SPORTS DIGEST

BASEBALL

The Boston Red Sox turned a triple play and scored eight runs in a single inning as they crushed the St Louis Cardinals 10-4. The Red Sox went around the horn to turn a 5-4-3 triple play while leading 1-0 in the top of the fourth, then broke the game wide open by scoring eight in the fifth. The win keeps Boston 4.5 games clear of the New York Yankees at the top of the American League East after their rivals edged out the New York Mets 5-4 in another interleague contest. Sonny Gray took his first win since being traded to the Yankees from Oakland, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sanchez hit home runs. Carlos Santana hit a pair of home runs as they Cleveland Indians routed the Minnesota Twins 8-1, hitting five home runs between them as they recorded a fifth straight win. The loss left the Twins third in the AL Central, just below the Kansas City Royals who blew a late lead in losing 10-8 to the Oakland Athletics. The Royals scored five in the top of the eighth inning to go 8-6 up, only for Matt Joyce’s three-run double in the bottom of the eighth to flip the game back in Oakland’s favour. Home runs from Joey Gallo, Mike Napoli and Robinson Chirinos helped the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 10-4, while Wilson Ramos and Lucas Duda cleared the fences as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4. Andrew Albers won on his debut, throwing five innings of one-run ball as the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1. The Houston Astros stretched their considerable lead in the AL West to 12.5 games, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 while the second-placed Los Angeles Angels lost 3-1 to the Washington Nationals. Washington’s win put them 14.5 games clear in the National League East after the Miami Marlins were beaten 9-4 by the San Francisco Giants, despite Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton hitting a home run for a sixth straight game, taking him to 44 for the season. The Cardinals’ loss to Boston drops them into a tie for second place in the NL Central, level with the Milwaukee Brewers who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 behind 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball from Zach Davies. St Louis and Milwaukee are 1.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs, who were edged out 2-1 by the Cincinnati Reds in a pitchers’ duel at Wrigley Field. The game was scoreless until the eighth inning, when Joey Votto – who reached base at least twice for the 20th straight game, one behind Ted Williams’ modern-era record – scored the first run of the night. A rare error from two-time Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado proved costly for the Colorado Rockies as the Atlanta Braves capitalised to take a 4-3 win. The Los Angeles Dodgers scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on their way to a 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, while the San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Arizona Diamondbacks 4 Houston Astros 9, Boston Red Sox 10 St Louis Cardinals 4, Chicago Cubs 1 Cincinnati Reds 2, Colorado Rockies 3 Atlanta Braves 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 6 Chicago White Sox 1, Miami Marlins 4 San Francisco Giants 9, Milwaukee Brewers 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 1, Minnesota Twins 1 Cleveland Indians 8, New York Yankees 5 New York Mets 4, Oakland Athletics 10 Kansas City Royals 8, San Diego Padres 8 Philadelphia Phillies 4, Seattle Mariners 3 Baltimore Orioles 1, Texas Rangers 10 Detroit Tigers 4, Toronto Blue Jays 4 Tampa Bay Rays 6, Washington Nationals 3 LA Angels 1.

GOLF

Dame Laura Davies will make history as the first woman to compete in a European Senior Tour event in next year’s Shipco Masters in Denmark. Four-time major winner Davies will play from the same tees as her male opponents, which will include former Masters champion Ian Woosnam. The 53-year-old said: “My golfing career has been played in parallel with a number of players who are currently on the Senior Tour, so I’m really looking forward to testing my wits against them. “It is a privilege to have been invited back to Simon’s Golf Club by Arne and his team, and I’m looking forward to making history on the Senior Tour.” Ireland’s Leona Maguire has won the Mark H Mccormack Medal for the third consecutive year as the leading women’s player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Maguire won the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship at Pyle & Kenfig this season and finished joint runner-up in the 2017 NCAA Championship individual standings. The 22-year-old from County Cavan, who will shortly begin her final year at Duke University, said: “It’s a huge honour for me. “To win it once was one thing, but to win it three times is quite a humbling feeling. I know there have been some great names before me but to have my name on there three times is something very special and something that I am very proud of.” Maguire has won seven times in her collegiate career and finished tied 21st in the Olympic Games in Rio last year.

SNOOKER

CHINA CHAMPIONSHIP (Guangzhou) 1st rd: Barry Hawkins (Eng) bt Oliver Lines (Eng) 5-2, Mark Joyce (Eng) bt Anthony Mcgill (Sco) 5-2, Li Hang (Chn) bt Neil Robertson (Aus) 5-4, Yan Bingtao (Chn) bt Stuart Bingham (Eng) 5-3, Anthony Hamilton (Eng) bt Peter Ebdon (Eng) 5-3, Stephen Maguire (Sco) bt Rory Mcleod (Eng) 5-1, Ali Carter (Eng) bt Aditya Mehta (Ind) 5-4, Shaun Murphy (Eng) bt Ken Doherty (Irl) 5-4, David Grace (Eng) bt Ian Preece (Wal) 5-4, Mark Davis (Eng) bt Ben Woollaston (Eng) 5-4, Mike Dunn (Eng) bt Joe Perry (Eng) 5-1, Kurt Maflin (Nor) bt Michael Georgiou (Eng) 5-0, Graeme Dott (Sco) bt Robert Milkins (Eng) 5-3, David Gilbert (Eng) bt Stuart Carrington (Eng) 5-4, Alan Mcmanus (Sco) bt Elliot Slessor (Eng) 5-3, Fergal O’brien (Irl) bt Mark King (Eng) 5-3.

SPEEDWAY

FIXTURES Tonight: SGB PREMIERSHIP: Swindon v Somerset (7:30pm) SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Ipswich v Workington 7.30, Redcar v Glasgow 7.30, Sheffield v Newcastle (all 7:30pm) TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Plymouth (7pm) Tomorrow: SGB PREMIERSHIP: Somerset v Swindon (7:30pm) SGB CHAMPIONSHIP: Edinburgh v Ipswich (7:30pm) TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham (7:30pm), Plymouth v Kent (7:15pm).