Tillman strong for O’s in win over Pirates

March 20, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

SARASOTA, Fla.

Chris Tillman allowed one run in four innings and Adam Jones hit his first home run of the spring in the Baltimore Orioles’ 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

Tillman, who was last season’s opening day starter and is likely to get the call to start at Tampa Bay on Apr. 6, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in his second Grapefruit League start.

In his first start, Tillman allowed one hit in two scoreless innings on March 9 against Philadelphia, and he also worked three innings last weekend against the Puerto Rico Development Program.

Jones and Ryan Flaherty hit home runs in the fifth inning for the Orioles.

Henry Urrutia hit a leadoff home run in the eighth to give Baltimore a 5-4 lead.

Radhames Liz started for Pittsburgh and allowed one run in two innings.

Djokovic reaches Indian Wells semifinals

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.

Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday when opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew because of a back injury.

Tomic’s withdrawal was announced about five hours before he was to play Djokovic, a three-time champion at Indian Wells who has won his first three matches in straight sets. He has beaten Tomic each of the three times they’ve played.

Tomic had gotten off to a strong start this year, reaching the quarterfinals at six of the seven tournaments he’s played. The exception was the Australian Open, where he lost in the fourth round. The Australian defeated sixth-seeded David Ferrer in straight sets in the third round here, Tomic’s first win over a Top 10 player since July 2013.

Michalojko bowling tourney set for April 19

New Castle, PA.

The 14th annual Michael Michalojko memorial bowling tournament is on April 19 at Colonial Lanes.

There will be two, four-game qualifying squads at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The qualfiers will compete right after. Space is limited to 72 bowlers for the qualifying squads. Entry fee is $70 in advance and $85 at the door. The grand prize is $2,200. The public is welcomed to attend.

For more information contact Colonial Lanes at 724-654-5000.

Yelich agrees to 7-year deal for nearly $50M

MIAMI

A person familiar with the situation says Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich has agreed to a seven-year contract worth about $49.6 million.

The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement hasn’t been announced. Yelich is expected to sign the deal this weekend, and a news conference tentatively is planned for Sunday.

Yelich, 23, won a Gold Glove and hit .284 with nine homers and 54 RBIs in his first full major league season last year, when he made $505,000. His base salary this year will be $570,000 before the contract escalates.

World Cup final in Qatar will be on Dec. 18

ZURICH

The final match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played on Dec. 18, the country’s national holiday.

FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio confirmed the date Thursday, but did not say when the tournament would start. He says the governing body’s executive committee prefers a 28-day tournament — starting Nov. 21.

De Gregorio says the executive committee could confirm the kickoff date on Friday.

A 28-day World Cup, four days fewer than usual, cuts the time clubs must release players to national teams.

Qatar bid to stage the tournament in the traditional June-July slot when it was chosen as host in December 2010.

Staff/wire reports