KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt singled with the bases loaded to cap a crazy rally in the bottom of the ninth as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3. It was the second walk-off hit of Witt’s career, following a game-ending grand slam in 2023. Mark Canha coaxed a walk off Cam Boozer (0-3) to lead off the ninth. Drew Waters hit a popup that went off second baseman Chase Meidroth’s head into right field, but Michael A. Taylor’s throw was wide at second. Freddy Fermin bunted for a hit to load the bases. After Kyle Isbel popped out, Jonathan India drove in the tying run with a fielder’s choice and Witt followed with a single to center. Taylor Clarke (1-0) earned the win in relief.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson hit a two-run double, Matthew Liberatore struck out eight in a season-high seven innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1. Liberatore (3-3) allowed one run on three hits and three walks as the Cardinals won a season-high fourth game in a row. Gordon Graceffo earned his first career save. Paul Skenes (3-4) allowed two runs on three hits in six innings, striking out six and walking four as Pittsburgh lost its sixth straight game and for the ninth time in its last 10 games. Skenes fell to 0-4 in five career starts against St. Louis.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has received a three-year contract extension through 2030. ESPN first reported the Big 12 board of directors agreed to extend his original five-year contract, which was set to expire in 2027. Yormark was CEO of the Roc Nation entertainment company when he was hired to take over for Bob Bowlsby in 2022. Yormark landed a six-year television contract valued at $2.28 billion and shepherded the move of Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12 following the disintegration of the Pac-12.
Scott Frost received a five-year, $22.1 million contract upon his return to UCF and will have it automatically extended a year if the Knights appear in a bowl this season. An executive summary of Frost’s contract was obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request. UCF rehired Frost in December after Gus Malzahn left after four seasons to become offensive coordinator at Florida State. Frost had his first head coaching job at UCF in 2016 and left for Nebraska after two seasons. He is set to make $3.9 million this year.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Golden State star Stephen Curry was sidelined by a strained left hamstring early in the second quarter at Minnesota and the Warriors were bracing for an extended absence of their sharpshooting leader after opening the series by beating the Timberwolves 99-88. Curry will have an MRI exam. His status is day to day, but coach Steve Kerr acknowledged it’s unlikely he’ll be available to play in Game 2. Curry grabbed at the back of his left leg after hitting a 14-foot floater and immediately headed back to the locker room. He had 13 points in 13 minutes on 5-for-9 shooting.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton made a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining and the Indiana Pacers scored the final eight points in 47.9 seconds to stun the short handed and top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 120-119 to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Haliburton scored 11 of his 19 points in the final 12 minutes. Donovan Mitchell scored 48 points for Cleveland, who were missing three key players, including two starters. Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith led Indiana with 23 points apiece. It's the first time the Pacers won the first two games of a playoff series on the road since 1994 against Orlando.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jaccob Slavin scored in overtime, Frederik Andersen made 13 saves in his return from injury and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series. Logan Stankoven started the comeback with his goal midway through the third period off a turnover. After failing to score on a power play late in regulation, Slavin scored 3:06 into OT from just inside the blue line to give Carolina the series lead.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Zach Hyman scored from just above the right circle with 3:02 left to put Edmonton ahead for good, and the Oilers rallied yet again this postseason to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 1 of the second-round series. The Oilers, who came back from 2-0 down, set an NHL record with their fifth consecutive playoff comeback victory. Vegas, which had just seven shots on goal over the final two periods, lost a playoff game in regulation after leading by at least two goals for the first time. The Golden Knights are 47-4 overall in the postseason with such leads. Game 2 is Thursday night in Las Vegas. Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, and Corey Perry and Connor Brown also scored. Mark Stone scored twice for Vegas.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Baseball players from major leaguers to Little Leaguers are using sliding mitts as a form of self-expression, even if at some levels, they're not needed at all. The padded gloves are designed to protect a player's hand when they slide headfirst to reach for a base. The equipment was first introduced by former major leaguer Scott Podsednik in the late 2000s. The market has exploded in the last 16 years, with millions of mitts being sold each season to players at all levels in a wide array of colors and designs. At the youth levels, it's all about fashion over function. Most leagues ban or limit headfirst slides for players 12 and under. That hasn't stopped them from being in heavy demand anyway.
TUESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Detroit at Colorado 6:10 p.m. (Postponed)
Final Washington 10 Cleveland 9
Final Cleveland 9 Washington 1
Final N.Y. Yankees 12 San Diego 3
Final Philadelphia 8 Tampa Bay 4
Final Milwaukee 4 Houston 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Texas 6 Boston 1
Final Kansas City 4 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Minnesota 9 Baltimore 1
Final L.A. Angels 8 Toronto 3
Final Seattle 5 Athletics 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 5 L.A. Dodgers 4
Final St. Louis 2 Pittsburgh 1
Final Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 1
Final San Francisco 14 Chicago Cubs 5
Final Arizona 5 N.Y. Mets 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Indiana 120 Cleveland 119
Final Golden State 99 Minnesota 88
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final OT Carolina 2 Washington 1
Final Edmonton 4 Vegas 2