Update on the latest sports
MLB-SCHEDULE
Royals own best AL record, sweep Tigers
UNDATED (AP) – Jarrod Dyson doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 to complete a four-game sweep on the road for the first time in nearly 22 years.
The Royals have won a season-high five straight and own the best record in the American League at 14-7. Detroit has the worst record in the majors at 7-16 after losing 10 of 11 games and is off to its worst start since 2003. Brad Keller earned the win after giving up two runs over six innings.
In other action:
— Jesse Winker’s two-run homer in the 10th inning sent the Cincinnati Reds past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 to snap a seven-game losing streak. Winker led off the 10th by taking Kenley Jansen’s slider over the wall in left field with Alex Blandino on second base after making the last out of the ninth. The Reds lead the majors with 34 home runs, including five by Winker, who tops the National League with a .382 batting average. Los Angeles, which lost in extra innings for the second straight night, has dropped five of its last seven after starting the season 13-3.
— Anthony DeSclafani pitched a three-hitter, Evan Longoria had a two-run double and an RBI single after sitting out three games with a sore left hamstring, and the San Francisco Giants routed the Colorado Rockies 12-0. Mauricio Dubon drove in four runs and Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning that gave DeSclafani all the run support he needed and then some. The right-hander struck out nine and walked one as the Giants took over the major league lead in ERA at 2.81. San Francisco jumped to a quick 4-0 lead, getting an RBI double by Posey and run-scoring singles from Longoria and Darin Ruf.
— Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves woke up offensively after a grim doubleheader, overcoming a grand slam by Kris Bryant to beat the Chicago Cubs 8-7. The Braves were coming off two shutout losses to Arizona the previous afternoon — managing just a single hit over 14 innings.
— Trevor Rogers pitched six spotless innings, Corey Dickerson finished a triple shy of the cycle and the Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-0. Dickerson drove in three runs, two against Brewers starter Corbin Burnes, who had only allowed one earned run over four outings this season.
— Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani (SHOH’-hay oh-TAH’-nee) had a start like none since Babe Ruth 100 years earlier. The Japanese right-hander struck out nine after a shaky first inning on the mound and also scored three runs and drove in two as Los Angeles beat Texas 9-4. A day after tying for the MLB home run lead at seven, Ohtani became the first home run leader since Ruth in 1921 to start a game on the mound.
— Zack Wheeler took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Rhys (rees) Hoskins homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. Hoskins’ seventh career multi-homer game and second this season helped the Phillies improve to 3-1 against St. Louis. Wheeler struck out nine and edged Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright in a classic pitchers’ duel that took just 2 hours, 22 minutes.
— Jose Altuve had three hits and two RBIs in his return after testing positive for COVID-19, leading the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Yordan Alvarez and Yuli Gurriel both had three hits and drove in a run as the Astros won for the fourth time in five games after losing their previous three.
— Cedric Mullins hit two home runs and a double, Matt Harvey pitched six impressive innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 4-2. Baltimore moved one game ahead of the last-place Yankees in the AL East. Harvey won consecutive starts for the first time since winning four in a row with Cincinnati in 2018.
— Jordan Luplow hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Alex Colomé, giving the Cleveland Indians a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in their series opener. Luplow’s second career walk-off homer was a leadoff shot that cleared the wall in left field, scoring free runner César Hernández. Minnesota fell to 0-5 in extra-inning games.
— Dennis Schroder scored 13 of 21 points in the fourth quarter, Anthony Davis added 18 points and eight rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Orlando Magic 114-103. Trailing 80-79 following a sluggish third quarter, the Lakers’ offense came alive late to end their losing streak at three games.
MLB-ROCKIES-BRIDICH
Jeff Bridich steps down as general manager of Rockies
DENVER (AP) — Jeff Bridich is stepping down as general manager of the Colorado Rockies.
The mutual agreement between Bridich and the team ends a tenure that included two playoff appearances and a falling out with Nolan Arenado that ultimately led to the All-Star third baseman’s trade. Bridich was in his seventh season as GM. The team will appoint an interim general manager for the rest of the season before launching a search following the postseason.
The Rockies also appointed Greg Feasel as the team president in addition to his role of being in charge of the club’s business operations.
Elsewhere in the majors:
Houston Astros starter Jake Odorizzi has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained muscle in his right arm and second baseman José Altuve has been activated after a bout with COVID-19. Odorizzi left his start Saturday after just five pitches with what the team called tightness in his right forearm. Altuve was among five Astros who were placed on the COVID-19 list on April 14.
NBA-SCHEDULE-SUN-KNICKS
Suns snap Knicks’ nine-game win streak with 118-110 victory
UNDATED (AP) — Devin Booker scored 33 points and the Phoenix Suns capped a grueling road trip with a 118-110 victory that snapped the New York Knicks’ nine-game winning streak.
