Tigers climb into tie for first in AL Central

DETROIT — Anibal Sanchez retired the final batter on a weak grounder, and Detroit's players began celebrating around the mound.

Clutch performance: Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez pitches against the Royals on Tuesday in Detroit. Sanchez threw a shutout to pull the Tigers into a tie for the AL Central lead. AP

Moments later, the home crowd roared a little louder when the AL Central standings were posted on the scoreboard in left field — with the Tigers back in a tie for first.

"We control our own destiny. We've just got to continue to play good baseball," catcher Gerald Laird said. "We don't have to rely on anybody to beat anybody now. It's all on our shoulders."

Sanchez threw his first shutout in over a year, and the Tigers caught the Chicago White Sox atop the division with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Detroit had spent only one day in first since the start of August. The Tigers were tied with the White Sox after beating them Sept. 2 — but quickly fell back.

Now it's even again with eight games to play. Even in this season of expanded playoffs, Detroit and Chicago are in an old-fashioned division race with seemingly everything at stake — because a wild card isn't a likely option.

"Nothing is over, nothing is in," Sanchez said. "We're right there."

Athletics 3, Rangers 2 (10)

In Arlington, Texas, George Kottaras hit a leadoff homer in the 10th inning.

Scheduled starter Yu Darvish was scratched by the Rangers about 2? hours before the first pitch because of a stiff neck.

Angels 5, Mariners 4

In Anaheim, Zack Greinke had a season-high 13 strikeouts in five innings.

Indians 4, White Sox 3

In Chicago, the White Sox gave Detroit an opening to tie for the AL Central lead when Gordon Beckham hit into a game-ending forceout with the potential tying run on second base.

Blue Jays 4, Orioles 0

In Baltimore, Aaron Laffey and five relievers combined on a six-hitter.

Twins 5, Yankees 4

In Minneapolis, Phil Hughes ran out of gas in the seventh inning and Boone Logan couldn't hold the lead for him.

Ichiro Suzuki finished 1-for-4.

Rays 5, Red Sox 2

In Boston, David Price struck out a season-high 13 and Jeff Keppinger hit a three-run homer.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves 4, Marlins 3

In Atlanta, Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to put the Braves back in the playoffs with a victory over Miami.

Reds 4, Brewers 2

In Cincinnati, Johnny Cueto pitched seven solid innings for the Reds.

Norichika Aoki was 0-for-4 for the Brewers.

Phillies 6, Nationals 3

In Philadelphia, Darin Ruf homered for his first major league hit and Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown also went deep.

Pirates 10, Mets 6

In New York, Pedro Alvarez hit his 30th homer and drove in four runs.

Cardinals 4, Astros 0

In Houston, Jaime Garcia pitched seven sharp innings and Jon Jay drove in two runs.

Rockies 10, Cubs 5 (6?)

In Denver, DJ LeMahieu had three hits and finished a home run short of the cycle in a rain-shortened game.

Padres 2, Dodgers 1

In San Diego, Josh Beckett lost for the third time in six starts with Los Angeles, whose playoff chances were dealt a blow.

Diamondbacks 7, Giants 2

In San Francisco, Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer and a pair of sacrifice flies for a career-high five RBIs.

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Victorious Fighters climb back into first place

SAPPORO — Right-hander Brain Wolfe pitched seven scoreless innings, Eiichi Koyano and Shota Ono both had RBI doubles, and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 4-2 to regain first place in the Pacific League on Saturday.

Steady effort: Fighters right-hander Brian Wolfe improved to 9-9 on Saturday, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Hawks at Sapporo Dome. Hokkaido Nippon Ham defeated Fukuoka Softbank 4-2. KYODO

Nippon Ham moved a season-high 12 games above .500.

Wolfe (9-9) struck out five and walked none before handing the game over to lefty reliever Yuya Ishii. Hisashi Takeda got the final two outs for his PL-leading 26th save.

The Fighters, who moved a half game ahead of the second-place Seibu Lions, scored two runs on Koyano's double down the left field line and Yang Yao-hsun's (2-2) wild pitch in the second inning at Sapporo Dome.

"We were able to win today in the way we're used to. I am being given chances to hit in situations I know I can come through for our team," said Koyano.

Hitoshi Tamura and Yuya Hasegawa hit back-to-back RBI singles in the ninth, but it was too little, too late for the Hawks, who lost their third in a row.

