World Best Sports

A pinch-hit RBI single in the 14th inning by Chris Snyder gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a 4-3 victory over New York on Wednesday night, completing a three-game sweep of the fading Mets.

Snyder, the last position player available for Arizona, hit a 2-2 pitch from Fernando Nieve (2-4) over the head of left fielder Jason Bay to bring home Justin Upton, who had led off the inning with a double.

The Mets fell to 1-6 on their 10-game Western trip after the All-Star break and remained 6 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East. They finish the trip with three games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles starting Friday night. Five Arizona relievers shut out New York on one hit over the last eight innings. Blaine Boyer (2-2) was perfect over the final two, striking out two, to get the victory.

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John Danks combined with two relievers on a two-hitter and Alexei Ramirez homered, helping the Chicago White Sox beat the woeful Seattle Mariners 4-0 on Tuesday. Danks (10-7) allowed Casey Kotchman's infield single in the second and Ichiro Suzuki's two-out single in the eighth on his final pitch of the night. He struck out eight and walked four, then got a dugout bear hug from manager Ozzie Guillen as Chicago increased its lead in the AL Central to a season-high 3 1/2 games over Detroit and Minnesota. J.J. Putz got the final out of the eighth and Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth in his first appearance since he failed to record an out on Sunday, when he was charged with four runs in a loss at Minnesota.

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Manager Ozzie Guillen's pre-second half meeting Thursday reminded his White Sox players how they rebounded from.

A 9 1/2-game deficit to move into first place while enduring criticism over their terrible start amid the threat of breaking up the team.

"If we go to the playoffs, it will be most satisfying year I have had in seven years with this ballclub," Guillen said before the game.

"This one will be more exciting than the two playoffs (years) for me." The Sox didn't lack for entertainment in stretching their lead in.

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All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer to key a five-run outburst and Jon Garland threw six strong innings, leading the San Diego Padres to a 12-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

Gonzalez put the NL West leaders ahead 2-1 in the fourth when he connected off Dan Haren (7-8) for his 19th homer. San Diego added three more runs in the inning.

Garland (9-6) finally beat the Diamondbacks after having tough luck in his first two starts against them this season. The right-hander allowed one run and three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He combined with three relievers on a four-hitter.

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Roy Halladay hit Marlon Byrd twice and gave up two-run homers to Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano after each errant throw, sending the Chicago Cubs to an 11-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night.

Byrd became the first Cubs player in 105 years to be hit by a pitch 16 times in a season and Chicago took advantage of a rare wild night for Halladay, winning three of four in its first series since the All-Star break.

Halladay had tossed 18 consecutive scoreless innings before Chicago's four-run second, which began with All-Star Byrd getting nailed. Soto hit a two-run homer with one out and the Cubs added two more.

A similar scenario played out in the sixth, only this time it was Soriano hitting a drive to left after Byrd got hit in the back by a breaking ball. Soriano's 17th homer made it 6-2.

Gorzelanny (5-5) allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander walked five and struck out five while improving to 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA in his last three starts.

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Nate Schierholtz  hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and the San Francisco Giants defeated Los Angeles 5-2 Monday night, keeping the Dodgers winless since the All-Star break.

The Giants' 10th win in their last 12 games moved them past Colorado into second place in the NL West, four games behind idle San Diego.

The Dodgers have lost five in a row, including a four-game sweep at St. Louis, since the break and seven of their last 11. They dominated the Giants in the first half, winning five of six, including a three-game sweep last month in San Francisco.

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It only took one swing of the bat to end 13 years of bad luck for the National League. More than a decade since it last won baseball's all-star game.

A seventh inning, three-run double from Brian McCann sealed a 3-1 victory for the NL in the 81st midsummer classic.

With the bases loaded, the Atlanta Braves catcher sparked the offence with a line drive to right field that cleared the bases, scoring Scott Rolen, Matt Holliday and Marlon Byrd.

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The National League drought is over. The NL has defeated the American League, 3-1, in the All-Star Game for the first time since 1996. It look place Tuesday night just hours after legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died.

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The old-timer walked to the plate, a bat in his hand, four home run derbies worth of experience to his credit, and none of them a victory.

But it being the derby's final round Monday night at Angel Stadium, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz could change that last part.

And, after several home runs, many of which sailed into the elevated right-field stands, Ortiz did, winning his first derby by beating Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez, 11-5, in the final. When it was over, Ortiz, who hit 32 home runs at an average of 417 feet, dedicated the victory to former major league pitcher Jose Lima.

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What’s often missed when discussing today’s broadband services to the home is the business infrastructure that often sits behind them. Consider, for examplethe official site of.

Major League Baseball, which offers subscribers access to HD-quality video for a full season of games, 2430 in all. While subscribers’ experiences are ultimately governed by their individual broadband speeds, MLB.com needs a mighty network to move all that video between stadiums and its home servers in New York City.

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