DETROIT (AP) — Zack Short homered and drove in three runs, Javier Báez got his 1,000th career hit and the Detroit Tigers beat the slumping Kansas City Royals 9-4. The Royals have lost 15 of 18 games. Matthew Boyd allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for Detroit. He struck out seven without a walk. Brady Singer lost his third straight decision, giving up five runs, seven hits and a walk in seven innings.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trevor Williams outpitched Miles Mikolas in steady rain, CJ Abrams went 3 for 3 with a homer and the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 to end a five-game skid. With the rain getting heavier in the fifth inning, Abrams sent a 1-0 fastball from Mikolas into the visitors’ bullpen in left-center. Jeimer Candelario drove in runs for Washington with a double in the sixth and a grounder in the eighth. Williams allowed five hits and threw 75 pitches while working into the seventh inning for the first time this year as he cooled off the Cardinals, who had won four straight.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jake Fraley hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Cincinnati Reds extended their majors-best winning streak to 11 games — the club’s longest in 66 years — by rallying past the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Wednesday for a three-game sweep. Cincinnati, which trailed 3-0 after four innings, has its longest winning streak since taking 12 straight in 1957. The NL Central-leading Reds (40-35) have swept three straight three-game series and won five consecutive series overall. Rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz hit a one-out bloop to left that fell for a double against Daniel Bard (3-1), and Fraley hit the next pitch over the wall in right. It was the Reds’ majors-best 12th comeback win of the season and sent the Rockies to their season-worst eighth straight loss.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Cade Beloso hit a go-ahead three-run homer, freshman Griffin Herring pitched 4 2/3 innings of shutout relief in his longest outing, and LSU defeated No. 1 national seed Wake Forest 5-2 to stay alive in the College World Series. The Tigers forced a second bracket final Thursday night. The winner will play Florida in the best-of-three championship series that starts Saturday. LSU erased a 2-0 deficit in the third inning when Dylan Crews scored on a wild pitch to tie it and Beloso launched Seth Keener’s 2-0 fastball into the right-field bullpen.
Cade Kurland’s ninth-inning infield single drove in the tiebreaking run and Florida claimed a spot in the College World Series finals with a 3-2 victory over TCU. The Gators will play No. 1 national seed Wake Forest or LSU in the best-of-three championship series starting Saturday. Florida is in the finals for the fourth time, and first since it won the national championship in 2017. The win wasn’t secure until Michael Robertson, who entered in the top of the ninth as a pinch runner, caught Brayden Taylor’s deep fly against the center-field wall to end the game.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock will retire in February 2025 at the end of his contract. The 72-year-old Hancock announced his plans Wednesday. His departure comes as the playoff prepares for its expansion to a 12-team format in the 2024 season. Hancock took over as executive director in 2012 as the CFP’s only employee at the time. The first four-team playoff took place at the end of the 2014 season.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An NCAA medical committee is recommending the removal of marijuana from its banned drug list and suggesting that testing should be limited to performance-enhancing substances. To pass, the legislation must be introduced and approved by all three NCAA divisions. A final decision is expected this fall. The proposal is one of several recommendations by the NCAA's committee on competitive safeguards and medical aspects of sports. Other proposals include establishing a trace-level threshold for a banned hormone and metabolic modulator.
DENVER (AP) — The NBA-champion Denver Nuggets struck a deal with Indiana to acquire a first-round round pick in the draft on Thursday night. The teams agreed to a deal that also gives the Nuggets the 32nd overall pick, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Pacers will receive the 40th pick in this year’s draft from Denver and a first-round pick in 2024. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade has yet to be announced.
NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama’s towering shadow has hung over this NBA draft for months, blocking much of what is usually part of the process. There has been no debate about who the San Antonio Spurs should take with the No. 1 pick on Thursday night. When a player like Wembanyama comes along — and maybe none ever has — there’s no real reason to drum up any drama. The Spurs are not going to pass up someone who is listed at 7-foot-4 but has the skills of a player much smaller. The 19-year-old from France has been called the best prospect since LeBron James came out of high school in 2003.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate subcommittee is asking executives from the PGA Tour, Saudi golf interests and LIV Golf to testify as Congress investigates the shocking business deal that upended the sport. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced Wednesday that the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations would hold a hearing on July 11 to examine the stunning agreement the PGA Tour now has with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the European tour. He invited PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and LIV CEO Greg Norman to testify. The PGA Tour said in a statement that it looked forward to appearing to answer questions about the “framework agreement.”
WEDNESDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Toronto 6 Miami 3
Final Houston 10 N.Y. Mets 8
Final L.A. Dodgers 2 L.A. Angels 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 7 Baltimore 2
Final Detroit 9 Kansas City 4
Final N.Y. Yankees 4 Seattle 2
Final Cleveland 7 Oakland 6
Final Minnesota 5 Boston 4
Final Texas 6 Chicago White Sox 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at Philadelphia 1:05 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Cincinnati 5 Colorado 3
Final Chicago Cubs 8 Pittsburgh 3
Final Arizona 5 Milwaukee 1
Final Washington 3 St. Louis 0
Final San Francisco 4 San Diego 2