National Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.

OTTAWA — The Montreal Alouettes want to give themselves every advantage heading down the stretch and Saturday’s 24-12 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks was a big step forward.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed Finnish goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a one-year contract. The 29-year-old, whose deal is worth US$875,000, appeared in 24 games last season for the Nashville Predators. Lankinen posted a record of 11-6-0, a 2.

MAINEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul had a rocky closing stretch but did enough to expand her lead over Hall of Famer Lydia Ko, finishing with a birdie for a 4-under 68 on Saturday and a two-shot advantage in the Kroger Queen City Championship.

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Luis Díaz scored two fine goals inside two minutes as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0 to move to the top of the English Premier League on Saturday.

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers have promoted Warren Rychel to pro scouting director and added former Oiler forward Zack Kassian to the pro scouting staff.

OBERSTDORF — Reigning figure skating pairs world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were silver medallists to start their season at the Challenger Series Nebelhorn Trophy. Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.

PENTICTON, B.C. — Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks. Now the former Nashville Predators winger is wearing a Canucks jersey.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen gave only brief answers at a Saturday news conference in an apparent protest against series governing body the FIA for punishing him for swearing.

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Eleven years after winning the title as a 20-year-old prodigy, Matteo Manassero moved into position to capture the prestigious BMW PGA Championship again on Saturday.