CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Massey homered for the second straight game, Salvador Perez had three hits and two RBIs and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1 on Wednesday night. Four pitchers combined to limit Chicago to one run on five hits while striking out nine. Kansas City won its second straight against Chicago and took the season series 7-6. Rookie Steven Cruz opened with two scoreless, two-hit innings. Fellow rookie Alec Marsh (1-8) followed, allowing one run on three hits in 4 1/3 innings for his first major league victory. James McArthur got five outs, and Tucker Davidson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Mike Clevinger (7-8) was the loser.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Richie Palacios homered, rookie Drew Rom and four relievers combined on a three-hitter and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Baltimore 1-0 to trim the Orioles’ lead in the AL East to two games. Baltimore has lost two straight and three of four heading into a four-game series against second-place Tampa Bay beginning Thursday night. The Orioles have been in first place since July 19, in part because their longest losing streak since that time has been two. But Baltimore has scored only two runs in its last two games, not the kind of momentum it was looking for heading into its most pivotal series of the year. Palacios provided the lone run with a solo shot over the right-field scoreboard in the fourth inning.
DENVER (AP) — Kris Bryant went deep for the second straight game, one of four home runs by Colorado, and the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Wednesday for their first series win in a month. Nolan Jones and Elehuris Montero each hit a two-run homer in a four-run fifth, and Ryan McMahon homered and finished with three hits for the Rockies, who took two of three from the playoff-contending Cubs. Colorado hadn’t won a series since taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox from Aug. 18-20.
TORONTO (AP) — Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer will miss the rest of the regular season because of a strained muscle in his shoulder. Rangers general manager Chris Young says it's also unlikely that Scherzer would be able to pitch in the postseason if Texas qualifies for the first time since 2016. An MRI on Wednesday revealed a low-grade strain of the teres major muscle. The 39-year-old Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star, left Tuesday’s game at Toronto in the sixth inning of a win. He finishes the season 13-6 in 27 starts for the New York Mets and Rangers.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Doug Pederson has known Andy Reid for nearly 30 years. He played for Reid in Green Bay and then Philadelphia in the late 1990s. He spent seven years coaching under Reid in Philadelphia and then Kansas City. They share offensive philosophies, coaching principles and core beliefs. They’ll share the field for the third time in 10 months when Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars host Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. And Pederson is still looking for a breakthrough victory against his mentor and close friend.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Big 12 is aiming for a three-game sweep of the mighty Southeastern Conference when No. 15 Kansas State visits Missouri and BYU heads to Arkansas this weekend. The league already has a signature win after Texas won at Alabama. The Longhorns will soon be joining the Crimson Tide in their conference. The SEC won four of its six games against the Big 12 last year. Now the league is out for some revenge. FanDuel Sportsbook says the Wildcats are 4 1/2-point favorites. The Cougars are 8 1/2-point underdogs as they prepare to face the Razorbacks.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU is in the same position it was at this point last season before making it to the national championship game. The Horned Frogs are going into their Big 12 opener unranked, still trying to find their way and with nobody talking about them being a playoff contender. What is different this time is TCU can’t have another undefeated regular season. That is what the Frogs did last year and it carried them all the way into the four-team College Football Playoff in their debut coach Sonny Dykes. The 1-1 Frogs play their Big 12 opener Saturday night at conference newcomer Houston.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference and the rest of the power conferences are relying on off-site help for stadium officials when dealing with football replay reviews. The use of collaborative replay has gone from experimental several years ago to essential at the top levels of college football. It has officials in a centralized location consult with stadium officials in making the review. The ACC recently opened its expanded operations at its new headquarters in Charlotte. League supervisor of football officials Alberto Riveron says officials are using technology to make sure officials catch any “egregious mistake” with an incorrect call.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — NFL players prefer playing on natural grass. It’s why the NFL Players Association called on the league Wednesday to switch all fields to grass. The union's executive director Lloyd Howell says it's the easiest decision the NFL can make. Players consider it a matter of career preservation. The union's repeated request for all grass comes less than 48 hours after four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon in his debut with the New York Jets. A new artificial surface was installed this year at MetLife Stadium. Carolina linebacker Shaq Thompson has been fighting for grass the past two years. He says he hopes to see everyone to take a stand.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers’ season is over. It appears he might not be ready to call it a career. The New York Jets quarterback wrote on Instagram on Wednesday night that "I shall rise yet again.” That came after coach Robert Saleh said he'd be shocked if Rodgers ends his playing career this way, but he hasn't had any conversations along those lines with him. The 39-year-old quarterback tore his left Achilles tendon on his fourth snap in his debut with the Jets on Monday night in a 22-16 overtime win over Buffalo. Saleh said Rodgers is currently going for some medical consultations to determine his next step, which will include surgery.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has taken steps to try to ensure that its star players appear in more games, particularly nationally televised matchups and the in-season tournament that is being added this year. The league’s board of governors has approved a new player participation policy that will take effect for this upcoming season, replacing the player resting policy that was implemented prior to the 2017-18 season. The new rules focus primarily on star players — someone who has been an All-Star or on the All-NBA team in any of the prior three seasons. Teams will have to manage their rosters to ensure that multiple available star players aren’t sitting out the same game to rest.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final San Francisco 6 Cleveland 5
Final St. Louis 1 Baltimore 0
Final Cincinnati 4 Detroit 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N-Y Yankees at Boston 1:35 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Tampa Bay 5 Minnesota 4
Final Seattle 3 L.A. Angels 2
Final Texas 10 Toronto 0
Final Houston 6 Oakland 2
Final Kansas City 7 Chicago White Sox 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Colorado 7 Chicago Cubs 3
Final Atlanta 4 Philadelphia 1
Final Pittsburgh 7 Washington 6
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Arizona 1
Final Miami 2 Milwaukee 0