The staggering Chicago White Sox lost their 16th straight game, extending a franchise record, as Michael Massey homered and Michael Wacha pitched seven strong innings to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory Tuesday night.

Hear the Sox on WHOW Friday night when they take on the Twins.

Tommy Pham hit a pinch-hit grand slam in his first game back with the Cardinals and St. Louis beat the Texas Rangers 8-1 on Tuesday night.

Pham’s blast off reliver Cody Bradford capped a five-run fifth. It was his first at-bat since being dealt to the Cardinals from the White Sox as part of a three-team trade on Monday. Pham began his career with the Cardinals, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2006.

Pham’s second career grand slam, and his first since May 6, 2019, helped make a winner out of Lance Lynn, who gave up one run on three hits in five innings. Lynn (6-4) struck out three and walked one as the Cardinals won for the second time in their last three games.

Max Scherzer lasted just four innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked one.

It is the third start out of the last four that Scherzer (2-4) didn’t pitch past the fourth inning.

The Rangers lost for the fourth time in their last five games.

Masyn Winn homered on Scherzer’s first pitch of the game into the left field bullpen. It was Winn’s second career leadoff homer. The last Cardinal to hit a home run on the first pitch of the game was Brendan Donovan against Toronto on April 2, 2023.

Wyatt Langford led off the second with a solo homer to tie the game at 1-all.

The win over the Rangers gave Lynn a win against all 30 major league teams in his career.

Brandon Crawford regained the lead for the Cardinals in the bottom of the second with an RBI double and Lars Nootbaar added to the lead with another RBI double in the third to make it 3-1.

Alec Burleson gave the Cardinals a three-run lead with an RBI single in the fifth before Pham’s grand slam blew the game open. It was the first pinch hit grand slam for the Cardinals since Albert Pujols hit one against the Rockies on Aug. 18, 2022.

Pham received two standing ovations from the 32,395 in attendance, one as he stepped to the plate and another for a curtain call after the homer.

The Rangers will start LHP Andrew Heaney (4-10, 3.77 ERA) on Wednesday against the Cardinals and RHP Michael McGreevy, who will make his major league debut. Heaney is 0-2 with an 11.05 ERA in two career starts against St. Louis.

Santiago Espinal extended his hit streak to 10 games with a two-run homer in the second inning and the Cincinnati Reds held on to beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Tuesday night, winning a series between NL Central rivals trying to stay within striking distance of playoff contention.

TJ Friedl drove in two runs with a first-inning base hit, Tyler Stephenson also had an RBI as part of the three-run second inning, and Spencer Steer drove in another with a double in the eighth.

Tony Santillan got the start for the Reds because the scheduled starter, Frankie Montas, was traded to Milwaukee earlier in the day. Seven Reds pitchers combined to hold the Cubs to three runs and seven hits.

Nick Martinez (5-5) pitched four scoreless innings to get the win. Alexis Díaz pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 23 chances.

With Montas gone, Martinez might have made a case for moving into the starting rotation.

Cody Bellinger came off the 10-day injured list - he had a fractured middle finger - to hit a two-run homer for the Cubs in the sixth inning. Reds reliever Fernando Cruz uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded that let the other Chicago run score in the seventh.

Cubs starter Justin Steele (2-5) went six innings, allowing five runs and six hits while striking out seven.

The Reds go for a series sweep when they send left-hander Nick Lodolo (8-3, 3.45 ERA) against Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (2-9, 6.95) on Wednesday night.

The Orioles acquired outfielder Eloy Jiménez from the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday for minor league left-hander Trey McGough.

The 27-year-old Jiménez is hitting .240 with just five home runs and 16 RBIs this season. He’s been limited to 65 games in 2024 because of adductor and hamstring issues after reaching double figures in homers each of his first five seasons.

Jiménez went from the Chicago Cubs to the crosstown White Sox in the 2017 deal that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs. In his debut season of 2019, Jiménez hit 31 home runs, but he’s never played more than the 122 games he did that year and hasn’t surpassed 18 homers since.

Before he’d even played a game in the majors, Chicago signed Jiménez to a $43 million, six-year deal. That contract includes a $16.5 million team option for 2025 with a $3 million buyout, and an $18.5 million team option for 2026, also with a $3 million buyout.

The Philadelphia Phillies traded left-hander Gregory Soto to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday and acquired lefty Tanner Banks from the Chicago White Sox in separate deals completed just before baseball’s trade deadline.

The 32-year-old Banks had a 4.13 ERA in 41 games for the White Sox. He struck out 55 and walked 15 in 48 innings.

In exchange for Banks, the major league-leading Phillies sent minor league infielder William Bergolla to Chicago. Bergolla batted .295 with 12 doubles over 235 at-bats in 67 games for Class A Jersey Shore this season.

Paul DeJong had a quick commute after getting traded from the White Sox to the Kansas City Royals: He threw his gear into a duffel bag and walked from the clubhouse on the third base side of U.S. Cellular Field to the locker room on the first base side.

DeJong was acquired for minor league right-hander Jarold Rosado in a trade announced 3 hours, 15 minutes before the game. White Sox clubhouse staff helped him pack his gear, and a Royals duffel bag awaited him in the other locker room.

DeJong, who turns 31 on Friday, did not play Tuesday night. He hit .228 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs for the White Sox, making 83 starts at shortstop and 10 at third base.

Kansas City has star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and starts Maikel Garcia in most games at third, likely making DeJong a bench option for manager Matt Quatraro.

DeJong agreed to a $1.75 million, one-year contract with Chicago and can earn $150,000 for 400 plate appearances — he has 363 — and $100,00 more for 500. He is a .229 career hitter with 134 homers and 385 RBIs for St. Louis (2017-23), Toronto (2023), San Francisco (2023) and the White Sox. He can become a free agent again after the World Series.

Meanwhile, All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet remained with the White Sox after Tuesday’s trade deadline passed.

The left-hander was believed to be one of the best starters on the market as the days inched closer to the deadline, but both he and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. will stay on the city’s south side for the remainder of the season.

The 25-year-old Crochet (6-8, 3.23 ERA) made his first career start on opening day and currently holds the AL strikeout lead (160). He may have complicated his portability, however, by making it public he expected a contract extension and starter’s role from a new club.

GM Chris Getz expressed frustration with Crochet’s representatives on Monday but was more optimistic after the deadline.

Getz also said there was “strong interest” in Robert but nothing to satisfy the club’s desire for young offensive prospects.

Robert leads the team with 14 stolen bases, and has 12 home runs and 25 RBIs this season.

The White Sox are an MLB-worst 27-82 and took a club-record 15-game losing streak into Tuesday night’s game.

DJ Moore has joined the list of receivers who have gotten big deals this offseason. 

The Chicago Bears wideout has agreed to a four-year, $110 million extension, as confirmed by CBS Sports senior NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The extension includes $82.6 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. Moore made history by being the first NFL receiver to have the first 10 years of his career guaranteed. 

Last season - his first in Chicago - Moore set career highs with 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns. He had five games with at least 100 receiving yards that included his 230-yard, three touchdown effort during Chicago's Week 5 win over Washington. 

Moore, 27, spent his first five NFL seasons in Carolina before he was traded to Chicago during the 2022 offseason. In 97 career games (with 90 starts), Moore has caught 460 of 752 targets for 6,565 yards and 29 touchdowns with a 14.3 yards-per-reception average. He's had more than 1,100 receiving yards in four of the past five seasons. 

Moore is part of a re-vamped Bears offense that also includes fellow wideouts Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze. The offense will be led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft. 

Moore joins the list of wideouts who have signed lucrative, long-term deals this offseason, such as Minnesota's Justin Jefferson, Detroit's Amon-Ra. St Brown, Philadelphia's DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, Miami's Jaylen Waddle, Houston's Nico Collins, Indianapolis' Michael Pittman Jr., Cleveland's Jerry Jeudy and Tampa Bay's Mike Evans, among others. Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Dallas' CeeDee Lamb, San Francisco's Brandon Aiyuk and Cleveland's Amari Cooper are still awaiting new deals. 

Bobby Witt Jr.'s grand slam - and fourth hit of the game - capped Kansas City's six-run, eighth inning rally and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5 on Monday night.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer, Nathan Eovaldi worked six solid innings and the Texas Rangers snapped a three-game skid with a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Wyatt Langford added three hits for the Rangers, who have gone 6-5 since the All-Star break. Corey Seager, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia and Leody Taveras also drove in runs for the Rangers.

Matt Carpenter homered for St. Louis, which has lost four of its last five games.

Lowe hit a 407-foot homer, his ninth of the season, off Chris Roycroft in the sixth inning to give Texas a 6-2 lead.

Closer Kirby Yates picked his 19th save in as many chances.

Eovaldi (8-4) allowed three runs on six hits in an 82-pitch outing. The 34-year-old right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter for the sixth successive outing covering 43 innings. His last walk came in the third inning of a June 26 game at Milwaukee. He has struck out 32 batters in six July appearances.

Eovaldi has faced a franchise-record 166 successive hitters without issuing a walk. He also has the longest such streak in the majors this season, passing Zach Eflin, who faced 165 hitters without a walk from April 26-June 16 while with Tampa Bay - before recently getting traded to Baltimore.

Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien made a diving stop of a bases-loaded line drive that started an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

Texas took the lead for good, 3-2, with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Heim tied the game with a run-scoring hit. Taveras snapped the tie with a run-producing grounder to first base.

Carpenter was inserted into the starting lineup due to his success against Eovaldi, with six hits in 12 career at-bats. His two-run homer in the third inning was his third of the season.

Andre Pallante (4-5) gave up three earned runs on seven hits over five innings, walking two and striking out five in the loss.

St. Louis RHP Lance Lynn (5-4, 4.17) will face RHP Max Scherzer (2-3, 3.57) in the second of a three-game set on Tuesday night. Lynn made five appearances against Texas in the 2011 World Series. He threw a scoreless eighth inning in a Game 7 victory. Scherzer, a St. Louis native, will be making his eighth appearance of the season after missing the first 11 weeks of the year while recovering from a herniated disc in his back.

Carson Spiers allowed one hit in five scoreless innings in his return from the injured list, and the Cincinnati Reds homered three times in a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

Cubs reliever Nate Pearson and manager Craig Counsell were ejected in the eighth inning after Pearson hit Tyler Stephenson in the helmet, one pitch after he allowed a homer to Jeimer Candelario. Stephenson took exception to the beaning while being partially restrained by catcher Miguel Amaya.

Stephenson remained in the game.

Pearson was ejected following a discussion by the umpires, and Counsell was tossed after he came out to argue.

TJ Friedl hit a three-run homer for the Reds and Will Benson hit a two-run shot, his career-best 12th of the season. Both came against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon (7-6), a possible trade target for contending clubs, who allowed a season-high six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. His ERA rose from 2.96 to 3.35.

Ian Happ’s first-inning single was the Cubs’ only hit off Spiers (4-2), who retired his final 12 batters in his first start since July 12. He had been sidelined with a right shoulder impingement. Spiers threw 68 pitches.

