PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out 11 in seven innings, Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer and Kyle Schwarber added a solo shot to help the Philadelphia Phillies complete a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 win on Monday.

The major league-leading Phillies (25-11) won their sixth straight and have won 10 of 11 and 17 of 20 to open a three-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East.

The Phillies have also won 10 straight games at Citizens Bank Park, just two wins shy of matching the team record set in 2012. Philadelphia also set a franchise record with 11 straight wins against NL West opponents.

Harper homered for the second straight game and his eighth of the season made it 4-0 against Giants rookie Mason Black (0-1). Black made his major league debut in front of his parents, younger brother, girlfriend and scores of friends and relatives who made the trip to watch him pitch against his boyhood favorite team.

The 24-year-old Black — named the seventh-best prospect in baseball, per MLB.com — was the Giants’ third-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Lehigh University. Black recorded a 1-2-3 first inning that included strikeouts of J.T. Realmuto and Harper, the latter caught looking at an 88 mph changeup.

Black gave up eight hits, five runs and three walks. He struck out four in 4 1/3 innings.

Wheeler (4-3) showed the rookie how it was done. He rebounded from an 0-3 start — he allowed six runs total in his first three starts — to win his fourth straight start. Wheeler allowed one run, walked one and lowered his ERA to 1.62.

Matt Strahm tossed a scoreless eighth and Orion Kerkering pitched the ninth to complete the five-hitter.

With shortstop Trea Turner out at least six weeks with a left hamstring strain, his replacements are starting to fill the void. Bryson Stott moved from second base to shortstop and made a great grab on a grounder by Wilmer Flores in the first to start an inning-ending double play. Whit Merrifield started at second and gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the fourth.

Harper had a three-run shot in the fifth and Nick Castellanos, who hit 37 doubles last season, hit his first one of the year later in the inning for a 5-0 lead.

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at 18 games.

UP NEXT

The Giants stay on the road with three games at Colorado starting Tuesday. The Giants send LHP Kyle Harrison (2-1, 3.79 ERA) to the mound against Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-5, 5.93).

The Phillies open a two-game set against Toronto on Tuesday. They will send LHP Cristopher Sánchez (1-3, 3.68) to the mound against Blue Jays RHP José Berríos (4-2, 1.44).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Victor Wembanyama had a year like no rookie in NBA history.

Others scored more points, others grabbed more rebounds, others had more blocks, others made more steals. But never had there been a player who, in Year 1 of his career, posted all these averages — at least 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

Until now.

The long-expected result became reality on Monday, when the Spurs’ star from France was announced as the NBA’s rookie of the year. He’s the third San Antonio player to win the award, joining David Robinson in 1990 and Tim Duncan in 1998 — both of whom, like Wembanyama, were No. 1 overall picks and instantly anointed as centers who would lead the Spurs to greatness.

Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte’s Brandon Miller were the other finalists for the award.

“Leading rookies in most categories and leading the league in blocks, I’m pretty proud of this,” Wembanyama said when the season ended.

Wembanyama became the first international winner of the award since Dallas’ Luka Doncic in 2019 and the fifth such winner in the last 10 seasons. Andrew Wiggins (Canada) won in 2015, Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic) won in 2016, Ben Simmons (Australia) won in 2018 and Doncic followed the next season.

Wembanyama became just the fourth player, and first rookie, to finish a season with at least 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocked shots. The others: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it five times, Hakeem Olajuwon did it twice and Robinson did it twice. Nobody had done it since 1993-94, when Olajuwon and Robinson both had such a season.

The rookie award may be the start of a big week for Wembanyama, who will be in the top three finishers for Defensive Player of the Year as well. That award gets announced Tuesday, with Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Miami’s Bam Adebayo the other finalists.

The NBA will reveal the MVP — either Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Dallas’ Luka Doncic or Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — on Wednesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

(Reuters) – French phenom Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs was named the unanimous winner of the NBA’s rookie of the year award on Monday after a dominant season in which he lead all first-year players in scoring, rebounds and blocks.

Wembanyama, who was the first pick in last year’s NBA Draft, averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and a league-high 3.6 blocks per game this season.

