Washington leads the East by five games over the Braves after Gio Gonzalez allowed a run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings to pitch the Nationals past the New York Mets 5-2. Homers by Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa helped Gonzalez become the league's second 16-game winner.
The Yankees were 4-1 winners over the Red Sox as Hiroki Kuroda took a shutout into the seventh and allowed just a run and four hits in eight innings. Ichiro Suzuki hit a pair of solo homers and Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The AL East leaders won for the ninth time in 12 games, ending a two-year streak of futility against Beckett (5-11). The right-hander was 5-0 in his previous seven starts against the Yankees since losing to them on Aug. 8, 2010. He kept his team in the game this time, but dropped to 0-4 in his past six outings overall. He is 1-7 in 13 starts since May 20 and has served up seven homers in his past three appearances covering 16 1-3 innings. The Yanks went 2-3 on the weekend series, winning Friday 6-4 and Boston took Saturday’s game 4-1.
The Boston Red Sox plan to decide today whether left fielder Carl Crawford will have season-ending surgery on his left elbow. Crawford has been playing with pain since coming off the disabled list last month. Boston manager Bobby Valentine and general manager Ben Cherington say the team will speak with Crawford and doctors today, an off day for the Red Sox.
The Yankees play in Chicago against the White Sox tonight and R.A. Dickey and the Mets host Colorado.
Things were supposed to look a lot different for the New York Jets' offense. There's a new coordinator in Tony Sparano, a rededication to a run-first approach and the addition of the elusive and electrifying Tim Tebow. So far, this year's Jets look a lot like last year's — and that's not a good thing. At all. Through two preseason games, the Jets (0-2) have failed to score a touchdown. Mark Sanchez has been knocked around, much as he was last season, with a serious lack of pass protection that has led to him being sacked five times and prevented him from having time to do much of anything. Still, it's just two preseason games and the Jets have shown little of what they expect their offense to be. The Jets lost to the Giants on Saturday 26-3.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press