Friedl's homer in the fifth made it 6-0. It was his first longball since June 14 after he missed 25 games with a right hamstring strain.

Four Reds relievers finished a three-hitter. Chicago's Michael Busch homered off Buck Farmer in the ninth.

Left-hander Justin Steele (2-4, 3.08 ERA) goes for the Cubs. The Reds had not announced a starter to take the spot of Frankie Montas, who was traded to Milwaukee late Tuesday.

The St. Louis Cardinals added starting pitcher Erick Fedde and Milwaukee, the team they are chasing in the NL Central, acquired starter Frankie Montas among a flurry of trades Monday by playoff hopeful teams.

Kansas City got veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen on the day before the MLB trade deadline, and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers picked up hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopeck in the three-team deal that sent right-hander Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham from the lowly White Sox to the Cardinals.

Chicago dealt Kopech to the Dodgers, who got utilityman Tommy Edman and a pitching prospect from the Cardinals. Los Angeles sent three infield prospects to the White Sox.

The Dodgers later reacquired utilityman Amed Rosario from Tampa Bay, getting him in a deadline deal for the second year in a row — they got him from Cleveland last July for Noah Syndergaard. Rosario signed with the Rays as a free agent this spring, then hit .307 with two homers and 26 RBIs in 76 games.

Montas, the righty who was 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts for Cincinnati, is going to the Brewers in a rare trade between division rivals.

Reigning World Series champion Texas (52-55), which is in third place in the AL West, traded Lorenzen to the Royals for a minor league lefty reliever.

NL wild-card leader Atlanta got back two players who were part of their 2021 World Series title, making a deal with San Francisco for outfielder Jorge Soler and right-handed reliever Luke Jackson.

Soler was the 2021 World Series MVP after three homers in that six-game series against Houston, and Jackson had three scoreless appearances. Left-hander Tyler Matzek and a minor league infielder went from Atlanta to the Giants.

Houston and Seattle, in a tight race for the AL West lead, both made trades with Toronto.

The Mariners made their third significant move ahead of the deadline by getting veteran Justin Turner from the Blue Jays for a minor league outfielder. Seattle added Randy Arozarena and Yimi Garcia in a pair of trades last week.

The Astros later got left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (4-9, 4.75 ERA in 22 starts) from Toronto for 23-year-old right-hander Jake Bloss, rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido and minor league first baseman Will Wagner.

AL Central leader Cleveland added experienced outfielder Lane Thomas from Washington for a minor league left-hander and two infielders. 

The 31-year-old Fedde is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 21 starts in a successful return to the majors. He finalized a $15 million, two-year deal with the White Sox in December after he pitched for the NC Dinos in South Korea in 2023. A first-round draft pick by Washington in the 2014 amateur draft, he is 28-37 with a 4.92 ERA in 123 big league games (109 starts).

Pete Crow-Armstrong, who came into the game hitting .183, was 3 for 4 with a run and the go-ahead RBI as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Sunday.

Crow-Armstrong got two of his three hits and his RBI off Royals starter Cole Ragans.

The Cubs (51-56) are 12-8 in their last 20 games after going 3-9 in their previous 12.

Javier Assad (5-3) allowed three runs on five hits in six innings.

Ragans (7-7) took the loss, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Michael Massey led off the first with a walk before Bobby Witt Jr. extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an infield single. With two outs, Hunter Renfroe lined one to center, scoring both runners.

Nico Hoerner doubled in the third to tie it at 2-all.

The Royals (57-49) retook the lead in the fourth on a controversial home run. Freddy Fermin launched a long flyball down the left-field line that appeared headed to the foul pole. A fan wearing a Cubs hat reached over the railing from foul territory and caught the ball before left fielder Ian Happ had a chance. Fan interference was called, giving Fermin his fifth homer of the season.

The Cubs took their first lead in the sixth. Michael Busch hit a one-out double and then scored on David Bote's two-out double. Bote scored on Crow-Armstrong's single, ending Ragans' day.

Chicago added three insurance runs in the ninth, including Patrick Wisdom's second homer in as many days.

Chicago continues a six-game road trip with the first of three games in Cincinnati. The Cubs will RHP Jameson Taillon (7-5, 2.96 ERA) to the mound to face Reds RHP Carson Spiers (3-2, 3.83 ERA).

Paul Goldschmidt hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 on Sunday to snap a three-game skid.

Leading off the ninth, Goldschmidt hit a 2-2 sinker from Dylan Floro (3-3) into the left field stands for his 16th homer of the season and eighth career walk-off shot.

It was the Cardinals' second walk-off win of the season and first since Nolan Gorman homered on April 22 against Arizona.

John King, Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley (4-2) combined to pitch three innings of scoreless relief. Starter Miles Mikolas allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.

Rookie Washington starter DJ Herz allowed two runs on three hits and struck out eight in five innings.

Contreras homered for the Cardinals on the first pitch he saw from Herz the first inning, his 13th of the season. It was Contreras’ fifth homer in his last eight games against Washington.

Michael Siani hit an RBI single that deflected off the glove of Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams in the seventh to tie the game at 3-all.

James Wood tripled to right field to lead off the sixth inning and scored on Juan Yepez’s sacrifice fly to right to put Washington ahead 3-2.

Lane Thomas drove in Jacob Young with his second double of the game to tie the game at 2-all in the third.

Pedro Pagés tripled to right-center field to put St. Louis ahead 2-0 in the second and extend his hitting streak to 13 games.

Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (4-4, 3.92 ERA) will face RHP Nathan Eovaldi (7-4, 3.31 ERA) in first game of a three-game series against the visiting Texas Rangers Monday on night.

The Chicago Cubs acquired All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday for third baseman Christopher Morel and two minor leaguers.

Paredes is batting .245 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs in 101 games this season. He signed with Chicago as an amateur free agent in 2015, but he was traded to Detroit two years later and made his big league debut with the Tigers in 2020.

The Cubs, who are focused on the future ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, sent Morel and right-handers Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson to the Rays.

The 25-year-old Morel set career highs with 26 homers, 70 RBIs and a .247 batting average last year, but he has struggled this season.

Morel was the designated hitter for Sunday’s game at Kansas City. He popped out in the second and then was a part of some hugs in the Cubs’ dugout in the bottom of the third. He was replaced by a pinch hitter in the fourth.

Bigge, 26, was a 12th-round pick in the 2019 amateur draft out of Harvard University. He has no record and a 2.70 ERA in four major league relief appearances — all coming this month

Max Scherzer struck out a season-high nine to take over 10th place on the career list, Marcus Semien homered and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Thursday.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson held off Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick in overtime to collect the Indianapolis victory he tried to get at the Indy 500 in May. 
NASCAR begins a two-week Olympic break, a welcome respite for drivers in the middle of long, hot, challenging season. The series resumes at Richmond on Aug. 11.

Larson’s try at the motorsports double two months ago ended as rain delayed the IndyCar event. Larson flew to Charlotte and the Coca-Cola 600, where rain also delayed that NASCAR Cup Series race. Larson never got on the track as rain and the late hour ended any attempt at finishing the race.

2021 Cup Series champion Larson leads in the points and with four wins after his Indianapolis victory last week. 

There are four races left in NASCAR’s regular season with Michigan, Daytona and Darlington coming after the run at Richmond. 12 drivers have won races this season, locking themselves into the 16-team playoffs that start Sept. 8 in Atlanta. 

Past champion Martin Truex Jr. sits seventh overall in the standings, the most points of any winless driver. Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric are outside the top 16, but set for the playoffs after victories earlier this season. Suarez won at Atlanta back in February and Cindric won at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis in June.

The XFinity Series takes about a month off before returning on Aug. 17 at Michigan.

The Crafstman Truck Series returns on Atu. 10 at Richmond Speedway.

In a game heard on WHOW - Corey Seager had a solo homer among his four hits for the reigning World Series champion Rangers (50-52), Adolis García snapped out of a long slump with three hits while accounting for the tying and go-ahead runs, Nathan Eovaldi struck out 10 without any walks in seven innings and Texas beat the Chicago White Sox 10-2 on Wednesday night for their fourth win in a row.

The Sox return to the WHOW airwaves Friday night.

William Contreras hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Wednesday.

Blake Perkins singled leading off the ninth against Héctor Neris (8-3). Contreras put Milwaukee on top one out later when he lined a double to left-center, helping the NL Central leaders end a rough day on a winning note.

Before the game, the Brewers placed Christian Yelich on the 10-day injured list because of inflammation in his lower back, and they were bracing for the possibility that their All-Star outfielder will miss significant time.

Milwaukee reliever Bryse Wilson entered in the second and held Chicago to one run over four innings. The only hit he allowed was a homer by Seiya Suzuki. Jakob Junis (3-0) then pitched one-hit ball for three innings before Joel Payamps worked the ninth for his fifth save.

Jackson Chourio gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single. Pinch-hitter Brice Turang tied it at 2 when he singled home a run in the sixth, and Milwaukee pulled out the win despite stranding 10 runners. The Brewers took two of three from Chicago even though they scored just five runs in the series.

The Cubs went 2-4 on their homestand against Arizona and Milwaukee. They gave up just 14 runs, but scored nine while getting shut out twice.

Suzuki doubled and scored in the first against Brewers opener Rob Zastryzny, then gave Chicago a 2-1 lead in the third with a solo homer against Wilson.

Cubs starter Justin Steele went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits. The left-hander exited leading 2-1 with runners on first and second after striking out Garrett Mitchell.

Tyson Miller came in and gave up back-to-back singles to pinch-hitters Jake Bauers and Turang as Milwaukee tied it at 2. But the Brewers settled for just one run despite loading the bases, when Perkins forced a runner at the plate and Joey Ortiz hit a fly to right.

Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-8, 6.69 ERA) gets the ball as the Cubs open a three-game series at Kansas City on Friday. RHP Brady Singer (6-6, 3.00) pitches for the Royals.

Martín Pérez pitched six scoreless innings, Rowdy Tellez homered into the Allegheny River and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat St. Louis 5-0 on Wednesday to take two of three games from the Cardinals.

Pérez (2-5) allowed four hits, three in his final two innings, and walked five with two strikeouts. The 33-year-old left-hander entered with a 5.61 ERA after allowing 11 runs in 8 1/3 innings over his last two starts.

Tellez chased Matthew Liberatore (2-3) at the start of the fourth inning by sending a fastball 447 feet into the river beyond the wall in right field, extending the Pirates' lead to five runs.

Liberatore allowed five runs on four hits in three innings, walking three and striking out three.

The Pirates, who have won eight of their last 10 games, took two of three from the Phillies and Cardinals in their first two series after the All-Star break. They are third in the NL Central, one game behind second-place St. Louis.

The Cardinals, 1/2 game ahead of the Padres for the third wild card, stranded 11 runners and slipped to 3-3 since coming out of the break.

Connor Joe capped a four-run second inning with a two-out, two-run double to left-center, a liner that center fielder Dylan Carlson failed to bring in on a dive. Joe, batting third, picked up his first RBIs since June 11.

Tellez opened the scoring with an RBI single to center. Liberatore walked Andrew McCutchen with the bases loaded to make it 2-0.