The NBA said Wembanyama received all 99 first-place votes from a media panel, making him the first unanimous rookie of the year since Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2015-16 season.

The 20-year-old Wembanyama is the first player from France to win the NBA’s rookie of the year award and the third player to earn the honor as a member of the Spurs, joining David Robinson (1989-90) and Tim Duncan (1997-98).

Wembanyama is only the second rookie to lead all NBA players in blocks per game in a season, joining Manute Bol (1985-86).

Wembanyama is also one of three finalists for the defensive player of the year award along with Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Miami’s Bam Adebayo. The winner will be announced on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese)

The off-kilter Atlanta Braves hope a quick stop at home will put them back on the right path.

The Braves open a two-game home series on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox after they lost five of their last six games and were swept in a three-game series over the weekend by the surging Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Red Sox broke a three-game losing streak on Sunday with a 9-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The Red Sox won three of four games against the Braves last season and split the two that were played at Atlanta one year ago this week.

The pitching matchups for the series opener features Boston’s Kutter Crawford (2-1, 1.56 ERA) against Atlanta’s Reynaldo Lopez (2-1, 1.50).

Atlanta’s bats were quiet during its six-game West Coast trip, producing only 14 runs. After averaging 9.9 hits and 5.9 runs over the first 24 games, the Braves have averaged only 6.1 hits and 2.5 runs over the last eight games and fell out of first place in the National League East.

“We’re struggling offensively. There’s no doubt about that,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters. “We’re not hitting on all cylinders. It happens. Guys are working hard and it’s just not translating on the field right now.”

Matt Olson (.197, three home runs), Austin Riley (.237, three homers) and reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. (.268, two homers) have not produced to their standards. But Acuna did hit a home run Friday, with his first three-hit game of the season Saturday.

Only Marcell Ozuna (.306, 10 homers, 33 RBIs) and Ozzie Albies (.297) have provided offensive consistency.

The Braves are running into a hot pitcher, too.

Over his last 11 starts, dating back to Aug. 12, Crawford has recorded a 1.88 ERA and a .186 opponent batting average. In his last start on Wednesday against San Francisco, he pitched a career-high seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

In a slight setback, Crawford’s homerless streak of 51 2/3 innings, the longest active streak in the major leagues, was snapped.

“That was good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters. “He worked hard in the offseason to get to this point. Very proud of him. He’s been awesome, absolutely great. He got hit hard in the middle of the game, but that’s part of it, right? He threw a lot of strikes with good stuff, and he maintained his stuff throughout the outing.”

Crawford will make his first career appearance against the Braves.

Lopez continues to provide consistent starts for Atlanta. In his most recent outing Tuesday at Seattle, he took a loss after giving up a season-high three runs on six hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings.

In six career appearances (three starts) against Boston, Lopez is 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA. He pitched one inning of scoreless relief against the Red Sox last year.

The series will also mark the return of former Atlanta prospect Vaughn Grissom. He was the key part of the trade that brought pitcher Chris Sale from Boston to Atlanta. Sale will start Wednesday’s game.

Grissom, who had been out all season with a left hamstring strain, made his debut with the Red Sox on Friday against the Twins and went 1-for-5 with a two-run double on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

The Cleveland Guardians placed American League batting leader Steven Kwan on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and selected the contract of top prospect Kyle Manzardo among multiple moves Monday.

The Guardians also activated left-hander Sam Hentges from the 15-day IL and optioned right-hander Peter Strzelecki to Triple-A Columbus.

Cleveland expects to be without Kwan for about for weeks. The leadoff batter was injured while making a play in the outfield Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels and left that game after three innings.

He entered Monday leading the AL with a .353 batting average, ranking second with 47 hits and first in the major leagues with 74 consecutive plate appearances without striking out.

“Any time without (Kwan) at the top of our order, it’s not good,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Monday. “But sounds like it shouldn’t hinder him too long. Just got to make sure that he’s back to a hundred percent before we get him back out there.”

Kwan, 26, also had three homers and 11 RBIs in 32 games. His move to the injured list is retroactive to Sunday.

“I know he’s going to be smart,” Vogt said. “We have a great medical staff. They’re going to make sure he’s dialed in and ready to go. You can’t replace somebody like that, but hopefully he’s back soon.”

