SUNDAY SPORTS

NHL:  Gerard Gallant is the new coach of the Florida Panthers.

The team made the announcement Saturday. Gallant spent parts of three seasons as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2003 through 2007 and has been an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens for the past two years.

He also coached the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where his top player was Jonathan Huberdeau, who now plays for the Panthers and is considered one of the franchise’s keys to rebuilding.

Gallant will be formally introduced by the Panthers on Monday. He will become Florida’s eighth coach in a span of 11 seasons.

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BLUE JAYS:  The Cincinnati Reds jumped out to an 8-0 lead against Toronto for the second straight day. This time, the Reds managed to win.

Devin Mesoraco hit a three-run homer and Jay Bruce added a solo shot as the Reds hammered the Blue Jays 11-1. Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips hit back-to-back RBI doubles to put the Reds up 8-0 in the fourth inning.  For Votto, it was against his hometown team.

Cincinnati erupted for eight runs in the second inning on Friday before eventually losing to the Jays 14-9.

Toronto has dropped 10 of 14 since a six-game winning streak gave them a six-game lead in the American League East on June 6. The Jays are just 1 1/2 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees.

Elsewhere in the majors

– Nelson Cruz belted his 23rd home run, one of four hit by the Orioles in a 6-1 triumph over the Yankees. Steve Pearce, Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy also went deep against the Yanks, who had won four straight and eight of 10.

– Miguel Cabrera doubled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning to bail out closer Joe Nathan and lift Detroit past Cleveland 5-4. Rajai (RAH’-zhay) Davis and Ian Kinsler hit back-to-back homers for the Tigers, who have their first three-game winning streak since mid-May.

– Howie Kendrick delivered an RBI double in the bottom of the 10th, one of just five hits for the Angels in a 3-2, walkoff win over the Rangers. C.J. Cron put Los Angeles ahead 2-1 with an eighth-inning homer, but the Rangers tied it on Shin-Soo Choo’s blast in the ninth.

– Oakland beat Boston 2-1 on Coco Crisp’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. Jesse Chavez worked seven shutout innings but was denied a victory after Luke Gregerson uncorked a run-scoring wild pitch in the eighth.

– Joe Mauer hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the fifth inning of Minnesota’s third straight win, 4-3 against the Chicago White Sox. Winning pitcher Kevin Correia allowed one earned run and five hits in eight innings after entering the game 3-8.

– San Francisco’s season-worst, six-game losing streak is over after Tyler Colvin collected three RBIs in a 6-4 win at Arizona. Pablo Sandoval added three hits and two ribbies to the victory.

– Josh Beckett scattered four hits and fanned eight in seven innings to pitch the Dodgers past the Padres 4-2 in San Diego. Hanley Ramirez had two hits and two RBIs as Los Angeles won for the sixth time in eight games.

– In Kansas City, the Mariners edged the Royals 2-1 as Dustin Ackley drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out, ninth inning single. Seattle starter Chris Young got a no-decision after limiting the Royals to three hits in seven innings, including Alex Gordon’s home run.

– Tampa Bay crushed Houston 8-0 as Jake Odorizzi combined with two relievers on a one-hitter. Odorizzi didn’t allow a hit after Jon Singleton singled leading off the second.

– Aramis Ramirez was 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Milwaukee’s 9-4 rout of Colorado. Mark Reynolds provided an RBI single and a run-scoring double while the Brewers were scoring four times in both the second and third innings.

– Adam Wainwright is the National League’s second 10-game winner after holding the Phillies to a run and six hits in eight innings of the Cardinals’ 4-1 victory in St. Louis. Matt Adams had two RBIs without a hit for the Cardinals, who were tied 1-1 until Matt Holliday’s RBI double sparked a three-run eighth.

– Doug Fister was the star in Washington’s 3-0 shutout of Atlanta, limiting the Braves to five hits in eight innings. Anthony Rendon went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to help the Nationals beat the Braves for only the second time in nine tries this season.

– Gregory Polanco has stretched his career-opening hitting streak to 11 games by going 1-for-3 with two runs scored in Pittsburgh’s 5-3 win over the Cubs in Chicago. Josh Harrison hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs to support Vance Worley, who allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings for his first win of the season.

– The New York Mets earned a shutout victory for the second time in three games as Jacob deGrom allowed five hits in seven innings of a 4-0 triumph at Miami. David Wright went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Lucas Duda added a two-run homer to help deGrom pick up his first major league win.

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WORLD CUP — Argentina wrapped up a spot in the knockout round of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iran. Lionel Messi scored a goal in stoppage time to give Argentina the win.

Germany had to score the tying goal to finish in a 2-2 tie with Argentina. Veteran striker Miroslav Klose came on as a substitute for the Germans to tie the World Cup scoring record with the equalizer in their Group G match. Klose now has 15 career World Cup goals, equaling the mark set by former Brazil star Ronaldo.

The result means the United States would advance from Group G to the knockout round if it beats Portugal on Sunday.

Nigeria moved closer to a berth in the knockout stage by scoring a first-half goal in a 1-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnia was eliminated from title contention with its second straight loss.

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U.S. WOMENS OPEN —  Michelle Wie gave away a four-shot lead before pulling even with Amy Yang for a share first place after three rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open at 2-under-par. Wie steadied herself over the last four holes for her share of the lead with a 2-over-72. Yang’s round featured six birdies as she had a round of 68. They are the only two players below par.

The big surprise was Juli Inkster, the 53-year-old Hall of Famer who posted a tournament-best 66. She was tied for third and will be in the penultimate group, just four shots behind in what she said will be her 35th and final Women’s Open.

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PGA —  Ryan Moore had an eagle and two birdies in a bogey-free 4-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Aaron Baddeley into the final round of the PGA’s Travelers Championship.

The 31-year-old Moore had a 13-under total after opening with rounds of 63 and 68. He has four top-10 finishes in eight starts in the event.

Sergio Garcia, K.J. Choi, Scott Langley and Michael Putnam were tied for third at 11 under.

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NASCAR —  Jamie McMurray has won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Sonoma Raceway with a new track record. His clocking bumped AJ Allmendinger from the top starting spot as Allmendinger appeared to have the pole locked up until McMurray turned a lap at 96.350 mph in the final minute of qualifying. It’s the first pole of the season for McMurray, 10th of his career, and third at Sonoma.

Allmendinger wound up second and, in a surprise, Kyle Larson was third to give Chip Ganassi Racing two cars in the top three.

(With files from Canadian/Associated Press)