WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Carson Kelly had come close to hitting for the cycle, yet that elusive triple kept holding him back. He had just two triples over a 10-year big league career before Monday night.

That's when Kelly became the first Chicago Cubs player in 32 years to hit for the cycle. He tripled in the eighth inning of an 18-3 rout of the Athletics -- ending the longest drought without a cycle by any team in the National League.

Kelly even walked twice in the first major league game at Sutter Health Park, the minor league ballpark serving as the new home for the A's this season.

"I've been in this same position before where I needed a triple for the cycle. If anybody's ever looked up my numbers, I have two triples, so odds are not in my favor, right?" the 30-year-old Kelly said. "I didn't get it done the first time. This time I'm like, oh, I'm just going to put a good at-bat together. Hit it, like, 'Oh yeah, pretty good.' Then I hit first and saw it ricochet and I was like, 'Oh boy, this is it right here, I got to go.' That's probably the fastest you'll ever see me run."

Kelly homered in the fourth inning, had a two-run single in the fifth, doubled and walked in the sixth, and tripled in the eighth. The previous Cubs player to hit for the cycle was Mark Grace on May 9, 1993, against San Diego -- before Kelly was even born in 1994. The team had 342 near-cycles since Grace's feat, meaning the particular player was one required hit short.

According to ESPN Research, Kelly is the first player with a cycle in March, and just the 17th catcher with a cycle in MLB history. The last catcher to do so was when J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies accomplished the feat on June 12, 2023.

And from a franchise perspective, no Cubs catcher had registered a cycle since Randy Hundley did so Aug. 11, 1966, against the Houston Astros.

Kelly also became just the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle and walk twice in the same game. Joe Gordon did it for the Yankees in 1940, and Mickey Cochrane in 1937 for the Philadelphia A's.

The Royals hold the longest stretch without a cycle in the majors. George Brett was the last player to do it for Kansas City on July 25, 1990, against Toronto.

Kelly's run-scoring triple made it 17-3. And he was thrilled to make that his third career triple.

"The two times I had triples both guys fell down, like ran into the wall and fell down," he said. "The odds are not in your favor on that."

But this time, the ball went off the wall in right-center and Kelly ran like mad.

"I didn't realize he had a chance at a cycle, but when that ball kicked off the wall the dugout started going crazy, so I figured something was going on," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "They're fun days, they're rare days and they're once-in-a-lifetime-type days for players."

Before Monday's game, Kelly even pulled out a new bat -- "one and done," he joked afterward.

He couldn't believe it had been since Grace that the Cubs had someone hit for the cycle.

"I know Mark Grace, too, in Arizona. I'll have to hit him up," Kelly said. "Pretty special. Great accomplishment. Something I never thought I would get. I'm just very fortunate and blessed. A lot of hard work, a lot of great teammates pumping me up. So all in all just a very special night."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI -- Using the trendy torpedo bat for the first time, Elly De La Cruz had a single, double and two home runs for a career-high seven RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds routed the Texas Rangers 14-3 on Monday night.

The torpedo model -- a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin -- became the talk of Major League Baseball over the weekend, especially after some of the New York Yankees used the model in a resounding sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Aaron Leanhardt, a former physics professor at the University of Michigan who is being credited with the design, says "it's about the batter, not the bat," though, and Reds first-year manager Terry Francona agrees.

"I think it's more the player than the bat," Francona said of De La Cruz, Cincinnati's No. 3 hitter. "I said that before the game, and I still do."

De La Cruz spoke with reporters after the win and was asked about his bat choice, and whether the 3-0 Yankees influenced his decision.

"No," he said. "It was because of, 'How's it feel like?'" And then when asked if he'd use it again, he looked down at the podium and laughed.

It was that kind of night for the Reds, a much-needed effort for a club that dropped two of three games to the San Francisco Giants in the opening series of the season. Brady Singer pitched seven scoreless innings in his Cincinnati debut, and the Reds batted around in the sixth to double their lead to 12-0. And it all started with Matt McLain, who missed the 2024 season because of a shoulder injury. He hit his third home run of the season to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead in the first.

The 14 runs were Cincinnati's most since a 19-2 victory over St. Louis on Sept. 29, 2023.

"It's impressive," Francona said of McLain. "Because it's cold out there. But I thought it was good for our whole ballclub. Let them get loose a little bit and have some fun."

McLain and De La Cruz are viewed as an infusion of youth for a club that believes it can compete in the National League Central. The kind of talent that brought Francona out of retirement.

