DETROIT (AP) — Vinnie Pasquantino homered twice, Seth Lugo gave up just four hits over eight strong innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1. Bobby Witt Jr. also homered for the Royals, who are 4-0 on their current road trip. Detroit has lost four in a row and been outscored 25-5 in that span. Lugo (13-5) gave up one run, struck out three and walked one after going 1-3 in July. He is 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA in nine starts against the AL Central this season. Detroit's Keider Montero (1-5) allowed four runs on six hits in a career-high seven innings.
CHICAGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Mike Tauchman doubled in Dansby Swanson with the winning run as the Chicago Cubs scored three times in the ninth inning to rally for a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. With Chicago down 4-2, Cody Bellinger hit a solo homer with one out. After Nico Hoerner singled and stole second, Swanson followed with an RBI double to tie it. Tauchman lined St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley’s 2-2 fastball down the left field line for the win. Seiya Suzuki hit a 459-foot solo shot in the sixth inning for his second hit of the night. The team said it was the longest by a Cubs player this season.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Angels star Mike Trout needs a second surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee. The operation will end another injury-marred campaign for the three-time MVP. Trout said Thursday in a social media post that an MRI revealed the new meniscus tear. He previously had surgery on May 3 to repair the meniscus and had been working toward a return before his rehab was shut down on Tuesday. Trout says he was “devastated” by the news. Trout batted .220 with 10 homers and 14 RBIs in 29 games this season. The 32-year-old has been limited by a series of injuries over the past five years.
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — While Caleb Williams, C.J. Stroud and other starters from both teams watched from the sideline, the NFL’s new kickoffs didn’t provide any excitement. Brett Rypien stole the show before lighting and heavy rain ended the game. The veteran quarterback threw three touchdown passes, leading the Chicago Bears to a 21-17 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame game. The NFL’s exhibition opener was stopped with 3:31 left in the third quarter and was called off after a 36-minute delay. All eyes were on the NFL’s radical new kickoffs rule at the start. The league dramatically redesigned the play, aiming to revive it after a record-low returns last season.
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — The first two kickoffs under the NFL’s radical new rule were both returned a yard farther than the old touchback. Houston’s Steven Sims fielded Cairo Santos’ kickoff at the 5 and ran 21 yards before he was tackled at the 26 to open Thursday night’s preseason game between the Texans and Chicago Bears. Touchbacks used to result in the offense starting at the 25. After the Texans scored on the opening drive, Chicago’s Tyler Scott caught Ka’imi Fairbairn’s kickoff at the 7 and returned it 19 yards to the 26. With both teams sitting starters, all eyes were on the overhauled kickoffs during the annual Hall of Fame game at Tom Benson Stadium.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will miss at least the next two weeks because of an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. The injury was diagnosed following practice Wednesday. Doctors expect that the fifth-year quarterback will be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Herbert will spend two weeks in a walking boot followed by what the Chargers termed “a graduated return to play protocol.” It is the first significant injury during Jim Harbaugh’s first training camp as Chargers coach. Harbaugh has made it a priority to slowly ramp up the intensity of practices to prevent soft tissue injuries.
COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew are locked in an even battle to become the Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback. Coach Antonio Pierce said he was waiting for one of them to take charge. There are several teams with similar questions at that position around the NFL. Quarterbacks are competing for starting jobs with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. Expected starters with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings are being pushed to keep those spots.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge overturned a jury’s $4.7 billion verdict in the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL and granted judgment to the NFL. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled Thursday that the testimony of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed methodologies and should have been excluded. The jury on June 27 awarded $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after it ruled the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to running an illegal gambling business. Federal prosecutors say Mathew Bowyer’s business operated for at least five years in Southern California and Las Vegas and took wagers from more than 700 bettors, including Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Bowyer is expected to plead guilty Aug. 9 to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return.
UNDATED (AP) — College sports leaders believe they have found a way through a massive antitrust settlement to finally separate “true NIL” for athletes from what they say is booster-funded pay-for-play. If the settlement is approved by a judge, mandatory disclosure rules, an outside clearinghouse to assess deals and an enforcement process that includes neutral arbitrators will be used to scrutinize transactions between college athletes and third parties for fair-market value. The plan is targeting so-called NIL collectives. For some, it looks like an overstep by the NCAA. Others see ample precedent in professional leagues to support regulating NIL.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia has opened practice without wide receiver Rara Thomas, who has been dismissed from the team following his arrest on charges of cruelty to children and battery. Coach Kirby Smart says he met with Thomas on Tuesday and informed the junior of the decision. Thomas was arrested early Friday on felony charges of cruelty to children and misdemeanor battery charges. Georgia announced after the arrest Thomas was indefinitely suspended. Thursday’s announcement made the removal of Thomas from the team permanent. Thomas was released on $3,500 bond Tuesday. Georgia was picked to win the league at SEC media days.
PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles edged Rebeca Andrade of Brazil during a tense all-around gymnastics final Thursday to become a two-time Olympic champion. Biles’ total of 59.131 was just ahead of Andrade at 57.932. That's one of the closest calls Biles has ever endured at a major international event. Still, the meet ended just like all the ones Biles has started and finished over the last 11 years: with hugs and gold on the way. American Sunisa Lee, the defending Olympic all-around champion, earned the bronze.
VILLEPINTE, France (AP) — Imane Khelif of Algeria won her opening Olympic boxing bout when opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit after just 46 seconds. Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, and her presence at the Paris Olympics has become a divisive issue. Carini and Khelif exchanged only a few punches before Carini walked away. Her headgear apparently became dislodged before she quit. Carini didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the decision was announced but cried in the ring. Afterward, she said she quit because of intense pain in her nose after the opening punches. She said she wasn’t making a political statement and wasn't refusing to fight Khelif.
THURSDAY SCORES
AMERICAN LEAGUE
INTERLEAGUE
Final Colorado 5 L.A. Angels 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Kansas City 7 Detroit 1
Final Cleveland 10 Baltimore 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 4 Miami 2