CHICAGO (AP) — Yu Darvish pitched six effective innings in his fourth straight win, leading the banged-up Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Darvish allowed one run and eight hits while improving to 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA since he struggled in his first start of the season July 25 against Milwaukee. St. Louis pushed across two runs in the eighth and had runners on the corners when pinch hitter Andrew Knizner looked at a called third strike from Rowan Wick, ending the inning. Wick then worked the ninth for his fourth save.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Reds and Royals were supposed to begin a two-game series in Kansas City on Tuesday night, but Major League Baseball decided to postpone the game to give Cincinnati more time for testing. Now, the clubs will play a doubleheader Wednesday with the first seven-inning game taking place at 4:05 p.m. CDT and the second about 30 minutes after the first game ends. Matt Harvey will start Game 2 for the Royals in his return to the mound after more than a year. He once pitched for the Mets against Kansas City in the 2015 World Series, but has struggled to regain his former All-Star form.

CHICAGO (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler tried to do something nice for rookie teammate Max Schrock, and it turned into quite an adventure. Fowler went to get Schrock’s first home run ball Monday at Wrigley Field and then had to sprint back to the dugout when he nearly had to go into the game. Fowler and the Cardinals are ramping up again after their season was derailed by a coronavirus outbreak, leading to 18 confirmed cases in the organization. The team is in the midst of playing 53 games over 44 days, including 10 doubleheaders.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The No. 1 seeds were losers in their opening games of the NBA playoffs. Nikola Vucevic scored a playoff career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds as the eighth-seed Orlando Magic downed the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-110. Damian Lillard continued his torrid scoring output by delivering a team-high 34 points in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 100-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Heat and Houston Rockets were winners in the opener of their respective NBA first-round series. Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Goran Dragic (DRAH’-gihch) had 24 to lead the Miami Heat to a 113-101 victory over the Indiana Pacers. James Harden’s 37 points and 11 rebounds led the Rockets to a 123-108 win over the Thunder.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys have released defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, a day after the newcomer sustained a season-ending leg injury. McCoy tore his right quadriceps muscle Monday while engaging defensive tackle Antwaun Woods during an individual drill. The injury waiver means the Cowboys pay only the $3 million signing bonus on the $18 million, three-year contract McCoy signed as a free agent during the offseason.