AP Thursday Sports Roundup

UNDATED (AP) — They are smiling in Houston and pouting near Dallas as the Astros continue to inch closer to first place in the American League West.

Lance McCullers Jr. struck out 10 while yielding just one run and five hits in six innings of the Astros' 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees. McCullers helped Houston avoid a three-game sweep and pull within 2 ½ games of the division-leading Texas Rangers.

Colby Rasmus smacked a two-run homer that put the Astros ahead 4-0 in the third inning. Carlos Gomez and Carlos Correa delivered RBI singles off Masahiro Tanaka (mah-sah-HEE'-roh tah-NAH'-kah), who was pulled after allowing seven hits in five innings.

The Yankees lost for just the third time in 11 games, keeping them four games out of a postseason berth.

The Rangers absorbed their ninth loss in 13 games by blowing a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning of a 6-4 setback against Oakland. Yu Darvish kept the A's in check for six innings before Coco Crisp and Khris Davis ripped two-run homers in the eighth. Davis homered twice against the Rangers, who owned a 10-game division lead just one month ago.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— The Nationals beat Cleveland 4-1 as Stephen Strasburg scattered three hits over seven scoreless innings. Strasburg shares the major league victory lead, improving to 14-1 by bouncing back from his lone loss of the season. Daniel Murphy slammed his 20th homer and Trea (tray) Turner had three RBIs for the Nats, who currently lead the NL East by four games over Miami.

— The Marlins enjoyed an 11-1 rout of Philadelphia behind Giancarlo Stanton's two-run homer and Don Kelly's two-run triple. Adam Conley drove in a pair and tossed shutout ball despite yielding eight hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. Kelly, Marcell Ozuna (oh-ZOO'-nuh), Martin Prado (mahr-TEEN' PRAH'-doh) and J.T. Realmuto (ree-al-MOO'-toh) each had three of Miami's 16 hits.

— Jay Bruce homered for the fifth consecutive game to lead Cincinnati's 2-1 triumph at San Francisco. Bruce snapped a 1-1 deadlock with his 25th home run of the season, going deep against Madison Bumgarner in the seventh inning. Winning pitcher Dan Straily was reached for just three hits over 7 2/3 innings, including Conor Gillaspie's solo blast in the third inning.

— Tampa Bay did the Giants a favor by downing the Dodgers 3-1, keeping Los Angeles 2 ½ games behind the NL West-leaders. The Rays did their scoring in the fourth inning on Evan Longoria's two-run homer and Luke Maile's RBI double. That was enough offense for Matt Moore, who limited the Dodgers to an unearned run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings.

— The Cubs beat the White Sox for the first time in three tries to maintain their 6 ½-game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central. The Cubs banged out three home runs, including Addison Russell's grand slam, in an 8-1 romp over the Pale Hose. Kris Bryant and Javier Baez also homered for the Cubs, who were no-hit by Anthony Raunaudo until the sixth inning.

— Jeurys Familia (jehr-EES' fah-MEEL'-yuh) had converted 52 straight save opportunities before he gave up RBI doubles by Yadier Molina (YAH'-dee-her moh-LEE'-nuh) and Kolten Wong in the ninth inning of the Cardinals' 5-4 win over the New York Mets. St. Louis rallied after Yoenis Cespedes (yoh-EH'-nehs SEHS'-peh-dehs) crushed a two-run homer to put New York ahead 4-3 in the seventh. The outcome drops the Mets 5 ½ games behind the NL East-leading Nationals.

— Colorado beat Baltimore for the second straight night by homering twice in the sixth inning of a 3-1 triumph over the Orioles. Nick Hundley and David Dahl went deep to support Jon Gray, who limited the Birds to a run and five hits in seven innings. The Orioles' lead in the AL East remains two games over Toronto and 2 ½ games over Boston.

— The Indians' lead in the AL Central is down to 4 ½ games after second-place Detroit beat the Red Sox 4-3 to complete a three-game sweep at Fenway Park. The Tigers blew a 3-1 lead before Miguel Cabrera launched a home run in the ninth inning. Victor Martinez laced a two-run single and James McCann added a solo shot in Detroit's fifth victory in seven games.

— San Diego has run its home run streak to 25 straight games by belting three more in an 8-4 pounding of Toronto. Adam Rosales, Alex Dickerson and Brett Wallace went deep as the Padres ended the Blue Jays' three-game winning streak.

— Andrew McCutchen and Jung Ho Kang (gahng) drove in four runs apiece to back Gerrit Cole in Pittsburgh's 10-1 pounding of Seattle. Kang made it 7-1 in the seventh with a three-run double, one inning before McCutchen belted a three-run homer. That was more than enough offense for Cole, who allowed just three hits in his first career complete game.

— The Royals had dropped four straight before Alex Gordon and Paulo Orlando each went 3-for-4 and scored twice to lead Kansas City past the Angels 7-5. Jarrod Dyson put the Royals in front with an RBI triple in a four-run seventh.

