AP Thursday Sports Roundup

MLB-SCHEDULE

Fish waste another Stanton power surge

UNDATED (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton has homered in 24 of the Miami Marlins' first 73 games this season, but those blasts haven't always led to victories.

Stanton went deep against St. Louis for the second straight night, giving him a major league-leading 27 home runs this season. His latest blast put the Marlins ahead before Kolton Wong launched a go-ahead, two-run homer and Jason Heyward added a three-run shot in the Cardinals' 6-1 win over Miami.

The Marlins are just 10-14 in games in which Stanton has homered, and 18-19 when he collects at least one of his major league-best 67 RBIs.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals made the most of seven hits and improved to a major league-leading 47-24. Jaime Garcia lowered his team-best ERA to 1.69 by blanking the Marlins after the second inning and holding them to five hits in seven frames.

In other baseball:

— Gerrit Cole was unable to become the year's first 12-game winner, allowing five runs and eight hits before leaving in the fifth inning of Pittsburgh's 5-2 loss to Cincinnati. Marlon Byrd smacked a two-run homer and added an RBI single that chased Cole. The Pirates fell seven games behind the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

— The Dodgers knocked off the Cubs 5-2 in Chicago behind Justin Turner's three-run homer and a solo blast by Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers' bullpen blanked the Cubs for 4 1/3 innings after starter Mike Bolsinger left the game in the fifth. Los Angeles ended the Cubs' four-game winning streak and won for the second time in six games.

— Buster Posey hit a grand slam and San Francisco stayed one game behind the NL West-leading Dodgers by shutting out San Diego 6-0. Posey's 11th homer of the year came while the Giants scored five unearned runs in the third inning following an error by third baseman Will Middlebrooks. Ryan Vogelsong allowed five hits in six innings before the bullpen tossed three perfect innings.

— Washington tops the NL East by 3 ½ games over the New York Mets after Ian Desmond lifted a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning to end the Nationals' 2-1 triumph over Atlanta. Bryce Harper singled home the Nats' first run and opened the winning rally with a double before scoring on Desmond's fly ball. Jordan Zimmermann had to settle for a no-decision after giving up six hits in eight shutout innings.

— The Mets are 0-7 on their eight-game road trip after Jimmy Nelson held them to one run and just two hits in eight innings of Milwaukee's 4-1 decision over New York. Adam Lind provided an RBI double and Scooter Gennett added a solo homer as the Brewers dropped the Mets below .500 for the first time since opening week. Curtis Granderson homered for the Mets, who have their longest losing streak since a seven-game skid in April 2011.

— Taylor Featherston singled home Erick Aybar in the bottom of the 13th to give the Los Angeles Angels a 2-1 triumph over Houston. Featherston was just 4-for-43 in the big leagues before delivering a game-ending hit to draw the Angels within 4 ½ games of the AL West-leading Astros. Andrew Heaney looked good in his first game with the Angels, allowing a run and four hits in six innings.

— Texas remains 3 ½ games behind the Astros after the Rangers fell behind 8-0 by the second inning of an 8-2 drubbing by Oakland. Brett Lawrie belted a grand slam in the first inning and Josh Phegley added a two-run shot that put the A's ahead by eight. Kendall Graveman gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings to even his mark at 4-4 and help the Athletics improve to 19-11 since a 14-30 start.

— Marco Estrada carried a perfect game into the eighth inning and Chris Colabello homered in the 12th to lead Toronto's 1-0 shutout of Tampa Bay. Estrada retired his first 22 batters before Logan Forsythe beat out a slow chopper to third, and the safe call was confirmed upon review. Colabello's blast moved the Blue Jays back within two games of the AL East-leading Rays.

— The New York Yankees are within one game of the Rays after Ivan Nova gave up just three hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings of a 10-2 rout of Philadelphia. Nova was on a major league mound for the first time in 14 months after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and Jose Pirela each had two RBIs as the Yanks avoided a three-game sweep against the majors' worst team.

— David Ortiz belted a two-run homer to cap a five-run sixth that carried Boston past Baltimore 5-1. Left fielder Hanley Ramirez left with a bruised left hand and second baseman Dustin Pedroia was lifted due to a sore right hamstring following his tiebreaking, two-run single. The Orioles are 2 1/2 games off the AL East lead after losing for just the fourth time in 16 games.

— Mike Moustakas cracked a two-run homer and Omar Infante laced a three-run double, all while the Royals scored seven in the fourth to crush Seattle 8-2. Four Royals relievers combined to throw one-hit shutout ball over 4 1/3 innings, with Ryan Madson retiring four batters to get the win. Kansas City owns the AL's best record at 41-28, good for a 3 ½-game lead over the Twins in the Central.

— Phil Hughes gave up a run and six hits in eight innings as Minnesota thumped the Chicago White Sox, 6-1. Chris Sale lost a matchup against Hughes for the third time this season, striking out 10 but surrendering five earned runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. Brian Dozier, Kurt Suzuki and Shane Robinson each had two hits and an RBI for the Twins.

— The Indians beat Detroit in Cleveland for the first time this year as Carlos Carrasco gave up two runs and five hits in eight innings of an 8-2 win over the Tigers. Carrasco picked up his ninth win and carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh before surrendering a two-run homer to J.D. Martinez. Francisco Lindor hit his first career homer and Carlos Santana poked a two-run double for the Indians.

