OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shea Langeliers homered for the second consecutive day, and the Oakland Athletics spoiled the return of former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke with a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals. Aledmys DĂaz added three RBIs for the A’s, and Brent Rooker had two hits a day after hitting his second game-ending home run of the season. The game between the two worst teams in baseball attracted a crowd of 4,021, with chants of “Sell the team” echoing throughout a mostly quiet Coliseum during much of the evening.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen’s two-run homer capped a five-run fifth inning against struggling Adam Wainwright, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3. Wainwright remained stuck on 198 career wins a day after accruing his 18th year of major league service time. He is 0-8 with a 12.56 ERA in his last nine starts. St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras and manager Oliver Marmol were ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes, and rookie Jordan Walker was tossed in the eighth, his first career ejection. The last-place Cardinals have lost six of seven.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Osleivis Basabe hit a grand slam for his first major league homer, capping off a nine-run eighth inning for the AL wild card-leading Tampa Bay Rays, who beat the Colorado Rockies 12-4 on Tuesday night. Basabe is filling at shortstop for Wander Franco, who is on MLB’s administrative list while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate him for an alleged relationship with a minor. After the Rays loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth against Brent Suter (4-1), pinch-hitter Christian Bethancourt delivered an RBI single to tie it before Yandy DĂaz made it 5-4 on his run-scoring base hit. DĂaz went 3 for 5 in his career-best fifth straight multi-hit game, raising his AL-leading average to .328.
NEW YORK. (AP) — Wander Franco has been placed on administrative leave indefinitely by Major League Baseball while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate the Tampa Bay Rays' All-Star shortstop for an alleged relationship with a minor. The 22-year-old will be paid and receive service time while on administrative leave under an agreement with the players’ association that did not set a timetable for a decision on whether he will be disciplined. Franco was placed on the restricted list for a week on Aug. 14 while MLB launched an investigation following social media posts suggesting he was in a relationship with a minor. The AP has not been able to verify the reported posts.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have fired executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn, cutting ties with their leadership on the baseball side amid another disappointing season. Williams was in his 11th season in his position after serving as the club’s general manager for 12 seasons. He was one of baseball's most prominent Black executives. Hahn had been the GM since October 2012. The White Sox are finishing a miserable season. They have dropped eight of 10 to fall to 49-77 on the season. Chicago made the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, and then went 81-81 last year.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona has had serious talks with the organization about his future, hinting that this could be his final season. The winningest manager in club history, the 64-year-old Francona, who has dealt with major health issues in recent years, did not announce his retirement and said any of those decisions will be addressed later. Francona is in his 11th season with Cleveland. He led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles before joining the Guardians in 2013. The Guardians have made the playoffs six times and had only one losing season with Francona. This has been an especially challenging season for the defending AL Central champions because of injuries.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos signed wide receiver Josh Hammond on Tuesday after placing wide receiver Jalen Virgil on injured reserve. Virgil tore the meniscus in his right knee while trying to score at the end of a 50-yard catch-and-run just before halftime of the Broncos’ preseason game against San Francisco on Saturday night. His ACL wasn’t damaged but he’ll need surgery. Hammond is a second-year pro from the University of Florida who entered the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 and played in two games for them in 2021. He was on the DC Defenders for the 2023 XFL season, catching 34 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown.
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints coach Dennis Allen says he expects tight end Jimmy Graham to return this week to practice following what team officials have described as a “medical episode” that led police in the Los Angeles area to arrest the veteran player and take him to a hospital. Saints team physician Dr. John Amoss has said Graham likely had a seizure and was disoriented when he was picked up by authorities in Orange County on Friday night. The Saints were in California last week for joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers in advance of New Orleans’ 22-17 victory in both teams’ second preseason game on Sunday night. Graham did not play in the game.
UNDATED (AP) — The Basketball World Cup starts Friday, spread out across three countries for the first two rounds before all the biggest games get played in Manila to decide which nation will go home with gold medals and the Naismith Trophy on Sept. 10. Spain is the defending champion, having won in China four years ago. The U.S. was only seventh in that tournament, its worst finish ever in a major international event. But the Americans have high hopes, and enter as the tournament favorites.
TUESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 12 Colorado 4
Final Detroit 8 Chicago Cubs 6
Final Washington 2 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Cleveland 8 L.A. Dodgers 3
Final Milwaukee 7 Minnesota 3
Final Cincinnati 4 L.A. Angels 3
Final Arizona 6 Texas 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 6 Baltimore 3
Final Houston 7 Boston 3
Final Seattle 6 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Oakland 5 Kansas City 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 4 San Francisco 3
Final Pittsburgh 6 St. Louis 3
Final Atlanta 3 N.Y. Mets 2
Final Miami 3 San Diego 0