to be one winner once Lukaku calmly rolled home his ninth Napoli goal from the spot after Scott McTominay was taken out by Manuel Locatelli.
Atalanta also stay seven points off the pace in third even though Mateo Retegui’s brace fired them to a 2-1 win at Como earlier on Saturday.
Italy striker Retegui pounced in the 56th and 70th minutes at a soaking Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia to take his league tally to 16 goals and give third-placed Atalanta their first win in Italy’s top flight in 2025.
The 25-year-old has scored five times in four games in all competitions since returning from a hamstring injury earlier this month, and his hot form is great news for Atalanta ahead of their trip to Barcelona.
Atalanta travel to Catalonia gunning for a place in the top eight of the Champions League and automatic qualification for the last 16, after thumping Sturm Graz on Tuesday.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side had to battle to victory at Como who deservedly led at the break through Nico Paz’s fantastic first-time strike but remain three points above the relegation zone in 13th place.
“It’s not easy to play so many matches so close together... we were slow in the first half but we were much better after half-time,” said Gasperini to DAZN.
Como will find it hard to pick up points between now and March. Their next five fixtures are against Bologna, Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli and Roma.
“You need to remember that we’re Como, we’re a newly-promoted team but we’re giving a lot of big teams hard games,” said coach Cesc Fabregas.
The away side also had strikes from Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere ruled out for offside and handball, which made for a nervy final few minutes as Como pushed unsuccessfully for a leveller.
Atletico Madrid stumble in La Liga again after draw with Villarreal
- The stalemate, which came a week after a shock 1-0 loss at Leganes, left Atletico one point behind Real Madrid
- Gerard Moreno, Villarreal’s top scorer in club history, made it 120 goals for the Yellow Submarine in the 25th minute
BARCELONA: Atletico Madrid stumbled again in their La Liga quest after being held by Villarreal to 1-1 at home on Saturday.
The stalemate, which came a week after a shock 1-0 loss at Leganes, left Atletico one point behind Real Madrid before the leader visited last-placed Valladolid.
Gerard Moreno, Villarreal’s top scorer in club history, made it 120 goals for the Yellow Submarine in the 25th minute after the striker converted a penalty he earned when fouled by Reinildo.
Gerard went close twice to adding another goal, but defender Axel Witsel did well to block or disrupt his efforts on either side of halftime.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone rested Antoine Griezmann and midfielder Rodrigo de Paul for the first half. Then he made three changes at halftime, sending on De Paul and winger Samu Lino to kickstart his sluggish attack.
The moves paid off as the hosts pressed Villarreal into their box, and Lino rammed in a 58th-minute equalizer after goalkeeper Luis Junior stopped Ángel Correa’s shot but couldn’t control the ball.
Simeone sent Griezmann on immediately after and the action stayed in Villarreal’s area except for two chances for Villarreal’s Ayoze Pérez, who replaced Gerard.
But Griezmann’s header that bounced just wide in the 86th was the closest Atletico came to snatching a winner.
“We played a good game at a very tough ground against a team with a deep bench that is fighting for the league. We are happy,” Gerard said for a Villarreal that stayed in fifth place.
Atletico are at Salzburg on Wednesday aiming to lock up a spot in the knockout rounds of the Champions League and avoid a playoff.
Kane scores as Bayern Munich go six points clear
- Kane and English compatriot Eric Dier created the opener in the 15th minute
- Dier found Kane who drilled a low shot through the fingers of Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu
FREIBURG, Germany: Harry Kane scored as Bayern Munich won 2-1 at Freiburg on Saturday to move six points clear of Bayer Leverkusen, who threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at RB Leipzig.
Kane and English compatriot Eric Dier created the opener in the 15th minute.
Dier found Kane who drilled a low shot through the fingers of Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.
The goal was Kane’s first from open play since mid-November and his 17th in 17 league games this season.
Bayern doubled their lead after 54 minutes when Kim Min-jae outmuscled Atubolu and headed in a Joshua Kimmich corner.
Freiburg made Bayern sweat when Matthias Ginter headed in a corner with 22 minutes remaining, but the German giants held firm to bounce back from Wednesday’s surprise 3-0 Champions League loss at Feyenoord.
“We’ve played better games than that,” Kimmich told Sky Germany.
“But that is exactly what you need sometimes. We deserved to win.”
Bayern’s win means defending champions Leverkusen are now six points behind the league leaders, after they dropped points in the league for the first time since early November at Leipzig.
Florian Wirtz impressed throughout and was instrumental in Leverkusen’s opener.
The Germany midfielder shrugged off two defenders with a jink and shot against the post, with Patrik Schick well placed to tap in and put Leverkusen in front after 18 minutes.
Leverkusen’s controversial second, scored on the 36-minute mark, was also created by Wirtz.
Near the sideline, the 21-year-old won the ball from Leipzig’s David Raum, while appearing to sink his studs into the defender’s leg.
With Raum on the ground, Wirtz dribbled goalwards and cut the ball back to Aleix Garcia, who calmly slotted home.
Raum had his revenge just five minutes later, thumping in a deflected free kick off the crossbar to cut Leverkusen’s advantage.
Leipzig equalized from another set piece with five minutes remaining. Xavi Simons sent a spiralling free kick into the box which Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba turned into his own net.
In their first match since sacking coach Nuri Sahin, 10-man Borussia Dortmund also let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at home against Werder Bremen.
Dortmund’s chances took an early hit when center-back Nico Schlotterbeck was red carded for a last-man foul after 21 minutes.
The hosts were dangerous despite the disadvantage and took the lead seven minutes later when Julian Brandt found Serhou Guirassy who headed in his eighth league goal of the season.
Dortmund looked in charge when Guirassy’s 51st-minute cross was turned into his own net by Bremen defender Marco Friedl, but Bremen levelled things up with two goals in eight minutes.
Former Dortmund midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt unleashed a rocket from outside the box before Marvin Ducksch caught the hosts napping, running in behind and scoring to level things up.
Elsewhere, Mainz continued their impressive run this season, beating Stuttgart 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Nelson Weiper and Anthony Caci.
Relegation candidates last campaign, Mainz’s win sends them sixth, one point behind Stuttgart and Leipzig and in contention for a Champions League place.
A stoppage time goal from Keven Schlotterbeck took Augsburg to a 2-1 home win over Heidenheim.
In Saturday’s late game, Borussia Moenchengladbach host last-placed Bochum.