"Yes," Francona said when asked if Monday was the type of De La Cruz performance he could marvel at. "And I know I'm on the late show on that."

And though it's quite early, De La Cruz is hitting .438 with 6 runs, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

"I'm more in control, like more mature," De La Cruz said of the start to his season. "I feel like I'm more in control, on defense and offense."

Texas rookie Kumar Rocker struggled against the Reds, allowing six earned runs in three innings for Rangers, who opened with three wins in a four-game series versus the Boston Red Sox. Jake Burger hit his first home run for the Rangers in the ninth.

Cincinnati first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand was hit by a pitch on the wrist in the sixth. He stayed in the dugout for the seventh, and after the win, Francona said he was day-to-day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The New Orleans Pelicans are shutting down Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum for the rest of the season, the team announced Monday.

McCollum has been out since he sustained a bone bruise in his right foot on March 23, and Williamson has been sidelined since March 19 because of a bone bruise in his lower back. Both players will continue recovery plans that include rest and treatment.

New Orleans is second-to-last in the Western Conference and eliminated from contention for a play-in spot with seven regular-season games remaining.

Injuries helped derail the Pelicans' season from the start when newly acquired star guard Dejounte Murray fractured his hand in the season opener. He tore his right Achilles tendon later in the season. Williamson missed a chunk of time in the middle of the season due to a hamstring strain and costar Brandon Ingram missed time with a left ankle sprain before he was traded at the deadline.

Williamson, 24, had been on a tear since his return from that hamstring injury, averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 59.7% shooting from the field since Jan. 7.

CHICAGO -- Martin Perez figured he had enough left to remain in the game a little longer. He also knew he couldn't go the distance.

The veteran left-hander threw six no-hit innings and tied a career high with nine strikeouts in a sparkling Chicago debut, helping the White Sox roll past the Minnesota Twins 9-0 on Monday.

"They asked me how I feel," Perez said. "I told them I feel great. But I was honest, too. I mean, there's no way I could go three more innings. It's too early. It's a long season."

Perez began his afternoon by getting Byron Buxton to ground out on the game's first pitch. He ended it by catching Ty France looking at a 2-2 cutter.

Perez threw 93 pitches and walked three. He retired the first 11 batters before walking Ryan Jeffers and hitting France on the next pitch, but got out of that jam when he caught Jose Miranda looking at a 3-2 cutter.

Perez kept the Twins off balance with cutters, sinkers, changeups and curves. He consistently hit the corners, but never hit 90 mph.

"I don't have the velocity anymore, but I know how to pitch, I know how to move the ball," he said.

The Twins' only hits were singles by Willi Castro and Jeffers in the seventh and eighth against Mike Vasil in his major league debut.

Perez, who turns 34 on Friday, was an All-Star with Texas in 2022 and helped the Rangers win the World Series the following year. He pitched for Pittsburgh and San Diego last season before signing a $5 million, one-year contract with Chicago in January.

The White Sox sure will take more performances like this.

Perez joined Boston's Hideo Nomo in 2001 as the only major leaguers since 1901 to toss six or more hitless innings while striking out at least nine while debuting with a new team.

"That's Martin. He knows how to pitch," said White Sox manager Will Venable, Boston's bench coach in 2021 when Pérez was with the Red Sox. "I've seen it a lot. To have him continue this nice run of starting pitching was great."

Through four games, the White Sox have a 0.75 ERA. Their starters have combined for 23 innings without an earned run, the longest stretch to start a season in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous mark was 21 in 1947. Chicago also matched Toronto in 2019, San Francisco in 2013 and Milwaukee in 1976 for the longest season-opening streak in the major leagues since 1913, according to Elias.

The terrific outing by Perez comes on the heels of a stellar showing by the starters in the season-opening series against the Los Angeles Angels. Rookie Sean Burke went six scoreless innings in an opening day win, and though the White Sox dropped the next two games, the starters did their job. Jonathan Cannon tossed five shutout innings in Saturday's 1-0 loss, and Davis Martin allowed two unearned runs in six innings on Sunday.

"I think it's really awesome when you're out there in the bullpen and all the starters are doing what they're doing," Vasil said. "It's very, very impressive. Obviously, as a pitcher on this staff, you want to be known as a team with a great pitching staff. So far, I think that's exactly what we have. So that's definitely a positive, positive thing."

BALTIMORE -- Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora wasn't surprised when Tyler O'Neill hit yet another opening day home run last week.

"Obviously we cannot bet on baseball, but that was the easiest bet," Cora said before Monday's game at Baltimore. "Opening day in Canada."

