Fast Break

BASEBALL

Yankees pound Tampa Bay again

The New York Yankees had 25 hits, reaching 20 in consecutive games for the first time in team history in a 21-4 rout of the Devil Rays on Sunday in New York.

On Saturday, the Yankees had 20 in a 17-5 win that finished off a day-night doubleheader sweep.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “Even in batting practice you don’t get hits every time you swing the bat.”

Shelley Duncan homered twice, and Alex Rodriguez, batting with sunglasses on a sunny afternoon, hit his major league-leading 34th homer and No. 498 of his career. Hideki Matsui (shown above), Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano also homered to give the Yankees six home runs in a game for the first time in two years.

BASKETBALL

Bryant stars in U.S. scrimmage

Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 6.6 seconds left, to lead the blue team to a 105-104 victory over the white Sunday as the United States closed its weekend minicamp with an intrasquad game.

Bryant scored seven points in the final 2 minutes, including a 3-pointer over LeBron James that tied the game at 101 after the blue trailed by double digits earlier in the fourth quarter.

GOLF

Pound echoes doping claim

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency supports Gary Player’s claims that some golfers take drugs and criticized the PGA Tour for refusing to acknowledge there may be a problem.

Player said just before the start of the British Open that he knew of at least one player who took a performance-enhancing substance, and WADA chief Dick Pound thinks his comments are valid.

“That is certainly my suspicion, and Gary Player says he knows, so that’s fairly powerful medicine from somebody who has only the integrity of the game at heart,” Pound told BBC radio Sunday.