AP-NW–Sports Right Now/972
RANGERS-MARINERS
Hamels reaches 2,000 Ks as Rangers beat Seattle
SEATTLE (AP) — Cole Hamels became the seventh active pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts and Mitch Moreland homered to lead the Texas Rangers to a 6-4 win against the Seattle Mariners Sunday.
The AL West-leading Rangers took two out of three games in the series against second-place Seattle to open up a season-high five-game division lead. The Rangers have won seven straight series and 12 of their last 15 games.
Hamels (6-1) picked up strikeout Number 2,000 in the third inning when he got Leonys Martin swinging. It was one of five strikeouts for Hamels, who allowed one run on four hits in seven innings.
Hamels has now lasted seven innings in each of his last three starts, although he ended up with no-decisions in the previous two. Hamels has won nine straight decisions against AL West opponents, and has won four straight against Seattle.
STORM-FEVER
Loyd, Storm hold on for 90-88 win over Fever
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jewell Loyd scored 20 points, including two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play, and the Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 90-88 on Sunday night.
Crystal Langhorne added 17 points, Sue Bird had 16, and Jenna O’Hea scored 10 for the Storm (4-6). Rookie Breanna Stewart had seven points, five rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
Loyd hit a jumper that gave Seattle an 88-87 lead with 23 seconds to play. After Shenise Johnson made the first and missed the second of two free throws on the other end, Loyd grabbed the rebound, dribbled down court and drew a foul setting up her winning foul shots.
Seattle, ranked ninth in the AP WNBA Power Poll, led by as many as 17 in the first half. O’Hea’s 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining gave the Storm an 82-71 advantage, but Tamika Catchings scored eight during a 16-4 run that gave the Fever its first lead, 87-86, since the opening minutes.
Catchings scored 15 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter.
Briann January added 15 points and Johnson scored 13 for sixth-ranked Indiana (4-6).
INTERNATIONAL CROWN
Yang grabs last South Korea spot in UL International Crown
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — Amy Yang edged Ha Na Jang on Sunday for the final spot on South Korea’s UL International Crown team for the July 22nd through 24th event at the Merit Club in Illinois.
The four-player rosters were set at the end of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, while the eight countries were determined after the ANA Inspiration in early April.
Yang will join Inbee Park, Sei Young Kim and In Gee Chun in South Korea’s lineup. Yang was seventh Sunday in the major championship, and Jang tied for 30th.
Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Piller and Cristie Kerr will represent the United States.
Porani Chutichai took the final spot for Thailand, joining sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and Pornanong Phatlum.
WOMEN’S PGA
Brooke Henderson beats Lydia Ko in Women’s PGA playoff
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — Brooke Henderson beat top-ranked Lydia Ko with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff Sunday in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after overcoming a three-shot deficit on the back nine.
The 18-year-old Canadian, ranked Number 4 in the world, closed with a bogey-free 6-under 65 — the best round of the week at Sahalee — to match Ko at 6-under 278. Ko finished with a 67.
In the playoff on the par-4 18th, Henderson hit her second shot from 155 yards to 3 feet, while Ko’s second from farther back in the fairway left her with 20 feet. Ko missed to the left and Henderson tapped in to cap a week that started with a hole-in-one on her fourth hole of the tournament and ended with a major championship.
In regulation, Henderson saved par on 18 with a 12-footer, moments before Ko missed a 4-foot birdie try on the par-3 17th. Henderson also eagled the par-5 11th and birdied the par-3 13th. She won last year in Portland, Oregon, for her first tour title.
Henderson became the second-youngest winner in a major championship, with Ko the youngest last year in the Evian Championship in France. Henderson also ended Ko’s bid for her third straight major victory.
Ariya Jautanugarn, in search of a fourth straight victory, shot 66 to finish a stroke back. She missed a birdie putt on the 18th that could have put her into the playoff.
US-NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING-SPORTS REACTION
Sports world reacts to Orlando mass shooting
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —The sports world reacted strongly Sunday to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Baseball teams across the country held moments of silence after a gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday.
At least 50 people were killed and the gunman died in a gunfight with SWAT officers, according to police.
“We begin with our thoughts and prayers for the Orlando community and all of those affected by the tragic events this early morning,” Father Geoff Rose of St Francis de Sales High School said Sunday at NASCAR’s race in Michigan.
Many prominent athletes took to social media to express themselves in the wake of the incident.
Shaquille O’Neal, who began his storied career with the Orlando Magic and is the most prominent star to ever play in the city, tweeted “My thoughts & prayers go out to my Orlando LGBT community brothers and sister during this senseless act of violence. Love is Love!”
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
