22 dead in Mo., Okla., Ga. after more storms

By John Froschauer (AP)

Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer in the third inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki each went 3-for-4 for the Mariners, who finished with 13 hits. It was Seattle\'s most hits since it collected 10 in a 7-3 win over Texas last Monday. The Mariners went 2-5 on their seven-game homestand.

Seattle got to Gavin Floyd (3-2), who has been one of the toughest pitchers to hit so far this season, for five runs and nine hits over 3 2-3 innings.

Floyd entered with a major league-leading...

By Marcio Jose Sanchez (AP)

Steve Holm entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher, then delivered the biggest hit of the day.

Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning for his first major league home run, and the San Francisco Giants held on for a 4-3 victory in the rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Holm homered in his first at-bat on the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero (3-1) after replacing Bengie Molina in the top of the seventh, sending the ball into the seats in left-center. Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and...

By John Froschauer (AP)

Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer in the third inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki each went 3-for-4 for the Mariners, who finished with 13 hits. It was Seattle\'s most hits since it collected 10 in a 7-3 win over Texas last Monday. The Mariners went 2-5 on their seven-game homestand.

By Tim Sharp (AP)

Emil Brown hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to help the Oakland Athletics beat Texas 12-6, ending the Rangers\' season-best five-game winning streak Sunday.

Frank Thomas drove in two runs to give him 1,695 RBIs, tying him with Cal Ripken for 21st all-time, and Mark Ellis had three hits for the A\'s.

Ian Kinsler had three hits for the Rangers, who had won nine of their previous 11.

With the game tied at 6, Bobby Crosby led off the seventh with a double, then stopped at third on Ellis\' single. Rangers reliever Franklyn German\'s pickoff attempt had Ellis in a...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

The big matchup between Big Z and the Big Unit never materialized. Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied again to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Sunday after the anticipated showdown between Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson got wiped out.

Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save in 10 chances and finish off Chicago\'s three-game sweep of the NL West leaders.

Heavy rain and temperatures in the mid-40s delayed the start of the game by 58...

By Nam Y. Huh (AP)

The big matchup between Big Z and the Big Unit never materialized. Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied again to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Sunday after the anticipated showdown between Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson got wiped out.

Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save in 10 chances and finish off Chicago\'s three-game sweep of the NL West leaders.

Heavy rain and temperatures in the mid-40s delayed the start of the game by 58...

By Tim Sharp (AP)

Emil Brown hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to help the Oakland Athletics beat Texas 12-6, ending the Rangers\' season-best five-game winning streak Sunday.

Frank Thomas drove in two runs to give him 1,695 RBIs, tying him with Cal Ripken for 21st all-time, and Mark Ellis had three hits for the A\'s.

Ian Kinsler had three hits for the Rangers, who had won nine of their previous 11.

Franklyn German (1-1) gave up two runs and three hits in 2-3 inning to suffer the loss.

Santiago Casilla (2-0) allowed two hits in 1 1-3 innings for the victory.

By Mike Carlson (AP)

Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Cliff Floyd added a pair of run-scoring singles, helping the Tampa Bay Rays stop Ervin Santana from becoming the AL\'s first seven-game winner with an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

Santana departed with a 5-4 lead with one runner on and two outs in the sixth inning, but the game quickly shifted when Justin Speier (0-3) entered and gave up a double to Akinori Iwamura and Crawford\'s third homer of the season.

B.J. Upton doubled for the third consecutive hit off the Angels reliever. He took third base on a wild pitch...

By Gene J. Puskar (AP)

The Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates will play a doubleheader Monday after their game Sunday was postponed by rain.

The doubleheader will begin at 12:35 p.m. Jair Jurrjens will start the first game for Atlanta against Zach Duke, and Pittsburgh\'s John Van Benschoten will face Tim Hudson in the nightcap.

Duke and Jurrjens had been the scheduled starters Sunday.

The game was called after a delay of 40 minutes. Light rain in the morning developed into a thunderstorm just before the scheduled 1:35 p.m. start. The tarp was never taken off the field.

By Morry Gash (AP)

The Brewers yanked Eric Gagne from the closer\'s role on Sunday after the reliever called his latest performance embarrassing and said he didn\'t feel he deserved to pitch the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne\'s comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a \"mental break.\"

\"He\'s really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard,\" Yost said. \"We\'ll probably just mix and match, I\'m not going to do anything crazy.\"

Gagne, who signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the...

By Morry Gash (AP)

The Brewers yanked Eric Gagne from the closer\'s role on Sunday after the reliever called his latest performance embarrassing and said he didn\'t feel he deserved to pitch the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne\'s comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a \"mental break.\"

\"He\'s really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard,\" Yost said. \"We\'ll probably just mix and match, I\'m not going to do anything crazy.\"

Gagne, who signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the...

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Dan Uggla\'s second home run on Sunday was a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Florida Marlins to their seventh straight win, 5-4 over the Washington Nationals.

Uggla drove in two runs and has seven RBIs and three homers in two games; he hit a grand slam Saturday and has 11 homers this season.

The Marlins have won all six of their games at Nationals Park, which opened this season, and their seven-game win streak overall is their best run since winning nine straight in August 2006.

Washington\'s Aaron Boone had a homer, triple and single with two RBIs...

By Duane Burleson (AP)

Derek Jeter was all suited up for the New York Yankees and ready to bat cleanup for just the second time in his career. A steady downpour, though, postponed the game Sunday in Detroit and foiled manager Joe Girardi\'s plan.

\"He only did it because he knew the game was going to be rained out anyway,\" Jeter joked.

Girardi insisted the forecast didn\'t have anything to do with slotting Jeter to bat fourth with Hideki Matsui resting against the Tigers\' left-handed starter, Nate Robertson, and Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list.

\"I told him I thought of it last night,\"...

By Sue Ogrocki (AP)

Crews and search dogs hunted Sunday for survivors or bodies in piles of debris after tornadoes and storms rumbled across the region a day earlier and killed at least 21 people in three states.

Six people died in Picher, once a bustling mining center of 20,000 that dwindled to about 800 people as families fled lead pollution there, and officials held out hope that they wouldn\'t find any more bodies.

Residents said the tornado created a surreal scene as it tore through town Saturday afternoon, injuring 150 people, overturning cars, damaging dozens of homes and throwing...

By Shealah Craighead (AP)

President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime bow.

\"Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy, Henry Hager,\" Bush said, standing next Mrs. Bush at an airport in Waco where he boarded Air Force One for his flight back to Washington. \"The wedding was spectacular. It\'s just _ it\'s all we could have hoped for.\"

Unlike other first family weddings that have been broadcast live, the Bushes didn\'t share their daughter\'s nuptials with the nation. The day...

By Shealah Craighead (AP)

President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime bow.

\"Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy, Henry Hager,\" Bush said, standing next Mrs. Bush at an airport in Waco where he boarded Air Force One for his flight back to Washington. \"The wedding was spectacular. It\'s just _ it\'s all we could have hoped for.\"

Unlike other first family weddings that have been broadcast live, the Bushes didn\'t share their daughter\'s nuptials with the nation. The day...

By Mike Carlson (AP)

Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Cliff Floyd added a pair of run-scoring singles, helping the Tampa Bay Rays stop Ervin Santana from becoming the AL\'s first seven-game winner with an 8-5 victory on Sunday.

Santana departed with a 5-4 lead with one runner on and two outs in the sixth inning, but the game quickly shifted when Justin Speier (0-3) entered and gave up a double to Akinori Iwamura and Crawford\'s third homer of the season.

By Pablo Martinez Monsivais (AP)

Dan Uggla\'s second home run on Sunday was a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Florida Marlins to their seventh straight win, 5-4 over the Washington Nationals.

Uggala drove in two runs and has seven RBIs and three homers in two games; he hit a grand slam Saturday.

By Jason DeCrow (AP)

\"Speed Racer\" was lapped in its opening weekend at the box office as \"Iron Man\" continued to fire its jets with $50.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The anime-inspired race movie edged into the No. 2 spot with $20.2 million, slightly ahead of the 20th Century Fox comedy \"What Happens in Vegas,\" which debuted at $20 million.

\"Our tracking was stalled toward the end,\" said Dan Fellman, president of Warner Bros. theatrical distribution, about market surveys before the \"Speed Racer\" opening.

Fellman added \"Speed Racer\" would have...

By Jason DeCrow (AP)

\"Speed Racer\" was lapped in its opening weekend at the box office as \"Iron Man\" continued to fire its jets with $50.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The anime-inspired race movie edged into the No. 2 spot with $20.2 million, slightly ahead of the 20th Century Fox comedy \"What Happens in Vegas,\" which debuted at $20 million.

\"Our tracking was stalled toward the end,\" said Dan Fellman, president of Warner Bros. theatrical distribution of market surveys before the \"Speed Racer\" opening.

Fellman added \"Speed Racer\" would have...

By Jason DeCrow (AP)

\"Speed Racer\" was lapped in its opening weekend at the box office as \"Iron Man\" continued to fire its jets with $50.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The anime-inspired race movie edged into the No. 2 spot with $20.2 million, slightly ahead of the 20th Century Fox comedy \"What Happens in Vegas,\" which debuted at $20 million.

\"Our tracking was stalled toward the end,\" said Dan Fellman, president of Warner Bros. theatrical distribution of market surveys before the \"Speed Racer\" opening.

Fellman added \"Speed Racer\" would have...

By WILFREDO LEE (AP)

After slashing inventory and cutting expenses, the retail industry is still bracing for the largest overall quarterly profit decline in at least nine years when merchants report their first-quarter earnings this week.

Faced with one of the worst consumer spending climates in almost two decades, stores are going to have to find clever ways to attract increasingly thrifty shoppers contending with higher gas and food bills and a slumping housing market.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. launched a new online feature Friday that offers tips from financial expert Ellie Kay on how consumers can...

By Shealah Craighead (AP)

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush didn\'t share their daughter\'s wedding with the nation, but the president eagerly shared their joy on Sunday about Jenna Bush\'s marriage to Henry Hager.

\"We\'re mighty blessed,\" Bush said at an airport in Waco where he and the first lady boarded Air Force One to return to Washington.

Bush called the wedding \"spectacular,\" saying that his daughter and new son-in-law exchanged vows just as the sun set over the lake at the president\'s Texas ranch.

\"This Mother\'s Day weekend was awfully special for Laura and me,\" said the...