— Yasmany Tomas (yahs-MAH'-nee toh-MAHS') belted a three-run homer while Arizona put together a five-run first in an 8-1 laugher at Milwaukee. Tomas homered twice and had five RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who got seven strong innings from Archie Bradley.

— Freddie Freeman was the hitting star in Atlanta's 9-7 win at Minnesota, going 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and five RBIs. Jeff Francoeur (fran-KOOR') also hit a two-run homer for the Braves.

MLB-RANGERS

Rangers get 2 pitchers from Braves, Fielder opts for surgery

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have acquired right-hander Lucas Harrell and left-hander Dario Alvarez from the Atlanta Braves for a minor league infielder.

Harrell is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts for the Braves since getting called up from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier this month.

Alvarez was 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 16 relief appearances for Atlanta this season.

Meanwhile, Rangers slugger Prince Fielder will have his season-ending surgery Friday to repair a herniated disk in his neck. It will be handled by the same surgeon who did a cervical fusion of two disks just below the area that is bothering Fielder now. Fielder ends the year with a career-low .212 batting average with eight homers and 44 RBIs in 89 games.

NFL-CAMP NEWS

Fitz a no-show as Jets open camp

UNDATED (AP) — The stalemate between the Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick continues as the team opened training camp.

Fitzpatrick wasn't present at camp after setting a franchise record with 31 touchdown passes last year while leading the Jets within a victory of a playoff spot. He and the Jets have failed to come to an agreement on a deal that would satisfy both sides.

The Jets did sign linebacker and first-round pick Darron Lee, who gets a four-year deal worth $10.2 million.

The team made changes to its depth chart at running back by signing Bernard Pierce and waiving Zac Stacy.

In other training camp news:

— The NFC-champion Carolina Panthers have signed safety Kurt Coleman to a three-year contract extension through the 2019 season. He led the Panthers and finished tied for third in the NFL with a career-high seven interceptions last year, his first with the Panthers. The 28-year-old finished third on the team with 103 tackles.

— The Rams have released Nick Foles after failing to trade the disgruntled quarterback. Foles has not been involved with the team since the Rams took California quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in the overall draft.

— Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is facing a longer suspension over another violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy. Gregory is already suspended for the first four games of the season and could receive an additional 10-game ban for another failed drug test. Team owner Jerry Jones acknowledged that the former Nebraska standout is undergoing treatment.

— The Chiefs have placed running back Jamaal Charles on the physically unable to perform list following surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee last season. Coach Andy Reid says it should not be considered a setback in his return from a knee injury.

NBA-CONTRACTS

Nowitzki inks Mavs deal

UNDATED (AP) — Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has signed his contract.

A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press it's a two-year, $50 million pact, 25 percent more than the original agreement.

The 38-year-old star has spent all 18 of his seasons with Dallas.

Also in the NBA:

— The Portland Trail Blazers have formally signed guard CJ McCollum to a four-year contract extension. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but a person familiar with it told The Associated Press on Monday that it is worth $106 million. McCollum was named the NBA's 2016 Most Improved Player after averaging 20.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists during the regular season.

NHL-SIGNINGS

New deal for the Hurricanes coach

UNDATED (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters has a new contract extension through the 2018-19 season.

Peters is 65-72-27 in two seasons while leading the Hurricanes' rebuilding project. They finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a 35-31-16 record last season, their best record since 2010-11.

Elsewhere:

— Ottawa and forward Mike Hoffman avoided arbitration by working out a four-year package worth about $21 million. Hoffman established career highs with a team-best 29 goals, 30 assists and 59 points.

— The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a two-year, $8 million contract with goaltender Petr Mrazek (MRAH'-zehk), who has emerged as the team's top goalie ahead of Jimmy Howard. The 24-year-old Mrazek was 27-16-3 last season with a 2.33 goals-against average in a career-high 54 games.

— Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok has signed a six-year, $12 million contract that runs through 2021-22. The 24-year-old provided a career-high 16 goals and 30 points in 71 games last season.

OLYMPICS-RUSSIA

Putin: Russian athletes are victims of discrimination

LONDON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) says Russian track and field athletes are victims of "discrimination" following their ban from the Olympics due to the country's doping scandal. Putin added that those barred from competing are victims of "double standards" and a campaign against Russian sports.

Hours after he made those comments, the International Weightlifting Federation said four more Russians have been suspended after having their tests from the London Olympics retested.

Roughly 109 members of the Russian team have been rejected by the individual sports federations because of concerns about the country's drug testing in the midst of a doping scandal.

NASCAR-DAYTONA

Opening race date changed

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Daytona 500 is moving back to its traditional weekend in 2018.

The race had been held on Presidents Day weekend from 1968 to 2011. But NASCAR officials tweaked the date beginning in 2012, anticipating changes to the NFL schedule.

NASCAR

Harvick's crew chief suspended

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The crew chief for Kevin Harvick has been suspended by NASCAR for an improperly installed lug nut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rodney Childers will not appeal the one-race suspension or his $20,000 fine, keeping him out of the pits for Sunday's race at Pocono Raceway.

Childers is the fifth crew chief suspended over a lug nut rule instituted by NASCAR earlier this season.