The Sullivan Redskins scored six runs in the fifth inning and that proved to be the difference as a seven-run seventh inning rally fell short for Clinton in a 10-8 loss at Sullivan Monday afternoon in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action.

Sullivan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and their six-run fifth inning opened up a 10-1 lead. 

The Maroons seven-run seventh was highlighted by a three-run home run by Braden Cross.

Drew Stacey finished 2-for-3 for the Maroons.

Sullivan's Dalton Rogers went 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing two hits and struck out eight to no walks. 

The Maroons drop to 4-6 in the CIC and are 6-8 overall. Sullivan improves to 7-15 overall and are 5-7 in the CIC.

Clinton is scheduled to take on Warrensburg-Latham today. 

Scores in boys baseball action in the CIC....

Mt. Pulaski 4

Meridian 1

Tuscola 15

Shelbyville 1

CIC girls softball action Monday...

Shelbyville 3

Teutopolis 0

>>Cardinals Double-Up Nationals

Harrison Bader homered to spark a six-run fifth as the surging Cardinals rallied past Patrick Corbin and the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Marcell Ozuna put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 with a two-run single. Jose Martinez had an RBI double and Yadier Molina added a run-scoring single off Corbin, who took a 3-0 lead into the fifth.

Michael Wacha (2-0) went five innings after being activated from the 10-day injured list earlier in the day. The right-hander allowed three runs and four hits while striking out five.

Jordan Hicks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his ninth save.

St. Louis has won three straight and eight of nine.

Molina's single extended his hitting streak to 16 games, tying a career high.

Washington took a 3-0 lead in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Corbin and a two-run single by Adam Eaton.

Adam Wainwright (2-2, 3.96 ERA) is 8-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 career games against Washington.

Anibal Sanchez (0-3, 6.00) is still looking for his first win with Washington in his sixth start of the season.

>>White Sox Keep Rolling, Down Orioles

Banuelos pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning in his first start since replacing Ervin Santana in the rotation, and the Chicago White Sox held off the slumping Baltimore Orioles for a 5-3 win on Monday night.

The 28-year-old Banuelos (2-0) made seven appearances for Atlanta in 2015, but didn't make it back to the majors until this year. The left-hander tossed four scoreless innings at Baltimore last week in his first start since his time with the Braves, and then took over Santana's spot after the veteran right-hander was designated for assignment on Friday.

Banuelos was charged with two runs in a career high-tying 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked three.

Tim Anderson and Yonder Alonso each hit a two-run homer as Chicago earned in its third consecutive win, matching a season high. James McCann had three hits and is batting .444 (12 for 27) in his last six games.

Last-place Baltimore lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Chris Davis had two hits and two RBIs and Pedro Severino homered, but John Means (3-3) struggled after tossing five effective innings in a 4-3 win against Chicago last week.

Alonso connected with two out in the second, sending a drive to right for his fifth homer. He also went deep in his last game, belting a solo shot in Friday night's 12-11 victory over Detroit.

After Severino opened the third with an opposite-field drive into the Orioles' bullpen in right, Adam Engel led off the bottom half with a bunt single and Anderson made it 4-1 with a one-out homer into the stands in left.

Davis tried to rally Baltimore with a pair of run-scoring singles, but the Orioles went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position. After Davis' hit made it 5-3 in the eighth, Severino flew out and Rio Ruiz popped out to strand two baserunners.

Alex Colome worked the ninth for his sixth save.

Andrew Cashner (4-1, 4.18 ERA) and Ivan Nova (0-3, 8.42 ERA) are scheduled to pitch Tuesday night, but there is rain in the forecast. Cashner is 4-0 with a 2.86 ERA in his last five starts for the Orioles. Nova was tagged for nine runs in four innings in a 9-1 loss at Baltimore last Tuesday night.

Pat Maroon's flicked shot across the body and over the right shoulder of Ben Bishop was indeed a goal, a game-winner against the Dallas Stars with 1:38 left to give the Blues a 4-3 victory and a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinal matchup.

His second goal of the playoffs ended a span of just under 5 1/2 minutes when both teams scored two goals , including Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo ending a 25-game drought since scoring his last goal Feb. 19.

Jaden Schwartz and Tyler Bozak each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who are still undefeated on the road this postseason after winning all three games at Winnipeg in the first-round series they won in six games. All four of the road wins have been by one goal.

Pietrangelo's one-timer with 5:36 left, for a 3-2 lead, came right after the end of a Blues power play during which Andrew Cogliano scored a short-handed goal to tie the game 1:18 earlier.

But Dallas quickly got even again at 3-3 on Tyler Seguin's goal with 4:08 left that was his first point in this series, only to see the Blues regain the lead again when the St. Louis-born Maroon got the puck past the Stars goalie who grew up in St. Louis, then was drafted by the Blues and made his NHL debut for them.

Alexander Radulov scored on a power play in the first period for the Stars, his team-high fifth goal of the playoffs.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in Dallas, before the series shifts back to St. Louis.

In a game heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, the Prairie Central Lady Hawks downed Monticello 11-1 in Illini Prairie Conference girls softball action Monday afternoon from Monticello.

The Lady Hawks scored a run in the first and four runs in the second and third innings to open up a 9-0 lead. 

After going up 11-0 in the top of the sixth inning, Avery Oberheim brought home Skyler Frye on a sac-fly to center field for the Lady Sages only run. Monticello mustered just five hits and six base runners as Heidi Meister allowed an unearned run across six innings for the win.

Amber Gaf hit a home run for the Lady Hawks and Kate Winterland finished 3-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in and a pair of runs scored.

With the win, the Lady Hawks pick up their first conference win of the season to move to 1-4 in the Illini Prairie and improve to 14-10 overall.

The Lady Sages drop to 8-10 overall and are 2-4 in conference action.

The Lady Sages head to Maroa-Forsyth Wednesday. You can hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Kellen Sarver hit a go-ahead two-run double in the ninth inning Sunday and Illinois held on to beat Nebraska 6-5 at Haymarket Park. Illinois won the series 2-1 and has won six of its last seven games.

Illinois (28-14, 8-7 Big Ten) held a 4-0 lead before Nebraska stormed back with a run in the sixth and three in the seventh to tie it 4-4. That set up Sarver for the clutch double to deep right center to give the Illini the lead for good.

Illinois built its lead thanks to Jack Yalowitz's two-run homer in the fourth, which cut through the 15 MPH wind blowing straight in from right field. Michael Massey added an RBI double in the third and Yalowitz also doubled and scored in the sixth on a Michael Michalak single.

Cyrillo Watson started on the mound, allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings while tying his career high in strikeouts with eight. Sean Leland (5-2) was the winner after allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings through the seventh and eighth.

Grant Van Scoy snapped a career-long 24-game reached base streak. Van Scoy hit .377 (34-90) during the 24-game streak with six doubles, one triple, two homers and 13 RBIs.

Illinois has five games next week, starting with a Tuesday game at Southern Illinois. The Illini return home to face Indiana State on Wednesday and host Indiana for three games Friday-Sunday. 

Illinois State lost its final game Sunday afternoon at Dallas Baptist by a final score of 11-4. The Redbirds took an early 2-0 lead after the top of the first, but would lose the game and the series.

Jordan Libman hit a two-run home run to right-center field in the first inning that put ISU up, 2-0.

In the third inning, Joe Butler singled up the middle to score Libman to extend the Redbirds lead to 3-1. From that point on, Dallas Baptist outscored the Redbirds 10-1. 

Libman led the Redbirds, finishing 4-for-5 with his two-run home run and scored twice. Butler was 2-for-4 while John Rave was 3-for-5 with a triple and a run. 

Illinois State drops to 27-17, 9-3 MVC.

>>White Sox Drop Tigers

Reynaldo Lopez struck out a career-high 14 and allowed two hits in six innings to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers for a sweep of their abbreviated two-game series.

Lopez (2-3) allowed one unearned run and lowered his ERA to 6.03.

Jace Fry and Kelvin Herrera each worked a hitless inning, and Alex Colome got the final three outs for his fifth save.

The White Sox struck out 20 Detroit batters - Fry, Herrera and Colome had two each - to tie the major league record for a nine-inning game.

Wellington Castillo went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Leury Garcia and Yolmer Sanchez each drove in a run and Jose Abreu went 2 for 3 as Chicago won its second straight.

Grayson Greiner had a run-scoring single for Detroit, which has dropped four straight.

The White Sox grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-out, ground-rule double by Castillo with the bases loaded against Matthew Boyd (2-2).

Chicago added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth. Garcia drove in a run with a safety squeeze bunt in the seventh, and Sanchez had a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Manny Banuelos (1-0, 2.51 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game home series against Baltimore Monday night. LHP John Means (3-2, 1.74) starts for the Orioles.

>>Cardinals Get By Reds

Jack Flaherty tossed seven scoreless innings, Yadier Molina drove in three runs and the Cardinals beat the Reds 5-2 on Sunday, taking two of three from their NL Central rivals.

Jose Martinez had two hits and drove in a run for the Cardinals, who have won seven of eight overall.

Scott Schebler hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth for the Reds, who have lost three of five.

Molina extended his hitting streak to 15 games, one short of his career best, with a bases-loaded single in the eighth.

Flaherty (3-1) gave up four hits in an 89-pitch outing. He struck out four and walked one. He was helped by three double plays, two of which ended innings.

St. Louis scored twice in the fourth off Sonny Gray (0-4), who gave up three hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Martinez brought in Paul DeJong with a two-strike single to right. Dexter Fowler followed with an infield single, and Molina pushed the lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.

Joey Votto reached base twice for the Reds, who are 10-8 since a 1-8 start to the season.

Paul Goldschmidt had a 13-game hitting steak snapped.

Michael Wacha (1-0, 4.64) starts in the opener of a four-game series at Washington on Monday against LHP Patrick Corbin (2-0, 2.48). Wacha will be coming off the 10-day injured list. He missed one start because of left knee patellar tendinitis.

>>Cubs Outlast Diamondbacks in 15 innings

Ben Zobrist lined a two-run double in the 15th inning, and the Cubs outlasted the Diamondbacks 6-5 in the second-longest game in Chase Field history.

After escaping a jam in the 14th inning, Tyler Chatwood (1-0) sparked the decisive sequence with a one-out double. Albert Almora Jr. followed with a single up the middle and Zobrist, who entered the game in the 10th inning, hit a double to the right corner in right off Matt Andriese (3-2).

Kris Bryant followed with a sacrifice fly to put Chicago up 6-3.

Kyle Ryan gave up Caleb Joseph's two-run single in the bottom half before Allen Webster got Nick Ahmed to fly out at the warning track for his first career save.

Bryant also hit a two-run homer off Luke Weaver and Willson Contreras had a solo shot for the Cubs, unbeaten their last six series (5-0-1).

The Cubs struck out 19 times and went 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position, including 0 for 5 with the bases loaded, in a game that lasted 5 hours, 36 minutes.

Arizona rookie Jon Duplantier worked out of bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 12th inning and escaped another tight spot in the 13th when Contreras was thrown out at home on a delayed steal.

Eduardo Escobar homered twice and had three RBIs for the Diamondbacks. Weaver allowed three runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Chicago's Jose Quintana was sharp against the Diamondbacks- everyone except Escobar.

The left-hander allowed five hits and two were homers by Escobar: a towering solo shot in the fourth inning and a two-run shot in the sixth that tied it at 3.

Quintana allowed five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He was 3-0 with a sparkling 0.86 ERA in his previous three starts.

Cole Hamels is looking to bounce back against Seattle on Tuesday after matching a career high with six walks against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start.

Brian Gutekunst has completely overhauled the Green Bay Packers defense, making it considerably younger and more athletic, and doing it in a very un-Packers fashion. 

While some of the pieces brought in by Ted Thompson are still there and will presumably remain so, Gutekunst has spent the past two offseasons loading up on defenders in both free agency and the draft, and he even traded up a couple times to land his preferred player. 

The 2017 Packers' defense core of 14 players had an average age of 25.1 years old. The 2019 team's core will have an average age of 23.6 years old. Mike Daniels, at 29, is now the unit's oldest player, while there are seven players aged 23 or younger compared to just three in 2017. While Dean Lowry, Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels are still in place up front and Blake Martinez still has a spot in the middle, the rest of the defense has been completely remade on the fly. 

Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith were signed this offseason to big-money deals that will pay them a combined $118 million over four years. Adrian Amos was signed away from the Bears on a four-year, $36 million deal. Last offseason, the Packers landed Jaire Alexander after making two trades in the first round, first moving down the board to pick up an extra first-rounder in this year's draft and then moving back up to get their man. He was fantastic as a rookie and should be locked in at one corner slot for years to come. Josh Jackson was taken in the second round and Oren Burks in the third, and they should each have sizable roles moving forward as well. 

Rashan Gary was the first pick in this year's draft. The former No. 1 overall recruit is an athletic marvel who will have to put all the tools together to produce at a higher level than he did in college, but the tools are indeed there. Green Bay then used the Saints' pick acquired in last year's trade-down to move up the board once again, landing Darnell Savage to play alongside Amos on the back end. 

The Packers should enter the 2019 season feeling significantly more confident about the direction of their defense than they had reason to be two years ago. Their secondary is youthful, athletic and versatile.

Hunter Williams scored the winning run of a 4-3 walk off win for Monticello over Herscher from a rain soaked turf at the Corn Crib in Normal at the Michael Collins Memorial Invitational Saturday.

Tied at 3, Williams led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a base hit to left field. After Alek Bundy and Brett Macak were hit by pitches in consecutive at bats, a wild pitch went to the backstop and Williams slid head first across the plate for the winning run.

The Sages had to come back twice for the win.

After Herscher scored single runs in the second and third innings, the Sages tied the score in the third on a Macak RBI double and Macak came around to score when Asher Bradd reached on an error at third.

Herscher took the lead back, 3-2 in the top of the fifth.

In the bottom of inning, Brody Macak singled to start the inning. He moved to second on a sac bunt then moved up to third after Jared Lockmilker reached on an error and scored on Jake Edmondson's RBI sac fly to tie the game at 3.

Coming into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the third inning, Hunter Weeks struck out the first batter he faced and finished the inning getting Reece Harrod to bounce to third to end the threat and keep the score 2-0.

Weeks went 3 ? innings allowing a run, three hits, issued a walk and struck out four.

Andrew Rudolph was the winning pitcher, throwing a scoreless inning of relief surrendering a hit and striking out one.

Monticello improves to 11-6 and Herscher drops to 6-15.

The Clinton Maroons could not complete the come-back against Shelbyville Friday night and fell to the Rams 6-5 at Clinton High school.

Logan Peterson took the loss, he pitched 1 and 2/3 innings, gave up 3 runs on one hit while walking 2 and striking out 2. Drew Stacy started at the mound, gave up 3 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 5 and walking 1. At the plate, the Maroons were led by Logan Peterson going 2-3, with a home run, a double, and an RBI. Mathew Overton with 1-3, with a 2-run home run.

For Shelbyville, Kolten Reed got the win, pitching 2/3, allowing 1 run on1 hit, 3 walks while striking out 4.

The Maroons fall to 6-7 overall and 4-5 in CIC action. Tune in Thursday, May 2nd as the Lady Maroons battle Meridian. You can hear the game live on The Big 1520/92.3FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

A Clinton High School track and field star is headed to Monmouth College to further her athletic and academic career.

Kady Patelski Thursday afternoon signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Monmouth College next year to throw shot put and discus. Patelski was surrounded by friends and family and thanked both before she made her commitment official.

Patelski will study exercise science. She called Monmouth coaches very welcoming and enjoyed the campus.

Patelski did not participate in track and field until she was a sophomore and says she worked hard to get to the point of signing a national letter of intent in just a few short years.

Patelski describes herself as a very patient person and enjoys getting to know people. In her free time, she enjoys watching Netflix and watching Grey's Anatomy. 

The 2019 NFL Draft finally got underway on Thursday night, and it was certainly a night to remember for several fan bases. Round 1 began with the Cardinals finally answering the biggest mystery of the offseason by selecting Kyler Murray, which means Josh Rosen should be on the move at some point soon.

With the No. 12 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Packers selected Rashan Gary, defensive lineman out of Michigan. Quick first step for a big man. Insane athlete who played out of position at Michigan.

Best suited as a defensive end in the NFL where his rip move can be hard to counter for offensive tackles.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider made it pretty clear this week that his team was open to moving back during the first round of the NFL Draft and that's exactly what Seattle did when they were put on the clock Thursday. 

The Seahawks sent the 21st overall pick to Green Bay in exchange for a package that included three draft picks. In exchange for moving back, Seattle landed the Packers' 30th overall pick, along with two fourth-round picks (114th overall and 118th overall). 

The fact that the Seahawks traded down was probably the least surprising thing that happened during the first round of the draft. The Seahawks went into the draft with just five picks and Schneider was eager to add to that total. By trading with Green Bay, the Seahawks added two extra picks to their arsenal. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers spoiled Jon Lester's return to the rotation by scoring on an error and a sacrifice fly, beating Chicago 2-1 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Lester (1-1), who spent 16 days on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, allowed one run on four hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked none.

Cody Bellinger drove in the Dodgers' second run with a sacrifice fly off Kyle Ryan in the eighth after Los Angeles loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter. It was Bellinger's 31st RBI of the season, tying Milwaukee's Christian Yelich for the most in the majors.

Bellinger went 1 for 2, raising his major league-leading batting average to .426.

Pedro Baez (2-1) struck out three in 1 1/3 innings for the win. Kenley Jansen allowed Albert Almora Jr.'s homer in the ninth but got the final three outs for his eighth save.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Alex Verdugo led off with a triple to center. With the infield playing in, Chris Taylor hit a routine grounder to shortstop that Javier Baez booted for an error. Verdugo easily scored once the ball scooted away.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kyle Schwarber led off with a double. Ross Stripling then struck out pinch-hitter Mark Zagunis and retired Ben Zobrist on a grounder to first base. He was lifted for Baez, who walked Kris Bryant but got Anthony Rizzo to fly out.

Stripling allowed five hits and struck out six, throwing 76 pitches in his 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Kyle Hendricks (1-3, 3.54) starts the opener of a three-game series at Arizona on Friday night. LHP Robbie Ray (0-1, 3.95) goes for the Diamondbacks.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals and the St. Louis Blues beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 Thursday night in first game of the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.