Pedro Pagés and Masyn Winn each hit a two-out single before Alec Burleson walked for St. Louis in the fifth inning. Pérez got Willson Contreras to ground to third, leaving the bases loaded.

Contreras flew out to right in the seventh, ending the inning with runners on second and third.

Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (10-6, 3.54 ERA) starts Friday, beginning a three-game home series against the Washington Nationals.

The owners of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks unveiled a $7 billion plan Tuesday to replace the parking lots surrounding the United Center with green space, mixed-income housing, a music hall and more.

The 1901 Project, touted as the largest private investment in Chicago’s West Side, is being spearheaded by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who own the arena. It would be built in phases on more than 55 acres of privately owned land over about a decade-long period starting as soon as next spring if approved by the city.

The first phase calls for a 6,000-seat theater, a multilevel parking facility with more than 10 acres of public green space on its rooftop, more pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and bike lanes, and hotel and retail space. Plans for future phases include housing “that spans various unit sizes and includes affordable, market rate and luxury housing” as well as transportation enhancements.

The 1901 Project bears some similarities to what the Ricketts family did with the area surrounding Wrigley Field about a decade ago. Along with the renovations to the famed ballpark, the owners of baseball’s Chicago Cubs replaced a parking lot with a plaza and constructed a hotel as well as a team office building.

The Chicago White Sox, also owned by the Reinsdorfs, are looking to move out of Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side and construct a new stadium as part of a ballpark village in the city’s South Loop with green spaces, residences and businesses. The NFL’s Chicago Bears are trying to build an enclosed lakefront stadium next to Soldier Field as part of a reimagined museum campus, and they also own a 326-acre tract of land in suburban Arlington Heights that could also be the site of a future home. The two teams are seeking public funding for those projects.

The NBA signed its 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday after saying it was not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery’s $1.8 billion per year offer to continue its longtime relationship with the league.

The media rights deals were approved by the league’s Board of Governors last week and will bring the league about $76 billion over those 11 years.

WBD had five days to match a part of those deals and said it was exercising its right to do so, but its offer was not considered a true match by the NBA. That means the 2024-25 season will be the last for TNT after a nearly four-decade run — though not long after the NBA signing was announced, WBD said it would take “appropriate action” and said it believes the NBA has to accept its offer.

Turner Sports strongly disagreed with the NBA’s move, saying it believes the league “grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights.”

Under the new deal, Amazon Prime Video will carry games on Friday nights, select Saturday afternoons and Thursday night doubleheaders that will begin after the conclusion of Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” schedule. Prime Video will also take over the NBA League Pass package from WBD.

The new package on Amazon also includes at least one game on Black Friday and the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game of the league’s in-season tournament, the NBA Cup.

ESPN and ABC will keep the league’s top package, which includes the NBA Finals. ABC has carried the finals since 2003.

ESPN/ABC will combine for nearly 100 games during the regular season. More than 20 games will air on ABC, mainly on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, while ESPN will have up to 60 games, mostly on Wednesday nights with some Friday games. ABC and ESPN will also combine for five games on Christmas Day and have exclusive national coverage of the final day of the regular season.

During the playoffs, ESPN and ABC will have approximately 18 games in the first two rounds each year and one of the two conference finals series in all but one year of the agreement.

The return of NBC, which carried NBA games from 1990 through 2002, gives the NBA two broadcast network partners for the first time.

NBC will have up to 100 regular-season games, including on Sunday night once the NFL season has ended. It will air games on Tuesdays throughout the regular season, while a Monday night doubleheader would be exclusively streamed on Peacock.

NBC will also have the All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night. During the playoffs, NBC and/or Peacock will have up to 28 games the first two rounds, with at least half on NBC.

NBC and Amazon will also carry one of the two conference finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis. NBC will have a conference final in 2026-27 followed by Amazon the next season.

Joey Bart and Bryan Reynolds homered, Ke'Bryan Hayes had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates won their fourth straight game, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Sunday.

Hear the White Sox after the All-Star on WHOW.

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Christopher Morel each homered twice to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Tomas Nido and Ian Happ also homered for the Cubs, who split the four-game set against their NL Central rivals.

Alec Burleson homered for St. Louis.

Crow-Armstrong hit solo homers in the third and fifth innings. Nido snapped a 2-all tie with his fourth of the season in the fifth.

The six homers was the most since the Cubs got seven on Aug 1, 2023, against Cincinnati.

Crow-Armstrong entered the game with a .194 average and only one home run. He also stole his 17th base of the season.

Crow-Armstrong became the first Cubs player to homer twice out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order since Ryan Lavarnway on July 19, 2019, against Cincinnati.

Morel, who has 18 homers, hit a two-run shot in the sixth and a solo home run in the eighth.

Chicago, which has won six of eight, recorded back-to-back homers in the fifth and eighth innings.

Jameson Taillon (7-4) allowed three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Chicago closed a seven-game road trip in style. It began with a three-game sweep in Baltimore.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (7-8) surrendered six runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. He gave up four home runs.

Brendan Donovan had three hits and reached base four times for the Cardinals.

Helsley has a major-league leading 32 saves.

The Cubs host Arizona in a three-game series beginning Friday.

The Cardinals visit Atlanta for a three-games set Friday.

The Cleveland Guardians selected Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday night. Bazzana is the first second baseman ever chosen atop the draft, and also the first Australian-born player ever selected in the first round.

Bazzana had been Cleveland's rumored favorite dating back to the spring. Clearly he remained on top into the summer. CBS Sports recently ranked Bazzana as the No. 2 prospect in the draft class.

Bazzana, 21, slashed .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs and more than twice as many walks (78) as strikeouts (37) in 60 games this spring. 

The Chicago White Sox selected Hagen Smith with the fifth overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

Smith struck out 48.6 percent of the batters he faced as a junior for Arkansas, separating himself as the best lefty in the class and the pitcher with the highest ceiling in the draft. 

He had Tommy John surgery as a sophomore in high school, so if he ends up needing a second such procedure, it could come earlier in his career than it does for most pitchers who get a second TJS. Smith entered his junior year with questionable control after walking 13.5 percent of batters as a sophomore and 13.3 percent of batters as a freshman. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound southpaw cut his walk rate to 10.3 percent as a junior, which is still higher than we'd like to see from a premium college pitching prospect. 

Smith's stuff is so good that many evaluators are willing to look past his questionable command projection. His fastball has been up to 100 mph and sits in the mid-90s, while his mid-80s sweeper is at least a plus pitch and plays up even more due to Smith's deceptive crossfire delivery. 

He had a 17-strikeout performance against Oregon State on his 2024 resume that required just 78 pitches and qualifies as one of the best outings from any college starter in recent memory. 

The White Sox also selected Caleb Bonemer with the 43rd overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

A prep infielder from Michigan, Bonemer is firmly power-over-hit and may slide from shortstop to third base. His bat speed is excellent, but he has an aggressive approach that sometimes leads to too much weak contact.

Finally, Chicago selected Blake Larson with the 68th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

Larson is a 6-foot-3 lefty from IMG Academy whose fastball and slider show promise. He has already touched 96 mph with his fastball, and as he fills out his 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame, that pitch could sit in the mid-90s. His command and control need significant work for him to make it as a starter.

The St. Louis Cardinals selected JJ Wetherholt with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

A hamstring issue limited Wetherholt to 36 games as a junior at West Virginia, but he has been extremely productive all three years in the Big 12 and during brief stints in summer leagues, including by logging a .978 OPS in eight Cape Cod League games last summer. 

Wetherholt is a 5-foot-10 middle infielder who most scouts expect to end up at the keystone but who has shown enough flashes at shortstop that he could be given a chance to stick there initially in pro ball. 

He is a plus runner and went 42-for-50 on stolen-base attempts over the past two seasons. 

His calling card, however, is a potential 70-grade hit tool that leads this draft class. The lefty-hitting Wetherholt's contact and strikeout rates have been elite en route to a career .370 average with the Mountaineers. He's shown burgeoning power to all fields, tallying 24 homers in 91 games over the past two years, and profiles as a No. 2 hitter in the majors.

The Chicago Cubs have selected Smith with the 14th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

Smith was among the top gainers in the country in both contact rate (70.6 percent to 82.1 percent) and 90th percentile exit velocity (106.5 mph to 111.3 mph) from 2023 to 2024 en route to rising up boards as a draft-eligible sophomore. 

A 6-foot-3, 225-pound brick house with big-league strength, Smith excelled over a large sample with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League last summer (.981 OPS, 12.8 K%), which is an important datapoint.

Like most first-round college hitters, his 2024 numbers in this historic run-scoring environment were insane (.387/.488/.654 slash line, 14.9 K%). 

He has a plus arm but will be among the bigger third basemen in pro ball, so maintaining his conditioning will be important if he is to avoid moving to first base or an outfield corner.

The Cubs also picked Mathis with the 54th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

He mostly played first base for the College of Charleston, but the Cubs announced Mathis as a third baseman, and he does have a plus arm. 

The righty-hitting infielder was a two-way player who may have been able to go pro as a pitcher, but he impressed with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League and has a chance to develop above-average power as a position player.

Ryan Blaney led the final 44 laps and won Sunday at Pocono, the site of his first career NASCAR Cup Series win and his second victory in the last five races this season.

The 2023 NASCAR champion, Blaney won the inaugural Cup race last month at Iowa Speedway and added two more top 10 finishes headed into Pocono. The Team Penske driver’s summer success in the No. 12 Ford has stamped him a legitimate threat to win a second straight championship.

Blaney was dialed in on the 2.5-mile track and was never seriously challenged over the final 10 laps by runner-up Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman. Hamlin holds the Pocono record with seven career wins; Bowman won last’s week Chicago Street Race.

Bowman and Hamlin were fast.

Just not fast enough to catch Blaney in front of another packed house at Pocono.

Hamlin, last year’s winner, was in hot pursuit over the final six laps but the three-time Daytona 500 champion could never nip at Blaney’s Ford.

Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric won that race in Illinois and fellow Penske driver Joey Logano won four races later at Nashville Superspeedway. Throw in Blaney’s two wins and Penske drivers have won four of the last seven Cup races.

The 30-year-old Blaney, son of NASCAR driver Dave Blaney, grandson of dirt track star Lou Blaney, now has 12 career Cup wins dating back to the first one when he took the checkered flag for the Wood Brothers in 2017 at Pocono.

William Byron was fourth and Logano fifth.

Ross Chastain was knocked out of the race after just 53 laps, putting a serious dent in his playoff push. Chastain saw his points lead for the final spot cut from 53 points to 27 points over Bubba Wallace.

There are five races left before the 16-driver playoff field is set. There are four spots open with the 12 race winners securing an automatic berth.

Busch was turned by Corey LaJoie and ignited a late wreck that kept him from gaining the points he needed to try to creep back into the playoff race. Busch remained winless this season. He has won a Cup race every year since 2005.

Noah Gragson snagged a ride this week with Front Row Motorsports for 2025. At Pocono, Gragson was the first driver out, with issues only 13 laps into the race in the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. There were 13 drivers who did not finish the race.

