ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Andrew Heaney tied an AL record by striking out nine consecutive batters, Adolis Garcia’s sixth-inning grand slam was one of three Texas home runs and the Rangers routed the Kansas City Royals 11-2. Heaney (1-1) began the streak by fanning Matt Duffy and Nicky Lopez to end the first inning, then struck out the side in the second and third innings. After Salvador Perez went down swinging leading off the fourth inning, Matt Duffy ended the streak with a flyout to right field. Heaney threw 93 pitches and left after five innings, allowing two runs – one earned – on two hits.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — First-year Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro returned to the dugout for the Royal’s game against the Texas Rangers after missing the previous five games with COVID-19. The Royals went 2-3 under interim manager Paul Hoover, their bench coach. Kansas City lost four of its first five games under Quatraro, who left the team one game into a three-game home series against Toronto.
DENVER (AP) — Germán Márquez pitched five strong innings before leaving with right forearm tightness, Alan Trejo tied a career-high with three hits and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4. Márquez was warming up for the sixth inning when he began rubbing his forearm as manager Bud Black and the trainers gathered around him. He allowed two runs and struck out four. The hard-throwing righty now has 979 career strikeouts. He's six away from tying Jorge De La Rosa’s mark for most K’s in Rockies history. Jordan Walker singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. It’s the longest by a rookie to start their career in Cardinals history.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers to open the season with 10 straight wins, getting a solo homer from Brandon Lowe in the eighth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0. Lowe homered for the third straight game, sending a one-out pitch from Chris Martin into the right-field stands. Lowe has nine RBIs over his last three games. The 1987 Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves share the major league record for the best start to a season at 13-0. This was the Rays’ first win by fewer than four runs. Five Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a three-hitter.
NEW YORK (AP) — The major league batting average rose 16 points to .249 over the first 1 1/2 weeks of this season with new shift limits in place, while game time dropped 31 minutes to 2:38 in the first year of the pitch clock. The time is on track to be the lowest since 2:35 in 1984. There were 125 pitch clock violations, an average of 0.89 per game. Two-thirds of the penalties have been imposed on pitchers. Stolen bases were up 30% to 1.3 per game in the first year of larger bases.
MIAMI (AP) — Getting to the play-in tournament probably wasn’t the goal of any team when training camps opened back in September. But it beats the alternative. There are 12 teams with playoff spots right now, 10 teams whose seasons are over and eight teams with a second chance. The play-in tournament starts Tuesday, with Atlanta going to Miami and Minnesota visiting the Los Angeles Lakers. The winners of those games will be going to the postseason. Oklahoma City goes to New Orleans and Chicago visits Toronto on Wednesday for elimination games. The winners there move on to face the loser of Tuesday’s games in another win-or-go-home contest.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have suspended center Rudy Gobert for their play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The 10-year veteran threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson in an argument in the huddle during a timeout. Gobert took a swing at Anderson and hit him in the upper chest in the second quarter of Minnesota’s game Sunday against New Orleans. If the Timberwolves beat the Lakers they’ll get the No. 7 seed and face Memphis in the first round. If they lose, they’ll host the New Orleans-Oklahoma City winner for the No. 8 seed and a first-round date with Denver.
PARIS (AP) — A costly and complex clean-up is resuscitating the River Seine just in time for it to play a starring role in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The city and its region are rushing to make the Seine's murky waters swimmable, so it can genuinely live up to its billing as the world’s most romantic river, one that’s actually fit again for people. In a warming world, the renewed ability to take cooling dips in the river could help France’s capital remain bearable during increasingly frequent heatwaves. French triathlete Thibaut Rigaudeau is hoping to be among the first who'll get to race in his home river. He's already fielding questions from disbelieving friends who says the Seine “looks disgusting.”
MONDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Houston 8 Pittsburgh 2
Final Chicago Cubs 3 Seattle 2
Final Washington 6 L.A. Angels 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Chicago White Sox 4 Minnesota 3
Final Cleveland 3 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Tampa Bay 1 Boston 0
Final Baltimore 5 Oakland 1
Final Texas 11 Kansas City 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 15 Miami 3
Final N.Y. Mets 5 San Diego 0
Final Atlanta 5 Cincinnati 4
Final Colorado 7 St. Louis 4
Final Arizona 3 Milwaukee 0
Final L.A. Dodgers 9 San Francisco 1
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Dallas 6 Detroit 1
Final Winnipeg 6 San Jose 2
Final OT Toronto 2 Florida 1
Final Washington 5 N-Y Islanders 2
Final Ottawa 3 Carolina 2
Final SO Buffalo 3 N-Y Rangers 2
Final Minnesota 4 Chicago 2
Final SO Nashville 3 Calgary 2
Final Seattle 4 Arizona 1
Final Los Angeles 3 Vancouver 0
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