KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alec Marsh and four relievers combined for a six-hitter as the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 Wednesday night. Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez each had two hits and an RBI for Kansas City, which bounced back from a loss in the series opener on Monday to win two straight. John Schreiber (2-0) picked up the win in relief. James McArthur earned his sixth save. Yariel Rodríguez (0-1) gave up three runs on six hits in four innings. He struck out two and walked two. George Springer homered for Toronto.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar drove in two runs and Kyle Gibson pitched six effective innings, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of three-game series. Gibson allowed one run and five hits. Gibson struck out six and walked two. Former Cardinal Jordan Montgomery went seven innings in his second start for Arizona since signing a one-year, $25 million deal as this season began. He allowed three runs, two earned, and six hits and struck out four and walked one. The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. With one out, Brendan Donovan singled and Willson Contreras doubled. Nolan Arenado’s single scored Donovan. Contreras scored on a wild pitch before Montgomery retired the next two hitters.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals right-hander Alec Marsh was hit on his throwing arm by a line drive, forcing him to leave in the fifth inning against Toronto on Wednesday night. After Marsh (3-0) pitched four scoreless innings, Addison Barger hit a 91-mph fastball back up the middle leading off the fifth. After being struck, Marsh picked up the ball and threw to first to retire Barger. The Royals said Marsh had a forearm contusion. Angel Zerpa took over for Marsh on the mound.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had three doubles to improve his major league-leading batting average to .371, rookie Landon Knack got his first victory and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Washington Nationals 11-2 on Wednesday night. The Dodgers had a season-high 20 hits en route to their third straight victory, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith each having four hits and Andy Pages homering. Nick Senzel homered for Washington. The Nationals didn’t have a baserunner after the second inning. Ohtani went 3 for 6, hitting RBI doubles in the eighth and ninth innings. He leads the majors in slugging percentage, OPS, extra-base hits and doubles.
BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Herro hit six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics and tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. Herro had 24 points and 14 assists to lead Miami. Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and new Celtics nemesis Caleb Martin also had 21 for the Heat. Miami shot 53.5% from beyond the arc to bounce back after a Game 1 blowout. Jaylen Brown scored 33 points for top-seeded Boston. Jayson Tatum scored 28. The series moves to Miami for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. Chet Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds and Jalen Williams added 21 points for the top-seeded Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 59% from the field and made 14 of 29 3-pointers. Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points and Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram added 18 each for the Pelicans. New Orleans continued to struggle on offense without top scorer Zion Williamson. He remained out with a strained left hamstring.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reggie Bush has been reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner more than a decade after Southern California returned the award. Bush gave up the trophy in 2010 following an NCAA investigation that found he received what were impermissible benefits during his time with the Trojans. Heisman Trust President Michael Comerford said the trust considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years that now make some forms of athlete compensation permissible. Bush amassed more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns in 2005. He received the fifth most first-place votes in Heisman history.
DETROIT (AP) — Jayden Daniels handled the media with the same poise and command he displays in the pocket. Asked a few times about speculation that he doesn’t want to play for Washington and whether he prefers going to another team, Daniels understandably took a diplomatic approach one day before the NFL draft. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner from LSU is expected to be one of the top three players selected Thursday night. After USC quarterback Caleb Williams goes to Chicago first overall, Daniels is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 2 pick, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 4 Houston 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 6 L.A. Angels 5
Final Boston 8 Cleveland 0
Final Tampa Bay 7 Detroit 5
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Oakland 3
Final Minnesota 6 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Kansas City 3 Toronto 2
Final Texas 5 Seattle 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 5 Arizona 1
Final N.Y. Mets 8 San Francisco 2
Final Milwaukee 3 Pittsburgh 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 11 Washington 2
Final Cincinnati 7 Philadelphia 4
Final Atlanta 4 Miami 3
Final San Diego 5 Colorado 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Miami 111 Boston 101
Final Oklahoma City 124 New Orleans 92
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Boston 4 Toronto 2
Final Vegas 3 Dallas 1