GIANTS FALL IN SERIES FINALE TO THE FISH
(AP) — Jeff Mathis hit an early home run, then lined a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning that bounced off Giants center fielder Andres Torres and sent the Miami Marlins over San Francisco Giants 6-5 Sunday.
It was 5-all in a back-and-forth game when Ed Lucas led off the eighth with a single against Sandy Rosario (3-1). With one out, Mathis hit a liner to left-center and the ball dropped in front of Torres' dive and caromed off him.
Chad Qualls (4-1) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings and Steve Cishek worked the ninth for his 27th save in 29 chances.
Hector Sanchez singled with one out in the ninth before Buster Posey grounded into a game-ending double play.
Hunter Pence and Brandon Crawford homered for the Giants.
A'S POWER PAST CLEVELAND
(AP) — Chris Young and Alberto Callaspo homered in the fifth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians 7-3 on Sunday.
Jed Lowrie, batting leadoff for only the third time this season, had two hits and scored twice for Oakland. Josh Donaldson drove in three runs as the A's pulled within a half-game of AL West-leading Texas.
Young hit his 11th home run off Cleveland starter Scott Kazmir (7-6) to break a 3-all tie in the fifth. Three pitches later, Callaspo followed with his sixth homer and first since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in late July.
Ryan Raburn homered for Cleveland, which has lost six of its last seven in Oakland.
Dan Otero (2-0) retired five batters for the win in relief of starter Tommy Milone.
Grant Balfour pitched the ninth.
AROD PLUNKED AND THEN HOMERS AS YANKS RALLY PAST BOSOX
(AP) — Ryan Dempster might receive a few thank-you cards from major leaguers this week, players who've been embarrassed by steroid use in baseball.
Dempster plunked Alex Rodriguez with a pitch in the second inning of Boston's 9-6 loss to the New York Yankees, leading to the ejection of manager Joe Girardi. Dempster's first pitch of the at-bat went behind A-Rod's knees, and the next two were inside before the fourth hit the Yankees third baseman. The benches and bullpens emptied following the plunking, but order was quickly restored without further incident.
Rodriguez got the better of Dempster four innings later, hitting his 649th career homer to pull within 11 of tying Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time list. It sparked a four-run rally that allowed the Bombers to turn a 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 lead.
It marked the second time A-Rod has been hit by a pitch since receiving a 211-game suspension for his participation with Biogenesis, a shuttered anti-aging facility that sold performance-enhancing drugs to major leaguers.
Brett Gardner had the game's key hit, a bases-loaded triple that allowed the Yanks to take the rubber match of the series.
The loss cuts the Red Sox's lead in the American League East to one game over Tampa Bay.
DENVER'S VON MILLER FACES SIX GAME SUSPENSION FOR VIOLATING NFL'S DRUG POLICY
ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting this morning that Pro-Bowl Denver Broncos Linebacker Von Miller will be suspended for his team's first six games. Sources tell Mortensen that the suspension is a result of Miller violating the league's substance abuse policy. Mortensen says Miller is in the process of trying to negotiate the suspension down to four games.
