Wayne Byers Show – Morning – Apr 14

MLB..

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy afternoon in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in the Twin Cities area.

Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the day.

— Back on the mound two days after an abbreviated start, Marcus Stroman tossed six spotless innings and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 for a doubleheader sweep. In the first game, Pete Alonso and Jonathan Villar hit RBI singles in the eighth to give New York a 4-3 victory in extra innings.

— Wilmer Flores’ tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh held up in a strange, back-and-forth game that featured four two-run homers in the first inning alone, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6. Austin Slater put the Giants ahead on an RBI triple in the sixth following three home runs by San Francisco. That lead didn’t last: Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford and second baseman Tommy La Stella collided trying to chase down pinch-hitter Alex Blandino’s fly in shallow center in the seventh, and the ball fell to the grass for a single as the Reds scored the tying run to make it 6-6.

— Mookie Betts homered and Trevor Bauer pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in both veterans’ first home games in front of their new Dodgers fans. Together they propelled Los Angeles to a 7-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Corey Seager and Chris Taylor hit back-to-back homers in the first, while Max Muncy homered and drove in two runs for the defending World Series champions. Bauer had nine strikeouts in his first start at Dodger Stadium since signing with his hometown team in February. Antonio Senzatela couldn’t get out of the third for the Rockies, who have lost four straight.

— AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber pitched three-hit ball over nine innings for Cleveland while Lucas Giolito nearly matched him before the Indians broke through in the 10th to beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0. The matchup between All-Star aces sure lived up to its billing. Bieber struck out 11 and has fanned 35 in his first three starts of the season for the second straight year. Giolito also allowed only three hits and fanned eight. He was pulled after issuing his second walk to begin the eighth inning.

— Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter all homered off Stephen Strasburg and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Washington Nationals 14-3. Jack Flaherty allowed one run on three hits in five innings as St. Louis snapped a three-game losing streak. Strasburg was hammered for eight runs on eight hits and five walks, two of them intentional.

— Wilson Ramos hit two home runs and Renato Núñez and rookie Akil Baddoo each homered for the second straight game as the Detroit Tigers slugged their way to an 8-2 win over the Houston Astros. Baddoo is off to a scorching start to his major league career and has four home runs in just eight games.

— Willson Contreras struck back after getting plunked again by the Brewers, hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied past Milwaukee 3-2 on Tuesday night. Contreras has already been hit by a pitch from the Brewers three times this season. He got his revenge when he hit a towering drive off Brent Suter.

— Jacob Stallings had three hits and three RBIs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates chased Blake Snell in the first inning of an 8-4 victory over the San Diego Padres. The game lasted 4 hours, 7 minutes, and included 17 walks, seven hit batters and 27 runners left on base.

— Hyun Jin Ryu (hyoon-jihn YOO) cruised into the seventh inning, Marcus Semien and Rowdy Tellez homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 7-3. Ryu allowed only an unearned run over 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven and limiting the Yankees to four hits and a walk. The Blue Jays ace retired 12 in a row.

— Ramón Urías hit a game-ending single with two outs in the seventh inning and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the miscue-prone Seattle Mariners 7-6 to earn a doubleheader split. Baltimore had lost four in a row and six of seven. Seattle’s three-game winning streak was halted. Kyle Seager’s RBI double in the eighth inning helped the Mariners earn a 4-3 victory in the opener.

— Royals catcher Salvador Perez picked David Fletcher off third with the bases loaded for the final out in the ninth inning, helping the Kansas City Royals beat Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels 3-2. Danny Duffy pitched one-run ball over six innings, and Perez had two hits and an RBI.

— Adam Duvall drove in seven runs against his former Atlanta teammates with four hits, including two home runs, and the Miami Marlins beat Max Fried and the Braves 14-8. Duvall tied a Marlins record by becoming the sixth player to drive in seven.

— Jed Lowrie hit a tying, three-run homer in the seventh inning, Seth Brown had a solo shot in the next frame and the Oakland Athletics rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5. Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer and Arizona led 5-0 after three innings. Mark Canha made it 5-2 win an RBI single in the seventh and Lowrie followed with a three-run homer off Kevin Ginkel. Brown led off the eighth with his homer off Anthony Swarzak and Matt Chapman’s run-scoring triple off the wall in the ninth made it 7-5. Oakland has won five of six since starting the season 0-6.

