matchup between division leaders also had plenty of dram

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Brazil is facing an international embarrassment over the cancellation of a football match against England, which is sure to raise more red flags concerning the countrys readiness to hold the Confederations Cup in two weeks, the World Cup a year from now, and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. A judge on Thursday ordered the cancellation of Brazils international friendly against England scheduled for Sunday at Rio de Janeiros newly renovated Maracana stadium, saying the venue is unsafe. The state government of Rio de Janeiro said it would appeal the decision by judge Adriana Costa dos Santos and believes the stadium meets all the safety standards required. Its possible the judge may back away from her order and the let match go ahead. Even if its played, the confusion sends a message that Brazil is unprepared for the Confederations Cup -- a World Cup test even with eight teams -- and more importantly the World Cup itself, and the Olympics. FIFA, the governing body of world football, has been complaining openly for a more than a year that Brazil is not ready. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke was in Brazil earlier this month to check on venues. Hes acknowledged the Confederations Cup will be a maze of unfinished work and admitted that "not all operational arrangements will be 100 per cent." He then warned: "This will be impossible to repeat for the FIFA World Cup." "The World Cup, we cant reduce any requirement," he added. "On any (other) competition that would be fine, except at the World Cup. The World Cup is 99 per cent of the FIFA system. The World Cup has to be perfect. The World Cup is the diamond of FIFA." Early in 2012, Valcke angered Brazil officials with a blunt assessment that made international headlines. The rift was eventually settled, but delays remain in finishing stadiums and a myriad of other infrastructure like airports, roads and hotels for the World Cup. Much of that infrastructure will not be ready for the Confederations Cup. FIFA and the local World Cup organizing committee tried to distance themselves from the problems, saying they were not responsible for organizing the Brazil vs. England match. Local organizers, however, acknowledged they are using the match to view "operational areas." In her ruling, Costa dos Santos said she was cancelling all matches in the stadium until local organizers presented the documents showing that the venue is appropriate to host events. She said the decision was made to guarantee the "safety of fans at the Maracana." Prosecutors said that the stadium must remain closed until it is shown there will no safety or health risks to the public attending events at the venue. Prosecutors said they received a police report, saying the stadium presented "safety risks" and added that "dangerous materials" were at the site. They also noted there were not adequate measures for crowd control at the 79,000-seat venue, which has been renovated several times in recent years with some estimates suggesting $1 billion has been spent. The government said the problems were due to a "bureaucratic error," and said a report showing that the stadium is safe was not delivered to the proper authorities. The six stadiums being used for the Confederations Cup are in various stages of readiness. Six others that will be used for next years World Cup are still being built, and FIFA has demanded they be ready by Dec. 31. The Maracana stadium in Rio is scheduled to host the Confederations Cup final on June 30, and will be the venue for the World Cup final next year. It is also slated to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics. Brazil President Dilma Rousseff this week praised the six Confederations Cup venues, including Maracana. "Many people did not think we would be able to build these stadiums before the Confederations Cup at the standards required by FIFA," Rousseff said. She made reference to what she called the "old-mutt" complex, a sense that Brazil lacked confidence and would fail to meet the challenge. "But the workers who built these stadiums, the businessmen hired to do these works and all the governments involved have proved that Brazil is able to accept challenges and fulfil promptly commitments undertaken." In something of a bad omen, the day that Rousseff spoke a small part of the roof at the stadium in Salvador -- a Confederations Cup venue -- collapsed under the weight of heavy rainfall. There were no injuries. The stadium that will be used for track and field at the Olympics was also closed earlier this year because of a faulty roof. The England squad, which is hoping to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, arrived in Rio on Thursday for the match. 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Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. SAN FRANCISCO -- Yoenis Cespedes hit two long home runs and an RBI double in his second game back from the disabled list, and Bartolo Colon and the New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 9-5 on Saturday.The Mets had lost five of six before topping the team that began the day leading the NL West. The Giants dropped to 11-22 since the All-Star break.Cespedes, whod been out since Aug. 4 with a strained right quadriceps, drove in three runs. He has 24 homers this season. The sluggers shot off Matt Moore (7-10) in the third inning went 457 feet, according to Statcast.com. Cespedes added a 418-footer off reliever Jake Peavy in the seventh.Alejandro De Aza hit a three-run homer in a four-run sixth that stretched the Mets lead to 7-2.Colon (11-7) allowed two runs, scattering nine hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings.WHITE SOX 6, ATHLETICS 2CHICAGO -- Chris Sale pitched eight scoreless innings for his first victory in 49 days, Jose Abreu homered and Chicago beat Oakland.Sale (15-6) was the majors first 14-game winner and the AL starter in the All-Star Game, but