MLB-SCHEDULE
Jays drop Tigers
UNDATED (AP) β The Toronto Blue Jays have the look of a serious contender after posting a winning season just once the past five seasons.
Drew Hutchison tossed seven innings and the Jays put together a five-run ninth to beat Detroit 5-3 in a battle of American League division leaders. Hutchison had to settle for a no-decision after limiting the Tigers to three hits and no walks while striking out seven.
Toronto was held scoreless on two hits through eight innings before rallying against the Tigers’ bullpen. Joe Nathan gave up an RBI single to Jose Bautista to break the scoreless deadlock, Kevin Pillar added a sacrifice fly and Brett Lawrie launched a three-run homer off Al Albuquerque.
The Blue Jays have won three straight and are 22-7 since opening the season 13-17.
The Tigers suffered their third straight loss despite Anibal (AH’-nih-bahl) Sanchez, who held Toronto to two hits and no walks in seven innings. J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer in the ninth for Detroit.
Checking out the rest of the major league schedule:
β Nelson Cruz returned to Texas and crushed a three-run homer in a six-run eighth that carried Baltimore to an 8-3 win over the Rangers. Cruz leads the majors with 21 homers and 55 RBIs after leaving the Rangers for a free-agent deal with the Orioles.
β Highly-touted prospect Jon Singleton hit a solo homer and had two RBIs in his major league debut to help Houston beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2. Jason Castro and Robbie Grossman added two-run singles to back Colin McHugh, who gave up two hits in five shutout innings.
β Brandon Moss hit a pair of solo homers, including a 10th-inning blast in Oakland’s 5-2 triumph over the Yankees in the Bronx. Stephen Vogt (voyt) tied the game with an RBI double in the eighth before the A’s completed their fourth straight win and improve to an American League-leading 36-22.
β Cleveland blew a 3-0 lead before Michael Bourn laced a two-run double in the seventh inning of the Indians’ fifth consecutive win, 5-3 against Boston. Xander Bogaerts (ZAN’-dur BOH’-gahrts) hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who have dropped two straight since a seven-game winning streak.
β Henderson Alvarez tossed an eight-hitter on just 88 pitches and Christian Yelich worked out a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning for the only run in Florida’s 1-0 shutout of Tampa Bay. The Rays have dropped eight straight for the first time since an 11-game skid in 2009.
β John Buck was 3-for-4 with a tiebreaking, two-run homer and three runs scored in Seattle’s 7-5 triumph in Atlanta. Pinch-hitter Stefen (STEH’-fehn) Romero smacked a three-run homer in the fourth to erase the Braves’ 5-2 lead.
β Alex Gordon smacked a three-run homer while Kansas City was scoring six times in the fifth inning of an 8-7 win at St. Louis. Eric Hosmer singled home the winning run in the ninth to help the Royals overcome Kolten Wong’s grand slam.
β Josh Willingham socked a three-run homer and Brian Dozier went 3-for-3 with a two-run blast in Minnesota’s 6-4 win at Milwaukee. Samuel Deduno limited the Brewers to two runs in five innings for his second win.
β Jordan Zimmermann allowed five hits in eight shutout innings as Washington clobbered Philadelphia 7-0. Anthony Rendon (rehn-DOHN’) hit a two-run homer, Ian Desmond added a solo shot and Ryan Zimmerman doubled twice in his first game since coming off the disabled list.
β Devin Mesoraco (mehs-ah-RAH’-koh) hit a two-run homer and Homer Bailey struck out seven over six innings to lead Cincinnati’s 8-3 rout of San Francisco. Brandon Phillips added a two-run double while the Reds were tagging Tim Lincecum (LIHN’-she-kuhm) for eight runs in just 4 1/3 innings.
β Chris Owings was 3-for-4 with a solo homer and an RBI triple as Arizona doubled up the slumping Rockies 4-2 in Colorado. Chase Anderson allowed one run over six innings against the Rockies, who’ve dropped five straight and nine of 11.
β The Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 2-1 on Nate Schierholtz’s RBI single with two out in the bottom of the ninth. The Cubs managed just two hits until Chris Coghlan (KAHG’-lihn) led off the bottom of the eighth with his first homer of the season.
β Gerrit Cole pitched into the sixth before Pittsburgh’s bullpen tossed hitless ball over the final 3 1/3 innings of a 4-1 victory at San Diego. Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez hit two-run homers to key the Pirates’ six-hit attack.
β Jose Abreu (ah-BRAY’-oo) homered for the second straight game since coming off the disabled list, a two-run shot in the Chicago White Sox’s 4-1 triumph over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Hector Noesi (noh-EH’-see) held the Dodgers to a run and five hits in six innings for his first win of the season.
MLB-NEWS
Angels get Hamilton back…A’s DL Reddick…Workman appeals suspension…Zim back in but left out
UNDATED (AP) β Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton has been activated after spending almost two months on the disabled list. The former AL MVP has been out since tearing a ligament in his left thumb sliding headfirst into first base on April 8. Hamilton hit .444 with two homers and six RBIs in eight games for the Angels this season before getting hurt.