Robby Fabbri also scored and Jordan Binnington made 27 saves for the Blues, who had lost three of four to Dallas during the regular season.

It was Tarasenko's seventh career multi-goal game in the postseason, tying him with Bernie Federko for second-most in franchise history.

Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars. Ben Bishop made 17 saves.

Game 2 will be Saturday in St. Louis, before the series moves to Dallas for the third and fourth games of the best-of-seven series.

Tarasenko's power-play goal with 1:57 left in the second broke a 1-1 tie. It was the first power-play goal in 17 chances allowed by the Stars this postseason.

Tarasenko gave the Blues a 3-1 lead at the 3:51 mark of the third period, skating by defenseman Miro Heiskanen and beating Bishop with a shot into the top left corner.

Benn's power-play goal with 2:17 left cut the Stars' deficit to one, but they couldn't get the equalizer.

Binnington made the lead stand up by making a tough save on Spezza during a Dallas power play and a sprawling save to rob Roope Hintz midway through the third.

abbri gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 5:57 of the first, beating Bishop between the legs from the right circle for his first goal of the playoffs. It was his first goal in 25 games, dating to Nov. 23, 2018.

Spezza tied the game midway through the second period, burying a one-timer on a pass from John Klingberg. It was his first goal in 23 games and his first in the playoffs since May 9, 2016, at St. Louis.

A rally in the ninth inning fell short for Clinton as they could not overcome Sullivan and dropped a 3-2 Central Illinois Conference decision Wednesday afternoon at Clinton High School.

The Maroons committed five errors on the day as Michael Oswald pitched a complete game, six-hitter allowing three runs but only one was earned, issuing a walk and striking out four.

He also finished 2-for-2 at the plate.

Dalton Rogers went 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball for the Redskins and struck out nine to one walk and five hits. Tim Lawyer finished the final 1 1/3 for the save.

The Maroons are 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the CIC.

Sullivan is 3-7 in conference play and improves to 4-15 overall.

The Maroons host Shelbyville Friday afternoon. Hear the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

CIC Scores Wednesday....

Central A&M 8

Decatur St. Teresa 2

Shelbyville 11

Meridian 0

>>Cardinals Sweep Brewers

Adam Wainwright was warm enough on a cool day, allowing one run in six innings for his 150th career victory as Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Jordan Hicks preserved the win with a strikeout of last year's MVP, Christian Yelich, who had most of the day off but still got a chance to rescue the Brewers. Yelich came up as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning.

Hicks, known for his 100-mph-plus fastball, only threw one heater out of his five pitches to Yelich, the only batter he faced. He got the strikeout on a 91-mph changeup, earning his seventh save in eight chances.

Wainwright (2-2) matched his season low in runs allowed, and it was his first quality start in a game with a starting temperature of 60 degrees or cooler since May 27, 2017.

Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina homered for the Cardinals as part of a four-run fourth. Ozuna's three-run homer extended his on-base streak to 14 games, and it was his 17th career homer against the Brewers, the most he's had against any opponent.

Molina's blast extended his 12-game hitting streak, tying him with Paul DeJong for the longest by a Cardinal this season. Paul Goldschmidt got the rally started with a single, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

St. Louis' three-game sweep of Milwaukee was it's first against its NL Central rival since July 1-3, 2016. The teams have already played 10 times this season, and Wednesday's result evened the season series at 5-5. They combined for 45 home runs in the 10 games.

Jhoulys Chacin (2-3) lasted four innings, allowing four runs on five hits. Zach Davies on April 13 was the last Brewers pitcher to turn in a quality start.

Miles Mikolas (2-1, 4.97) kicks off a three-game set against the visiting Reds and RHP Anthony DeSclafani (0-1, 5.59) on Friday. Mikolas gave up a pair of runs in eight innings on Saturday, becoming the first St. Louis starter this season to record an out beyond the sixth inning.

>>Cubs Rally Past Dodgers

Javy Baez and Jason Heyward each hit three-run homers in the sixth inning and the Chicago Cubs overcame a wild start by Cole Hamels to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 Wednesday night.

The Cubs did all their scoring with two outs, rallying from a three-run deficit and then hanging on to win for the seventh time in eight games.

Anthony Rizzo added an RBI double in the seventh. And the Cubs hung on after the Dodgers' Alex Verdugo cut it to 7-6 with a three-run homer against Steve Cishek in the eighth.

Cole Hamels matched his highest walk total in three seasons with six over 5 2/3 innings after issuing none in winning his previous three starts. The four-time All-Star gave up three hits and exited trailing 3-0 after Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer.

Ross Stripling (1-1, 3.07) could be making his last start for a while with Hill close to rejoining the rotation.

Jon Lester (1-0, 2.57) makes his first start since April 8, when he strained his hamstring running the bases in the home opener against Pittsburgh.

>>Orioles Edge White Sox

Stevie Wilkerson hit his first major league homer, John Means pitched five effective innings on his birthday and the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 Wednesday night to secure their second winning streak of the season.

After dropping three in a row to the Twins and opening against Chicago with a 12-2 loss, the Orioles won the next two games against the White Sox to capture their first series since April 1-3 in Toronto.

The two successive victories are Baltimore's most since a four-game run that began at Yankee Stadium on March 30, and improved its record at Camden Yards to 3-10.

Wilkerson's solo shot off Ervin Santana (0-2) put the Orioles up 4-1 in the fourth. Earlier in the at-bat, Wilkerson walked to first base after apparently being hit by a pitch, but the White Sox challenged the call and, following a replay, the call was overturned.

Means (3-2) marked his 26th birthday with a career-high six strikeouts. The lefty allowed one run and four hits.

Mychal Givens worked the final two innings for his first save. After allowing an RBI double to Jose Abreu in the ninth, Givens threw a wild pitch before striking out James McCann.

The right-hander then got Yoan Moncada to hit a two-out grounder to shortstop Richie Martin, who made a nice grab moving to his left before throwing to first. Martin had entered as a defensive replacement in the top of the inning.

Santana gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings. The 36-year-old has a 9.45 ERA in three starts with Chicago after going winless last year during an injury-riddled season with the Twins.

After taking Thursday off, Chicago starts Carlos Rodon (3-2, 2.89 ERA) in the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers.

Andrew Ellison threw six shutout innings to lead Monticello past Tri-Valley 4-1 in non-conference boys baseball action Wednesday afternoon at Monticello High School.

Ellison struck out eight, walked two and scattered five hits working around base runners all afternoon, as the Vikings stranded eight runners on base and four in scoring position.

The Sages jumped on the board in the third inning when Asher Bradd one-hopped the left field fence for a leadoff double and scored on a wild pitch. 

They added three runs in the fourth capped off by a Bradd RBI single. 

Bradd finished 3-for-3 for the Sages with a double, run, stolen base and a walk. Jared Lockmiller went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Ellison, Colin Jones and Hunter Williams each scored for the Sages.

 Tri-Valley was led by Braden Zenor who finished 2-for-4 and scored the only run in the Vikings only run in the seventh after he reached on an error, stole his second base and came home on a Drew Kitterman single to centerfield. 

Andrew Rudolph got the final three outs for the Sages with two strikeouts and surrendered an unearned run.

The Vikings drop to 10-8 overall and the Sages improve to 10-5.

Monticello travels to Pontiac for a crucial conference tilt with the Indians. After an off-day Friday, they will travel to Normal to take on Herscher at the Corn Crib. Hear Saturday's action at 11 am on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illinois scored twice in the 10th inning Tuesday to beat Bradley 4-2 at Dozer Park in a game the Illini led three times, avenging a 12-8 loss last Tuesday at Illinois Field.

Michael Massey hit the go-ahead single with two outs in the 10th. 

Illinois (26-13) held a 2-1 lead in the ninth after Kellen Sarver blasted a no-doubt homer to right field in the top half of the inning. It was Sarver's second homer of the season and set up Garrett Acton for a chance for a school-record-tying 14th save of the season, but Bradley (24-13) rallied to push across the tying run after a leadoff walk.

The Illini answered with two more in the 10th, which began with Grant Van Scoy's leadoff single. Massey gave Illinois a 3-2 lead on a two-out, two-strike single through the right side and Zac Taylor added one more with a single to right field. 

Acton worked a scoreless bottom of the 10th in 1-2-3 fashion to secure the win. He was one of six Illini to throw during the predetermined bullpen game, starting with Quinn Snarskis' 2 2/3 scoreless innings and Nathan Lavender's 2 1/3 scoreless frames. 

Snarskis scattered four hits and struck out four in an impressive first start since March 4 due to injury. Lavender was perhaps even better, allowing only one hit and striking out three Braves. 

Van Scoy is on a career-long 22-game reached base streak. Van Scoy is hitting .358 (29-81) during the 22-game streak with four doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBIs.

Illinois takes its four-game winning streak to Nebraska this weekend for a three-game Big Ten series against the Huskers.

The Illinois State baseball team defeated Northern Illinois, 10-2 at Duffy Bass Field on Tuesday afternoon to improve to 26-15. 

In the bottom of the third inning, Aiden Huggins doubled to right field to score Jack Butler to tie the game. Huggins would later score in the inning on a throwing error by the Huskies shortstop to take the lead 2-1.

Tyson Hays singled to center field to score Gunner Peterson to extend the lead to 3-1 over Northern Illinois in the fourth inning.

Illinois State scored six runs in the home half of the sixth inning, as Joe Butler hit a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Joe Aeilts. Huggins singled to left field to score Hays. Next, John Rave doubled to drive home Jack Butler and Huggins. Parola capped off the inning with a two-run home run to left field for his third of the season to make the score 9-1 in favor of the Redbirds.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Jack Butler doubled to right-center field to score Hays to make the score 10-1.

Parola finished 2-for-5 with his home run and double with two RBIs. Huggins finished 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs and Rave was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. 

Brett Wicklund went six innings allowing an unearned run on four hits, no walks and two strikeouts. 

The Redbirds return to action this weekend, as the team heads on the road to Dallas Baptist for their second consecutive conference series away from Duffy Bass Field.

>>Cardinals Edge Brewers

Paul DeJong hit a tiebreaking, leadoff homer in the eighth inning, Yadier Molina had three hits and two RBIs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Tuesday night.

The Cardinals have won four in a row. The Brewers have lost five of six.

Milwaukee had three solo homers, two by Travis Shaw and another by Orlando Arcia. The Brewers had four solo homers in a 13-5 loss Monday. All Milwaukee's runs in this series have come from home runs.

Molina hit his second double with one out in the eighth, scoring Jose Martinez, who had walked to go with two singles. Molina stole third but was stranded there. It was his first stolen base this season and the 17th time he's stolen third in his career.

Andrew Miller (1-1) struck out two in a perfect eighth to pick up his first win as a Cardinal. Miller's last victory was on Aug. 9 against Minnesota, and the two-time All-Star has a disappointing 6.23 ERA this season.

Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth for his sixth save. Shaw led off the ninth with his second home run. After a walk, Hicks got a strikeout and a double play.

Paul Goldschmidt singled home Matt Carpenter with two outs in the fifth, giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead. Carpenter drew a walk and then stole second, his first this season, to get into scoring position.

St. Louis starter Daniel Ponce de Leon, who was activated before the game, started in place of the injured Michael Wacha. In his season debut, Ponce de Leon pitched five innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits and one run.

Milwaukee starter Zach Davies pitched 4 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits and two runs.

Jhoulys Chacin (2-2, 5.92) will be making his second start this season against St. Louis.

Adam Wainwright (1-2, 4.74) pitched a season-high seven innings in his last start (April 11) against the Brewers.

>>Cubs Drop Dodgers

Jose Quintana pitched seven crisp innings in his third straight win, and the Chicago Cubs used a fast start to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 on Tuesday night.

Willson Contreras hit a three-run double in Chicago's four-run first, and Anthony Rizzo added a two-run drive in the second. Baez reached three times, including a memorable infield single in the second and a solo shot in the seventh.

It was more than enough support for Quintana (3-1), who turned in another gem in the Cubs' sixth win in seven games. The veteran left-hander allowed two runs and four hits while improving to 3-0 with a sparkling 0.86 ERA since he was hit hard in a loss at Milwaukee on April 5.

NL West-leading Los Angeles had won seven of eight. But the Dodgers were unable to recover after Kenta Maeda (3-2) struggled early on.

With one out and runners on second and third in the first, Baez walked on a close full-count pitch that Maeda wanted badly. After Kyle Schwarber struck out swinging, Contreras doubled down the third-base line and Daniel Descalso tacked on an RBI double for a 4-0 lead.

Rizzo went deep with one out in the second, sending an opposite-field drive into the bleachers in left. Baez then hit a bouncer up the line and juked inside to avoid Freese's tag.

The Dodgers wasted a couple of late chances to get back in the game. Pinch-hitter Max Muncy struck out looking on Quintana's 114th pitch, stranding two runners in the seventh. A.J. Pollock struck out and Cody Bellinger grounded out with the bases loaded in the eighth.

Maeda allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked three in four innings.

Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler (2-0, 5.40 ERA) and Cubs left-hander Cole Hamels (3-0, 2.77) face off Wednesday night. Buehler pitched 6 1/3 innings of three-hit ball in a 3-2 victory over Cincinnati in his previous start. Hamels is going for his fourth consecutive win.

>>Orioles Pound White Sox

Dwight Smith Jr. hit a three-run homer, one of four long balls off Ivan Nova, and Baltimore overpowered the Chicago White Sox 9-1 Tuesday night to end a four-game skid.

Renato Nunez, Chris Davis and Joey Rickard also connected for the Orioles, who improved their home record to 2-10.

Andrew Cashner (4-1) gave up one run, five hits and a walk over seven innings to win his fourth straight decision. Just as important, he provided much needed rest to a bullpen that was drained in a 12-2 loss to Chicago one night earlier.

Nova (0-3) yielded nine runs over four innings. Obtained in an offseason trade with Pittsburgh, the right-hander has an 8.42 ERA over five starts and has given up 11 hits in each of his last two outings.

Chicago's lone run came on a sixth-inning RBI single by Tim Anderson.

Ervin Santana (0-1, 10.38 ERA) works the series finale Wednesday night. He's seeking his 150th career victory and first with Chicago after signing as a free agent in February.

John Means (2-2, 1.72) plays the role of an opener for the third time this season. He lost his previous two starts despite allowing only a total of two earned runs in eight innings.

Miranda Fogal struck out 15 across seven scoreless innings leading Monticello over Urbana in non-conference girls softball action Tuesday afternoon at Monticello High School.

Skyler Frye started the scoring in the first with an RBI single. During a stolen base attempt, Frye was thrown out at second base but the throw to second allowed Lizzie Stiverson to score for the 2-0 early lead.

Addison Wichus started the fifth inning with a triple and scored on an error with two outs for Monticello to extend their lead to 3-0. 

Fogal walked and scored on an error in the sixth inning for the Lady Sages to make it 4-0. 

Frye finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and Wichus was 1-for-3. 

Raevyn Russell went six innings for Urbana allowing four runs, two earned, issuing four walks to seven strikeouts. 

The Lady Sages improve to 9-9 overall. Urbana drops to 7-8. 

The Clinton Maroons used a 12-run second inning to propel them past Decatur St. Teresa 16-4 Monday afternoon in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action from Decatur.

Braden Cross led the Maroons offense with three RBIs, a double and finished 2-for-4. Logan Peterson and Tyler West finished 2-for-3, Drew Stacey was 1-for-2 with a double and Garret Wayne finished 2-for-4.

Wayne pitched 3 2/3 innings for the win allowing four uneanred runs, a hit, issued four walks and struck out nine. Stacey finished the final 1 1/3 allowing a hit, two walks and struck out one.

Kolby Osborne walked three times to lead the Bulldogs offense.

The Maroons improve to 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the CIC. The Bulldogs drop to 5-4 in CIC play and 7-10 overall. 

The Maroons play host to Sullivan tomorrow afternoon. 

Scores in CIC baseball action Monday....

Tuscola 12

Central A&M 2

Sullivan 2

Meridian 0

Shelbyville 2

Warrensburg-Latham 6

CIC baseball action today....

Central A&M @ Nokomis

Shelbyville @ Cowden Herrick-Beecher City 

Maroa-Forsyth @ Sullivan 

Villa Grove-Heritage @ Tuscola 

CIC girls softball action from Monday....

Clinton 15

Decatur St. Teresa 5

Tuscola 6

Central A&M 0

Meridian 15

Sullivan 2 

Shelbyville 6

Warrensburg-Latham 4

CIC girls softball action today...

Warrensburg-Latham @ Clinton

Meridian @ Williamsville 

Neoga @ Tuscola 

>>

Jose Abreu went 3 for 6 with a homer and five RBIs, James McCann also homered and the Chicago White Sox crushed the Orioles 12-2 Monday night.

McCann's three-run drive off David Hess (1-4) highlighted a four-run fifth inning, and Abreu's shot with a man on sparked a four-run seventh against Tanner Scott.

Abreu also had an RBI single in the fifth and singled in two runs during a four-run eighth. He added 22 points to his .192 batting average and increased his RBIs total to 17.

Abreu's fourth homer of the season, a drive to right field, upped the score to 6-0 in the seventh.

Catcher Jesus Sucre pitched the ninth for Baltimore, marking the third time in 24 games this season that Hyde has used a position player on the mound. Lobbing the ball in the 65 mph range, Sucre worked a 1-2-3 inning.

Hess retired 12 of his first 13 batters before he fell apart in the fifth, when he walked two and allowed four hits - a home run, two doubles and a single.

Making his first start since 2015 - his last season in the majors before this year - Chicago left-hander Manny Banuelos gave up five hits and a walk over four shutout innings. He was followed by Ryan Burr and Jace Fry (1-0), who permitted one hit over 1 1/3 innings.

Baltimore's runs came on an RBI double by Trey Mancini in the fifth and solo homer by Severino in the ninth.

Ivan Nova (0-2, 6.23 ERA) makes his fifth start on Tuesday night, still looking for his first win with Chicago.

Andrew Cashner (3-1, 4.97) seeks to win his fourth straight decision.

>>Cardinals Blowout Brewers

Dexter Fowler had his first four-hit game in six years, hit his first home run this season and drove in four runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 13-5 on Monday night.

Paul Goldschmidt hit his ninth home run and had three hits and three RBIs for the Cardinals. St. Louis outhit Milwaukee 18-5, setting a season high for runs and hits in winning its third straight.