Chris Paul scored the final seven Phoenix points as the Suns held on to finish 3-2 on their trip that included visits to the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. Beaten a day earlier by Brooklyn, they fell behind by 15 quickly in this one before gaining control in the fourth quarter. Mikal Bridges added 21 points, Paul had 20 and Cameron Johnson hit three 3-pointers in the final period after the game was tied at 87 through three.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
— Nikola Vucevic (NEE’-koh-lah VOOCH’-uh-vihch) scored 24 points, Daniel Theis added 23 and the Chicago Bulls moved closer to the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference by beating the Miami Heat 110-102. Coby White added 17 points for the Bulls, who finished the game on a 36-20 run and outrebounded Miami 51-34. Theis had 12 rebounds and Vucevic 11 for Chicago. Jimmy Butler scored 33 points and Bam Adebayo added 23 for Miami, which missed a chance to move into the No. 6 spot in the East and give coach Erik Spoelstra his 600th career regular-season win. Trevor Ariza added 18 points for the Heat.
— Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 10 assists in his second straight start in place of leading scorer De’Aaron Fox, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-106. Richaun Holmes added 24 points and six rebounds for Sacramento in his second game back after sitting out five with a strained hamstring. Harrison Barnes had 19 points, and Buddy Hield scored 16 including a clutch 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter. Fox, the Kings point guard, is in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and could miss up to two weeks.
— D’Angelo Russell had a season-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 105-104. Minnesota, which started the day tied for the second-fewest wins in the NBA, handed the league-leading Jazz another loss. Mike Conley scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert added 18 points for Utah. The Jazz, playing their fifth straight game without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell, have lost three of five.
— Zion Williamson scored 23 points on an array of power moves, spinning dribbles and even a 3-pointer, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-103. Lonzo Ball had 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals for New Orleans, which entered the night 4 1/2 games out of the final Western Conference play-in spot. The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard for a fourth straight game.
— Michael Porter Jr. erupted for 31 points courtesy of a torrid shooting night, Paul Millsap added nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and the short-handed Denver Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-96. Nikola Jokic (NEE’-koh-lah YOH’-kich) had 24 points and 15 rebounds for his league-leading 53rd double-double to help the Nuggets knock off Memphis for a sixth straight time at home.
— Pascal Siakam (see-A’-kam) scored 25 points, rookie Malachi Flynn came off the bench with 18 and the Toronto Raptors pulled away in the second half for a 112-96 win over the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyle Lowry contributed nine points, five rebounds and 10 assists for the Raptors, who have won five of six. Isaac Okoro led Cleveland with 20 points.
— Joel Embiid scored 21 points, Ben Simmons had 12 in his return to the lineup and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Oklahoma City 121-90. The Thunder tied a franchise record with their 14th straight loss. The Thunder lost 14 straight games in their first season in Oklahoma City in 2008-09 and can set the team mark for consecutive defeats Tuesday at Boston.
— Jerami Grant and Frank Jackson scored 18 points apiece to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 100-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks shot just 39% from the field and 4 of 27 from 3-point range. It was their lowest-scoring game of the season.
NBA-CAVALIERS-INJURIES
Cavs’ Nance breaks thumb, 2 others concussed against Wizards
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. will likely miss the rest of the season, after he broke his right thumb in Sunday’s loss at Washington.
Nance’s injury was one of several suffered by Cleveland players and will leave the Cavaliers short-handed for Monday night’s game against Toronto in Florida. Guard Matthew Dellavedova is out with a neck strain and after receiving four stitches when he was accidentally head-butted. Also, center Isaiah Hartenstein and forward Lamar Stevens suffered concussions against the Wizards.
In other NBA news:
— Houston Rockets guard John Wall is likely to miss the rest of the season with strained right hamstring. Wall was injured on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. He had an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with the injury. Wall’s injury is yet another blow in a difficult season for the Rockets, who at 15-46 have become the NBA’s worst team since the trade of superstar James Harden.
— Devin Cannady of the Orlando Magic has had surgery to clean out his dislocated right ankle. Tests show he did not fracture the joint as originally feared. The Magic say a series of exams including X-rays, a CT scan and MRI showed that Cannady’s bones and cartilage remained intact. Cannady dislocated the ankle during Sunday night’s game against Indiana.
NHL-SCHEDULE-SENATORS-CANUCKS
Hogberg stops 25 shots for 3rd win; Sens beat Canucks 2-1
UNDATED (AP) — Drake Batherson scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the second period and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Vancouver Canucks 2-1. Josh Norris also scored for the Senators, and Brady Tkachuk had two assists. Olli Juolevi scored for the Canucks.
