ST. LOUIS (AP) — Bryan Reynolds hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended a nine-game skid, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4. Reynolds hit his 11th homer of the season after Tucupita Marcano singled with two outs off reliever Andre Pallante. Wil Crowe threw two scoreless innings in relief for the win, and David Bednar picked up his 11th save by pitching the final 2 2/3 innings. Jack Flaherty made his first appearance of the season for the Cardinals, who lost for the second time in their past nine home games. The 26-year-old right-hander worked the first three innings, allowing four runs, three earned.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Whit Merrifield broke a 2-2 tie with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly and the Kansas City Royals edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Andrew Benintendi led off the inning with a pinch-hit double off Giants reliever John Brebbia. Nicky Lopez moved him to third on a sacrifice bunt and Merrifield brought him home. Brandon Belt homered for the Giants, whose five-game winning streak ended. Royals reliever Jose Cuas retired three batters to earn his first career victory. Scott Barlow recorded the last five outs for his seventh save in eight opportunities. Kansas City snapped a four-game losing streak.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The popular narrative was that the Kansas City Chiefs signed Justin Reid in free agency to replace Tyrann Mathieu. But in reality, Mathieu’s replacement might have already been on the team in the form of Juan Thornhill, who has been an in-and-out of the lineup starter his first three seasons in the league. With the departure of Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen in free agency, Thornhill is the only safety on the roster with much experience in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. And that could make him the linchpin for the secondary by the time the season rolls around.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita State has hired Murray State athletic director Kevin Saal as its athletic director. Wichita State President Rick Muma announced Wednesday that Saal, a 44-year-old Kansas native, will take over the job in mid-July. Saal replaces Darron Boatright, who was fired in May in part over the university’s lack of preparation to compete in the new market of name, image and likeness payments to athletes. Before going to Murray State, Saal spent 12 years at Kentucky, where he held various roles before becoming executive associate director of athletics. He was event coordinator and had administrative responsibilities for golf and rowing at Kansas State from 2000 to 2005, and director of operations at Missouri-Kansas City from 2005 to 2007.
DENVER (AP) — Andre Burakovsky scored 1:23 into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche opened the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night. Burakovsky ended it after the Avalanche failed to score on a power play that began late in regulation when three-time champ Patrick Maroon put the puck over the glass. The game likely wouldn’t have even reached OT if not for big penalty kills by the Avalanche, who were 3 for 3 against Tampa Bay’s potent power play.
UNDATED (AP) — The next game in the NBA Finals is Thursday night in Boston. Even without a single game decided by single digits through the first five contests, this series is on the brink of going down as a classic. It’s Golden State 3, Boston 2 going into Game 6 on the Celtics’ home floor. The Warriors grabbed the lead in the series with a 104-94 win on Monday in San Francisco.
NEW YORK (AP) — FIFA plans to announce the 2026 World Cup sites, trimming the U.S. list from 17 to 10-12. Three sites are planned in Mexico and two are likely in Canada. In the first 48-nation World Cup, soccer's governing body planned 60 games in the U.S., including all from the quarterfinals on, and 10 each in Mexico and Canada. Just two of the contending stadiums hosted games in 1994, Pasadena's Rose Bowl joined by Orlando's Camping World Stadium. Dozens of training complexes have been built for MLS teams, creating a far better infrastructure
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The American Athletic Conference’s six new members will enter the league next summer. Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA will officially join the American on July 1, 2023. Each of those Conference USA schools had their applications for membership into the American approved last October. The American will compete as a 14-team league in football, and in men’s and women’s basketball, after the transition next summer. That will come at the same time current members Cincinnati, Houston and UCF depart to become members of the Big 12 Conference, which is also adding BYU.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Kansas City 3 San Francisco 2
Final Cleveland 7 Colorado 5
Final L.A. Dodgers 4 L.A. Angels 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Chicago White Sox 13 Detroit 0
Final Houston 9 Texas 2
Final Minnesota 5 Seattle 0
Final Toronto 7 Baltimore 6
Final N.Y. Yankees 4 Tampa Bay 3
Final Boston 10 Oakland 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 3 Miami 1
Final Arizona 7 Cincinnati 4
Final Milwaukee 10 N.Y. Mets 2
Final Atlanta 8 Washington 2
Final Pittsburgh 6 St. Louis 4
Final San Diego 19 Chicago Cubs 5
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final OT Colorado 4 Tampa Bay 3