NASCAR returns to the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 30-year anniversary of stock cars racing at the historic venue. NASCAR raced on the oval from 1994 through 2020, but under Roger Penske’s ownership of IMS the race was held on the 2.439-mile road course the last three seasons as part of a shared weekend with the IndyCar Series.

Justin Steele pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Seiya Suzuki had three extra-base hits and three RBIs, and the Chicago Cubs blanked the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 Thursday night for a three-game sweep.

Dansby Swanson homered for the Cubs, who outscored the AL East leaders 21-2 in becoming the first team to sweep the Orioles in Baltimore since Tampa Bay in August 2021. Chicago came to town in last place in the NL Central, but they have won four in a row and six of seven to move within a half-game of third place.

Chicago completed the sweep with a pair of shutouts, marking the first time the Orioles were blanked in successive games since June 23-24, 2021, during a season in which Baltimore finished 52-110.

Steele (2-3) celebrated his 29th birthday with a dominant performance. He retired his first 11 batters, didn't allow a runner past second base and struck out four without issuing a walk.

Steele's effort was a suitable encore to his previous outing, when he fired a two-hitter against the Angels for his first win of the season and first career complete game.

Suzuki hit RBI doubles in both the third and fifth innings before driving in a run with a triple in the seventh. His performance was part of a 13-hit attack in which Swanson contributed a solo homer, along with an RBI single in a three-run seventh.

Orioles starter Albert Suárez (5-3) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. It was the 34-year-old's first start against the Cubs since 2016, when he was a rookie with the San Francisco Giants.

Baltimore has lost five of seven with the second-place New York Yankees coming to town for a three-game series prior to the All-Star break.

It's on to St. Louis for Chicago, which opens a four-game series against the Cardinals on Friday night.

Alex Bowman won the rain-shortened Grant Park 165 on the streets of Chicago to snap an 80-race drought as the series heads to rural Pennsylvania to race at Pocono this weekend. 

Bowman overtook sports car expert Joey Hand on Lap 51 just before the fifth and final caution to win a race shortened from 75 to 58 laps following a rain delay of more than 100 minutes. Reddick was second as the event finished with a 20-minute clock to beat an 8:20 p.m. CDT cutoff in the twilight.

Bowman qualified for the Cup Series playoff and became the 12th driver to win this season, leaving four remaining postseason spots with six regular season events left. 

New Zealand’s Shane Van Gisbergen, who made NASCAR history last year by winning the inaugural event in his Cup debut, was knocked out on lap 25 following contact with Chase Briscoe that heavily damaged his Chevy when he hit a temporary wall. Gisbergen won the Xfinity Series race a day earlier. 

Kyle Larson, who won the pole, remains atop the driver standings but is just 11 points clear of Rick Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott. Reddick is 23 points back in third with Hamlin fourth, 42 behind.

Denny Hamlin led the final seven laps after a late restart and earned his milestone 50th Cup win under caution last year at Pocono. He led a 1-2-3 Toyota sweep that included Tyler Reddick — in a ride co-owned by Hamlin and basketball great Michael Jordan — and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. Camrys claimed five of the top six spots in a race that featured 14 lead changes and 11 cautions.

Practice and qualifying is at 11 am on Saturday. Race time is 11:30 am on Sunday.

Shane Van Gisbergen started on the pole and outdueled Kyle Larson to win the first stage before getting past Ty Gibbs late in the final segment to win The Loop 110 on Chicago’s temporary street course in the XFinity Series. 

The New Zealander led four times for 14 laps to earn his series-best third win of the season in a Chevy. Gibbs was second and Larson third.

Inaugural Chicago race winner Cole Custer finished 18th following several issues but holds a 38-point lead over Justin Allgaier and 39 over Chandler Smith, who finished last in 38th place. 

Austin Hill won in overtime at Pocono last year - surviving a wild restart for his fourth victory of the season. Josh Berry had won the first two stages but wrecked late after a restart. Sam Mayer was second with 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott third.

Chevy has won the past two events after Ford had claimed the previous three. Berry will drive the No. 15 AM Racing Ford Mustang after the team and driver Hailie Deegan parted ways on Monday.

Practice and qualifying is at 9 am on Saturday. Race time is 2 pm Saturday afternoon. 

Christian Eckes led every lap to take the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Speedway on June 28 in the Craftrsman Truck Series. The trucks will be in Pocono this weekend. 

It was Eckes’ third win this season. Eckes finished ahead of Daniel Dye by more than two seconds.

The race has increased 10 laps and will mark Pocono’s longest in the series. It will also be its first run on a Friday evening. Twelve of the previous 14 Truck races were held on Saturday, the others on Sunday. 

Eckes leads the series by 40 points over Heim.

Last year, Kyle Busch’s last-lap pass of Corey Heim in the tunnel turn earned a hard-fought milestone 100th series victory for his KBM team. It marked Busch’s third win at the track and came against a former driver, who led 27 of 60 laps.

Practice and qualifying is this afternoon at 1 pm. Race time is 4:30 pm this evening. 

Luis Robert Jr. hit a two-run homer and the Chicago White Sox finally beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-1 in the opener of a doubleheader Wednesday.

Erick Fedde (7-3) delivered five scoreless innings and the bullpen hung on to give Chicago its first win over its AL Central rivals in nine tries this season.

Matt Wallner homered and All-Star Carlos Correa went 3 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games for the Twins, who saw a three-game winning streak end.

Bailey Ober (8-5) faced the minimum through four innings - his lone walk was wiped out by a double play - but Gavin Sheets led off the fifth with a double and later came home on a Paul DeJong sacrifice fly. 

Andrew Vaughn doubled in the sixth and scored four pitches later when Robert sent his 11th home run into the center-field bleachers.

Michael Kopech, the last of four White Sox relievers, threw a nine-pitch, three-strikeout ninth for his ninth save.

Brooks Lee and Carlos Correa hit consecutive homers and Ryan Jeffers added the go-ahead RBI as the Minnesota Twins split a doubleheader with Wednesday's 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Jeffers brought home Byron Buxton in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and give the Twins the lead for good. They've won nine of 10 against their AL Central rivals this season.

Martín Maldonado homered for Chicago, which won the opener 3-1 to end a three-game skid.

Jeffers singled off Michael Soroka (0-10) an inning later to bring home Byron Buxton. Steven Okert (3-0), the first of four Twins relievers, got the win. Jhoan Duran picked up his 14th save after working the ninth.

Thorpe worked the first six innings for Chicago, allowing three hits with a walk, strikeout and both Minnesota home runs.

Pablo López gave up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five in the first five for the Twins, who've won 11 of 15.

White Sox LHP Garrett Crochet (6-6, 3.08) takes the mound Friday night to start a weekend series against visiting Pittsburgh. Hear this weekend's action on WHOW.

Salvador Perez drove in two runs with a homer and a single, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

Garrett Hampson drove in two runs with a double while Hunter Renfroe added two hits and a run scored for the Royals, who reached the 50-win mark.

Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt homered for the Cardinals, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Alec Marsh (7-6) gave up three runs and three hits in six innings to earn the victory. He struck out eight and walked one. Marsh retired the last 11 batters he faced.

James McArthur earned his 16th save despite giving up a one-out solo home run to Goldschmidt and a two-out single to Arenado in the ninth inning.

Andre Pallante (4-4) pitched 6 1/3 innings, his longest outing this season. He took the loss, allowing four runs and six hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Salvador Perez homered again and MJ Melendez added a solo shot in the nightcap to help the Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 for a sweep of a day-night doubleheader Wednesday.

Michael Wacha (6-6) went five innings for the victory in the second game. He pitched seven seasons in St. Louis (2013-2019) and was the MVP of the 2013 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was his first start in St. Louis since leaving five years ago.

Lars Nootbaar homered for St. Louis in the second game to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the second.

Closer James McArthur picked up his 17th save of the season and second of the day. McArthur had not pitched over the previous six days and was ready for the two-game challenge.

Wacha gave up four runs on seven hits over over five innings. He had allowed two earned runs or fewer in his previous eight starts.

Kyle Isbel added a solo homer leading off the ninth for the Royals, who were playing their first day-night doubleheader since July 15, 2023.

Bobby Witt Jr. highlighted Kansas City’s a two-run outburst in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly.

St. Louis rookie Gordon Graceffo (0-1) allowed four hits and three runs over 3 1/3 innings in his first start and second big league appearance.

Nootbaar returned to the lineup on Monday after missing 36 games with an oblique strain.

Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (9-5, 3.30) will open a four-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Shota Imanaga outdueled Corbin Burnes in a matchup of All-Star pitchers, and Christopher Morel homered to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 on Wednesday night.

Imanaga (8-2) allowed six hits over six innings, striking out six with one walk. The Orioles went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position against the left-hander.

Imanaga is the first Cubs rookie to be selected to play in the All-Star Game since Kris Bryant in 2015 and the first Japanese-born Cub to make the team since Kosuke Fukudome in 2018.

Burnes (9-4) gave up three runs and nine hits over six innings, walking none and striking out five. Next week he will be heading to Texas for his fourth All-Star Game, the first with Baltimore.

The right-hander pitched well enough, but Chicago found a way to scratch out enough runs to win.

The Cubs, who came to town with a 3-10-1 record in road series, now are in position to complete a three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Orioles on Thursday night.

Morel put Chicago up 1-0 with his 16th homer of the season in the second inning. The next two batters singled before Nico Hoerner delivered an RBI single.

Michael Busch doubled and scored on a single by Seiya Suzuki in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.

Baltimore put runners on second and third with one out in the sixth before Imanaga completed his impressive outing by striking out Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo.

After a 19-minute rain delay in the bottom of the seventh, Luke Little struck out Adley Rutschman with two runners on and Porter Hodge retired Ryan Mountcastle, who had a three-hit game.

Baltimore has been outscored 13-2 in the series and has scored three runs or fewer in seven of its last 11 games.

Justin Steele (1-3, 2.95 ERA) starts for the Cubs on Thursday night. Steele is coming off his first career complete game, a two-hitter against the Angels. Albert Suárez (5-2, 2.48) pitches for Baltimore.

NASCAR fined Bubba Wallace $50,000 on Wednesday for retaliatory contact against race winner Alex Bowman on the cooldown lap of the Chicago Street Race.

Wallace door-slammed Bowman’s car and sent it into the wall. Bowman said after the race he had spun Wallace during Sunday’s event and the retaliation was warranted.

Bowman also advocated for Wallace not to be punished. Bowman said Wallace “has every right be mad.”

Wallace’s window net was down when he slammed into Bowman after the race, and the camera inside Bowman’s car showed the driver was jostled by the hit.

NASCAR also plans to speak to Chase Elliott for his contact with Daniel Suarez after Sunday’s race.

Michael Busch and Ian Happ homered, and Jameson Taillon and three relievers combined for a five-hitter as the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-2 on Tuesday night.

Taillon (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits with seven strikeouts and a walk over six innings. The 32-year-old right-hander retired the last 11 batters he faced.

The Cubs improved to 10-4 against the Orioles since 2014, and have won four of the last five games since Aug. 18, 2022.