the lefty had gone 0-4 in six starts, interrupted by a five-day suspension for slicing up throwback uniforms he didnt want to wear. Sale allowed three hits and retired the last seven batters, five by strikeout, while throwing a season-high 120 pitches.The White Sox scored four runs with two outs, including Abreus solo shot that just cleared the eight-foot wall in right in the first inning. Melky Cabrera added an RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the fourth off Ross Detwiler (1-2). Oaklands Danny Valencia homered in Oaklands two-run ninth off Nate Jones before David Robertson earned his 31st save.ASTROS 12, ORIOLES 2BALTIMORE -- Jason Castro homered and drove in four runs in Houstons second straight blowout victory over struggling Baltimore.Alex Bregman and George Springer also homered for the Astros. They beat Baltimore 15-8 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.Bregman got this rout started with a two-run homer in the first inning off Chris Tillman (15-5). Houston increased its lead to 6-0 in the third and went up 10-1 in the sixth.Chris Davis homered in a fourth straight game and Steve Pearce also went deep for the Orioles. But Baltimore has dropped eight of 12 overall to fall into the third place in the AL East.Baltimore pitchers combined to allow a season-high 10 walks. Utility infielder Ryan Flaherty worked the ninth inning, giving up two runs and three hits.Mike Fiers (9-6) had little trouble in his first career appearance against the Orioles. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits.MARLINS 3, PIRATES 1PITTSBURGH -- Xavier Scruggs hit his first major league home run and David Phelps pitched six scoreless innings to help Miami beat Pittsburgh.Miguel Rojas scored on an error in the third, and Ichiro Suzuki doubled down the right field line in the fourth -- for his 3,008th hit in the majors to move into 28th place on the career list -- ahead of Scruggs shot into the bleachers in left field.Phelps (7-6) allowed two hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in his fourth start of the season. Fernando Rodney got the last three outs for his sixth save with the Marlins and 23rd save overall.Chad Kuhl (3-1) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings.ROYALS 10, TWINS 0KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Gordon homered twice and had a double, Ian Kennedy pitched eight sharp innings and Kansas City beat Minnesota to extend its winning streak to seven games.The Royals string is theiir best since they won seven straight in April 2015.dddddddddddd The World Series champions have won 12 of 14 to move back into the AL wild-card race.Gordon has homered five times in five games. He connected in the fourth inning and again in the fifth for his fourth career multihomer game.Kennedy (8-9) gave up four hits, walked none and struck out six. Salvador Perez and Gordon hit back-to-back home runs in a four-run fifth, chasing Hector Santiago (10-8).PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 2PHILADELPHIA -- Cesar Hernandez homered, doubled and singled, and Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings in Philadelphias 4-2 victory over St. Louis.Maikel Franco had two hits, including a double and the winning RBI, and Aaron Altherr homered for the Phillies. They have hit home runs in 14 straight games.Jeremy Hazelbaker homered and Jhonny Peralta had three hits for St. Louis, which had won five in a row. The Cardinals are 1 1/2 games head of Miami for the second wild-card spot in the National League.St. Louis fell short of setting a major league record of 10 straight games with multiple home runs. The Cardinals tied the mark with a pair of homers Friday night.Hellickson (10-7) skipped his last start because of back tightness. The right-hander looked healthy and sharp, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. Jeanmar Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save in 37 opportunities. Luke Weaver (0-1) was the loser.NATIONALS 11, BRAVES 9ATLANTA -- Ryan Zimmerman homered and had three hits in his return from the disabled list, and Washington used an eight-run fourth inning to take control before holding off Atlanta.Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner hit homers in Washingtons big fourth inning against Tyrell Jenkins (2-4). The Nationals trailed 3-1 before setting a season high for runs in an inning and taking a 9-3 lead.Washington set a Nationals record with nine hits in the inning, including eight straight, and had 17 hits in the game.Max Scherzer (13-7) allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Mark Melancon gave up a two-run single to Chase dArnaud, cutting the lead to two, before recording the final out for his 36th save.BLUE JAYS 6, INDIANS 5CLEVELAND -- Edwin Encarnacion homered, Roberto Osuna bounced back from a nightmarish outing to record the save and Toronto beat Cleveland.Toronto was stunned Friday night on Tyler Naquins game-ending inside-the-park home run off Osuna that gave the Indians a 3-2 victory.The latest matchup between division leaders also had plenty of drama, with Osuna getting his 28th save by retiring Naquin on a groundout to end it.Encarnacions leadoff homer in the fifth, his 35th of the season, put Toronto back on top. Joe Biagini (4-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Josh Tomlin (11-7) allowed all six Toronto runs.RAYS 8, RANGERS 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Evan Longoria and Luke Maile homered, Jake Odorizzi won his fifth game since the All-Star break and Tampa Bay ended Texas four-game winning streak.Odorizzi (8-5) is 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break.Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus had two hits each for the AL West-leading Rangers.The Rays scored in each of the first two innings off starter A.J. Griffin (5-3). Matt Duffy drove in a run with a two-out single in the first, and Maile made it 2-0 with his first career home run in the second. Longorias 28th homer made it 3-0 in the sixth. ' ' '