Turns out O'Neill is more than just a Game 1 wonder.

O'Neill had four hits in his home debut, helping the Baltimore Orioles to an 8-5 victory over Cora and the Red Sox. The outfielder has already turned heads with his record streak of homering on opening day, which the British Columbia native extended to six years Thursday when he went deep for Baltimore at Toronto.

Monday's game wasn't opening day for the Orioles' season, but it was their home opener -- and O'Neill showed out against his former team.

"I was just really trying to feel the energy of the crowd, experience the city of Baltimore," said O'Neill, who went from the Red Sox to the Orioles this past offseason as a free agent. "It was awesome out there today."

O'Neill singled home a run to open the scoring in the first inning, then came around himself to score in that four-run rally. He added another single in the third, a double in the fifth, then started another four-run inning with a leadoff single in the eighth.

O'Neill is the most significant addition to a Baltimore lineup that lost Anthony Santander via free agency.

"Anytime we're putting up 15 hits on the board, it's going to be a fun time for the offense," O'Neill said. "A lot of multihit games all up and down the lineup. Creating a lot of traffic today."

O'Neill is 8 for 14 this season.

"When you have a day game on opening day at home, there's a big-time rush," Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. "You have a million boxes in your locker, you're trying to go out for BP, you're trying to get a sense of the ballpark.

"I love his intensity. I love how he loves to compete."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

The New York Mets have traded outfielder Alexander Canario to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations, the Pirates announced Monday.

Canario was designated for assignment Thursday hours before the Mets' season opener. He had traveled with the club from spring training in Florida to Houston last week to participate in the Mets' workout Wednesday, but the team's outfield glut rendered him a long shot to make the roster.

The Pirates moved right-hander Jared Jones (elbow) to the 60-day injured list to make room on their 40-man roster for Canario.

New York's Opening Day roster included six outfielders: Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Jose Siri, Starling Marte and Jesse Winker. Despite a strong camp, there just wasn't room for Canario, who was out of minor league options.

Jose Azocar, another outfielder, was also designated for assignment by the Mets on Thursday. The 28-year-old Azocar, however, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.

Canario's combination of youth -- he's 24 years old -- and tools made him attractive to other teams. The right-handed hitter, who was sent from the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs in July 2021 as part of a trade for Kris Bryant, made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2023. He appeared in 21 games for the team over the past two seasons, batting .286 with two home runs and two doubles in 45 plate appearances.

The Cubs designated Canario for assignment in late February to make room on their 40-man roster for Justin Turner. The Mets acquired Canario for cash days later. He reported straight to Port St. Lucie, where he slashed .306/.419/.611 with three home runs in 17 spring training games. He'll now be with his third organization in just over a month.

New Zealand Rugby and Ineos have reached a settlement agreement following their dispute over a sponsorship contract.

British-owned petrochemical firm Ineos, which holds a stake in Manchester United as part of its sport portfolio, walked away early from its sponsorship deal of New Zealand Rugby (NZR).

It was a move that led to legal action from the governing body.

On Monday, both parties issued a statement to say the issue has been resolved.

"New Zealand Rugby and Ineos can confirm that a settlement has been reached between the two parties," the joint statement read.

"Whilst the details remain confidential, both organisations are satisfied with the outcome and acknowledge a desire to now move forward."

Ineos, which is chaired by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, agreed in 2021 to become performance partner of NZR from 2022 to 2027.

The deal included Ineos branding on the back of playing shorts and on the front of training jerseys for the nation's teams, including three-time World Cup winners the All Blacks and six-time women's world champions the Black Ferns.

However, NZR said in February that Ineos had "failed to pay the first instalment of the 2025 sponsorship fee, confirming its decision to exit our six-year agreement".

Citing the struggling chemicals industry in Europe, because of "high energy taxes and extreme carbon taxes" along with "the deindustrialisation of Europe", Ineos said in a statement at the time: "We have had to implement cost-saving measures across the business.

"We sought to reach a sensible agreement with the All Blacks to adjust our sponsorship in light of these challenges."

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Victoire are confident Ann-Renee Desbiens will return to action in the near future.

Whether that's soon enough to suit up between the pipes for Canada at the women's world hockey championships still needs to be determined.

"It's the type of injury that needs day-to-day and week-to-week monitoring," Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau said Monday at Verdun Auditorium. "A lot of things can improve."

Desbiens -- Canada's No. 1 goalie -- was named to the national team's world championship roster despite sustaining what appeared to be a serious lower-body injury March 18 in the Victoire's 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Fleet.

