THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015 SPORTS

Pakistan axe spinner Ajmal Popov inks Van Persie future uncertain LAHORE: Pakistan have dropped off-spinner Saeed Ajmal from their squad for the three-test Spartak deal AMSTERDAM: Robin van Persie is keeping his options open over his future at Manchester United as he series against Sri Lanka this month and have recalled opening batsmen and enters a final season of his contract with the club, Dutch media reported yesterday. The striker returned Shan Masood. from injury towards the end of the season but was no longer able to command a regular place in the MOSCOW: Bulgaria Ivelin Popov has The 37-year-old Ajmal, once Pakistan’s most potent wicket-taker, has struggled since team. “The club must do its homework and so must I. It’s a new situation,” he told reporters in an inter- joined Spartak Moscow from fellow Russian view with several Dutch newspapers ahead of Friday’s friendly international between the Netherlands returning to international from a ban for an illegal bowling action. Premier League side Kuban Krasnodar, Spartak He was ineffective in the limited-overs series against Bangladesh and the US in Amsterdam. said on Wednesday in a statement on their offi- “I’m going to calmly and relaxed sit down and consider everything. “I still have ambitions of playing before he was left out of the team for the subsequent two-test cial website(www.spartak.com). series. Shehzad and Masood were left out of the test series in every week. I feel top fit and I think I can still go on for several years. Take note of my words,” said the The attacking midfielder has signed a long- 31-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Arsenal in 2012. Van Persie said he should have had six or Bangladesh, which Pakistan won 1-0. Fast bowlers term contract with the side from the Russian cap- and and batsman Sohaib Maqsood are yet to recov- seven more goals than the tally of 10 he netted for the club last season. ital. The 27 year-old started his career with the “People don’t accept that I just scored 10. Actually that’s a compli- er from their injuries and missed out on selection, the Pakistan Bulgarian side Litex Lovech, before moving to ment because they expect more of me on the basis of what I can do. I Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement. Turkey to play for Gaziantepspor. He then was the club’s second highest goal scorer together with Juan Mata and “Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan and Sohaib Maqsood are still on the moved to the south of Russia, joining Kuban. behind Wayne Rooney (14 goals). “It’s not good that a top club like rehab after sustaining injuries and it is hoped that they would be Popov has won 52 caps for Bulgaria and has Manchester United does not have a scorer with 20 or more goals available for selection in the near future,” chief selector Haroon scored nine goals. “I had three or four offers, but behind his name each season and that is why we only finished fourth.” when a concrete offer came in from the red and Rashid said. Van Persie struggled with an ankle injury through the season, blaming a hectic whites, I told my club immediately that I wanted “Selection committee has also kept its options open in case of pre-World Cup training programme, as he battled to get fit for Brazil, and then to play for Spartak,” Popov said. “My new club is need for the 16th member keeping in mind the extreme weath- a lack of a break after the tournament last summer. “After I came back from the most famous in Russia. This is a big step for- er conditions in Sri Lanka.” The first test begins at Galle from injury I realised that I would not automatically get back in the ward my career,” he added. Spartak finished sixth June 17 and Pakistan will also play five one-day internation- starting line-up,” he said. “But I didn’t have a problem with that last season. — Reuters als and two Twenty20s.—Reuters because they were playing well at the time. —Reuters Blue Jays thrash Nationals, Rockies win

