KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cole Ragans pitched out of trouble for six spotless innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 4-0 for their fifth consecutive victory, extending their longest winning streak in more than two years. Michael Massey hit a two-run double off rookie Kodai Senga in the first. Drew Waters homered late and threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Called up from the minors earlier in the day, Ragans struck out eight in his first win with the Royals. The left-hander allowed seven hits and walked one in his second start for Kansas City since being acquired June 30 from Texas. Maikel Garcia had three singles as Kansas City extended its best winning streak since taking six straight games in July 2021.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — New York Mets owner Steve Cohen met with player and team personnel in Kansas City prior to the team's game Wednesday. Speaking with media afterwards he discussed reasons for the trades and his decision to become deadline sellers. Cohen also spoke about his vision for the club's future, emphasizing sustainability and getting a good return for the star players.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dakota Hudson pitched seven strong innings in his second start of the season and Alex Burleson hit a three-run homer, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-3 win over the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. Lars Nootbaar added a two-run homer and Tyler O’Neill and Jordan Walker added solo homers for the Cardinals, who won their third straight game. Matt Wallner hit a three-run homer for the Twins in the seventh. Hudson (2-0) struck out seven with three walks and one hit batter. Joe Ryan (9-8) surrendered nine hits and seven runs in four innings in facing the Cardinals for the first time in his career.
DENVER (AP) — Gary Sánchez homered twice and drove in four runs, Juan Soto went deep for the third time in two days and the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 11-1 on Wednesday. Sánchez had two of his three hits in San Diego’s seven-run ninth inning. Ha-Seong Kim homered leading off the game and Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a towering three-run homer to help the new-look Padres win for the fifth time in six games. San Diego traded for five players before the Tuesday deadline to help with a playoff push in the final two months of the season.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs allowed wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman to walk away in free agency, and in their place they signed a couple of relative unknowns while taking a gamble on an injury-prone talent and unproven draft pick. The expectation is that Patrick Mahomes can make it work, just as he has so many years before, but is that finally asking too much of the league’s MVP? The answer will play out this season as the Chiefs try to defend their Super Bowl. Kadarius Toney is already battling another injury, but players such as rookie Rashee Rice and second-year pro Justyn Ross have turned heads in training camp, and that is a reason for optimism.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, the team announced Wednesday. Germán, who threw a perfect game June 28 at Oakland, was placed on the restricted list two days before his 31st birthday. Germán is 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 20 appearances this season. He was scratched from his scheduled start Monday night against Tampa Bay, with the Yankees saying it was because of armpit discomfort. The right-hander then entered in relief and tossed five scoreless innings of two-hit ball.
UNDATED (AP) — A group of Big Ten presidents has begun discussing the possibility of adding more West Coast schools to the conference if the Pac-12 continues to crumble, according to two people familiar with the conversations. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the conversations were preliminary and the Big Ten was not going public with its internal discussions. Oregon and Washington would be the primary targets if the conference decided to make a move. The Pac-12 is down to nine schools seemingly committed beyond this year, with Southern California and UCLA heading to the Big Ten in 2024 and Colorado to the Big 12.
UNDATED (AP) — Gambling investigations at Iowa and Iowa State have resulted in criminal charges filed against seven current or former athletes. Ex-Hawkeyes basketball player Ahron Ulis and Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers are the ones with the highest profiles. All are accused in the complaints of tampering with records related to an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling. Charges in Johnson County have been filed against Ulis, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and Iowa kicker Aaron Blom. Dekkers was charged in Story County, as were ISU football player Dodge Saucer, ISU wrestler Paniro Johnson and former ISU football player Eyioma Uwazurike.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — NFL great Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second-tier soccer team Birmingham and wants to bring a winning mentality to an underperforming club. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has partnered with the club’s U.S.-based holding company and becomes chairman of a new advisory board. Brady has also partnered with Knighthead Capital on several other ventures. Birmingham last played in the Premier League in 2011. That was also the year it won the English League Cup, one of two major trophies the club has captured in its 148-year history. Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 12 L.A. Angels 5
Final Detroit 6 Pittsburgh 3
Final St. Louis 7 Minnesota 3
Final Kansas City 4 N.Y. Mets 0
Final L.A. Dodgers 10 Oakland 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Houston 3 Cleveland 2
Final Seattle 6 Boston 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Tampa Bay 2
Final Toronto 4 Baltimore 1
Final Texas 11 Chicago White Sox 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Washington 3 Milwaukee 2
Final San Diego 11 Colorado 1
Final Miami 9 Philadelphia 8
Final Chicago Cubs 16 Cincinnati 6
Final San Francisco 4 Arizona 2