AP-NW–Sports Right Now/1032
PIRATES-MARINERS
Nelson Cruz hits 20th homer, Seattle beats Pittsburgh 5-2
SEATTLE (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit his 20th home run of the season, Robinson Cano had three hits including an RBI single and the Seattle Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Cruz and Cano led Seattle’s offense, which had 12 hits. Cano’s two-out single in the fifth scored Franklin Gutierrez and gave Cruz the opportunity for his two-run homer into the second deck in left field that gave Seattle a 5-0 lead.
Cruz became the only current player with at least 20 home runs in every season since 2009. David Ortiz and Brian McCann can also reach that mark this season.
Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6) took a shutout into the seventh inning before giving up a pair of runs. Iwakuma has pitched into the seventh in six of his past seven starts.
Jon Niese (6-6) allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings.
MARINERS SHUFFLE
Seattle moves Karns to bullpen, LeBlanc stays in rotation
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners are moving starter Nathan Karns to the bullpen and keeping Wade LeBlanc in the rotation moving forward.
Seattle manager Scott Servais said Tuesday that Taijuan Walker would start on Thursday against Baltimore and LeBlanc would be pushed back to Friday. That left out Karns, who for a time earlier this season was Seattle’s most consistent starter but has struggled to get deep into games. Karns has pitched past the fifth inning once in his last eight starts, but has gone 3-1 during that span.
Karns is 6-2 with a 4.56 ERA overall in 15 starts.
Walker has been bothered by an ankle injury that caused him to miss his last turn in the rotation. After receiving a cortisone shot to relieve the pain, Walker threw a normal bullpen on Tuesday and didn’t feel any discomfort. LeBlanc started in place of Walker and threw six shutout innings last Friday, earning another start.
DREAM-STORM
Stewart scores career-high 38, Storm beats Dream 84-81
SEATTLE (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored a career-high 38 points, Sue Bird made an off-balance jumper with 8.2 seconds left and the Seattle Storm beat the Atlanta Dream 84-81 on Tuesday night.
Stewart’s three-point play with 41.7 seconds left gave Seattle an 82-81 lead. Atlanta turned it over on its next possession and after Bird’s basket, Meighan Simmons missed a 3-pointer.
Stewart was 12 of 16 from the field and 11 of 13 at the free-throw line. Bird finished with 15 points.
Crystal Langhorne added 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting for Seattle (6-9), which is ranked No. 10 in the AP power poll.
Stewart made 7 of 10 shots in the first half and scored 20 points to help the Storm to a 45-35 lead.
Angel McCoughtry scored 22 points and Elizabeth Williams added 21 for fifth-ranked Atlanta (8-7). Tiffany Hayes and Sancho Lyttle did not play due to leg injuries.
Tennessee native and Seattle coach Jenny Boucek wore an orange top in honor of longtime Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, who died Tuesday at age 64.
SEAHAWKS-BALDWIN EXTENSION
Seahawks agree to 4-year deal with WR Doug Baldwin
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Doug Baldwin have agreed to a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2020 season.
The team confirmed the agreement on Tuesday, first reported by KIRO-AM in Seattle.
Baldwin is coming off a career season, tying for the NFL lead in touchdown receptions and setting career highs in TDs, receptions and yards receiving. It’s the second extension Baldwin has signed with the Seahawks after agreeing to a three-year deal following the 2013 season. Baldwin bet on himself by agreeing to a shorter deal at the time in the hopes of cashing in down the road.
Baldwin’s representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll said at the conclusion of minicamp two weeks ago that Baldwin’s extension was a priority this summer.
BOYKIN-ALAMO BOWL ARREST
TCU-ex Boykin charged with assault over Alamo Bowl incident
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin has been charged with assault over an incident that led to a suspension for his final college game in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio last season.
Bexar County court records show Boykin, who signed with Seattle after going undrafted in April, is set for arraignment Aug. 1. That’s two days after the Seahawks open training camp in Renton, Washington.
Boykin originally faced a felony charge of assaulting a police officer over an incident at a bar two days before the Horned Frogs beat Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.
Jake Heaps and Boykin are the quarterbacks behind starter Russell Wilson.
ATH-FAMILY MATTERS
With family cheering, hurdler Keni Harrison eyes Olympics
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Even as the middle child in a family with 11 kids, Keni Harrison always stood out.
Only fitting, then, that her family stands out, too. A few of them are hoping they’ll be at the stadium in Rio de Janeiro later this summer — dressed in their familiar neon shirts to cheer on Keni, the American record holder in the 100-meter hurdles, at the Olympics.
The 23-year-old Harrison grew up in Clayton, North Carolina, and used sports — first gymnastics, then soccer, then, finally, track — to carve her path in an oversized family. Harrison will try to secure her spot in Rio next week at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.
At first, she appeared headed toward a soccer career. She was super-fast, which drew the attention of the track coach who asked her to run in a few meets.
She showed so much potential even with little training and wearing tennis shoes. It didn’t take long until she hit her stride, capturing 100 and 400 hurdles titles at the 2010 USA Junior Olympics. She caught the attention of Clemson, where she went before transferring to Kentucky and going on to twin two individual NCAA titles.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