Manzardo, 23, is a first baseman ranked as the Guardians’ No. 2 prospect and No. 52 overall by MLB Pipeline. Selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Washington State, Manzardo was sent to the Guardians in a trade last summer involving pitcher Aaron Civale.

Manzardo was slated to be in the lineup Monday as Cleveland’s designated hitter against the Detroit Tigers. He was hitting .303 with a .375 on-base percentage, .642 slugging percentage, nine homers and 20 RBIs in 109 at-bats over 29 games at Columbus.

Hentges, 27, was 1-0 with no runs allowed, two hits, three walks and seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings over six games (three starts) between Columbus and Double-A Akron. He had been on the injured list since March with swelling in his left middle finger.

Strzelecki, 29, appeared in four innings over three games without allowing a run for Cleveland this season.

–Field Level Media

(Reuters) – Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg, who finished solo second in his Masters debut last month, withdrew on Monday from this week’s PGA Tour event with a knee issue but expects to return in time for next week’s PGA Championship.

World number six Aberg was set to make his Quail Hollow debut in Charlotte, North Carolina where a field headlined by world number two Rory McIlroy are competing in the final tune-up ahead of the May 16-19 PGA Championship.

“Unfortunately, I’m dealing with a knee issue and after consulting with my doctors, we think it’s best that I take some additional time to rest,” Aberg said in a statement released by the PGA Tour. “I hope everyone has a great week and I look forward to teeing it up next week.”

Aberg’s runner-up finish at Augusta National, where he made his major championship debut, was the best by a Swede at the Masters.

In his most recent start, at the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Aberg earned his fifth top-10 finish of the year.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

The Rangers and Hurricanes were among the top special teams units during the regular season. Carolina was second on the power play and first on the penalty-kill, and New York was third in both.

After special teams play keyed the Rangers’ 4-3 win in the series opener, the Hurricanes know they will need to be better when the teams meet in Game 2 on Tuesday night (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN).

“We got to be a little bit better in all areas,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They got a great team over there. They had to make high-end plays on the goals. … We have to find a way to be that much better.”

The Rangers scored on the game’s first shot on goal. After the Hurricanes tied it, New York then scored on its two power plays in the first period to take a two-goal lead.

The Rangers’ two power plays totaled just 23 seconds. They needed only 9 seconds to get the first one when Mika Zibanejad scored from the left side off a pass from Chris Kreider in front, and 14 seconds before Vincent Trocheck put in a rebound in close of a shot by Zibanejad.

“Our kill is predicated on pressure and they gotta make three or four good passes to get a Grade-A (chance) and they did,” Carolina forward Jordan Staal said. “We’ll adjust, we’ll find ways to pressure maybe a little more at times, create opportunities and and make sure we can do a better job.”

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, finished the game 0 for 5 with the man-advantage while totaling just five shots on goal.

“We had our looks, we just didn’t convert,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s the difference. We got to find a way to get more looks and we’d like to have more opportunities when you get your power plays, but they did a nice job of blocking shots, pressure us at the right times. The execution wasn’t where it needed to be.”

The Rangers, on the other hand, liked what they did on both sides and know that will be key in the series against a Hurricanes team that was 86.4% on the penalty-kill during the season and then 8 for 11 in the first round.

“For our power play, I thought we were executing, trying to attack,” Zibanejad said. “It’s a really good PK that we’re playing against, so we have to execute. … Something we’re going to have to keep doing if we’re going to have some success against these guys.”

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette called the Rangers’ power play “efficient” and credited the penalty-kill for doing “a great job,” but knows there are things his team needs to improve on.

“There’s a lot of time when you’re a man down,” Laviolette said. “For a team that’s shot-heavy and puts you under duress a little bit, you’re stressed in the defensive zone. (There’s) things we can get better at.”

Despite their struggles in Game 1, the Hurricanes are still confident. Their win against the Islanders in the first round marked the first time a franchise has won at least one series in six straight years since Detroit did it from 1995-2000, and they’ve reached the conference finals twice in that stretch.

