Sports Briefs July 5, 2011
Baseball
Roger Clemens' tenacious pursuit of victory on the pitcher's mound is re-emerging as he enters federal court this week to fight charges he lied about using drugs and to try to ruthlessly discredit the former friend who says he did.
Clemens is charged with perjury, false statements and obstruction of Congress for telling a House committee under oath that he never used performance-enhancing drugs during his 23-season career. The record-setting pitcher who once seemed a sure bet for baseball's Hall of Fame now could face prison if 12 jurors agree that he lied and unanimously agree to convict him.
The trial of the United States vs. William R. Clemens, scheduled to begin Wednesday and last 4-6 weeks, will bring a parade of celebrity athletes and plenty of sordid details to the staid Washington federal courthouse. It will feature testimony about illicit drugs, bloody evidence of injections, an abscess on Clemens' backside allegedly caused by steroid use and allegations that his accuser is a serial liar and a rapist.
• AMERICAN LEAGUE
Twins 7, Rays 0: At Minneapolis, Danny Valencia homered among his three hits and had three RBIs to help Minnesota beat Tampa Bay.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 7: Travis Snider had three doubles and drove in a pair of runs as visiting Toronto became the latest team to rough up John Lackey.
Indians 6, Yankees 3: Austin Kearns hit his first homer in 105 at-bats this season to send host Cleveland past New York.
White Sox 5, Royals 4: A.J. Pierzynski scored the winning run on a balk in the ninth and host Chicago beat Kansas City.
Rangers 13, Orioles 4: At Arlington, Texas, Endy Chavez had four RBIs to lead Texas over Baltimore.
Angels 5, Tigers 1: Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells homered and host Los Angeles beat Detroit.
• NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pirates 5, Astros 4: Rookie Alex Presley had three of host Pittsburgh's 14 hits and the Pirates beat Houston.
Nationals 5, Cubs 4, 10 inn.: Jayson Werth scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th to lift host Washington over Chicago.
Padres 5, Giants 3: Will Venable hit his second home run of the season and visiting San Diego pounced on Tim Lincecum in a victory over San Francisco.
Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 6: Chris Young drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the ninth and visiting Arizona beat slumping Milwaukee.
Phillies 1, Marlins 0: At Miami, Vance Worley pitched seven shutout innings and Philadelphia scored the only run on a close play in the seventh to beat Florida.
Cardinals 1, Reds 0: Mark Hamilton drove in the lone run with an infield hit to lift St. Louis over Cincinnati.
Braves 4, Rockies 1: Tommy Hanson combined with two relievers on a four-hitter and host Atlanta beat Colorado.
Mets 5, Dodgers 2: Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy had RBI doubles in the sixth to lead host New York past Los Angeles.
Hockey
The Buffalo Sabres re-signed defenseman Mike Weber to a multiyear contract.
Weber played in 58 games this season and finished with four goals, 13 assists and 17 points, all career highs. He played in all seven games of Buffalo's first-round playoff series against Philadelphia.
Olympics
The three candidates (Pyeongchang, South Korea; Munich; and Annecy, France) to host the 2018 Winter Olympics began three final days of frantic campaigning in Durban, South Africa.
- The Associated Press