KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals are pushing back their self-imposed deadline of the end of September for deciding on a location for their new ballpark. They also said in a statement Wednesday that they remain confident that their final proposal will be put before voters on an April ballot. The Royals are trying to decide between a downtown location that would keep a replacement for aging Kauffman Stadium in Jackson County and a competing location across the Missouri River in neighboring Clay County. The stadium and ballpark village are expected to cost about $2 billion, making it the largest public-private partnership in Kansas City history. Royals owner John Sherman has said ownership would pay for half of the total along with any overages.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nelson Velázquez hit a three-run homer, Angel Zerpa shut down Cleveland in relief of Zack Greinke and the Royals rolled to a 6-2 win that completed a three-game sweep. Zerpa got the final out of the fourth inning and allowed just three hits the rest of the way in earning the win. Bobby Witt Jr. and Edward Oliveras also drove in runs for Kansas City, which heads out on its final trip having won six of its past seven. Lucas Giolito allowed four runs, three of them earned, on seven hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss for Cleveland.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Josh Donaldson hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Tyrone Taylor homered twice and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 to take another step toward their second NL Central title in three years. Donaldson homered off Zack Thompson, the former AL MVP’s second home run since he was released by the New York Yankees and signed by Milwaukee. Mark Canha hit a three-run double in the ninth inning for Milwaukee, which began the night six games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs. Canha gas 30 RBIs in 42 games with the Brewers.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Padres extended their season-best winning streak to seven games by beating the last-place Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Wednesday. Luis Campusano tied the game with a bases-loaded single with one out in the seventh and Ji Man Choi followed with a sacrifice fly for his first RBI with the Padres. Campusano and Choi were both pinch-hitting and the moves paid off for manager Bob Melvin, whose Padres have struggled offensively most of this underwhelming season.
UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays are finalizing plans for a new ballpark in downtown St. Petersburg, which is a positive development for baseball fans in Florida. Indirectly, it could also mean great things for baseball fans in a couple of other cities. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has made it clear several times over the past few years that he’s interested in expanding to 32 teams. But he's said that wouldn't happen until all current 30 big league teams had stable stadium situations. Now that the Rays are settled, expansion could be on the horizon for the first time since 1998.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says he is happy with a reworked contract that makes him the league's highest-paid player over the next four years, but also pleased in the way the deal is structured. Mahomes said Wednesday in his first comments since the deal was announced this week that he also wanted to make sure that Kansas City could surround him with talent. The change to his 10-year, $450 million deal essentially moves some of the money from the last five years to the next four years, and the Chiefs and Mahomes' representatives plan to revisit the back end of the contract when 2026 rolls around.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams has resigned, saying he needs to tend to his health and his family. Williams' resignation comes just two games into his second season. In a statement, Williams thanked the Bears and their front office and ownership, and vowed to coach again. He missed last week’s loss at Tampa Bay for what the team said were personal reasons after working the opener against Green Bay. Coach Matt Eberflus called the defense in Williams’ absence and figures to do so again when the Bears visit Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
UNDATED (AP) — College football's Week 4 schedule features the most September Top 25 matchups since 2006. The main attraction is No. 6 Ohio State at No. 9 Notre Dame at night. Viewers might want to consider activating multiple screens in the afternoon. That’s when No. 15 Mississippi visits No. 13 Alabama, No. 19 Colorado visits No. 10 Oregon and No. 22 UCLA goes to No. 11 Utah. No. 7 Penn State hosts No. 24 Iowa and No. 14 Oregon State is at No. 21 Washington Staten at night. BYU at Kansas is among under-the-radar games of interest.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Minnesota 5 Cincinnati 3
Final Washington 13 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Detroit 4 L.A. Dodgers 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Texas 15 Boston 5
Final Kansas City 6 Cleveland 2
Final Houston 2 Baltimore 1
Final Seattle 6 Oakland 3
Final L.A. Angels 8 Tampa Bay 3
Final Toronto 6 N.Y. Yankees 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 6 Atlanta 5
Final Arizona 7 San Francisco 1
Final San Diego 3 Colorado 2
Final N.Y. Mets 8 Miami 3
Final Milwaukee 8 St. Louis 2