Ryan Braun, Hernan Perez, Yasmani Grandal and Travis Shaw homered for Milwaukee, which has lost five of six.

Jack Flaherty (2-1) allowed four runs and three hits - all homers - in six innings. He struck out 10, reaching double digits for the fourth time in his big league career.

Adrian Houser (0-1) lost in his season debut and first big league start. He gave up five runs and nine hits in four-plus innings.

Kolten Wong hit an RBI single in the second, and Fowler made it 3-0 in the third with his first home run since July 24, a two-run drive.

Braun's solo homer and Perez's two-run home run tied the score in the fifth, but Goldschmidt put the Cardinals ahead to stay with a two-run homer in the bottom half that chased Houser.

Grandal homered in the sixth, but St. Louis blew open the game with a seven-run seventh off Jacob Barnes and Aaron Wilkerson that included a two-run, pinch-hit single by rookie Lane Thomas.

Zach Davies (2-0) enters his start for Milwaukee on Tuesday with a 2-2 record against the Cardinals, including 0-2 with a 9.28 ERA in two starts last season. RHP Daniel Ponce de Leon will start in place of Wacha after going 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in three starts at Triple-A Memphis. He had one appearance in 2018 against Milwaukee, pitching one of scoreless relief.

The Monticello Sages used a nine-run third inning to blow by the Unity Rockets 13-0 in Illini Prairie Conference boys baseball action Monday afternoon at Monticello High School.

It took three Rockets pitchers to get through the inning as they issued seven walks on the inning and the Sages sent 14 batters to the plate. 

Brett Macak led the way for Monticello, firing four shutout innings, allowing a walk, two hits and struck out four and doubled twice at the plate and drove in a run. Cooper Mitz struck out the side in a scoreless inning of relief.

Alek Bundy scored twice and drove in two runs in a 2-for-3 afternoon. Asher Bradd and Jared Lockmiller scored two runs, Andrew Ellison drove in two runs on a double in the third and Brody Macak drove in a run and scored.

The Sages improve to 9-5 overall and 4-1 in Illini Prairie action. The Rockets drop to 7-9 overall. 

The Sages host Tri-Valley Wednesday afternoon. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

The Illinois State baseball team defeated Southern Illinois, 8-4 on Sunday afternoon in Carbondale. 

John Rave hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning to give ISU a 2-1 lead. Derek Parola would later score in the inning on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. Rave led the way for the Redbirds finishing 5-for-6 with a home run, double and three runs batted in. Parola was 3-for-5 with a run and RBI.

Matt Walker finished six innings for ISU, allowing two unearned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts to zero walks. Colton Johnson got the final two outs for his first save. 

The Redbirds swept the Salukis on the weekend for their second conference sweep in as many weeks. The 'Birds are 25-15, 8-1 MVC which puts them in first place in the conference.

Cyrillo Watson threw seven strong innings Sunday and the Illinois baseball team beat Penn State 4-3 at Illinois Field. The Illini finished a three-game sweep to get to .500 in the Big Ten.

The Illini have won five of their last six Big Ten games after a slow start to conference play. 

Watson was dominant on the mound in his most productive start of the year. He tied a career-high with seven innings pitched, while only one run on five hits and striking out five. 

Penn State (17-18, 1-13 Big Ten) scored in the first inning, partly due to a misread fly ball, but Illinois secured a 4-1 lead by the end of the fourth inning. The Illini did it with a three-run fourth, including a leadoff homer from Zac Taylor, an RBI single from Grant Van Scoy and a squeeze bunt RBI from Jeff Korte.  

The Nittany Lions pulled within one run on a solo homer from Shea Sbranti in the ninth inning before Garrett Acton shut the door. Acton earned his 13th save, one away from tying the Illinois single-season record shared by Tyler Jay and Joey Gerber.

Illinois is on the road all week with stops at Bradley (Tuesday) and Nebraska (Friday-Sunday).

>>Cardinals Roll Mets

Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs and Noah Syndergaard hit a home run with Dexter Fowler's help, but he struggled on the mound as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-4 on Sunday.

Syndergaard (1-2) allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits in five innings, but his most memorable play came while batting in the fourth. He hit a deep flyball to center that Fowler leaped for on the warning track even though it was well below the fence. The ball deflected off Fowler's glove and over the wall for Syndergaard's fifth career homer and first since Aug. 16, 2016, at Arizona.

It was one of four homers on the day for the Mets, but that wasn't enough for Syndergaard, who has allowed at least five runs in his last two starts after not having given up five in a game since April 30, 2017, at Washington.

Dakota Hudson (1-1) allowed three runs on five hits in five innings, striking out five, for his first career victory as a starter. He went 4-1 in 26 appearances, all in relief, as a rookie last season.

Jordan Hicks pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save in six chances. His last fastball measured 104.2 mph, the hardest in baseball this season. Hicks reached 105.1 mph last year, tied with Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman for the fastest pitch ever.

Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto also homered for New York, which lost two of three at St. Louis.

Kolten Wong's RBI single in the second tied the game at 1-1, and he advanced to second after Brandon Nimmo's throw to the plate wasn't cut off. Hudson reached on an error to load the bases, and Goldschmidt singled two batters later to make it 3-1.

The Cardinals went ahead 5-1 on Molina's RBI groundout and Fowler's run-scoring double in the fourth.

Jack Flaherty (1-1, 5.00) starts against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. Flaherty is 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in seven career starts against Milwaukee.

>>Cubs Edge DBacks

David Bote hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, and the Chicago Cubs used a terrific performance by Tyler Chatwood to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 on Sunday.

Led by Chatwood's six sparkling innings, Chicago carried a 1-0 lead into the ninth. But Jarrod Dyson hit a tying drive to right off Pedro Strop (1-1) with one out.

The Cubs then got right to work against Archie Bradley (1-2) in the bottom half. Javier Baez led off with a double up the first base line and went to third when Adam Jones bobbled the ball in right.

After Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch, Bote hit a liner right through the drawn-in Arizona infield for Chicago's fifth win in six games. Bote hit two game-ending homers during his rookie season, including a memorable grand slam against Washington, and closed out another win with a bases-loaded walk.

The Diamondbacks managed just two singles before Dyson's third homer . Dyson was the only Arizona runner to reach second safely all day long.

Following an off day, Jose Quintana (2-1, 3.43 ERA) starts Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Kenta Maeda (3-1, 3.80 ERA) pitches for Los Angeles.

>>Tigers Down White Sox

Daniel Norris earned his first victory in two years, striking out six batters in five innings to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Sunday.

Norris (1-0) allowed two hits and walked one, earning his first victory since Sept. 28, 2017, and Gordon Beckham homered against his former team as the Tigers won two of three in the series.

Norris took Matt Moore's spot in the rotation after his season-ending knee surgery. Acquired from Toronto in a 2015 trade for David Price, Norris threw 79 pitches, 56 for strikes.

Chad Greene had a perfect ninth inning to earn his league-leading 10th save in 10 tries for the Tigers, closing all of their wins. His 10 saves are the most for a Tigers pitcher before the end of April in franchise history.

In his Tigers debut, first baseman Brandon Dixon had an RBI single in the second inning, scoring Jeimer Candelario, who tripled.

Miguel Cabrera brought home a hustling Nick Castellanos with a fourth-inning single as the Tigers base-runner scored after Eloy Jimenez's throw was a little off the mark from left field.

Castellanos reached on an error by center fielder Leury Garcia to lead off the sixth inning and scored on a Niko Goodrum double.

Beckham added a towering solo home run in the seventh inning.

Tigers reliever Buck Farmer retired all four batters he faced, including three on strikeouts, but the White Sox had a two-out, three-run rally off Blaine Hardy and Victor Alcantara in the eighth. Ryan Cordell, Yolmer Sanchez, Leury Garcia and Tim Anderson all singled to pull within 4-3.

White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (1-3) had a season-high eight strikeouts in six innings, but allowed seven hits and two earned runs.

On Monday, Manny Banuelos (1-0, 3.48) will make his first start since Sept. 6, 2015 when he was with Atlanta. He'll oppose RHP David Hess (1-3, 5.57) in the opener of a three-game series in Baltimore.

Gordon Hayward scored 20 points, Marcus Morris added 18 and the duo combined for five 3s over the final 5 1/2 minutes to give Boston a 110-106 victory and its first 4-0 series victory in eight years.

They won the first three games on the strength of a suffocating second-half defense that twice limited the Pacers 12-point quarters and once to eight. This time, they finished the job by grinding it out behind a group of polished veterans.

The game swung when Indiana guard Cory Joseph was called for a Flagrant 1 foul with 6:45 left. Jayson Tatum made both free throws to give Boston an 83-82 lead. After Al Horford made 1 of 2 free throws on Boston's next possession and then Morris knocked down a 3 and Hayward completed a three-point play to give the Celtics a 90-83 advantage with 4:15 to go.

Hayward and Morris were just getting started. Over the next three-plus minutes, they made three more 3s to give Boston a 102-90 lead with 1:04 to go.

Even a final flurry of 3s couldn't bail out Indiana. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points and Tyreke Evans scored a playoff career-high 21 as the Pacers got swept for the second time in three years - the only two times it has happened in franchise history.

Kyrie Irving had 14 points and seven assists. Tatum had 18 points and eight rebounds and Morris also had eight rebounds. 

Al Horford had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

Jaylen Brown added 13 points and Terry Rozier added 11 off the bench. 

Boston was 11 of 28 on 3s, 5 of 7 in the fourth.

Darren Collison had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Young added nine points and nine rebounds. 

Domantas Sabonis scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Myles Turner had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Pacers shot 40.9 percent from the field in the game and missed more than a handful of shots at the rim.

The Tigers ended a five-game losing streak with a 9-7 win over the Chicago White Sox. Detroit set season highs for hits (14) and runs.

Grayson Greiner had a career-high three hits and two RBIs for the Tigers.

With the score tied at 7, Greiner led off the eighth with a single and moved up when Carson Fulmer (0-1) hit both JaCoby Jones and Josh Harrison with pitches.

Castellanos and Cabrera put the Tigers ahead with back-to-back sacrifice flies.

Drew VerHagen (1-0) picked up the win after recording the last out of the eighth inning. Shane Greene pitched the ninth for his ninth save in nine attempts.

Neither starter was involved in the decision. Detroit's Tyson Ross pitched six-plus innings, allowing five runs - two earned - on seven hits. Ivan Nova gave up six runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The Tigers trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, but Castellanos ended Nova's day with a game-tying double with one out, and Cabrera greeted Kelvin Herrera with an RBI single.

Niko Goodrum doubled and the White Sox loaded the bases by intentionally walking Candelario. Dustin Peterson hit into a force at second, scoring Cabrera with Detroit's seventh run, but Wellington Castillo tied it with a two-run homer in the eighth.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Gordon Beckham singled and scored on Greiner's double. The same pair teamed up again in the fourth, with Beckham singling, stealing second and scoring Detroit's second run on Greiner's single.

Chicago made it 2-1 in the fifth, then took a 4-2 lead with three unearned runs in the sixth. With two out, Goodrum misplayed Yonder Alonso's grounder to first and Eloy Jimenez followed with his third home run.

Tim Anderson singled, stole second and went to third on Greiner's throwing error. Castillo hit a grounder to short and Beckham misplayed it for Detroit's third error of the inning as Anderson scored.

Detroit made it 4-all in the sixth on three singles and a wild pitch. Ryan Cordell homered to put Chicago ahead 5-4 in the seventh.

Jaden Schwartz scored with 15 seconds remaining to cap St. Louis' three-goal third period in a 3-2 win over the Jets on Thursday night, giving the Blues a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.

Tyler Bozak sent a pass over to Schwartz, who batted the puck in the air and sent it past Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck for the winner.

Ryan O'Reilly and Brayden Schenn scored earlier in the final period for the Blues, who host Game 6 of the best-of-seven series on Saturday. Jordan Binnington stopped 29 shots.

Winnipeg was up 2-0 after the first period on goals by Adam Lowry and Kevin Hayes. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves as the Jets lost their sixth straight at home, including the regular season.

The Blues' win marked the first time in 15 years, and fourth time overall, the road team has won each of the first five games in a seven-game series.

St. Louis went on its first power play with 21 seconds remaining in the second period when Jacob Trouba was called for roughing. The period ended with Winnipeg holding the 22-21 edge in shots on goal.

O'Reilly scored with 11 seconds remaining in the power play, off a rebound in a crowd in front of the net at 1:29 of the third to pull St. Louis to 2-1.

Schenn tied it with 6:09 remaining following a review. Oskar Sundqvist passed the puck over to Schenn and then was pushed down by Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and into the net, knocking it off. A review determined Schenn had shot the puck before a defensive player caused the net to come off.

Winnipeg mounted a 2-0 lead after the first period, even though the Blues had the 15-12 advantage for shots on goal.

Hayes cut to the front of the net with 6:25 left in the first and sent the puck under Binnington's pad to make it 2-0 with his second goal of the playoffs.

Hayes almost scored twice more in the second period.

He took away his own goal when his close shot slid under Binnington and started going toward the goal line. He tried to swipe it across, but his stick pulled the puck out instead.

Hayes also had a breakaway late in the period, but Binnington sprawled on the ice and the shot from the side went into his pads.

Winnipeg got a four-minute power play when Robert Thomas was dinged for high sticking Mark Scheifele in the face shield, but the Jets only had one shot on goal after a number of misses and blocked attempts.

Another Winnipeg power play early in the third delivered one shot on goal.

The Clinton Maroons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning but that was all they could muster as Tuscola scored 11 straight runs over the next six innings to walk-off with an 11-1 win in six innings Wednesday afternoon at  Tuscola High School in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action.

Braden Cross homered for the Maroons in the top of the first inning but Logan Tabeling allowed just three base runners, two walks and a hit batsman, the rest of the way. He struck out 15 over his six innings.

Michael Oswald went four innings for the Maroons. He allowed seven runs on eight hits, issued three walks and struck out five. 

Jalen Quinn, Brayden VonLanken and Max Wyninger each homered for Tuscola in a five run fourth inning. 

The Maroons drop to 5-5 overall and are 3-3 in the CIC. Tuscola, the CIC's top team, remained undefeated in conference play at 7-0 and went to 17-2 overall. 

The Maroons host Central A&M Friday. Hear the game live on 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Scores in CIC boys baseball action Wednesday....

Macon Meridian 4

Central A&M 0

Decatur St. Teresa 4

Warrensburg-Latham 0

Shelbyville 8

Sullivan 2

CIC Girls softball scores from Wednesday....

Macon Meridian 6

Central A&M 4 

Tuscola 11

Clinton 0

Warrensburg-Latham 18

Decatur St. Teresa 2 

Shelbyville 8

Sullivan 7

The Illinois State Redbirds defeated the Sacramento State Hornets by a final score of 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field. 

John Rave blasted a two-run home run to left field to put the Redbirds in the lead, 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Illinois State improves to 22-15 on the season and 9-2 at Duffy Bass Field.

Derek Parola hit two doubles and Jack Butler scored a run. 

Colton Johns and Mitch Vogrin each went three innings on the mound. It was Vogrin who was the winning pitcher. Jacob Gilmore pitched an inning and a third for his seventh save. 

Illinois State returns to action this weekend when the team travels to Carbondale to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis for a three-game conference series.

>>Cardinals Double Up Brewers

Michael Wacha slowed Christian Yelich and pitched six solid innings, Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna each went deep, and the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 on Wednesday to avoid being swept.

Wacha (1-0) bounced back after a tough start Thursday against the Dodgers. He struck out seven Brewers, allowing two runs and five hits to improve to 6-0 career against last year's NL Central winners.

Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes (0-2) got beat by the long ball again. He surrendered three home runs in each of his first three starts, then coughed up two more against St. Louis. He's allowed a major-league-most 11 on the season.

Ozuna went deep in the second and Carpenter in the fourth. It was Ozuna's fourth consecutive game with a homer and eighth overall.

The Brewers had won nine of 10 against St. Louis, including four in a row, but two RBI singles by Matt Weiters and one apiece by Paul DeJong and Kolten Wong helped snap that streak. DeJong went 4 for 5.

Burnes struggled through 3 1/3 innings, allowed nine hits, walked two and struck out three in his shortest start of the inning.

The Cardinals placed OF Harrison Bader (right hamstring strain) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 14, and recalled rookie OF Lane Thomas. He came in as a defensive replacement in center field for Jose Martinez in the eighth.

C Yadier Molina got the day off.

Adam Wainwright (1-1, 3.94 ERA) starts against the New York Mets on Friday.

>>Cubs Blank Marlins

Cole Hamels pitched seven strong innings and the Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins with a 6-0 win Wednesday night.

Hamels (3-0) allowed three hits and did not walk a batter. He struck out eight while throwing 65 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

Daniel Descalso had two hits and three RBIs, Javier Baez homered and knocked in two, and Jason Heyward also drove in a run for the Cubs, who have won five of six.

Hamels retired 15 consecutive batters after allowing a lead-off single to Jorge Alfaro in the second.

Kyle Hendricks (0-3, 5.40 ERA) looks for his first win of the season when he takes the mound on Friday to begin a three-game home series against Arizona.

>>Royals Win Emotional Game Over White Sox

The fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat following a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball in his next at-bat, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.

Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.

There were four ejections - Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.

The 25-year-old Anderson and the Royals have mixed it up before.

In April 2018, Anderson shouted after a home run against Kansas City. Later in the game, he was playing shortstop when Royals star catcher Salvador Perez reached second base. Words were exchanged and the benches cleared.

When the tempers cooled, Perez and Anderson shook hands. Perez said Anderson had hollered a few weeks earlier when he homered twice on opening day.

Anderson also has a history with crew chief Joe West, who he called ''terrible'' after getting tossed from a game against the crosstown Cubs in September.

Dozier connected leading off the 10th against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made a winner of Wily Peralta (2-1), who worked two innings.

White Sox starter Lucas Giolito left with two out in the third because of tightness in his left groin.

Giolito did not allow a run or hit in 2 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out five, walked one and hit a batter.

Ivan Nova (0-2, 5.28) tries for his first win with the White Sox as Chicago opens a four-game series at Detroit.

