Sports Briefs May 21, 2012
Golf
Jason Dufner made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory in the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas, for his second victory in four weeks.
The winning putt wrapped up a closing 3-under 67 for an 11-under 269 total. Dicky Pride was second.
Dufner got his first PGA Tour victory at New Orleans on April 29, then took a week off to get married. He also led alone by one stroke after the second and third rounds at the TPC at Four Seasons course.
• Azahara Munoz beat Candie Kung 2 and 1 to win the Sybase Match Play Championship in Gladstone, N.J., a title that was set up when Morgan Pressel was penalized for slow play while in control of their semifinal match.
• Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts won the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain, beating Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell 1-up in windy conditions.
Basketball
Bob Boozer was a star in college, an Olympic gold medalist and an 11-year professional who finished his playing career with an NBA championship.
Boozer died of a brain aneurysm Saturday at an Omaha hospital. He was 75.
Boozer was the No. 1 pick in the 1959 NBA draft after he earned All-America honors his junior and senior seasons at Kansas State. The 6-foot-8 forward retired after winning the 1971 NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Baseball
• INTERLEAGUE
Nationals 9, Orioles 3: Stephen Strasburg hit his first major league home run and struck out eight in five innings to carry host Washington past Baltimore.
Strasburg sent an 0-2 pitch from Wei-Yin Chen into the Baltimore bullpen in the fourth inning to put the Nationals ahead 5-3. After dusting off his home run trot and returning to the dugout, Strasburg responded to a curtain call by waving to the crowd of 41,918.
Tigers 4, Pirates 3: Max Scherzer struck out 15 - the most by a Detroit pitcher in 40 years - and the host Tigers rallied with three runs in the seventh to beat Pittsburgh.
Marlins 5, Indians 3: Josh Johnson twice worked out of jams to earn his second straight win and help Miami win at Cleveland.
Red Sox 5, Phillies 1: Josh Beckett pitched 7 2/3 strong innings to lead Boston at Philadelphia.
Braves 2, Rays 0: At St. Petersburg, Fla., David Ross homered to lead Atlanta over Tampa Bay.
Brewers 16, Twins 4: Jonathan Lucroy homered twice and had a career-high seven RBIs to lead host Milwaukee over Minnesota.
Padres 3, Angels 2, 13 inn.: Pitcher Clayton Richard scored the winning run from first base on an error with two outs in the 13th to lift host San Diego over Los Angeles.
Rangers 6, Astros 1: Colby Lewis allowed four hits in eight-plus innings and drove in two runs to lead Texas at Houston.
Mets 6, Blue Jays 5: Mike Baxter had three hits and came within a home run of the cycle as New York held on at Toronto.
Reds 5, Yankees 2: Ryan Ludwick delivered two big hits and Cincinnati closed its extended trip to New York with a win.
Athletics 6, Giants 2: Collin Cowgill drove in the go-ahead runs and scored in a home plate collision as Oakland snapped an 11-game skid at San Francisco.
Diamondbacks 2, Royals 0: Wade Miley pitched seven sharp innings and John McDonald drove in the first run with a bunt single to lead Arizona over Kansas City.
White Sox 6, Cubs 0: Jake Peavy pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning and Adam Dunn hit his 14th homer to help the visiting Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs.
• NATIONAL LEAGUE
Dodgers 6, Cardinals 5: Pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke connected for his first major league homer, a go-ahead, three-run shot in the seventh to lead host Los Angeles over St. Louis.
Tennis
Maria Sharapova retained the Italian Open title in Rome with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Li Na in a match interrupted twice by rain.
- The Associated Press