Sports Briefs September 20, 2010
Football
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio had a mild heart attack and was hospitalized Sunday morning, shortly after calling an audacious fake field goal to beat Notre Dame 34-31 in overtime in East Lansing, Mich.
The 54-year-old Dantonio had surgery to put a stent in a blocked blood vessel leading to the heart. He's expected to remain in the hospital a few more days.
• Michigan State moved into The Associated Press college football poll after its victory against Notre Dame. There was no movement at the top of the rankings. The top five of Alabama, Ohio State, Boise State, TCU and Oregon was unchanged from last week.
American League
Orioles 4, Yankees 3: Luke Scott tied the game with a ninth-inning homer off Mariano Rivera, then scored the winning run in the 11th to give host Baltimore a win over New York.
New York has a half-game lead over Tampa Bay, which opens a four-game series at Yankee Stadium tonight, when the Yankees will honor late owner George Steinbrenner in Monument Park.
Angels 6, Rays 3: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Peter Bourjos broke a tie with a three-run homer, Scott Kazmir won for the first time in six weeks and Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay.
Athletics 6, Twins 2: At Minneapolis, Mark Ellis had three hits, including a two-run homer, to lift Oakland over Minnesota.
Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 0: Jon Lester pitched seven sharp innings and J.D. Drew homered in a five-run fifth as Boston avoided a three-game sweep by visiting Toronto.
Royals 6, Indians 4: Luke Hochevar recovered from a shaky start to earn his first win since May 26 and Yuniesky Betancourt stole home, leading host Kansas City over Cleveland.
Tigers 9, White Sox 7, 11 inn.: Gerald Laird hit a tiebreaking single in the 11th and visiting Detroit edged Chicago.
National League
Giants 9, Brewers 2: Jose Guillen hit a grand slam and drove in six runs and host San Francisco beat Milwaukee.
Phillies 7, Nationals 6: Jayson Werth hit a two-run homer in the ninth after Ryan Howard had a two-run single to lift host Philadelphia over Washington for its seventh straight win.
Braves 6, Mets 3: Derrek Lee launched a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh that sent visiting Atlanta past New York.
Cardinals 4, Padres 1: Adam Wainwright earned his 19th win with a dominant performance to help host St. Louis past San Diego.
Astros 4, Reds 3: Brett Myers pitched seven scoreless innings, Humberto Quintero drove in two runs and host Houston held off Cincinnati.
Pirates 4, Giants 3: Neil Walker hit a two-run homer in host Pittsburgh's three-run eighth inning and the Pirates beat San Francisco.
Cubs 13, Marlins 3: At Miami, Welington Castillo homered and drove in three runs to help Chicago beat Florida.
Dodgers 7, Rockies 6, 11 inn.: A.J. Ellis lined an RBI single over a drawn-in infield in the 11th to help host Los Angeles beat Colorado.
Auto Racing
Pole-sitter Helio Castroneves won the Indy Japan 300 in Motegi, Japan, and Dario Franchitti finished second to tighten the overall title race going into the final event of the season.
• Larry Dixon raced to his 11th Top Fuel victory of year, beating Doug Kalitta in the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Concord, N.C., to remain perfect in final-round appearances this season.
Cruz Pedregon (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won their divisions.
Hunter Haas won the Nationwide Tour Boise Open, closing with a 7-under 64 to beat Daniel Summerhays by a stroke.
Tennis
Mardy Fish defeated Santiago Giraldo 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6 to give the United States an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Colombia in the Davis Cup in Bogota, Columbia. Winning the playoff match on outdoor red clay means the U.S. will remain in the World Group, the top tier of the Davis Cup. Colombia was trying to qualify for the first time. Ryan Harrison was scheduled to play the final match for the United States, but it wouldn't have affected the outcome and was canceled due to a late rainstorm.
- The Associated Press