Kyrie Irving scored 37 points and Boston rallied late in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana 99-91 Wednesday night and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Coming out of a timeout and with a chance for Indiana to tie, the Pacers' Wesley Matthews threw an inbounds pass into the bench on the other side of the court with 12.1 seconds left. On the ensuing play, the Celtics' Al Horford passed to Jayson Tatum, who was fouled on a two-handed dunk. He completed the three-point play to make it 97-91 with 8.8 seconds left.

The Pacers turned it over again and the Celtics were able to close out the game at the free throw line.

Tatum scored 26 points, including his thunderous dunk down the stretch to help punctuate a 10-0 run by Boston over the final five minutes.

Bojan Bogdanovic led Indiana with 23 points. Young added 15 points. Myles Turner finished with six blocks.

Game 3 is Friday in Indiana.

After falling behind 5-2 early, the Clinton Maroons rallied to score the games final seven runs and beat Meridian 9-5 at Meridian High School Tuesday afternoon in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action.

Pictured Right: Garrett Wayne gets set to deliver a pitch at Meridian High School during his four-inning save.

Logan Peterson and Braden Cross each doubled twice in the offensive rally, Rustin Wertz doubled and drove in four. Drew Stacey and Michael Oswald each hit had a pair of hits for the Maroons as well.

Parker West started for the Maroons and picked up the win, firing three innings, allowing five runs, four were earned, on five hits, issuing three walks and striking out four. Garrett Wayne finished the final four innings, allowing two unearned runs on two hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.

The Maroons improve to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the CIC while Meridian falls back to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the CIC.

Clinton travels to Tuscola this afternoon and will host Central A&M Friday to finish out the week. 

In other CIC action Tuesday....

Warrensburg-Latham 5

Sullivan 2

CIC Softball action from Tuesday....

Central A&M 11

Riverton 0 

Tuscola 3

Teutopolis 0

Shelbyville 16

St. Elmo 6 

Warrensburg-Latham 10

Sullivan 0

Bradley hit six home runs Tuesday to beat the Illinois baseball team 12-8 at Illinois Field. 

Bradley (23-10) extended its winning streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the nation. The Braves' six homers tied for the fourth-most home runs in Bradley history.

Illinois hit three home runs in the fourth inning to take an 8-7 lead but was blanked over the next five innings. 

Illinois (22-13) got homers from Grant Van Scoy, Jacob Campbell and Michael Massey in the span of four batters in the fourth. Van Scoy had three hits in the game, while Massey, Ben Troike and Cam McDonald added two apiece. 

Van Scoy extended his career-long reached base streak to 18 games.

The Illini are home again this weekend, hosting Penn State for a Big Ten series Friday-Sunday. Bradley and Illinois are scheduled to play again next Tuesday at Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois.

The Illinois State baseball team lost on the road Tuesday afternoon in Chicago to the UIC Flames, 6-1. 

The Redbirds scored in the top of the first inning, but the Flames scored six unanswered runs in the contest. 

Joe Butler drove home Derek Parola on a single to right field to go up 1-0 on the Flames. Butler and Joe Aeilts each finished 2-for-4. 

Brett Wicklund took the loss for the Redbirds firing four innings and allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts. 

The loss dropped the Redbirds to 21-15 on the season.

Illinois State will host Sacramento State this evening.

Kyle Connor scored at 6:02 of overtime and the Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 to tie their best-of-seven Western Conference series at two games apiece.

Mark Scheifele also scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for the Jets, who arrived in St. Louis down 2-0. It is the only first-round playoff series in which the home team has failed to win a game.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored and Jordan Binnington made 37 saves for the Blues.

Tarasenko beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle 35 seconds into the third period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead. The power-play goal, Tarasenko's eighth career in the postseason, moved him into a tie with Brian Sutter and Al MacInnis for fourth in franchise history.

Scheifele tied it at the 7:33 mark, tipping in a feed from Connor. It was Scheifele's second goal of the series.

Connor ended it when he banged home a feed from Scheifele for his third goal in two games. It was the first playoff overtime winner for the Jets since they returned to Winnipeg in 2011.

The series shifts back to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Thursday night.

>>Quintana, Cubs Blank Marlins

Jose Quintana gave up six hits in seven innings to lead the Cubs to a 4-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Quintana (2-1) struck out seven and extended his scoreless innings streak to 14. The left-hander didn't allow a runner to reach second until Austin Dean's two-out double in the seventh.

Javier Baez went 3 for 4 and hit his fifth homer, a solo shot to the opposite field off Adam Conley in the eighth. Baez has three hits in each of his last three games and is the third Cubs shortstop in the last 60 years with the feat, joining Larry Bowa and Starlin Castro

Brandon Kintzler relieved Quintana and surrendered a two-out single to Brian Anderson and walked Castro. Jorge Alfaro drove Kintzler's 1-1 fastball to the warning track in center before Albert Almora tracked it down for the third out.

Chicago scored its fourth run on Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cubs, who have won five of six.

Miami starter Pablo Lopez (1-3) allowed two runs, five hits, struck out six and walked one in five innings. Lopez has not pitched six complete innings in his four starts.

Cole Hamels (2-0, 3.79) is scheduled to start the series finale Wednesday against RHP Sandy Alcantara (1-1, 4.24).

>>White Sox Roll Royals

Yoan Moncada hit a pair of solo shots for his first multihomer game and Leury Garcia added a two-run drive to power the Chicago White Sox past the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Tuesday night.

After struggling to consistently produce last year in his first full major league season amid huge expectations, Moncada is off to a fast start with a .333 batting average, five homers and 16 RBIs.

Yonder Alonso also homered and went 4 for 4 as the White Sox won for the fourth time in five games.

Reynaldo Lopez (1-2) allowed one run and five hits in six innings to rebound from a poor start to his season. The 25-year-old right-hander had permitted 18 earned runs in 13 1/3 innings over his first three games and gave up eight runs on 10 hits in his last outing against Tampa Bay.

Daniel Palka, who led the White Sox with 27 homers as a rookie last season, went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and is hitless in 32 at-bats this year. He is 0 for 34 dating to last season, the longest current skid for a major league position player.

Lucas Duda homered for the Royals, who are 0-5 on the road.

Kansas City starter Jorge Lopez (0-2) had a career-high 10 strikeouts but gave up three homers and allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings.

rad Keller (2-1, 2.45 ERA) and Chicago RHP Lucas Giolito (2-1, 6.19) are scheduled to start the finale of the three-game series Wednesday afternoon. Keller had a career-high 10 strikeouts in his last outing against Cleveland, while Giolito is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA in seven career starts vs. the Royals.

>>Yelich Homers Again as Brewers Double Up Cardinals

Christian Yelich welcomed Helsley to the big leagues with a three-run homer, his eighth against St. Louis this season, to help send the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-4 victory on Tuesday night.

Lorenzo Cain and Yasmani Grandal each homered in a five-run third against Jack Flaherty (1-1), when the Brewers went up 5-0.

Yelich, who homered three times on Monday, was the first batter faced by Helsley, who debuted with two on and two outs in the fifth. Yelich fell behind 0-2, evened the count and then fouled off a 98 mph fastball, before sending the next pitch 427 feet to right center for his ninth home run, putting Milwaukee up 8-0.

Brandon Woodruff (2-1) held the Cardinals scoreless until Marcell Ozuna's two-run homer, his seventh, with one out in the sixth. Woodruff allowed two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six.

The Cardinals added two in the eighth on RBI singles by Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong.

Flaherty was tagged for five runs on nine hits and needed 75 pitches to get through 2 2/3 innings.

Michael Wacha (0-0, 5.28) starts the series finale at Miller Park on Wednesday afternoon. He allowed seven runs on eight hits, including three homers, in 3 2/3 innings in his last start. Wacha is 5-0 in 12 career games against the Brewers, including 11 starts.

Corbin Burnes (0-1, 10.05) has allowed three home runs in each of his first three starts in a total of 14 1/3 innings. Opponents are batting .339 against him, although the Brewers are 2-1 in his starts.

A year and a half after suffering an injury so severe it nearly resulted in the loss of his leg, Bears tight end Zach Miller is moving on from football. Miller, 34, is officially retiring from the NFL. 

On Tuesday, Miller announced his retirement with a heartfelt Instagram post, in which he said that he's stepping away from the game because he "physically cannot give the game and our fans what they deserve."

His career ended tragically, though. In the middle of the 2017 season, Miller appeared to haul in an incredible touchdown from Mitchell Trubisky in a tight game against the Saints. 

Not only did the touchdown get inexplicably overturned, but Miller also suffered an injury that nearly resulted in the amputation of his leg. It would end up being the final play of Miller's career.

The Bears, who signed Miller to a one-year contract last summer even though they knew he was unlikely to play, thanked Miller on Twitter.

Miller, a sixth-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2009, was plagued by injuries for most of his career, which is why he played in only 66 games over the course of his career. He finished with 146 catches, 1,631 yards, and 15 touchdowns, most of which came in Chicago. With the Bears, Miller racked up 101 catches, 1,161 yards, and 11 touchdowns.

The Clinton High School boys baseball team's game scheduled for Monday at Meridian has been moved to today because of wet field conditions at Meridian High School. 

Meanwhile, the softball team traveled to Meridian for their scheduled conference tilt and were shutout 4-0 to the conference leading Hawks. 

Monday softball action in the CIC....

Central A&M 15

Warrensburg-Latham 1

Shelbyville 12

Decatur St. Teresa 9

Tuscola

Sullivan PPD - Makeup TBD  

CIC boys baseball action Monday....

Central A&M 11

Warrensburg-Latham 9

Shelbyville 5

Decatur St. Teresa 2

Tuscola 3

Sullivan 2

Today in CIC boys baseball action....

Warrensburg-Latham @ Sullivan

Minnesota scored two runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth to beat the Illinois baseball team 5-4 at Siebert Field. Illinois won the series 2-1 with a Sunday doubleheader sweep.

It was a controversial loss for Illinois (22-12, 3-6 Big Ten) as Minnesota's tying run was scored on a pitch that hit Eli Wilson's bat knob and rolled into fair territory before being ruled a hit by pitch. Illinois catcher Jeff Korte immediately picked up the ball steps away from home plate, touched the plate and was ready to double up the batter for what he thought would be an inning-ending double play. Instead the inning went on and Minnesota's next hitter added the winning run on a fielder's choice.

Minnesota scored both of its eighth inning runs without getting a hit, benefiting from three walks and the hit by pitch call. Illinois was up 4-1 through six innings but could not hold on. 

Minnesota (15-18, 7-5 Big Ten) salvaged a game in the series after Illinois clinched its fifth straight series win at Minnesota on Sunday. The Illini snapped a seven-game winning streak in Minneapolis with Monday's loss.

Michael Massey had three hits and Zac Taylor homered for a second straight game. Michael Michalak led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double but was stranded at third after a sac bunt and two ground outs. 

Cyrillo Watson started and gave Illinois five innings on the mound while allowing one run on five hits. Nathan Lavender (1-2) took the loss after walking three batters in the eighth.

Illinois is at Illinois Field for the rest of the week with matchups against Bradley (Tuesday) and Penn State (Friday-Sunday). 

>>Cubs Down Marlins

Darvish struck out eight in a season-high 5 2/3 innings for his first win of the year, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 Monday.

Willson Contreras hit his sixth homer, drove in three and reached base four times for the Cubs.

Darvish (1-2) allowed two runs, lowering his ERA to 6.11, and earned just his second victory since signing a $126 million, six-year contract with the Cubs before the 2018 season. He made it through only eight starts last year before being shut down with right triceps tendinitis.

Contreras walked to force in a run in the first, homered in the seventh and added an RBI single in the ninth. David Bote also drove in three.

Miami went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Jose Quintana (1-1, 5.14) is scheduled to start Tuesday against RHP Pablo Lopez (1-1, 6.60).

>>White Sox Down Royals

Wellington Castillo atoned for an error with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Monday night.

Castillo's poor throw on Billy Hamilton's steal in the seventh helped set up Whit Merrifield's tiebreaking sacrifice fly. But Castillo came up big after Tim Anderson led off the eighth with a double against Brad Boxberger (0-3), sending an opposite-field drive to right.

Manny Banuelos (1-0) pitched three hitless innings for his first win since 2015, and Alex Colome worked the ninth for his fourth save in four chances and No. 100 for his career. Anderson had three hits and scored twice, lifting his average to a major league-leading .453.

Hunter Dozier and Chris Owings homered for Kansas City, which was coming off a three-game sweep of Cleveland, the AL Central favorites.

Royals right-hander Jorge Lopez and White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez get the ball Tuesday night. Jorge Lopez (0-1, 3.71 ERA) pitched six innings of two-run ball in a no-decision against the Mariners in his previous start. Reynaldo Lopez (0-2, 12.15 ERA) has struggled so far this year, allowing 22 hits in 13 1/3 innings over three starts.

>>Yelich Hits Three Home Runs, Brewers Power Past Cardinals

Christian Yelich hit three homers, including a pair of three-run shots, and drove in a career-high seven runs to power the Milwaukee Brewers past the St. Louis Cardinals 10-7 on Monday night.

Yelich, the reigning NL MVP, hit his first three-run homer to cap a six-run second inning. After St. Louis tied it with three runs in the sixth, Yelich answered in the bottom half with a towering three-run blast to right off Mike Mayers (0-1).

Yelich capped off his night with his eighth homer this season, going deep to lead off the eighth. He also lined out in the first and was walked intentionally in the fourth.

Seven of his eight homers this season have come against the Cardinals.

Junior Guerra (1-0) worked 1 2/3 innings for the victory. Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth after allowing Marcell Ozuna's sixth home run to open the inning.

In the sixth, the Cardinals loaded the bases with one out. Guerra entered, and his first pitch to Paul Goldschmidt sailed past catcher Yasmani Grandal for a run-scoring passed ball. Goldschmidt and Ozuna followed with RBI singles to tie it.

The Brewers erased a 2-0 deficit with six runs in the second off Dakota Hudson. Mike Moustakes opened with his sixth homer. Eric Thames, Ben Gamel, pitcher Freddy Peralta and Lorenzo Cain each singled to account for two runs. Yelich then lined a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left-center.

St. Louis made it 6-3 in the third on Yadier Molina's RBI double.

The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the first on consecutive one-out homers by Goldschmidt and Paul DeJong. Goldschmidt has hit five of his seven home runs this season at Miller Park, including a three-homer game on March 29.

Cain robbed Matt Carpenter of a two-run homer with a grab above the center field wall to end the second inning.

Neither starter was effective. Peralta allowed three runs on four hits with three walks in 3 1/3 innings. Hudson was tagged for six runs on eight hits with three walks in 3 2/3.

Jack Flaherty (1-0, 2.93 ERA) looks to build on consecutive solid starts, having allowed one run in 11 innings in his previous two outings. Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 6.00) makes his fourth start and second against the Cardinals.

Skyler Frye broke a 6-all tie with a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to complete a comeback 8-6 win over Rantoul in Illini Prairie Conference girls softball action Monday afternoon from Monticello High School.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings but Monticello scored three runs in the third and fifth innings to tie the score at 6. Addison Wichus reached on an error to start the sixth inning on a play that was ten feet in front of the plate as Rantoul pitcher Lexi Sherrick and catcher Bella Shields collided and could not make the play. Their collision allowed Wichus to take second base on the play.

After lead-off hitter Max Daniels Struck out, Frye barely cleared the right field fence for the go-ahead home run.

Miranda Fogel picked up the win in circle for Monticello, going the distance with three strikeouts. 

The Lady Eagles stranded seven runners on base, with five of those in scoring position, all in the fourth inning or later.

Frye and Fogel each finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Fogel also drove in a run and Wichus scored twice for the Lady Sages. Avery Oberheim, Josie Nelson and Lizzie Stiverson each drove in runs in the win. 

The Lady Sages even their record at 7-7 overall and are 2-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference. 

Rantoul falls to 7-7 overall and are 1-3 in Illini Prairie action. 

The Illinois baseball team clinched Sunday a series win over Minnesota with 4-2 and 13-3 victories at Siebert Field. The start of the series was delayed two days due to blizzard conditions in Minnesota. 

Zac Taylor led Illinois with two hits and two RBIs in each game of the doubleheader. Ben Troike added a career-best-tying four hits in the opener.

Ben Troike led the lineup with a career-high-tying four hits, while Cam McDonald also tied a career high with three hits including a go-ahead single in the seventh. Zac Taylor drove in two runs.

Andy Fisher (4-1) gave Illinois its first strong outing of the day by scattering 10 hits over six innings and allowing only two runs. 

In game two, the Illini walked a season-high 11 times, including a program record-tying five walks issued to Kellen Sarver. 

Zac Taylor got the scoring started with a solo home run in the first inning and Illinois never looked back. Taylor added an RBI single later. 

Illinois' six fourth-inning runs were scored without the benefit of an RBI hit. Runs scored on a wild pitch, a passed ball, two fielder's choices, a bases-loaded walk, and a catcher's interference.

Ty Weber (3-1) took advantage of the run support and was sharp on the mound. He allowed only two runs on five hits in six innings, while striking out a season-high seven batters. 

The Illini go for the sweep Monday at 12 p.m. CT. 

>>Sox Get To Tanaka, Down Yankees

Tim Anderson hit his first career grand slam and Carlos Rodon pitched the Chicago White Sox to a 5-2 victory over the scuffling Yankees on Sunday. 

Jose Abreu nearly had a grand slam as well - to almost the same spot in the ballpark - but settled for a sacrifice fly when Aaron Judge made a jumping catch in front of the wall. Held to one hit Saturday in a 4-0 loss, Chicago chased Masahiro Tanaka with nobody out in the fifth and won for only the second time in eight games.

Yoan Moncada had three hits and a walk for the White Sox, who stole five bases in the last five innings - several of them uncontested. Chicago won two of three to take consecutive series in the Bronx for the first time since 2002-03. Before last August, the White Sox hadn't captured a series at Yankee Stadium since 2005.

With the Yankees (6-9) missing five dangerous regulars from their lineup, Judge did all he could in this one. He scored on Luke Voit's double, lined an RBI single and threw out Moncada trying for a two-base hit. New York handed Tanaka (1-1) an early 2-0 lead, but he unraveled in the fourth and fifth as the Yankees lost their fifth in six games.

Rodon (2-2) allowed three hits in six innings and struck out five , improving to 3-0 in three starts at Yankee Stadium. He retired his final 11 batters after a visit from pitching coach Don Cooper.

