Emaarion Boyd became the first minor league player in at least 20 years to steal six bases in a game without getting a hit when he pulled off the feat for High-A Beloit (Wisconsin) against Cedar Rapids.

Boyd, batting ninth and playing center field in the 10-0 win Wednesday night, reached on a fielder’s choice, walk and hit by pitch. He stole second and third base each time.

He walked again with none out in the ninth inning but couldn’t steal any more bases because a runner was in front of him.

“I thought it would be even more crazy if I got eight,” Boyd told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I wish I could have had two more. It would have been really crazy then.”

Boyd was an 11th-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 Major League Baseball amateur draft. He was part of a December trade for left-handed pitcher Jesús Luzardo that sent Boyd to the Miami Marlins.

DeRosa will manage the United States for a second straight World Baseball Classic >> Former major leaguer Mark DeRosa will manage the United States for the second straight World Baseball Classic, USA Baseball said.

DeRosa led the U.S. to the championship of the 2023 tournament, where it lost to Japan 3-2 as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end the game.

DeRosa, 50, is a broadcaster for the MLB Network. He had a .268 average with 100 homers and 494 RBIs over 16 major league seasons.

Guerrero Jr. salaries are front-loaded in 14-year contract >> Vladimir Guerrero’s yearly salaries are front-loaded under the $500 million, 14-year contract he agreed to this week with the Toronto Blue Jays, a deal that covers 2026-39.

A four-time All-Star first baseman, Guerrero receives a record $325 million signing bonus payable from 2025-39, according to contract details obtained by The Associated Press.

After earning $28.5 million this year under a one-year deal agreed to in January, Guerrero gets salaries of $17 million each in 2026 and ‘27, $16 million in 2028, $15 million in 2029, $14.5 million apiece in 2030, ‘31 and ‘32, $12.5 million each in 2033 and ‘34, $11.5 million in 2035, $10.5 million in 2036, $7 million in 2037, $6.5 million in 2038 and $6 million in 2039.

NFL

Colts release kicker Gay >> The Indianapolis Colts released Matt Gay, a surprising move that came just two years after he became the NFL’s highest-paid kicker.

He had two years remaining on his $22.5 million contract and while the move will save the Colts $2.75 million on this year’s salary cap, Indy already was below the cap figure.

The bigger problem was Gay not meeting the lofty expectations after making more than 98% of his field goals in 2021-22 when he played for Los Angeles Rams.

He battled injuries throughout his Indy tenure but in the Colts’ retractable roof dome, Gay managed to make only 80.5% of his field goal attempts in 2023.

NHL

MacKinnon may be out for rest of regular season >> Nathan MacKinnon sat out against Vancouver on Thursday night, marking the first game he’s missed this season. He may also be sidelined this weekend for the final two regular season games as a way to both rest and heal up for the playoffs.

Asked if MacKinnon, who has appeared in 209 straight games, was out purely for rest purposes, coach Jared Bednar said, “he’s dealing with something, too. You get to this point in the year, all these guys are dealing with something.”

It’s been a lot of hockey for MacKinnon, who was the MVP in helping Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The fast-flying forward has 32 goals and 84 assists this season as he makes a case to win a second straight MVP title. He’s tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for the most points this season.