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REDS-METS

Leake's pitching, Wright's E send Reds past Mets

NEW YORK (AP) - Mike Leake pitched three-hit ball for seven sharp innings and the Cincinnati Reds parlayed star third baseman David Wright's early error Tuesday night into a 4-0 victory over the New York Mets.

Devin Mesoraco homered as the Reds won for the ninth time in 11 games. They scored three times in the first inning after Wright let a bases-loaded, two-out grounder skip through his legs.

Leake (4-2) struck out four, walked two and became the latest pitcher to shut down the Mets at Citi Field. New York has lost 10 of 12 at home, rarely scoring many runs.

Leake escaped his biggest jam by retiring slumping Ike Davis on a grounder with runners on second and third to end the fourth.

TIGERS-INDIANS

Tigers topple Indians 5-1

CLEVELAND (AP) - Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer and Max Scherzer retired 22 straight batters after the first inning, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 5-1 win over Cleveland on Tuesday night to stop the Indians' winning streak at five and trim their lead in the AL Central.

Cabrera's laser shot in the sixth inning off Corey Kluber (3-3) helped the Tigers win for just the second time in six games. The defending AL champions also moved within 1 1-2 games of the first-place Indians, who have won 18 of 23 since April 28.

Scherzer (6-0) gave up two singles and a run in the first before shutting down baseball's hottest team for eight innings.

INDIANS-SWISHER

Indians place 1B Nick Swisher on paternity list

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Indians have placed first baseman Nick Swisher on the paternity list after he and his wife welcomed their first child.

The club made the move with Swisher before Tuesday's series opener against Detroit.

Infielder Cord Phelps was recalled from AAA Columbus to fill the roster opening.

Swisher's wife, JoAnna, had a girl. He must remain on the paternity list one to three days.

Swisher is in his first season with the Indians, who signed him to a 4-year, $56 million free agent contract in December. He is batting .274 with six homers and 16 RBIs.

Phelps went hitless in three games with the Indians this season.

INDIANS-PEREZ TWITTER

Indians' Perez deletes Twitter account

CLEVELAND (AP) - Indians closer Chris Perez has deactivated his Twitter account following two rough outings.

Perez took down (at)chrisperez54 on Monday, shortly after he gave up a ninth-inning home run to Seattle's Endy Chavez. It was the second straight poor performance by Perez, who allowed back-to-back homers in the ninth on Saturday.

Several fans sent Perez negative comments following Monday's game.

In a statement released by the team, the 2-time All-Star didn't say why he was deactivating his account, but that it "was a personal choice I made in order to maintain the greater focus on the success of the team this season and on our shared goals moving forward."

Perez became a target for some fans when he criticized them for not supporting the Indians.

DRAFT LOTTERY

Cavaliers win NBA draft lottery again

NEW YORK (AP) - Nick Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beaten the NBA lottery odds again.

The Cavaliers won the lottery for the second time in three years and have the No. 1 pick for the June 27 draft.

Gilbert, owner Dan Gilbert's bowtie-wearing son, was on stage again for the victory. He won in 2011, a pick the Cavs used on eventual Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving.

The Orlando Magic fell back one spot to No. 2, while the Washington Wizards vaulted from the No. 8 spot to third.

BENGALS-QBS

Competition opens for Bengals backup QB job

CINCINNATI (AP) - The Bengals have opened the competition for the backup quarterback job, 1 of the few notable spots that are open on the roster.

The job opened when Bruce Gradkowski left for Pittsburgh after spending two seasons in Cincinnati backing up Andy Dalton. Rather than picking one guy to replace him, the Bengals have decided to hold a competition.

They signed former Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson and claimed John Skelton off waivers from the Cardinals. Zac Robinson also was part of an offseason workout on Tuesday.

Dalton has been durable during his two seasons in Cincinnati. He missed the second half of a game in Cleveland during his rookie season because of injury, but has started all 34 games in the last two years, including a pair of playoff losses.

BROWNS-MOVES

Browns sign RB Jackson, rookie S Slaughter

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Browns have signed running back Brandon Jackson to a 1-year contract and rookie safety Jamoris Slaughter to a 4-year deal.

Also, the team has released safety Eric Hagg, a seventh-round pick in 2011.

Jackson has returned after spending the past two seasons with Cleveland, which signed him as an unrestricted free agent in 2011 from Green Bay. Jackson missed the entire '11 season with a toe injury and he appeared in just two games last season.

Slaughter is the first member of the 2013 rookie class to sign with the Browns, who selected the former Notre Dame player in the sixth round. He missed most of last season with an Achilles injury, but the Browns feel he's close to returning or they wouldn't have let Hagg go.

Hagg started the Browns' first two games last season before he was benched.

OHIO ST-HOWE

Ex-player latest hire on Ohio State women's staff

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Former Buckeyes co-captain Beth Howe has been hired as Ohio State's director of women's basketball operations, new coach Kevin McGuff has announced.

Howe, a member of the 2004-05 Big Ten championship team, has worked in the Ohio State ticket office since January 2009.

The Jackson, Ohio, native graduated from Ohio State in 2005 with a degree in human ecology before earning her Master's degree in sports administration from Belmont in 2007. While in Nashville, Tenn., she worked with the NFL's Tennessee Titans as an internet and publications intern. She also has worked with the Big Ten Network as a color analysis for Ohio State women's basketball games since 2010.

McGuff has filled his staff except for one assistant and a video coordinator.

BLUE JACKETS-TICKETS

With winning comes tickets boost for Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - After playing the best hockey in franchise history down the stretch, the Columbus Blue Jackets are enjoying an upsurge in ticket sales.

The director of the team's marketing and ticket sales says the club has seen a 13% improvement in season-ticket renewals from one year ago, when the Blue Jackets were coming off perhaps their worst season in the NHL and sold around 7,000 season tickets. The team has sold almost 1,000 new season-ticket plans including fans who upgraded to larger packages.

The Blue Jackets had the worst record in the league (5-12-2) in late February, then went on a 19-5-5 tear that tied them with Minnesota for eighth place in the Western Conference. They missed out on the playoffs due to a tiebreaker.

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