AP Thursday Sports Roundup

Cubs tailspin continues...Tigers finally beat Cleveland...Stanton ties odd major league home run record

UNDATED (AP) — The Detroit Tigers put together a 9-2 win over the Cleveland Indians last Sept. 13. That was the last time the Tigers had beaten their AL Central rivals until Wednesday.

Detroit had been 0-11 against Cleveland this season until Nick Castellanos (kas-tee-AH'-nohs) went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and five RBIs to highlight a 12-2 pounding of the Indians. Cameron Maybin smacked a two-run blast for the Tigers, who also got two two-run singles from Miguel Cabrera and Steven Moya.

Detroit had rallies of three, five and four runs after the Indians jumped out to a 2-0 lead. That was more than enough offense for rookie Michael Fulmer to improve to 9-2.

The Indians' lead in the AL Central is 6 ½ games over the Tigers.

In other major league play:

— The Cubs absorbed their sixth loss in seven games by wasting a late two-run lead in a 5-3 setback against the Reds at Wrigley Field. Chicago led 3-1 in the seventh until Tucker Barnhart belted a three-run homer off loser Trevor Cahill. The Cubs have dropped 12 of 17 since June 19, when they were a season-high 27 games over .500 and enjoyed a 12 ½-game lead in the NL Central.

— Jung Ho Kang (gahng) delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the eighth before scoring an insurance run in Pittsburgh's seventh straight win, 7-5 at St. Louis. David Freese (freez) and Sean Rodriguez smacked solo homers for the Pirates, who trailed 5-1 before earning their third straight series win at Busch Stadium since last year. The Bucs trail the NL Central by 8 1/2 games to the Cubs, with the Cardinals another half-game back.

— Wilmer Flores homered twice and Jacob deGrom surrendered a pair of Giancarlo Stanton homers while working seven innings of the New York Mets' sixth win in seven games, 4-2 against Miami. Curtis Granderson lined a two-run single and Jose Reyes doubled twice in his second game since rejoining the Mets. Stanton reached the 200 home run plateau and tied a major league record by going deep in four straight official at-bats, counting two he hit Tuesday night.

— New York still trails the NL East by four games after Bryce Harper launched a three-run homer to help the first-place Nationals beat Milwaukee 7-4. Jose Lobaton (LOH'-bah-tohn) and Ryan Zimmerman also homered as the Nationals avoided a three-game sweep. Tanner Roark gave up four runs and seven hits over seven innings of his eighth victory.

— Johnny Cueto (KWAY'-toh) is 13-1 after firing a five-hitter in San Francisco's 5-1 verdict over Colorado. Brandon Crawford drove in two runs and Buster Posey smashed a solo homer after Brandon Belt's RBI triple in the first inning put the Giants ahead to stay. The Giants have a major league-high 54 victories and lead the NL West by six games over the Dodgers.

— Mark Trumbo belted his major league-leading 25th and 26th home runs, but the Orioles needed Jonathan Schoop's (skohps) two-run double in the top of the 14th to beat the Dodgers 6-4 in Los Angeles. Trumbo had three hits and scored three times as Baltimore took the rubber match of the three-game set. Justin Turner smacked a two-run homer for the Dodgers.

— Michael Saunders provided the key hits in Toronto's 4-2 win over Kansas City, ripping a solo homer in the fourth inning and lacing the tiebreaking single in the eighth. Marcus Stroman yielded two runs and just three hits in eight innings to help the Blue Jays win their fifth in a row and stay 2 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Orioles. Brett Eibner hit a solo shot for the Royals, who remain eight games off the AL Central lead following their fourth consecutive loss.

— David Ortiz reached 20 homers for the 15th consecutive season, slamming a two-run shot and collecting three RBIs as Boston thumped Texas 11-6. Bryce Brentz also had three ribbies and Ryan Hanigan hit a two-run single to help the Red Sox take the rubber match of the three-game series. The Bosox stayed three games off the AL-East lead and handed the Rangers their sixth loss in eight games.

