NEW YORK: The St. Louis Cardinals welcomed back ace Chris Carpenter to the mound but missed a chance to tighten their grip on a National League wild card spot falling 5-4 to the Chicago Cubs in an extra-inning thriller at Wrigley Field on Friday.
Carpenter, back on the hill for the first time since Game 7 of last year’s World Series, was solid in his season debut giving up two runs on five hits in five innings of work.
But the World Series champions still watched their hold on the second wild card trimmed to 1.5 games by the Milwaukee Brewers, who were winners over the Washington Nationals.
Leading 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Carpenter looked set for a winning return until Cubs Darwin Barney slammed a two-run homer that sent the contest into extra innings, setting the stage for David DeJesus, who delivered the game winning single in the 11th.
Despite the loss, Carpenter’s performance was a big boost for the Cardinals, who add an experience right arm to their rotation as they continue their push for post-season berth.
“My stuff wasn’t as sharp as I’d like, it wasn’t even as sharp as it’s been in those simulated games,” Carpenter, who underwent surgery in July for thoracic outlet syndrome that was causing numbness on his right side, told reporters. “I did the best I could to get as many outs as I could and give us a chance.
“It was fun to go out there.
“It’s definitely something I can build on, and hopefully my stuff is sharper as I get out there more often.”
The Cardinals could use the help as pressure continues to mount in a tight NL wild card race.
The surging Brewers kept the heat on St. Louis as they recorded their sixth straight win pushing across three runs in the ninth to beat the Nationals 4-2.
Matt Kemp’s two-run single with two outs in the top of the 10th inning lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, to keep them in the post-season chase just two back of Cardinals.
Kemp’s heroics denied Reds fans a party, with Cincinnati looking to clinch the NL Central crown after having already secured at least a wild card spot on Thursday. Lurking three games back are the Philadelphia Phillies, who slammed four solo home runs on way to a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves, owners of the first NL wild card.
Over in the American League, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles continued their tug-of-war at the top of the East division with 12 games left in the regular season.
Russell Martin crushed a walk off homer to open the 10th inning as Yankees ran their winning streak to six edging the Oakland Athletics 2-1 while the Orioles kept pace with 4-2 decision over the Boston Red Sox.
With the victory, the Yankees were able to maintain a one game lead over the Orioles, who hold down the first AL wild card spot ahead of the slumping Athletics, losers of four of their last five.
The Tampa Bay Rays kept their dimming playoff hopes alive crushing the Toronto Blue Jays 12-1 to sit 4.5 back of a playoff spot.
The Los Angeles Angels stayed in the hunt for post-season action with a 6-2 win over the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox.
Mike Trout and Kendrys Morales both had home runs for the Angels who moved within 3.5 games of Oakland while the White Sox were left looking over their shoulders at the Detroit Tigers, who now sit just 1.5 back.
Carpenter solid in return but Cardinals feel heat
Carpenter solid in return but Cardinals feel heat
Premier League rings in New Year with goal drought as Man City lose ground in title race
- Second-placed City would have reduced Arsenal’s advantage to two points but instead were frustrated as their winning streak in all competitions was halted at eight
- Liverpool’s attack was also found wanting as they drew 0-0 at home to Leeds United while there were no goals at Brentford as they ground out a draw with Tottenham Hotspur
SUNDERLAND, England: The Premier League’s festive feast turned stale on Thursday as the New Year’s Day program served up three 0-0 draws, most significantly Manchester City’s stalemate at Sunderland which left them four points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
Second-placed City would have reduced Arsenal’s advantage to two points but instead were frustrated as their winning streak in all competitions was halted at eight.
Liverpool’s attack was also found wanting as they drew 0-0 at home to Leeds United while there were no goals at Brentford as they ground out a draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
The only goals of the day came at Selhurst Park where Fulham’s Tom Cairney scored a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw.
Sunderland have proved stubborn opposition on their return to the Premier League and have now drawn with City, Arsenal and third-placed Aston Villa at their Stadium of Light.
They are only the second promoted team to remain unbeaten in their first 10 home games in a Premier League campaign, after Ipswich Town in 1992-93, and were worth their point.
City did everything in their power to make the breakthrough but home goalkeeper Robin Roefs pulled off a series of saves while the closest the visitors came to scoring was Josko Gvardiol’s header which shaved the post in the second half.
“They are so physical. They’re so strong, so it’s not a surprise at that. We take the point,” City boss Pep Guardiola said. “Really pleased with the performances, especially in the second half. There’s still a long way (to go).”
One boost for City was the sight of Rodri back in action as a substitute for the injured Niko Gonzalez having recovered from a hamstring injury that had restricted him to a handful of minutes in the last three months.
Arsenal’s 4-1 thrashing of Villa on Tuesday put them on 45 points at the halfway stage of the season while Pep Guardiola’s City have 41 after just their second league draw of the season.
Next up for Arsenal is a trip to struggling Bournemouth on Saturday while City are at home a day later against Chelsea who parted ways with coach Enzo Maresca on Thursday.
Reigning champions Liverpool are 12 points behind Arsenal in fourth place as they produced a lacklustre display.
Their best chance fell to Hugo Ekitike but his miss rather summed up Liverpool’s day, somehow heading an inviting cross by Jeremie Frimpong away from goal when he seemed set to score.
It could have been worse for Arne Slot’s side too with Dominic Calvert-Lewin having an 81st-minute goal disallowed for offside after latching on to a pass by Noah Okafor.
“You would like to start off (2026) with a win,” Slot said. “But it was difficult. I don’t think we were able to play many times through their low block.
“Sometimes we didn’t have enough bodies in front of the goal and in other moments where we did create or we were close to a goal, we were a bit unfortunate.”
For Leeds it was another important point in their bid to stay clear of the relegation zone. They are in 16th place with 21 points, seven ahead of third-from-bottom West Ham United.
“It doesn’t come along that often that you get a clean sheet and a point at Anfield,” Leeds boss Daniel Farke said.
“We had to defend and suffer but we are newly promoted and came to the defending champions.”
Spurs manager Thomas Frank went back to his old club Brentford but it was a forgettable affair as Tottenham’s 137-game run in the Premier League without a goalless draw ended.
Their last one was also against Brentford in May 2022.
The draw left Tottenham in 12th place with 26 points while Brentford, who had the better chances, are ninth with 27.
Palace are now winless in six matches in all competitions as they were denied victory by a superb curling shot by Cairney.
Jean-Philippe Mateta had headed Palace into the lead but the hosts faded and Fulham would have snatched all three points had Dean Henderson not made a great save to deny Timothy Castagne and had Joachim Andersen not blazed a shot over.
“When the legs and the mind are not that fresh it’s a little bit difficult. It was a good point today,” Palace manager Oliver Glasner said. Palace are 10th with Fulham 11th, both on 27 points.