Looking for his 150th career win, RHP Ervin Santana (0-1) pitches against one of his former teams Monday night when Chicago hosts Kansas City. The two-time All-Star was tagged for seven runs and seven hits over 3 2/3 innings by Tampa Bay in his White Sox debut last Tuesday.

>>Cardinals Outlast Reds in Mexico

Marcel Ozuna hit two home runs and Matt Carpenter connected for a tiebreaking drive in the seventh inning that sent the Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 9-5 Sunday for a split of their two-game series in Mexico.

Tyler O'Neill also homered for St. Louis. Yasiel Puig hit his first home run for the Reds and Jesse Winker hit his second in two days.

It was 4-all when Matt Carpenter opened the seventh with his second home run of the season, tagging Amir Garrett (1-1). Ozuna hit a solo homer off Jared Hughes and Jose Martinez capped the five-run inning with a two-run single that made it 9-4.

Ozuna hit a three-run homer and O'Neill added a solo drive as the Cardinals took a 4-0 lead in the first off Anthony DeSclafini.

The Reds rallied to tie it with a four-run fifth off Miles Mikolas. An error by Carpenter at third base set up an RBI double by Michael Lorenzen, and Winker's three-run drive tied it.

Puig homered in the eighth to make it 9-5 and the Reds loaded the bases, but Jordan Hicks retired pinch-hitter Kyle Farmer on a grounder to escape.

Hicks closed for this third save. John Gant (3-0) pitched one inning.

Dakota Hudson (0-1, 2.79) starts at Milwaukee tonight.

>>Cubs, Angels Washed Out

Snow and rain led to the postponement of Sunday's finale of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

A makeup date was not immediately announced.

Steady snow fell throughout the morning and a mix of snow and rain continued throughout the afternoon.

With the postponement, the Cubs decided to keep Tyler Chatwood in the bullpen for now and start Yu Darvish in the opener of three-game series in Miami on Monday night. Chatwood was scheduled to take Jon Lester's turn in the rotation after the left-hander strained his left hamstring.

Kyle Connor scored twice, Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist, and the Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 on Sunday night to climb back into their first-round playoff series.

Winnipeg dropped the first two games at home.

Kevin Hayes, Brandon Tanev and Dustin Byfuglien also scored for Winnipeg, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves.

David Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen scored for the Blues, and Jordan Binnington made 23 stops.

Perron put St. Louis in front with a power-play goal late in the first period. He whipped a shot past Hellebuyck from the slot.

But the Jets grabbed the lead for good when they scored three times in a span of 4:01 in the second.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in St. Louis.

Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris each scored 20 points, and the Boston rallied in the second half to the beat Indiana Pacers 84-74 on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Jayson Tatum finished with 15 points. Al Horford added 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward had 10 points. It was the first playoff game since 2017 for Irving and Hayward after each missed last year's postseason with injuries.

The Pacers led by 11 points in the first half but had just eight points in the third quarter. The Celtics capitalized and led by as many as 22 in the fourth. The 29 points that Indiana scored in the second half were its worst of the season.

Cory Joseph had 14 points for the Pacers. Bojan Bogdanovic was the lone Pacers starter in double figures with 12 points.

Boston opened the third quarter with a 22-3 run to take a 60-48 lead. The Pacers didn't get their first field goal of the second half until Joseph dropped in a layup with 3:38 left in the third. They finished the quarter 2 for 19 from the field.

The Pacers went 12 of 21 from the free throw line (57%) and the Celtics outrebounded the Pacers 55-42.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Boston.

Tiger Woods, draped in red and black and aged sinew, popped under a graying sky. It did not feel like a Masters Sunday. Woods turned back time, literally in this case, as his first tee shot was in the air off the first hole at 9:21 a.m. local time. Players were going off both tees because an afternoon storm was coming. Little did we know that the only storm we'd see on this day was swinging a TaylorMade driver and wearing a mock-neck red shirt. 

Tiger stalked the fourth tee after his birdie at No. 3. His eyes were on the tops of the towering pines, and he came up well short, bogeying the fourth.

Then came the fifth, which he bogeyed for the fourth consecutive day. 

Tiger made birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to get to 1 under on the day and scrape the top of the leaderboard at 12 under as playing partner Francesco Molinari plodded on at 13 under.

A bogey at No. 10 led to the moment of the tournament. Woods sprayed a drive on the par-4 11th that landed in a bowl of pine needles, fertilizer and mud well right of the hardest hole on the course. Spectators were roped off like cattle after a security guard tried to break up a double play with Woods playing the part of the second baseman earlier in the week, and Woods crouched behind his ball examining his options. 

On No. 11 and then on No. 12, it was the wisdom of a man who has played nearly 100 rounds at this tournament. After Molinari came up breathtakingly short on the dangerous 12th and his ball chugged for the water, Woods put one in the heart of the green. He would have pounded one onto Augusta Country Club before he was going to repeat what the Italian had just done.

Two putts for par, and Woods was tied for the lead headed to the second nine.

Tiger made an easy birdie on the 13th, but Molinari did the same. After Molinari's double bogey at the 12th, it felt as if they would be in lockstep the rest of the way. 

Tiger pumped a 5-iron to the middle of the green at 15 and two-putted for another birdie to push his number to 13 under. 

Ahead of them, Patrick Cantlay stumbled home as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele were unable to muster much-needed birdies at the final two holes. They finished at 12 under.

On the 18th, he hit 3-wood and sheathed it with a flip spin of the club. Woods would two-putt for bogey and a one-stroke win, his 15th major and fifth green jacket. 

Tiger Woods receives $2,070,000 for his Masters win. 

Runners up -- Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka: $858,666.67 each. 

T5 -- Jason Day, Webb Simpson, Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau: $403,937.50 each

T9 -- Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler -- $310,500 each

T12 -- Bubba Watson, Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Justin Harding, Ian Poulter -- $225,400 each

17th -- Aaron Wise: $184,000

T18 -- Patton Kizire, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott -- $161,000 each

Today's (FRI) scheduled baseball and softball games between Clinton and Warrensburg-Latham have been postponed due to wet field conditions.

The New York Jets have signed former Baltimore and Green Bay running back Ty Montgomery, giving them some versatility and depth in the backfield behind Le'Veon Bell.

The 26-year-old Montgomery ran for 188 yards and one touchdown on 41 carries in 13 games with the Ravens and Packers last season. He also had 10 catches for 65 yards.

Montgomery was drafted by Green Bay in the third round out of Stanford as a wide receiver in 2015, but switched to running back in his second season. The Packers traded him to the Ravens last October for a 2020 seventh-round pick.

Montgomery has rushed for 932 yards and seven TDs in his career, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He also has 107 catches for 892 yards and three scores. Montgomery could also help on special teams, averaging 22.7 yards on 35 career returns.

The Jets signed Bell last month to be their lead running back, but now also have Montgomery, Elijah McGuire, Trenton Cannon and De'Angelo Henderson on the roster as potential backups.

>>Cardinals Outlast Dodgers in Slugfest

Matt Wieters drove in a three runs and stole a base for just the third time in six years, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-7 Thursday for a four-game sweep of the NL champions.

Making his first start this season, the 32-year-old Wieters hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and a two-run double in the fifth that put the Cardinals ahead 8-7. With runners at the corners in the fifth, Wieters stole second as Matt Carpenter struck out, his first steal since April 27, 2017, and just the ninth of his major league career.

St. Louis' bullpen combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings in the series finale and allowed one run in the four games.

Harrison Bader was hit by pitches with the bases loaded in both the second and fifth innings. He was the first player to force in runs twice in a game while getting hit since Toronto's Reed Johnson on April 16, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

He was part of a rare two-run wild pitch in the second inning by Walker Buehler. When the ball bounced toward the first base dugout and first baseman David Freese let catcher Rocky Gale chase after it, Jeff Gyorko scored from third and Bader from second.

Jose Martinez matched a career high with four hits, including an RBI double off Yimi Garcia in a two-run sixth. St. Louis set a season high for runs and swept the Dodgers in a four-game series for the first time since July 15-18, 2010.

Giovanny Gallegos (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his first appearance of the season for the Cardinals to win in relief of Michael Wacha, who allowed seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. It was the first Major League win for Gallegos in 23 appearances.

Pedro Baez (0-1) gave up four runs - three earned - and four hits in one inning.

Adam Wainwright (1-0, 4.50) is to start Friday against the Reds and RHP Tanner Roark (0-0, 5.79). Wainwright is one win shy of 150.

>>Cubs Outlast Rain, Pirates

Jose Quintana struck out 11 in seven innings of four-hit ball as Chicago blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 on Thursday night.

Quintana (1-1) bounced back after being roughed up for eight runs and eight hits in three innings against Milwaukee during his first start of the season last Friday. It was the longest outing by a Chicago starter this season.

Daniel Descalso and Victor Caratini each had two hits and an RBI in a game that was delayed 69 minutes by rain before the eighth inning.

Caratini left after the delay and X-rays indicate the backup catcher might have a broken hamate bone in his left hand. He believes he was injured on a swing, and a CT scan is scheduled for Friday.

Steve Cishek pitched the eighth and Pedro Strop got three outs for his first save. The Cubs took two of three in their first home series after opening with a 2-7 road trip.

Pirates starter Joe Musgrove (1-1) allowed two unearned runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

With one out in the seventh, Jason Heyward lifted a pop fly to shallow left field and the strong right-to-left wind blew the ball toward the line. Because of a defensive shift, no Pittsburgh fielder had a clear shot at it. Three players converged and the ball hit off the glove of third baseman Jung Ho Kang in fair territory and fell in.

Descalso followed with a single to drive in Heyward for the game's first run. Descalso went to second on the throw to the plate and scored when the next batter, Caratini, doubled to right-center against Francisco Liriano.

Cole Hamels (1-0, 5.73 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game home series against the Angles on Friday afternoon. LHP Tyler Skaggs (1-1, 2.45) goes for Los Angeles.

The 2019 Masters is off and rolling with major champions all bunched up at the top of the leaderboard and four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods very much in the hunt for another green jacket. Woods shot a 2-under 70, matching his first round score from each of his first three Masters victories.

The story of the afternoon was Brooks Koepka, who answered criticism of his weight loss in dominant fashion as he grabbed a share of the 18-hole lead late Thursday in his first Masters start as a major champion. After a mostly uneventful first nine, Koepka ran off five birdies in six holes to start the second nine and grab the tournament by the throat. But he's not alone. Bryson DeChambeau was equally as impressive, holding T1 alongside Koepka after firing off four straight birdies to end his opening round with a 6-under 66.

In total, there are 20 players within four strokes of the lead. Thursday didn't do much to sort out the top, but it did nearly eliminate several players we were watching heading into the week. Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth Paul Casey all played themselves out of contention. Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia all carded 1-over 73s. All of these world golfers are capable of going low on Friday to make the cut, but as they currently sit outside the top 40 on the leaderboard, it's hard to imagine that any of them have a real shot to win. 

When Koepka last played in the Masters, he had one PGA Tour win, no majors and was ranked 25th in the world. Koepka himself pointed to the experience of watching the 2018 Masters at home as a motivating factor in a renewed commitment to the game. Ever since, there hasn't been a better major championship player on the planet, and he seems extra motivated by the talk about his weight coming into the week. 

DeChambeau finished with six birdies over the final seven holes, nearly dunking a hole-in-one on 16 and chipping in from off the green.

Phil Mickelson had to pull out all the stops over the second nine during his charge. He rode the wave of good scoring in the afternoon and seemed to be in the zone, carding five birdies over the last seven holes, including being one of the few golfers to get a birdie on the 18th. Mickelson sits a shot back of the leaders at five-under.

There's nothing to be concerned about from a round of 68 from Dustin Johnson, it just seemed as though he was falling behind going head-to-head with DeChambeau down the stretch. Johnson sits at four-under, two back of the leaders. 

Fowler (-2) struggled with a couple tee balls early but caught some good breaks, battled a little and kept his card pretty clean with just one bogey. There's room for improvement, particularly on the par-5s, he's still in striking distance on a day where the course was tricky for even the game's biggest stars. 

Jason Day (T11, -2) needed to get stretched out for a back injury reportedly suffered while lifting one of his children near the putting green. He responded well to the treatment with a birdie on 2 and then birdies on two more par-5s (No. 8, No. 13) and another on No. 16. 

Tyler Bozak scored with 2:05 left in the third period off Maroon's assist to give the Blues a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference opening-round playoff series.

Maroon sent a backhand pass from behind the net out to Bozak in the slot, and Bozak's quick shot went by Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck for the go-ahead goal.

David Perron also scored for St. Louis early in the third, and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves.

Patrik Laine scored late in the first period and Hellebuyck stopped 24 shots for the Jets, who host Game 2 on Friday.

St. Louis outshot the Jets 8-7 in the opening frame, with Laine having two shots.

Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien helped divert a St. Louis goal early in the second period. Vladimir Tarasenko fired a shot at Hellebuyck and the puck trickled out from under him toward the goal line, but Byfuglien swooped in and slapped it out of the crease.

Winnipeg's penalty kill worked twice more in the second period. Binnington then came up big on a backhand breakaway shot by Par Lindholm and a quick shot from Andrew Copp.

The Jets got their first power play of the game with 3:09 left in the middle frame. Byfuglien had his team's two shots with the man advantage - one was stopped and the other hit the post.

Laine rang a shot off the post just over one minute into the third, followed by Perron's point shot through traffic that went by Hellebuyck to tie it up at 4:05. The Winnipeg netminder blocked a Bozak shot late in the period and then couldn't stop the winner.

Hellebuyck was pulled right away for the extra attacker, but Binnington slid across his crease to make an impressive pad save on Scheifele's one-timer with under 12.4 seconds left.

Jordan Lyles struck out 10 in six crisp innings to tie a career high, Francisco Cervelli and Starling Marte homered off Yu Darvish, and the Pittsburgh Pirates topped the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Wednesday.

Lyles (1-0) allowed three hits and was sharp again in his second start, with Jason Heyward's solo shot in the fifth accounting for the lone run against him. The right-hander walked only one as Pittsburgh bounced back from a 10-0 drubbing in the Cubs' home opener Monday to win for the fifth time in six games.

Heyward had three hits and Javier Baez drove in run with a double in the eighth, but Felipe Vazquez got the final five outs for his third save in as many chances.

Cervelli lined a homer to left-center in the first to put the Pirates ahead 1-0.

Marte turned on a fastball and lofted a two-run shot down the left-field line in the third to make it 3-0.

Heyward's drive in the fourth cut it to 3-1 and reached the edge of the center-field shrubs despite the steady incoming wind.

The Pirates tacked on two runs and chased Darvish in the sixth. Josh Bell had an RBI single off reliever Kyle Ryan, and Cervelli came home on Ryan's errant pick-off to first.

Jack Flaherty pitched the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.

Yadier Molina and Marcell Ozuna homered, and Flaherty tossed six effective innings to help the Cardinals win their fourth in a row. They've outscored their opponents 19-6 during the winning streak and will go for a four-game sweep of Los Angeles on Thursday.

Max Muncy and Joc Pederson homered for the Dodgers, who have lost three straight after a five-game winning streak.

Paul DeJong had three hits and drove in a run with a triple in the sixth. DeJong extended his career-best hitting streak to 11 games. 

Flaherty (1-0) gave up three hits and one run in his 99-pitch effort. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter.

Turner, who fouled off five consecutive 3-2 offerings, hit the ball right to DeJong at shortstop for an easy double play.

Molina, who drove in three runs, homered off Kenta Maeda (2-1) in the sixth to push the lead to a 5-1. Ozuna, who had three hits, added a two-run drive in the eighth.

Maeda gave up five runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Pederson's one-out homer in the sixth brought the Dodgers to 2-1. Los Angeles has gone deep in 11 of 13 games this season.

Austin Meadows had a single, double, home run and three RBIs, while Glasnow struck out a career-high 11 in six innings in a 9-1 win over the White Sox on Wednesday that completed the Rays' first series sweep in Chicago.

Tommy Pham homered twice and extended his on-base streak to a club record 45 games, as the AL East-leading Rays won their fourth straight to improve to 10-3, their best start since 2010. They outscored Chicago 24-7 over three games.

Meadows was 7 for 10 in the series with two homers, seven RBIs and four runs.

Reynaldo Lopez (0-2) fell behind 3-0 within 18 pitches.

Jalen Beeks gave up one run in three innings for his first professional save, allowing Yonder Alonso's run-scoring groundout in the ninth.

Chicago entered with a major league-worst 6.72 ERA, and Lopez allowed eight runs, 10 hits, and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He has failed to get past the fifth inning in all three starts.

Meadows led off the game with a single, and Pham sent the next pitch into the right-center field bleachers. Brandon Lowe doubled with one out, and Avisail Garcia hit the first of two RBI singles.

Meadows and Pham hit back-to-back homers for a 5-0 lead in the fourth. Pham's opposite-field drive to right-center was his eighth multi-homer game.

A pair of seventh-inning home runs were not enough for the Monticello Lady Sages to overcome a seven-run deficit in the seventh inning as Clinton held on for a 10-8 win in non-conference girls softball action Wednesday afternoon from Clinton High School.

Miranda Fogal blasted a three-run home run to bring Monticello within 10-6 in the seventh. After Avery Oberheim reached on an error, Josie Nelson homered to right-center to cut the lead to 10-8. 

Kaylee Yost relieved Mack Armstrong with nobody out and struck out the first two batters she faced, after allowing a single to center, Yost struck out the Monticello nine-hitter for the final out to secure the win.

The Lady Maroons led 5-3 headed to the bottom of the sixth inning and scored five runs without recording an extra-base hit. 

The Lady Maroons opened up a 5-2 lead in the third inning with a four-run inning, again, without an extra-base hit. 

Savannah Clifton recorded the only extra base hit for the afternoon for the Lady Maroons with a run-scoring double in the first inning. Clifton finished 2-for-4 with a run driven in.

Zoie Polen scored twice and drove in two runs finishing 0-for-3. Chloe Griffin finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Raymi Dial was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. 

Max Daniels led the Lady Sages offense, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs and Skyler Frye finished 2-for-4 with a double. 

The Lady Sages drop to 4-6 overall and the Lady Maroons improve to 2-7. 

The Shelbyville Rams scored four runs in the sixth inning and to pull away late from the Clinton Maroons in a 6-2 win in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action Tuesday afternoon in Shelbyville.

