Dickey earns 20th victory

NEW YORK — R.A. Dickey was so close yet so far from 20 wins, faltering from fatigue and fuming he had failed to seize the moment.

"About the fourth or fifth inning I felt exasperated. I was not myself today for the most part," he said.

"And then I would come out for an at-bat and I would hear this kind of growing surge, and it really was neat. I mean I don't know if I've ever experienced something like that before. Maybe I never will again," he said.

Absorbing the energy from 31,506 fans at the final home game of another sorry Mets season, Dickey summoned his strength and concentration. David Wright boosted him into the lead with a tiebreaking three-run homer, and Dickey led New York over Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 Thursday to become the first knuckleballer in more than three decades to win 20 games.

Throwing his hard knuckler at up to 125.5 kph, Dickey (20-6) allowed three runs and eight hits in 7? innings, tying his career high with 13 strikeouts and walking two.

Quite a turnaround from 2010, when Dickey began the season at Triple-A Buffalo and had to prove he belonged in the majors. And from last year, when he was 8-13.

Dickey became the first 20-game knuckleballer to accomplish the feat since Houston's Joe Niekro in 1980, according to STATS LLC.

Reds 2, Brewers 1

In Cincinnati, Dioner Navarro hit a ninth-inning RBI triple to lift the Reds.

Milwaukee's Norichika Aoki was hitless in four at-bats.

Nationals 7, Phillies 3

In Philadelphia, Gio Gonzalez became the first 21-game winner in the majors, Michael Morse hit two homers and Washington beat the Phillies to move closer to an NL East title.

Braves 6, Marlins 2

In Atlanta, David Ross and Andrelton Simmons raced home on left fielder Bryan Petersen's costly error, sending Tommy Hanson and the Braves to a victory over Miami.

Giants 7, Diamondbacks 3

In San Francisco, midseason acquisitions Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro each hit two-run homers to back Barry Zito.

Dodgers 8, Padres 4

In San Diego, Chris Capuano won for the first time in eight starts and Los Angeles inched closer in the wild-card race.

Rockies 7, Cubs 5

In Denver, Jordan Pacheco and DJ LeMahieu homered, leading Colorado over Chicago for a three-game sweep.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Rangers 9, Athletics 7

In Arlington, Texas, Ian Kinsler got Texas started with a leadoff homer, Matt Harrison earned his 18th victory and the AL West-leading Rangers topped Oakland.

Mariners 9, Angels 4

In Anaheim, John Jaso hit a two-run homer and an RBI double for Seattle, and Los Angeles wasted a chance to get within one game of an AL wild-card spot.

Mariners right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma (8-5) pitched six innings of seven-hit ball.

Tigers 5, Royals 4

In Detroit, Doug Fister set an AL record by striking out nine straight batters and the Tigers kept their lead in the Central, beating Kansas City on Alex Avila's grounder in the ninth inning.

Rays 3, White Sox 2

In Chicago, Evan Longoria hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth for victorious Tampa Bay.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 0

In Toronto, Brandon Morrow and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, pitching the hosts to a victory that trimmed New York's tight lead in the AL East.

Ichiro Suzuki was 0-for-4 for the Yankees.

CLEVELAND — Manager Manny Acta was fired Thursday by the Cleveland Indians, who collapsed from contention with a 5-24 record in August, the worst month in the franchise's 112-year history.

Sandy Alomar Jr. was named the interim manager.

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Ichiro earns AL weekly accolade

NEW YORK — New York Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, Major League Baseball announced Monday.

Ichor led the major leagues with 15 hits, six stolen bases, and a .600 batting average from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23.

The 38-year-old figured prominently in the Yankees' three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, including the Sept. 19 doubleheader in which he recorded three hits in the day game and went 4-for-4 with four stolen bases in the evening.

Ichiro also led the majors in on-base percentage (.630) and was third in slugging percentage (.960) with two home runs as the Yankees preserved a narrow lead atop the tight American League East.

The weekly award is Ichiro's fourth of his major league career, and his first since joining the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners in July.

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Hamilton earns pole position in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Lewis Hamilton maintained McLaren's recent dominance by claiming pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, and said on Saturday the season was mapping out perfectly for a Formula One championship challenge.

Hamilton gave McLaren a fourth consecutive pole for the first time since 1999, and his chances of also making it four straight wins in Sunday's race were boosted by Williams' Pastor Maldonado snatching a surprise second place in qualifying, providing a buffer to the Briton's title rivals.

"We have put ourselves in the best position, so we need to capitalize on that," Hamilton said. "We've done the work we need to do to put us in a strong position for tomorrow — the key will just be to stay out of trouble and look after the tires.