Happ’s three-run homer gave Chicago a 7-2 lead in the fourth inning. With his 395-blast to right field, Happ joined Jason Heyward (July 14, 2017) as the only Cubs players to have a homer land on Eutaw Street. Happ, who entered the game with a .171 average on the road - the lowest in the majors among qualifying hitters, according to STATS - finished 2 for 4 with a walk. Happ has posted a 1.025 OPS with 41 RBIs since May 26.

Baltimore, which lost for the fourth time in 12 games, leads MLB with 147 home runs.

Busch had three hits, including his 12th home run, a solo shot that was the first run allowed by Orioles starter Dean Kremer (4-5) in the first inning in 11 starts.

Kremer, who made his second start since coming off the injured list on July 3 with a right triceps strain, allowed seven runs and seven hits over four innings. His ERA increased from 3.93 to 4.42.

A pair of All-Star pitchers will square off Wednesday as the Orioles send RHP Corbin Burnes (9-3, 2.32 ERA) against Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (7-2, 3.16).

The game between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals originally scheduled for Tuesday night was postponed because of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, which was moving through eastern Missouri on its way north from the Gulf of Mexico.

The cross-state rivals will play a split doubleheader on Wednesday at Busch Stadium. The first pitch for the opener will be at 12:45 p.m., and the nightcap will begin at the originally scheduled time of 6:45 p.m.

The Royals are flip-flopping their rotation, with Alec Marsh (6-6, 4.57 ERA) starting Game 1 against Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.00) of the Cardinals. Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.74) will start the nightcap for Kansas City. St. Louis had yet to decide on its starter for Game 1, though Sonny Gray (9-5, 3.30) was originally scheduled for Wednesday night.

The forecast Tuesday called for rain lasting throughout the day and localized flooding. The rain was not supposed to ease up until the evening, though the forecast for Wednesday calls for warm weather and a sunny sky.

Meanwhile, Tuesday's game between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox was postponed as heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl moved through the Midwest Tuesday. 

The Twins (52-39) beat the White Sox 8-6 in 11 innings on Monday night. It was their third straight victory and fourth in five games overall.

Brooks Lee had two hits and two RBIs in the series opener, helping Minnesota improve to 8-0 against Chicago this season. The No. 8 overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft is batting .458 (11 for 24) with a homer and eight RBIs over his first six games.

Erick Fedde will start the doubleheader opener for Chicago (26-67), followed by rookie right-hander Drew Thorpe in the second game. Fedde, who could be on the move ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, is 4-1 with a 1.64 ERA in seven home starts this season.

The White Sox are hoping infielder Yoán Moncada might be able to return this month. Moncada, who is coming back from a left adductor strain, was scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday.

After Wednesday's double header, the White Sox head to the weekend hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates before next week's all-star game. 

Brooks Lee and Manuel Margot drove in runs in the 11th inning and the Minnesota Twins topped the Chicago White Sox 8-6 on Monday night.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson homered, Miles Mikolas pitched into the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-0 on Monday.

Burleson drove in three runs for the Cardinals, who took three of four games in the series and have won six of eight overall. St. Louis is 33-18 since Mother’s Day, second-best in the majors behind Cleveland (32-16).

Goldschmidt’s 12th homer of the season came off left-hander Mitchell Parker in the fourth. The 36-year-old slugger has 352 career home runs, tying Ryan Braun and Ellis Burks for 96th place in big league history. He needs 11 hits to reach 2,000.

Burleson had a two-run single and his 14th homer. He hit .300 (9 for 30) with two home runs on the road trip.

Mikolas (7-7) scattered six hits over 6 1/3 innings for his first win at Washington since July 29, 2022. The right-hander has won four of his last five decisions since June 5. He has gone six or more innings in 12 of 19 starts this season.

Brendan Donovan went 2 for 4 with an RBI double, extending his on-base streak to 21 games - tied with Phillies star Bryce Harper for the longest active streak in the majors. Donovan is batting .375 (21 for 56) in 15 career games against Washington.

Parker (5-5) gave up two runs - one earned - and six hits over seven innings. He walked one, struck out six and threw 63 of his 91 pitches for strikes.

The Nationals completed a 3-5 homestand and have lost 10 of 14 overall.

Burleson's solo homer made it 3-0 in the eighth, and Goldschmidt scored on Donovan's double. Burleson added a two-run single in the ninth.

The Cardinals head home to begin a six-game homestand beginning with two against the cross-state rival Royals, sending right-hander Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.00 ERA) to the mound against Kansas City right-hander Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.74).

Jake Burger hit a game-winning three-run homer and the Miami Marlins scored four times in the ninth to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Sunday.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Willson Contreras hit his second homer of the series and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals 8-3 on Sunday.

Contreras hit a line drive 395-foot homer off Nationals reliever Derek Law in the seventh. He also singled and scored twice with three RBIs. The two-run shot was his ninth of the season and third homer in the past five days. Contreras said he recently switched from 33.75 inch to 34-inch bat.

Nolan Gorman added a single, double and two RBIs. Gorman has enjoyed his stay in D.C. this weekend, going seven for his last 11 after a 6-for-69 (.087) slump from June 12-July 4. He has reached base safely in 46 of his last 50 games.

Nolan Arenado has also had a great series against the Nationals. The veteran third baseman had a two-run single in the three-run fifth inning. He has seven hits in the series.

The Cardinals have won five of their last seven and have the best record in the National League since May 12 at 32-18 (.640).

Kyle Gibson (7-3) finished five innings plus three batters, allowing three runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts and two walks on 96 pitches, 61 for strikes. In his first win in three starts at Nationals Park, Gibson has now won three of his last four dating to June 14.

Three Cardinals relievers combined to record the final four scoreless frames.

Brendan Donovan singled and walked to extend his on-base streak to 20 games.

Fresh off a 10-strikeout performance against the Mets July 2, Nationals starter DJ Herz could not replicate that outing Sunday. Herz (1-3) lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts on 102 pitches, 65 for strikes.

Jesse Winker with two doubles and RBI for the Nationals, who have lost nine of their last 13.

Cardinals send veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas (6-7, 5.19 ERA) against Nationals fourth straight left-handed starter, Mitchell Parker (5-4, 3.61), in the series finale Monday afternoon.

Hayden Wesneski threw 6 1/3 innings, Michael Busch hit a two-run home run and the Chicago Cubs shut out the Los Angeles Angels 5-0 on Sunday.

Wesneski (3-5) allowed a single to the second batter he faced, then retired the next 18 Angels to help Chicago win a series for the first time in five tries. He allowed a hit, walk and two strikeouts.

Relievers Porter Hodge, Luke Little and Héctor Neris finished the three-hit shutout and Miguel Amaya added a pair of hits and an RBI for Chicago. Neris got the final out for his 12th save after Los Angeles loaded the bases.

José Soriano (4-7) gave up three runs and six hits while striking out three and walking one in five innings.

Amaya and Nico Hoerner drove in runs in the third to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead and Amaya scored again in the fifth on a double play grounder. Busch gave the bullpen some insurance in the seventh after sending Matt Moore’s pitch into right field for his 11th homer of the season.

Wesneski won for the first time in five starts. He took Luis Guillorme’s hopper off his right hand in the third inning, but stayed in the game.

Neither team has announced a starter for Tuesday’s series opener at Baltimore.

DeMar DeRozan is set to join the Sacramento Kings through a sign-and-trade agreement, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. 

The deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, is a three-year, $70-plus million agreement, and will send Harrison Barnes to the San Antonio Spurs. 

The Bulls will receive former first-round pick Chris Duarte and two second-round picks for cooperating in the deal. Sacramento will also give San Antonio an unprotected 2031 pick swap.

The Kings were a surprise No. 3 seed in the Western Conference in 2023, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors. Last season, they fell to the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, and their offense, which had just had the most efficient season in NBA history, fell to the No. 13 ranking. 

Sacramento had been linked to a number of big names, including Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine, in an effort to try to get back up to the top half of the Western Conference standings.

The Bulls, meanwhile, have pivoted into a bit of a rebuild. They acquired Josh Giddey in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Alex Caruso, and as a primary ball-handler who doesn't shoot many 3s, Giddey was not a strong fit next to DeRozan, an isolation scorer. 

It had been widely reported, therefore, that DeRozan would not return to the Bulls, so they helped him get the contract he wanted and picked up a young guard and a couple of picks for their troubles.

Alex Bowman held off Tyler Reddick on a rainy street course in downtown Chicago on Sunday, stopping an 80-race winless drought.

It was his first victory since Las Vegas in March 2022 and No. 8 for his career. He is the 12th Cup Series driver to win this year, leaving four remaining spots in the playoffs with six races left in the regular season.

After his Vegas victory two years ago, Bowman, 31, was sidelined by a concussion. He injured his back in a short-track accident in April 2023.

The Cup Series’ second street race in Chicago was stopped for more than 100 minutes because of rain, and NASCAR set a cutoff time of 8:20 p.m. CDT because of the fading sunlight. When Bowman crossed the start-finish line after that time, the white flag came out, followed by the checkered.

Reddick made a late charge, but he got into a wall while trying to run down Bowman. Ty Gibbs was third, followed by Joey Hand and Michael McDowell.

Bowman closed it out on wet weather tires in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after pole-sitter Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen were knocked out.

During the cool-down lap, Bowman was bumped into the wall by Bubba Wallace. Bowman spun out Wallace early in the race.

Larson slammed into the tire barrier in Turn 6 on Lap 34, bringing out a caution. He was trying for his fourth win of the season in his 350th career Cup Series start.

Van Gisbergen was clipped by Chase Briscoe going into Turn 6 on Lap 25. Briscoe slid into a tire barrier, but van Gisbergen crashed into the temporary wall — causing heavy damage to the right side of his Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

Shortly after the wreck, the race was stopped to give NASCAR time to clear standing water from the makeshift track. The drivers returned to their cars about an hour later, but the delay continued when another cell passed over the course.

Gibbs was in front when the race resumed, followed by Christopher Bell and Larson.

Van Gisbergen raced to a career-altering victory last year in Chicago when he became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963. The 35-year-old New Zealand native also won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race on the tricky 12-turn, 2.2-mile course.

Van Gisbergen won the first stage Sunday shortly before he was knocked out.

Bowman’s victory finished NASCAR’s second year on the street course in Chicago. It is expected to return next season, but the future of the weekend — a combination of racing and music that is designed more for NASCAR newcomers than its traditional fans — is unclear beyond 2025.

Unlike last year, when persistent showers wreaked havoc on the schedule — leading to shortened versions of the Xfinity and Cup Series races — there was no issue with the weather until the Cup drivers got into their cars and got the command to start their engines. Then the rain started to fall, and the teams had to make a quick decision on whether to switch to wet tires.

After slowing to a drizzle, the showers increased in intensity about 17 laps in — eventually leading to the stoppage.

The Cup Series is at Pocono next Sunday.

Terrence Shannon Jr.'s journey to the NBA was longer than that of most first-rounders, including a trying last year in college with an off-the-court challenge that cast doubt over his professional prospects.