The league-leading Victoire retroactively placed Desbiens on long-term injured reserve, keeping her out for a minimum of 21 days from March 18.

The 30-year-old from Quebec, however, skated in full gear for about half an hour before the Victoire practiced Monday. It was her third time on the ice since the injury.

"To see her leave the ice with help from two teammates, you never want to see that," said Marie-Philip Poulin, captain of the Victoire and Canada. "She looked like she was in a lot of pain. Really happy to see the recovery is going quicker than we thought it would."

Sauvageau said there's still time to determine Desbiens' availability before Canada opens defense of its world title April 10 versus Finland in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia.

All signs point to Desbiens joining Montreal teammates Poulin, Laura Stacey, Jennifer Gardiner, Kristin O'Neill and Erin Ambrose on a flight to Czechia on Wednesday or Thursday for Canada's pre-camp.

"It's progressing well, so there's nothing that says she won't be able to keep progressing while participating in Canada's camp," Sauvageau said. "We'll see once we're at that date (April 10) whether she's ready to be a full participant in the world championships."

Sauvageau also said medical teams from the Victoire, PWHL and Hockey Canada would work together with Desbiens to reach a decision.

"Everybody wants the player to be healthy," she said. "No one wants to take risks in any of those federations. If she does go, obviously I trust that she's going to be well-treated."

Canada is already down regular goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who was placed on long-term injury reserve by the Ottawa Charge after she sustained a lower-body injury in a March 11 game.

Toronto Sceptres goalie Kristen Campbell and 21-year-old Eve Gascon, who plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth, were the other netminders named to Canada's roster.

Desbiens backstopped Canada to gold at the 2022 Olympics and three world championships, including last year's triumph over the Americans in Utica, N.Y.

This season, she leads the PWHL in wins (13), save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (1.85).

"She's been in great spirits, honestly, since (the injury)," Ambrose said. "It's nice to have that as a little bit of a relief. She's the best goalie in the world, so obviously here in Montreal, world championships, we want her there."

The Victoire signed goaltender Tricia Deguire to a standard player agreement while Desbiens remains out.

Montreal (11-6-3-6) clinched a playoff spot with last week's 4-1 win over the Minnesota Frost and has four games remaining in the regular season.

The NHL has reached an agreement with Rogers Communications on a 12-year, $7.7 US billion media rights agreement in Canada, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.

The contract is the latest source of revenue for the league as the salary cap continues to climb. The previous deal reached in November 2013 was worth $5.2 billion CAD over 12 years.

The NHL contracted with ESPN and Turner Sports in 2021 for the current U.S. TV and streaming rights deal for $4.5 billion over seven years combined.

Chelsea recorded a pre-tax profit of 128.4 million ($165.83 million) for the year ending in June of 2024 despite a fall in revenue thanks to the repositioning -- ostensibly a sale -- of their women's team, the Premier League club said on Monday.

The profit, which was also helped by the disposal of player registrations, comes after a loss of 90.1 million ($116.3 million) in the previous year to June of 2023, which was the first under the ownership of the consortium led by Todd Boehly.

The women's team passed from Chelsea FC Holdings Limited to BlueCo, Boehly's consortium, last June, removing any losses associated with Chelsea Women from the club accounts and Chelsea Holdings benefiting from the sum that BlueCo paid.

The profit on disposal of subsidiaries was 198.7 million ($256.6 million) while the profit on disposal of player registrations came to 152.5 million ($197 million).

Chelsea's overall revenue fell from 512.5 million ($662 million) in 2023 to 468.5 million ($605.2 million), which the club said was due to the men's team not competing in the Champions League.

The club's broadcasting receipts increased thanks to their sixth-place finish in the Premier League, along with decent cup runs, and there was also a fall in operational costs and growth in commercial and matchday revenue.

The women's team is first in the WSL table this season, while the men's side sits in fourth in the Premier League with nine games to go in the season.

Things went in the opposite direction for fellow Premier League side Everton, with the club reporting a loss of 53 million ($68.44 million) in the 2023-24 season, marking a seventh consecutive year in deficit. However, Everton will avoid breaches of the league's profit & sustainability rules.

Despite Everton reporting an improvement from the 89.1 million deficit recorded the previous year, the club's losses over the last seven years total 570 million.

Last season Everton were deducted eight points for two separate PSR breaches for the rolling three-year periods including the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns.

In January, the league confirmed that all clubs, including Everton, were financially compliant for the 2023-24 season, and no additional charges would be imposed.

Information from Reuters was used in this story.