Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Matt Carpenter hit a tiebreaking homer for the second consecutive night, and the St. Louis Cardinals won their fourth series in a row by beating Miami 7-1. Carpenter put St. Louis ahead with a home run leading off the sixth inning, his NL-leading 31st. His eighth-inning homer Tuesday helped St. Louis beat Miami 3-2, and he has homered in five of the past six games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Heath Fillmyer allowed three singles over seven innings for his first major league win, Adalberto Mondesi and Drew Butera each drove in three, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 9-0. Anthony Rizzo drilled Fillmyer with a line drive on the left foot on his third pitch, but Fillmyer stuck around and didn’t allow another hit until David Bote and Tommy La Stella singled with one out in the seventh inning.

UNDATED (AP) — Patrick Mahomes II will be under center when the Kansas City Chiefs begin their preseason schedule Thursday night against Houston. Mahomes is due to play the first quarter after he took over for the traded Alex Smith. But coach Andy Reid said that plan could change depending on how the game goes. The second team will play the second quarter with the rest of the backups playing the second half.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa tackle Alaric Jackson and defensive lineman Cedrick Lattimore will be suspended for the season opener against Northern Illinois for violating team rules. The Hawkeyes say the suspensions aren’t for legal matters. But coach Kirk Ferentz says Jackson and Lattimore’s issues surfaced in late spring and both players were given guidelines to meet. Ferentz called their response “excellent.” However, they apparently weren’t strong enough to avoid missing the opener.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s three-man quarterback race remains too close to call. Quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco says Adrian Martinez, Tristan Gebbia and Andrew Bunch continue to get an equal number of snaps with the first-string offense. Many observers gave Martinez the edge coming out of spring practice. New head coach Scott Frost says the competition would continue until a man separates himself from the others. That might take a while. The Cornhuskers open Sept. 1 against Akron.