In other action on the ice:
— Alexander Barabanov scored his first NHL goal to help the San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 6-4 on Monday in the Sharks’ first home game with fans in attendance in 13 months. Rookie goalie Josef Korenar made 21 saves and earned his first NHL victory as San Jose snapped an eight-game losing streak, its longest since 2005. Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Noah Gregor all scored as the Sharks jumped out to a 4-0 lead by early in the second period. But they needed Barabanov’s goal 11:17 of the third to help fend off a Coyotes comeback.
— Sean Walker and Mikey Anderson scored, Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-1. Dustin Brown and Trevor Moore added empty-net goals for the Kings, who are six points behind St. Louis for the final playoff spot in the West Division. Jamie Drysdale scored for the Ducks, who have lost five in a row.
— Goaltender Juuse Saros made 39 saves, and the Nashville Predators beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 to hold onto their slim hold on the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division. Saros has the most wins among NHL goalies since March 18 and helped the Predators remain two points ahead of Dallas. Nick Cousins scored the game-winning goal in the second period. Yakov Trenin, Erik Haula and Mikael Granlund each scored for Nashville.
— Jamie Benn scored the overtime winner for the second straight game and assisted on Dallas’ three regulation goals as the Stars beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. Joe Pavelski, Jason Dickinson and Denis Gurianov also scored for the Stars, who have earned points in 10 of their last 11 games. Jake Oettinger made 29 saves. Max McCormick, Jaccob Slavin and Jani Hakanpaa scored for the Hurricanes, who clinched a playoff berth with the point.
— Drake Batherson scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the second period and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Vancouver Canucks 2-1. Josh Norris also scored for the Senators, and Brady Tkachuk had two assists. Olli Juolevi scored for the Canucks. Ottawa’s Marc Hogberg stopped 25 of 26 shots for his third win of the season. Braden Holtby had 25 saves for Vancouver.
— Connor McDavid registered his third hat trick of the season and the ninth of his career as the Edmonton Oilers dismantled Winnipeg 6-1 on Monday to leapfrog the Jets for second place in North Division. Leon Draisaitl (DRY’-sy-tul), with a goal and an assist, Alex Chiasson and Darnell Nurse also scored for Edmonton, which has two games in hand on the Jets.
— David Perron had a goal and two assists as the St. Louis Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1. Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, and Robert Thomas also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 30 saves as St. Louis won its second straight game against the Avalanche. Colorado won the season series 5-3.
— Tyler Toffoli’s goal in the second period was the winner as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Calgary Flames 2-1. Toffoli scored his fourth goal in as many games and his team-leading 25th of the season. Shea Weber also scored for the Canadiens. Jake Allen made 21 saves for the win. Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary. Jacob Markstrom had 22 saves in the loss.
NHL-JETS-EHLERS
Winnipeg loses Ehlers for the rest of the regular season
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice says forward Nikolaj Ehlers is out for the remainder of the regular season with an upper-body injury. Maurice said Ehlers suffered the injury in the Jets’ 4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Maurice said he is “confident” Ehlers will be back for the postseason.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— Turner Sports is the surprise winner of the National Hockey League’s second television package. Two people familiar with the deal tell The Associated Press the two sides have agreed on a seven-year contract that includes three Stanley Cup Finals. The NHL will now have two network partners in the United States for the first time since 1998-99. This season, the NHL received $350 million in broadcast revenue from NBC and Disney Streaming Services. The upcoming deals will average $635 million per year.
— Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin will need season-ending shoulder surgery. The 24-year-old was injured early in the first period of Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Hanifin was tangling with Canadiens forward Corey Perry along the boards near the Flames bench when his left leg went out from underneath him. Hanifin’s shoulder made contact with the ice as he went down.
— Andrew Shaw has retired after 10 seasons in the NHL. The gritty forward played a key role in helping the Chicago Blackhawks win two Stanley Cup championships. He announced his retirement on the advice of his doctors. Shaw suffered multiple concussions. He had not played since the latest head injury on Feb. 9. In all, Shaw piled up 116 goals, 131 assists and 573 penalty minutes during seven seasons in Chicago and three with Montreal. Shaw is 29.
NFL-COWBOYS-SEAN LEE
Cowboys’ Lee retires after 11 mostly injury-plagued seasons
DALLAS (AP) — Sean Lee is retiring after the linebacker spent all of his 11 mostly injury-plagued seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. The 34-year-old says it is “my time to walk away.”