Leading 2-0, the Maroons got a run in the top half of the inning but the wheels fell off for Parker West, who could not finish the sixth inning to end what was a very good afternoon to that point. West allowed all six runs, four were earned on six hits, five walks and nine strikeouts.

The Maroons tacked on a run in the seventh on a Matthew Overton homerun but could not muster anymore. Overton finished 2-for-3 with a double as well. 

Braden Cross finished 2-for-2. 

The Maroons drop to 4-4 overall and are 2-2 in the CIC. They'll take on Warrensburg-Latham Friday afternoon.

Boys baseball CIC Scores from Tuesday.....

Sullivan 16

Central A&M 0

Tuscola 14

Decatur St. Teresa 1

Warrensburg-Latham 17

Macon Meridian 9

Girls Softball CIC Scores from Tuesday....

Shelbyville 8

Clinton 7

Central A&M 6

Sullivan 0

Tuscola 12

Decatur St. Teresa 0

Macon Meridian 19

Warrenssburg-Latham 4

Girls softball Wednesday's games....

Monticello @ Clinton  - WHOW/WEZC/dewittdailynews.com Simulcast Broadcast

Decatur St. Teresa @ Mt. Pulaski 

Illinois State's Joe Aeilts hit a walk-off double in the 13th inning Tuesday to beat the Illinois baseball team 7-6 at Duffy Bass Field. It was the longest game in the 89-game history of the Illinois vs. Illinois State series dating back to 1939.

Illinois (20-11) held a 6-4 lead after five innings but was blanked in the final eight frames on three hits. The Illini stranded 14 base runners and Illinois State stranded 13 in the game that featured 440 pitches and lasted 4:47. 

Illinois outhit Illinois State 14-8 as the two teams combined for 117 plate appearances. There was a run on an obstruction, an out on an appeal, and plenty of other irregular plays. 

Illinois State (18-14) won the game with one out in the 13th on Aeilts' double to left center that was just out of the reach of left fielder Andrew Dyke. Dyke dove full extension on the warning track but could not secure the catch as Derek Parola, who started the inning with a walk, came home to score. 

Illinois' bullpen gave the Illini a chance by allowing only three runs in 8 2/3 innings.

Jack Yalowitz led Illinois with four hits, including three doubles, two runs and two RBIs. Kellen Sarver, Cam McDonald and Grant Van Scoy each had two hits with Van Scoy's extending his hitting streak to a career-long 11 games. 

Illinois State was led on the mound by Colton Johnson's one-hit effort in 5 1/3 innings. The Redbirds' bullpen shut out Illinois over 8 2/3 innings. 

Nick Zouras was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs to lead ISU. John Rave finished 2-for-7 with a double, two RBIs and a run. 

Illinois snapped a nine-game winning streak against Illinois State. The Illini swept three games from Illinois State earlier this season and won the season series 3-1.

Illinois is back to Big Ten play this weekend for a three-game series at Minnesota.

Illinois State is back in action this weekend at Duffy Bass Field versus Missouri State for a conference three-game series.

The New York Knicks escaped the possibility off finishing with their worst-ever record by beating the Chicago Bulls 96-86 on Tuesday night. Dennis Smith Jr. scored 25 points and Mitchell Robinson added eight points and 17 rebounds for New York.

With one game remaining, the Knicks (17-64) can only tie for the worst season in franchise history. A loss to the Detroit Pistons, who are seeking to lock up a playoff spot, would give New York a record matching only its ugly 2014-15 campaign.

The Bulls, meanwhile, lost for the 32nd time at United Center this season, a franchise record. Chicago's previous worst home season was in 2000-01.

The Knicks, who led by as many as 20 against a depleted Bulls lineup, needed a late 5-0 run to pull away. Smith hit a pair of free throws and Damyean Dotson made a 3 to put the Knicks up 89-79 with 2:42 left.

Kevin Knox added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Dotson finished with 12.

Ryan Arcidiacono led the Bulls (22-59) with 14 points and Shaquille Harrison added 13.

Smith scored 19 points in the first half and Knox added 11 as the Knicks led by as many as 20 in the first quarter.

The Bulls cut into the lead late in the second quarter. They trailed 57-50 at halftime.

For the second straight game, Smith played with a sore lower back. He was originally slated to come off the bench, but that changed when guard Mario Hezonja came down with an illness and was a late scratch.

Zach LaVine (bruised right thigh, right knee tendinitis), Kris Dunn (strained back), and Otto Porter Jr. (right rotator cuff), didn't suit up. 

The Bulls are at Philadelphia on Wednesday night to conclude their season. The 76ers are locked into the No. 3 spot in the East playoff bracket.

>>Cardinals Blank Dodgers

Marcel Ozuna misplayed Kike Hernandez's drive in the eighth inning, but Yadier Molina drove in three runs and Paul Goldschmidt homered to lead St. Louis to a 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals already had a 4-0 lead when Hernandez led off with a drive to left . Ozuna went back and climbed up the wall, but he misjudged the ball and tumbled onto the warning track as he tried to make the play.

Hernandez's drive bounced over for a ground-rule double, but Mike Mayers and Andrew Miller managed to escape the threat.

Six St. Louis pitchers combined for a seven-hitter. The Dodgers stranded 13 runners and struck out 10 times.

John Brebbia (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win.

Molina, who began the day with a .175 batting average, put St. Louis in front with an RBI double against Ross Stripling (0-1) in the first. Paul DeJong hit a two-out double, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games, and Ozuna walked before Molina doubled to left.

Ozuna also scored, but he was sent back to third after the Dodgers challenged the play and it was ruled a ground-rule double.

Molina added a two-run double with two out in the third, and Goldschmidt made it 4-0 when he drove a 0-2 pitch into the stands in left in the fifth. It was his sixth homer of the season.

Dakota Hudson gave way to Brebbia with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. Brebbia fanned Hernandez on four pitches to end the inning.

Jack Flaherty (0-0, 3.86 ERA) is looking for his first win in his third start of the year. The 2014 first-round draft pick threw five scoreless innings against San Diego on Friday. Kenta Maeda (2-0, 3.09 ERA) makes his third start of the season. He pitched five innings of one-run ball in a 10-6 victory at Colorado on Friday.

>>Rays Pound Sox

Austin Meadows homered and set a career high with four hits, Avisail Garcia connected against his former team and the Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 10-5.

The Rays pounded Ervin Santana (0-1) and improved to 9-3, their best start in nine years. They also extended a club record by clinching their fourth straight series victory to start a season.

Meadows drove in a personal-best four runs and helped break open a game that lasted 3 hours, 56 minutes. He singled and scored in the first, hit a two-run drive in the second and added an RBI single during a two-run fourth in which Tampa Bay chased Santana. He also walked with the bases loaded in the ninth.

Garcia smacked a solo homer in the second and finished with three hits, giving him five in the past two games. The White Sox opted not to offer him a contract in the offseason, parting ways after 5 1/2 years, and he signed with Tampa Bay.

Brandon Lowe chipped in with a sacrifice fly in the first and a solo homer in the third. Charlie Morton (2-0) went five innings, allowing two runs and three hits.

Yoan Moncada knocked a two-run homer in the third for Chicago. Tim Anderson had two hits, including an RBI single in a three-run eighth. But with the White Sox trailing by three, pinch-hitter Adam Engel struck out swinging at a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded to end that rally.

Tampa Bay's Tommy Pham extended his club-record on-base streak to 44 games with a single and two walks.

Reynaldo Lopez (0-1, 10.00) tries to get on track after two shaky outings. He has allowed a combined 10 runs on 12 hits over nine innings against Kansas City and Seattle. Tyler Glasnow (2-0, 0.82 ERA) looks to continue his dominant start. He tossed three-hit ball over six scoreless innings at San Francisco last week after holding Houston to one run over five innings.

Champaign Centennial scored six runs in the third inning and then five more in the fourth inning as the Clinton Maroons committed five errors in an 11-0, ten-run rule loss Monday evening in Champaign.

Jilian White fired four scoreless innings allowing just three hits, three walks and struck out one. Kaden Murphy finished the fifth with a 1-2-3 inning. 

Braden Cross was 1-for-1 to lead the Maroons offense.

For Centennial, Tayvion Davis had a double and three stolen bases and Dayton Coleman doubled. 

The Maroons drop to 4-3 overall. 

Scores in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action Monday.....

Central A&M 17

Pana 3

Athens 7

Warrensburg-Latham 1

Girls Softball CIC Scores from Monday....

Maroa-Forsyth 11

Decatur St. Teresa 3

Effingham St. Anthony 14

Shelbyville 3

Tuscola 18

Arcola 2

>>Cubs Route Pirates

Chicago's beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.

Lester got hurt when he scored from second on Ben Zobrist's two-run single in Chicago's six-run second. The veteran left-hander is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.

Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the fourth as the Cubs earned their largest shutout victory in a home opener in franchise history. 

Javier Baez's an RBI single in the second when he threw his bat at a ball that bounced in the dirt , leading to a liner that just got over Newman's head. 

Following an off day, right-handers Jordan Lyles and Yu Darvish get the ball when the series resumes Wednesday night. Lyles (0-0, 0.00 ERA) made his Pittsburgh debut Thursday against Cincinnati and pitched five innings in the Pirates' 2-0 victory. Darvish (0-1, 8.10 ERA) struggled in his first two starts of the year, issuing 11 walks in just 6 2/3 innings.

>>Cardinals Outlast Dodgers

Miles Mikolas pitched six solid innings despite hitting three batters, Marcell Ozuna homered and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 4-3 victory on Monday night, ending Los Angeles' five-game winning streak.

Mikolas, who allowed three runs on five hits, had never hit more than one batter in a game and now has 17 in his career.

St. Louis rallied with two runs in the seventh. Jose Martinez singled off Joe Kelly (1-2) to drive in Matt Carpenter, who had singled off Scott Alexander. Paul Goldschmidt later scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Kelly, who has blown three save opportunities.

John Gant worked two scoreless innings in relief and Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth for his second save in as many chances.

Ozuna homered off Ryu in the first to tie the game at 2. It was his 16th career first-inning home run.

Dakota Hudson (0-1, 5.40) will be making his second start. In his last outing, he pitched two-thirds of an inning, stranding the bases loaded in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh.

>>Rays Down White Sox

Reigning Cy Young Award Winner Blake Snell struck out 11 over six innings in another strong outing, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Monday. The Rays improved to 8-3 and kept pace with their best start since 2010.

Leading 4-1 in the sixth, he gave up leadoff double to Leury Garcia. Tim Anderson followed with a single off the pitcher's glove, putting runners on first and third.

But Snell struck out Jose Abreu while Anderson stole second. He struck out Welington Castillo and got Yoan Moncada on three pitches each to end the threat.

Avisail Garcia had two hits, including an RBI single in the second that made it 4-0. He also struck out three times against his former team.

Tommy Pham scored two runs and extended his club-record on-base streak to 43 games.

Willy Adames had three hits and two runs, and Guillermo Heredia and Austin Meadows drew bases-loaded walks. Hunter Wood, recalled from Triple-A Durham, threw three scoreless for his first big league save.

Chicago's Carlos Rodon (1-2) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander walked five and threw a wild pitch to go with nine strikeouts.

Jose Rondon homered against Snell in the fifth, stopping a 35-inning scoreless streak by Tampa Bay starters. Carson Fulmer worked three innings after being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte, then got optioned back to the minors after the White Sox fell to 3-6.

Charlie Morton (1-0, 1.64 ERA) starts Tuesday. He tossed six scoreless innings against Colorado on Wednesday in a game Tampa Bay lost 1-0 in the 11th. Chicago has not announced a starter, though RHP Ervin Santana is just about ready to join the rotation. Signed to a minor league deal in February, the two-time All Star missed most of last season due to an injured right middle finger.

Led by De'Andre Hunter and his NBA-ready game, the Virginia Cavaliers turned themselves into national champions Monday night, holding off tenacious, ferocious Texas Tech for an 85-77 overtime win - a scintillating victory that came 388 days after a crushing setback that might have sunk a lesser team for years.

A season after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 - the one thing that had never happened in a tournament where anything can - the Cavaliers watched a 10-point lead turn into a 3-point deficit before Hunter came to the rescue. The sophomore made the game-tying 3 with 12 seconds left in regulation, then made another with just over two minutes left in the extra period to give the Cavs the lead for good.

After going without a field goal for the first 18 1/2 minutes, Hunter finished with a career-high 27 points.

Hunter's key 3 in OT gave Virginia a 75-73 lead, and after the teams traded possessions, Tech guard Davide Moretti scrambled after a loose ball heading onto Virginia's end of the court. It appeared it would be Texas Tech ball, but a replay showed Moretti's pinkie finger had barely scraped the ball. Virginia got possession, and worked the ball into Ty Jerome, who got fouled and made two free throws.

Brandone Francis missed a 3 on the other end, and Virginia pulled away - the first time this game felt remotely comfortable, even after Guy made a 3 to give the Cavs a 10-point lead with 10:22 left in regulation.

The Cavs went 12 for 12 from the line in overtime to ice this game. They scored the game's final 11 points.

Jarrett Culver, also lottery-pick material, made a spinning left-handed layup over Hunter with 35 seconds left in regulation to put the Red Raiders ahead 66-65. After Jerome missed a teardrop on the other end, Norense Odiase got fouled and made two free throws to make it 68-65.

The nation's best defense couldn't afford to give up a 3, but Jerome skipped a pass to Hunter, who was open on the wing - and spotted up and drained it. Culver missed a 3 with Guy in his face with a second left, and we were headed to overtime, the first extra session in the final since Kansas beat Memphis in 2008.

The Illinois baseball team and Maryland split a doubleheader Saturday with the Illini taking the first game 5-1 before falling 8-4 in the nightcap. A crowd of 2,768 watched as Maryland clinched the three-game set 2-1. 

Illinois (20-10, 1-5 Big Ten) was led in Game 1 by three hits from Grant Van Scoy, who extended his career-long hitting streak to 11 games and reached base streak to 13 games. Van Scoy upped his team-leading batting average to .383.

Ty Weber threw 7 2/3 innings while allowing one run to carry Illinois to a 5-1 win against Maryland. 

Van Scoy tripled in the fifth and scored, doubled in the seventh and scored, then had a two-RBI single in the eight to give Illinois a pair of insurance runs. He tied his career high with three hits and was a home run away from the cycle. 

Weber's only blemish was a solo homer allowed to Josh Maguire, otherwise, the junior right-hander was nearly flawless. He allowed only four hits in 7 2/3 innings and struck out three without issuing a walk. 

Freshman Jacob Campbell added a two-run homer in the seventh, his first career collegiate homer.  

Maryland hit two three-run home runs in Game 2 to split the doubleheader and clinch the series with a 8-4 win over Illinois. The Illini battled to tie the game 4-4 in the seventh, but Maxwell Costes' three-run shot in the eighth put the game out of reach. 

Maryland (15-15, 3-3 Big Ten) evened its overall and Big Ten records with the split. The Terrapins won a series against Illinois for the first time in four years. 

Illinois will travel to Normal to take on ISU Tuesday at 5 pm.

Friday scores in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action.....

TUSCOLA INVITE 

Rantoul 5

Sullivan 0 

Tuscola 10

Lanark-Eastland 5 

Saturday scores in the CIC....

Warrensburg-Latham 6

Morrisonville 3 

Decatur St. Teresa 13

Central A&M 12

Central A&M 15

Decatur Eisenhower 14

TUSCOLA INVITE

Catlin Salt Fork 10

Sullivan 5

Tuscola 7

Effingham St. Anthony 5

Today in CIC boys baseball action.....

Central A&M @ Pana 

Clinton @ Champaign Centennial 

Nokomis @ Shelbyville 

Saturday Scores in CIC girls softball action....

Tuscola 2, Shelbyville 1 Final 

UIS SPRING SLAM @ SPRINGFIELD (UIS Diamonds)

Knoxville 8

Clinton 7

Brown County 7

Clinton 6

Biggsville-West Central 7

Clinton 4

CIC girls softball action for today.....

Decatur St. Teresa @ Maroa-Forsyth  

Effingham St. Anthony @ Shelbyville 

Illinois State split a doubleheader this afternoon with Valparaiso. The Redbirds defeated the Crusaders 12-6 in game one. The 'Birds fell in game two to the Crusaders 4-2. Illinois State took the series 2-1 over Valparaiso to open conference play.

Joe Aeilts finished the Saturday double-header 6-for-10 with three doubles, all in game one, two runs batted in and a run. 

Jordan Libman was 3-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run in game one. John Rave hit a home run finishing 3-for-6, added a double and three runs in game one as well.

Matt Walker was terrific in game two despite taking the loss on the mound for ISU. He went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with ten strikeouts to just one walk. Joe Butler was 2-for-3 in game two. 

Illinois State will host Illinois on Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Adam Wainwright pitched six sharp innings as the Cardinals avoided a three-game sweep by beating the San Diego Padres 4-1.

The 37-year-old gave up one run and five hits. He struck out nine and didn't issue a walk while throwing 100 pitches.

Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong drove in two runs.

Jordan Hicks recorded four outs for his first save in two chances. He struck out Manny Machado with a runner on to end the eighth.

DeJong drove in a pair of runs with a fourth-inning double off Matt Strahm (0-2). Matt Carpenter walked and Paul Goldschmidt reached when left fielder Hunter Renfroe lost the ball in the sun. Renfroe was given an error on the play.

Carpenter added a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the seventh. Kolten Wong and Jose Martinez began the inning with back-to-back singles.

Wong pushed the lead to 4-1 with an infield single in the eighth.

Miles Mikolas (0-1, 7.20) will face LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-0, 2.08) in the first of a four-game set in St. Louis on Monday.

Christian Yelich homered and drove in three, Josh Hader completed an eight-out save and the Brewers beat the Cubs 4-2 to take two of three in the series.

The Cubs lost for the seventh time in eight games, dropping to 2-7 ahead of their home opener Monday.

Chicago threatened with two baserunners in the seventh inning, but a well-rested Hader entered to clean up that mess and cruised from there. The hard-throwing left-hander struck out three over 2 2/3 perfect innings, throwing 36 pitches for his fifth save. He hadn't pitched since Tuesday against Cincinnati.

Zach Davies (1-0) pitched effectively into the sixth, helping Milwaukee win for the seventh time in eight games.

