KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals outfielder Alex Gordon will retire after the season. The player who spent his entire 14-year career with Kansas City made the announcement Thursday. While he never quite hit with the kind of average the Royals hoped he would, Gordon turned himself into one of the best defensive players in the game. He helped the Royals to two World Series trips and a championship in 2015. Gordon is 36 and says his decision to retire was influenced by the pandemic. He now wants to spend more time with his family and “catch up on things I’ve missed my whole life.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a three-run home run, Maikel Franco hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7. Franco’s eighth homer of the season put the Royals ahead in a game between two teams eliminated from postseason play. Adalberto Mondesi had four hits and two RBIs, Perez had two hits and three RBIs, and Jorge Soler plated one. Miguel Cabrera continued his hot streak with a two-run homer in the fifth to tie the game at 4. He has four home runs and 12 RBIs in the past four games.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina singled twice to reach 2,000 career hits and the St. Louis Cardinals began a five-game series between playoff contenders by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2. Rookie Dylan Carlson homered, doubled and drove in three runs as the Cardinals kept their slim lead over Cincinnati for second place in the NL Central. Milwaukee missed a chance to move up in the wild-card standings. The Brewers and Cardinals play four more times this weekend, including a doubleheader Friday. St. Louis starter Kwang Hyun Kim went five innings to pick up the win.
UNDATED (AP) — It’s the defending Super Bowl champions against a team that’s won 14 straight regular-season games. Or, maybe it’s a preview of the AFC title game — a matchup many expected to see last January. Most of all, the intrigue surrounding Monday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) and Baltimore Ravens (2-0) is directed at the quarterbacks: 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson. Mahomes last season led the Chiefs to their first NFL championship since 1970 and was the Super Bowl MVP. Jackson guided the Ravens to a 14-2 regular-season record. This is the first game in NFL history featuring two MVPs under the age of 26.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday top cornerback Charvarius Ward, who missed last week’s win over the Chargers with a fractured hand, would return to practice in some capacity and could play in their Monday night showdown against the Ravens. The Chiefs are also due to get back Mike Pennel, their run-stuffing defensive tackle, who had to serve a two-game suspension to start the season. Both players should help a defense that has been fairly stout the first two weeks.
UNDATED (AP) — Last year, Oklahoma wasn’t fully focused on Kansas State. After the Sooners left Manhattan with a stunning loss that nearly cost them a shot at the College Football Playoff, there will be no such problem this year. Third-ranked Oklahoma will host the Wildcats in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Two weeks ago, Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start as Oklahoma defeated Missouri State. The same day, Arkansas State scored with less than a minute remaining to shock the Wildcats two weeks ago.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU receiver Taye Barber and his teammates have been itching to get back on the field. The Horned Frogs are finally set to open their season with a Big 12 game against Iowa State. It will be their first game in 10 months because their only non-conference game was wiped out because of COVID-19. Iowa State is also motivated to play again, even though it has been only two weeks for the Cyclones. They were in the Top 25 before a 31-14 home loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. Saturday's game will be the opener of Gary Patterson's 20th season as TCU's coach.
UNDATED (AP) — The Pac-12 has decided to play football this fall, reversing an August decision to postpone until spring because of concerns over COVID-19. The conference’s CEO group of university presidents voted unanimously to resume football and basketball, lifting a Jan. 1 moratorium on athletic competition for Pac-12 schools. The football season will begin in early November and the men’s and women’s basketball seasons can start Nov. 25, in line with the NCAA’s recently announced opening date.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 18 of his 20 passes for 160 yards while accounting for three touchdowns in the Miami Dolphins' 31-13 rout of Jacksonville. Fitzpatrick is the first quarterback in NFL history to beat the same team while playing for six different franchises. The Dolphins picked up their first win of the year by scoring touchdowns on their opening three drives for the first time since 2011.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are one win away from a trip to the NBA Finals, taking a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals with a 114-108 win over the Denver Nuggets. Anthony Davis hit the Lakers' first six baskets and finished with a team-high 34 points. LeBron James had 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Los Angeles, which had 12 offensive rebounds for a whopping 25-6 advantage in second-chance points.
THURSDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 Oakland 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Cleveland 5 Chicago White Sox 4
Final Toronto 4 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Baltimore 13 Boston 1
Final Houston 12 Texas 4
Final Kansas City 8 Detroit 7
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 7 Chicago Cubs 0
Final Colorado 5 San Francisco 4
Final N.Y. Mets 3 Washington 2
Final Miami 4 Atlanta 2
Final St. Louis 4 Milwaukee 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final L.A. Lakers 114 Denver 108
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Miami 31 Jacksonville 13