Kyle Leahy’s strong start led the host St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.

Alec Burleson knocked in two for the Cardinals, and Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn also added RBIs. St. Louis will go for the series sweep in Sunday’s finale after beating Kansas City 5-4 in 11 innings on Friday.

Leahy (5-3) got his third win in his last four starts, throwing six innings of one-run ball. He walked three and gave up five hits, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the second.

It’s been a week to forget for the Royals, who have lost six straight and eight of their last 10.

All three of St. Louis’s runs off Royals starter Noah Cameron (2-3), who took the loss, came on plays where Kansas City recorded an out.

Jac Caglianone hit his fifth home run of the year for Kansas City. Vinnie Pasquantino went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

After retiring Masyn Winn to begin his day, Cameron was challenged by the heart of the Cardinals order. Ivan Herrera hit a ground-rule double, Jordan Walker followed with a single and Burleson brought home Herrera with a sac fly for the first run of the game.

Maikel Garcia snapped an 0-for-12 stretch at the plate with a one-out double in the fifth, and Pasquantino smacked a single into center field to tie the game.

Thomas Saggase broke his 0-for-29 rut with a leadoff single in the bottom of the frame. When Church doubled him over to third in the next at-bat, St. Louis had their best scoring opportunity, and they took full advantage.

The Cardinals retook the lead on Scott II’s RBI groundout. Winn then hit the Cardinals’ second sac fly of the game to double their advantage to 3-1.

Burleson spoiled Bailey Falter’s return from the injured list with an RBI single in the eighth. Falter had been out since April 1 with left elbow inflammation.

Caglianone’s solo shot led off the ninth against George Soriano. The tying run came to the plate when Isaac Collins singled, but Soriano forced Kyle Isbel to ground into a game-ending double play.

The game was delayed approximately 45 minutes from its scheduled start time of 2:15 local because of inclement weather in the area.

–Field Level Media

Donovan Mitchell and Ausar Thompson will battle for the last word in their individual rivalry when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Detroit Pistons for a win-or-go-on-vacation Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday night.

Each team has prevailed once on the opponent’s court since the clubs each won twice at home to begin the best-of-seven.

Mitchell and the Cavaliers’ 117-113 overtime triumph Wednesday at Detroit gave them a 3-2 lead and put the fourth-seeded club one win away from meeting the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.

But the top-seeded Pistons turned the tables Friday in Cleveland, rolling to a 115-94 victory that has returned the presumed home-court advantage to Detroit.

“It’s going to be a madhouse in there,” Pistons star Cade Cunningham predicted on the eve of the showdown. “The crowd is going to come to play as well. They want to insert themselves in the game.”

The Pistons went 32-9 at home in the regular season, the third-best record in the NBA, before going 3-1 at Little Caesars Arena against the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs. That included a 116-94 home win in Game 7 to advance.

Cleveland also needed seven games to reach this series. The Cavaliers haven’t lost a Game 7 since LeBron James was 23 years old in 2008 against the Boston Celtics. Before beating the Magic, the Pistons hadn’t been in a seven-game series since, coincidentally, eliminating Cleveland in 2006.

Mitchell, the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer at 27.9 points per game during the regular season, has been held to 23 or fewer in three of the six games of the semifinal series. In Cleveland’s Game 5 win, he scored 21 points, shooting 7-for-18 overall and 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. When the Cavaliers were limited to 94 points in Game 6, he was held to 18 points while being harassed into 6-for-20 shooting overall and 2-for-6 from deep.

Thompson, a finalist for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, has gotten much of the credit for Mitchell’s troubles. The Cavaliers recognize the defensive strategy and believe they are prepared to counter it when it matters most.

“Getting him in the open court more where they can’t get their hands on him,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson responded when asked for a potential solution to Thompson’s aggressive defense. “When it’s in the halfcourt, it’s clutch, grab, hold. We got to get him in space, in the open court — kick-aheads, kick-acrosses, all that.”

Another key matchup in the series has been between starting centers Jarrett Allen and Jalen Duren.

Allen has won the statistical battle three times, totaling 43 points and 19 rebounds to Duren’s 28 points and 11 rebounds in those matchups, and the Cavaliers have won all three of those games. But when Duren has outplayed his rival — outrebounding him 33-18 — the Pistons have gone 3-0.

The team that has won the rebounding battle has taken four of the six games. With Duren contributing his second double-double of the series, the Pistons owned a 43-40 edge on the boards in Game 6.

–Field Level Media

FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom described his Saturday meeting with the head of Iran’s Football Federation (FFIRI) as “constructive” as concerns about the nation’s participation in next month’s World Cup have not abated.

Grafstrom met with FFIRI President Mehdi Taj in Istanbul and told Reuters he was confident about Iran competing in the United States, despite hostilities between the two countries extending into their third month.

“We’ve had an excellent meeting and constructive meeting together with the Iran FA,” Grafstrom said during a visit to Istanbul. “We’re working closely together and looking very much forward to welcoming them in the FIFA World Cup.”

Iran is slated to play all three of their group matches in the United States, beginning with a contest vs. New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They are also scheduled to take on Belgium in Los Angeles and conclude Group G play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran asked that their games be moved to Mexico, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino denied that request.

Taj has served as president of Iran’s governing body since 2022, but he had previously served in Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The 66-year-old was not allowed to enter the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada earlier this month due to his IRGC ties.

Canada and the United States, who are co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico, have classified the IRGC as a “terrorist entity” and have stated that they will not permit people with ties to that group in their respective nations.

Grafstrom would not specifically address entry and visa arrangements for Iranian players. The discussion with Taj primarily involved operational issues.

“We’ve discussed all relevant matters, but I think it’s not the place to discuss the details,” he said. “Overall, a very positive meeting and we’re looking forward to continuing the dialogue.”

Taj also shared with Reuters that the meeting with Grafstrom and other FIFA officials was positive.

“I am pleased that they listened to Iran’s points, all 10 points that we had raised, and they offered solutions for each of them. I hope, God willing, that our national team can go to the World Cup without any problems and achieve very good results there,” he said.

The Iranian squad is scheduled to leave Tehran for a training camp in Turkey on Monday. Their base in the United States is located at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, and they are slated to travel there in early June.

–Field Level Media