Sports Briefs August 22, 2011
Fred Couples finished off John Cook with a nifty wedge shot to 3 feet on the third hole of a playoff Sunday in the Seniors Players Championship in Harrison, N.Y.
Couples won his first senior major title, closing with an even-par 71 to match Cook (70) at 11-under on Westchester Country Club's West Course.
• Webb Simpson claimed his first PGA Tour title, shooting a 3-under 67 to win the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., by three strokes over George McNeill.
• Suzann Pettersen rallied to win the LPGA Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore., overcoming a nine-stroke deficit with a 7-under 64 and beating Na Yeon Choi with a par on the first hole of a playoff at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Football
San Francisco Police interviewed witnesses and looked for suspects after two men were shot and wounded following a San Francisco 49ers-Oakland Raiders preseason game, while the NFL and the mayors of the two cities jointly called for an end to "intimidation" and acts of violence at sporting events.
A 24-year-old man remained hospitalized in serious condition after being shot several times in the stomach.
• A Linwood, N.J. high school and its community were grappling with a hard reality: four players on their local football team were dead and four others were injured in an SUV crash on the way to a team meal.
The driver, 17-year-old Case Brenner of Northfield, apparently lost control of the vehicle late Saturday morning as it went around a crest on the Garden State Parkway and came upon heavy traffic, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a state police spokesman.
Baseball
• AMERICAN LEAGUE
White Sox 10, Rangers 0: Gavin Floyd pitched shutout ball into the eighth, and host Chicago beat Texas.
Angels 7, Orioles 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Jerome Williams pitched seven stellar innings to lead Los Angeles past Baltimore.
Yankees 3, Twins 0: At Minneapolis, Curtis Granderson hit an inside-the-park home run and New York took three of four from Minnesota.
Tigers 8, Indians 7: Center fielder Austin Jackson threw out Kosuke Fukudome at the plate to complete a game-ending double play and host Detroit swept Cleveland.
Red Sox 6, Royals 1: Jon Lester curbed Kansas City on three hits for six-plus innings to lead visiting Boston over the Royals.
Blue Jays 1, Athletics 0: Jose Bautista connected for his majors-best 36th home run to help Toronto at Oakland.
• NATIONAL LEAGUE
Brewers 6, Mets 2: Prince Fielder drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth leading Milwaukee at New York.
Braves 1, Diamondbacks 0: Tim Hudson combined with two relievers on a five-hit shutout and host Atlanta completed a three-game sweep of slumping Arizona.
Reds 5, Pirates 4: Visiting Cincinnati scored twice in the ninth to hand All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan his second loss in three days and take two of three from Pittsburgh.
Giants 6, Astros 4, 11 inn.: Pablo Sandoval hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the 11th to lift San Francisco at Houston.
Rockies 5, Dodgers 3: At Denver, Seth Smith hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh, leading Colorado past Los Angeles.
Nationals 5, Phillies 4, 10 inn.: Jonny Gomes was nicked by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 10th and host Washington broke Philadelphia's streak of eight straight winning road series.
Padres 4, Marlins 3: Will Venable's bases-loaded RBI single in the bottom of the ninth lifted host San Diego over Florida.
Cardinals 6, Cubs 2: Yadier Molina homered twice to lead St. Louis at Chicago.
Tennis
Maria Sharapova overcame a first-set letdown, rallying to beat Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
• Novak Djokovic was forced to retire in the second set because of a sore right shoulder, giving Andy Murray the championship at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
- The Associated Press