ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tyler Mahle rebounded from a rough opening start to pitch one-hit ball over five shutout innings for his first win since April 3, 2023, and Kyle Higashioka’s RBI double highlighted a four-run third inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Friday night.

Mahle (1-0) allowed only a two-out single to Yandy Díaz in the third inning, striking out five and walking two on 83 pitches. He lasted only 1 2/3 innings last Saturday against Boston, walking three and allowing two hits with 31 of his 61 pitches called balls.

The 30-year-old Mahle had Tommy John surgery in May 2023 while with Minnesota, signed with Texas as a free agent that December, and made three starts last August without a win before being shut down with a stiff shoulder.

Texas’ first five batters in the third all had hits off Zack Littell (0-2). The streak ended when center fielder Jonny DeLuca made a diving catch to turn Wyatt Langford’s liner into a sacrifice fly. Littell also contributed an error on a high pickoff throw to first base that advanced leadoff batter Josh Smith to second base, where he scored on Higashioka’s double.

Smith homered in the seventh.

Luke Jackson struck out two in the ninth for his fourth save.

Key moment

Higashioka’s double on a 1-0 slider over the middle of the plate lifted chalk down the left-field line.

Key stat

Rangers pitchers threw 25 consecutive scoreless innings, winning 1-0 at Cincinnati on Tuesday and Wednesday, before the Rays scored on wild pitches by Shawn Armstrong and Chris Martin in the seventh.

Up next

In Saturday’s middle game of the series, Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (0-0, 0.00 ERA) should be capped around 85 pitches after throwing 73 in his season debut last Sunday. He’ll face Rays RHP Taj Bradley (1-0, 3.00), who’s 4-0 in his career in March and April.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The $1 million March Madness wager between a pro gambler and an artificial-intelligence site will be decided by the winner of the Duke-Houston game in the Final Four.

The Vegas bookies project the gambler, who picked 5 1/2-point favorite Duke, should win.

The AI platform 4C Predictions, which picked Houston, says that’s why its smarter than them.

The bottom line: both pro gambler Sean Perry and the 4C’s AI program have done very well over the first 60 games of the tournament. Perry has missed only 13 picks. AI has missed only 10. They both picked all the Final Four teams correctly.

Alan Levy, who runs the 4C site, says ChatGPT — who else? — says getting 50 of 60 correct places AI in the 95th percentile of all humans “which has gone beyond even what we expected at the start.”

The leaders in some of the multimillion-person bracket pools on ESPN, Yahoo and CBS are getting 55 or 56 picks right.

Both pickers chose Auburn to win in Saturday’s other semifinal. Though AI has gotten more right, it could still lose because the picks become worth more points as the tournament progresses.

The tournament has largely been a bust for people who love upsets — good news for both these brackets, which largely stayed away from picking them. Both had Memphis and St. John’s winning multiple games. Memphis fell to Colorado State in the first round and St. John’s was gone after the second.

Levy said he is still analyzing Perry’s offer to increase the bet to $10 million.

“My prediction?” Levy wrote in an email. “You’ll be joining me and the 4C team in all the celebrations” after Saturday’s game.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.