— Pete Alonso and Jonathan Villar each hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the New York Mets a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of their doubleheader. Both games of the single-admission twinbill, booked to make up Monday night’s rainout at Citi Field, were scheduled for seven innings in keeping with a rules change introduced during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

— Kyle Seager hit an RBI double in the eighth and the Seattle Mariners won their third extra-inning game in as many tries this season, beating the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader. Seager has reached base in nine of his last 10 plate appearances. The Orioles have dropped four straight and six of seven since opening with a three-game road sweep of Boston.

MLB-MARINERS-PAXTON

Mariners pitcher James Paxton done for the year

BALTIMORE (AP) — Seattle Mariners left-hander James Paxton will undergo season-ending surgery. That word comes from manager Scott Servais.

Paxton left his April 6 start — his first since returning to Seattle on a 1-year, $8.5 million deal — with left elbow discomfort. Paxton received a second opinion Monday, when the need for surgery was confirmed.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— With the team facing a COVID-19 scare, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday night after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well. The Cubs didn’t provide specifics about Hendricks’ health, saying only the move was made from “an abundance of caution.” Four Cubs were added to the COVID-19 injured list over the last two days.

— Cleveland Indians first baseman Yu Chang has shared some racist tweets he received after making a costly error in Monday night’s game in Chicago. The Taiwanese player posted some of the anti-Asian tweets on his Twitter account Tuesday while asking for tolerance. One of the messages referred to the shape of his eyes and another referred to the coronavirus. Chang included the hashtag StopAsianHate in his tweet.

— Nick Solak and Charlie Culberson drove in three runs apiece, Kyle Gibson pitched seven strong innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 Tuesday night to end a season-high four-game losing streak.

NBA-..

UNDATED (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting in his most productive performance in 2 1/2 months, as the Brooklyn Nets blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-97. Durant played 27 minutes in his third game back from a strained hamstring that kept him out for 23 games.

The game was rescheduled from Monday night, in the aftermath of a fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. The Timberwolves held a moment of silence before tipoff for 20-year-old Daunte Wright. The Timberwolves played without Karl-Anthony Towns on the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death from COVID-19.

— Jayson Tatum had 32 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final moments, and the Boston Celtics held off the Portland Trail Blazers 116-115 on Tuesday night to extend their winning streak to four games. Jaylen Brown added 24 points and Kemba Walker had 21 for Boston, winners of six of their last seven games. Damian Lillard had 28 points and 10 assists, and Carmelo Anthony had 25 points off the bench for Portland.

— Paul George scored 36 points and Marcus Morris Sr. added 22 to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 126-115 victory at Indiana. The Clippers have won six straight and 12 of 14 overall. George has won all four games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse since he was traded by the Pacers in July 2017. Indiana was led by Malcolm Brogdon’s 29 points. Caris LeVert scored 26. Los Angeles broke it open by starting the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to make it 108-97. Indiana never recovered.

— Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns got 65 points from their bench on the way to a 106-86 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Four bench players scored in double figures, including Cam Johnson, Cam Payne, Torrey Craig and Dario Saric.

— The Phoenix Suns tied an NBA record with 18 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a 126-120 victory over the Houston Rockets. Jae Crowder led the Suns with 26 points, all in the first half, and Devin Booker added 24. Crowder made a career-high eight 3-pointers. Christian Wood led the Rockets with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr. added 22 points.

— Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points and Donovan Mitchell added 22 as the Utah Jazz beat the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder 106-96 on Tuesday night. Luguentz Dort scored career-high 42 points and Moses Brown had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Thunder, who have lost seven in a row and 10 of 11.

NBA-NUGGETS-MURRAY OUT

Nuggets’ Murray tears ACL in left knee, out indefinitely

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets will be without Jamal Murray indefinitely after the dynamic point guard suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. It’s a big blow to a team coming off a season in which it advanced to the Western Conference finals and currently sits in fourth place in the West.

Murray was hurt late in a loss at Golden State on Monday night. He drove the lane, tried to elevate off his left foot and fell to the ground, instantly grabbing at his knee in pain. The 24-year-old Murray previously missed four games with a sore right knee.

In other NBA news:

— The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Gabriel Deck to a multi-year contract. The 6-foot-8 forward who played for Argentina at the 2016 Olympics spent the last three seasons with Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB. During the 2020-21 season, he averaged 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 52% from the field.

— Former NBA player and Hall of Fame coach Bobby “Slick” Leonard has died. The Indiana Pacers announced his death Tuesday. Leonard went 573-534 and won three ABA championships in 14 seasons as a coach, the last 12 with the Pacers. He also made the winning free throws in the 1953 NCAA Tournament to give the Indiana Hoosiers the second of five national titles. In 1985, he became the Pacers color commentator on television broadcasts and later moved into the radio booth. Leonard was 88.