Shannon landed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a place that sure looks like an ideal fit.

The Timberwolves took Shannon out of Illinois with the 27th overall draft pic'k, their original selection, in the first round last week after making a trade with San Antonio to obtain the eighth overall pick for the rights to Rob Dillingham from Kentucky.

Shannon was found not guilty last month on a rape charge after a jury in Kansas spent less than two hours deliberating. He’d been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a bar last year while on a road trip to attend a football game, leading to a suspension by the school that eventually was halted by a federal judge’s ruling that his civil rights had been violated. Shannon testified at the trial he’d never seen the woman. His lawyers called the case a “blind accusation.”

The seriousness of the situation loomed over Shannon and the Illini all season, but they rarely wavered. Shannon, who was an All-Big Ten first team and All-American third-team selection by The Associated Press, was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament after a three-day thrill ride at Target Center gave the Illini the title.

The two rookie guards were introduced at a news conference in the Target Center atrium, after they each threw out ceremonial first pitches the night before at a Twins game across the street.

The Timberwolves also rounded out their roster with an agreement Wednesday on a one-year, $3.3 million contract with free agent forward Joe Ingles, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been finalized.

Ingles spent the first eight seasons of his career with Utah, where he played with current Timberwolves Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert. The 6-foot-9 native of Australia will join his fourth team in four years after playing for Milwaukee and Orlando the previous two seasons.

When the accusation arose last December, Shannon for legal reasons stopped doing interviews despite being the star player of a top-15 team that reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before getting blown out by eventual champion UConn.

Two months ago at the NBA pre-draft combine, he finally broke his silence, though because the trial was looming he stopped short of discussing any subject beyond basketball.

The Timberwolves were adamant about the quality of Shannon’s character. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the team did “a ton” of due diligence and was nothing but encouraged about the person and the player it was getting.

After averaging 23 points per game and becoming one of the best two-way players in the country last season, Shannon at age 23 with five seasons of major conference experience — he started his college career at Texas Tech — ought to be as rotation-ready as any of the recent draft picks on Minnesota’s roster.

Dillingham is just 19. Shannon is older than second-rounders from the previous two drafts, too: Jaylen Clark (22), Leonard Miller (20) and Josh Minott (21).

Ian Happ hit three-run homers from both sides of the plate for a career-high six RBIs, and the struggling Chicago Cubs pounded the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies 10-2 to avoid a three-game sweep on Thursday.

The Cubs came into the season expecting to contend for the NL Central championship. Instead, they're last in the division. But they gave the Wrigley Field crowd of 40,143 plenty to cheer on July Fourth.

Chicago trailed 2-0 when Happ connected from the right side against starter Cristopher Sánchez during a five-run fourth inning. Happ struck again batting left-handed in the fifth against Seranthony Domínguez, making it 8-2 and giving him 14 career multi-homer games.

It was the second time Happ went deep from both sides of the plate. He also singled and doubled to finish 4 for 4.

Happ got off to a slow start this season. But over 35 games since May 26, he is second in the majors with 36 RBIs.

Jameson Taillon (5-4) pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and four hits. The right-hander struck out seven and walked none.

Seiya Suzuki scored three times and the Cubs came away with an easy win after dropping eight of 10. They also stopped a seven-game losing streak against the Phillies dating to last season.

Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh singled home a run in the first. Nick Castellanos made it 2-0 in the fourth with a rocket to left-center for his 12th home run, but Sánchez (6-4) simply didn’t have it coming off a shutout against Miami last week and his first career complete game.

The left-hander got tagged for seven runs and seven hits after going 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA in his previous three starts. He exited with none out in the fifth after Cody Bellinger and Suzuki singled.

Happ broke open the game when he greeted Domínguez with a drive to right for his 13th homer. He became the first Cubs player to connect from both sides since Victor Caratini in a loss at Pittsburgh on July 3, 2019.

The Cubs open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, with LHP Justin Steele (0-3, 3.20 ERA) starting for Chicago. Steele went six innings and allowed three runs in the Cubs' win at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Pedro Pages doubled home pinch runner Michael Siani and then scored on Alec Burleson's RBI single as the the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in 10 innings on Thursday.

St. Louis took two of three from its NL Central Division rivals by winning a series finale for the 12th time in its last 13 chances - one of the reasons the Cardinals are 30-17 since May 12, the third-best record in the majors over that span.

Burleson and Dylan Carlson had two hits apiece for St. Louis. John King (3-1) retired Andrew McCutchen with the tying run on second in the 10th to pick up the victory for the Cardinals, who improved to 16-12 in one-run games this season after going 17-26 in tight contests a year ago.

St. Louis starter Andre Pallante worked a career-best seven innings to give the Cardinals' overextended bullpen a little bit of a breather. Pallante struck out five against one walk, his only wobble coming when Bryan Reynolds led off the fourth with his 14th homer of the season for Pittsburgh.

Reynolds' homer was the highlight for the Pirates, who managed just seven hits total. Nick Gonzales provided an unusual sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, hitting a drive to the notch in left-center field that St. Louis left fielder Brendan Donovan tracked down. Donovan, however, hesitated while getting the ball in, allowing pinch runner Michael A. Taylor to score from second.

Jared Triolo and Joey Bart followed later in the inning with consecutive two-out singles but McCutchen grounded into a fielder's choice to end it.

Dennis Santana (2-1) took the loss when Pages hit a liner to left-center that a diving Taylor couldn't grab, scoring Siani. Burleson followed with a bloop that let Pages chug home from second.

The Cardinals went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base through the first nine innings, including two in the ninth when pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter struck out looking with the go-ahead run just 90 feet away.

They survived thanks in part to gritty work by King and Andrew Kittredge, who struck out Reynolds at the end of an 11-pitch at bat in the eighth with the go-ahead run on second.

Martin Perez worked in and out of trouble over 7 1/3 innings for the Pirates in his second start back from a month-long stay on the injured list with a left groin problem. Perez allowed one run on six hits, with a walk and two strikeout and showed a rare burst of emotion when he pumped his left first after fanning Paul Goldschmidt to end the sixth.

The Cardinals head to Washington for a four-game set with the Nationals starting Friday. Sonny Gray (9-5, 2.98 ERA) faces Washington's Patrick Corbin (1-8, 5.49).

All-Star Steven Kwan homered, went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and officially took over as the majors' leading hitter while sending the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

Kwan connected for his eighth homer leading off the third inning against Justin Anderson as the AL Central-leading Guardians took two of three in the series and improved baseball's best home record to 28-10.

Although his average has been over .350 for most of the season - he recently flirted with .400 - Kwan didn't have enough at-bats to qualify for the MLB lead after missing a month with a hamstring injury.

He's now batting .367 - 48 points ahead of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who is second and played Thursday night. Kwan also has 12 three-hit games, the most in the AL.

Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor and Andrés Giménez drove in two runs apiece for Cleveland.

Ben Lively (8-4) limited the White Sox to three runs and six hits in six innings. The right-hander, whose signing as a free agent in December barely made a ripple, is 5-0 in six starts at Progressive Field.

He's the first Cleveland starter to win five consecutive home starts since Corey Kluber in 2016.

Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Lenyn Sosa a solo shot for the White Sox, who lost their ninth consecutive road series and fell to 25-64 -- 31 games behind Cleveland.

Kwan opened the third with a towering shot into the right-field seats. He hit just 11 homers combined in his first two seasons, but has focused on pulling inside pitches.

The Guardians tacked on three more runs in the third against Anderson as manager Pedro Grifol went with a bullpen game in the series finale.

Kwan, who has been in a bit of a slump lately (he came in 5 for 28 in his last seven games), singled in his first at-bat. The Guardians threatened to have a big first inning against Sox starter Jared Shuster (1-1) but only scored once on Josh Naylor's RBI single.

The White Sox head to Miami for a three-game series with RHP Drew Thorpe (2-1, 4.43 ERA) starting the opener. Hear this weekend's action on WHOW.

Joey Logano worked overtime — 31 extra laps — and withstood nearly running out of fuel to win the Ally 400 at Nashville Speedway last week. 

Racing's top circuit hits the streets of downtown Chicago for the Chicago road course race this weekend. 

It was the two-time series champion’s first victory of the season and locked him into the playoffs to try for a third title. Logano did win NASCAR’s All-Star race at North Wilkesboro two months ago. Zane Smith was second, Tyler Reddick third, Ryan Preece fourth and Chris Buescher fifth.

The race at Nashville went five overtimes and 31 addition laps past the 300 planned. It ended more than six hours after it began. That also encompassed a lengthy rain delay. 

Kyle Larson remains on top in the driver standings, 20 points ahead of Rick Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott. Denny Hamlin is third. Larson, Hamlin, William Byron and Christopher Bell all have a series-best three victories this season. 

Martin Truex Jr., in his final season of full-time racing, is fifth and the first driver without a win in the playoff grid. 

Logano’s win means 11 drivers have victories this season with just five spots for points qualifiers. There are seven events left in the regular season, which concludes with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 1.

New Zealand’s Shane Van Gisbergen made NASCAR history when he became the first to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 when he won a rain-shortened event at Chicago. The race went just 78 of the scheduled 100 laps because of a late start and impending darkness. Justin Haley finished second with Elliott, Larson and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

Practice and qualifying is at 11:30 am Saturday morning. Race time is Sunday at 3:30 pm.

John Hunter Nemechek took off on a restart on Lap 142 and drove off to victory at Nashville Speedway on Saturday. It was Nemechek’s second victory this season and gave powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing five wins this year with four different drivers.

The XFinity Series joins the Cup cars in Chicago this weekend. 

Nemechek has two wins for JGR with Aric Almirola, Ryan Truex and Christopher Bell winning the other three in the No. 20 car. Custer continues leading the points standings and continues looking for his first win this season. Custer’s Stewart-Haas Ford finished ninth behind Nemechek. Ty Gibbs started from the pole and won a stage, but dropped out of contention after connecting with Justin Allgaier. 

Chandler Smith is 15 points behind series leader Custer. Allgaier is next in third, overtaking Austin Hill, who dropped to fourth.

Custer, the eventual series champion, won the inaugural Chicago street race that went less than halfway due to a weekend of rain. Organizers stopped the race on Saturday some 25 laps in and expected to finish Sunday before the Cup Series. But more rain ended those hopes.

Practice and qualifying is at 9 am Saturday morning. Race time is 2:30 pm Saturday afternoon. 

The Craftsman Truck Series returns to action next Friday night at Pocono. 

Jalen Smith agreed Monday with the Chicago Bulls on a three-year, $27 million contract. 

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the signing. 

After declining his $5.42 million player option for 2024-25 on Friday, Smith will get a slight bump in salary for the upcoming season plus two extra years on his deal as he heads to Chicago. 

Smith will slot in as the Bulls' new backup center behind starter Nikola Vucevic, after Andre Drummond struck an agreement with the 76ers on Sunday. 

Though he occasionally found himself outside of coach Rick Carlisle's rotation in Indiana in 2023-24, Smith served as Myles Turner's primary backup and was productive on a per-minute basis, averaging 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 three-pointers and 0.6 blocks in 17.2 minutes per contest over 61 regular-season appearances. 

