MINNEAPOLIS -- Nelson Cruz is hardly slowing down. If anything, he's heating up.

The 39-year-old Minnesota slugger extended his recent tear Saturday night, hitting three home runs in a game for the second time in 10 days and powering the American League Central-leading Twins to an 11-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

A day after he homered, doubled twice and drove in five runs, Cruz again had five RBIs.

"I think my approach is the right one," Cruz said. "My body feels good, and I have the right approach."

Cruz hit a two-run homer in the first inning, a solo drive in the second and a two-run shot in the sixth. He didn't get a chance at a record-tying fourth home run -- he was left on deck when Jorge Polanco grounded out to end the eighth.

Cruz has 11 homers and 23 RBIs in his past nine starts.

"Hopefully I keep finding runners on base," Cruz said. "I can only drive [in] runs when I find runners on base. We've got a great lineup. They all get on base for me."

Cruz connected for a career-high three homers on July 25 against the White Sox, and matched that mark against the Royals. He has 30 homers this year and 390 for his career, tying Graig Nettles for 62nd place.

Cruz is the only player in major league history with multiple three-homer games after his 39th birthday, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He also surpassed Chili Davis for the Twins' mark for homers in a season by a designated hitter.

Only two other players have had two three-homer games within 10 days. Doug DeCinces did it for the California Angels on Aug. 3 and Aug. 8, 1982, and Johnny Mize did it for the St. Louis Cardinals on July 13 and July 20, 1938.

Cruz is the first Twins player to have multiple three-homer games in the same season. He's hit at least 30 homers in six consecutive seasons. Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Edwin Encarnacion are the only other active players to have accomplished that.

"Well, my vocabulary is not good enough to really do the guy justice," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "If you're around long enough, you see a lot of impressive things, but what we're watching right now is something that the likes of it, I haven't seen anything like it before. I don't think anybody else has either, but again, are we surprised that we're seeing it from him? Absolutely not. It's just what he does. He continues to go out there and produce at levels that nobody else does."

Polanco and C.J. Cron also homered for the Twins, who lead Cleveland by three games.

Jorge Soler homered and Meibrys Viloria had two RBIs for the Royals, who have lost five consecutive games and eight of nine.

The Twins homered three times in a five-run second inning off Danny Duffy (5-6). Cron, reinstated from the injured list earlier in the day, hit a solo homer. Polanco later had a three-run drive, and Cruz followed with a home run.

"We've got a lot of ways we can beat you," Twins starter Kyle Gibson said. "So it's been fun to watch."

Max Kepler and Cron had RBI singles in the fifth. Cron finished with three hits.

Gibson (11-4) allowed two earned runs and four hits in 6⅔ innings.

Duffy gave up nine runs and eight hits in 4⅔ innings. He was tagged for four homers, walked two and struck out five. The last time Duffy gave up four homers in one game was May 2, 2018, in Boston.

"They're not very forgiving," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Nelson Cruz is swinging the bat really well right now. I mean, he's not missing. You throw something that's got a little too much of the plate and he's gonna ride it."

NATHAN HONORED

Former Twins closer Joe Nathan was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame before the game. Nathan spent seven of his 16 major league seasons in Minnesota. He recorded a franchise-record 260 saves in 460 games. Forty-five of Nathan's 377 career saves came against the Royals.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Twins: OF Byron Buxton (left shoulder subluxation) and RHP Michael Pineda (right triceps strain) were put on the 10-day injured list. RHP Zack Littell and OF Jake Cave were recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take their spots on the 25-man roster. ... LHP Lewis Thorpe was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Cron (right thumb inflammation).

UP NEXT

RHP Jake Odorizzi (12-5, 3.73) starts for the Twins on Sunday against Royals RHP Brad Keller (7-10, 4.01).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The Houston Astros spun the 12th no-hitter in franchise history, holding the Seattle Mariners hitless in a 9-0 victory in Minute Maid Park on Saturday behind four pitchers -- starting with Aaron Sanchez, who was making his Astros debut after going to Houston at the trade deadline. He could not have chosen a better night for it, as it came on the same night they inducted the inaugural class of the Astros' team Hall of Fame. On a night the team was honoring greats such as Nolan Ryan -- who holds the individual record of no-hitters with seven -- how better to honor him and the other inductees than for the current Astros to spin their own new no-no?

In the win, Sanchez pitched the first six innings, followed by relievers Will Harris, Joe Biagini -- also making his debut as an Astro after coming over in the same trade with Sanchez -- and Chris Devenski. They combined to give up four walks in nine innings against the Mariners while holding them hitless and racking up eight strikeouts.

