CHICAGO (AP) — Freddy Fermin launched a two-run homer among his four hits and the Kansas City Royals pounded the White Sox 10-3, extending Chicago’s franchise-record losing streak to 17 games. Vinnie Pasquantino added a two-run shot and finished with three RBIs. Salvador Perez had three hits and drove in two runs as the Royals won their third straight. Major league batting leader Bobby Witt Jr. lengthened his hitting streak to 13 games with two infield singles, raising his average to .349. The star shortstop walked twice, scored three runs and stole his 24th base. Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs with a double and finished with two hits for the major league-worst White Sox, whose slide is the longest since Arizona dropped 17 straight games in 2021.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tommy Pham started in left field for St. Louis, getting three hits and two RBIs, and Michael McGreevy pitched seven innings in his MLB debut to lift the Cardinals to a 10-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Brendan Donovan drove in three runs, and Michael Siani and Alec Burleson each had two RBIs. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt added two hits apiece, and the Cardinals scattered 14 hits against four pitchers. Marcus Semien had two of the Rangers five hits.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Top-ranked prospect Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam in his first game back from the minors. The Baltimore Orioles recalled Holliday from Triple-A Norfolk, giving the infielder his second shot at the major leagues. Holliday was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft. After grounding out his first two times up against Toronto, Holliday hit a 439-foot drive to right field that was so obviously gone he paused a bit before starting his trot. Holliday then waved to the crowd from the dugout. It was his first career home run.
EASTLAKE, Ohio (AP) — Travis Bazzana, the top pick in this month’s amateur draft, hit a grand slam for his first professional home run in High-A Lake County’s 17-5 rout of Beloit in the Midwest League. The 21-year-old Australian, selected by Cleveland on July 14, homered on a drive to right-center in the fifth inning against left-hander Caleb Wurster, a 25-year-old left-hander on the Miami Marlins farm team. Batting leadoff, Bazzana also singled, walked twice and scored three runs. Bazzana is hitting .364 with a home, five RBIs, five runs and a stolen base in three games.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs know what they have with their No. 1 cornerback in Trent McDuffie. McDuffie, who was a first-team All-Pro in 2023, is atop the depth chart after the offseason trade of cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans. Figuring out the order after McDuffie, however, remains in flux as the Chiefs are in the third week of training camp.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The judge who presided over the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL said the jury did not follow his instructions in determining damages. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez made the remark as he heard the NFL’s post-trial motion asking that Gutierrez rule for the league if he finds the plaintiffs did not prove their case. Gutierrez could also order a new trial because the eight-person jury came up with its own calculations for damages. The NFL has said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Olympics
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — The U.S. men's basketball team had an easier time with South Sudan in the rematch than it did when the teams first met a couple of weeks ago. Easier. Not easy. The U.S. clinched a trip to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics by beating South Sudan 103-86 on Wednesday night — a game that wasn’t ever really in doubt but was no romp either. Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and Kevin Durant scored 14 for the Americans, who took control with a 25-4 run in the first half.
NANTERRE, France (AP) — Turns out, those comparisons to Michael Phelps weren’t farfetched at all when it comes to Léon Marchand. They certainly weren’t a burden for the 22-year-old Frenchman. Marchand has completed one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history, winning the 200-meter butterfly and the 200 breaststroke about two hours apart at the Paris Games. Two grueling races. Two very different strokes. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals. Take that, Phelps. Thrilling the home fans and claiming the spotlight even on a night when Katie Ledecky romped to another gold medal, Marchand claimed his second and third victories at La Defense Arena and stamped himself as one of the faces of these Games.
NANTERRE, France (AP) — Katie Ledecky has tied one of swimming’s most impressive records. Chances are, she’ll have it all to herself by the time she finishes the Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old Ledecky bumped her career total to 12 medals with a dominating victory in the 1,500-meter freestyle. She equaled three fellow Americans for the most ever by a female swimmer. Here's what's next for Ledecky: She is expected to compete in the final of the 4x200 freestyle relay on Thursday. The U.S. took silver in that event at the Tokyo Games. She also has the 800 freestyle, where she'll be going for her fourth straight gold medal.
PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff has lost in women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics a day after her tearful exit in singles. Gauff and her U.S. teammate, Jessica Pegula, were the top-seeded women’s pair but were eliminated in the second round by the Czech duo of Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 in a match tiebreaker on Wednesday. Gauff was defeated Tuesday by Donna Vekic of Croatia in straight sets in the third round of singles, where the American was seeded second. Gauff got into an argument with the chair umpire close to the finish of that match over an officiating decision.
TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti (AP) — Tahiti is hosting the surfing competition for the Paris Olympics and has been a coveted destination for the sport for decades, but it’s only in more recent years that local surf culture and talent begun to develop among younger generations. Residents say local professional surfers have been critical in the development of local surfing talent and culture. Two French Polynesian surfers competing in the 2024 Olympics has been a boost for the promotion and development of local surfing. The surfing community expects local interest in the sport to grow.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Miami 6 Tampa Bay 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 6 Philadelphia 5
Final Minnesota 8 N.Y. Mets 3
Final St. Louis 10 Texas 1
Final Houston 5 Pittsburgh 4
Final San Francisco 1 Oakland 0
Final Colorado 2 L.A. Angels 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 10 Toronto 4
Final Kansas City 10 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Boston 3 Seattle 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 6 Milwaukee 2
Final Arizona 5 Washington 4
Final Chicago Cubs 13 Cincinnati 4