"I've always believed that if we could start the season strongly, we'd be able to pull ahead. We've been there or thereabouts all season, but now we're starting to see the real strength of my team pull through."

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel qualified a disappointing third after being the fastest in all three practice sessions. He was surprised he couldn't manage at least a front-row spot.

"It's hard to say what happened. A little disappointed, especially Q3," Vettel said. "It's a shame it didn't come together at the end."

Maldonado provided the shock of the night by taking second. Aside from his surprise win at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Venezuelan has been in the points only one other time this season.

He was even more enthused about the chances for a shock victory by the fact that the car performed well during the long-stint, heavy-fuel race settings.

"I'm really looking forward to the race because yesterday we showed very good pace, very consistent. So I think it is going to be a good one for us this time," he said.

Jenson Button of McLaren qualified fourth, ahead of Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, who holds a 37-point lead over Hamilton in the championship standings with seven races to go.

"We were not quick enough in free practice, and not quick enough in qualifying," Alonso said. "The McLarens were unbeatable, at least for pole.

"Starting fifth, on the inside, we have a good position to fight for the podium, which is maybe the maximum for the weekend."

Force India's Paul di Resta equaled a career best by qualifying sixth, one place ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, who was cleared by stewards after complaints by Marussia's Timo Glock that the Australian caused interference in the first qualifying session.

Lotus' Romain Grosjean will start from eighth, recovering from heavy contact with a wall earlier in the qualifying session. The Frenchman again beat teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who was down in 12th, dealing a blow to his championship challenge.

Mercedes pair Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg finished ninth and 10th, having failed to set times in Q3. Instead they only did formation laps on harder tires, meaning they will start on that rubber in the race, giving them different strategies to the cars ahead.

Felipe Massa of Ferrari qualified 13th, a place ahead of Sauber's Sergio Perez, who finished second in the previous race but whose car had been off the pace throughout practice.

At the tail end of the grid, Charles Pic of Marussia was to have 20 seconds added to his race finishing time as punishment for ignoring red flags during practice.

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Beltre home run lifts Rangers; Darvish earns 16th win

ANAHEIM, California — Although Adrian Beltre was nearly doubled over in abdominal pain before the game, he still demanded a spot in Texas manager Ron Washington's lineup.

Sweet 16: Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish prepares to field the ball against the Angels on Thursday. Texas won 3-1. KYODO

After Beltre's ninth-inning homer, the Los Angeles Angels were the ones with a sick feeling in their stomachs.

Beltre hit a tiebreaking two-run shot off closer Ernesto Frieri, and the Rangers dealt yet another blow to Los Angeles' fading playoff hopes with a 3-1 victory Thursday night.

Texas (89-60) improved the AL's best record and stayed four games ahead of Oakland (85-64) in the AL West by taking two of three from the Angels (81-69), who dropped 4? games behind the Athletics and Baltimore in the AL wild-card standings.

After a scintillating eight-inning duel between Yu Darvish and Zack Greinke, Beltre connected for his 34th homer against Frieri (3-2), who wasted a fine start by Greinke for the second time in six days.

"I was glad to be in there, and I'm just glad (Washington) allowed me to be in there," Beltre said. "This is the time of year you want to play. It's not the place or time to relax right now, especially against an opponent in our division."

Beltre missed Wednesday's game and nearly sat out Thursday with abdominal troubles before talking his way into the lineup during batting practice. He went 0-for-3 against Greinke, but smashed a hanging slider from Frieri after Michael Young's leadoff single.

"That was the pitch that I wanted to throw," Frieri said. "He hit it. So what? Every pitch that I made is because I wanted to throw it. He's a good hitter, and that happens. Maybe I didn't put that pitch where I wanted to put it, but I wanted to throw that pitch."

Darvish (16-9) held the Angels to four hits and struck out nine while matching Greinke, who gave up five hits and struck out eight. Neither team managed an extra-base hit in the first eight innings.

Darvish was largely unhittable for the fifth consecutive start, repeatedly mixing 153-mph fastballs and 105-kph breaking balls while retiring 14 of the Angels' first 16 hitters. The rookie is actually getting better as he closes in on his first major league-playoff experience, leaving Young marveling at the right-hander's improvements.

"I'm learning about myself, especially before this (good) stretch, when I wasn't consistent and wasn't performing," Darvish said through a translator. "These outings are something the team expects. They acquired me to perform like this."

Joe Nathan gave up a two-out double to Albert Pujols in the ninth, but got Kendrys Morales on a fly to finish his 34th save.

The Rangers won their second straight game without slugger Josh Hamilton, who will return to Texas for further examination of a sinus condition.

