Sunday Sports

Sunday was slightly less packed then Saturday in regards to sports. There were four less hockey games, and we begin with...

The Philadelphia Flyers hosting the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist and Sergei Bobrovsky were between the pipes. Philadelphia got ahead first with James van Riemsdyk notching his 21st of the season from Sean O'Donnell and Claude Giroux. New York tied it with a second left in the first period on a power play goal by Bryan McCabe, his seventh of the year gathering steam off of Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik. The Rangers got ahead with Ruslan Fedotenko potting his tenth of the season off of Vinny Prospal and Marc Staal. The Flyers retied it with Nikolay Zherdev recording his 16th of the year, thanks to Giroux and Matt Carle. The tie was broken by New York in the shootout, toppling Philadelphia 3-2 on the tallies from Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski. The three stars were Christensen, Giroux, and Fedotenko.

Down to Carolina, where the Hurricanes hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth opposed Cam Ward in front of the goals. Buffalo was on the board first with the first goal of the season for Chris Butler, assisted by Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis. Eric Staal replied with his 33rd of the campaign for Carolina in the second period, made possible by Bryan Allen and Chad LaRose. The tie lasted through the silent third period to the overtime, where the Sabres eked out a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes with Marc-Andre Gragnani potting his first of the year, with Nathan Gerbe and Stafford providing the helpers. Gragnani, Enroth (35 for 36 saves), and Tuomo Ruutu took the three stars.

Moving along to Detroit, where the Red Wings hosted the Minnesota Wild. Jose Theodore and Jimmy Howard guarded the cages. Detroit opened the scoring with Darren Helm netting his 12th of the season, thanks to Patrick Eaves and Brian Rafalski. The Red Wings extended their lead with Nicklas Lidstrom registering his 16th of the year, with the help of Henrik Zetterberg. Minnesota got on the board with the third of the season by Brad Staubitz, guided in by Justin Falk. Detroit took the goal back with Tomas Holmstrom tallying for the 16th time this year, a power play goal powered by Rafalski and Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings extended their lead again with Johan Franzen recording his 28th of the season, helped in by Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi. The Wild made it 4-2 with Carson McMillan getting his first of the year, with Staubitz and Eric Nystrom adding on the assists. The three stars went to Holmstrom, Helm, and Staubitz.

Doubling back to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets hosted the St. Louis Blues. Jaroslav Halak and Mathieu Garon took to the blue paint. St. Louis opened the scoring on Patrik Berglund's 21st of the season, created by Chris Stewart and Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues extended their lead with Chris Porter's third goal of the year, helped along by Vladimir Sobotka and Alex Steen. Columbus got on the board with R.J. Umberger's 25th of the campaign, a power play goal made possible by Derick Brassard and Anton Stralman. St. Louis took the goal back in the second period with Andy McDonald registering his 19th of the season, with help from Matt D'Agostini and Nikita Nikitin on the power play. Berglund also tallied for the Blues with his 22nd of the year and second of the game, with Stewart and D'Agostini doing the rest of the work. David LeNeveu took over for Garon for the third period. St. Louis kept rolling in the third period with Alex Steen notching his 19th of the season, courtesy of Sobotka and Roman Polak. The Blues made it 6-1 with an unassisted Carlo Colaiacovo goal, his sixth of the year. Berglund, D'Agostini, and Stewart took the three stars honors.

To Chicago, where the Blackhawks hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mike Smith and Corey Crawford took to the nets as goalies. Tampa Bay opened with Vincent Lecavalier recording his 21st of the season on the power play, powered by Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne. The Lightning wrapped it up 2-0 in the third period with Nate Thompson's empty netter, his tenth of the year coming off of Gagne and Adam Hall. Smith (31 save shutout), Lecavalier, and Brent Seabrook were the three stars.

