KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Michael Massey homered and Maikel Garcia singled in two runs in a three-run seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals rallied past the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2. The start was moved up a half-hour to 6:10 p.m. CDT to beat predicted thunderstorms, which didn’t arrive before the last out. The Royals did next to nothing against Milwaukee starter Bryse Wilson, who allowed one hit and struck out six in six scoreless innings. But they broke through in the seventh against the Brewers’ bullpen. Cole Ragans allowed two runs on two hits in six innings for the Royals, striking out eight. Reliever Nick Anderson got the win. Game two of the series is tonight. Pregame at 6:05pm. First pitch at 6:40pm on AM1240 & 96.5FM.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Simeon Woods Richardson pitched six shutout innings of one-hit ball and the Minnesota Twins scored twice in the seventh to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1 in the opener of their four-game series. Minnesota rebounded quickly after its 12-game winning streak was snapped Sunday with a 9-2 loss to Boston. Woods Richardson struck out a career-high eight and walked just one in his fifth major league start. He whiffed five of his first six batters and had seven strikeouts through three innings. The only hit he permitted was a leadoff single by Mitch Garver in the third. Seattle starter Luis Castillo went 6 2/3 innings and struck out seven. He allowed three runs.
DENVER (AP) — Another dominant performance by the Minnesota Timberwolves has the reigning but reeling NBA champion Denver Nuggets on the cusp of a stunning early exit from the playoffs. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns led the short-handed Timberwolves to a 106-80 blowout of the Nuggets for a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series. Games 3 and 4 are in Minneapolis this weekend. The Timberwolves have won all six of their playoff games. The Nuggets have trailed by large margins in all seven of theirs. They bounced back against the Lakers but haven’t cracked the code against Minnesota.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 43 points, becoming the fourth player in NBA history with four straight 40-point games in the postseason, and the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-117 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brunson had 21 in the fourth quarter, rallying the Knicks after they trailed by nine early in the period. He joined Hall of Famers Jerry West, who had six consecutive 40-point games in the postseason, and Michael Jordan and Bernard King, who both had four. Donte DiVincenzo hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining and scored 25 for the Knicks. Myles Turner led the Pacers with 23 points.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Swayman stopped 38 shots, Brandon Carlo scored a goal just a few hours after his wife gave birth to their son and the Boston Bruins topped the Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Monday night. Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Justin Brazeau and Jake DeBrusk also had goals for Boston, which improved to 5-0-0 against the Panthers this season. Matthew Tkachuk had the goal for Florida, which has rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win an NHL playoff series only twice in nine previous opportunities. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots for the Panthers.
Having the option of choosing their playoff opponent wasn’t taken lightly by the staff and players of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Toronto franchise for clinching first-place in the standings. So sensitive and in-depth were the discussions, coach Troy Ryan knew better than to disclose the reasons behind Toronto’s decision to face fourth-place Minnesota over third-place Boston. The two teams who finished with identical 12-9-3 records, with Boston having the tie-breaking edge. Of all the aspects taken into consideration, among the most important, perhaps, was the fear of providing their opponent any additional motivation entering the best-of-five semifinal series, which opens in Toronto on Wednesday. Montreal faces Boston in the other semifinal starting on Thursday.