KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and Jorge Bonifacio hit back-to-back homers during a four-run sixth inning, Heath Fillmyer pitched into the eighth and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4. The loss by the Twins, who occupy second place in the woeful AL Central, reduced the division-leading Cleveland Indians’ magic number to two.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs to back Clayton Kershaw, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-7 in the opener of a four-game series between playoff contenders. The Dodgers snapped a five-game losing streak against the Cardinals and moved to within one game of St. Louis for the final NL wild-card spot. The Cardinals, who went 22-6 in August, lost their second straight game and fell to 5-7 in September.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes drew raves for his four-touchdown performance in a season-opening win over the Chargers. Now Mahomes will try to help the Chiefs beat the Steelers on the road for the first time in 31 years. Mahomes says he’s not worried about his team’s spotty history against Pittsburgh. The Steelers are looking to rebound from an ugly season-opening tie in Cleveland in which they turned the ball over six times.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid laughs and shrugs when you ask him where he draws up some of his plays. Sometimes it’s on the back of a restaurant napkin, or a scratch piece of paper on an airplane. One thing is certain: Many of them end up working.

UNDATED (AP) — Tony Gonzalez is the most accomplished tight end in NFL history. He’s now a nominee for the 2019 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So is safety Ed Reed. And cornerback Champ Bailey. And linebacker London Fletcher. All are first-year eligible players among the 102 modern-era nominees. The field will be pared to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 finalists in January.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Big 12 is in the spotlight this week with a series of games against Power Five schools, to say nothing of Oklahoma State’s game against Boise State. The highlight is No. 15 TCU against fourth-ranked Ohio State. But whether it’s Kansas-Rutgers or Texas-Southern California, the league has a chance to make a national statement.

National Headlines

CINCINNATI (AP) — AJ Green grabbed touchdown passes on three consecutive series and the Cincinnati Bengals improved to 2-0 by defeating the 1-1 Baltimore Ravens, 34-23. Andy Dalton finished with 265 passing yards and threw all four of his touchdown passes while the Bengals were building a 28-7 lead. Joe Flacco threw for 376 yards and two scores, but much of the yardage came after Cincinnati built a 21-point lead.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH’-lihs-bur-gur) skipped practice for a second straight day due to an issue with his right elbow. The 36-year-old Roethlisberger injured the elbow on Pittsburgh’s next-to-last offensive snap in a Week 1 tie with Cleveland. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner declined to get into specifics about Roethlisberger’s status for Sunday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans limited Marcus Mariota (mar-ee-OH’-tah) at practice Thursday and gave more work to backup Blaine Gabbert in preparation for Sunday’s game against Houston. Coach Mike Vrabel says they want to evaluate which quarterback will give them the best chance against the Texans. Mariota practiced fully yesterday after an injured elbow knocked him out of Tennessee’s 27-20 opening loss in Miami.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks have bolstered their blueline by acquiring two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators for a package of young players and several high draft picks. The Sharks also received forward Francis Perron and sent forwards Chris Tierney, Josh Norris and Rudolfs Balcers to Ottawa, along with defenseman Dylan DeMelo. The Senators also get a first-round pick in 2019 or 2020, a second-round pick next year and two conditional selections, but San Jose will also send Ottawa a second-rounder in 2021 if Karlsson re-signs with the Sharks.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets say third baseman David Wright will be activated Sept. 25 against Atlanta and is scheduled to start Sept. 29 versus the Marlins. It’s expected to be the final game of his career after dealing with a litany of neck, back and shoulder injuries that have required surgery. Wright is ranked either first or second in every major offensive category on the team’s all-time list, but he hasn’t played a major league game since May 2016.

Thursday Scores

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Baltimore 5 Oakland 3
Final Boston 4 Toronto 3
Final Kansas City 6 Minnesota 4
Final Seattle 8 L-A Angels 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N-Y Mets 4 Miami 3
Final Colorado 10 Arizona 3
Final Chi Cubs 4 Washington 3, 10 Innings
Final N-Y Mets 5 Miami 2
Final L-A Dodgers 9 St. Louis 7

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 34 Baltimore 23