Westward to Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Peter Budaj got the starts. Olli Jokinen put Calgary on the board in the second period with his 17th of the season, from Alex Tanguay and Jay Bouwmeester. Tanguay tacked on for the Flames with his 21st of the campaign, with Jarome Iginla recording the lone assist. Milan Hejduk made it 2-1 with his 21st of the year for Colorado, thanks to John-Michael Liles and Mark Olver. It wasn't enough, as Calgary held on for the win, with Kiprusoff (34 for 35 saves), Tanguay, and Hejduk getting the three stars.

Down to Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Ray Emery tended the twines. Anaheim drew first blood with Ryan Getzlaf sinking his 19th of the season, assisted by Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry. Dallas replied with Jeff Woywitka notching his second of the year, with help from Brendan Morrow and Loui Eriksson. Mike Ribeiro put the Stars on top with his 17th of the campaign, guided in by Morrow and Woywitka. The Ducks retied it with Lubomir Visnovsky's 18th of the season, an unassisted goal. Morrow gave Dallas the lead back in the second period with his 29th of the year, courtesy of Jamie Langenbrunner and Tom Wandell. The Stars extended their lead with Ribeiro's second of the game and 18th of the season, fueled by Brad Richards and Jamie Benn on the power play. Anaheim made it 4-3 with Perry's league-leading 47th of the year, a shorthanded and unassisted goal. However, the offenses were silenced in the third period, and the Ducks lost by the above score. The three stars went to Perry, Ribeiro, and Richards.

Moving into the baseball spectrum with...

The Cleveland Indians hosting the Chicago White Sox. John Danks and Justin Masterson got the starts. Chicago opened with a Paul Konerko single to score Omar Vizquel. Cleveland took the lead with a sixth inning two run homer by Orlando Cabrera, clearing off Travis Hafner. The Indians continued with Lou Marson doubling to score Jack Hannahan, before finishing his trip on the Asdrubal Cabrera sacrifice fly. Cleveland added on with Shelley Duncan eighth inning single that scored both Hafner and Orlando Cabrera. This was followed by a Michael Brantley sacrifice fly that knocked in Travis Buck. This brought the score to 7-1, the final with Masterson taking the win and a hold credited to Tony Sipp, while Danks was dinged for the loss. A.J. Pierzynski and Orlando Cabrera were the best hitters. The White Sox did take the series 2-1.

To the Bronx, where the New York Yankees hosted the Detroit Tigers. Max Scherzer opposed Phil Hughes. Detroit opened the scoring in the first inning with a Miguel Cabrera home run, a two run shot that scored Brennan Boesch. New York replied the next inning with their own two run homer off the bat of Jorge Posada, scoring Nick Swisher. The Tigers retook the lead in the third with Boesch singling to bring around Austin Jackson, before Cabrera hit another two-run tater that completed the trip for Boesch. The Yankees had a pair of solo yard balls with Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano's smacks. Detroit kept pace with another two-run homer, this time from Boesch to score Ramon Santiago. Posada answered for New York again, his two-run homer bringing Swisher in yet again. Santiago added a double to bring in Jhonny Peralta in the sixth inning, followed by Boesch's sacrifice fly that knocked in Jackson. Swisher brought Cano in home during the seventh inning with a double. The Tigers finished up with a Ryan Raburn double to score Boesch yet again. This final score made it 10-7, with Hughes taking the loss, Scherzer grabbing a somewhat sloppy win, Phil Coke and Joaquin Benoit taking holds, and Jose Valverde grabbing the save. The top hitters were Boesch and Posada. The Yankees took the series 2-1.

Up north, the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Minnesota Twins. Nick Blackburn and Brett Cecil took the mound. Minnesota took the first shot, a solo home run by Danny Valencia. Toronto replied with Edwin Encarnacion reaching on Tsuyoshi Nishioka's throwing error, moving along to second and bringing Adam Lind in home. The Twins got back on top with Matt Tolbert hitting a single to bring Jason Kubel in, and Valencia attempted but failed to safely score. Nishioka added on by scoring Drew Butera on his single. The Blue Jays pulled out a sixth inning solo home run from Jose Bautista. Minnesota replied when Denard Span hit a solo home run in the ninth inning. Toronto got a run off of the Yunel Escobar sacrifice fly as Travis Snider found the plate, but they didn't get an equalizer, and lost 4-3. Cecil was designated with the loss, while Blackburn stole the win, Jose Mijares, Matt Capps, and Glen Perkins took holds, and Joe Nathan got his first save since Tommy John surgery. Span and Bautista were the top hitters. Toronto did however take the series 2-1.

Down to Cincinnati, where the Reds hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. Randy Wolf and Bronson Arroyo had the ball for the start. Milwaukee led off with a solo home run by Rickie Weeks. Cincinnati replied in the second inning with Jonny Gomes homer, a solo shot, followed by Paul Janish singling to bring around Jay Bruce. Weeks kicked in another run with his double to score Wolf in the third for the Brewers. The Reds had another answer in the fourth inning, with Drew Stubbs singling to score Ryan Hanigan, and completing his trip on the Brandon Phillips three run shot that benefited Janish as well. Hanigan crossed the plate again on his solo home run in the fifth, answered by Milwaukee's Ryan Braun with his own solo homer the next inning. Cincinnati added on to their score with a Scott Rolen sacrifice fly to knock in Phillips, followed by a three run tater by Hanigan, with Joey Votto and Gomes crossing home. The Reds made it 12-3 with a Miguel Cairo single, bringing in Chris Heisey. This was the final, with Wolf being the loser and Arroyo the winner. Weeks and Hanigan were the best of the hitters. Cincinnati made it a 3-0 sweep with the win.

Down to Florida, where the Marlins hosted the New York Mets. R.A. Dickey and Javier Vazquez squared off. New York busted out early with a two-run Willie Harris homer, bringing in Jose Reyes, followed by Lucas Duda's grounding into a fielder's choice, providing time for Ike Davis to score as Hanley Ramirez misfielded the ball. The Mets added on with a solo shot from Davis in the second inning, followed by a ground rule double for Daniel Murphy, which brought around Angel Pagan, and capped by Duda and Murphy scoring on Emilio Bonifacio's throwing error, allowing Dickey to reach first as well. Florida got on the board in the third inning with Omar Infante hitting a sacrifice fly to score Scott Cousins. Infante was kicked in during the seventh inning, as the Marlins got an RBI single from Gaby Sanchez. Pagan's walk got New York started again in the eighth inning, with Chin-lung Hu being pushed in, followed by a fielder's choice for Scott Hairston, on which he reached, and knocked in Harris. The final was 9-2, and Dickey took the win, along with D.J. Carrasco taking a hold, subsequently giving Vazquez the loss. Harris and Sanchez were your top hitters. The Mets won the series 2-1.

To Philadelphia, where the Phillies hosted the Houston Astros. Bud Norris took on Roy Oswalt. Philadelphia cut open the scoring with a three run shot from Ryan Howard, scoring Placido Polanco and Jimmy Rollins. Howard added on for the Phillies with his double to score Polanco again in the third inning. Houston got on the scoreboard with Hunter Pence sending a ball over the wall in the next inning. Brett Wallace continued for the Astros with a groundout to bring around Carlos Lee in the sixth. Philadelphia replied in the bottom half of the inning with Shane Victorino and Michael Martinez singles, coming back-to-back and knocking in Ben Francisco and Carlos Ruiz. Houston sent one final run in with Humberto Quintero grounding into a double play, taking Chris Johnson off the paths, but also bringing Wallace in to score. The final stood at 7-3 for the Phillies. Norris took the loss, while Oswalt got the win over his former team. Pence and Howard were the top batters. Philadelphia swept Houston 3-0 for the series.