— Houston completed a three-game sweep of Seattle by pulling out a 9-8 win over the Mariners on Luis Valbuena's (val-BWAY'-nuhz) tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth. Carlos Gomez had three RBIs for the Astros, who led 5-0 before Robinson Cano (kah-NOH'), Kyle Seager, Dae-Ho Lee and Seth Smith homered to eventually tie the game 7-7. Evan Gattis also went deep in helping the Astros pulling within 6 1/2 games of the AL West-leading Rangers.

— Miguel Gonzalez scattered five hits over seven innings as the White Sox blanked the New York Yankees 5-0. Tim Anderson doubled home a pair while the White Sox scored four times in the second inning against Michael Pineda (pih-NAY'-duh). Didi Gregorius (DEE'-dee greh-GOHR'-ee-uhs) and Jacoby Ellsbury each had three hits for the Yankees, who are 2-4 on a 10-game road trip that ends in Cleveland.

— Ervin Santana tossed his eighth career shutout by scattering two hits while fanning eight in Minnesota's 4-0 win over Oakland. Joe Mauer had three hits and an RBI in the Twins' fourth victory in five games.

— Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Phillies over Atlanta 4-3. Maikel (MY'-kehl) Franco homered for the fourth straight game to help Philadelphia complete a three-game sweep and win for the eighth time in nine games.

— San Diego crushed Arizona 13-6 as Yangervis Solarte (yahn-HEHR'-vihs soh-LAHR'-tay) hit a three-run homer and had five RBIs. Ryan Schimpf launched a two-run homer and drove in three runs for the Padres, who erupted after the Diamondbacks took an early 4-0 lead.

— Tampa Bay lost for the 18th time in 21 games as Jerad Weaver held the Rays to a run and four hits in six innings of the Angels' 7-2 victory. Mike Trout hit a solo homer and drove in two for Los Angeles, which took advantage of three Rays' errors to score three unearned runs.

MLB-ROSE

Rose sues former investigator over rape claims

UNDATED (AP) — Former baseball star Pete Rose is suing John M. Dowd, the lawyer whose investigative report got him kicked out of baseball for gambling. The major league all-time hits leader alleges in the suit that Dowd defamed him last year by saying on the radio that Rose raped young teen girls during spring training.

Rose said in the federal lawsuit that Dowd damaged his reputation and endorsement deals during a July 2015 interview on WCHE-AM in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Dowd investigated Rose for Major League Baseball in 1989, leading the former Reds and Phillies standout to be declared ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

MLB-MOVES

Kershaw takes step toward return

UNDATED (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has been cleared to play catch as he rehabilitates from mild disk herniation.

Manager Dave Roberts calls the development encouraging and says keeping Kershaw from pushing too hard to return could be a problem.

Kershaw went on the DL last Friday, ensuring that he will miss next week's All-Star game in San Diego. The left-hander is 11-2 with a major league-leading 1.79 ERA in 16 starts. He is second in the majors with 145 strikeouts.

In other major league moves:

— The New York Mets have placed former ace Matt Harvey on the disabled list because of right shoulder discomfort. Harvey hasn't won since May 30 and is 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA in 17 starts this season. He was reached for five earned runs and 11 hits over just 3 2/3 innings of the Mets' 8-6 win over Miami on Monday.

— The Cubs have placed catcher David Ross on the seven-day concussion disabled list and designated pitcher Joel Peralta (joh-EHL' peh-RAHL'-tah) for assignment. Ross took a foul ball off his mask in Tuesday's loss to Cincinnati.

— Miami has placed first baseman Justin Bour (bohr) on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 3 with a sprained right ankle suffered in Saturday's game against Atlanta. Bour is batting .268 with 15 homers, 46 RBIs and a .347 on-base percentage. The Marlins called up 36-year old utilityman Don Kelly to replace Bour.

— The White Sox have placed catcher Alex Avila on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring suffered in Tuesday's game against the Yankees. He is batting .236 with three home runs and six RBIs in his first season with the White Sox.

— Pirates fireballer Tyler Glasnow will make his major league debut Thursday against St. Louis. The 6-foot-8 right-hander has a 1.78 ERA in 96 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis and runs his fastball up to 99 mph.

NBA-BULLS-WADE

Wade leaving Heat for Bulls

UNDATED (AP) — The Miami Heat can say goodbye to Dwyane (dwayn) Wade.

