Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit a grand slam and Zack Godley pitched seven innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Thursday night. The Diamondbacks won their third game out of four, improved to 59-43 and snapped the Cardinals’ three-game winning streak.

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Schwarber homered twice and drove in four runs, and the rolling Chicago Cubs beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Thursday night for their third consecutive victory. Anthony Rizzo also connected and Jon Lester pitched seven effective innings as the Cubs improved to 11-2 since the All-Star break. The NL Central leaders also increased their advantage over the second-place Brewers to 1 1/2 games ahead of their big series this weekend in Milwaukee.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The timing could hardly have been better for Kansas coach Bill Self. Every four years, the NCAA allows schools to embark on a foreign exhibition tour, and along with the games comes an opportunity to practice 10 times in preparation for it. Those additional practices usually give schools a jump on preparing for the regular season a couple of months later. The extra practice could help team chemistry, as the Jayhawks will look a whole lot different from their Big 12 championship team when they depart for Italy on Monday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor and defensive end Chad Kelsay are among the new members of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame. The 2017 class, announced Thursday, will be recognized before the Cornhuskers’ game against Northern Illinois on September 16th. Taylor set school passing records and was 2006 Big 12 offensive player of the year. Kelsay helped the Huskers to conference and national titles in 1995 and ’97.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tom Osborne is giving up his large skybox at Memorial Stadium, saying the Nebraska athletic department should sell it to someone else rather than have him continue to use it for free. Osborne coached the Cornhuskers for 25 years, retiring after the 1997 season with 255 wins and all or part of three national championships three of his last four years. He said the decision doesn’t mean there’s friction between him and the school.

UNDATED (AP) — The traditional two-a-day football practices of yesteryear are a thing of the past. The NCAA approved a plan this year that prevents teams from holding multiple practices with contact in a single day. Officials are hoping the rule change reduces the risk of head injuries to athletes.