Sanchez came into his first start for Houston with a 6.07 ERA -- the highest in baseball among pitchers qualifying for the ERA title -- in his 23 starts with the Toronto Blue Jays before going to Houston at the trade deadline on July 31. He now joins a burgeoning group of veteran pitchers who experienced quick turnarounds in their fortunes as Astros, including Charlie Morton in 2017, Gerrit Cole in 2018 and Wade Miley this season.

• Sanchez joins rare company in another way, as noted by the Elias Sports Bureau. There have been four no-hit efforts in the modern era started by pitchers making their debut with a team: Don Cardwell with the Cubs in 1960, Mark Langston in 1990 in a combined no-hitter for the Angels, Wilson Alvarez in 1991 with the White Sox and Hideo Nomo in 2001 with the Red Sox. Langston's no-hitter was finished by Angels vet Mike Witt, so until Sanchez and Biagini contributed to this Astros no-hitter, there had never been a no-hitter featuring multiple pitchers making their team debut.

• Sanchez came into his Astros debut with a 13-decision losing streak, the longest by any starting pitcher since Shelby Miller lost 16 straight decisions in 2015. Consider that streak entirely busted. Elias reports that is the most consecutive decisions with a loss prior to a start of at least six no-hit innings in baseball's modern era (since 1900), topping Hoy Wilhelm's nine losses in 1952 and Matt Young's six spread between 1991 and 1992.

• The previous no-hitter thrown by the Astros was spun by Mike Fiers on Aug. 21, 2015, at home against the Dodgers, making this only the second no-hitter thrown at Minute Maid Park. Fiers also notably threw the first no-hitter of the 2019 season earlier this year for the Oakland A's, the 300th in major league history.

• The 12 no-hitters thrown by the Astros are the second most by any team since the Astros entered MLB as an expansion team in 1962. Only the Dodgers have more with 13.

• This was the 14th combined no-hitter in MLB history. The Astros became just the third team with multiple combined no-hitters in franchise history; the Angels and Orioles already had two apiece.

• For the Mariners, this is the second time they've been no-hit in a little more than three weeks; the previous one came against the Angels on July 12, which was also a combined no-hitter, making the Mariners the first team to be on the receiving end of more than one combined no-hitter in a single season. The last teams to be no-hit twice in the same season were the 2015 Mets and Dodgers.

• Elias also notes the Mariners went just 22 days between no-hitters, the seventh-shortest gap between being no-hit in MLB history. The record is one day, set by the 1917 White Sox when they were no-hit on consecutive days on May 5 and 6.

• The Mariners had already been no-hit by combined effort twice in their history, tied for the most in MLB history (with the A's and Padres), and are now the only team to suffer this sort of defeat three times.

If Seattle can take solace in anything, it's that in today's era of openers, pitch counts and ever-growing strikeout rates, they probably won't be the last.

• Other Astros inducted into the team's Hall of Fame beyond Ryan on Saturday in the inaugural class include Bob Aspromonte, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Jose Cruz (Sr.), Larry Dierker, Gene Elston, Milo Hamilton, Joe Morgan, Joe Niekro, Shane Reynolds, J.R. Richard, Mike Scott, Jim Umbricht, Don Wilson and Jimmy Wynn.

Highlights from the joint UKWL and BAL fixture in Birmingham

Birchfield Harriers won their third match of the season to make it five men’s league titles in successive years.

They were led off in Birmingham by Craig Murch who posted his fourth league hammer victory of the campaign and did so with his second personal best in a week.

His 73.64m final round throw was adjudged the best performance of the men’s match.

For the women, Thames Valley Harriers completed another clean sweep of UK league titles to post their third successive and fourth league title in five years.

Their Rachel Miller’s 100m victory in 11.49 (pictured) was one of the best performances among the women, but Zoey Clark’s 53.10 400m victory was on a par.

Edinburgh’s Beth Dobbin was less than a tick slower that Miller, at 11.51 before returning to take the 200m in 23.03 against a wind.

Cardiff’s Jenny Nesbitt won the 3000m in 9:18.30 and Notts’ Annabelle Crossdale caused an upset in the hammer with a narrow 59.77m win over Jess Mayho and Amy Harrington.

Elsewhere among the men, Newham had Ben Snaith beat his Birchfield rival Sadam Koumi for the first time but the men’s day did belong to Birchfield despite their sprint relay team dropping the baton.

