SAN DIEGO (AP) — Vinnie Pasquantino hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Yu Darvish and the Kansas City Royals beat the struggling San Diego Padres 4-3 to take two of three in the series. Pasquantino’s homer to right field, his eighth, and Maikel Garcia’s RBI double gave the Royals a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning. Many in the crowd of 32,416 booed the Padres after Scott Barlow retired the side in the ninth for his sixth save. San Diego’s star-studded lineup went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 overall as the Padres lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matthew Liberatore tossed five shutout innings in his season debut and Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis won for the eighth time in 10 games. Milwaukee has lost two of three. Liberatore, a 23-year-old left-hander, gave up three hits and struck out six. Nolan Arenado drove in a first-inning run for St. Louis. DeJong pushed the lead to three runs with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Milwaukee outfielder Owen Miller stretched his hitting streak to 10 games with a three hits.
DENVER (AP) — Elias DĂaz drove in three runs and Kris Bryant, Jurickson Profar and Brenton Doyle each had two RBIs in a two-inning, 11-run outburst that helped the Colorado Rockies erase a five-run deficit and beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-6 on Wednesday. The Rockies sent 19 batters to the plate and recorded 10 hits while scoring five times in the fifth and six more times in the sixth. Doyle’s two-run triple put Colorado ahead to stay in its 11th win in 16 games. And it all happened without a home run, marking the first time since 2019 that the Rockies have scored 10 or more runs without going deep.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has been suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball and fined for violating the sport’s prohibition of foreign substances on the mound. The penalty was announced Wednesday, following Germán’s ejection in the fourth inning Tuesday night at Toronto for what the umpire crew chief said was “the stickiest hand" he'd ever felt. Germán did not appeal, and his penalty began with Wednesday night’s game in Toronto. Germán had retired his first nine batters Tuesday night. He denied Hoye’s assertion, saying he didn’t have anything on his hand other than rosin. Germán’s ejection was the fourth since Major League Baseball started its crackdown on prohibited grip aids two years ago, and the second this season.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers aspire to be like Randy Johnson. Zac Gallen unintentionally got real close in emulating the Hall of Famer. While warming up in the outfield before Arizona’s game at Oakland on Wednesday, Gallen threw a curveball that hit a bird in midflight, killing the animal. The throw was captured by cameras for Diamondbacks’ broadcaster Bally Sports Arizona. Johnson infamously killed a bird during a spring training game in 2001. While throwing a pitch against the San Francisco Giants, a bird crossed in front of home plate and was destroyed by the baseball.
UNDATED, Calif. (AP) — A few sideways glances by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge this week have put pitch tipping and sign stealing back in baseball’s spotlight. The Blue Jays allege that a Yankees coach was spying on pitcher Jay Jackson's grip and then relaying that info to Judge. Judge refutes that he and the Yankees did anything against the rules. Both sides might be telling the truth. Even if a coach or teammate was studying Jackson and sharing info via hand signals to Judge in the box, the Yankees may not be in violation of any Major League Baseball rules. In fact, legal sign stealing and pitch-tip hunting have been part of the game for generations.
BOSTON (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, including 20 after halftime, and the Miami Heat rallied in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Miami trailed by nine at the half before outscoring Boston 66-50 over the final two quarters. It was Butler's fifth game with 30 or more points this postseason. Bam Adebayo added 20 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent and Max Strus all added 15 points apiece. The Heat went 16 of 31 from the 3-point line. Game 2 is Friday in Boston. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points. Jaylen Brown finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon added 19 points.
DENVER (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have to feel good about avoiding a blowout at Denver in the opener of the Western Conference finals. The Nuggets also have some takeaways from the Lakers' furious fourth-quarter rally after escaping with a 132-126 win. Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Wednesday that the close call kept the Nuggets from getting too full of themselves. He said the players were laser focused in film study after watching the Lakers dominate the second half of Game 1.
PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Oak Hill is tough enough in any conditions. Throw in biting colder temperatures on the eve of the PGA Championship and it was a reminder that this major figures to be a strong test. The good news for the 156 players is the weather will get warmer. Oak Hill figures to stay tough. Jordan Spieth says it's no different from a U.S. Open. The thick rough and penal bunkers are putting a premium on accuracy. The PGA Championship begins Thursday with 99 of the top 100 players in the world. Masters champion Jon Rahm is among the favorites.
UNDATED (AP) — A Florida judge has sided with superstar golfer Tiger Woods in a legal dispute with his ex-girlfriend. Judge Elizabeth Metzger rejected late Wednesday an attempt by Erica Herman to throw out her nondisclosure agreement with Woods. Metzger called Herman's allegation that was a victim of sexual harassment “vague and threadbare.” She also said that Herman's questioning if whether she actually signed the agreement is also something that should be decided by the arbitrator. Herman has been suing Woods and the trust that owns his Florida mansion, seeking $30 million from the latter. Herman and Woods were together for about five years before they split in October.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 8 Detroit 0
Final L.A. Dodgers 7 Minnesota 3
Final Arizona 5 Oakland 3
Final Kansas City 4 San Diego 3
Final N.Y. Mets 8 Tampa Bay 7
Final Atlanta 6 Texas 5
Final Houston 7 Chicago Cubs 6
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 3 L.A. Angels 1
Final Boston 12 Seattle 3
Final Toronto 3 N.Y. Yankees 0
Final Chicago White Sox 7 Cleveland 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Colorado 11 Cincinnati 6
Final San Francisco 7 Philadelphia 4
Final Miami 4 Washington 3
Final St. Louis 3 Milwaukee 0
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Miami 123 Boston 116