SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Salvador Perez had three hits including a two-run homer, Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia each had two hits and two RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals got their offense going in a 8-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The Royals had scored three runs or fewer in their previous seven games and were held to four runs or fewer in 42 of their first 50 games. Kansas City led 3-1 in the top of the fourth when Perez hit an opposite field homer off Giants starter Logan Webb (5-4). Matt Chapman, Patrick Bailey and Heliot Ramos homered for San Francisco.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Spencer Torkelson had a pair of hits, walked twice and drove in a run to help the Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 for Detroit’s 15th win in its past 20 games. Brant Hurter allowed one hit in three scoreless innings in his second career start, and Chase Lee followed with two scoreless innings to earn his first major league win as the Tigers used six pitchers in a bullpen game. Andre Pallante allowed three runs and four hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kansas hired former standout and NBA coach Jacque Vaughn to be an assistant on Bill Self’s staff Wednesday. He will replace Norm Roberts, who announced his retirement after 37 years in coaching earlier this month. Vaughn played under Roy Williams for the Jayhawks in the late 1990s and is one of the most beloved players in school history. He spent 12 seasons playing in the NBA, then became an assistant coach in San Antonio. He later served as the head coach of both the Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets, who fired him early last year.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — NFL owners narrowly failed to pass a proposal to prohibit the tush push. The fate of the short-yardage strategy was on the agenda at their spring meetings. The ban on offensive players from pushing, pulling, lifting, grasping or encircling a runner was supported by a 22-10 vote, according to a person with knowledge of the proceedings, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because details weren’t made public. That’s two short of the three-quarters majority required by league bylaws. Health and safety committees for the players and owners and the league’s competition committee all unanimously recommended the proposal.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton tied it with a long jumper that bounced high off the back of the rim and in as time expired in regulation, then the Indiana Pacers went on to finish off their stunning rally by beating the New York Knicks 138-135 in overtime Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks led by 14 points with under 3 minutes remaining in regulation, but Aaron Nesmith brought the Pacers back with a flurry of late 3-pointers. Haliburton hoped he had won it with another, but replay confirmed his toe was on the line and it was a 2-pointer that tied it at 125. Andrew Nembhard eventually made the go-ahead basket with 26 seconds remaining in OT.
DALLAS (AP) — Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene scored power-play goals in a 5:26 span early in the third period and the Dallas Stars opened their Western Conference final rematch against the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-3 victory Wednesday night. Dallas began the third period with a two-goal deficit and a man advantage from a penalty that carried over from the second. Heiskanen scored 32 seconds in, Granlund tied it and Duchene put the Stars ahead to stay with a second-effort score that made it 4-3. Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist for the Stars. Esa Lindell added a empty-netter that went almost the entire length of the ice. Game 2 is Friday night in Dallas.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics remain optimistic that Major League Baseball will find a way to join the NFL in sending the world’s best athletes in their respective sports to the 2028 Games. LA28 president and chairman Casey Wasserman said he has been in close contact with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred about the decision that must be made by both the league and the players’ union on whether to send players to the Olympics in the middle of the 2028 MLB season. There’s no current timetable for the decision. Wasserman says MLB participation is the right thing for everybody involved.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Roger Penske has fired team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer in the wake of an Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal. Penske said in a statement Wednesday that “nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams.” Two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Will Power were found to have an illegally modified part on their cars ahead of Sunday’s final round of qualifications for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Detroit 5 St. Louis 1
Final Baltimore 8 Milwaukee 4
Final Kansas City 8 San Francisco 4
Final N.Y. Mets 5 Boston 1
Final Toronto 14 San Diego 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 8 Houston 4
Final Minnesota 6 Cleveland 5
Final Seattle 6 Chicago White Sox 5
Final Cleveland 5 Minnesota 1
Final N.Y. Yankees 4 Texas 3
Final L.A. Angels 10 Athletics 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at Washington 1:05 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Pittsburgh 3 Cincinnati 1
Final Chicago Cubs 2 Miami 1
Final Philadelphia 9 Colorado 5
Final L.A. Dodgers 3 Arizona 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final OT Indiana 138 New York 135
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Dallas 6 Edmonton 3