The competition aside there was much talk was about the two leagues’ proposals to have joint men’s and women’s teams next year.

Edinburgh’s strong women’s squad, third here, voiced objections as their men will let them down while second-placed men’s team Newham were equally against the amalgamation as they believed that their women would take them away from the top flight.

A straw poll suggested that about a third of the clubs at Alexander Stadium were against the proposed move.

BRNO, Czech Republic – A perfectly-timed switch to slicks and a masterful ride around the Brno Circuit saw Marc Marquez run away with the pole position for the MotoGP Czech Grand Prix on Saturday.

In the process, Marquez equaled Mick Doohan’s premier class pole record, topping qualifying for the 58th time in his young career.

Torrential morning rain ceased just ahead of Free Practice 3 for the MotoGP World Championship but left the Brno circuit soaking wet.

Although conditions improved throughout the morning session, the rain returned during the lunch break, ensuring every Saturday session at the Czech Grand Prix was wet.

Able to immediately achieve a good feeling with his Repsol Honda Team RC213V in the wet, Marquez continued to challenge for the top spots as he had done throughout the weekend.

A second-place lap in FP3 had the reigning world champion confident of a strong result in the wet or dry. Even with the rain, the grid was decided on slicks, and Marquez was the first to head out as the dry line appeared.

Expertly navigating the treacherous conditions of the Automotodrom Brno, Marquez claimed the pole by a staggering 2.5 seconds with a time of 2:02.753.

Saturday marked the 86th overall pole of Marquez’s grand-prix motorcycle career.

“At the start, I believed in the slick tires with how the conditions were changing, but in the end when the rain came back and the track got wetter it was difficult,” noted Marquez. “Maybe in hindsight, I took a little too much (of a) risk, but in the end we finished in a good way and I am happy. Tomorrow it looks like it will be a sunny day, so it will be a normal race.

“With the conditions we have had, it is hard to know where everyone is … but the target as always is the podium.”

Australian Jack Miller was second-fastest for Pramac Racing, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Johann Zarco completing the front row of the grid in third.

Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, the second factory KTM of Pol Espargaro and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins make up row two, with Valentino Rossi clocking in seventh as the fastest Yamaha rider in the field on one of the two factory-backed bikes.

Danilo Petrucci, Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo completed the top 10 in qualifying.

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe passed up his scheduled arbitration hearing by agreeing to a two-year, $5.7 million contract.

The deal was reached Saturday, a day before the player's hearing. McCabe was a restricted free agent, and both sides were seeking a one-year contract in arbitration.

Playing mostly a top-four defensive role during his four full seasons in Buffalo, McCabe matched a career high with four goals and added 10 assists in 59 games in 2018-19. He ranked fifth among Sabres defensemen in averaging just less than 19 minutes of play last season.

McCabe, 25, has suffered a number of injuries over the past two seasons. He missed the final two months of 2017-18 after having surgery to his thumb and shoulder, missed three weeks in December with an upper-body injury and was expected to be out for the rest of last season after suffering an upper-body injury in March. But he came back for the Sabres' final four games.

He returns to a Sabres team that has not reached the playoffs since the 2010-11 season.

A 2012 second-round pick, McCabe has 14 goals and 61 points in 274 career games.

The signing adds to Buffalo's salary-cap crunch, with McCabe's contract pushing the team to within about $300,000 of the NHL's $81.5 million payroll limit for next season.

That means the Sabres will be over the cap once goalie Linus Ullmark's contract is determined following his arbitration hearing held Friday.

Teams have until a few days before the season opens in early October to comply with the league's salary rules.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

CARDIFF, Wales -- Paul Pogba will not feature for Manchester United against AC Milan on Saturday amid renewed interest from Real Madrid.

Pogba was named in the squad for United's final friendly of the summer on Friday but did not make the trip to Cardiff.

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The club put the midfielder's absence down to a back spasm -- the same issue that prevented him from starting against Kristiansund on Tuesday.

Pogba played the final 30 minutes in Oslo but will not play against AC Milan just eight days before the Premier League opener with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Aug. 11.

Sources have told ESPN FC that the midfielder is keen to join Real Madrid but time is running out with just five days to go before the deadline for Premier League teams to buy players.

Real Madrid can buy players until Sept. 2 but United are unlikely to sanction the sale of one of their best players with no prospect of signing a replacement.

Sources have told ESPN FC that United are yet to receive a bid for Pogba.

They value the 26-year-old at around £180 million and privately have insisted he is not for sale.

Earlier in the summer, Pogba said publicly he wanted to find a "new challenge" after three years at United.