Into Washington, where the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves. Tim Hudson and Jordan Zimmermann were on the mound. Atlanta opened the scoring in the first inning with Brian McCann singling to knock in Nate McLouth, answered in the other half by Washington's Adam LaRoche singling to do the same for Jayson Werth. The Braves got ahead in the fifth inning with Freddie Freeman grounding out to shortstop, allowing time for Alex Gonzalez to come in, followed by Martin Prado's double and extra base after Danny Espinosa committed an error, allowing Hudson to cross home. McCann added on a two-RBI single in the seventh when Prado and McLouth crossed the plate. Atlanta busted out in the eighth, with Jason Heyward scoring on a balk, Gonzalez coming in on a Prado sacrifice fly, Freeman rounding in on McLouth's double, Chipper Jones completing the trip for McLouth, McCann singling to drive in Matt Young, and topping off the six-run inning with Heyward singling to drive McCann back across the plate. The Nationals replied with a mere run on a Jerry Hairston, Jr. groundout to score Espinosa. Hudson picked up the win, while Zimmermann was given the loss in the 11-2 game. McCann and Espinosa were the best batters. Atlanta took the series 2-1.

To Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Baltimore Orioles. Zach Britton opposed Wade Davis. Baltimore struck early with a Matt Wieters single to knock in Brian Roberts. This was answered by Tampa Bay in the third inning, with Elliot Johnson laying down a bunt single and scoring Matt Joyce. The Orioles got back to scoring in the seventh with a Mark Reynolds double scoring Wieters, followed by J.J. Hardy's double completing the trip for Reynolds, as well as Adam Jones. Reynolds knocked Jones in himself in the ninth inning with another double, bringing the score to 5-1. Britton got the win, Jason Berken and Jim Johnson got the holds, and Davis took the loss. The win completed a 3-0 sweep for Baltimore.

West to Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Boston Red Sox. Clay Buchholz and Matt Harrison were on the mound. Texas opened with a David Murphy second inning home run, a solo shot. Ian Kinsler also homered for the Rangers, his third inning blast also a solo home run. Mike Napoli joined the solo home run fun in the fifth inning, boosting Texas further. Boston got on the board in the seventh inning with Carl Crawford driving in Kevin Youkilis with a single. The Rangers answered with Nelson Cruz hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and making it 5-1 with Mike Young's double in the eighth to score Andres Blanco. This was the final, with Buchholz taking the loss, Harrison gathering in a win, and Darren Oliver picking up a hold. Crawford and Murphy were the top batters. Texas' win gave them a 3-0 sweep over Boston.

To Kansas City, where the Royals hosted the Los Angeles Angels. Scott Kazmir and Bruce Chen were the starters. Kansas City saw the first glimpse of scoring with Alex Gordon's single to score Mike Aviles, followed by Jeff Francoeur singling and Gordon reaching home after making second on a balk. The Royals added on in the second inning with Melky Cabrera homering for a solo shot, followed by Kila Ka'aihue's two-RBI double that brought in Gordon and Billy Butler, and he made third on a balk. Los Angeles got on the board with solo home runs in the third inning by Maicer Izturis and Howie Kendrick. The Angels added on with Mark Trumbo doubling to bring around Alberto Collaspo, before completing his lap on a Peter Bourjos groundout. Kansas City replied with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning by Butler, which Los Angeles replied back to with Kendrick in the fifth. The scoring resumed in the seventh with Bobby Abreu hitting a two run tater to score Kendrick again. Francoeur answered for the Royals with a double to knock in Gordon. The Angels pick up a double from Izturis in the eighth to bring Bourjos back in. Callaspo followed that up with a solo home run in the ninth inning. Kansas City tied it on Wilson Betemit's two-RBI double on which Gordon and Chris Getz crossed safely home. The extra innings lasted into the thirteenth, where Matt Treanor knocked a three-run homer out of the park, with Betemit and Alcides Escobar also scoring, making it 12-9 Royals. Michael Kohn, Fernando Rodney, and Sean O'Sullivan had blown saves on both sides of the ledger, while Jordan Walden took a hold, Jason Bulger took the loss, and Tim Collins snagged the win. Abreu and Gordon were the top batters in the slugfest. The Royals took the series 3-1.

