SPORTS DIGEST

BASEBALL

The Boston Red Sox scored six home runs in their win over Major League Baseball rivals the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. The 13-7 away victory enabled Boston to remain three games behind American League East leaders the New York Yankees, who took an early eight-run lead against the Baltimore Orioles and held on for an 8-3 success. Also in the American League, the Texas Rangers came through 9-5 against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros were too good for the Minnesota Twins for a second successive night, winning 7-2 to stretch their winning run to six. The Kansas City Royals blanked the Detroit Tigers 1-0, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 and the Cleveland Indians registered their third successive win, downing the Oakland Athletics 9-4. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers sunk the St Louis Cardinals 9-4 for a sixth consecutive victory which takes them top of the West Division, after the Colorado Rockies had gone down 10-4 to the Seattle Mariners. Robbie Ray dealt his first career shutout as the Arizona Diamondbacks saw off the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0. Albert Pujols hit the 599th homer of his career in the third inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 9-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. MLB: Baltimore Orioles 3 New York Yankees 8, Chicago White Sox 7 Boston Red Sox 13, Cleveland Indians 9 Oakland Athletics 4, Colorado Rockies 4 Seattle Mariners 10, Kansas City Royals 1 Detroit Tigers 0, LA Angels 9 Atlanta Braves 3, Miami Marlins 7 Philadelphia Phillies 2, Minnesota Twins 2 Houston Astros 7, New York Mets 5 Milwaukee Brewers 4 (12 Innings), Pittsburgh Pirates 0 Arizona Diamondbacks 3, San Diego Padres 6 Chicago Cubs 2, San Francisco Giants 3 Washington Nationals 6, St Louis Cardinals 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 9, Texas Rangers 9 Tampa Bay Rays 5, Toronto Blue Jays 6 Cincinnati Reds 4.

CRICKET

Today’s cricket fixtures (10.30 unless stated) ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY Group A The Oval: England v Bangladesh TOUR MATCH (1 day) Trent Bridge: England Lions v South Africa A (11.00)

MOTO GP

Valentino Rossi hopes to overcome “severe pain” and pass a medical in time to compete in this weekend’s Motogp in Italy. The 38-year-old Italian spent a night in hospital last Thursday after suffering chest and abdominal injuries in a training accident, but is hoping to be cleared in time to race in Mugello. “Unfortunately I crashed while I was training on a motocross bike,” the Yamaha rider told www.autosport.com. “The pain in the abdomen and in the chest is still severe. It will not be easy but I still have a few days to continue the treatment. Fortunately, my condition is improving day by day and this allows me to think a bit more positively about the Mugello weekend.”

RUGBY LEAGUE

STATE OF ORIGIN SERIES Game One Queensland 4 New South Wales 28

RUGBY UNION

WORLD RUGBY U 20 CHAMPIONSHIPS (Georgia) Pool A: Australia U20 24 Wales U20 17, England U20 74 Samoa U20 17 Pool B: Ireland U20 21 Italy U20 22, New Zealand U20 42 Scotland U20 20 Pool C: Argentina U20 37 Georgia U20 26, South Africa U20 23 France U20 23.