SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hayden Birdsong threw five sharp innings in his first start of the season and the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2. Birdsong allowed one unearned run, five hits and no walks to give the Giants their fourth win in the last five games. Willy Adames hit an RBI triple in the fourth inning against Michael Lorenzen and scored on a single by Casey Schmitt to give San Francisco a 2-1 lead. The Royals have been held to four runs or fewer in 42 of 50 games.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Riley Greene homered and hit the winning RBI double in the ninth inning to help the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4. Zack McKinstry singled off Kyle Leahy (1-1) to lead off the ninth and scored on Greene’s double to the right-field gap. Will Vest (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Tommy Kahnle pitched the ninth to earn his sixth save in eight chances. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal allowed three runs on five hits and a walk and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. Erick Fedde allowed four runs on five hits and struck out two five innings for the Cardinals.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer, rookie Will Warren struck out a career-high 10 and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 5-2. Ben Rice also went deep for the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series between the past two American League champions. Anthony Volpe blooped an RBI double after Rice drove in the first two runs. New York has won nine of 12 to move a season-best nine games over .500. Texas manager Bruce Bochy was ejected by plate umpire Carlos Torres with Judge batting in the sixth inning, and the Rangers lost for the third time in four games following a six-game winning streak. Jonah Heim’s two-run homer off Ian Hamilton with two outs in the ninth prevented a shutout.
BOSTON (AP) — Mets manager Carlos Mendoza wouldn’t get into specifics on any conversion he had with slugger Juan Soto after a lack of hustle left him with a single rather than extra bases in New York’s series opener at Boston. Mendoza said frustration may have played a role in Soto’s response to a line drive in the sixth inning Monday night that bounced high off the Green Monster as Soto stood and watched from the batter’s box in the Mets’ 3-1 loss. Mendoza sounded somewhat more understanding Tuesday than he did after the game Monday night, when he said he would have a chat with the $765 million star who is in his first season with the Mets.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has mixed in breaking pitches for the first time in a throwing session. The right-hander had been limited to fastball and splitters previously as he works to return to pitching this season following elbow surgery. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Ohtani is getting closer to facing live hitting for the first time since he underwent his second Tommy John procedure in September 2023. Ohtani’s return to the mound has been expected to come near the All-Star break in July
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half, and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP finalist, had nine assists. He made 8 of 14 field goals after halftime. Julius Randle scored 28 points for Minnesota, but just eight in the second half. Anthony Edwards, who had been averaging 26.5 points per game in the playoffs, was held to 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Oklahoma City was just two days removed from eliminating Denver in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Minnesota hadn’t played since May 14.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — When Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton glared at each other in a WWE wrestling ring last summer, it seemed like a fitting next step in the rivalry between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks that's already featured headbutts and chokes. The teams go at it again starting Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Knicks’ first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years, with the winner of their ninth playoff matchup headed to the NBA Finals. The Knicks and Pacers met six times in an eight-year span starting in 1993, then again last year when Indiana won Game 7 at Madison Square Garden in the second round.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad scored two tone-setting first-period goals while Sergei Bobrovsky remained strong in net as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Tuesday night’s opener of their Eastern Conference final series. A.J. Greer added a goal by finishing off a perfect 2-on-1 transition chance in the second period for Florida. Sam Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen scored in the third period. Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake scored Carolina's lone goals in the opener of a series that is a rematch of the 2023 Eastern final. Game 2 is Thursday night at Carolina.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — NFL owners unanimously approved player participation in flag football for the 2028 Olympics at their spring meetings on Tuesday. The vote authorized the league to negotiate safety provisions and scheduling logistics with the NFL Players Association and relevant international and national team governing bodies before it becomes reality during the Summer Games in Los Angeles. No more than one player per NFL club would be permitted. Olympic rosters will be selected by the national committees for each country.
UNDATED (AP) — Two-time Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year Zakai Zeigler is suing the NCAA over rules limiting him to four seasons in a five-year window. The lawsuit argues that rule is an unlawful restraint of trade under both federal and Tennessee laws. Zeigler played four seasons at Tennessee before graduating in May. He helped the Vols to consecutive Elite Eight berths. A statement from his attorneys says Zeigler has asked for an injunction allowing him to start preparing for next season. The lawsuit estimates that Zeigler could earn up to $4 million by playing a fifth season.
UNDATED (AP) — The four biggest conferences in college sports are working to tie their schools to the pending $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement and could have drastic penalties for anyone refusing to comply. Officials from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference drafted a document intended to prevent their members from using state laws to breach or subvert enforcement that would come with the settlement. An AP source says the agreement would bind institutions to enforcement policies even if their state laws are contradictory.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Pac-12 basketball rivals Arizona and UCLA will play each other in the Hall of Fame Series at Intuit Dome. The game between the men’s teams will be Nov. 14 and will honor late Hall of Famer Bill Walton. Besides starring for the Bruins in college, his son Luke played for the Wildcats and the elder Walton broadcast games involving both schools. The teams most recently met in December, when UCLA won 57-54 in Phoenix. Last season, UCLA played in the first college basketball game at Intuit Dome, beating Gonzaga 65-62.
TUESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Boston 2 N.Y. Mets 0
Final Toronto 3 San Diego 0
Final Detroit 5 St. Louis 4
Final Milwaukee 5 Baltimore 2
Final San Francisco 3 Kansas City 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland at Minnesota 1:10 p.m. (Suspended)
Cleveland at Minnesota 2:10 p.m. (Postponed)
Final N.Y. Yankees 5 Texas 2
Final Tampa Bay 3 Houston 2
Final Chicago White Sox 1 Seattle 0
Final L.A. Angels 7 Athletics 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 1 Cincinnati 0
Final Washington 5 Atlanta 3
Final Chicago Cubs 14 Miami 1
Final Philadelphia 7 Colorado 4
Final L.A. Dodgers 4 Arizona 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Oklahoma City 114 Minnesota 88
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Florida 5 Carolina 2