“It’s one game,” Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo said. “They did a nice job, they executed, two real nice plays. I thought we did a pretty good job on our power play. It didn’t go in. That’s why you play seven games. … They got a good team, but we know what we got in here, and we got six more games.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Say goodbye to the 76ers.

No, not Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey is sticking around, too. Nick Nurse seems like a perfect long-term fit as coach.

But for the rest of the Sixers? It’s time to pretty much wish them well, with just about the entire team — players such as Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry and Nic Batum — ending the season with an expired contract.

Team president Daryl Morey this summer has about $65 million in salary cap space, a first-round draft pick, a max contract to offer to Maxey and plenty of questions to solve on how to finally, truly build an NBA championship contender around Embiid.

“We’re not going to have continuity,” Morey said Monday at the 76ers’ headquarters in New Jersey. “We’ll have continuity with our stars and our head coach but we’re going to have a lot of changes this season.”

The Sixers first-round exit against the Knicks made it 41 years since their last NBA championship. The Sixers haven’t even advanced out of the second round since 2001. It’s time to start over — this time with a championship chase, not a Process.

“We’re focused on Joel and Tyrese and we’re focused on now,” Morey said.

The 76ers have money to spend. But will they aim high for an aging player such as Paul George? What about a wild-card play at LeBron James?

James and George would have to decline player options to hit the market. Nurse won a championship in Toronto with Pascal Siakam and was an assistant coach with the Raptors when DeMar DeRozan was on the team. Both players are free agents and could be a nice fit in Philly.

“You have to factor in the age,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re in the window where we have to win now. We’re mostly focused on getting the best players that fit with Joel and Tyrese.”

Embiid will be an old 30 next season and expecting the All-Star center to miss a significant chunk of playing time because of injuries is an unfortunate rite of the season for the Sixers.

Embiid has never played more than 68 games in a season and was limited to only 39 this season in large part because of knee surgery. The 76ers finished 31-8 in the regular season with Embiid — about a 65-win pace — and a woeful 16-27 without him.

“I feel like I could have done a better job with the players so that we were in a better spot to win without him,” Morey said. “That said, we do spend 90% of the time figuring out how to win the title with him. It can’t be a big focus, how we play without him. We know that team can’t win a championship. It’s really, how do we manage through it better? I felt like, on me, the depth wasn’t quite there when he was out to win at the level we wanted to win at.”

While the Sixers and their fans might wish Embiid would take a summer off to rest up, he is set to play for USA Basketball at the Paris Olympics. The 76ers won’t stand in Embiid’s way.

“It’s a dream of his to represent the United State in the Olympics,” Morey said. “I think it’s important to support the dreams of your best player.”

With the Sixers in win-now mode, a string of solid seasons usually has them drafting toward the mid to late first round. Maxey in 2020 was the last draft pick who made any kind of impact. The 76ers are scheduled to pick 16th overall and hold the 41st overall pick in the second round. While the draft quality has been knocked for having little depth, Morey said he’s fine with staying at 16.

Well, if he stays at 16.

“We don’t really focus on the draft for help now,” Morey said. “I do really love 16. The storylines have been that the draft is worse. I don’t see that at all. I’m very excited at who’s at 16. That said, as you might expect, we have all options on the table. Trade into the future so we keep more picks available for future trades.”

Maxey’s career skyrocketed this season with his first All-Star berth, the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, and a season-extending 46-point effort in a Game 5 win in New York.

“We should all learn not to bet against Tyrese,” Morey said.

He is a restricted free agent, meaning the 76ers could match any offer extended to the personable guard. Maxey is eligible to get a five-year, $205 million contract.

“A year ago, if we had polled everyone in the media or the GMs, it wouldn’t have been unanimous that Tyrese could take that step forward that we hoped he could,” Morey said.

“This offseason’s a big one,” Morey said. “I owe it to the fans, to ownership, to everybody, to get this team in a place where we’re competing for championships. We obviously didn’t achieve it this year.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Guardians are losing their extraordinary leadoff hitter for a bit and adding one with power and potential.

Cleveland placed outfielder Steven Kwan, who leads the AL with a .353 average, on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain he sustained while running down a fly ball over the weekend.

