KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Danny Jansen hit a two-run home run and finished with three RBIs, Taj Bradley pitched two-hit ball for 6 2/3 scoreless innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1. Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda each had three hits for the Rays. José Caballero hit a two-out single in the second inning, and two pitches later Jansen followed with a homer that gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead. Bradley (5-5) didn’t allow a base runner until John Rave drew a one-out walk in the sixth. After Kyle Isbel flied out, Jonathan India hit a ground rule double to break up the no-hit bid before Bradley got Bobby Witt Jr. to line out and end the threat. The Royals have lost eight straight at home.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Masyn Winn homered, drove in four runs and scored twice to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-7 win over the Chicago Cub, their seventh win their last eight games. Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out one and walking one. Steven Matz (4-2) went 1 1/3 innings of relief and Ryan Helsley earned his 15th save in 20 tries. The Cubs lost their third straight, tying a season high. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon (7-5) allowed eight runs on eight hits.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Reds rookie Chase Burns became the first starting pitcher in the expansion era to strike out the first five batters he faced in his major league debut. The 22-year old right-hander, the second overall pick in last July’s amateur draft, allowed three runs in five innings against the New York Yankees. Burns struck out his first five batters before Jazz Chisholm Jr’s single. He gave up six hits and struck out eight, the seventh Cincinnati starter to have at least that many in his first career start.
UNDATED (AP) — Whit Merrifield is retiring after a nine-season career that included twice leading the major leagues in hits and three trips to the All-Star Game. The 36-year-old posted on social media that the birth of his daughter last year played a role in the decision. Merrifield was granted free agency after finishing last season with Atlanta. The utilityman led the majors in stolen bases three times. Merrifield hit .280 with 218 steals in 1,147 games. He had 1,249 career hits.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The $1.5 billion sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor to an investment group led by e-commerce entrepreneur Marc Lore and former baseball star Alex Rodriguez has gained unanimous approval by NBA owners more than four years after the deal was reached. The transfer that Taylor tried to stop last year includes the four-time WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx. Taylor is 83. The Minnesota native owned the Timberwolves for 31 seasons after buying them for $88 million after a deal to move them to New Orleans fell through. The estimated value of the Timberwolves has doubled since the initial agreement.
DALLAS (AP) — A person with knowledge of the deal says the Dallas Mavericks and Kyrie Irving have agreed on a $119 million, three-year contract with the All-Star guard still recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him into the 2025-26 season. Irving is declining the $43 million player option in the final year of his current three-year contract. The new contract will align Irving with co-star Anthony Davis, who joined the Mavericks in the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were together celebrating a victory over North Carolina the night of Feb. 1 when one of them saw the news that had rocked the basketball world. The Dallas Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Flagg says they were all in shock. Now Flagg is set to take Doncic’s place as the franchise superstar in Dallas. He is expected to be selected by the Mavericks with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night after a sensational one-season stopover with the Blue Devils.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to trade veteran guard CJ McCollum, center Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for guard Jordan Poole, wing Saddiq Bey and the 40th overall pick in the second round of the NBA draft, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the trade hasn't been announced. The Wizards will gain a ton of financial freedom in the deal, which they can use going forward to continue their rebuild. The Pelicans also are rebuilding under newly hired basketball operations chief Joe Dumars.
NEW YORK (AP) — Rutgers star Ace Bailey remains a mystery heading into the NBA draft. Bailey has not had a public workout for any team, a puzzling strategy that got him called out by critics ranging from current NBA players to analysts to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. A 6-foot-8 forward who can score like few players in this year’s draft class, Bailey offered little explanation Tuesday for why he bailed on a scheduled workout with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers have the No. 3 pick in Wednesday's draft. One Associated Press mock draft had Bailey dropping to the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 7.
TUESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Arizona 4 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Houston 1 Philadelphia 0
Final Cincinnati 5 N.Y. Yankees 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 11 Athletics 4
Final Toronto 10 Cleveland 6
Final Tampa Bay 5 Kansas City 1
Final Texas 6 Baltimore 5
Final Seattle 6 Minnesota 5
Final L.A. Angels 3 Boston 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Milwaukee 9 Pittsburgh 3
Final St. Louis 8 Chicago Cubs 7
Final Atlanta 7 N.Y. Mets 4
Final L.A. Dodgers 9 Colorado 7
Final San Diego 4 Washington 3
Final Miami 4 San Francisco 2