TORONTO (AP) – Mike Moustakas hit his 37th home run of the season, breaking Steve Balboni’s Royals record, and Kansas City routed the Toronto Blue Jays 15-5. Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield also connected for the Royals. Moustakas went 3 for 4 and came within a triple of hitting for the cycle. He eclipsed Balboni’s 1985 record with a solo blast to right off Carlos Ramirez in the sixth.
CINCINNATI (AP) – Dexter Fowler homered for the third straight game while Matt Carpenter and Paul DeJong also homered as the St. Louis Cardinals gained ground in their National League playoff push with a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Tommy Pham finished with two doubles, a single and two RBIs and Yadier Molina added a two-run double as the third-place Cardinals (79-72) gained a game on Colorado in the wild-card race.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) – Latif Blessing scored midway through the first half, Daniel Salloi added a breakaway goal in the second and Sporting Kansas City held on to beat the New York Red Bulls 2-1 on Wednesday night to win its fourth U.S. Open Cup title. Three of those titles have come in the last six years featuring defenders Graham Zusi, Matt Besler and Seth Sinovic.
UNDATED (AP) – Josh Sargent, a 17-year-old forward who has starred on U.S. youth teams, has agreed to sign with Werder Bremen. The German Bundesliga team says Sargent will sign a professional contract on Feb. 20, his 18th birthday. Sargent had four goals and one assist at this year’s Under-20 World Cup and is slated to be part of the American team at the Under-17 World Cup next month.
UNDATED (AP) – The Southeastern Conference coaches who entered the season facing questions about their job security haven’t done much to quiet them. In fact, the heat from fans has intensified around coaches like Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn, Arkansas’ Bret Bielema and Tennessee’s Butch Jones. There’s plenty of time for change – good or bad.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt watched every team pass on him in the draft, many of them multiple times. But after Kansas City traded up to select him in the third round, he made it his mission to silence his doubters. And so far, his record-setting start has the Chiefs 2-0 heading into Sunday’s game against the Chargers.