AP Wednesday Sports Roundup

Cavaliers hammer Raptors

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers had an eight-day layoff between playoff games as they entered the NBA's Eastern Conference finals. It took them about 2 ½ minutes to shake off the rust as they improved to 9-0 in this postseason by ripping the Toronto Raptors 115-84 on Tuesday.

LeBron James hit his first nine shots and had 24 points on 11 of 13 from the floor before resting in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving also had the hot hand, hitting 11 of his 17 shots and scoring 27 points.

Kevin Love had 14 points for the Cavs, who took control by outscoring the Raptors 33-16 in the second quarter to carry a 22-point lead into the dressing room.

Seven Cavalier players had at least eight points, including four players from the bench. Richard Jefferson delivered nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds to help Cleveland get within three wins of a second straight trip to the Finals.

DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 18 points for the Raptors, who stay in Cleveland for Game 2 on Thursday.

NBA-DRAFT LOTTERY

76ers win lottery

NEW YORK (AP) — All that losing has paid off for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers have won the NBA lottery and will have the first pick in the upcoming draft. That puts them in position to take LSU's Ben Simmons or Duke's Brandon Ingram, the players most likely to be taken No. 1.

The Sixers went into the lottery with the best chance to get the top overall pick at 26.9 percent after dismal 10-72 record this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers have the second overall pick, followed by Boston, Phoenix and Minnesota.

The draft is June 23 in New York.

NBA-CELTICS-OLYNYK

Celts' Olynyk has shoulder surgery

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics say Kelly Olynyk has undergone successful surgery on his injured right shoulder, which bothered him late in the season.

Olynyk aggravated a previous injury to the shoulder in Game 1 of the Boston's first round playoff series with Atlanta, causing him to miss Games 2 and 3.

NHL PLAYOFFS-SCHEDULE

Sharks blank Blues

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The NHL's Western Conference finals are knotted at a game apiece following Martin Jones' second shutout in three games.

Jones turned back 26 shots and Brent Burns scored a pair of power-play goals as the San Jose Sharks beat the Blues 4-0 in St. Louis. Tommy Wingels opened the scoring just 2:07 into the game before Burns provided the next two goals.

Dainius Zubrus added an empty-net goal for the Sharks, who will host Game 3 on Thursday.

Brian Elliott turned back 23 shots for the Blues.

MLB-SCHEDULE

Cubs do little with Chase

UNDATED (AP) — The Chicago Cubs entered Tuesday's action leading the National League with 216 runs scored and a 27-9 record, but they showed little offense against a pitcher who owned a 6.11 ERA in seven starts this season.

Chase Anderson flirted with a no-hitter and carried a shutout into the ninth inning of Milwaukee's 4-2 win over the Cubs. Anderson didn't allow a hit until Ben Zobrist led off the eighth inning with a single. The Brewers' right-hander was one out from a one-hit shutout until Jason Hayward and Kris Bryant hit back-to-back homers to end Anderson's night.

Jonathan Lucroy hit a solo homer and Chris Carter added a two-run double to help Anderson end a five-game losing streak and improve to 2-5.

The Cubs still own the majors' best record at 27-10.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— The New York Mets' four-game skid is over after Noah Syndergaard struck out 10 while scattering five hits in seven innings of a 2-0 shutout of Washington. Curtis Granderson homered on Max Scherzer's first pitch before Michael Conforto added a third-inning blast against the Nationals' ace.

— Cleveland crushed Cincinnati for the second straight night as Rajai Davis went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and four runs scored in a 13-1 blowout. Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis and Mike Napoli drove in two runs apiece to back Danny Salazar, who struck out eight and gave up five hits in 7 1/3 innings.

— Seattle clobbered Baltimore 10-0 behind ex-Oriole Nelson Cruz, who smacked a two-run homer and was 3-for-5 with five RBIs. Wade Miley tossed six innings, Kyle Seager ripped a three-run homer and Robinson Cano provided three hits and two RBIs to help the Mariners end a three-game losing streak.

— Tampa Bay also enjoyed a lopsided win as Brad Miller doubled, tripled and had three ribbies in a 12-2 laugher in Toronto. Pinch-hitter Taylor Motter capped the scoring with a two-run blast and Logan Morrison drove in a pair for the Rays.

— Khris Davis capped his three-homer night by crushing a grand slam with two out in the bottom of the ninth to give Oakland an 8-5 win over Texas. Davis became the hero after Ian Desmond hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the Rangers ahead 5-4.

— The Dodgers were 5-1 winners over the Angels as Clayton Kershaw yielded only one run and four hits while striking out 11 in eight innings to improve to 6-1. Joc Pederson homered twice, including a tiebreaking, two-run shot in the fourth inning.

— Madison Bumgarner threw a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts to pitch San Francisco past San Diego 5-1. Brandon Crawford smacked a three-run homer and had five RBIs in the Giants' sixth consecutive win.

— Jake Lamb belted a two-run homer and Zack Greinke worked seven innings of Arizona's 5-3 triumph over the New York Yankees. The Diamondbacks reached losing pitcher Michael Pineda for five runs and nine hits in five innings.

— Evan Gattis returned from a minor-league stint and slammed a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the 11th inning to push Houston past the White Sox 6-5 in Chicago. Tyler White smacked a pair of solo homers in the Astros' first win in three games.

— Paulo Orlando banged out a two-run homer and had four RBIs as Kansas City doubled up Boston 8-4. Eric Hosmer also homered for the Royals, who sent the Red Sox to just their second loss in nine games.

— Francisco Cervelli, John Jaso and Andrew McCutchen each had three hits and two RBIs as Pittsburgh outscored Atlanta 12-9, spoiling Brian Snitker's debut as the Braves' interim manager. Jaso laced a two-run double while the Pirates scored seven times in the first inning of their third straight win.