Lee is eighth in team history with 995 tackles. He led all NFL linebackers through his first six seasons. That was despite missing all of 2014 after tearing a knee ligament in the offseason. A second-round pick out of Penn State in 2010, Lee is fourth among Dallas linebackers with 14 interceptions. His 22 tackles against the New York Giants in 2016 are a club record.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— The Denver Broncos have promoted Brittany Bowlen to senior vice president of strategy and hired China Jude for the newly created position of V.P. of diversity, equity and inclusion. Bowlen has spent the last year spearheading the team’s COVID-19 task force. The daughter of the late Pat Bowlen eventually wants to succeed her father as controlling owner of the Broncos. Jude will report to Bowlen in her newly created role.
— The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have exercised the fifth-year option on the contract defensive tackle Vita Vea signed as the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft. The 6-foot-4, 347-pound tackle has started 29 of 34 regular-season games he’s played with the Bucs. Vea was sidelined most of 2020 after breaking a leg in Week 5. He returned to play an important role in the playoffs, though, appearing in Tampa Bay’s wins over Green Bay in the NFC championship game and Kansas City in the Super Bowl.
— Trevor Lawrence, the likely No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, has signed an endorsement deal with cryptocurrency investment app Blockfolio. The star quarterback at Clemson, Lawrence is widely expected be selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the draft, which starts on Thursday night in Cleveland. His signing bonus will come in cryptocurrency, which will be deposited into his Blockfolio account.
— Baker Mayfield is more convinced that he saw a UFO. The Browns quarterback said he believes in “UFOs and Sasquatch” after he and his wife, Emily, spotted something strange in the sky as they drove home from dinner in Texas last month. Mayfield said he’s grateful the Browns picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract last week.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-MARYLAND-MANNING
Maryland hires ex-Wake coach Danny Manning as assistant
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland has hired former Wake Forest coach Danny Manning as an assistant on Mark Turgeon’s staff.
Manning spent the past year as an analyst for ESPN. He was fired after his team finished with a losing record in five of six seasons at Wake Forest and just one NCAA Tournament appearance.
Manning and Turgeon were teammates at Kansas in the 1980s. He was an assistant on the Kansas team coached by Bill Self that won the national championship in 2008. He coached Tulsa for two seasons before getting the job at Wake Forest.
Maryland is coming off a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
LSU-SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Suit: LSU insulated athletes, coaches from victims’ claims
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Seven women have filed a federal class action lawsuit against Louisiana State University, its governing board and a host of former and current LSU officials.
Monday’s lawsuit was filed in Baton Rouge. It alleges years of “neglect and dysfunction” in LSU’s responses to allegations of sexual harassment, domestic violence and rape involving student athletes. It accuses LSU and the nonprofit fundraising Tiger Athletic Foundation of a a racketeering scheme to insulate players and coaches from sexual misconduct allegations so as not to hinder the financial success of athletic programs.
NCAA-COMPENSATING ATHLETES
Both parties back bill for image rights for college athletes
WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressman who played football at Ohio State has reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would give college athletes the right to earn money through endorsements and sponsorship deals.
Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, an Ohio Republican, and Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri, on Monday co-sponsored the Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act. It would give college athletes the right to be paid for the use of their name, image and likeness. It is the third bill related to such compensation in college sports to be introduced during this Congress. But it’s the first with support from lawmakers in each party.
OLYMPICS-TOKYO-LEEPER
World Athletics rejects Leeper’s bid to compete in Tokyo
MONACO (AP) — Paralympic athlete Blake Leeper can’t compete against able-bodied runners at the Tokyo Olympics. World Athletics has ruled that his prosthetic legs give him an unfair advantage because he’s running “unnaturally tall.”
The panel ruled the mechanical aids give Leeper a standing height of 184 centimeters, nearly 10 centimeters higher than allowed. The panel says he has “an overall competitive advantage over an athlete not using such aids.”
LPGA SINGAPORE
LPGA Tour returns to Singapore, Thailand for 2 events
SINGAPORE (AP) — The LPGA Tour is heading to Asia for the first time in 18 months and minus several tournaments because of continuing concerns over COVID-19.
The abbreviated two-event schedule begins Thursday with the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. That will be followed by the May 6-9 Honda LPGA Thailand at Chonburi near Bangkok. A third tournament that was scheduled at Hainan Island in China was canceled three weeks ago. Top-ranked Jin-young Ko, No. 2 Inbee Park and defending champion from 2019 Sung-hyun Park will be among the players contesting the no-cut event at Sentosa.
PGA-VIRUS OUTBREAK
PGA’s Will Gordon, Brice Garnett test positive
UNDATED (AP) — Will Gordon and Brice Garnett have tested positive for the coronavirus and have withdrawn from the PGA’s Valspar Championship this week in Palm Harbor, Florida.
That brings the number to 12 players who have tested positive since the start of the year. That total does not include Jim Herman, who tested positive at home in Florida before flying out to the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui. On the European Tour, Will Besseling of The Netherlands tested positive after the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open and has withdrawn from this week’s Tenerife Open.