Sweet 16 for Price…Feeling Chipper…White Sox go deep five times
UNDATED (AP) – David Price pitched three-hit ball over seven innings for his AL-leading 16th victory and Tampa Bay blanked the L.A. Angels 7-zip under the lights in Anaheim. It’s the Rays’ third straight shutout against the Halos.
Price is 7-0 with a 2.21 ERA in his last nine road starts. And he’s 8-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his last 11 starts overall since a 9-1 home loss to the New York Mets on June 13.
The Rays got home runs from Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist, helping them move into a tie for the AL wild card lead with Baltimore.
In the rest of the AL:
– Boston avoided a three-game sweep by Baltimore by beating the Orioles 6-3. Clay Buchholz (BUHK’-ohlts) shook off a rocky start to earn his 11th win. Dustin Pedroia singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning.
– Alex Rios hit a three-run homer against his former team and Francisco Liriano (leer-ee-AH’-noh) earned his first victory with the Chicago White Sox, 7-2, over the Toronto Blue Jays. The White Sox hit a season-high five home runs to give them 27 in their last 13 games.
– Craig Gentry and Adrian Beltre each had three RBIs and the Texas Rangers avoided a four-game sweep in a matchup of AL division leaders, rallying past the New York Yankees 10-6. Texas had lost eight straight at Yankee Stadium. Josh Hamilton doubled twice and scored three times.
– Oakland blanked Kansas City 3-0. Coco Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes homered. Dan Straily picked up his first major league victory.
Over in the NL:
Chipper Jones is trying to go out in style. The 40-year-old Atlanta third baseman homered twice and the Braves won their 15th consecutive game with Kris Medlen as a starter by blanking the San Diego Padres 6-0. Jones, who is retiring after the season, hit a two-run homer in the first, then added a towering solo shot over the wall in center in the fifth. It was his first multihomer game in more than three years and raised his team-leading average to .314. He came out of the dugout for a curtain call after both drives, the second of which was his 2,700th career hit.
– Garrett Jones had a career day with a pair of three-run homers to help A.J. Burnett become the first Pirates pitcher with 15 wins in 13 years as Pittsburgh avoided a four-game sweep with a 10-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jones had a career-high six RBIs. The loss trims the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West to a half-game over idle San Francisco.
– The New York Mets halted Cincinnati’s five-game winning streak, 8-4. Ike Davis hit his 21st homer. Jason Bay also went deep for the Mets. Rookie pitcher Matt Harvey drove in two runs with his bat and only allowed one run on four hits in seven and two-thirds innings pitched.
– Corey Hart hit an eighth-inning grand slam and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied past Philadelphia 7-4. It was Hart’s 23rd homer.
– Arizona rallied with two in the ninth on solo home runs by Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Young off Cards closer Jason Motte (maht) and beat St. Louis 2-1.
Report says Mathieu in rehab
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A New Orleans television station is reporting that former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu (TY’-ran MATH’-yoo) has entered a drug rehabilitation program in Houston. He was dismissed from the Tigers’ program last week.
Fox 8 is reporting that Mathieu’s adoptive father says the 20-year-old star cornerback and punt returner known as the “Honey Badger” has been at the Right Step recovery center and is being counseled by former NBA player John Lucas.
Tyrone Mathieu says his son is committed to restoring his health and won’t play football until he is confident that his rehab is complete.
NFL provides court with bounty documents
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The NFL has provided a federal judge with what it says is evidence Commissioner Roger Goodell (guh-DEHL’) did not improperly pre-judge players in the bounty investigation.
The evidence includes a copy of a letter the NFL Players Association sent the league on March 7 asking Goodell to delay punishment of players implicated in the bounty probe. It also includes a sworn declaration from Goodell in which he states he was prepared to hand down player discipline at the same time he announced suspensions for coaches and executives on March 21. Goodell’s declaration states he held off after verbally agreeing to do so in a phone conversation with union head DeMaurice Smith.
Attorneys for four suspended players have argued Goodell showed improper bias with comments he made before announcing player discipline.
Texans and Brown agree
UNDATED (AP) – The Texans have agreed to a new contract with left tackle Duane Brown. The six-year contract is worth $53.4 million, with $22.08 million guaranteed. He’s a durable anchor on the line to protect QB Matt Schaub and open holes for running back Arian Foster.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman has started all but four games since Houston drafted him with the 26th overall pick in 2008. Brown earned Associated Press All-Pro second team honors in 2011 after helping the Texans set a franchise record for yards rushing with 2,448.
In other NFL news:
– The NFL says San Diego Chargers defensive tackle Garrett Brown has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
– Seattle coach Pete Carroll says Terrell Owens will make his debut for Seattle on Saturday night at Denver. The veteran wide receiver signed with Seattle on Aug. 6 and had just a couple of days of practice before the preseason opener against Tennessee. Carroll says it wouldn’t have been fair to run Owens out there that quickly.
It will be the first NFL game action for Owens since Week 15 of the 2010 season with Cincinnati.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas 10, N.Y. Yankees 6
Boston 6, Baltimore 3
Chicago White Sox 7, Toronto 2
Oakland 3, Kansas City 0
Tampa Bay 7, L.A. Angels 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 10, L.A. Dodgers 6
N.Y. Mets 8, Cincinnati 4
Atlanta 6, San Diego 0
Milwaukee 7, Philadelphia 4
Arizona 2, St. Louis 1
Colorado 5, Miami 3