WASHINGTON: Kevin Pillar hit two home runs off Max Chase Field swimming pool in the seventh inning and Scherzer, including a go-ahead three-run drive, as the Arizona won a back-and-forth game. Toronto Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 The homer was the 51st splashdown in the water Tuesday night to earn a split of a day-night doubleheader. beyond the right field fence since the ballpark opened in Jordan Zimmermann pitched six-hit ball for eight innings 1998. Ender Inciarte had two RBIs, two runs scored and two in the opener, a 2-0 victory that ended a three-game losing stolen bases for the Diamondbacks. He drew a two-out streak. Bryce Harper had a go-ahead single off R.A. Dickey, walk from Brandon Cunniff (2-1) and scored on Pollock’s then he thrilled a fan before the nightcap by taking a selfie home run. in right field with her phone. AJ Pierzynski and Todd Cunningham each drove in a Scherzer (6-4) had won each of his previous five starts pair of runs in the Braves’ five-run sixth inning after the and appeared poised for another with a 3-1 lead. Pillar had Diamondbacks had taken a 4-1 lead off Shelby Miller. other ideas, though. He drove a pitch over the wall in left in the sixth for his second homer and fourth on the season PADRES 7, METS 2 for a 4-3 lead. Ian Kennedy threw six strong innings and outpitched Marco Estrada (2-3) pitched six innings in the second rookie sensation Noah Syndergaard, lifting San Diego past game for Toronto, allowing three runs - two earned - and New York. Kennedy (3-5) broke a four-start losing streak as six hits. Zimmermann (5-2) struck out four and walked one he held the Mets to two runs and six hits. Syndergaard (2- to win for the third time in four starts. Dickey (2-6) gave up 3) flashed enough quality pitches to strike out 10 but the eight hits, struck out six and walked one. Padres reached the righty for seven runs and 10 hits in four innings. It was Syndergaard’s shortest of his five career ROCKIES 6, DODGERS 3 starts. Derek Norris hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Alex Guerrero hit a grand slam off reliever Rafael Alexi Amarista and Will Venable drove in two runs each in a Betancourt with two outs in the top of the ninth, helping four-run second inning. Los Angeles salvage a doubleheader split. Guerrero sent a from Betancourt (2-2) to the PIRATES 7, GIANTS 4 deepest part of , just eluding the glove of leap- Andrew McCutchen had four hits and drove in two runs, ing center fielder Charlie Blackmon. It was Guerrero’s first Pedro Alvarez drove in twor and Pittsburgh won for the career grand slam and fourth homer of the day for the 10th time in 12 games. Dodgers. Jordy Mercer hit his first home run of the season and In the opener, threw six solid innings Neil Walker drove in a run as the Pirates clinched their third with a healing cut on his middle finger and Michael DENVER: Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Alex Guerrero (left) is congratulated by center fielder Joc Pederson (center) series win in the last five played in San Francisco. McKenry homered to lead Colorado. and right fielder Chris Heisey after the Dodgers retired the in the ninth inning. — AP Brandon Crawford hit a two-run home run and Buster De La Rosa (2-2) had his start pushed back twice Posey drove in a pair of runs for the Giants, who lost their because of a cut he got from the seams on a . The PHILLIES 5, REDS 4 AL-leading Houston. fourth straight. McCutchen improved to .398 (37-for-93) lefty allowed three runs and struck out six for his 71st win Darin Ruf hit a walkoff single with one out in the ninth The Astros were in a big hole early after a four-run sec- over his past 26 games, with 11 doubles, a triple, five with the Rockies, one shy of matching Aaron Cook’s team inning after Maikel Franco tied it in the eighth with a two- ond inning by the Orioles, but bounced back an inning lat- homers, 21 RBIs and 17 runs scored. record. John Axford pitched around a leadoff single in the run homer to lead Philadelphia to a rare late-inning come- er for their major league-leading 17th comeback victory ninth for his 10th save. Ian Thomas (0-1) allowed four runs back victory. Odubel Herrera led off the ninth against Tony this year. YANKEES 5, MARINERS 3 in three innings for the Dodgers, and rookie Joc Pederson Cingrani (0-2) with an opposite-field double to left. Herrera Houston trailed by 3 when the homer by Gattis made it Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer in the top of the hit his 15th home run, a shot estimated at 477 feet. went to third on Carlos Ruiz’s sacrifice bunt and scored on 4-all and the Astros went back to back when Valbuena 11th inning to give the Yankees the lead and Andrew Miller Ruf’s single to right. homered to right field to put Houston on top. The Astros preserved the win in the bottom half by striking out RED SOX 1, TWINS 0 Jonathan Papelbon (1-0) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking added an insurance run in the eighth inning. Houston Nelson Cruz with two on. Clay Buchholz pitched eight innings and got all the run out two, to earn the victory. The Phillies looked headed to starter Collin McHugh (6-2) settled down after giving up Stephen Drew tied it in the ninth with an RBI double off support he needed on Rusney Castillo’s RBI single in the their eighth straight loss before scoring two runs with two four runs in the second, and the last out of that inning was Seattle closer Fernando Rodney as New York took the first seventh as Boston ended a three-game skid. outs in the eighth. Philadelphia improved to 2-30 when the first of eight straight and 15 of 16 he retired before two games of this three-game series. Buchholz (3-6) struck out eight and scattered three hits trailing after seven inning. being replaced by Pat Neshek for the eighth inning. With two outs, Jones drilled a fastball over the wall in before Koji Uehara took over in the ninth and picked up his Baltimore rookie Mike Wright (2-1) yielded eight hits center off reliever Joe Beimel, who relieved Tom 11th save to preserve the shutout. Mike Pelfrey (4-2) had a RANGERS 15, WHITE SOX 2 and five runs in five innings after allowing just three runs Wilhelmsen (1-1) after he allowed two-out hits to Drew solid start as he and Buchholz both carried a shutout into Joey Gallo hit an upper-deck homer, doubled off the combined in his first three starts. and Brett Gardner. the seventh inning, when the Red Sox broke the tie. top of the wall and set a Rangers franchise record for a Justin Wilson (2-0) pitched a clean 10th for the win. Xander Bogaerts hit a two-out double off the wall in center major league debut with four RBIs as Texas cruised past INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1 Miller gave up an RBI single to Robinson Cano in the 11th. and scored easily on Castillo’s single up the middle. Chicago. Michael Brantley drove in the go-ahead run with two Then with Cano and Austin Jackson, who was hit by a pitch Buchholz got his first win since Boston beat Toronto 6-3 on Gallo, the top prospect in the Rangers organization, outs in the eighth inning, backing a strong performance by from the Yankees closer to reach base for the sixth time, May 10. made the jump from Double-A Frisco for what is supposed Carlos Carrasco and sending Cleveland past Kansas City. aboard, Miller struck out Cruz for his 16th save.—AP to be a short stint while four-time All-Star third baseman Carrasco (7-4) allowed five hits over seven innings to MARLINS 5, CUBS 2 Adrian Beltre is on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained win his third straight start. The big right-hander struck out Brad Hand pitched six innings to earn his fifth victory in left thumb. eight while dominating Kansas City for the second time in MLB results/standings 33 career starts to lead Miami. Hand (1-1) improved 5-18 in With the bases loaded in the first, Gallo hit a hard shot a month. his career as a starter. Even with the victory, his winning that got past Gold Glove first baseman Adam LaRoche. It Cody Allen handled a perfect ninth for his 12th save as Washington 2, Toronto 0; Colorado 6, LA Dodgers 3; percentage as a starter (.217) is the lowest in the majors was scored a “bad-hop single” that drove home the first the Indians won for the 11th time in 14 games. AL Central Toronto 7, Washington 3; Philadelphia 5, Cincinnati 4; among active with at least 20 decisions, according two runs off Jeff Samardzija (4-3). rival Kansas City lost for the sixth time in its last seven. Oakland 5, Detroit 3; Boston 1, Minnesota 0; Miami 5, to STATS. Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo homer, his 16th. He When Gallo came up two innings later, he hit the first Wade Davis (2-1) was summoned in the eighth to keep the 2; Texas 15, Chicago White Sox 2; Houston 6, has seven of Miami’s 14 homers at Marlins Park this year. pitch into the upper deck in right field - an estimated 418 game tied, but he walked Michael Bourn to lead off the Baltimore 4; Cleveland 2, Kansas City 1; St. Louis 1, Rookie Addison Russell’s baserunning blunder helped A.J. feet - for a 6-2 lead. inning. Milwaukee 0; LA Dodgers 9, Colorado 8; Arizona 7, Atlanta Ramos earn his fifth save in seven chances. Marcell Ozuna 6; Tampa Bay 6, LA Angels 1; San Diego 7, NY Mets 2; NY hit a two-out, three-run double off Kyle Hendricks (1-2) CARDINALS 1, BREWERS 0 RAYS 6, ANGELS 1 Yankees 5, Seattle 3 (11 innings); Pittsburgh 7, San that put Miami ahead to stay in the fifth. Lance Lynn allowed five hits while pitching into the Tampa Bay rookie Chris Archer overcame another mile- Francisco 4. eighth inning and Mark Reynolds had an RBI single in the stone home run by Albert Pujols to win his third straight ATHLETICS 5, TIGERS 3 second to lead St. Louis. decision, tying a franchise record with 15 over American League Ben Zobrist’s grand slam highlighted a five-run seventh Tyler Cravy (0-1) made an impressive major debut for eight innings. Eastern Division inning as Oakland rallied for the win. Alfredo Simon (5-3) Milwaukee, allowing a run on four hits in seven innings. Pujols tied Jimmie Foxx for 17th place on the career W L PCT GB held the A’s to one hit over the first six innings, but the The Brewers won the series opener 1-0 and Milwaukee home run list with his 534th, putting him two behind NY Yankees 28 25 .528 - Tigers scuffled defensively in the seventh, and Oakland pitchers had thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings Mickey Mantle. And he did it in his 8,134th big league at- Tampa Bay 27 26 .509 1 had the bases loaded with one run already in when the before Reynolds’ RBI. bat - the exact same number that Foxx finished his career Baltimore 23 28 .451 4 right-hander was pulled. Angel Nesbitt came on in relief, Lynn (4-4) struck out five and walked one in 7 2/3 with. Toronto 24 30 .444 4.5 and Zobrist greeted him with a line drive over the wall in innings. Kevin Siegrist got the last out in the eighth and Archer (6-4) matched James Shields’ club record for Boston 23 29 .442 4.5 right field for his sixth career grand slam. most of a sellout crowd of 42,835 stuck around to see strikeouts, which was set on Oct. 2, 2012 in a complete- Central Division Kendall Graveman (3-2) allowed three runs and eight Trevor Rosenthal earn his 16th save in 17 chances. The game 1-0 loss to Baltimore. The 26-year-old right-hander Minnesota 30 20 .600 - hits in six innings. Evan Scribner pitched two perfect Cardinals are 6-2 with one game to go on the home stand. did not walk a batter and allowed six hits, including Pujols’ Kansas City 29 20 .592 0.5 innings of relief, and Tyler Clippard finished for his eighth 14th homer and sixth in as many games. Detroit 28 25 .528 3.5 save. Simon allowed four runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings ASTROS 6, ORIOLES 4 Cleveland 25 26 .490 5.5 as the Tigers lost a season-high fifth straight. Evan Gattis hit a three-run homer and Luis Valbuena DIAMONDBACKS 7, BRAVES 6 Chicago White Sox 23 27 .460 7 added a go-ahead solo shot in a five-run third inning for AJ Pollock hit a two-out, two-run home run into the Western Division Houston 33 20 .623 - LA Angels 28 25 .528 5 Texas 27 25 .519 5.5 Seattle 24 28 .462 8.5 Oakland 21 33 .389 12.5

National League Eastern Division Washington 29 23 .558 - NY Mets 29 24 .547 0.5 Atlanta 26 26 .500 3 Miami 21 32 .396 8.5 Philadelphia 20 33 .377 9.5 Central Division St. Louis 34 18 .654 - Chicago Cubs 27 23 .540 6 Pittsburgh 28 24 .538 6 Cincinnati 22 28 .440 11 Milwaukee 18 35 .340 16.4 Western Division LA Dodgers 31 21 .596 - San Francisco 30 24 .556 2 San Diego 26 28 .481 6 Arizona 24 27 .471 6.5 Colorado 23 28 .451 7.5 WASHINGTON: Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper can’t catch a ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays’ Kevin Pillar during the fourth inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader. — AP