OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Luis Medina held down Kansas City to get his first victory in more than 11 months and the Oakland Athletics won their second straight game following a nine-game skid by beating the Royals 5-1. Medina had lost five straight decisions since beating Boston on July 18 last season but allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings against the struggling Royals. Brett Rooker hit a pair of RBI singles for Oakland and Zack Gelof hit a solo homer to provide the offense. Kansas City has lost eight of 10 games.
MIAMI (AP) — Otto Lopez hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to drive in Tim Anderson and the Miami Marlins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3. Lopez’s liner off Ryan Fernandez was bobbled by right fielder Alec Burleson, but is doubtful he would have had a play. Tanner Scott got the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth. The NL-worst Marlins took two of three from the Cardinals, who fell back below .500 at 36-37.
NEW YORK (AP) — Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning and scored on a throwing error to help the Baltimore Orioles hold off the New York Yankees 7-6 in a wild finish. New York ace Gerrit Cole was charged with two runs over four-plus innings in an up-and-down season debut after returning from an elbow injury. He was on the hook for his first loss since Aug. 19 last year until Giancarlo Stanton rallied the Yankees late with a three-run homer that pulled New York to 5-4 in the seventh, then laced a tying single off closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A mural honoring baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays has been unveiled in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Mays died Tuesday at the age of 93. The mural depicts a smiling “Say Hey Kid” and his bevy of athletic accomplishments. It was created by artist Chuck Styles ahead of Thursday's game between Mays' longtime team, the San Francisco Giants, and the St. Louis Cardinals at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The game is intended to honor the Negro Leagues, where Mays began his career in 1948. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol says the game becomes even more meaningful after Mays' death. Tributes to Mays poured in from around the country on Wednesday.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Justin Lamkin gave Texas A&M a second straight sensational start, Caden Sorrell homered to break open the game and the Aggies beat Florida 6-0 to reach their first College World Series finals. The Aggies will play No. 1 national seed Tennessee in the best-of-three championship series starting Saturday. It will be an all-SEC final for the second straight year and third time in four. Hours after Florida had 14 hits and scored its third-most runs this season in a 15-4 win over Kentucky, the Gators managed just four hits and were shut out for the first time in 145 games.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tennessee will play in the College World Series finals for the first time in the modern era after it knocked out Florida State with a 7-2 victory to win its bracket. Zander Sechrist held the Seminoles scoreless for six innings and the Volunteers struck for four early runs to become the first No. 1 national seed since 2009 to advance to the best-of-three finals. Tennessee’s win assured an all-SEC finals for the second straight year and third time in four. The Volunteers will play Texas A&M for the championship beginning Saturday.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, says an economic ‘border war’ between his state and Kansas has restarted. Mayor Quinton Lucas blames a plan approved by the Kansas Legislature that's aimed at luring his city's two major-league sports franchises from Missouri. It would allow Kansas to issue bonds to help pay for new stadiums for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Major League Baseball's Royals. In the past, the two states used subsidies to pull businesses across the border that runs through the Kansas City metropolitan area but their governors signed a truce in 2019. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said it doesn't apply to professional sports.
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says the difficulty in finalizing a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf isn’t a reason for concern. Monahan says it is still a great opportunity for the tour. It’s been more than a year since the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announced a deal aimed at bringing peace to a sport torn apart by the departures of dozens of players for LIV Golf. The original deadline passed with no agreement. Monahan gave few specifics but said recent meetings have been very productive.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Coming back from long layoffs, American swimming stars Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel had to settle for relay spots at the Olympics on Wednesday night. Dressel, the winner of five gold medals at the Tokyo Games, won’t get a chance to defend his 100-meter freestyle title in Paris after a third-place finish at the U.S. trials behind Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy. Manuel finished fourth in the women’s 100 freestyle, with potential breakout star Kate Douglass claiming the victory and Torri Huske the second spot. In perhaps the surest bet of the trials, Katie Ledecky claimed her third victory at Lucas Oil Stadium with another dominating performance in the 1,500 freestyle.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 7 Detroit 0
Final Texas 5 N.Y. Mets 3
Final Milwaukee 2 L.A. Angels 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Cleveland 8 Seattle 0
Final Boston 7 Toronto 3
Final Houston 4 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Baltimore 7 N.Y. Yankees 6
Final Tampa Bay 3 Minnesota 2
Final Oakland 5 Kansas City 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 1 Cincinnati 0
Final Miami 4 St. Louis 3
Final San Diego 5 Philadelphia 2
Final Chicago Cubs 6 San Francisco 5
Final Washington 3 Arizona 1
Final Colorado 7 L.A. Dodgers 6