CLEVELAND (AP) — Top prospect Gavin Williams struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings for his first victory in the majors, brothers Bo and Josh Naylor drove in two runs apiece and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 10-6 on Saturday. Williams (1-1) gave up three runs on eight hits and walked one in his fourth start. The right-hander made his debut June 21, two years after being drafted in the first round by Cleveland out of East Carolina. Both Naylors had two singles and a double as the Guardians had a season-high 18 hits, taking over first place in the AL Central from Minnesota at 45-44. Bobby Witt Jr. went 3 for 5 with a solo homer, RBI triple and stolen base for Kansas City.
CHICAGO (AP) — Miles Mikolas pitched seven efficient innings, Jordan Walker homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago White Sox 3-0. Mikolas allowed four hits — all singles — in his first win since May 30. The 34-year-old right-hander struck out six and walked none, throwing 71 of his 95 pitches for strikes. Giovanny Gallegos worked around Oscar Colás’ leadoff single in the eighth, and Jordan Hicks finished the seven-hitter for his seventh save. Walker hit a solo drive in the ninth for last-place St. Louis.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Michael Conforto and Austin Slater hit two-run homers to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. Blake Sabol added an RBI single as San Francisco evened the three-game series at a game apiece. The Giants have won 12 of their last 13 games against the Rockies. Ryan Walker started for the Giants and surrendered two runs in two innings. Alex Wood (4-3) tossed five scoreless innings in relief to earn his first home win of the season. The 32-year-old left-hander allowed three hits and a walk, striking out three.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Elly De La Cruz became the first Reds player since 1919 to steal second, third and home in the same inning and Cincinnati beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-5. De La Cruz broke a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning with a two-out RBI single off Elvis Peguero, then made the reliever's life miserable in a span of two pitches. He stole second on a 1-1 pitch from Peguero. On the next pitch, De La Cruz swiped third without a throw. The rattled reliever caught the ball from his catcher and turned his back as he walked slowly toward the rubber. De La Cruz walked down the third base line, broke into a sprint and easily beat Peguero’s rushed throw to the plate.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — All-Star Spencer Strider struck out 11 and won his seventh straight decision, a 6-1 victory over the slumping Tampa Bay Rays that gave the MLB-best Atlanta Braves their 20th win in 22 games. Strider joined Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan and Arizona’s Zac Gallen as the only 11-game winners in the majors. He improved to 7-0 over his last eight starts and boosted his majors-leading strikeout total to 166. Sean Murphy homered for the third straight game, a career best for Atlanta’s All-Star catcher. His three-run shot finished a four-run, fourth-inning against rookie Taj Bradley. Strider allowed no runs and four hits over 6 1-3 innings.
UNDATED (AP) — Bob Huggins says he never resigned as West Virginia’s basketball coach following a drunken-driving arrest and wants his job back. That's according to a letter from his attorney to the university. Huggins' attorney David A. Campbell wrote to the school that Huggins “never signed a resignation letter and never communicated a resignation to anyone at WVU.” The letter threatens a lawsuit if Huggins isn't reinstated. Campbell says Huggins' wife, and not the coach, sent a resignation notice to the school. WVU disputes those claims, saying Huggins clearly communicated his resignation and retirement in writing and told players and members of the basketball staff about his decision.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gregg Popovich evidently doesn’t plan to leave the San Antonio Spurs anytime soon. The NBA’s winningest coach has signed a five-year contract to remain coach and president of the team, the Spurs announced Saturday. There has often been speculation about the 74-year-old Popovich’s future, though after the team landed the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama last month it was presumed that the five-time champion would continue coaching. And now, it’s official. The Spurs announced the move in a two-sentence release, not detailing any of the terms, without any quotes from Popovich or team personnel.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Coming soon: the NBA Cup. The NBA unveiled the details Saturday of its inaugural in-season tournament, which will have a prize pool of about $18 million and will be capped by a championship game — which won’t count in the standings — in Las Vegas on Dec. 9. It’s an event that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wanted for years, giving teams a trophy to play for during the regular season. And now, it’s finally reality.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say no charges will be filed following a brief investigation of the altercation involving pop star Britney Spears, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama and a member of the player’s security team. Spears said she was struck by a security guard as she tried to approach Wembanyama near a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday night. Wembanyama said a person, who he later found out was Spears, grabbed him from behind. Spears filed a police report, alleging battery. But police say surveillance video shows Spears inadvertently hit herself in the face after her hand was pushed off Wembanyama.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. Women's Open went to prime time and so did Nasa Hataoka. The 24-year-old from Japan shot a 66 in the wind at Pebble Beach to take a one-shot lead over Allisen Corpuz. Not only was that the best score of the championship, Hataoka was nearly nine shots better than the field average. She went from six shots behind to one shot ahead in pursuit of his first major. Corpuz caught a bad lie on her last hole for a bogey and a 71. She will try to join Michelle Wie West as Hawaii's only two major champions.
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Chase Elliott says he can’t rely on repeating last summer’s success, starting with his home track at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as his path to NASCAR’s playoffs. Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, has endured too much adversity in 2023 to assume he’ll extend his streak of seven consecutive appearances in the playoffs. Elliott enters the Atlanta race Sunday night only 24th in the Cup Series standings. He won last summer’s Atlanta race but is still looking for his first win this season. Aric Almirola won the pole to lead another strong Atlanta qualifying day for Ford.
SATURDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final N.Y. Yankees 6 Chicago Cubs 3
Final St. Louis 3 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Washington 8 Texas 3
Final Atlanta 6 Tampa Bay 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 10 L.A. Angels 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 2 Toronto 0
Final Baltimore 6 Minnesota 2
Final Boston 10 Oakland 3
Final Cleveland 10 Kansas City 6
Final Houston 3 Seattle 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final San Francisco 5 Colorado 3
Final Arizona 3 Pittsburgh 2
Final Miami 5 Philadelphia 3
Final Cincinnati 8 Milwaukee 5
Final San Diego 3 N.Y. Mets 1