HOUSTON (AP) — Isaac Paredes hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals Tuesday night. The game was tied at 1-1 after a home run by Jeremy Peña in the sixth inning when Paredes led off the bottom of the ninth against John Schreiber (1-2). He sent his second pitch to left-center field for his fifth home run this season to give Houston the win after Kansas City took the series opener Monday night.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Kansas City Royals signed 45-year-old pitcher Rich Hill to a minor league contract. He will report to their spring training facility and then likely head to Triple-A Omaha. Hill has made 248 starts and appeared in 386 games over the past two decades, with a 4.01 ERA and 1,428 strikeouts. He has pitched for 13 different franchises, and should the Royals give him a call-up, he would join Edwin Jackson as the only players to play for 14 clubs. Hill made four appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen last season before he was designated for assignment in September.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The second game of a three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies was postponed on Tuesday because of inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a split day/night doubleheader on Wednesday. Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde will face Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola in the first game of the doubleheader. Neither team has announced a starter for the second game. St. Louis right-hander Sonny Gray was scheduled to face Philadelphia left-hander Jesus Luzardo on Tuesday before the postponement. The Cardinals have won nine straight games after Monday night’s 3-2 win.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw will make his season debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels. The 37-year-old left-hander began his 18th season with the team on the injured list while recovering from toe and knee surgeries. His return comes at a critical time for the Dodgers, with starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and rookie Roki Sasaki on the injured list. Kershaw will tie Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for most years with the Dodgers franchise when he starts this weekend. Kershaw is 32 strikeouts from reaching 3,000 to go with his 212 career wins.
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson were reinstated by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday, making both eligible for the sport’s Hall of Fame after their careers were tarnished by gambling scandals. Rose’s permanent ban was lifted eight months after his death and comes a day before the Cincinnati Reds will honor baseball’s career hits leader with Pete Rose Night. Manfred announced Tuesday that he was changing the league’s policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire after death. Under the Hall of Fame’s current rules, it appears the earliest Rose or Jackson could be inducted would be in 2028.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has endorsed a new package of financial incentives to try to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals playing in the state. The legislation would authorize state bonds valued at up to half the costs of the stadium projects, plus tax credits. But the legislation doesn't list a total overall cost or location for the stadiums, leaving those details to be negotiated later. The package has the backing of Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe. But the clock is ticking for the Senate to also embrace it before a Friday deadline to wrap up work. The plan is intended to counter a stadium financing plan from Kansas.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 21 and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 114-105 victory over Cleveland, eliminating the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games. Donovan Mitchell, who missed the second half of Sunday’s game due to a sprained left ankle, led Cleveland with 35 points. Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds. The fourth-seeded Pacers will now await the winner of the matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. New York has a 3-1 advantage in the series with Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics say star Jayson Tatum had surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon that will sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs. The Celtics announced the extent of Tatum’s injury and the surgery on Tuesday. They did not give a timetable for his return but said a full recovery was expected. The injury, which the 27-year-old, six-time All-Star suffered late in the Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday, puts both the hopes of the defending champions repeating and Tatum’s playing status for next season in doubt.
DALLAS (AP) — Mikael Granlund had his first career playoff hat trick, Jake Oettinger stopped 31 shots and the Dallas Stars beat Winnipeg 3-1 to take a 3-1 series series lead over the top seed in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Dallas' first chance to advance to the West final for the third year in a row comes Thursday night in Winnipeg. Mikko Rantanen had the primary assist on Granlund's tiebreaking goal. Granlund got the hat trick on an assist from Miro Heiskanen, playing his first game since Jan. 28.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Now that Rory McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam with his Masters victory, the question becomes who might be next. Jordan Spieth is the obvious answer because all he needs is the PGA Championship. It was different when Tiger Woods won the career slam at 24 in 2000 because no one else had more than two majors. Now it's Spieth and 54-year-old Phil Mickelson, who needs the U.S. Open. If not Spieth now, what the next three majors could provide is a chance for Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa or Xander Schauffele to join the list of players on the cusp.
TUESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Cleveland 2 Milwaukee 0
Final Chicago White Sox 5 Cincinnati 1
Final Texas 4 Colorado 1
Final San Diego 6 L.A. Angels 4
Final Athletics 11 L.A. Dodgers 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota at Baltimore 3:35 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Tampa Bay 11 Toronto 9
Final Detroit 10 Boston 9
Final Houston 2 Kansas City 1
Final Seattle 2 N.Y. Yankees 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis at Philadelphia 6:15 p.m. (Postponed)
Final N.Y. Mets 2 Pittsburgh 1
Final Atlanta 5 Washington 2
Final Chicago Cubs 5 Miami 4
Final San Francisco 10 Arizona 6
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Indiana 114 Cleveland 105
Final Oklahoma City 112 Denver 105
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Dallas 3 Winnipeg 1