Yankees 10, Blue Jays 7

In New York, streaking Ichiro Suzuki hit a go-ahead, two-run double in a seven-run fourth inning that was capped by Nick Swisher's grand slam, and the Yankees beat Toronto to open a one-game AL East lead over idle Baltimore.

Ichiro, who finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, homered in the third, then doubled in the fourth. His ninth hit in 10 at-bats chased Aaron Laffey (3-6).

Athletics 12, Tigers 4

In Detroit, Seth Smith homered, doubled and drove in four runs, and Oakland roughed up Anibal Sanchez to avoid a three-game sweep.

Royals 4, White Sox 3

In Kansas City, Alex Rios was thrown out at the plate, Alexei Ramirez was picked off third base and AL Central-leading Chicago again failed to come up with a clutch hit.

Rays 7, Red Sox 4

In St. Petersburg, Florida, B.J. Upton hit a game-ending, three-run homer off Vicente Padilla, capping Tampa Bay's six-run ninth in a win over Boston.

Indians 4, Twins 3 (10)

In Cleveland, Casey Kotchman hit an RBI single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to lead the Indians to a win over Minnesota.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Nationals 4, Dodgers 1

In Washington, the Nationals brought postseason baseball back to the nation's capital for the first time since 1933, earning a playoff spot.

"Nats Clinch" flashed on the scoreboard as Washington ensured at least an NL wild-card spot behind Ross Detwiler's six strong innings and Ryan Zimmerman's RBI double.

Reds 5, Cubs 3

In Chicago, Cincinnati became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff spot this season.

Phillies 16, Mets 1

In New York, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley sparked an eight-run first inning, Ryan Howard added a late grand slam and the Phillies routed the inept Mets.

Cardinals 5, Astros 4

In St. Louis, pinch hitter Carlos Beltran snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run double and Allen Craig hit a three-run homer.

Brewers 9, Pirates 7

In Pittsburgh, Rickie Weeks hit a tying two-run triple and scored the go-ahead run on Aramis Ramirez's single.

Norichika Aoki was 2-for-6 with an RBI for Milwaukee.

Giants 9, Rockies 2

In San Francisco, Pablo Sandoval homered from both sides of the plate and the NL West-leading Giants reduced their magic number to clinch the division to four.

Padres 6, Diamondbacks 5

In Phoenix, Jesus Guzman homered to help San Diego get the victory.

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Nishikori earns 19th seed for Wimbledon

LONDON — Kei Nishikori was named Wednesday as the 19th seed for the men's draw at Wimbledon this year, making him the first Japanese men's seed at the grasscourt Grand Slam since the current world ranking system was introduced in 1973.

The draw will take place Friday for the June 25-July 8 championships at the All England Club.

Nishikori, ranked 20th in the world, was the first seeded Japanese man in a Grand Slam as the 24th seed at the Australian Open in January.

He upset sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round to become the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka did so at Wimbledon in 1995. Nishikori bowed out with defeat to Britain's Andy Murray in the last eight.

The 22-year-old was forced to miss the French Open due to injury.

Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic and French Open winner Maria Sharapova were named as top seeds for Wimbledon.

On the men's side, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Murray rounded out the top four while defending women's champion Petra Kvitova was seeded fourth.

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Judoka Ebinuma earns place in London Olympics

Fukuoka — Masashi Ebinuma scored an ippon to beat rival Jumpei Morishita in the men's 66-kg final at the judo national invitational weight-class championships Saturday, effectively securing his spot for this summer's London Olympics.

The 22-year-old Ebinuma, winner of the gold medal at last year's judo world championships in Paris, made his berth for London all but a formality as the top seed with his third consecutive title, along with Yoshie Ueno, who triumphed in the women's 63-kg category for the first time in two years.

"The pressure will be intense at the Olympics, so I want to be able to show my resolve with a better and highly spirited performance in London," said Ebinuma. "My dream is to win the gold medal, so this is just the starting line."

World champion Riki Nakaya won his first title in the men's 73-kg class — one of the categories Japanese men are expected to win gold at the Summer Games. Hiroyuki Akimoto crashed out with a first-round loss at Fukuoka Kokusai center.

Hiroaki Hiraoka took the men's 60-kg crown for the fifth straight year.

Mika Sugimoto got revenge against Kanae Yamabe in a rematch to win the women's over 78-kg crown for the fourth year in a row after losing to Yamabe on points in the final of the women's national championship in April.

Women's judoka Akari Ogata (78 kg) and Haruka Tachimoto (70 kg) claimed their first titles.

The All Japan Judo Federation will make an official announcement of those selected to compete at the London Games at a meeting following the conclusion of the national invitational meet on Sunday.

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