BOSTON (AP) — James Paxton worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and five Boston pitchers combined for the seven-hit shutout as the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0. John Schreiber, Josh Winckowski and Chris Martin followed Paxton, and Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth inning for his 25th save as Boston moved five games over .500 at 60-55 and took three of four games from the Royals. Alex Verdugo hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to give Boston a 1-0 lead and Adam Duvall added an RBI double in the fifth. Austin Cox and Taylor Hearn worked the first three innings for Kanas City. Alec Marsh (0-6) went the final five innings, allowing two runs while striking out three.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Liberatore didn’t allow a run in a career-best eight innings, Andrew Knizner and Tommy Edman homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Thursday night. St. Louis won two of three in the series with Tampa Bay, the AL wild-card leader. Liberatore (2-4) was part of a January 2020 trade between Tampa Bay and St. Louis that sent outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Rays. In his second start since being called up from Triple-A Memphis, Liberatore gave up two hits and had a career-high seven strikeouts as he bids for a fulltime rotation spot. He retired his final 14 batters. The Rays dropped three game behind AL East-leading Baltimore.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw didn’t get the win in his return to the mound. The Los Angeles Dodgers are just glad to have him back. Kershaw was activated Thursday to make his first start since July 27. He gave up one run and three hits in five innings, struck out four and didn’t walk anyone while getting a no-decision in a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies. The NL West-leading Dodgers won their fifth in a row against the division’s worst team and extended their lead to 6 1/2 games over the San Francisco Giants.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — C.J. Stroud had a short and at times shaky debut, Davis Mills threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tank Dell and the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots 20-9 in the teams’ preseason opener. Stroud was drafted second overall and played the first two series while going 2 of 4 for 13 yards with an interception. He rushed twice for 6 yards and was sacked once. Mills finished 9 of 12 for 99 yards while playing the balance of the opening half. Dalton Keene added a 1-yard touchdown run. Case Keenum had a 5-yard TD pass to Alex Bachman. The Patriots gave most of their projected starters the night off, including quarterback Mac Jones.
UNDATED (AP) — Jirehl Brock and three other Iowa State football players along with three current or former Iowa football players and a student assistant have been charged in connection with the state’s investigation into illegal sports wagering at the two schools. A total of 15 football and basketball players and staffers with ties to the schools have been charged since last week in the ongoing investigation. Current athletes face a loss of eligibility for violating NCAA gambling rules. Brock and several other players are accused of tampering with records to disguise that they were under the legal betting age of 21 at the time they placed wagers.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Spieth kept a clean card and clean pants in the rain-soaked opener to the PGA Tour postseason. Spieth chipped in for eagle on his way to a 63 in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That gives him a one-shot lead over Tom Kim, who did what he could to stay clean. Kim rolled up his pants to make it look as though he were wearing capris. He already had one muddy day at the PGA Championship and didn't want a repeat. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler each had 67. Top-seeded Jon Rahm shot 73.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa will attempt to set the all-time women’s basketball attendance record when it hosts DePaul in an outdoor exhibition at 69,000-seat Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 15. Iowa was second nationally in attendance last season with an average of 11,143 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The women’s basketball record of 29,619 was set in the 2002 national title game between Connecticut and Oklahoma in San Antonio’s Alamodome. The Hawkeyes were 31-7 and national runners-up to LSU last season. They return national player of the year Caitlin Clark. DePaul was 16-17.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Former NFL cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who had an interception in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl 54 win over the San Francisco 49ers, is facing multiple charges after being found in possession of a stolen vehicle, firearms and illegal drugs. The 31-year-old Breeland is facing charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, altering serial numbers, altering a title, possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and possession of a stolen firearm. Breeland, who played eight seasons in the NFL, was booked into Mecklenburg County Jail early Tuesday, according to jail records. He’s since been released on $30,000 bond.
THURSDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final St. Louis 5 Tampa Bay 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 5 Houston 4
Final Detroit 3 Minnesota 0
Final Cleveland 4 Toronto 3
Final Boston 2 Kansas City 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 7 Atlanta 5
Final Philadelphia 6 Washington 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 2 Colorado 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Houston 20 New England 9
Final Seattle 24 Minnesota 13