June 20, 2025 1:57 am
DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene drove in four runs for the second time in a week, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal improved to 8-0 over his last 13 starts, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six. Greene, who also had four RBIs in Friday’s 11-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds, is hitting .333 with 15 RBIs in 16 games in June. He also hit one of Detroit’s four sacrifice flies — a total they had only reached once in at least 70 years.
June 20, 2025 4:29 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Obi Toppin scored 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 and the resilient Indiana Pacers sent the NBA Finals to a winner-take-all Game 7 by rolling past the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 on Thursday night. Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton — playing through a strained calf — scored 14 points for the Pacers, who started slowly and then turned things into a blowout. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for the Thunder, who pulled their starters after getting down by 30 going into the fourth. Jalen Williams added 16. Game 7, the first one in the NBA Finals since 2016, will be Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
June 18, 2025 2:40 am
DETROIT (AP) — The scheduled game between the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night was postponed due to the forecast for inclement weather. Heavy rain hit the Detroit area early Wednesday afternoon, and with heavy storms expected during the evening, the game was called off about two hours before the scheduled first pitch. The game will be played as a part of a split doubleheader on Thursday.
June 19, 2025 4:28 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers may need their smallest player, T.J. McConnell, to thrive in the biggest role imaginable Thursday night against Oklahoma City. With the Pacers season teetering on the brink and star guard Tyrese Haliburton recovering from a strained right calf, McConnell almost certainly will log extra minutes in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and could be starting in perhaps the most important game in franchise history. But McConnell has thrived in this role throughout his nine-year pro career, and he’s not about to back down from this challenge.
June 19, 2025 4:34 am
The Buss family has agreed to sell the controlling stake of the Los Angeles Lakers to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, doing so with a franchise valuation of $10 billion — the most ever for a professional sports franchise, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday. As part of the deal, Jeanie Buss — whose family has had control of the Lakers since her father bought the team in 1979 — intends to remain as governor, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side immediately announced details.
June 19, 2025 4:33 am
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is accused of driving a pickup truck 101 mph (163 kilometers per hour) on a suburban Cleveland interstate earlier this week. The Strongsville Police Department says its officers stopped Sanders at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in a 60 mph (97 kilometers per hour) zone on Interstate 71. Local media reported the 23-year-old from the University of Colorado could pay a $250 fine to waive the fourth-degree misdemeanor case. He’s the son of Hall of Fame player Deion Sanders and was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft this spring.
June 18, 2025 4:25 am
DETROIT (AP) — Javier Báez hit two of the Detroit Tigers’ four home runs in a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Báez hit solo homers in the fifth and seventh innings on the day he reached 10 years of major league service. Wenceel Pérez and Riley Greene also homered for Detroit. Casey Mize (7-2) got the win, allowing three runs — two earned — on five hits in six innings. He struck out four without walking a batter. Pittsburgh’s Carmen Mlodzinski (1-5) allowed four runs in two innings of relief for the loss.
June 18, 2025 4:26 am
DETROIT (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds left Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning when his wife went into labor. Reynolds struck out to end the top of the first and didn’t make a play in the field in the bottom of the inning. He was replaced by Alexander Canario in right field and is expected to be added to the paternity list after the game. The 30-year-old Reynolds, a two-time All-Star, is hitting .222 with eight homers, 39 RBIs and 81 strikeouts in 71 games.
June 18, 2025 4:28 am
MIAMI (AP) — Nick Castellanos has been benched by Phillies manager Rob Thomson for “an inappropriate comment” the outfielder made after he was pulled for a defensive replacement a day earlier. The move ends Castellanos’ streak of 236 consecutive starts. Thomson says Castellanos is “very emotional” and “wants to play every inning of every game.” The manager says Castellanos made a comment after being removed from Monday night’s game that led to his benching on Tuesday. Max Kepler started in right field.
June 18, 2025 4:30 am
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final. They are the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century. Sam Reinhart scored four of the five goals, including the Cup clincher again. The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Matthew Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022. Connor McDavid was again denied the first title of his career in his second consecutive final. Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reached 32 years. Panthers star Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
