AP Sports in a Minute for May 1st, 2024:
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some Kansas lawmakers see a chance to lure Kansas City’s two biggest professional sports teams across the Missouri border, but an effort to help the Super Bowl champion Chiefs and Major League Baseball’s Royals finance new stadiums in Kansas fizzed. Kansas legislators worried about how it might look to taxpayers. Members of the Republican-controlled Legislature pushed a bill Tuesday that would have allowed Kansas officials to authorize at least $1 billion in bonds to cover the entire cost of building each new stadium. But GOP leaders didn’t bring it up for a vote before lawmakers adjourned their annual session early Wednesday.
TORONTO (AP) — Michael Massey hit a two-run home run, Cole Ragans struck out nine in a season-high 6 2/3 innings, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 to snap a three-game losing streak. Bobby Witt Jr. reached base three times and drove in a run as the Royals improved to 17-11 in April. It’s the most victories Kansas City has had in a month since going 17-9 in June 2017. Ragans allowed one run and four hits to improve to 2-2. Righty John Schreiber got four outs and right-hander James McArthur finished for his seventh save in eight chances. José BerrÃos took the loss.
DETROIT (AP) — Wenceel Pérez hit homers from both sides of the plate to help the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 Tuesday night to split a doubleheader. The 24-year-old Dominican became the first rookie to clear the fences for the franchise hitting right and left handed in the same game since Raúl Casanova in 1996. In the opener, Jack Flaherty tied an American League record with seven straight strikeouts to start a game and struck out a career-high 14 before St. Louis rallied against a usually bullpen with a two-run ninth inning to beat Detroit 2-1.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout will have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, sidelining the three-time AL MVP indefinitely. The Angels believe Trout will be able to return this season, general manager Perry Minasian said while announcing the injury Tuesday. Trout is batting .220 with a major league-leading 10 homers, 14 RBIs and six stolen bases, but he will be sidelined by a major injury for the fourth consecutive season. Trout had an MRI after playing in the Angels’ 6-5 victory over Philadelphia on Monday. Trout’s latest injury is another major blow to the Angels, who lost Shohei Ohtani to free agency in the offseason.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Punches were thrown when a brawl broke out between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers. The fracas ensued after Jose Siri grounded out against Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe leading off the eighth inning. Uribe and Siri exchanged words near first base and things quickly became heated. With an umpire standing between them trying to keep the peace, Uribe threw a punch at Siri, who then took a wild swing at the reliever as both dugouts and bullpens emptied quickly. The animosity between Siri and the Brewers had been building all night. He took a long look at his home run in the third off Freddy Peralta, who drilled Siri with a 3-0 fastball in the sixth. That led to Peralta and Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy getting ejected.
PHOENIX (AP) — A swarm of bees created quite a baseball buzzkill in the desert. The start of Tuesday night’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks was delayed nearly two hours after a bee colony swarmed the top of the protective netting behind home plate. It took more than an hour before a beekeeper arrived and was scissor-lifted to the swarm. He safely removed the bees and pumped his fist to the cheering crowd as he lowered back to the field. The game was delayed nearly 90 minutes and the players were given an extra 30 minutes to loosen back up before first pitch.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tyrese Maxey saved Philadelphia from elimination with seven points in the final 25 seconds of regulation, finished with 46 and led the 76ers to a 112-106 overtime victory over the New York Knicks in Game 5 of their first-round series. The 76ers trailed by six points with 28 seconds remaining in regulation before Maxey pulled out a comeback that evoked memories of Reggie Miller’s eights points in nine seconds for Indiana at Madison Square Garden in 1995. The All-Star guard converted a four-point play with 25 seconds remaining to cut it to two, and after Josh Hart’s free throw, pulled up from 35 feet to tie it at 97 with 8.1 seconds left.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Evan Mobley blocked Franz Wagner’s layup in the final seconds and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a scare from Orlando, holding off Paolo Banchero and the Magic 104-103 in Game 5. Cleveland leads the series 3-2. Game 6 is Friday in Orlando. The Cavs, who were embarrassed by the Magic while dropping two games in Orlando last week, regrouped inside roaring Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. It took everything they had. After Mitchell missed a jumper with 15.7 seconds left, Wagner drove the left side from a potential game-tying layup but was denied at the rim with 6 seconds left by Mobley. Playing in just his fifth postseason game, the 21-year-old Banchero had 39 points and looked like a savvy veteran. He scored 16 in the fourth.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis each scored 29 points and the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks kept their season alive by routing the Indiana Pacers 115-92 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Portis had the highest point total of his playoff career and added 10 rebounds to make amends two nights after he got ejected from a Game 4 loss. The Pacers still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Thursday in Indianapolis. The Bucks again were playing without injured stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
TUESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final St. Louis 2 Detroit 1
Final Detroit 11 St. Louis 6
Final Boston 4 San Francisco 0
Final Texas 7 Washington 1
Final Milwaukee 8 Tampa Bay 2
Final Seattle 3 Atlanta 2
Final Oakland 5 Pittsburgh 2
Final Philadelphia 7 L.A. Angels 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 4 N.Y. Yankees 2
Final Kansas City 4 Toronto 1
Final Minnesota 6 Chicago White Sox 5
Final Houston 10 Cleveland 9
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 7 Colorado 6
Final N.Y. Mets 4 Chicago Cubs 2
Final San Diego 6 Cincinnati 4
Final Arizona 4 L.A. Dodgers 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final OT Philadelphia 112 New York 106
Final Cleveland 104 Orlando 103
Final Milwaukee 115 Indiana 92
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final OT Toronto 2 Boston 1
Final Carolina 6 N-Y Islanders 3