Marines 5, Lions 4

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Ikuhiro Kiyota had a sacrifice fly to get Chiba Lotte within one with one out in the seventh inning and Saburo Omura overturned a 4-3 deficit with a two-out two-run double the same inning off Randy Williams (3-3) as the hosts rallied past Seibu.

Reliever Taiki Nakago (2-1) pitched two innings of one-run ball for the win and Yasuhiko Yabuta had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 23rd save. Seibu's Takeya Nakamura hit a solo shot for his PL-leading 24th home run, but Seibu slipped into second place.

Eagles 3, Buffaloes 2

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Luis Garcia's tiebreaking run-scoring double gave Tohoku Rakuten the lead for good in the fifth inning as the Golden Eagles held off Orix.

Kazuo Matsui gave Rakuten a 2-1 lead with an RBI single in the third but Lee Dae Ho, who opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first, hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-2 in the third. Yasunori Kikuchi (1-0) limited the damage to two runs — one earned — on five hits in six innings. Alessandro Maestri (3-2) took the loss for the Buffaloes, who lost their fourth in a row.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Dragons 1, Carp 0

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Kenshin Kawakami combined with three relievers on a three-hit shutout to earn his first win since March 31, leading the way in Chunichi's victory over Hiroshima.

Kawakami (2-1) yielded just one hit and walked none over six strong innings. Daisuke Yamai got the final three outs for his 13th save.

Naomichi Donoue drove in the only run on an RBI grounder in the second inning against Yusuke Nomura (9-9).

Tigers 2, Giants 0

At Tokyo Dome, Takashi Toritani and Takahiro Arai both homered in support of Atsushi Nomi (9-9), who tossed eight shutout innings despite allowing seven hits to lift Hanshin to its first win this season at Tokyo Dome.

Toritani led off the fourth with a blast to right off D.J. Houlton (11-7) and team captain Arai belted a shot to left-center in the ninth to make it stand.

The CL-leading Giants lost for the first time since Sept. 5.

Swallows 6, BayStars 3

At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, pinch hitter Kazuki Fukuchi had a game-tying two-run double in the sixth inning and Ryosuke Morioka gave Tokyo Yakult the lead with a run-scoring triple in the eighth in a rally over Yokohama, which saw its winless streak stretch to seven games.

The Swallows' three-run eighth also featured Genki Nitta's two-run single that capped the scoring off reliever Hitoshi Fujie (3-4).

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Japan men miss chance to climb to top of volleyball standings

Japan wasted an opportunity on Tuesday to take the lead among Asian teams at the 2012 FIVB Olympic men's volleyball tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Busy night: Tatsuya Fukuzawa leads Japan with 21 points in Tuesday's Olympic men's volleyball qualifying tournament match against South Korea. KYODO

Japan defeated South Korea 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 19-25, 15-6, securing just two points for the victory. The Koreans collected one point for the five-set defeat.

Following losses earlier in the day by China and Iran, a win in fewer than five sets would have put Japan at the top of the pack chasing Asia's guaranteed berth to London on offer at the eight-team tournament. Instead, the hosts are equal on five points with Iran, who they trail on points ratio.

Japan was led by Tatsuya Fukuzawa, who scored 21, and Kunihiro Shimizu, who chipped in 13.

"I wish we could have won 3-1," Japan captain Daisuke Usami said. "We were passive after the first set. Our mental approach must be reviewed. We will have to sustain our strong will in the coming matches."

Although he was far from jubilant, Japan coach Tatsuya Ueta praised his players.

"This was a team win," he said. "We've become a team where everyone battles. Every player on the floor did his utmost."

South Korea coach Park Ki-Won said, "The individual level of the players was unstable. They could not perform well. This was the key element. I'm sorry we lost."

Earlier, tournament leader Serbia remained perfect by defeating China 25-15, 25-13, 25-21 behind 13 points from Milos Nikic. China fell to 1-2 with four points from three games.

Australia, which trails Serbia on points ratio, dropped the first against Iran before winning 17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-23. Thomas Edgar scored 24 for Australia, while Adam White accounted for 22.

In the day's other match, Venezuela routed Puerto Rico 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 with captain Kervin Pinerua top-scoring for the South Americans with 14 points.

