MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Byron Buxton hit a three-run homer as part of a seven-run third inning, Sonny Gray kept rolling with six strong innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 8-4. Gray allowed one run on five hits while striking out seven batters. Gray tied Ervin Santana in 2017 for the lowest ERA in the month of April in Twins history. Minnesota won three of the four games against Kansas City. Brady Singer lasted just 2 2/3 innings for the Royals, surrendering eight runs on five hits and three walks. The Royals’ 21 losses in April tie the club record for losses in any calendar month.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Noah Syndergaard got his first win in a Dodgers uniform and Los Angeles got some timely hits and took advantage of mistakes by St. Louis pitchers to defeat the reeling Cardinals 6-3. David Peralta drove in two runs for the Dodgers as they posted their first three-game series sweep of the season. Syndergaard allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. St. Louis was swept in a series for the second time this season and went 2-8 on its season-long 10-game road trip.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two-time World Series winner and longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has died. He was 83. The Cardinals said he died Saturday night in St. Louis. The team did not cite the cause of death. Shannon spent 50 years in the broadcast booth. That followed a short stint in the front office and a nine-year playing career with his hometown team. Shannon was the regular right fielder for the 1964 championship team. He moved to third base in 1967 when St. Louis acquired Roger Maris and also won the World Series. Shannon retired after the 2021 season.
DENVER (AP) — C.J. Cron had three hits, including a three-run homer, Austin Gomber gave up one run over six innings and the Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-4 on Sunday to snap a seven-game home losing streak. With the win, the last-place Rockies avoided both their third sweep of the young season and tying the worst 29-game start in franchise history. The 12 runs were the most this season for Colorado, which came into the day with the fifth fewest runs in the majors.
HOUSTON (AP) — Star slugger Bryce Harper could return to the Philadelphia Phillies lineup as early as Tuesday if an exam on his surgically repaired right elbow goes well. On Monday in Los Angeles, the two-time National League MVP will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Tommy John surgery on Harper last November. Harper will learn if he’s cleared to play.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom is frustrated he’s landed on the injured list with right forearm tightness. He’s hoping the inflammation goes down in the next couple of days and he can resume throwing. DeGrom exited after 3 2/3 innings in his last start against the New York Yankees on Friday night. It's the second time in his past three starts that he left early with an injury. DeGrom signed a $185 million, five-year contract with the Rangers in December after leaving the New York Mets. He is 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA over 30 1/3 innings in his first six starts with Texas. He’s taking a wait-and-see attitude on whether he’ll be ready to come off the IL when he’s eligible to return on May 14.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Texans got two of the best players in the NFL draft in the first three picks. The Eagles added three more defensive standouts from Georgia. While it takes two or three years to judge whether players panned out, it’s easy to identify the potential winners of the 2023 NFL draft. Houston selected quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2 and traded up to get Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. with the third pick. In a 10-minute span, the Texans added two players who could dramatically change the future of the franchise. Defending NFC champion Philadelphia needed to replenish the defense so it looked toward the two-time national champion Bulldogs.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry scored a playoff career-high 50 points and answered time and again to will the defending champions on in their quest for a repeat, Kevon Looney grabbed 21 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals by beating the Sacramento Kings 120-100 in the winner-take-all Game 7. Curry’s points are the most in NBA history in a Game 7, topping former teammate Kevin Durant’s 48 for the Nets against Milwaukee in 2021. The Warriors fell behind 2-0 in this series then won twice on the road in front of a hostile, cowbell-clanging crowd in the state capital to become the first reigning champion to drop the first two games and win any postseason series.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the No. 8-seeded Miami Heat kept rolling after barely reaching the postseason, beating the New York Knicks 108-101 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Gabe Vincent scored 20 points for the Heat, who became the sixth No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 when they toppled Milwaukee in the first round. They continue to look nothing like a team that needed to win a play-in game just to get the final postseason berth in the East. RJ Barrett scored 26 points and Jalen Brunson had 25 for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who were without Julius Randle.
BOSTON (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winner at 8:35 of overtime to lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 Game 7 victory and eliminate the record-setting Boston Bruins from the playoffs. Brandon Montour tied it with 1 minute left in regulation to force the overtime. Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Panthers won three in a row after falling behind 3-1 in the series. They advance in the postseason for just the second time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. They will open the second round against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday night. Boston rallied from a two-goal deficit to take a 3-2 lead. The Bruins set NHL records with 65 wins and 135 points in the regular season but become the second Presidents’ Trophy winner in five years to lose in the first round.
DENVER (AP) — Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, Philipp Grubauer was stellar in stopping 33 shots and the Seattle Kraken eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche with a 2-1 win in Game 7. The Kraken became the first expansion team to beat the reigning champs in their inaugural playoff series, according to NHL Stats. Bjorkstrand scored one goal off a fortuitous deflection — the puck hit off a stick and glove — and another with a liner past goaltender Alexandar Georgiev that clanged off the post. Seattle grabbed the lead in every game in the series. Next up for the second-year Kraken is a second-round series against Dallas. Colorado has now lost its last six Game 7s.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Police say the 2-year-old daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett drowned in a swimming pool at the family’s home. Officers responding to a call that a child had fallen into a pool were sent to Barrett’s home Sunday morning. The football player’s youngest child, Arrayah, was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. Police said an investigation is ongoing but the drowning “is not believed to be suspicious in nature at this time.” Barrett and his wife, Jordanna, have three other children.
SUNDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final L.A. Angels 3 Milwaukee 0
Final Oakland 5 Cincinnati 4
Final Houston 4 Philadelphia 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Boston 7 Cleveland 1
Final Baltimore 5 Detroit 3
Final Seattle 10 Toronto 8
Final Minnesota 8 Kansas City 4
Final Texas 15 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Chicago White Sox 12 Tampa Bay 9
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at N-Y Mets 4:40 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Miami 4 Chicago Cubs 3
Final Washington 7 Pittsburgh 2
Final Colorado 12 Arizona 4
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 St. Louis 3
Final San Diego 6 San Francisco 4
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Miami 108 New York 101, Miami leads series 1 - 0
Final Golden State 120 Sacramento 100, Golden State wins series 4 – 3
Monday, May 1
Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m. - Game 1
Phoenix at Denver, 10 p.m., Denver leads series 1-0
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final OT Florida 4 Boston 3, Florida wins series 4 - 3
Final Seattle 2 Colorado 1, Seattle wins series 4 - 3
Monday, May 1
N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey, 8 p.m. Series tied 3-3