AP-NW–Sports Right Now/686
MARINERS-ORIOLES
Tillman wins 5th straight, Orioles beat Mariners 5-2
BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Tillman won his fifth straight start with another solid performance against his former team and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters hit back-to-back homers for the Orioles, whose 17-7 record at Camden Yards is the best home mark in the major leagues. Wieters also had two doubles for his first three-hit game this season.
Tillman was drafted by Seattle in 2006 and traded to Baltimore two years later with Adam Jones for Erik Bedard. Since then, he has gone 7-0 in nine career starts against Seattle.
Tillman (6-1) allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. Closer Zach Britton relieved Brad Brach and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Britton got his 11th save by recording five outs.
Taijuan Walker (2-3) allowed four runs on five hits over five innings.
THUNDER-WARRIORS
Curry dazzles again, Warriors even series with Thunder 1-1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 15 straight points in less than 2 minutes during one dazzling third-quarter stretch, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 on Wednesday night to even the Western Conference final at one game apiece.
The MVP scored 28 points, making 5 of 8 3-pointers and shooting 9 for 15 overall, while Klay Thompson added 15 points in a balanced performance by the defending champions to bounce back from just their third defeat all season at Oracle Arena in the series opener two nights earlier.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points but just six after halftime. Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 12 assists for the Thunder, who were outrebounded for the first time in five meetings with the Warriors this season.
Game 3 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
MLS-WHITECAPS-HURTADO
Vancouver seeing improved play from Beaverton’s Hurtado
VANCOUVER – Getting shipped off to Europe did Erik Hurtado a world of good.
After falling out of favour with Vancouver early last season, the Whitecaps loaned the forward to a tiny Norwegian club in hopes of getting him game action and, perhaps more importantly, some perspective.
Now back in Major League Soccer, the 25-year-old seems like a new man.
“I needed to change my attitude,” Hurtado said after Whitecaps’ practice on Wednesday.
The fifth pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, Hurtado scored all six of his MLS goals for Vancouver during the 2014 season, with four coming in one four-game stretch. He started 19 times in the regular season and again in the Whitecaps’ 2-1 playoff loss to FC Dallas, scoring the club’s goal.
But something was different in 2015. Hurtado made just nine appearances, including a single start, before the Whitecaps decided it was time to send the native of Beaverton, Ore., packing.
The move turned out to be the wake-up called Hurtado needed.
NCAA GOLF-EUGENE-BYU
BYU to start NCAA championships early to avoid Sunday play
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) —The BYU women’s golf team has been allowed to get an early start in the NCAA championships this week because of the Mormon school’s longstanding stance against participating in athletic events on Sundays.
BYU will play on Thursday through Saturday at the Eugene County Club in Oregon. The other 23 teams vying to advance to the round of eight will begin play in Eugene on Friday and wrap up Sunday. The top eight teams move on to match play next week.
NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said in an email that NCAA bylaws provide for accommodations to be made for schools that have a written policy against competition on a particular day because of religious reasons. Schools must have submitted the policy to the NCAA by September 1st of the school year during which they may seek accommodations.
The team plans to attend church services in Oregon on Sunday.
This is the first time BYU has advanced to the championships since 2007.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