The top two teams will each win a spot at the London Olympics, as will the next-best Asian team.

Japan's next match is against China on Wednesday.

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Marleau nets pair as Sharks climb back into series

SAN JOSE — Patrick Marleau got San Jose off to a fast start, Antti Niemi preserved the lead with spectacular short-handed play in the second period, and the Sharks hung on for the win they desperately needed after losing the first two games in Vancouver.

Crucial win: San Jose goalie Antti Niemi makes a save against Vancouver in Game 3 on Friday night. The Sharks beat the Canucks 4-3 and trail 2-1 in the series. AP PHOTO

Marleau scored twice in the first period, Niemi made 27 saves, and the Sharks capitalized on 10 power-play chances to beat the Canucks 4-3 Friday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference final.

"We realize how important tonight was," captain Joe Thornton said. "We realize what's at stake. The guys showed up and the fans were into it. They gave us an extra boost."

Ryane Clowe and Dan Boyle also scored and Joe Thornton had three assists for the Sharks, who still trail the series 2-1 after winning a conference final game on home ice for the first time in franchise history.

San Jose looked like a completely different team than the one that was outscored 10-5 in losing the first two games of the series in Vancouver. The Sharks scored three times in the first period and had 15 of the first 16 shots on goal to snap an eight-game losing streak in the conference final, including a sweep last year to Chicago.

"The last two have not been anywhere near par for our group," coach Todd McLellan said. "So it was nice to see us return to the way we can play."

Game 4 is Sunday in San Jose.

Alexandre Burrows, Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa scored in the third period for the Canucks, who were unable to overcome their slow start or capitalize on big chances in the second.

The Canucks nearly rallied from a three-goal deficit, thanks to a five-minute boarding call on Jamie McGinn against Aaron Rome that led to power-play goals from Hamhuis and Bieksa to cut San Jose's lead to 4-3 with 3:56 remaining.

But the Canucks couldn't get the equalizer as they were hurt by a late penalty by Bieksa — his third of the game. That gave the Sharks their 10th power play, something that upset Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault.

"I thought we were pretty disciplined," Vigneault said. "So if I were to comment on what I think of the penalties, I would get a pretty big fine. So I'm going to save my money."

Vigneault has bigger concerns with the status of two of his defensemen in doubt. Both Rome and Christian Ehrhoff could miss Game 4 because of injuries after taking hits from McGinn. McGinn also could be suspended after getting his second game misconduct of the playoffs.

After the Sharks broke out to a 3-0 lead after one period on a pair of power-play goals and Marleau's breakaway, Niemi and a much-improved penalty-killing unit maintained that lead in a tense second period.

San Jose got the first five power-play chances in a major turnaround from what happened when the Sharks were undisciplined and a step slow in Vancouver. But even when the Canucks got a chance with a man — or even two-man — advantage, they struggled to beat Niemi.

During one stretch of 4:05 late in the second period, Vancouver was on the power play, including 1:55 over two stints with a 5-on-3 advantage. The Canucks managed just five shots during that entire time, with none getting past Niemi. He robbed Burrows at the side of the net and made a tough stop on Daniel Sedin.

Joe Pavelski added a key block of a good chance by Sami Salo as the Sharks frustrated a Canucks team that had four power-play goals in winning the first two games at home.

"With the chances we had, we have to score," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "They were blocking a lot of shots. Maybe we need to look at taking the extra pass. It was tough to take. We were feeling good about ourselves."

Urged on by their boisterous fans wearing orange shirts and waving orange towels, the Sharks responded from the two losses in Vancouver with a dominant first period led by a dangerous power-play unit and strong play from Thornton's line against the Sedin twins.

After being done in by committing too many penalties in Game 2, the Sharks took advantage of a couple of early calls against the Canucks to seize control early. With Maxim Lapierre in the penalty box for roughing, Thornton threaded a perfect pass from behind the net to Marleau, who poked the puck through Roberto Luongo's pads less than 4 minutes in to score in his fourth straight game.

Then with Ehrhoff serving a double-minor for high-sticking, Clowe knocked a rebound of Boyle's point shot past Luongo to make it 2-0 before the midpoint of the period.

Vancouver managed to kill off the second minor but fell even further behind when Marleau blocked Alexander Edler's point shot and then took a feed from Thornton to go in alone to make it 3-0.

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