Braves Prez Calls Furcal's Dealings 'Despicable'

Five clubs sign sponsorship deals with distillers

(NEWSER) - Big-league baseball teams are hitting the hard stuff. After years of sponsorship from beer companies, five ball clubs this year have teamed up with liquor brands. The spirit of choice: tequila, which saw the biggest sales jump among spirits between 2001 and 2010. “Lots of people think of beer and hot days together, but we have a lot of fans who are interested in spirits,” an Atlanta Braves rep tells MarketWatch . “And for female fans, we can offer margaritas.” More»

Sampson throws 7 solid innings; Erstad, Tejada drive in runs

(NEWSER) - Chris Sampson pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, Darin Erstad and Miguel Tejada each drove in two runs and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 last night. Sampson (2-3) struck out three and walked one in his Dodger Stadium debut, matching his longest outing of the season. The right-hander had given up 18 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings over his previous four starts. More»

(NEWSER) - Rafael Furcal hit a leadoff homer against beleaguered Oliver Perez, Blake DeWitt connected for his first home run in the major leagues and the surging Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 5-1. Matt Kemp also homered after being named NL player of the week for the first time earlier in the day, helping the Dodgers win for the ninth time in 10 games. More»

Los Angeles extends winning streak to five games

(NEWSER) - Chad Billingsley pitched seven innings to win for the first time this season and Rafael Furcal had a career-high five hits for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who extended their winning streak to five games by beating the Florida Marlins, 13-1 on Wednesday night. Furcal went 5-for-6 with a double, giving him 17 extra-base hits. More»

LA completes three-game sweep of Colorado

(NEWSER) - James Loney singled home the winning run in the 10th inning, and the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of NL champion Colorado with a 3-2 victory on Sunday. It's the first three-game winning streak of the season for the Dodgers under new manager Joe Torre, who used his 24th different lineup in 25 games as he searches for a consistent combination. More»