Kwan felt tightness in his hamstring and was pulled from Saturday’s win over the Angels as a precaution. An MRI revealed an acute strain and the Guardians said Kwan likely will be out for up to one month.

“Super unfortunate news,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’re going to miss Kwanny a lot. You can’t replace somebody like that, but four weeks isn’t horrific. Anytime it’s hamstring, it’s not good. But sounds like it shouldn’t hinder him too long. Just got to make sure that he’s back to 100% before we get him back out there.”

Kwan said he had hamstring issues while playing at Oregon State and in the minors.

His injury is a blow to the AL Central-leading Guardians, but it’s giving the team a chance to promote hard-hitting prospect Kyle Manzardo, who has been bashing minor league pitchers this season and will now join a Cleveland lineup that can use some middle muscle.

The Guardians have been one of the season’s early surprise teams — they’re 22-12 heading into their series opener against Detroit — with Kwan a big reason for the club’s fast start.

He seems to start or be in the middle of virtually every rally, and the 26-year-old Kwan continues to be one of the league’s best defensive outfielders. Last year, he won his second straight Gold Glove.

Kwan’s injury is the first to impact Cleveland’s everyday lineup, but the club has been dealing with an assortment of some pitching issues, including ace Shane Bieber having season-ending elbow surgery.

Vogt has confidence his team will respond to losing Kwan.

“Not one person needs to come in and replace him,” Vogt said. “We just got to keep playing our game. Yeah, it’s a big hit, but similar to the pitching, when we lost Biebs, the guys have stepped up. We can’t control what happened. We can only control who has the opportunity and we feel good about our guys that are going to be here.”

Manzardo’s reputation as a slugger preceded his arrival in Cleveland.

The 23-year-old was acquired at last year’s trade deadline from Tampa Bay for pitcher Aaron Civale. The Rays were reluctant to part with Manzardo but they needed pitching while the Guardians have been craving a big bat in the middle of their order.

“Kyle is a very good hitter with power and if a pitcher makes a mistake, he can take you out of the park,” Vogt said.

Manzardo had a strong spring for the Guardians, who had him start the season at Triple-A Columbus to build confidence. He’s done just that, hitting .303 with nine homers, 10 doubles and 20 RBIs in 29 games.

Cleveland fans have been clamoring for Manzardo, who will be the club’s DH and bat seventh in the series opener against the Tigers and is expected to get some playing time at first base. Vogt has inserted Estevan Florial in Kwan’s leadoff spot.

“They told me I would be doing a lot of DHing in the short-term, then mixing in at first base,” Manzardo said.

Vogt said Manzardo will primarily be used as the team’s DH, but it’s possible he could get some time in the outfield after working with coach JT Maguire.

“We just want to create as much versatility as we can with our roster,” Vogt said. “But as of right now, I would say he’s going to get the majority of his reps at DH.”

Also, the Guardians activated left-hander Sam Hentges from the injured list. The reliever has been out since training camp with a middle finger issue.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Texans owner Cal McNair said Monday that receiver Tank Dell will make a “full recovery” after he was wounded in a shootout at a Florida restaurant last month.

McNair did not provide details on the nature of Dell’s injury, but the team called it a “minor wound” the day after the April 27th shooting, which also injured nine others.

Speaking before the team’s annual charity golf classic, McNair called the situation “frightening” before providing an update on Dell.

“It looks like Tank will make a full recovery,” he said. “We saw him in the office the other day and he looked good, in good spirits. But he’ll have to rehab and get back to where he was.”

Coach DeMeco Ryans was cagey when asked about Dell, refusing to directly answer the question when asked if he expected him to be ready for Week 1.

“Tank should be fine,” he said.

Ryans said that he’s spoken to Dell several times since the shooting and that they had a “good conversation.”

Later when pressed about whether he would miss practice time Ryans again deflected.

“I’ve answered all that about Tank — he’ll be all right,” Ryans said.

Dell was drafted in the third round in 2023 after a standout career at the University of Houston. He had 709 yards receiving and set a franchise rookie record with seven touchdown receptions last season before breaking his left fibula in December.

Ryans said in April that Dell had recovered from that injury and would be ready to practice when the team began workouts before he was injured in the shooting.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl