BOSTON (AP) — Drew Waters, MJ Melendez and Michael Massey each hit two-run home runs and the Kansas City Royals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Brady Singer (8-8) allowed three runs off five hits over 6 2/3 innings, and the Royals finished with six extra-base hits. Adam Duvall had his 10th home run of the season and Connor Wong and Jarren Duran added RBIs for Boston, which has lost five of its last six. Kutter Crawford (5-6) allowed three runs off seven hits over 3 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two. Boston’s Trevor Story, who was in the lineup for the first time since last September after being activated off the 60-day injured list following offseason shoulder surgery, went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Díaz, Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena hit RBI singles in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2. Josh Lowe opened the eighth with a triple against Miles Mikolas (6-8). Andre Pallante entered and retired pinch-hitter Harold Ramírez on a grounder before Díaz hit a groundball single to center that made it 2-1 — the first of four consecutive base hits. Lowe and Arozarena drove in runs with their hits. Rays starter Zach Eflin failed in his bid to become the AL’s first, and the major’s third, 13-game winner. He allowed one run and four hits over seven innings.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Andrew Chafin and Abner Uribe couldn’t find the plate with the game on the line. The Colorado Rockies happily took advantage. Chafin and Uribe combined to allow three straight bases-loaded walks in the 10th inning and the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers lost 7-3 to the Rockies on Tuesday night. Colorado’s Nolan Jones went deep twice for the first multi-homer game of his career. Other homers came from Colorado’s Elias Díaz and Milwaukee’s William Contreras and Andruw Monasterio.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Kyle Tucker’s grand slam off Félix Bautista in the top of the ninth inning gave the Houston Astros a 7-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Houston trailed 5-0 after Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman homered off Framber Valdez in the first and second innings, but the Astros pulled off a remarkable comeback in the ninth against arguably the game’s most dominant closer. Pinch-hitter Jon Singleton led off the ninth with a walk, and Jose Altuve followed with a single. Bautista struck out Alex Bregman, but Yordan Alvarez hit a long single and Tucker connected on the ninth pitch of his at-bat for his 20th homer of the year.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Max Scherzer had six strikeouts and pitched three-hit ball over seven innings and the Texas Rangers extended their longest winning streak in seven years to eight games, beating the last-place Oakland Athletics 6-1. Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young winner whom the Rangers acquired in a trade from the Mets on July 30, worked efficiently through the worst offense in the majors in front of another sparse crowd of 5,419 at the Coliseum. The 39-year-old right-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until JJ Bleday’s leadoff homer in the fourth. Scherzer also walked two.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays All-Star pitcher Shane McClanahan’s season may be over due to an injured left arm. Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals that it's "highly unlikely” McClanahan will pitch again this season. Cash said Tommy John surgery is among the options under consideration. McClanahan is scheduled to undergo further medical examination. McClanahan has an 11-2 record with a 3.29 ERA in 21 starts. He left a start last week against the Yankees in New York because of tightness in his left forearm.
UNDATED (AP) — The last time Alabama was ranked lower than No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25, Nick Saban had not yet won a national championship with the Crimson Tide. There is a very real possibility that when the new preseason AP Top 25 is unveiled on Aug. 14, ’Bama could be squeezed out of the top-three for the first time since 2009. Will two-time defending champion Georgia start No. 1 for only the second time in school history? Can Michigan make a case? And how will voters treat TCU as it tries to follow-up last season's magical run to No. 2?
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia has fired the football recruiting staffer who survived a January crash that killed player Devin Willock and another recruiting staffer, less than a month after she filed a lawsuit against the university’s athletic association. The school issued a statement saying Victoria “Tori” Bowles was dismissed because she refused to cooperate with an internal investigation into the crash. Her attorneys claim she is being retaliated against for filing the lawsuit, which also names former Georgia player and first-round NFL draft pick Jalen Carter. The Jan. 15 crash killed Willock and the driver of the Ford Expedition, Chandler LeCroy.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan doesn't have a lot of details to share with players on the proposed deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. That's according to two of players attending his first meeting with players since Monahan returned to work three weeks ago. Rickie Fowler says there's a lot of moving parts. Tom Hoge says there's a real possibility the deal doesn't get finalized. Only 25 players from the 70-man field attended the 90-minute meeting. Several top players already have been involved in remote meetings from their position on the policy board or advisory council.
TUESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 4 St. Louis 2
Final Seattle 2 San Diego 0
Final L.A. Angels 7 San Francisco 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 6 Minnesota 0
Final Cleveland 1 Toronto 0
Final Houston 7 Baltimore 6
Final Kansas City 9 Boston 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Texas 6 Oakland 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 8 Washington 4
Final Miami 3 Cincinnati 2
Final Chicago Cubs 3 N.Y. Mets 2
Final Atlanta 8 Pittsburgh 6
Final Washington 5 Philadelphia 4
Final Colorado 7 Milwaukee 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 Arizona 4