Sale reaches 300 strikeout milestone

Chris Sale struck out 13 to become the first AL pitcher in 18 years to reach the 300 mark, and the Boston Red Sox moved to the brink of clinching a playoff berth by beating the Baltimore Orioles 9-0 on Wednesday night.

Sale (17-7) reached the milestone on his last pitch, a called third strike against Ryan Flaherty to end the eighth inning. The last AL pitcher to fan 300 batters in a season was Boston’s Pedro Martinez in 1999, when he set a club record with 313.

Mookie Betts and Deven Marrero homered for the Red Sox, who reduced their magic number for reaching the postseason to one. If the Angels lost to Cleveland later Wednesday night, Boston would be assured no worse than a wild-card spot in the AL playoffs.

The Red Sox, of course, would prefer to enter as AL East champions. They hold a threegame lead over the second-place Yankees with 10 games left.

YOUNG GIRL INJURED BY FOUL BALL » A young girl at Yankee Stadium was injured by a 105 mph foul ball off the bat of Todd Frazier during Wednesday’s game against Minnesota, leading some players to call for protective netting to be extended.

The Yankees said the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment, and New York manager Joe Girardi said he had been told by team security that she was OK. The game was delayed for about 4 minutes while she was attended to and then carried from the seats in the bottom of the fifth inning.

A shaken Frazier crouched with his hands over his face. The Yankees third baseman then bowed his head, walked away from the plate, crouched again and rested his head on the end of his bat.

“I thought of my kids. I have two kids under 3 years old and I just hope she’s all right,” said Frazier, who flied out later in the at-bat. “I know the dad or whoever it was that was with them was trying their hardest, but the ball’s coming at 120 miles an hour at them and the ball’s hooking. So it’s like if you’ve never seen a ball like that, which most people in the world haven’t, it’s very tough.”

Asked whether there should be more netting, Yankees rookie slugger Aaron Judge said: “We need it.”

College football

MIDWESTERN STATE PLAYER DIES AFTER HIT » A 19-year-old Midwestern State football player has died after suffering a neck injury while making a tackle during a home game last weekend.

School President Suzanne Shipley on Wednesday released a statement mourning the death of cornerback Robert Grays of Houston. Shipley says Grays died Tuesday at a hospital in his hometown. He was critically injured during a game Saturday in Wichita Falls.

Athletics department spokesman Blake Barington says Grays suffered a neck injury while making a tackle in the fourth quarter of a 3513 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville. Grays was taken by ambulance to a Wichita Falls hospital, then transported to Houston.

Counselors were available at MSU, a Division II in the Lone Star Conference.

NBA

EMBIID NOT CLEARED TO PLAY » Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has not been cleared for 5-on-5 drills and the team will take a cautious approach in his return from his injured left knee.

Embiid’s career has been riddled with injuries dating to his college career at Kansas and all three seasons with the Sixers. Embiid, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, played only 31 games last season and had surgery in March to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.