KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Josh Walker balked home the winning run in the 10th inning and the Kansas City Royals rallied past the New York Mets 7-6 for their season-best fourth straight victory. Hours after the retooling Mets traded star pitcher Justin Verlander and two other players to cap a stunning deadline selloff, they blew a 6-4 lead provided by rookie Francisco Álvarez’s two-run homer in the top of the 10th. Bobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI double in the bottom half and MJ Melendez tied it with a run-scoring single off Brooks Raley. Following a two-out throwing error by rookie third baseman Brett Baty, Melendez scored when Walker balked with the bases loaded. Pete Alonso hit his 31st homer for the Mets and added an RBI single.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Donovan Solano hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh and Pablo Lopez tossed six effective innings to lead the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak. St. Louis has lost four of five and eight of 11. Tyler O'Neill homered for St. Louis. Nolan Arenado drove in a run for the Cardinals. Lopez allowed one run on four hits over six innings.
DENVER (AP) — Juan Soto homered twice and drove in four runs, helping the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Tuesday night. Ha-Seong Kim and Trent Grisham added RBI singles in the ninth inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in a pair of runs with a double and a bases loaded forceout for San Diego.
Pedro Avila, recalled late last month for his second stint with the Padres this season, went the first four innings and allowed one run on five hits. He struck out seven and walked three. Robert Suárez (1-0) got the win with an inning of scoreless relief and Josh Hader recorded two outs and his 26th save.
HOUSTON (AP) — Framber Valdez threw the 16th no-hitter in Houston Astros history Tuesday night in a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians. Hours after the Astros reacquired ace Justin Verlander from the New York Mets, Valdez allowed just one baserunner on a walk in the fifth inning, but still faced the minimum thanks to a double play in that frame. Gabriel Arias grounded out to start the ninth before Myles Straw lined out to center field. Cam Gallagher then lined out to Jeremy Pena to end it and set off the celebration. Valdez (9-7) raised his arms above his head and then clapped as a huge smile crossed his face. He’s the first left-hander to throw a no-hitter for Houston.
CHICAGO (AP) — Ace pitcher Justin Verlander was shipped from the New York Mets to Houston ahead of the trade deadline, returning to the Astros after he helped them win the World Series last year. The retooling Mets acquired minor league outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford in the deal. The major league-leading Atlanta Braves also got some help, acquiring reliever Brad Hand in a trade with the Colorado Rockies. The Toronto Blue Jays added shortstop Paul DeJong from St. Louis, acting quickly after Bo Bichette was sidelined by right knee soreness.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers is accused of gambling on Cyclones sports events, including a football game, and has been charged with tampering with records related to an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling. Dekkers is accused of using a phony ID to place wagers totaling $2,799 while underage and as a member of the Cyclones. According to the documents, Dekkers bet on an Iowa State football game against Oklahoma State in 2021, when he was a sophomore backup quarterback. Dekkers did not play in that game. Three other current or former Cyclones athletes are facing the same charge.
UNDATED (AP) — Pac-12 leaders were presented details of a long-awaited media rights deal Tuesday by Commissioner George Kliavkoff. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the meeting concluded without voting on whether to accept the terms by the nine remaining Pac-12 schools. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Pac-12 was not making its internal discussions public, and gave no further details about prospective network or streaming partners nor the value. The meeting comes just days after Colorado decided not to wait and see what Kliavkoff could deliver and announced it would re-join the Big 12 in 2024.
DENVER (AP) — So much for the Denver Broncos’ enviable depth at the wide receiver position. Losing Tim Patrick to a season-ending injury for a second consecutive season and KJ Hamler to yet another health setback has thinned the number of veteran targets at Russell Wilson’s disposal two weeks before they even play a preseason game. Coach Sean Payton confirmed Tuesday that Patrick will miss the entire 2023 season after tearing his left Achilles tendon in a noncontact drill a day earlier — and just two days shy of the one-year anniversary of his right ACL tear that sidelined him in 2022. Hours after Patrick’s injury, Hamler was waived with a non-football injury designation after he was diagnosed with a heart condition while he was working his way back from a torn pectoral muscle in the offseason.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Nathaniel Hackett isn’t expecting a phone call from an apologetic Sean Payton any time soon. The New York Jets offensive coordinator was disappointed by disparaging comments made by the Denver coach last week in a story published by USA Today in which he called Hackett’s 15-game stint with the Broncos last season ”one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.” Hackett, hired by the Jets during the offseason, said Payton — without ever mentioning him by name — broke an unwritten code among coaches with his public criticism. Payton, who’s back on the sideline after a yearlong sabbatical, criticized the work Hackett and his staff did during Denver’s 5-12 season, saying there were “20 dirty hands” around Russell Wilson’s career-worst year. Hackett acknowledged he made some mistakes in his first stint as an NFL head coach — “I own all that stuff. ... I’ve got no excuses” — but was bothered by Payton saying what he did.
UNDATED (AP) — SpongeBob and Slimetime are coming to the Super Bowl. The NFL and CBS Sports have announced that this season’s Super Bowl will have a kids-centric presentation on Nickelodeon. It will be the first time the Super Bowl has had an alternate telecast on another network. CBS has the rights to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. The Super Bowl broadcast will mark the third time an NFL playoff game has aired on Nickelodeon. It had a wild-card round game during the 2020 and ’21 seasons.
HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — Rebecka Blomqvist’s second-half goal lifted Sweden to a 2-0 win over Argentina on Wednesday. Sweden won Group G and now faces the United States in the round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup. Argentina was eliminated. Neither side looked close to scoring for much of the night, but Blomqvist broke the deadlock with a headed goal at the 66th-minute mark to help the blue and yellow finish 3-0 in group play. Late in the match, Gabriela Chavez committed a foul while defending a corner kick. Elin Rubensson converted the penalty kick in stoppage time to seal the victory for Sweden.
TUESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 4 Detroit 1
Final Atlanta 5 L.A. Angels 1
Final Minnesota 3 St. Louis 2
Final Kansas City 7 N.Y. Mets 6
Final L.A. Dodgers 7 Oakland 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 5 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Baltimore 13 Toronto 3
Final Texas 2 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Houston 2 Cleveland 0
Final Boston 6 Seattle 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 3 Miami 1
Final Milwaukee 6 Washington 4
Final Chicago Cubs 20 Cincinnati 9
Final San Diego 8 Colorado 5
Final San Francisco 4 Arizona 3