— Aaron Hill hit a sacrifice fly to cap Arizona's three-run rallyin an 8-7 comeback win at Colorado. Yasmany Tomas was 4-for-5 with an RBI single that sparked the Diamondbacks' late rally. Paul Goldschmidt smacked his 20th home run, a two-run blast that put the DBacks ahead 5-3.

MLB-TRANSACTIONS

Phillies' Utley and Yankees' Ryan go on DL

UNDATED (AP) — The Phillies have placed slumping second baseman Chase Utley on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right ankle. Utley has been on the bench for three of the past five games and owns a .179 average with four homers and 25 RBIs. His batting average is last among the 164 qualifying major leaguers.

Also in the majors:

— Yankees infielder Brendan Ryan has been put on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained upper back. Ryan was on the disabled list from the start of the season until June 10 because of calf and hamstring injuries. He was 4-for-13 with two RBIs since his return.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

Cavs beat Vandy to take NCAA hardball crown

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Virginia has captured its first NCAA championship in baseball while avenging last year's loss in the College World Series finals.

Pavin Smith homered and had three RBIs as Virginia doubled up Vanderbilt 4-2. Brandon Waddell went seven innings and limited the defending champs to two hits after the Commodores scored twice in the first inning.

Nathan Kirby struck out five in picking up a two-inning save.

NBA-TRANSACTIONS

Report: Love opts out, a trade and Ellis declines his option

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to dig deep to retain forward Kevin Love.

A person familiar with the decision says Love is opting out of the final year of his contract and will become a free agent. He was scheduled to earn over $16 million next season.

Love came to Cleveland last summer in a blockbuster trade and had a Thursday deadline to inform the Cavs of his plans. The former All-Star has said he wants to return to Cleveland.

LeBron James has a similar contract option and is expected to opt out as well before inking a better deal with the Cavaliers.

In other NBA news:

— Monta Ellis is declining the player option for the final year of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks and will become an unrestricted free agent. Ellis was set to make $8.7 million in the final year of a three-year, $25 million contract. His agent doesn't rule out a return to the Mavs.

— The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to a trade that will send guard Gerald Henderson and power forward Noah Vonleh to Portland for small forward Nicolas Batum. That's according to a person familiar with the situation. Batum averaged 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 71 games while battling a nagging wrist injury.

— A minor trade has reportedly been agreed to by the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. A person familiar with the deal says Orlando is sending reserve point guard Luke Ridnour to the Grizzlies in exchange for the rights to forward Janis Timma.

NHL-EXPANSION

Vegas among expansion possibilities

LAS VEGAS (AP) — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the league is opening a formal expansion review process to consider adding new franchises to its 30-team league.

Las Vegas, Seattle and Quebec City are the markets that have expressed the most serious interest, although a second team in the Toronto area leads the list of additional possibilities. The Board of Governors decided Wednesday that the league will take formal applications for new franchises on July 6, closing the process Aug. 10.

NHL-AWARDS

Canadiens' Price wins league's top 2 honors and the Vezina

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price has recorded a hat trick at the NHL awards show Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

Price has come away with three awards, including the Hart Trophy as the player most valuable to his team. He also received the Ted Lindsay Award, chosen as the NHL's most outstanding player by his fellow players. And he was already a lock to receive the Vezina Trophy as the league's best netminder after becoming the first goaltender since Chicago's Ed Belfour in 1991 to lead the NHL in victories, goals-against average and save percentage.

Price set a franchise record and led the league with 44 wins in the regular season, posting a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

In other awards:

— Ottawa blueliner Erik Karlsson took the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman for the second time.

— Boston's Patrice Bergeron snared the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward for the third time in four years.

— Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames came away with the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach.

— Steve Yzerman has won GM of the year award after building Tampa Bay into Eastern Conference champs.

— Jonathan Toews of the Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks won the Mark Messier Trophy, awarded annually to the player that exemplifies great leadership qualities both on and off the ice:

— Detroit Henrik Zetterberg received the King Clancy Trophy for humanitarian contributions to hockey.

— Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad grabbed won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

— The Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey has gone to Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk.

— Flames center Jiri Hudler is the Lady Byng Trophy winner as the NHL's most gentlemanly player.

NHL-KINGS-VOYNOV

Kings suspend Voynov

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings have suspended defenseman Slava Voynov, who missed the final 76 games of the regular season under an NHL suspension.

A Kings spokesman confirms that the move was made several weeks ago after Voynov was injured outside normal hockey training.

The move means Voynov's contract doesn't currently count against the team's salary cap, saving them from a $4.2 million hit.

Voynov hasn't played since he was arrested last October and eventually charged with felony domestic violence against his wife.

WIMBLEDON-SEEDING

Williams and Djokovic on top

LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been installed as the No 1 seeds at Wimbledon, which gets underway next week. Two-time champion Rafael Nadal was seeded No. 10, his lowest seeding ever at the All England Club.

Djokovic is followed in the men's seeding by seven-time champion Roger Federer, 2013 winner Andy Murray and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka. Following Williams are defending champion Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova.

The Wimbledon draw will be on Friday.

BRITISH OPEN

More money for the winner

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — The winner of this year's British Open will get a bigger paycheck. The R&A, the governing body of golf, has announced that the winner next month at St. Andrews will win $1.8 million, an increase of $275,000 from 2014. Overall prize money for the third major of the year has soared by $1.42 million to almost $10 million.

The British Open starts on July 16 with Rory McIlroy looking to defend his championship.