BASEBALL

A-ROD LEADS AMERICANS OVER JAPAN IN WBC Alex Rodriguez came through with the winning hit for the United States after Japan appeared to get the short end of a controversial call.

Rodriguez hit a bases-loaded, two-out single in the ninth yesterday to give Team USA a 4-3 victory in the opener of Round 2 in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Vernon Wells opened the ninth with his third hit, and Randy Winn sacrificed, but reached first when second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka drew an error for coming off the base while catching third baseman Akinori Iwamura’s throw.

Loser Kyuji Fujikawa threw out Wells at third on Michael Young’s attempted sacrifice, and Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ken Griffey struck out before Rodriguez appeared to be jammed on a 1-1 pitch, but his grounder got past Fujikawa and Nishioka’s sliding attempt behind second was unsuccessful. Rodriguez went 2-for-5, making him 7-of-14 in the Classic.

An announced crowd of 32,896 attended the opener of Round 2. Mexico and South Korea were scheduled to meet later last night at Angel Stadium, where single games will be played today through Thursday to complete the second round.

Japan appeared to take a 4-3 lead off Joe Nathan in the eighth when Iwamura flied to left with one out and the bases loaded. Nishioka beat Winn’s throw home, and second base umpire Brian Knight ruled safe when Team USA appealed the play. But plate umpire Bob Davidson overruled the call following a brief discussion with the other umpires. It didn’t seem Nishioka left early on the television replay, and Japan manager Sadaharu Oh argued to no avail.

In other WBC action yesterday,10-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel missed a double play opportunity and gave up an additional out on a fielder’s choice, and Cuba capitalized with a five-run sixth inning in a 7-2 victory over Venezuela.

Frederich Cepeda hit a three-run homer and Ariel Pestano followed with a solo shot as the underdog Cubans broke out after Johan Santana departed.

METS, YANKS LOSE IN SPRING ACTION Val Majewski doubled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Mets 3-2 yesterday to snap a five-game skid. The Orioles tied the game with two outs in the ninth off New York’s Tim LaVigne. David Newhan singled, Jeff Fiorentino walked, and Luis Lopez’s bad-hop grounder went past first baseman Juan Tejeda for a run-scoring error.

Starter Steve Trachsel pitched four shutout innings of two-hit ball for the Mets, who have dropped four of five. The right-hander walked one and struck out two.

Also yesterday, C.C. Sabathia held a diluted Yankees lineup in check, throwing four innings for his second consecutive solid outing in the Cleveland Indians’ 7-5 victory. Yankees starter Shawn Chacon allowed two hits and four walks and struck out three Indians in three scoreless innings. Sean Henn pitched the fourth, giving up four runs on four hits and walking four.

COX SIGNS EXTENSION WITH BRAVES Bobby Cox plans to manage the Atlanta Braves for at least two more seasons. Cox signed a one-year extension of his current deal yesterday, keeping him in Atlanta through 2007. He is seventh on the career wins list with 2,092, has guided the Braves to 14 division titles in a row, and captured the last two NL manager of the year awards. The 64-year-old Cox, a four time manager of the year, is entering his 25th season as a major league manager – 21 of those with the Braves

GOLF

DONALD HOLDS OFF OGILVY FOR HONDA CLASSIC TITLE Luke Donald used back-to-back birdies midway through his back nine to take the outright lead at 11-under, made a great scrambling par on the difficult 16th to preserve the margin, and held off Geoff Ogilvy by two shots for his second career PGA Tour victory at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

A 3-under final round of 69 was good enough for the Englishman, who hadn’t won on tour since the 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic and pocketed a winner’s check of $990,000. He made a 10-foot birdie putt at the 13th and a 25-footer on the 14th for the lead, then holed a slippery 18-footer to save par on the 16th.

David Toms shot a 69 to finish at 9-under, three shots off the pace and tied with Billy Mayfair (72), who entered the day tied with Donald for the 54-hole lead. Tom Pernice (68) wound up alone in fifth at 8-under, former Honda champion Dudley Hart (69) was 7-under, and three players – Stephen Ames (68), Frank Lickliter (71), and Jeff Gove (74) – shared seventh place at 6-under.

SORENSTAM NOTCHES FIRST WIN OF 2006 Annika Sorenstam had three birdies on the back nine to win her first LPGA Tour event of the year yesterday, shooting a 2-under 70 in the third and final round for a one-stroke victory at the Master-Card Classic in Huixquilucan, Mexico.

The world’s top-ranked woman golfer, who also won the inaugural tournament here a year ago, was shooting even par and tied for the lead after making the turn. But she reeled off three birdies in four holes for some breathing room and finished at 8-under 208 to secure a one-stroke win over Helen Alfredsson and Seon Hwa Lee.

Lee, a tour rookie from South Korea, had five birdies to offset three bogeys for a 70 yesterday and a share of second place. Alfredsson, a Swede, had an eagle on the 498-yard, par-4 12th hole to go with five birdies and two bogeys for a 67. Natalie Gulbis shot the final day’s best round, recording seven birdies and a bogey to move to 6-under and tie for fourth with South Korea’s Mi Hyun Kim and Paula Creamer, who was tied for the lead entering the final round but shot a 72 yesterday.

– Associated Press