Elsewhere in the majors:
β The Oakland Athletics have placed outfielder Josh Reddick on the 15-day disabled list because of a hyperextended right knee suffered on Saturday. The A’s also activated reliever Ryan Cook, who was 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in 12 appearances before straining his right forearm.
β Boston pitcher Brandon Workman has appealed a six-game suspension imposed Tuesday by Major League Baseball for throwing near the head of Tampa Bay star Evan Longoria last week. Workman is expected to make his scheduled start Wednesday night against the Cleveland Indians.
β Ryan Zimmerman played left field for the first time in his career on Tuesday after missing 44 games with a broken right thumb. His surgically-repaired right shoulder remains a problem, so he was placed in left field due to the absence of Bryce Harper and the emergence of Anthony Rendon (rehn-DOHN’) at third base.
β Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Wil Myers is expected to be sidelined for more than six weeks because of a stress fracture in his right wrist. Myers was batting .227 with five homers and 25 RBIs when he was hurt following a collision with teammate Desmond Jennings in the outfield.
β The Brewers are set to activate Aramis Ramirez from the disabled list on Wednesday after the third baseman was sidelined more than three weeks with a strained left hamstring. Ramirez was hitting .252 with five homers and 21 RBIs when he got hurt May 11.
β The Chicago Cubs have put catcher Welington Castillo on the 15-day disabled list because of a rib injury and designated relief pitcher Jose Veras for assignment. Catcher Eli Whiteside was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
NBA FINALS-PARKER
Spurs point guard says he’s playing Game 1
SAN ANTONIO (AP) β Tony Parker says he plans to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs open their rematch with the Miami Heat on Thursday, and their star point guard is nursing a balky left ankle that he aggravated in Saturday night’s Western Conference final.
Parker didn’t practice Tuesday, but said he expects to be back Wednesday.
Parker is averaging a team-leading 17.2 points and 4.9 assists this postseason but has been bothered by injuries the past two rounds.
Coach Gregg Popovich says his point guard is “getting better every day,” and he expects Parker to be ready for the series opener.
NBA-WIZARDS
Playoff reward for Wittman
WASHINGTON (AP) β Washington Wizards coach Randy Wittman has received a contract extension after leading the team this season to its first playoff berth since 2008. The Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round before losing to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
NBA-PISTONS
Bower new GM
DETROIT (AP) β The Detroit Pistons have hired Jeff Bower to be their general manager. He had been the New Orleans Hornets GM in 2009-10. Bower was the coach at Marist (MAR’-ihst) College last season, but he resigned Monday.
The Pistons hired Stan Van Gundy as their coach and team president last month.
NFL-SAINTS
Goodwin returns to New Orleans
UNDATED (AP) β The Saints and Jonathan Goodwin have agreed to a one-year contract, bringing the veteran center back to New Orleans. The 35-year-old has spent the past three seasons with San Francisco, playing in three straight NFC title games and a Super Bowl.
Goodwin played for New Orleans from 2006 to 2010, starting the last three of those seasons.
In other NFL news:
β Dan Marino says he inadvertently became a plaintiff in a concussion lawsuit against the NFL and is withdrawing immediately. The Hall of Fame quarterback said he doesn’t suffer any effects from head injuries.
β Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley says the team informed him this offseason that it was not picking up the 2015 option in his contract. Detroit drafted Fairley out of Auburn with the No. 13 overall pick in 2011 and he has struggled with issues dealing with his weight. Fairley acknowledges he played too heavy last season while weighing as much as 320 pounds. He says he has lost about 30 pounds by reducing his consumption of junk food.
β The Cardinals have signed free agent linebacker Ernie Sims to a one-year contract, a move that follows the suspension of Arizona standout linebacker Daryl Washington for one year for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Sims played the last two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, starting 12 of his 22 games.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Alabama coaches pay zooms
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) β Winning certainly plays off. The Alabama system trustees’ compensation committee has approved a new deal for football coach Nick Saban. He will make nearly $7 million a year through 2022. The 62-year-old will make $6.5 million in base pay and “talent fee” plus a $400,000 completion fee for each year. Saban has led the Crimson Tide to three national championships in seven seasons.
NHL-STANLEY CUP
Rangers get a break
NEW YORK (AP) β NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has cut Daniel Carcillo’s (KAR’-sihl-ohz) suspension from 10 games to six, meaning the New York Rangers agitator could play in the Stanley Cup finals should the club elect to return him to the lineup. Carcillo was suspended on May 23 after he appeared to twice elbow linesman Scott Driscoll, who was trying to keep Carcillo away from a fight, during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. The original ban would have kept him completely out of the Cup finals, even if the series goes the full seven games.
Now Carcillo, who has already served three games, is eligible to play in Game 4.
NBA-STERLING
More problems for Clippers’ owner
LOS ANGELES (AP) β Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is been sued by a woman who alleges that while employed by him they had a romantic relationship and that she was subjected to racially and sexually offensive comments. The complaint alleges that Maiko Maya King’s resistance to Sterling’s “stream of racist and sexist taunts” caused him to retaliate against her and terminate her employment.
