KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tommy Edman hit two home runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night in front of the second-largest crowd of the season at Kauffman Stadium. Edman’s third career two-homer game came in front of 37,016 fans, the Royals’ largest draw since opening day. Nolan Arenado added three hits for St. Louis, which ended Kansas City’s seven-game home winning streak. Steven Matz (4-7) pitched six solid innings for the win, while Jo Jo Romero earned his second save. Cole Ragans (3-4) took the loss.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith, James Outman and Amed Rosario homered and Tony Gonsolin worked six solid innings after allowing a home run on his first pitch as the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 4-1 on Saturday night. The Dodgers extended their winning streak to seven games and won for the 11th time in 12 games. Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar hit Gonsolin’s first pitch of the game 427 feet and over the wall in center for an early lead. The Rockies managed just two hits the rest of the way. Tovar finished with two of the Rockies’ three hits.
UPDATED (AP) — Cleveland Guardians All-Star third baseman José Ramírez had his MLB suspension for fighting with Chicago’s Tim Anderson reduced from three games to two. Ramírez, who knocked Anderson to the ground with a wild, well-placed punch, will serve the suspension this weekend during Cleveland’s series in Tampa Bay. Anderson was suspended six games for fighting with Ramirez near second base and triggering a benches-clearing melee on Aug. 5 between the Guardians and White Sox that went on for several minutes and included several other flareups.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kirk Ferentz says it's a deal-breaker if it's proven some of his Iowa football players made wagers on their own games. The 25th-year Hawkeyes coach said at media day that the integrity of the game must be protected. Former players Arland Bruce IV and Reggie Bracy and current player Jack Johnson have been charged on suspicion of tampering with records to disguise that they were college athletes and under 21 at the time they placed wagers. Kicker Aaron Blom was charged last week. Bruce, Bracy and Blom are suspected of betting on Iowa football games in which they played.
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech track and field coach Wes Kittley has agreed to a new $3.8 million, seven-year contract. Kittley is heading into his 25th season, which will make him the longest-tenured head coach in any sport at the Big 12 school. The 64-year-old Kittley has been at Texas Tech since 1999. His men’s team won the outdoor national championship in 2019. The men’s and women’s track and field programs have won 11 Big 12 team titles and 31 individual NCAA titles. There have been 200 Big 12 individual champions and 19 Olympians.
UNDATED (AP) — The realignment frenzy in college athletics is all about football. And all that money, of course. There is barely a consideration of how these seismic changes will affect every other team on campus. From grueling road trips to missed classes to mental health challenges, it’s hard to see anything positive in all this dollar sign-driven nonsense if you’re an athlete who doesn’t happen to suit up for the pigskin squad. While football is driving the realignment train, it’s the sport that will be least affected by coast-to-coast conferences and travel times between member schools.
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.
UPDATED (AP) — It is unclear if a four-game suspension Michigan proposed to settle a case involving recruiting violations by football coach Jim Harbaugh will be accepted by the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Michigan received notice earlier this year that the NCAA was investigating impermissible texts and calls — including some by Harbaugh — to high school prospects during part of a pandemic-related dead period for contact with potential recruits. The committee could have approved a suspension for Harbaugh to start the upcoming season. Now, the case could go to a full hearing, which could lengthen the process.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Damar Hamlin reached another major milestone in his return to football by suiting up for the Buffalo Bills preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts. And it didn’t take long for the Bills safety to make an impact in his first appearance in a competitive setting since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati on Jan. 2. On his fourth defensive snap, Hamlin crashed the line and brought down running back Evan Hull for no gain in preventing the Colts from converting a fourth-and-1 at the Buffalo 40. He appeared in two-plus defensive series overlapping the first and second quarters, and credited with making three tackles.
UPDATED (AP) — Lucas Glover is playing so well that he felt frustrated after a 66 in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That gives him a one-shot lead over Taylor Moore going into the final round of the PGA Tour postseason opener. Glover now has rounds of 66 or lower in six of his last seven rounds on tour. He was down about missing a few short chances coming in. Tommy Fleetwood is two shots behind. Jordan Spieth and Max Homa are three back. The top 50 in FedEx Cup advance to next week and secure spots in $20 million events next year.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Iceman became the Ironman of IndyCar. Capped it off with a win, too. Scott Dixon overcame a first-lap spin and then held off hard-charging Graham Rahal over the final 10 laps to win Saturday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix by 0.4779 seconds. Dixon extended his record to 19 consecutive seasons with a win. The victory on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first of the season for Dixon, who passed Tony Kanaan when he started the race for most consecutive starts. His 319 consecutive races streak began in 2004 and have all been done with team owner Chip Ganassi.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Fans waved a German flag and chanted Dirk Nowitzki’s name when he walked the red carpet into Symphony Hall for the Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony. It was all part of the international flavor at the proceedings. France's Tony Parker and Spain's Pau Gasol were also members of the Class of 2023. The San Antonio Spurs were well represented. They were led by longtime coach and five-time NBA champion Gregg Popovich. Parker was the point guard on four of those title-winning teams. And Becky Hammon joined the Spurs after a career in the WNBA as the first woman to serve as a full-time NBA assistant coach.
SATURDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 5 Toronto 4
Final Miami 3 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Minnesota 8 Philadelphia 1
Final Milwaukee 3 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Washington 3 Oakland 2
Final St. Louis 5 Kansas City 4
Final Texas 9 San Francisco 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 Cleveland 5
Final Detroit 6 Boston 2
Final Houston 11 L.A. Angels 3
Final Baltimore 1 Seattle 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh 6:05 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Atlanta 21 N.Y. Mets 3
Final Atlanta 6 N.Y. Mets 0
Final Arizona 3 San Diego 0
Final L.A. Dodgers 4 Colorado 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Final Buffalo 23 Indianapolis 19
Final Chicago 23 Tennessee 17
Final N-Y Jets 27 Carolina 0
Final Jacksonville 28 Dallas 23
Final Baltimore 20 Philadelphia 19
Final L.A. Chargers 34 L.A. Rams 17