His spot in Chicago's rotation should be more stable with fewer challengers for the top backup center job, though Smith may not see a dramatic uptick in playing time with the Bulls so long as Vucevic stays healthy.

Adam Sanogo has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. 

Chris Haynes of Turner Sports reported the signing. 

After going unselected in the 2023 NBA Draft, Sanogo spent the 2023-24 season on a two-way deal with the Bulls and appeared in only nine regular-season NBA games. 

The 23-year-old will remain on a two-way pact for 2024-25 and will likely spend most of his time in the G League when the Bulls' frontcourt is at full health.

The St. Louis Blues acquired Radek Faksa from Dallas and Mathieu Joseph from Ottawa on Tuesday in a pair of trades for future considerations and in a separate move signed Pavel Buchnevich to a long-term extension.

The deal with the Senators also netted the Blues a 2025 third-round draft pick. Joseph has two years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $2.95 million, and Ottawa was looking to clear cap space to re-sign Shane Pinto, which it then did hours later on a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

Buchnevich signed for $48 million over six years, a contract that counts $8 million against the salary cap from when it begins in 2025-26 through the 2030-31 NHL season.

Buchnevich, 29, ranks second on the Blues with 83 goals and 123 assists over the past three seasons, putting up 206 points in 216 regular-season games.

Faksa made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season, and the native of the Czech Republic had 200 points (89 goals, 111 assists) in 683 games for the Stars.

After playing in all 19 playoff games in 2022-23, Faksa dressed for just eight of the 19 this past season, scoring a goal for his only postseason point in 2024. Dallas lost to Vegas in 2023 and Edmonton this year.

Faksa had 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 74 regular-season games this season. His best years were his first two full seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18, when he scored 33 points each time.

Joseph is coming off career highs in points (35) and assists (24) in his second full season with Ottawa. The 27-year-old’s career started in Tampa Bay, which drafted him in the fourth round in 2015.

 Erick Fedde allowed one run in six innings, Martin Maldonado homered and had three RBIs, and the Chicago White Sox routed the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians 8-2 on Wednesday night.

Fedde (6-3) retired the final 12 batters he faced, giving up three hits while striking out three. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.13, increasing his potential value in advance of the July 30 trade deadline.

Lenyn Sosa matched his career-high with three hits and Andrew Benintendi had a two-run double in the four-run fourth for Chicago. The White Sox have the worst record in the majors at 25-63, but are 5-4 against Cleveland.

Guardians starter Gavin Williams (0-1) went four innings and 74 pitches in his season debut after missing three months with right elbow inflammation. He gave up five runs and seven hits in his first major league appearance since Sept. 17 against Texas.

Williams’ return should boost the Guardians’ inconsistent rotation, which has a 4.42 ERA. Former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery and righty Triston McKenzie was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Brayan Rocchio hit a solo homer for Cleveland, which had won six straight at Progressive Field and still has the best home record in the majors at 27-10.

Maldonado, who entered the game with an .083 average and five RBIs, doubled in a run in the fourth and had a two-run homer in the eighth off Tim Herrin.

Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez and left fielder Steven Kwan were named All-Star starters. Kwan went 1 for 4 and is hitting .360, but is one plate appearance shy of qualifying for the league leaders.

The season-high attendance of 37,151 was Cleveland’s seventh sellout of the year.

: LHP Jared Shuster (1-0, 3.15 ERA) will start a bullpen game in the series finale. Rookie Drew Thorpe has been pushed back to Friday at Miami.

RHP Ben Lively (7-4, 3.03 ERA) makes his 14th start of the year. Lively has a 4-0 record and 2.08 ERA in six career outings at Progressive Field.

 Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz hit run-scoring singles on consecutive pitches in the 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Willson Contreras’ two-run homer in the eighth off Pittsburgh's Colin Holderman tied the score 3-3.

Alec Burleson put St. Louis ahead with a 10th-inning sacrifice fly off Aroldis Chapman (1-3) after Masyn Winn’s infield single advanced automatic runner Dylan Carlson to third.

With pinch-runner Jared Triolo on second starting the bottom half, Michael A. Taylor struck out while trying to bunt and Andrew McCutchen drew a walk from Andrew Kittridge (1-4).

JoJo Romero relieved and Reynolds lined a fastball into center to drive in Triolo and advance McCutchen to second. Cruz drove a slider to right and McCutchen scored standing up as the ball bounced to the right-field wall.

It was Cruz’s second game-ending hit this season and the third of his career.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol decided not to use Ryan Helsley, who leads the major leagues with 31 saves, after the right-hander had pitched five times in the previous eight days.

Rowdy Tellez had three hits for the Pirates, including an opposite-field home run just inside the left-field foul pole leading off the seventh against Giovanny Gallegos. Pittsburgh had lost three of four.

Wynn had three hits for the Cardinals.

Pirates rookie Jared Jones allowed one run and four hits over five innings. The 22-year-old right-hander made his first start since June 22 as the Pirates limited his workload.

Jones felt discomfort in his right lat muscle and was pulled after 78 pitches but said “it’s nothing to be concerned with, I don’t think.”

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas gave up two runs and five hits in six innings after allowing 10 runs and 12 hits over 4 1/3 innings in an 11-4 loss to Cincinnati on June 27.

Winn hit an RBI single in the fifth, but the Pirates took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ RBI groundout and Joey Bart’s sacrifice fly.

Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.50) faces LHP Martin Perez (1-4, 5.28) in Thursday’s series finale. Pallante will be making his first career start against the Pirates after 13 relief appearances. Perez has gone 10 starts since his lone win of the season on April 4 at Washington.

 Edmundo Sosa broke a tie with a short sacrifice fly in the eighth, Whit Merrifield followed with an RBI single and the Philadelphia Phillies topped the struggling Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Wednesday night.

Trea Turner easily scored from third on Sosa's 261-foot fly to put the Phillies ahead when rookie center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong's throw was well up the first base line.

Crow-Armstrong's left and throwing hand had been cut on a slide when he stole third in the fourth inning and was spiked by Merrifield.

The Phillies and manager Rob Thomson knew it.

Turner, who missed six weeks with a left hamstring strain, said he's feeling good after getting two hits and scoring two runs against Chicago.

All-Star Alec Bohm hit his 11th home run, a two-run shot, and finished with two hits as the Phillies won their third straight.

Philadelphia backup catcher Rafael Marchán hit a homer and doubled in his 12th game since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 11 after three-time All-Star J.T. Realmuto was hurt.

The Phillies, who have the majors' best record at 57-29, improved to 4-1 playing without All-Star Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

Crow-Armstrong drove in two runs with a pair of doubles for the last-place Cubs, who dropped their third straight and eighth in 10. Cody Bellinger had two hits and an RBI.

Crow-Armstrong said he didn't expect to miss time with “a good slice." Manager Craig Counsell wasn't sure.

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler allowed two runs on five hits in six innings while striking out seven and walking two. Matt Strahm (4-1) pitched the seventh and got the win despite allowing a run on Bellinger's game-tying single.

José Alvarado worked around a single in the ninth for his 13th save. Center fielder Johan Rojas made a diving catch of Nico Hoerner’s liner for the second out.

Tyson Miller (2-1), who allowed Philadelphia's two runs in the eighth, took the loss.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga yielded three runs on six hits, struck out eight and walked one in six innings. The left-hander delivered a second straight solid outing after being shelled for 11 runs by the Mets on June 21.

The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the second on doubles down the right-field line by Happ and Crow-Armstrong.

Marchán’s solo shot to left-center tied it in the third.

Turner led off the sixth with a single. Bohm followed with a drive 415 feet to left-center off a low fastball to put Philadelphia ahead 3-2.

The Phillies send LHP Christopher Sanchez (6-3, 2.41) to the mound against Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (4-4, 4.03) in the series finale on Thursday.

In a game heard on WHOW, pinch-hitter Bo Naylor delivered a sacrifice fly to center field with one out in the ninth inning, sending the Cleveland Guardians to a 7-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

Andrés Giménez opened the inning single off Michael Kopech (2-7), went to second on a groundout and took third on a wild pitch by the right-hander, who snagged his cleat on the mound while making his delivery.

Naylor, who has bumped his average over .200 by hitting .304 in his last 15 games, then lifted a 3-2 pitch deep enough to score Giménez as center fielder Luis Robert Jr., playing more shallow than usual, didn't bother making a throw home.

Rookie Daniel Schneemann and Tyler Freeman hit two-run homers for the Guardians, who won their sixth straight at Progressive Field and improved MLB’s best home record to 27-9 - matching the 1938 club for the best start after 36 games.

They also evened their record this season to 4-4 against the lowly White Sox, who have the majors’ worst record (24-63). Chicago dropped to 7-17 in one-run games.

Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase (4-1) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, helped by a diving catch from Freeman in center.

Andrew Vaughn also homered for the White Sox, who are 0-14 in road series openers.

Down 6-3, the White Sox tied it in the seventh on an RBI double by Lenyn Sosa and Robert's two-run single.

Batting leadoff for just the second time this season, Robert tied it 3-all in the sixth with his homer.

Guardians RHP Gavin Williams makes his season debut after being sidelined with an elbow injury. He'll face White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (5-3, 3.23), who has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors ahead of the June 30 deadline. Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Nolan Gorman hit his second career grand slam, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Matt Carpenter dropped a soft single into left to load the bases with no outs in the fourth inning. Gorman followed with his 17th homer of the season, a 415-foot drive to left-center on a 1-2 sweeper from Mitch Keller (9-5).

Gorman hit his previous grand slam in a 14-5 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 19, 2023.

Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (6-3) gave up four runs, all in the fifth, and five hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

Ryan Helsley struck out one in a perfect ninth inning, earning his major league-leading 31st save in 32 opportunities.

Gibson cruised through the first four innings, striking out the side twice while allowing one hit and one walk. Jack Suwinski then connected for a three-run drive, one of his three hits on the night, in the fifth. Andrew McCutchen took Gibson deep to center two batters later for his 12th of the season.

Brendan Donovan lifted St. Louis to a 7-4 lead with an RBI single in the seventh.

Alec Burleson put the Cardinals ahead 2-0 in the third with a two-run shot for his 13th homer.

Keller surrendered a season-high six runs, five earned, in five innings. He allowed nine hits, struck out five and walked none.

Jared Jones (5-6, 3.66 ERA) will take the mound for the Pirates in the second of the three-game set on Wednesday, opposite Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (6-7, 5.32 ERA).

Trea Turner hit two long home runs, and the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies hung on to beat the struggling Chicago Cubs 6-4 on Tuesday night.

The Phillies played without injured sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. They got the pop they needed from Turner and a terrific performance by Michael Mercado (1-0) in his first major league start.

But it got close in the ninth.

José Ruiz came in and gave up singles to Michael Busch and Cody Bellinger before Seiya Suzuki smacked a three-run homer. Jeff Hoffman then struck out Ian Happ and Christopher Morel before retiring Dansby Swanson on a line drive to right for his seventh save.