Willson Contreras' two-run homer in the sixth against Davies was unearned, and that was all Chicago could muster at the plate. Davies pitched 5 2/3 innings of five-hit ball.

Chicago will open at home Monday against Pittsburgh. Jon Lester (1-0, 3.00 ERA) will make his third start of the season. He's 9-6 with a 3.18 ERA in 18 career starts against the Pirates.

Dan Vogelbach homered twice, hit a bases-clearing double and set a career high with six RBIs, helping the Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 12-5 Sunday to extend the best start in club history at 9-2.

Edwin Encarnacion had a two-run homer and three hits for the Mariners, who have the AL's best record. Seattle has homered in each of its first 11 games, a team record, and leads the major leagues with 27.

Tim Anderson doubled among his four hits for the White Sox, who have lost five of eight. Adam Engel hit a solo shot off Matt Festa, who gave up three runs in the seventh.

Wade LeBlanc (2-0) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings with six strikeouts and one walk.

ivan Nova (0-1) allowed seven runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings, his shortest start since May 8, when he threw two innings for Pittsburgh against the White Sox.

Carlos Rodon (1-1, 1.59) is scheduled to start Monday's opener of a three-game series against Tampa Bay and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (1-1, 3.46). Rodon allowed an unearned run in six innings against Cleveland in his last start.

Alek Bundy's suicide squeeze brought home Asher Bradd for the winning run in the bottom of the 7th inning as Monticello withstood a late rally for a 4-3 win over Illinois Valley Central, breaking a four game losing streak Saturday afternoon at Monticello High School in Illini Prairie Conference boys baseball action.

Leading 3-1 headed to the seventh, Bradd was brought in to pitch the 7th and IVC started the inning with back to back doubles by Kam Wollard and Holt Geltmaker put runners on second and third. A walk loaded the bases and after Bradd struck out Brandon Ward, a strike out, Bradd struck out Gavin Pine but catcher Brett Macak couldn't handle the pitch and had to throw to first to get the out and Geltmaker broke for home and slid around Macak's tag.

A wild pitch tied the game before Bradd struck out Nate Cooley to end the threat.

In the bottom half of the inning, Hunter Williams grounded out to start the inning and Bradd singled into center field, stole second and advanced to third on the ball four of Brett Macak's at bat that skipped away from Cooley.

On the first pitch to Bundy, he bunted up the line with Bradd breaking for the plate on the pitch and he crossed the plate without a throw for the walk off win.

Despite taking the blown save, Bradd was credited with the win.

Noah Chase took the loss for IVC.

IVC ace Brady King lasted just one inning after fighting through a blister to start the second inning. Adam Heitzman was excellent in relief, going four innings and his only blemish a Macak two run home run in the third.

Despite only pitching into the second inning, King homered in the third to tie the game at one apiece.

Jake Edmondson started on the mound for the Sages with two scoreless innings. Andrew Rudolph threw 3 ? innings in relief. His only blemish was King's solo home run.

Bradd finished 1-for-2 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Bundy was 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and a stolen base.

Wollard was 1-for-3 with a stolen base and Geltmaker was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base.

IVC drops to 5-6 on the season and 1-1 in the Illini Prairie.

The Sages get a much needed win, improving to 5-5 and 1-1 in conference play.

The Olympia Lady Spartans scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull away late in an 11-3 win over Monticello in Illini Prairie Conference girls softball action from a wet Monticello High School Thursday afternoon.

Rain fell the entire game on an afternoon when almost every sporting event in central Illinois was postponed.

Both teams pushed across a run in the first. The Lady Spartans added two runs in the second and another in the third to open up a 4-1 lead. 

In the bottom half of the fourth, Miranda Fogel hit a two-run home run to left field to cut the deficit to 4-3 but that would be as close as the Lady Sages would get but not without opportunities.

After Fogel's home run, Avery Oberheim popped out to centerfield and the next three Lady Sages reached base. Lizzie Stiverson hit a bullet to left field right into the mitt of Bea Morrow and the fly ball was shallow enough to keep the runner at third. Then Hannah Uebinger grounded to second to end the threat. 

In the fifth inning the Lady Sages loaded the bases with only one out but Kaelyn Leverson struck out Josie Nelson and Addison Wichus grounded out to second to end the rally.

Leverson went the distance for Olympia, allowing three runs on ten hits, walked six and struck out four.

Fogel led Monticello, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. Renni Fultz finished 2-for-4 with a double and Oberheim drove in a run for the Lady Sages.

Syndey Usherwood finished 1-for-4 but drove in two runs and scored another run. Leverson finished 2-for-4 with a run, Kennedy Smith and Colby Bart scored two runs, doubled and were hit by a pitch.

The Lady Spartans improve to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference. The Lady Sages drop to 4-5 overall and are 0-1 in the Illini Prairie.

The Olympia Spartans scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to rally past Monticello 6-5 in a rain shortened Illini Prairie Conference boys baseball game from Monticello High School Thursday afternoon.

The Sages allowed a run in the fourth inning but got it back plus three more in a four-run fourth inning as Monticello took a 4-1 lead.

The Spartans rallied for a five-run sixth inning for a 6-4 lead and the Sages could only muster a single run in the last of the sixth and fell for the fourth straight game. 

Asher Bradd led the Sages with three hits and drove in two, Alek Bundy had a pair of hits. Brett Macak pitched five effective innings in a rain soaked afternoon in Monticello. He struck out seven. 

The Sages drop to 4-5 overall and are 0-1 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

They'll try to get things turned around this afternoon when they take on Decatur St. Teresa in Decatur this afternoon. First pitch is 4:30 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

The St. Louis Blues used five first-period goals on the way to a 7-3 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Alexander Steen finished with two goals and 13 players recorded at least one point as the Blues improved to 8-1-2 since March 16.

The Blues scored five times in the first 9 minutes, 41 seconds to set a franchise record for the quickest five-goal start to a game, eclipsing the previous mark of five in the opening 13:45 set on Jan. 3, 1970, in a 6-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O'Reilly, Steen, Pat Maroon and David Perron all scored during the early outburst as the Blues scored five times on their initial 11 shots.

St. Louis is one point behind first-place Nashville, which has 98 points after beating Vancouver 3-2 on Thursday night. The Blues are tied with Winnipeg for second with 97 points. The Jets lost in overtime to Colorado on Thursday, The Central title will decided Saturday as all three teams close the regular season.

Claude Giroux, Oskar Lindblom and James Van Riemsdyk scored for the Flyers, who were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Carolina on March 30. Philadelphia has lost four in a row and has surrendered 31 goals in its last seven games.

Jordan Binnington made 26 saves and set a team record for wins by a rookie with his 23rd, topping the mark of 22 set by current backup Jake Allen in 2014-15. Binnington, 23-5-1, has won his last six games at home. He shut out Philadelphia 3-0 on Jan. 7 in his first NHL start.

The Blues host Vancouver in season finale Saturday.

Max Fried took a perfect game into the sixth inning, Nick Markakis drove in five runs with five hits and Atlanta beat Yu Darvish and the Chicago Cubs 9-4 on Thursday night to complete a three-game sweep.

Making only his 10th career start and his first this season after two scoreless relief appearances, the 25-year-old Fried recorded 17 straight outs to open the game. Mark Zagunis singled up the middle with two outs in the sixth to become Chicago's first baserunner.

Fried allowed one hit with no walks and five strikeouts in six innings.

The Braves led 9-0 before the Cubs scored four runs in the ninth. Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer and Javier Baez followed with another homer off Chad Sobotka.

The Cubs have lost five straight and are 1-5 for the first time since 2012, when they lost 101 games.

Three Chicago relievers gave up six runs in four innings.

It was a troubling series for the Cubs, who committed six errors in an 8-0 loss on Monday night and walked five batters in the eighth inning of a 6-4 loss on Wednesday night.

Darvish (0-1) gave up three runs on five hits and four walks, one intentional, in four-plus innings. He set a career high with seven walks in his first start at Texas on Saturday.

Right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. walked two batters and threw a wild pitch that allowed Inciarte to score from third. Tyler Chatwood allowed the three-run double to Markakis and a run-scoring single to Dansby Swanson.

Braves left-hander A.J. Minter, making his 2019 debut after coming off the injured list, walked two batters before recording the final two outs in the ninth.

The Cubs will continue their nine-game road trip when they open a series at NL Central rival Milwaukee on Friday night with LHP Jose Quintana looking for his first win.

Taylorville 12

Meridian 2 

Williamsville 10

Warrensburg-Latham 0 

The Illinois baseball team limited No. 19 Coastal Carolina to five hits in a 4-1 win Wednesday to finish a two-game midweek series sweep at Illinois Field. Illinois clinched the season series over Coastal Carolina 2-1.

Illinois (19-8) was carried by another excellent night from the bullpen, extending the relievers' scoreless streak to 19 innings. A day after the relievers threw five shutout innings against Coastal, Illinois' 'pen worked 4 2/3 shutout frames while allowing only one hit and striking out eight.

Tyler Engel, Quinten Sefcik, Ryan Schmitt, Sean Leland and Garrett Acton combined for the relief effort. Acton picked up his 10th save of the year, tying Tyler Jay's 2014 campaign for the fifth-most in Illinois history. 

Coastal Carolina (20-10-1) went 0-8 with runners in scoring position, finishing hitless in the two-game set (0-17) with runners in scoring position. 

Nathan Lavender got the Illini started on the mound with a career-high 4 1/3 innings pitched. He worked out of a pair of jams, stranding six Chanticleers, while allowing one run on four hits and striking out three. 

Coastal struck first in the fourth inning but Illinois immediately answered with a run in the bottom half on Yalowitz's RBI single. The Illini added two in the seventh, one on a passed ball and another on Michael Massey's sac fly, then scored in the eighth on a Coastal error. 

Illinois looks for win No. 20 of the season Friday against Maryland to start a three-game series

Illinois State defeated Iowa on the road Wednesday night by a final score of 11-6. The 'Birds combined for 16 hits in the game. 

Joe Butler stole home in the second inning of the game to tie it at 1-1. 

In the third inning, John Rave doubled to right field to bring home Huggins. Then, Jordan Libman singled to bring home Rave. The 'Birds led 3-1 after the top half.

Derek Parola doubled in the top of the fourth to score Rave. Libman followed with a single to right to bring Parola home. ISU led 5-2 after four innings.

It was Parola again in the sixth inning, as he scored Huggins on a sacrifice fly to right to make the score 6-2.

In the ninth, Tyson Hays reached on a throwing error that allowed Gunner Peterson to score. Jack Butler singled home Hays to make the score 8-3. Aidan Huggins followed suit with a single to center field to bring home Butler. Joe Aeilts would later triple to right-center field to bring home Huggins and Rave to make the score 11-3.

Rave finished 5-for-6 with a double and three runs scored. Libman finished 3-for-6 with a pair of runs batted in. Aeilts was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

Colton Johnson got the start on the mound for ISU finished 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, issued a walk and struck out three.

Mitch Vogrin picked up the win in relief with 3 1/3 innings allowing just a hit and striking out one. Jack Anderson finished the final two innings allowing a run on two hits with three strikeouts.

The win improves the Redbirds record to 15-13 on the season before Missouri Valley Conference play starts this weekend at Valparaiso.

>>Sox Slam Indians; Postpone Home Opener

Jose Abreu drove in three runs, Leury Garcia had four hits and Chicago knocked around Kluber for a change, beating Cleveland's ace and the Indians 8-3 on Wednesday.

Abreu's two-run double in the fourth inning chased Kluber (0-2), who had won nine straight decisions over Chicago dating four seasons. The two-time AL Cy Young winner has owned the White Sox, going 4-0 against them last season and 13-4 in his career.

But starting with Garcia's single on the game's first pitch, Kluber was in trouble and lasted only 3 1/3 innings while losing to Chicago for the first time since July 24, 2015.

Carlos Rodon (1-1) made plenty of good pitches while limiting the Indians to an unearned run and two hits over six innings. The left-hander settled down after a bumpy first and retired 12 straight and 14 of 15 before Jose Ramirez reached on an error in the sixth - one of three miscues for the White Sox.

Chicago's Yoan Mocada hit a two-run homer in the eighth.

Hanley Ramirez connected for a two-run shot in the ninth. He has both of Cleveland's homers this season.

At about the same time they were scoring three times off Kluber in the first, the White Sox announced that Thursday's home opener against Seattle is being pushed to Friday because of a nasty weather forecast in Chicago.

Reynaldo Lopez will start the delayed home opener for Chicago against the Mariners.

>>Cardinals Outlast Pirates in Extras; Postpone Home Opener

Tyler O'Neill capped another rally by driving in Kolten Wong for the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as St. Louis surged past the Pirates 5-4 on Wednesday night. Two days after coming back from four runs down to spoil Pittsburgh's home opener, St. Louis took advantage of another shaky performance by Pirate relievers.

Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer off Keone Kela in the eighth to tie the game at 3. Wong led off the 10th with a triple against Nick Burdi (0-1) and scored when O'Neill followed two batters later with a sharp single to right. Bader pushed the lead two when he scored on a wild pitch by Francisco Liriano.

John Gant (2-0) worked a scoreless ninth to pick up the win. Dakota Hudson collected his first major league save when he stranded the tying run at third. Paul DeJong added a solo home run for St. Louis, which finished 3-3 on a season-opening six-game road trip.

Adam Frazier had three hits and drove in a run for the Pirates. Jung Ho Kang hit his first home run in 2 1/2 years for Pittsburgh. The Pirates went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

Jameson Taillon dominated the Cardinals for seven innings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts and spent 87 pitches keeping the Cardinals off balance. 

Marcell Ozuna will have an MRI on Thursday after being scratched due to discomfort in his right side. Jose Martinez filled in and went 0 for 5.

Head home for the first time this season and welcome San Diego for a three-game series at Busch Stadium starting Friday. The game was originally scheduled for Thursday before being pushed back due to weather concerns. Jack Flaherty (0-0, 8.31 ERA) starts for the Cardinals against Nick Margevicius (0-1, 1.80).

>>Early Struggles Continue in Atlanta for Cubs

Johan Camargo hit a go-ahead, three-run double as the Braves took advantage of five walks by Cubs relievers in the eighth inning to beat Chicago 6-4 on Wednesday night.

Willson Contreras gave Chicago the lead with a long, two-run homer in the sixth. But the Cubs' much-criticized bullpen went wild in the eighth and blew a 4-2 lead - it was Chicago's third blown save this season and third loss by a relief pitcher in five games.

The Cubs (1-4) have lost four straight. The Braves have a needed confidence boost with two straight wins after being swept in three games at Philadelphia.

Steve Cishek (0-1) walked Atlanta's first three batters in the eighth before manager Joe Maddon brought in left-hander Randy Rosario. After taking a ball, Camargo lined the three-run double over Albert Almora Jr. in center field for a 5-4 lead. Camargo scored from third on Dansby Swanson's sacrifice fly for a two-run lead.

Luke Jackson (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for Atlanta. Arodys Vizcaino walked Anthony Rizzo with one out in the ninth before striking out Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber for his first save.

Swanson and Albies hit third-inning homers off Lester, who allowed two runs on six hits in six innings.

Contreras connected off Jonny Venters, giving the Cubs a 3-2 lead. The ball traveled 452 feet, according to Statcast, before landing on the second tier of landscaping behind the centerfield wall.

Braves starter Julio Teheran allowed one run on six hits and three walks in five innings and left with a 2-1 lead. Venters didn't record an out before blowing the lead. Venters walked Schwarber before Contreras delivered the go-ahead homer.

Lester reached base three times, on a second-inning single that drove in Contreras and two walks.

Yu Darvish will be closely watched in Thursday night's final game of the series. Darvish walked a career-high seven batters while allowing three runs in only 2 2/3 innings in an 8-6 loss at Texas in his first start of the season on Saturday.

Max Fried will make his first start of the season for Atlanta as he tries to show he belongs in the rotation. He has pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief this season.

>>Bulls Edge Wizards

In just his eighth game in the league - and third with the Bulls - Walt Lemon, Jr. scored a career-high 24 points, including two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play, to help Chicago snap a five-game losing streak with a 115-114 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Lemon was one of seven Bulls in double figures in the matchup of teams whose seasons will end without a playoff appearance.

JaKarr Sampson added 18 points for Chicago.

Thomas Bryant scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Washington. Bobby Portis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Bradley Beal added 19 points.

The Wizards played their first game since Ernie Grunfeld was fired as team president after 16 seasons on Tuesday.

Chicago trailed by as many as eight in the fourth quarter, but took a 113-112 lead on Lemon's layup with 30 seconds to play. Chasson Randle hit two free throws with 12.7 seconds to play to give Washington a 114-113 lead.

The Bulls host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

>>Pacers Top Pistons For Second Time This Week

Blake Griffin missed a third straight game Wednesday, and the Detroit Pistons were routed 108-89 by the Indiana Pacers.

The out-of-town scoreboard had mostly good news for the Pistons. Brooklyn and Miami both lost, so Detroit remained alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. But the Nets and the Orlando Magic are just a half-game behind, and the Heat - who dropped to ninth - are only a game back of the Pistons.

Thaddeus Young scored 21 points for the Pacers, who snapped a 10-game losing streak on the road and won for just the third time in their last 10 games overall. Bojan Bogdanovic and Myles Turner scored 17 points apiece, and Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Indiana closed the third quarter with nine straight points, and Doug McDermott's 3-pointer gav e the Pacers a 78-62 lead.

Andre Drummond had 28 points and 19 rebounds for the Pistons, and Wayne Ellington scored 24 points.

The Pistons turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and trailed 18-15 after one. Indiana was up 44-36 at halftime. 

The Pacers are safely in the playoffs, but they're still tied after Wednesday with Boston for fourth place in the East. So home court in the first round is at stake for both those teams down the stretch.

Drummond tied his own team record with his 66th double-double of the season. He also had that many in 2015-16. Isiah Thomas had 65 in 1984-85.

The Pacers host Boston on Friday night.

Jonathan Toews scored the lone goal in the shootout after connecting for his career-high 35th in regulation, and the Blackhawks beat St. Louis 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Tyler Bozak stuffed a rebound with 38.9 seconds left to tie the game at 3 and send it to overtime as St. Louis rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period.

Cam Ward stopped Bozak's point-blank first deflection of Patrick Maroon's pass from left wing, but Bozak jammed in a second attempt. The goal withstood a video review for goaltender interference.

Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron also scored for St. Louis, which improved to 95 points, but missed an opportunity to pull into a first-place tie in the Central with idle Winnipeg and Nashville, both of which have 96. The three teams have all clinched playoff spots and each has two games remaining.

St. Louis entered having won six of seven. The Blues were last in the NHL at the start of January, but have gone on a 28-10-5 run since the start of 2019, including 11 straight wins from Jan. 23 through Feb. 19.

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist to set a career high for points at 107. Ward stopped 37 shots through overtime and all three Blues shooters in the tiebreaker.

Artem Anisimov also connected for Chicago.

Ward was strong in his first start in a month. Corey Crawford had started 13 straight games for the Blackhawks, who were eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season on Tuesday night when Colorado beat Edmonton.

Jake Allen stopped 35 shots in his second start in eight games for St. Louis. Even though the Blackhawks are out of the playoffs, Chicago's marquee stars tested him as Kane took six shots and Toews had three.

The Blues host Philadelphia on tonight. The Blackhawks host Dallas on Friday in home finale.

Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy says he was surprised and stunned at the timing of his firing last December and believes his dismissal was handled poorly.

McCarthy told ESPN in a story posted Wednesday he knew it might be in trouble if the Packers missed the playoffs. But he was fired with four games left after the Packers lost at home to Arizona, dropping the team to just 4-7-1.

"If we missed the playoffs, I expected change might happen," McCarthy said. "But the timing surprised me. It couldn't have been handled any worse."

McCarthy said he was summoned to a meeting with team President Mark Murphy after the loss and fired in a discussion he said was impersonal and "hard to swallow." He said he always tried to be gentle in releasing players and he didn't get the same treatment.

Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey declined to comment.

McCarthy was in his 13th season as coach and won the Super Bowl in the 2010 season. He finished his tenure in Green Bay with a record of 125-77-2.

McCarthy said he is taking a year off but working hard to prepare for a possible coaching job next season.

>>Bears Re-Up With Long Snapper

The Chicago Bears have re-signed long snapper Patrick Scales to a one-year contract.

Scales played in all 16 games last season — his fourth in Chicago — after missing the 2017 season with a knee injury. He has appeared in 39 games over five years with the Baltimore Ravens (2014) and Bears (2015-18).

The team announced the move on Wednesday. Chicago won the NFC North at 12-4 last season.

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons defeated the St. Teresa Lady Bulldogs by a score of 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon from Clinton High School in Central Illinois Conference girls softball action. 

The Lady Maroons made a comeback being down 3-0 in the 1st. Mac Armstrong got the win pitching 7 innings allowing 5 runs on ten hits with a walk, and four strikeouts. 

Clinton was led at the plate by Amanda Tool who was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Chloe Griffin was 2-for-3 with an RB, and Savannah Clifton was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

St. Teresa was led by Anna McCarty who pitched 6 innings allowing 7 runs on 10 hits with 6 walks and 1 strikeout. They were led at the plate by Mccarty, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Lula Sassano went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

With the win, the Clinton Lady Maroons improve to to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the CIC.  They next play Thursday at Sullivan.

Tune in April 10th as the Clinton Lady Maroons face the Monticello Lady Sages. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

Scores in Tuesday CIC girls softball action....

Tuscola 7

Central A&M 5

Macon Meridian 15

Sullivan 4

Shelbyville 10

Warrensburg-Latham 9

After jumping out to a 5-0 lead, the Decatur St. Teresa Bulldogs rallied to tie the score but the Clinton Maroons scored the games final eight runs to roll past St. T 13-5 in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action Tuesday afternoon from Clinton High School.

The Bulldogs tied the game at 5 in the top of the fourth but the Maroons rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning, then added four in the bottom of the fifth and closed out the scoring with two more in the bottom of the sixth.

Parker West started for Clinton allowing all five runs, however, they were all unearned. He issued a walk, allowed eight hits and struck out six.

Michael Oswald closed the door finishing the final two innings of shutout ball allowing a hit and struck out two.

A two-run home run opened the scoring for the Maroons in the second inning. Rustin Wertz added a double and two runs driven in finishing 2-for-3. Logan Peterson tallied two hits as well for the Maroons.

The Maroons improve to 4-2 overall and are 2-1 in the Central Illinois Conference. 

Scores in Central Illinois Conference boys baseball action from Tuesday....d

Tuscola 15

Central A&M 3

Meridian 6

Sullivan 2

Branden Comia homered and the Illinois baseball team's bullpen threw five shutout innings to lead the Illini to a 4-2 win over No. 19 Coastal Carolina in front of a national television audience on Big Ten Network. Illinois and Coastal have split two games this year ahead of Wednesday's season rubber match. 

Illinois (18-8) came alive in the first inning with four runs, including Comia's homer. Jack Yalowitz added an RBI groundout and Grant Van Scoy singled home a run with two outs and that was enough run support for the Illini.

Garrett Acton worked the ninth for his ninth save of the season. 

Illinois pitching limited Coastal to 3-21 (.143) with runners on and 0-9 (.000) with runners in scoring position. The Chanticleers left 11 runners on base.

The teams are back Wednesday at Illinois Field to finish the two-game midweek series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.

The Illinois State baseball team snapped its seven-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field. ISU starting pitcher, Brett Wicklund tossed the complete game shutout for the 'Birds. It's the first time a pitcher has tossed nine complete innings since Jacob Hendren accomplished the same feat at Bradley on May 9, 2015.

Wicklund retired the first 13 batters he faced in the game. Eastern's first hit in the game came off a single in the fifth inning.

Wicklund faced 30 Panthers in the game that was completed in less than two hours.

The Illinois State Redbirds scored three runs in the home half of the third inning. John Rave singled to start the inning, and was moved over to second base after Jordan Libman drew a walk. Joe Aeilts singled up the middle to bring home Rave for the first run of the game. Next, Joe Butler moved both runners over in the inning with a sacrifice bunt. Then, Gunner Peterson doubled to right field to bring home Libman and Aeilts. ISU led EIU 3-0 after the inning.

Peterson and Aeilts each finished 2-for-2. Rave was 2-for-5. 

Illinois State will travel to Iowa tomorrow to take on the Hawkeyes. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. 

The University of Illinois will start selling beer in general seating areas at Memorial Stadium and State Farm Center this fall.

School athletics officials said Tuesday that beginning with the 2019 football season beer will be available at several stands around Memorial Stadium, where the Illini football team plays. Alcoholic beverages will continue to be sold in premium seating areas. A portion of sales will be set aside to pay for more police officers and additional security at home football games.

UI Athletic Director Josh Whitman says fans told the school that beer sales would encourage them to use their tickets and increase the amount of time they stay in the stands. Illinois joins five other Big Ten schools that plans to sell beer in their stadiums this fall.

Justin Wilson escaped jams in the eighth and ninth innings to earn his first save since 2017, and New York held on to beat the Miami Marlins 6-5.

Miami's Jorge Alfaro went 0 for 4 and stranded seven, including the potential tying run at third when he struck out against Wilson to end the eighth inning.

Wilson hit a batter and allowed a single in the ninth but escap ed when Miguel Rojas lined into a game-ending double play , with Lewis Brinson caught too far off second and doing a face plant as he tried to get back to the base.

Amed Rosario hit a two-run double in the Mets' five-run first inning against Jose Urena (0-2). Wilson Ramos and Dominic Smith each had two hits and an RBI for the Mets, who improved to 4-1.

Brandon Nimmo earned a painful RBI when he was hit on the left knuckle by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh. He was awarded first base when a replay review overturned the original ruling that he had fouled the pitch off.

Nimmo left the game after the inning. X-rays were negative, but the ball left lace marks on his the back of his hand.

Starlin Castro hit his second homer for Miami. Brian Anderson doubled home a run, and Brinson and Peter O'Brien delivered RBI singles in the seventh.

 Jacob deGrom (1-0, 0.00), who struck out 10 in six scoreless innings against the Nationals on opening day, will start Wednesday against RHP Trevor Richards (0-0, 1.50). DeGrom is 4-6 against the Marlins, who have beaten him more than any other team, with a 3.60 ERA.

>>Cardinals Rally Past Pirates

Kolten Wong hit a two-run homer to provide St. Louis with a much-needed spark, and the Cardinals took advantage of a bumpy outing by Pittsburgh's bullpen to slip past the Pirates 6-5 in 11 innings on Monday.

The Cardinals rallied to tie it in the eighth and again in the ninth then took their first and only lead in the 11th. Paul DeJong singled off Steven Brault (0-1) with two outs, moved to third after a hit batter and a walk and sprinted home from third when Pirates reliever Nick Kingham and catcher Francisco Cervelli got crossed up. Kingham's pitch squirted past Cervelli and went all the way to the backstop, allowing DeJong to score easily.

Jordan Hicks (1-1) worked two scoreless innings for St. Louis. John Gant picked up the save despite issuing a one-out walk to finish a sloppy 4-hour, 53-minute marathon that featured 16 pitchers, 16 walks, four hit batters, three errors and two home plate umpires. Crew chief Jerry Layne left in the seventh after taking a ball off the mask and was replaced by Vic Carapazza.

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina made his first career appearance at third base in his 1,875th game in the majors. Molina made the cameo at third in the 11th when Matt Wieters - the last position player available for the Cardinals - came in to pinch hit in the 11th and stayed on to catch in the bottom of the inning. Molina did not have a defensive chance.

Colin Moran went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, including a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth that put the Pirates up 5-4. Josh Bell drove in two runs for Pittsburgh, and Chris Archer struck out eight and allowed just two hits in five shutout innings in his 2019 debut.

St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright, hoping to bounce back after an injury-plagued 2018, struggled with his command. The 37-year-old walked four - three in the first inning alone - and gave up four runs on four hits in four innings while throwing just 37 of his 73 pitches for strikes.

Miles Mikolas (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will make his second start of the season when the teams meet on Wednesday. The 30-year-old allowed five runs in five innings in a loss to Milwaukee on opening day.

Jameson Taillon (0-1, 6.00) is 3-1 with a 3.42 ERA in eight career starts against St. Louis.

>>Indians Down White Sox

Roberto Perez drew a bases-loaded walk on four pitches from Dylan Covey in the eighth as the Indians rallied for a chilly 5-3 win in their home opener over the Chicago White Sox on Monday.

The Indians, whose bats have started out as cold as the early-spring weather, did just enough - and got some needed help from the wild White Sox - to score four runs in the eighth after nearly wasting Clevinger's 12-strikeout performance.

As they wait for All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, second baseman Jason Kipnis and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to get healthy, the Indians will have to find offense any way they can.

After the dreadful outing by Covey (0-1), Caleb Frare came in and walked pinch-hitter Greg Allen on five pitches to force in another run and give the Indians a 5-3 lead. White Sox manager Rick Renteria made several visits to the mound in the eighth to try and get his relievers on target, with minimal success.

Cleveland's Jon Edwards (2-0) picked up the win despite giving up a two-run homer to White Sox rookie Ryan Cordell in the eighth. Brad Hand worked the ninth for his second save.

Chicago has lost 24 of 31 to Cleveland and nine of the last 10 at Progressive Field.

Following an off day, the clubs will conclude the two-game series Wednesday with Cleveland ace Corey Kluber facing Carlos Rodon. Kluber's 13 career wins against the White Sox are his most against any opponent.

>>Braves Blank Cubs

Brian McCann hit a two-run single in a four-run first inning, and the Braves took advantage of six Chicago errors to beat the Cubs 8-0 on Monday night.

After being swept in their first series at Philadelphia, the Braves became the final major league team to win a game. Ender Inciarte and Ronald Acuna Jr. homered off Kyle Hendricks (0-1).

Hendricks gave up seven runs, two earned, on 10 hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander's 2019 debut came after he agreed to a four-year extension last week that added $55.5 million to his contract through 2023.

The Cubs have allowed seven or more runs in three straight losses since opening the season with a 12-4 win at Texas. The six errors were the most by the Cubs in a nine-inning game since also making six on June 14, 1982, against Philadelphia.

Rookie Mark Zagunis dropped Inciarte's foul pop-up in left field for an error in the first inning. On the next pitch from Hendricks, Inciarte hit a homer over the 375-foot mark in right-center.

A throwing error by shortstop Javier Baez on a grounder by Nick Markakis allowed Josh Donaldson, who reached on a single, to score from second as the long first inning continued. Finally, Zagunis was part of a trio of Cubs fielders who watched Ozzie Albies' blooper fall in shallow left field for a double later in the first. That play set up McCann's two-run single.

Albies had three hits.

The struggles for Zagunis continued in the second when he took a called third strike to end the inning with Wilson Contreras on third base. Zagunis later had two doubles.

Sean Newcomb threw 91 pitches in four trouble-filled innings. He gave up six hits with four walks. He left the bases loaded in the third when David Bote's grounder to third base ended the inning.

Wes Parsons (1-1) threw one perfect inning in relief of Newcomb for his first career win.

Following an off day Tuesday, a nine-game trip continues when LHP Jon Lester (1-0, 3.00 ERA) faces the Braves on Wednesday night.

Julio Teheran (0-1, 5.40) is 3-1 with a 3.44 ERA in eight career starts against the Cubs.

>>Pacers Rally Past Pistons

Indiana's two tallest players combined to score 35 points and grab 18 rebounds, and Turner added five blocks to help the struggling Pacers snap a three-game losing streak with a 111-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Damontas Sabonis finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth, while Myles Turner added 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 19 to lead the Pacers.

But Monday's victory hasn't changed anything in the standings yet.

The Pacers remain tied with Boston, a 110-105 winner over Miami, for the No. 4 spot in the East. The Celtics still hold the tiebreaker with the teams meeting in a potentially decisive game Friday in Indianapolis.

Sabonis spurred the Pacers' first-half turnaround with 14 points in 13 minutes as the Pacers built a 59-55 halftime lead.

And when the Pistons charged back to take a 77-74 third-quarter lead, Turner answered with seven points and a critical steal in a 13-3 run that put Indiana on top 87-80. Sabonis' 9-footer with 9:12 left in the game started the decisive 9-0 run that made it 98-87.

Tyreke Evans scored 13 points and Aaron Holiday wound up with 10.

The Pacers will try to snap a 10-game road losing streak in the rematch of the home-and-home. 

>>Knicks Get Rare Win, Beat Bulls

Luke Kornet scored a career-high 24 points and the Knicks ended a six-game losing streak with a 113-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls, who lost for the fifth straight time.

The Knicks, an NBA-worst 15-62, held on after the Bulls (21-57) cut a 28-point lead down to five.

Kevin Knox added 19 points, Damyean Dotson had 18 and Emmanuel Mudiay scored 17 for New York.

Robin Lopez led the Bulls with a season-high 29 points. JaKarr Sampson scored 22 and fellow reserve Ryan Arcidiacono had 14.

New York took its largest lead of the game at 59-31 on Mitchell Robinson's free throws with 6:04 left in the second quarter.

Chicago scored the next six points and pulled to 64-47 at halftime.

The Bulls drew within single digits for the first time since midway through the first quarter when Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot hit three free throws to make it 93-84 with 9:24 remaining.

Chicago then cut it to 94-89 on Walter Lemon Jr.'s layup with 7:51 left but the Knicks responded with the next six points and went on a 9-2 run to re-open a double-digit lead, 103-91.

The Bulls got as close as 112-105 on Sampson's two free throws with 46 seconds left, but they did not score again.

Robinson added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.

Wayne Selden Jr. scored 11 points and Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with 10 for Chicago, while Shaquille Harrison had 10 rebounds.

Kornet was 8 of 11 from the field and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc as the Knicks shot 47.4% on 3-pointers and 50% overall. He was starting in place of DeAndre Jordan, who did not see action for the second straight game as Fizdale gives a longer look at Robinson and Kornet.

Chicago visits Washington on Wednesday.

>>Blues Outlast Avalanche in Overtime

Ryan O'Reilly scored the only goal in a shootout and the Blues slowed Colorado's playoff push with a 3-2 victory over the Avalanche on Monday night.

St. Louis has already wrapped up a playoff berth and still has a chance to win the Central Division. The Blues are tied with Nashville for second place with 94 points, two behind Winnipeg. All three teams have three games left.

St. Louis owns the tiebreaker with Nashville.

The Blues were last in the entire NHL at the start of January but have gone on a 28-10-4 surge since the ball dropped on 2019, including 11 straight wins from Jan. 23 through Feb. 19.

Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko scored in regulation for the Blues, who improved to 7-1-0 in their last eight games.

Jordan Binnington made 24 saves in his 22nd win of the season, tying Jake Allen for most by a St. Louis rookie goaltender.

Alexander Kerfoot and Gabriel Landeskog scored in the third period for the Avalanche.

O'Reilly scored on the Blues' second attempt in the shootout. Colorado missed all three of its shots.

Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer made 25 saves.

The Blues are at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

>>Jets Outlast Blackhawks

Kevin Hayes scored at 3:38 of overtime as Winnipeg defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Monday night to snap a three-game slide and move into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.

Hayes cut to the net off the right side, got past Dylan Strome and tucked a shot past Corey Crawford. Winnipeg improved to 96 points, two ahead of St. Louis and Nashville atop the crowded division race.

Strome, who hadn't scored in his past 12 games, netted his second goal of the game with 2:20 left in the third period to tie it at 3. By earning a point, Chicago avoided being eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season - for now.

Strome, who also had an assist, beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck on the stick side from the slot after taking a centering pass from Jonathan Toews. Crawford was on the bench for an extra attacker.

Jack Roslovic scored two goals to end a 22-game drought, and Adam Lowry also had a goal for the Jets. Roslovic scored for the first time since Feb. 2 when he netted a hat trick versus Anaheim.

Toews had a goal and an assist for Chicago and set a career high for points with 78. The 30-year-old Chicago captain's 34th goal tied his best for one season, set in 2008-09.

Hellebuyck made 25 saves. Crawford stopped 34 shots, including Mark Scheifele's penalty shot 40 seconds into the second period, but Chicago lost for the third time in its last four.

The Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

The Chicago Bears are bringing back linebacker Aaron Lynch on a one-year contract.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Lynch made three starts and appeared in 13 games last season, his first in Chicago. He recorded three sacks, four tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and one interception. He previously spent four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and has 18 career sacks and 53

quarterback hits

Chicago announced the signing on Monday. The Bears won the NFC North at 12-4 last year behind one of the NFL's best defenses.