The 12-time NBA All-Star guard has ended his 13-year run with the team for a two-year, $47 million contract with the Bulls. Miami offered $40 million over two years for Wade to stay in the uniform that he's worn his entire career

The Chicago native has averaged 23.7 points and 5.8 assists since being taken with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 draft. Wade scored 19 points a game while appearing in 74 games for the Heat last season.

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the trade says the Bulls have sent Mike Dunleavy to the Cleveland Cavaliers to help make room for the incoming Wade. The 35-year-old Dunleavy averaged a career-low 7.2 points in 31 games for the Bulls last season.

Chicago made further cap room by shipping guard Jose Calderon and two second-round draft picks to the Lakers. That's according to someone with knowledge of the trade.

In other NBA moves:

— A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the Rockets have agreed to terms with Nene (nuh-NAY') on a one-year, $2.9 million deal. The Rockets are trying to help address the departure of center Dwight Howard, who signed with Atlanta. Nene averaged 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 57 games for the Washington Wizards last season.

— The agent for Brandon Rush says he has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Timberwolves. The guard averaged 4.2 points in 72 games for the Golden State Warriors last season.

TENNIS-WIMBLEDON

Federer rallies to reach the semifinals

LONDON (AP) — Roger Federer has mounted a stirring comeback to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for a record-tying 11th time.

The third-seeded Swiss star rallied for a 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win over ninth seed Marin Cilic (CHIHL'-ihch). Federer saved three match points in winning the fourth set.

It was the 10th time Federer has erased a two-set deficit to win in five sets. Federer's win is his 80th at Wimbledon, which equals Jimmy Connors' record. Federer also matched Connors' record of reaching the Wimbledon semifinals.

Federer is aiming for a record eighth Wimbledon singles title. He's currently tied with Pete Sampras and 1880s player William Renshaw with seven.

In other quarterfinal play, sixth-seeded Milos Raonic (RAH'-nihch) defeated American Sam Querrey (KWEER'-ee) 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Second seed Andy Murray took five sets to beat 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (SAHNG'-guh).

Tenth seed Tomas Berdych (TOH'-mahs bur-DEEK') has scored a 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Lucas Pouille (LOO'-kuh PWEE).

Thursday's Wimbledon schedule is highlighted by women's semifinal action. Top seed and six-time champion Serena Williams faces Russia's Elena Vesnina (vehs-NEE'-nuh) on the first match on Centre Court before fourth seed Angelique Kerber takes on No. 8 Venus Williams. Serena Williams is seeking her 22nd career Grand Slam singles title.

NHL-KINGS-PURCELL

Purcell returns to Kings

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Kings have signed free-agent forward Teddy Purcell (PUR'-sul) to a one-year, $1.6 million contract.

The 30-year-old Purcell scored 14 goals and 43 points in 76 games for Edmonton and Florida last season. He's appeared in 559 games over nine NHL seasons, collecting 101 goals and 305 points.

PISTORIUS

Pistorius sentenced to 6 years for murder

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The double-amputee Olympian could have been sentenced to up to 15 years. But the judge said "substantial and compelling circumstances" existed to give Pistorius a lesser sentence for shooting Steenkamp at his home in 2013.

Pistorius will be eligible for parole in three years.

SOCCER-MESSI TRIAL

Messi gets suspended sentence

MADRID (AP) — Soccer star Lionel (lee-ohn-EHL') Messi and his father have received suspended sentences of 21 months in prison for tax fraud in a Barcelona court.

The court found both the Barcelona star and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, guilty of three counts of defrauding the tax department of $4.6 million.

In Spain, sentences of less than two years for first offences are suspended, meaning neither man will go to jail.

GOLF-BRITISH OPEN

Former champ Cink withdraws

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Former champion Stewart Cink (SIHNK) has withdrawn from the British Open next week at Royal Troon. No reason was given by the R&A, which organizes the tournament.

The 2009 Open champion announced in the spring that his wife, Lisa, is battling breast cancer. He has played only two tournaments in the last three months.

CYCLING-TOUR DE FRANCE

Van Avermaet wins stage, takes lead

LE LIORAN, France (AP) — Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet has won the fourth stage of the Tour de France and has taken the overall lead.

The 31-year-old van Avermaet also won a stage in last year's Tour but is not considered a threat to win cycling's most visible race.