— Chad Bettis allowed just one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings as Colorado won its fifth in a row, 3-1 at St. Louis. Dustin Garneau collected two of the Rockies' seven hits, including an RBI single in a two-run fourth.

— Vince Velasquez had 10 strikeouts while holding Miami to three hits in five shutout innings of Philadelphia's 3-1 victory over the Marlins. Tommy Joseph's solo homer helped the Phillies end a two-game skid and stop the Marlins' three-game winning streak.

— Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers to cap Detroit's seven-run seventh in a 7-2 comeback win over Minnesota. Jose Iglesias supplied the tiebreaking, two-run single and the Tigers got 3 2/3 hitless innings of relief in their third consecutive win.

MLB-NEWS

Rangers Odor suspended eight games, appeals

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has doled out its punishment from Sunday's brawl between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. The hardest hit was Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor, who is appealing his eight-game suspension for belting Jose Bautista in the face following the Toronto slugger's hard slide into the bag.

Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Chavez has received a three-game suspension for intentionally throwing at Prince Fielder, while Bautista and Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus got one-game bans. Bautista is appealing his penalty.

In addition, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was slapped with a three-game suspension, Toronto first base coach Tim Leiper was given a one-game ban and eight others were fined.

MLB-BRAVES

Gonzalez canned

ATLANTA (AP) — Fredi Gonzalez has been dismissed after five-plus seasons as manager of the Atlanta Braves.

Gonzalez took over when Hall of Famer skipper Bobby Cox retired after the 2010 season. Gonzalez led the franchise to the 2013 NL East title, but the Braves were just 9-28 this season.

Gonzalez went 434-413 in five-plus seasons in Atlanta.

Former Braves third-base coach and longtime minor league manager Brian Snitker has replaced Gonzalez on an interim basis.

In other major league news:

— Tigers manager Brad Ausmus served a one-game suspension Tuesday for his theatrical tirade following his ejection from Monday night's game against Minnesota. Ausmus was thumbed for arguing a called third strike, and he earned his suspension by taking off his sweatshirt and using it to cover home plate. Bench coach Gene Lamont is managing in his place.

— Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli has agreed to a 3-year contract extension through 2019. The 30-year-old is a lifetime .284 hitter who batted .295 last season with seven home runs and 43 RBIs.

— The Cubs have agreed to terms on a major league contract with veteran closer Joe Nathan, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery and was immediately placed on the disabled list. The 41-year-old Nathan is eighth on the all-time saves list with 377.

— Mets left-hander Steven Matz is set to rejoin the rotation Friday night against Milwaukee after being scratched from last Saturday's start in Colorado due to elbow soreness.

— The struggling Houston Astros have recalled veteran catcher Evan Gattis from Double-A Corpus Christi and third base prospect Colin Moran from Triple-A Fresno. Outfielder Carlos Gomez was placed on the 15-day disabled list and right-hander Asher Wojciechowski was designated for assignment.

— The Cleveland Indians have demoted struggling right-hander Cody Anderson to Triple-A Columbus, one day after he surrendered two homers and six runs over 4 1/3 innings of a 15-6 win against Cincinnati. Anderson is 0-3 with a 7.99 ERA in six starts this season.

— Oakland recalled pitcher Jesse Hahn and catcher Max Muncy, placed catcher Josh Phegley on the disabled list with a strained knee and optioned lefty Erik Surkamp to Nashville.

— The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte and activated infielder Jimmy Paredes, while sending right-hander Dustin Antolin and infielder Andy Burns to Triple-A Buffalo.

— The Seattle Mariners have activated right-handed reliever Joaquin Benoit from the disabled list after he missed nearly a month with a shoulder injury.

— Mets general manager Sandy Alderson says he had pre-planned surgery last Wednesday as part of his cancer treatment, calling the procedure "fantastically successful." The 68-year-old Alderson said he doesn't expect his illness to curtail his duties, although he has declined to reveal the type of cancer he has.

OLYMPICS

Drug do overs nab Olympians

LONDON (AP) — The International Olympic Committee has announced a major doping crackdown stretching back eight years. The IOC says 31 athletes in six sports could be barred from competing in this year's Olympics after they were caught in retesting of drug samples from the 2008 Beijing Games. Other positive cases could emerge from the 2012 London Games.

The IOC says it will also reanalyze drug tests from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games after allegations samples were tampered with as part of a state-sponsored Russian doping program.

The Olympic body stores samples for 10 years to allow for retesting with improved techniques.

Meanwhile, The New York Times is reporting that U.S. prosecutors are investigating claims that dozens of top Russian athletes participated in a sophisticated state-sponsored doping program. The Times says the probe is being run out of the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn and looks at athletes, Russian government officials, anti-doping authorities and people who may have benefited from the doping scheme.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-ALABAMA-ARRESTS

Alabama football players arrested

MONROE, La. (AP) — Alabama offensive lineman Cam Robinson and reserve defensive back Laurence "Hootie" Jones have been released from jail in Louisiana following their arrest on drug and weapons charges. The Sheriff's records show Robinson and Jones were cited for the misdemeanor charge of carrying a weapon in the presence of narcotics, with Robinson also facing a charge of felony possession of stolen firearms. A police detective said the players were arrested early Tuesday morning after an officer smelled marijuana coming from their parked car.

FRENCH OPEN

Former world No. 1 pulls out of next tennis major

PARIS (AP) — The World Tennis Association says former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has pulled out of next week's French Open because of an injured right ankle. The 34th-ranked Wozniacki hasn't played since she lost her second match at the Miami Open in March.