Pujols’ 500th career homer leads Angels

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Heading toward the plate after the 500th homer of this career, Albert Pujols glanced ahead and saw a throng of Los Angeles Angels teammates waiting right there to greet him.He was pleased by the outpouring of support. He also had a message.“I was pretty emotional running the bases and when I ... looked at all these guys coming out, it was hard,” Pujols said. “But I just told them, ‘We’ve got a game to win.’”Not a problem, especially with Pujols hitting like the Pujols of old. C

BaseballApril 23, 2014

Rangers trip up Oakland

OAKLAND, California (AP) ― Donnie Murphy lined a go-ahead single up the middle with one out in the eighth inning, and the Texas Rangers rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Monday night.Sean Doolittle (0-1) allowed a leadoff double to Kevin Kouzmanoff and Mitch Moreland sacrificed him to third before Murphy’s hit. Murphy and Kouzmanoff are both former A’s players.Neal Cotts (1-1) pitched one inning for the win, then gave way to Alexi Ogando before Joakim S

BaseballApril 22, 2014

Runners reclaim Boston Marathon

BOSTON (AFP) ― Tens of thousands of runners, cheered by a multitude of spectators, streamed through the streets of Boston Monday to reclaim the world’s oldest marathon from the fear left by last year’s deadly twin bombing.More than 3,500 police, double the size of the force last year, kept watch to prevent any replay of the ghastly carnage that devastated the race on April 15, 2013, when two explosive devices tore through the crowds at the finish line.Three people were killed and 264 injured in

More SportsApril 22, 2014

Puig goes deep as Dodgers roll

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Yasiel Puig hit a three-run homer and threw out a runner at second base, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 Sunday.Puig flipped his bat after connecting to cap a four-run sixth inning. His second homer of the season came after a two-out intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez.Dodgers starter Josh Beckett pitched five innings of one-hit ball, striking out seven and walking two.Jamey Wright (1-0) got three outs for his 93rd career victory, spread over

BaseballApril 21, 2014

Kuchar chips in for RBC Heritage win

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (AP) ― Matt Kuchar saw his well-struck 5-iron on the 18th hole at the RBC Heritage come up way short of the target and settle in a front bunker.“Well,” he thought as he walked toward the shot, “there are a lot worse places to be.”For Kuchar, there was no better place ― and no better shot in the tournament.He followed with a stunning chip-in on Harbour Town Golf Link’s closing, lighthouse hole, to overcome a four-shot deficit for a one-stroke victory and end nea

GolfApril 21, 2014

Home sweet home

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― Michelle Wie rallied from four strokes back entering the day to shoot a 5-under 67 on Saturday and win the LPGA LOTTE Championship.The 24-year-old American finished at 14-under 274 after coming into the final round trailing third-round leader Angela Stanford by four shots after Friday’s play. It was Wie’s third career victory on the LPGA Tour, and first since taking the CN Canadian Women’s Open in 2010.And, Wie did it at home.“I’m just having fun out there,” said Wie, who

GolfApril 20, 2014

Choo gets three hits as Rangers win 6-3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― Colby Lewis pitched into the sixth inning for his first win in nearly two years, Prince Fielder homered and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Saturday night.Lewis (1-1) struck out four while allowing only one run over 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander, the first known major league pitcher to return from a unique hip procedure, won for the first time since June 17, 2012.Choo Shin-soo and Alex Rios each had three hits for the Rangers, who won their fifth con

BaseballApril 20, 2014

Ryu stymies Giants, improves to 3-1

SEOUL/SAN FRANCISCO (Yonhap) ― Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers picked up his third win of the young Major League Baseball season on Thursday after tossing seven shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants in his club’s 2-1 victory on the road.The South Korean left-hander held the National League West division rivals to four singles and one walk over seven frames while striking out three. He is now 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 28 innings.This was his fourth scoreless ou

BaseballApril 18, 2014

Djokovic, Nadal race into Monte Carlo quarters

MONACO (AP) ― Defending champion Novak Djokovic raced into the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals in dispatching Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in 47 minutes on Thursday. Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal also had little trouble, beating Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-3, while fourth-seeded Roger Federer shook off a slow start in a 6-4, 6-1 win against Czech player Lukas Rosol. The second-seeded Djokovic won his second-round opener in 45 minutes and has yet to be tested this week. He next fac

More SportsApril 18, 2014

Stanford takes 1-shot lead over Wie at LPGA Lotte

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― Angela Stanford adeptly handled the windy conditions to shoot an 8-under 64 on Thursday and take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the LPGA Lotte Championship. Stanford took the lead early with five birdies in a row on the front nine and finished the day with eight birdies. The best round of the tournament so far left the five-time LPGA Tour winner at 8-under 136. “Finally I got comfortable on these greens and it felt great,” Stanford said. “To see the ball go in

GolfApril 18, 2014

Real Madrid wins Copa del Rey

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) ― Gareth Bale filled the void left by the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, sealing Real Madrid’s 19th Copa del Rey title with a late goal in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Barcelona.Ronaldo’s extra-time play gave Madrid the 2011 Copa del Rey title at Barcelona’s expense. In his absence Wednesday, Bale scored in the 85th minute ― his first goal in three “clasico” matches ― to make sure Madrid repeated the feat.Angel Di Maria scored Madrid’s opener from a counterattack in the 11th minute,

SoccerApril 17, 2014