KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Javier Báez hit a bases-clearing double in the 10th inning for his third hit of the night to lift the Detroit Tigers to an 8-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series. Matt Vierling had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs for the Tigers. Alex Lange (2-0) earned the victory with two hitless innings of relief. Jose Cisnero picked up his first save. Scott Barlow (1-3) allowed Báez’s winning hit and took the loss.
DENVER (AP) — ElÃas DÃaz homered and doubled to drive in two runs and Jurickson Profar doubled twice to extend his on-base streak to 30 games and drive in another pair as the Colorado Rockies beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Monday night. Bryan De La Cruz had four hits for the Marlins, scoring twice and Jacob Stallings had two RBIs on an infield force play and a single. With the score tied 2-all going into the bottom of the sixth inning, DÃaz connected for his fourth home run, driving an offering from Edward Cabrera (3-4) into the left field bleachers. Profar, whose on-base streak is the longest active streak in the majors, added a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Senzel hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and the Cincinnati Reds snapped a four-game losing streak, cooling off the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-5 victory. Spencer Steer launched an early two-run homer and scored the winning run for the Reds. Ian Gibaut struck out two in a hitless 10th to keep it tied. Paul DeJong homered and drove in four runs for the Cardinals, who had won 11 of 14 since a 10-24 start. St. Louis had the bases loaded in the ninth and two runners aboard in the 10th, but failed to score.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Denver Nuggets are going to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as the Nuggets swept the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4. Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit to earn their first conference title in 47 seasons in the NBA. James finished with 40 points after the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless career.
MIAMI (AP) — Blown out in Game 3, facing elimination in Game 4, tasked with engineering the sort of comeback that no team in their league has ever pulled off before. This may sound familiar to Boston fans. Yes, what the Red Sox did to the New York Yankees in 2004 was discussed around the Boston Celtics on Monday. A day after a debacle in Miami to fall into a 3-0 deficit in these Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics will try to extend the series and at least delay a Heat celebration in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup Final by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett had the assists on Reinhart's goal for Florida, which now leads the Eastern Conference final 3-0. The Panthers haven’t played for the Stanley Cup since 1996, but can clinch a trip to the title round with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — NFL owners have approved a flexible scheduling policy for Thursday night games on Amazon Prime Video. The rule covers Weeks 13-17, and teams would have their games moved only with at least 28 days’ notice. The league could push a Thursday night matchup in that range to Sunday afternoon if there is a more desirable game. The mechanism is currently in place for Sunday night and Monday night games. The flexible scheduling for Thursday night games was approved on a trial basis for 2023 only. Owners also approved at their spring meetings a rule allowing teams to play an emergency quarterback from the inactive list if the first two are injured during a game.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The Super Bowl will return to the Bay Area in 2026 at the home of the San Francisco 49ers. NFL owners approved the site at their spring meetings. This will be the third time for the big game in the Bay Area. Levi’s Stadium hosted Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara when Denver beat Carolina. The 49ers won Super Bowl 19 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto when they beat Miami after the 1984 season. The 2026 game will be Super Bowl 60. The next Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
MONDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 6 Texas 4
Final San Francisco 4 Minnesota 1
Final Houston 12 Milwaukee 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Cleveland 3 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Tampa Bay 6 Toronto 4
Final Detroit 8 Kansas City 5
Final L.A. Angels 2 Boston 1
Final Seattle 11 Oakland 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Arizona 6 Philadelphia 3
Final Cincinnati 6 St. Louis 5
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Atlanta 6
Final Colorado 5 Miami 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Denver 113 L.A. Lakers 111
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Florida 1 Carolina 0
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