Kuroda takes perfect game into eighth
Hiroki Kuroda wasn’t as upset about losing his bid for baseball history as he would have been had he given up runs in a tight game.
Kuroda took a perfect game into the eighth inning and settled for a one-hitter, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.
The right-hander retired the first 21 batters before Mark Teixeira lined his 70th pitch into the right field corner for a double leading off the eighth.
“My main concern was that he was the leadoff hitter in that inning, it was a 2-2 count and I didn’t want to walk him because I didn’t have that big of a lead,” Kuroda said through a translator. “I was concentrating more on not allowing any runs. I wasn’t really nervous, but I felt the pressure from the fans because they were expecting something big.”
Teixeira was the only baserunner for the Braves, who had flown across the country after waiting through a 1-hour, 50-minute rain delay in a 7-6, 17-inning victory over Houston on Sunday — the longest game ever at Turner Field.
A-Rod faces divorce
A tumultuous week for Alex Rodriguez, played out in tabloid headlines and carried on the whispers of a connection to Madonna, came to a head Monday when his wife filed for divorce.
The more than 5-year marriage collapsed amid reports of a new friendship between Rodriguez and the 49-year-old pop singer.
Played out in both the sports pages and gossip magazines, the saga appeared to have taken its toll on Cynthia Rodriguez, who said in divorce papers that her husband “emotionally abandoned his wife and children.”
Cynthia Rodriguez has asked for primary custody of their two children – Nathasha Alexander, 3, and 2-month-old Ella Alexander – as well as child support and alimony.
Madonna, who is married to filmmaker Guy Ritchie, denied any romantic involvement with Rodriguez in a statement Sunday.
Derby lineup on deck
Home run leaders Chase Utley and Grady Sizemore, and major league RBIs leader Josh Hamilton are among the players who will be in the All-Star home run derby.
Lance Berkman and Dan Uggla also will be in the July 14 contest at Yankee Stadium.
Three players will be added to the event.
Francoeur back in show
Jeff Francoeur’s stay in the minor leagues barely lasted a weekend.
Francoeur, who had four hits in his third game with Double-A Mississippi on Sunday, was recalled to the Atlanta Braves.
He was 7 for 13 (.548) with two RBIs at Mississippi.
Around the league
The Red Sox optioned starting pitcher Justin Masterson to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday, with plans to convert him into a relief pitcher. … Reds shortstop Alex Gonzalez had surgery on his left knee, ending his season before he got to play a single game.