KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Drew Rasmussen tossed five innings of two-hit ball, Tampa Bay scored three times in the second inning and the Rays held on to beat the Kansas City Royals 3-0. Rasmussen struck out five and walked two before a trio of relievers got the game to Pete Fairbanks, who handled the ninth for his 14th save. Tampa Bay has won five straight on the road and nine of 12 overall, moving a season-best 10 games over .500. Michael Wacha allowed all three runs for Kansas City. The Royals have lost nine straight at Kauffman Stadium, their longest home skid since dropping 10 in a row in April and May 2023.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ian Happ hit a leadoff home run and drove in three, Matthew Boyd gave up three hits in six scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0. Reese McGuire and Kyle Tucker also homered for the Cubs, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Boyd (7-3), who struck out three and did not issue a walk, has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last six starts. Ryan Brasier, Michael Fulmer and Porter Hodge combined to toss three scoreless innings of relief to close out the shutout. Erick Fedde (3-7) allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.
BALTIMORE (AP) — When righthander Jacob deGrom is at his best, the Texas Rangers believe he’s the best pitcher on the planet. DeGrom certainly is looking like the pitcher who is a two-time Cy Young winner. He flirted with a perfect game through six innings and a no-hitter through seven Wednesday night in another dominating performance in his return from Tommy John surgery in April 2023. DeGrom threw 89 pitches before being pulled after giving up his only hit to the first batter he faced in the eighth. The Rangers finished off a 7-0 shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. DeGrom tied his career-best streak at 13 straight starts giving up two or fewer earned runs.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski made extra effort to avoid getting caught up in all the hype surrounding the rookie flamethrower’s highly anticipated matchup with Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. Misiorowski better get accustomed to the extra attention. Misiorowski owns a 3-0 record and 1.13 earned run average after leading the Brewers to a 4-2 victory over Skenes' Pirates. Sportradar says the three hits Misiorowski has allowed thus far is the fewest by any major league pitcher through his first three career starts with a minimum of 16 innings pitched since at least 1901.
A 22-year-old fan who heckled Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Tuesday night has been banned indefinitely from all major league stadiums, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Marte was seen in tears on the field after the spectator yelled a derogatory comment about Marte’s late mother during a seventh-inning at-bat in Arizona’s 4-1 win over Chicago. According to a White Sox spokesperson, the security staff at the ballpark relayed that the fan was “very apologetic and remorseful after the fact, and admitted to being very inappropriate and stupid with his comments."
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration says California must change its policies allowing transgender girls to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The U.S. Education Department says the policies violate a federal law banning sex discrimination in education. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon says California could lose federal funding if it does not comply. But the state says all students should have the opportunity to play. The issue garnered renewed attention in California after a trans athlete recently participated in the state high school track and field championship. The sports governing body running the meet allowed more girls to participate and medal in events in which the trans athlete was competing.
NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg is headed to the Dallas Mavericks, who may have found their next franchise superstar less than five months after trading one away. The Mavericks took the Duke forward with the No. 1 pick in the draft Wednesday night, selecting the 18-year-old who was the college player of the year in his lone season. Mavericks fans were furious when Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, some immediately threatening to end their support of the team. But the ones who stuck around may quickly love Flagg, who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four. Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper was taken by San Antonio with the No. 2 pick.
NEW YORK (AP) — It was mother’s day at the NBA draft Wednesday night. The moms of the NBA draftees took centerstage, receiving hugs and wiping away tears from their sons. Kelly Flagg, whose son Cooper went first to the Dallas Mavericks, was a strong player in her own right. She starred for the University of Maine in the late 1990s. The 1998-99 team she was on made school history when they won the programs’ first-ever NCAA Tournament game, upsetting Stanford,
UNDATED (AP) — The players selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA draft. Duke freshman Cooper Flagg went first overall to the Dallas Mavericks. Flagg became the fourth freshman named Associated Press men's national player of the year. San Antonio took Rutgers freshman point guard Dylan Harper at No. 2. Philadelphia grabbed Baylor freshman guard VJ Edgecombe at No. 3. Duke had three top-10 picks with Kon Knueppel going fourth and Khaman Maluach going 10th. Rutgers had a second pick with Ace Bailey at No. 5. Illnois also had a pair of teammates in Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley.
UNDATED (AP) — The ability of college athletes to cash in on their collegiate fame has led to fewer players jumping early to the NBA draft. Eighty-two players appeared on the list of early entrants primarily from American colleges along with other teams. That's down from 162 in 2024. Additionally, 46 early college entrants and international players stayed in the draft after withdrawal deadlines. That's down from 77 last year. College athletes were permitted to profit on their name, image and likeness (NIL) in July 2021. This week's draft begins days before the start of revenue sharing for schools to pay athletes directly.
UNDATED (AP) — The professionalization of college sports has prompted concern among team physicians that they will be exposed to a greater risk of medical liability lawsuits by injured athletes who claim a poor outcome caused them to lose future earnings. Schools set to share millions this year in direct payments to athletes. Some already make well into the millions. Though no malpractice lawsuits seeking lost future earnings at the college level are known to have been filed, Big Ten chief medical officer Dr. James Borchers says it’s only a matter of time.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Chicago White Sox 7 Arizona 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Cincinnati 1
Final Houston 2 Philadelphia 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final L.A. Angels 5 Boston 2
Final Texas 7 Baltimore 0
Final Athletics 3 Detroit 0
Final Cleveland 5 Toronto 4
Final Minnesota 2 Seattle 0
Final Tampa Bay 3 Kansas City 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Milwaukee 4 Pittsburgh 2
Final San Diego 1 Washington 0
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Atlanta 3
Final Chicago Cubs 8 St. Louis 0
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Colorado 1
Final Miami 8 San Francisco 5