The Cubs lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Mercado pitched two-hit ball over five innings to earn his first career win.

Garrett Stubbs gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the second, and Turner took over from there.

Turner lined the first pitch of the third to about the 10th row of the bleachers in left-center. He made it 5-1 with a towering two-run drive in the fifth against Hayden Wesneski (2-5), giving him 15 multihomer games. The two-time All-Star added an RBI single in the seventh.

Mercado permitted one run in his second career appearance. The 25-year-old right-hander struck out four and walked two.

Mercado walked a batter and gave up a single to Suzuki in the first. In between, right fielder Nick Castellanos made a terrific backhanded catch while crashing into the ivy to rob Bellinger of an extra-base hit.

Mercado pitched out of that jam. The only other hit he allowed was Bellinger's RBI double in the third.

Gregory Soto, Orion Kerkering and Yunior Marte each worked a perfect inning before Ruiz ran into trouble.

The Cubs finished with five hits after being held to two in a 7-1 loss at NL Central-leading Milwaukee on Sunday.

Wesneski went five innings, allowing five runs and five hits. The right-hander struck out seven and walked three in his fifth start this season and 22nd appearance.

The Phillies send RHP Zack Wheeler (9-4, 2.73 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday, and the Cubs are going with LHP Shota Imanaga (7-2, 3.07 ERA). Wheeler bounced back with solid starts against Arizona and Miami after getting tagged for a season-high eight runs in a loss to Baltimore. Imanaga shook off his worst start, tossing six solid innings in Chicago's win at San Francisco on Thursday.

Veteran NFL wide receiver Randall Cobb is thanking Nashville firefighters for saving his family after a house fire.

Cobb shared a statement and video on social media Wednesday that his family is safe and healthy along with their dog. Cobb said he couldn’t thank the fire department enough for their quick action.

Cobb wrote quote  “I can’t get the image of the brave firefighter getting into position out of my head; he didn’t even have water to shoot yet. I truly thought the cars were going to explode and that we would lose him to this tragedy. He is a true hero.”

The Nashville Fire Department did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press on Thursday.

Cobb said they didn’t know what, if anything, will be salvageable. He thanked close friends for giving them a temporary roof for himself, his wife and their children. His post included video and photos of the home’s damaged garage, including a vehicle, capped by a photo of his wife and children safely in bed.

A 13-year NFL veteran, Cobb currently is a free agent. A second-round pick in 2011 out of Kentucky by Green Bay, the Tennessee native spent last season with the New York Jets. He played 10 seasons with the Packers along with a season in Dallas and Houston.

Newly relocated free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault had big reasons to circle their calendars when the NHL released its full regular-season schedule on Tuesday. So, too, did newly hired coaches in Craig Berube, Sheldon Keefe and Dan Bylsma.

As for the Stanley Cup Final rematches, the defending champion Florida Panthers travel to play at Edmonton on Dec. 16. The two teams are scheduled to meet in Florida on Feb. 27 to complete their two-game series.

Here’s some highlights from the NHL’s 1,312-game schedule, which opens with the New Jersey Devils playing the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 4 and 5 in Prague, Czech Republic, and closes with a six-game slate on April 17.

A day after leaving Tampa Bay to sign with Nashville in free agency, Stamkos and the Predators are scheduled to travel to play the Lightning on Oct. 28. Meantime, Marchessault, who also signed with the Preds, will have to wait until April 12 for his first scheduled return to Las Vegas to play the Golden Knights.

As for Jake DeBrusk, who left Boston to sign with Vancouver, he’ll be back in Beantown on Nov. 26 when the Bruins host the Canucks.

The offseason coaching carousel also comes into play, and it starts with Lindy Ruff, back for a second stint in Buffalo, facing his most recent team, the Devils, in opening the schedule in Prague.

Former Maple Leafs coach Keefe, who is now in New Jersey, will see his ex-players at Newark on Oct. 10 in the Devils first game upon returning from Europe. Keefe will return to Toronto, where he spent the previous five seasons as the Maple Leafs head coach, on Jan. 16.

Former Blues Cup-champion coach Berube, and now with Toronto, will make his return to St. Louis on Nov. 2.

Bylsma, who is now in Seattle, will travel to face two of his former teams days apart during the Kraken’s five-game road trip. Bylsma will face his most recent team, the Sabres in Buffalo, on Jan. 11. Three days later, he’ll be in Pittsburgh, where he coached the Penguins to a title in 2009.

The calendar will feature 16 days without NHL action after the formal regular season opens on Oct. 8.

No games are scheduled on U.S. Thanksgiving, Nov. 28. And the NHL’s annual Christmas break will run from Dec. 24-26.

The league is also taking a 12-day break from Feb. 10-21 to host its 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring teams from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. The schedule closes with two games — Utah at Washington and Tampa Bay at Montreal — on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9, and re-opens with a 14-game slate on Feb. 22.

The schedule will also feature seven days with one-game action, including Oct. 21, when the Lightning travel to play Toronto, and two days later when the Flyers travel to Washington.

The NHL has already announced its two outdoor games, highlighted by the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Blues at baseball’s Wrigley Field on Dec. 31. The Detroit Red Wings then travel to Columbus for a game at Ohio State’s so-called Horseshoe on March 1.

In a game heard on WHOW, Ryan McMahon scored on Michael Toglia's sacrifice fly in the 14th inning, and the Colorado Rockies stopped a five-game slide by topping the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Sunday.

Hear Tuesday's action on WHOW.

Lance Lynn pitched six sparkling innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 on Sunday for a split of their four-game series.

Lynn (4-3) allowed two hits, struck out six and walked one.

Pedro Pagés had a career-high three hits for St. Louis, which closed out a 7-3 homestand.

Cincinnati infielder Jonathan India extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a double in the third. He has at least one double in each of his last eight games.

Stuart Fairchild singled in the fifth to account for the Reds’ only other hit. He stole second but was stranded when Will Benson lined to right and Luke Maile struck out swinging.

Lynn recorded his 1,000th career strikeout with St. Louis, becoming the sixth pitcher to reach that mark with the franchise. He also fashioned his longest scoreless outing of the season.

Lynn did not have a runner reach third against him.

The Cardinals went ahead to stay in the fifth against Hunter Greene (5-4). Pagés singled and moved up on Masyn Winn’s one-out single. Pagés scored on Alec Burleson’s single to right.

Winn added a run-scoring double off Fernando Cruz in the sixth.

Greene (5-4) allowed four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

St. Louis concluded June with 17 wins, its most since going 18-8 in 2015 on the way to a 105-win campaign.

Cardinals RHP Kyle Gibson (5-3, 3.70 ERA) will face Pittsburgh RHP Mitch Keller (9-4, 3.20 ERA) on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Gibson is 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates.

Brice Turang hit Milwaukee’s fifth grand slam in its last eight games as part of a seven-run fourth inning, and the Brewers rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Freddy Peralta (6-4) and Jakob Junis combined on a two-hitter to help the NL Central-leading Brewers win their ninth straight home series. Milwaukee hasn't dropped a series at American Family Field since the New York Yankees took two of three from April 26-28.

The Brewers became the second team in major league history to hit five grand slams in an eight-game span, joining San Diego in 2020.

Milwaukee’s highest-scoring inning of the season backed up a sparkling performance from Peralta, who worked seven innings and retired his last 14 batters.

After Nico Hoerner sent Peralta's second pitch of the game over the left field wall, the right-hander bore down and struck out eight while allowing only two hits and two walks. Junis walked one over the final two innings.

Christian Yelich hit a 422-foot, two-run homer in the fourth off Kyle Hendricks to put Milwaukee ahead. With one out, Cubs right fielder Ian Happ misjudged a fly ball from Rhys Hoskins, who was credited with a single.

Sal Frelick followed with an RBI base hit, and with two outs, Turang sent his drive over the right-field wall to end Hendricks’ day.

It was Turang's second grand slam in his last five games and his sixth homer of the season, matching his total as a rookie last year.

Turang started Milwaukee’s flurry of grand slams on June 22 in the ninth inning of a 6-4 loss at San Diego. Three of his 12 career homers have come with the bases loaded.

Hendricks (1-6) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings while striking out three and walking one.

The Cubs begin a six-game homestand with a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies starting Tuesday. RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-4, 3.60 ERA) starts for the Cubs and RHP Michael Mercado (0-0, 0.00) pitches for the Phillies.

Joey Logano held off Tyler Reddick’s charge in Turn 1 on the final lap and again in Turn 4. He then beat Zane Smith, Reddick, Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher to the line in the race that started nearly six hours earlier and went 31 laps longer than the 300 that were scheduled from Nashville Sunday.

Logano had a pack of pursuers on his bumper and knew he had to make one more move to block Reddick in Turn 4. Then Logano went “bonkers” after making it over the line first at the Ally 400.

The fuel light in Logano’s Ford came on going into Turn 3 after the engine sputtered on the backstretch, and Logano — who ran the last 110 laps without stopping on the 1.33-mile concrete oval — said it stumbled across the line. All the caution laps helped stretch a tank expected to last 85 laps at best.

If the finish wasn’t thrilling enough, the mayhem continued. Chase Briscoe ran out of fuel. Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr. made contact, spinning Truex into the wall. Chase Elliott spun off Turn 4 and into the grass.

Denny Hamlin, who started on the pole and took the lead with seven laps left in regulation, was two laps from winning when Austin Cindric’s crash set up the chaotic finish. Hamlin finished 12th after pitting in overtime to avoid running out of fuel.

A thunderstorm that forced NASCAR to halt the race at 137 laps for 1 hour, 21 minutes washed off the traction that had built up. As a result, several cars got loose and crashed into the wall or slid into the grass.

That helped set up a thrilling race after Christopher Bell won the first two stages before crashing.

Hamlin took the lead going high into Turn 1, and Chastain went to the apron trying to hold him off and wobbled. That was enough for Hamlin to pass Chastain’s Chevrolet in what turned out to be only the first late lead change of a race that featured repeated crashes on restarts.

Cindric set up the repeating overtimes when he made contact with Noah Gragson with two laps left. On the restart, points leader Kyle Larson caught the apron and slid with the right corner of his Chevrolet sending Chastain into the wall in Turn 1 for the 12th caution.

Larson then ran out of gas on another restart, causing Kyle Busch to crash into him. That’s when Hamlin went for gas, scrambling the field for the wild finish.

Bell, who won last week at New Hampshire, won the first two stages before hitting the wall on lap 228.

Drivers tried to run as many laps as possible before an incoming thunderstorm on a steamy, humid Tennessee afternoon.

Lightning brought out the red flag, stopping the race after 137 laps with clouds in Turn 4 so heavy that it looked like a funnel was trying to form before heavy rain. The storm moved through quickly and dryers hit the track about 25 minutes after racing stopped.

Barely a half-hour after the race stopped, a rainbow could be seen. NASCAR sent drivers back to their cars about 70 minutes after the red flag, and the stoppage lasted 81 minutes with 143 laps remaining.

With the win, Logano’s fretful nights worrying about making the chase are over. He became the 11th winner this season, leaving five spots left.

The Chicago street race is July 7.