— The Golden State Warriors have promoted Brandon Schneider to president and chief operating officer to replace Rick Welts, a Basketball Hall of Fame member who is moving to an advisory role after the season. Schneider will assume his new position July 1. He has nearly two decades of experience with the franchise and worked closely with Welts for 10 years.

NHL..

UNDATED (AP) — Anthony Mantha had two points in his Washington debut, Alex Ovechkin scored the 728th goal of his NHL career and the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1.

The East Division-leading Capitals went 3 for 3 on the power play as part of another offensive outburst. Mantha had a goal and an assist after a trade from Detroit. Ovechkin scored his team-leading 22nd goal of the season. The Capitals have won three in a row. The Flyers lost for the sixth time in eight games.

In other ice action:

— Johnny Gaudreau scored 36 seconds into overtime and the Calgary Flames beat the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. Juuso Valimaki and Elias Lindholm also scored for the Flames. Gaudreau and Lindholm each added an assist, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 24 shots. Calgary won its second straight to pull six points behind Montreal for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division. Toronto lost for the second straight night.

— Roman Josi had a goal and an assist in Nashville’s three-goal first period as the Predators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-2 for their fifth win in six games. Josi also had an assist in the third.

— Frank Vatrano scored a power-play goal with 1:51 left in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Aleksander Barkov and Radko Gudas scored in regulation, and Chris Driedger made 24 saves for the Panthers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. The Stars are seven points out of the division’s last playoff spot with 15 games to play after playing in last season’s Stanley Cup Final.

— Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves in posting his first NHL shutout and the New York Rangers opened a four-game series against the rival New Jersey Devils with a 3-0 victory. Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin scored and Adam Fox had assists on both goals as New York improved to 10-4-3 since March 13. Pavel Buchnevich scored into an empty net with 28 seconds to play for the 20,000th goal in Rangers’ franchise history. Mackenzie Blackwood had 17 saves as the Devils fell to 2-7-2 in their last 11.

— Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk scored in Boston’s only two chances in the shootout and the Bruins, with newcomer Taylor Hall, rebounded for a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. Craig Smith and David Krejci scored in regulation for Boston, which had lost its last two games yet improved to 4-2-1 in its last seven. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves for the Bruins and stopped Buffalo’s two shootout attempts. Dustin Tokarski made 32 saves for the Sabres.

NFL-BUCCANEERS-BERNARD

AP source: RB Bernard agrees to 1-year deal with Buccaneers

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have added yet another offensive playmaker for Tom Brady.

The Super Bowl champions and running back Giovani Bernard have agreed to a one-year contract, a person person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. Bernard was released this month after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the second round in 2013. In addition to rushing for 3,697 yards and 22 touchdowns, the 29-year-old has 342 receptions for 2,867 yards and 11 TDs.

In other NFL moves:

— The Arizona Cardinals have signed running back James Conner to a one-year contract. The 25-year-old Conner played his first four seasons in Pittsburgh and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2018. He ran for a career-high 973 yards and 12 touchdowns that year. He played in 13 games in 2020 and started 11, finishing with 721 yards and six touchdowns.

COMPENSATING ATHLETES-NORTH CAROLINA

Ex-UNC athletes join program to profit from college careers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — More than 100 former North Carolina men’s basketball and women’s soccer players are joining a group-licensing program allowing them to profit from their playing days with the Tar Heels.

The school announced an agreement Tuesday with marketing and licensing agency The Brandr Group. It would allow for merchandising licensed products such as school-branded apparel featuring athletes’ names and jersey numbers after they leave school. Men’s basketball players who have joined include current NBA player Danny Green and new head men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis. Women’s soccer players include World Cup champions and Olympic gold medalists Mia Hamm and Heather O’Reilly.

SERENA WILLILAMS-AMAZON

Serena Williams signs programming deal with Amazon Studios

UNDATED (AP) — Serena Williams says she has signed a deal with Amazon Studios under which she will create scripted and non-scripted programming, including a docuseries that follows her exploits on and off the court.

Williams made the announcement during a conversation with actor Michael B. Jordan that was part of a charitable event organized by Vanity Fair magazine. The 39-year-old Williams said she hopes to “bring really special stories to film, and to people’s homes.” Williams who ranks second all-time with 23 Grand Slam singles titles.