Crossing the state, the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the San Diego Padres. Dustin Moseley and Jaime Garcia made the starts. St. Louis was on the board first in the fifth inning with Yadier Molina singling to drive in Lance Berkman. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the eighth inning with Ryan Theriot's single, bringing around Skip Schumaker. This was the final, with Moseley taking a hard-luck loss, and Garcia throwing a complete game shutout win. Nick Hundley and Schumaker were the top hitters. San Diego got away with a 2-1 series win.

North a bit to Chicago, where the Cubs hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ross Ohlendorf and Matt Garza were given the ball. Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the second inning with Ronny Cedeno singling to score Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez drove in a run himself in the third inning for the Pirates with a single that scored Jose Tabata. Chicago tied it in the fourth inning with Carlos Pena's two-RBI double with Darwin Barney and Marlon Byrd both scoring. Lyle Overbay put Pittsburgh back on track with a single, allowing Tabata to come across home again. The Cubs answered in the bottom of the inning with Barney's sacrifice fly, bringing Starlin Castro around. Chicago took the lead with an Alfonso Soriano solo home run in the sixth. The Pirates took the lead back in the ninth with a two-RBI single from Alvarez, scoring both Garrett Jones and Neil Walker. This gave them a 5-4 lead, and eventually the win of the same score. Jeff Karstens picked up a win, while Joel Hanrahan got the save, Kerry Wood got the hold, and Carlos Marmol suffered a blown save and a loss. Alvarez and Castro were the top batters. Pittsburgh stole the series 2-1.

To Colorado, where the Rockies hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Saunders and Jhoulys Chacin took to the mound. The game was postponed at the start.

Into Oakland, where the Athletics hosted the Seattle Mariners. Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez pitched against each other. Seattle opened with a Ryan Langerhans solo home run in the second inning. Oakland replied with Coco Crisp tripling to drive in Kevin Kouzmanoff. Mark Ellis added on for the Athletics with a fourth inning groundout to shortstop, bringing in Josh Willingham, before singling in the sixth with the same result. Oakland exploded in the seventh inning with Hideki Matsui singling to score Crisp, Kurt Suzuki getting beaned and forcing in Daric Barton, Ellis walking to force in David DeJesus, and Kouzmanoff sacrificing his own at-bat for the sake of finishing Matsui's trip around the horn. This 7-1 score lasted throughout the rest of the game, pinning the loss on Fister, and the win went to Gonzalez. Langerhans and Crisp were the top batters. Seattle took the series 2-1.

Lastly, the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants. Barry Zito took on Hiroki Kuroda. Los Angeles got out to the early lead with Jamey Carroll triple to score Rafael Furcal, before Matt Kemp's two run blast completed his trip around. Pablo Sandoval added on a solo home run for San Francisco in the next inning. The Giants pulled closer with Buster Posey singling to bring Freddy Sanchez around. San Francisco tied it with Pat Burrell's solo shot in the seventh. The Dodgers got back to business in the bottom half of the same inning, led off by a Marcus Thames triple to score James Loney, followed by Aaron Miles pinch hit RBI single knocking in pinch runner Tony Gwynn. Furcal continued the scoring with his double to bring Miles around, and he was knocked in by an Andre Ethier single. The Giants pulled in a run with a bases-loaded walk for Brandon Belt, and a solo home run by Aaron Rowand in the ninth, but they still lost 7-5. Dan Runzler got dinged for the loss, while Kuroda had the win, Matt Guerrier had the hold, and Jonathan Broxton recorded his third save of the year. Sandoval and Kemp were the top hitters. The Dodgers took the series 3-1.

That's all folks. Monday's schedule is reduced significantly, and the song of the week will come out on Tuesday.