He moved back to Old Trafford from Juventus for a then world record £89.3m in 2016 and last season finished as the club's top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions.

South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj will return for Yorkshire's next two Championship matches, as well as a spell in the Vitality Blast, having enjoyed success during his initial three-match spell in July.

Maharaj will be available to play against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough later this month, and for the trip to Taunton beginning on September 10. He is set to make his Blast debut in the Roses match at Old Trafford next Friday, and could feature in seven fixtures; Yorkshire have been without the services of an overseas player since Nicholas Pooran completed a three-game spell last week.

The slow left-armer claimed 20 Championship wickets at 19.95 in his first stint with the club, as well as adding a couple of fifties with the bat. Confirmation of his return comes after Adil Rashid was ruled out for an unknown period by his ongoing shoulder problem.

"When I first arrived, I felt very welcomed by all the club officials and my fellow team-mates," Maharaj said. "I managed to settle in really well on the cricketing front and I'm just glad that the opportunity has been afforded to me to be able to come back for the two four-day games and maybe a few T20s as well.

"I've always wanted to play T20 cricket around the world, as regularly as I can and as often as I can. It's my first T20 gig outside of South Africa so I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can have an impact and that the team can get through to finals day.

"I would love to make this a regular feature with Yorkshire cricket. Being a pro cricketer, I'd love to ply my trade all over the world. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Yorkshire so it will be a pleasure to come back as much as possible.

"I was really pleased to be able to contribute in two victories out of three; I would have loved to made it a third. Hopefully over the two remaining fixtures I can get another couple of victories and help put the team in a good position to win the Championship."

The spin-bowling department has been an issue for Yorkshire all season, with Somerset's Dom Bess having been signed on loan spells for both Championship and T20 cricket. Bess, who has played four Blast games, is set to return to Somerset before the next round of the Championhip, while legspinner Josh Poysden was recently ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a fractured skull in training.

Yorkshire's first-team coach Andrew Gale said of Maharaj: "He made a great impact in the three weeks he was with us. He's a classy spin bowler and he contributed greatly to our wins over Surrey and Somerset.

"He fitted in well with the dressing room and also contributed well with the bat down the order. We look forward to having him back with us next week and we hope he can continue to perform well for us at North Marine Road and Taunton too."

Toss India chose to bowl v West Indies

Virat Kohli elected to bowl in the first T20I against West Indies, saying he expected the pitch - under covers for the best part in the lead-up to the game - to get flatter as it was exposed to the sun during the morning. West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite said he would also have bowled first for the same reason, adding that the predicted rain in the afternoon was one of his considerations too.

West Indies left out Jason Mohammed, Kharry Pierre and Anthony Bramble from their squad to put out an XI with just the one spinner in Sunil Narine. They picked a potential top four of only left-handers, with Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell and Carlos Brathwaite making up the middle order.

India handed a debut to fast bowler Navdeep Saini and named three spinners in the squad - all of them fingerspinners. With the batting, they stuck with their famed limited-overs top three, leaving KL Rahul out and picking Manish Pandey ahead of Shreyas Iyer.

India: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Navdeep Saini

West Indies: 1 John Campbell, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Keemo Paul, 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Oshane Thomas

With free agency looming next summer, three-time NBA champion and All-Star forward Draymond Green has agreed to a four-year, $100 million maximum contract extension with the Golden State Warriors, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports told ESPN.

The new deal, which starts with the 2020-21 season, brings the total length and value of Green's contract to five years, $118 million. Green's extension will pay him $22.2 million, $24 million, $25.8 million and $27.6 million over the course of the deal.

Green, 29, could have entered the final year of his contract in 2019-20 -- worth $18.5 million -- but both the organization and Green have long insisted that they imagined a long-term future playing alongside teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Green has been one of the vital cogs of the Warriors' run to five straight NBA Finals, with the 35th pick in the 2012 draft elevating himself into an All-Star and helping the franchise become a modern dynasty.

He has been on the NBA's All-Defensive first or second team for five straight seasons and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.

Golden State now has four All-Star players -- Green, Curry, Thompson and D'Angelo Russell -- under contract for the next several years as the franchise moves into the Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors signed Thompson to a five-year, $190 million max deal this summer and acquired Russell in a sign-and-trade for Kevin Durant on a four-year, $117 million contract.

The Warriors will have $129 million and $138 million committed to those four players in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, respectively.

Green has averaged 12.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks in 123 career playoff games with the Warriors. In 22 playoff games last season, Green averaged 13.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists.