NYRA:
Today marks the 149th opening day at Saratoga race course. During the 40 days of racing, there will be approximately 400 total races and 69 of them will be stakes races worth a record $18,775 million. The centerpiece of the meet, as always, will be the $1.25 million Travers Stakes for 3-year-olds. Gates open today at 11 am and the first race is expected to start at 1 pm.
MLB:
Luis Severino pitched around trouble to throw seven shutout innings, Brett Gardner hit a solo home run off Felix Hernandez and the New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1.
Severino was overpowering when he needed to be, striking out six and getting his fastball to flash triple-digits on the stadium scoreboard even in the seventh inning. He scattered eight hits but was outstanding when in trouble. Severino pitched out of jams in the first, second and most notably the fourth inning.
In games elsewhere around the majors
Jhoulys Chacin outpitched Madison Bumgarner. Cory Spangenberg hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning that chased MadBum from his first home start in more than three months and the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Thursday night. Bumgarner struck out five and walked one over 6 1/3 innings, taking his home mound for the first time since spraining his pitching shoulder in an April 20 dirt bike accident. The 2014 World Series MVP is winless after six 2017 starts.
Mike Foltynewicz and the Atlanta Braves finally cooled off the sizzling Los Angeles Dodgers with a 6-3 victory that snapped their 11-game winning streak. The Dodgers had won 31 of their last 35 games but could not overcome another shaky start by Brandon McCarthy, who was bothered by a blister and could be headed to the disabled list.
Brandon Moss drove in four runs, Mike Moustakas had three RBIs and the Kansas City Royals routed the error-prone Detroit Tigers 16-4 on Thursday night.
Eric Hosmer and Whit Merrifield homered for the Royals, who moved within 1½ games of first-place Cleveland in the AL Central. The 16 runs and 19 hits were season highs for Kansas City.
Detroit committed three errors in the Royals' four-run first inning, when only one run was earned. It was the most errors the Tigers have made in an inning since May 1, 2010.
Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones both homered and drove in three runs, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat Cole Hamels and the Texas Rangers 9-7 to complete a four-game sweep. Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis also homered for the Orioles, who trailed 5-1 in the fifth inning before coming back to hand Hamels his first loss in 10 starts this season. Baltimore hit 10 home runs in the series and outscored Texas 34-11.
Justin Smoak hit a pair of homers and Steve Pearce drove in two runs when Boston second baseman Brock Holt lost his popup in the sun, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on to beat the Red Sox 8-6 on Thursday. The teams split the four-game series. Including the 15-inning game on Tuesday with Toronto, the AL East-leading Red Sox played 76 innings in about 144 hours — the equivalent of 8 1/2 games in six days.
Gregory Polanco homered, Chris Stewart added three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a four-game sweep of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers with a 4-2 victory. The Pirates have won 11 of 13 and moved within three games of the Brewers. Milwaukee has lost five straight.
Jake Lamb hit a pair of three-run homers and Patrick Corbin pitched into the eighth inning during an emergency start, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 12-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Arizona stabilized itself by taking two of three in the series. The Diamondbacks had dropped eight of nine heading into the set, falling behind Colorado for the second NL wild-card spot.
Cardinals pitcher Trevor Rosenthal was late covering first base on a two-out grounder by Jose Reyes that turned into a game-winning single in the ninth inning, lifting the New York Mets over St. Louis 3-2. Reyes' fourth career walkoff RBI gave the Mets a split of the four-game series.
In other MLB news:
The Miami Marlins have traded right-hander David Phelps to the Seattle Mariners for four prospects, including highly regarded outfielder Brayan Hernandez. Also going to the Marlins in the deal are right-handed pitching prospects Pablo Lopez, Brandon Miller, and Lukas Schiraldi. Phelps is 2-4 with a 3.45 ERA in 44 games and 47 innings this season, all out of the bullpen. He's a six-year veteran with 64 career starts.
A person with knowledge of his plans tells The Associated Press that Pablo Sandoval plans to sign a minor league contract to return to the San Francisco Giants. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Sandoval technically will not be free to agree to a deal with a team until 1 p.m. Eastern Friday. The Boston Red Sox released Sandoval on Wednesday when the third baseman didn't report after being designated for assignment last week.
NBA:
A person familiar with the negotiations says the Cleveland Cavaliers are discussing a contract with former NBA MVP Derrick Rose.
The team is discussing a one-year deal with Rose, said the person who spoke Thursday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.
Cleveland is limited in what it can offer the free agent guard, whose career has been slowed by knee injuries. Rose made $21.3 million while playing in 64 games for the New York Knicks last season.
ESPN.com first reported the Cavs' interest in the 28-year-old Rose.
The Cavs signed free agent Jose Calderon last month as a backup to All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. Rose, if healthy, would be a better option than the 34-year-old Calderon.
Cleveland struggled to fill the backup role after allowing Matthew Dellavedova to leave as a free agent following the 2016 championship season.
In other NBA news:
The Utah Jazz signed big man Eric Griffin to a two-way contract Thursday. Contract details were not released. Griffin was a member of the Jazz during NBA summer leagues in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. He averaged 10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in Vegas.
The 6-foot-8, 205-pound center/forward played in the Israeli Basketball Premier League last season, averaging 14.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. This is the first time the Jazz have used the two-way contracts implemented by the NBA for the upcoming season.
Udonis Haslem believes he can still play, and the Miami Heat apparently agree. The three-time NBA champion has signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal to remain with the Heat for what will be his 15th season. Haslem was already the longest-tenured player in Heat history, with all of his NBA seasons coming for his hometown team.
NFL:
"The Blind Side" subject Oher released by Panthers
The Michael Oher saga in Carolina has come to an end.
The Panthers released the former starting left tackle — the subject of the movie "The Blind Side" — after he failed a physical on Thursday. The move comes six days before the Panthers are scheduled to report to training camp and 10 months since Oher last played.
Oher started 16 regular games and three playoff games for the Panthers during their Super Bowl run in 2015. However, he sustained a concussion in the third game of last season and hasn't played since. He remains in the league's concussion protocol.
Oher tweeted after being released that "The Brain is a scary thing. You have to be careful with it."
Oher's release did not come as a surprise. The Panthers signed free agent tackle Matt Kalil to take Oher's spot at left tackle earlier this offseason.
In other NFL news:
The Arizona Cardinals have re-signed nine-year NFL veteran Chris Johnson to a one-year contract.
The 31-year-old running back is expected to provide backup support for All-Pro David Johnson at the position. Chris Johnson spent the last two seasons with Arizona. He played in only four games last season before a groin injury sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Johnson is a three-time Pro Bowl player and is one of only seven players to top 2,000 yards rushing in a season. He rushed for 2,006 yards for Tennessee in 2009.
The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back linebacker Justin Durant again with training camp just a few days away. Durant signed Thursday for a second season in his second stint with the Cowboys. He spent the 2013-14 seasons with Dallas before going to Atlanta as a free agent for one year. He returned to the Cowboys last season, finishing with 54 tackles in a reserve role. The Cowboys released defensive back Jeremiah McKinnon of Florida.
FBN:
Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson is tackling a disturbing problem that's not always visible.
Jackson and his wife, Michelle, have launched a foundation to support organizations that combat human trafficking and aid its victims, women who are exploited, abused and scarred for life. Jackson says they want to make a difference in this area.
On Thursday, The Hue Jackson Foundation announced a partnership with the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland to provide secure housing for women who have been victimized by human trafficking — modern-day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.
The 12-bed recovery facility, named in honor of Jackson, will offer a safe environment for victims to heal and focus on treatment. Officials say there are less than 100 beds available nationwide for the estimated 100,000 identified trafficking victims annually.
GOLF:
The biggest question after Thursday's long day on the links at the British Open is what is in store for Friday. Cool temperatures, high wind and occasional showers are in the forecast.
After a cool, rainy start on Thursday, the wind off the Irish Sea pushed away the clouds and bathed Royal Birkdale in sunshine, Stars and Stripes. Three Americans finished the day tied atop the leaderboard. Jordan Spieth (speeth), U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar all fired 5-under par 65s.
Kuchar, who first endeared himself to these British fans as a 19-year-old amateur in 1998 at Royal Birkdale, tied the course record with a 29 on the front nine, only to fall into a routine of pars the rest of the way. He still shot 65, his best score ever in a major.
MLS:
As if 90 minutes isn't long enough. Major League Soccer will begin using video review for all matches on Aug. 5.
MLS has been testing the system at matches throughout the first half of the season. The league announced Thursday that it would be implemented following the All-Star game in Chicago on Aug. 2.
All matches will now include a video assistant referee, who will be allowed to review video to confirm calls in four situations: goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards and cases of mistaken identity.
OJ:
The Juice will soon be loose.
Barring any last-minute issues, O.J. Simpson will walk out of prison a free man in about three months.
The 70-year-old Simpson on Thursday convinced a Nevada parole board that he deserved parole. He told them the hotel-room heist he pulled nine years ago was an error in judgment he'll never repeat, and he acknowledged repeatedly he never should have done it.
The hearing was broadcast on national television. Afterward, four parole commissioners voted unanimously to release him.
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