DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene broke out of an extended slump with three hits and two RBIs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Royals lost their fourth straight game and have dropped six of seven. Greene, who had one hit and 18 strikeouts in his previous 32 at-bats entering the game, popped out to short in the first inning before RBI singles in the third and fifth innings. He added an infield single in the seventh. Spencer Torkelson had two hits and drove in three runs for Detroit, which had lost three of four.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Vientos hit his first homer of the season to spark a four-run second inning, and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in the opener of a four-game series. Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor had RBI singles in the second, which ended when Tyrone Taylor scored as Lindor got caught in a rundown between first and second. Lindor had three hits. Griffin Canning, pitching two days after he was scratched from an outing at Minnesota because of illness, allowed one run and three hits in six innings
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred met this week at the White House with President Donald Trump. MLB says “President Trump is a longtime fan of baseball” and adds "as he has done in the past, Commissioner Manfred was pleased to visit the White House again to discuss issues pertaining to baseball with the president.” A lawyer for Pete Rose has applied for the late career hits leaders to to be reinstated from his permanent ban. Trump said he plans to pardon Rose, who pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence.
Major League Baseball says Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge López has been suspended three games and fined for throwing at Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. López was ejected from Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates after a high pitch near McCutchen’s head led to the benches briefly clearing in the seventh inning. The right-hander has filed an appeal of the suspension, which was set to begin Thursday but will not take effect until that process is done. Nationals manager Dave Martinez received a fine and one-game suspension because of the incident.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Justin Thomas found just the right tonic for his post-Masters week. He has tied the course record at Harbour Town with a 61 to lead the RBC Heritage. Thomas made 11 birdies and nearly had the course record all to himself until missing a 5-foot birdie chance at the end. He leads by three shots over defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. Scheffler played without stress. He only got out of position once and only one other time had to scramble for par in his round of 64. The weather was ideal and so was the start for Thomas.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders offered hugs and handshakes as a way to soothe any hard feelings over the recent announcement that Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders skipped the line to have their jersey numbers retired this weekend. The Buffaloes ruffled some feathers of past players and alumni when they announced that Hunter’s No. 12 and Sanders’ No. 2 would be retired before the spring game. They’re the fifth and sixth players in Colorado’s 135-year history to receive that honor. Hunter is coming off a Heisman Trophy campaign. Sanders won the Johnny Unitas award as college football’s top QB. Both are expected to be high selections at the NFL draft.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Sam Leavitt was a key cog in Arizona State's run to the College Football Playoff and back into national prominence. His return to the desert has ratcheted up expectations for next season and he's been reaping the benefits of being the program's highest-profile player. Leavitt has cashed it with multiple NIL deals and he's giving back by donating royalties from his merchandise sales back to the program. Leavitt's popularity has led to some cool experiences, yet his primary focus has been on making himself and his teammates better through spring football.
UNDATED (AP) — The opening of the college football transfer portal has created a dash for cash. The delay in a judge approving the House v NCAA antitrust settlement has extended the window of there being no limits on the amount of money players can receive from their schools’ NIL collectives or from third-party endorsement deals. More than 400 players have entered the portal since it opened Wednesday. Athletes have until April 25 to enter, and they clearly have leverage until the settlement is approved. Sports attorney Mit Winter says schools have a free pass to pay athletes as much as they want.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel gave final approval to a rule designed to discourage football players from faking injuries to stop the game clock. If medical personnel go onto the field to evaluate a player with an apparent injury after the ball is spotted for the next play, that player’s team will be charged a timeout. If the team has no timeouts remaining, a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty will be assessed. Feigning injuries, sometimes at the coach’s instruction, had become a concern of the Football Rules Committee in recent years.
UNDATED (AP) — Auburn guard Chad Baker-Mazara and Memphis star PJ Haggerty have entered the transfer portal, instantly making them two of the most productive players available before the college basketball portal closes next week. Baker-Mazara, who turned 25 in January, started 34 games and was the Tigers’ second-leading scorer last season, averaging a career-high 12.3 points during their run to the Final Four. Haggerty was the nation’s third-leading scorer last season, averaging 21.7 points along with 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 steals while helping Memphis reach the NCAA Tournament. He will be on his fourth team in four years.
THURSDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Seattle 11 Cincinnati 7
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Athletics 8 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Baltimore 6 Cleveland 2
Final Detroit 6 Kansas City 1
Final N.Y. Yankees 6 Tampa Bay 3
Final Texas 5 L.A. Angels 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 1 Washington 0
Final Arizona 6 Miami 4
Final Philadelphia 6 San Francisco 4
Final N.Y. Mets 4 St. Louis 1
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Columbus 6 N-Y Islanders 1
Final OT Toronto 4 Detroit 3
Final N-Y Rangers 4 Tampa Bay 0
Final Ottawa 7 Carolina 5
Final Buffalo 5 Philadelphia 4
Final Pittsburgh 5 Washington 2
Final Calgary 5 Los Angeles 1