The Indiana Pacers are parting ways with guard Lance Stephenson Aaron Colvin Jersey , the gritty veteran who brought energy off the bench in last season’s surprising run to the playoffs.

The team will not pick up the team option next season, Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said Monday.

”This was a very difficult decision, but as free agency begins on July 1, we want to have flexibility so that we can prepare for all of our available options,” he said.

A year ago, Pritchard decided to trade star Paul George before almost surely losing him in free agency and got Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis from Oklahoma City in a deal that turned out remarkably well for Indiana.

Oladipo emerged as a leader, earned his first All-Star trip and won the league’s steals title. Sabonis, a lottery pick in 2016, became a key contributor off the bench. Point guard Darren Collison was the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter Pernell McPhee Jersey , and Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic thrived in their roles, too. Myles Turner, Indiana’s 22-year-old center, was one of the league’s leaders in blocks.

Four of the starting five and Sabonis are already under contract for next season, with Young being the lone exception. He and backup point guard Cory Joseph have player options.

Now Pritchard has decided to part with

Stephenson brought grit off the bench for a team that won 48 games, fell just short of finishing in the top four in the Eastern Conference and was within four points late in a first-round, Game 7 loss to Cleveland. Stephenson, an eight-year veteran, finished the season averaging 9.2 points Su'a Cravens Jersey , 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

The decision was no doubt wrenching for a team that bonded in finishing strong: Six players approached Pritchard before the trade deadline and pleaded with the GM not to make any moves because they wanted to close out the season together. Pritchard said it a first for him, and kept the team intact.

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Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer during a six-run fifth inning, J.D. Martinez and Eduardo Nunez also went deep, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Nationals 11-4 on Tuesday.

Martinez drove in four and leads the majors with 26 homers and 71 RBIs. Boston has won 17 of its last 19 interleague games.

Washington has lost four straight and 16 of 21 to fall to 42-42, its first time at .500 since it was 17-17.

Red Sox starter Brian Johnson allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings. Brandon Workman (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh.

Nationals starter Tanner Roark (3-10) allowed a career-high nine runs in seven innings and is 1-8 with a 5.19 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts) since May 5.

YANKEES 8, BRAVES 5

NEW YORK (AP) – Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Kyle Higashioka each homered and New York went ahead early and hung on to beat Atlanta.

Aaron Judge had two hits and a walk, and he stole two bases for the first time in his career. Hicks also walked twice as New York drew eight free passes.

The Yankees improved to a major league-best 21-6 against left-handed starters and remain a game behind Boston for the majors’ best record.

Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte each hit two-run homers for Atlanta, which ended a four-game winning streak. Braves starter Sean Newcomb allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings in the shortest start of his career.

A.J. Cole (2-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief to earn the win.

DODGERS 8 Zach Zenner Jersey , PIRATES 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Clayton Kershaw earned his first win in 2 months, five Dodgers homered including Max Muncy with a pair, and Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh.

Ivan Nova (4-6) became the first pitcher in Pirates history to give up five homers in a game. Pittsburgh has been outscored 25-4 in the first two games of the series.

The Dodgers have 11 homers three days into July and 122 so far this season after slugging a major league-leading and franchise-record 55 in June.

Kershaw (2-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings of his third start since coming off the disabled list. The left-handed ace struck out two and didn’t walk anyone to earn his first victory since April 15 at Arizona. He had two losses and four straight no-decisions since then.

Kershaw had not gone as late as July 3 with just one win since his rookie year in 2008. That year he didn’t earn his second victory until Aug. 7.

MARINERS 4, ANGELS 1

SEATTLE (AP) – Wade LeBlanc allowed one run over seven innings and Seattle beat Los Angeles for its eighth straight victory.

The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani was activated from the 10-day disabled list and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in his return. He had been sidelined since June 8 with a Grade 2 ulnar collateral ligament sprain.

The Mariners announced they signed LeBlanc (4-0) to a contract extension before his start and the soft-tossing left-hander showed them they made a good decision. LeBlanc allowed three hits, struck out four and retired his final 11 batters.

Andrew Heaney (4-6) tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, but was tagged with three runs in the first inning to fall behind and was handed the loss.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, CARDINALS 2

PHOENIX (AP) – Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer, Zack Greinke pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Arizona ended a four-game losing streak by beating St. Louis.

Goldschmidt followed a four-hit night Monday with a three-run homer off Jack Flaherty (3-4) in the fifth inning. The NL player of the month for June, Goldschmidt is hitting .413 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs his past 26 games.

Greinke (9-5) gave up two runs in the second inning to end his 13-inning scoreless streak but was otherwise sharp in winning his fourth straight game. Yoshihisa Hirano needed one pitch to get a groundout with the bases loaded in the seventh and extend his team record with a 26th straight scoreless appearance.

Brad Boxberger worked around a walk in the ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.

INDIANS 6 Case Keenum Jersey , ROYALS 4

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Yan Gomes hit a sixth-inning grand slam as Cleveland rallied to beat Kansas City.

The Indians lead the AL with eight grand slams. Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam Monday.

Edwin Encarnacion led off the sixth with a walk and Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch from Danny Duffy (4-8). Yonder Alonso’s infield single loaded the bases. Gomes drove a 1-0 Duffy pitch into the left-field bullpen.

Chad Allen got the final four outs for his 17th save in 18 chances. He stranded two runners in the ninth after a single and a walk.

Shane Bieber (4-0) picked up the victory and remains undefeated in his first five big league starts.

PHILLIES 3, ORIOLES 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Zach Eflin pitched seven strong innings for his sixth straight victory and Andrew Knapp had the winning hit for the second straight game.

Rhys Hoskins had a two-run double for the Phillies, who have won 11 of 16.

Mark Trumbo homered for Baltimore, which has dropped eight of nine.

The game was delayed at the start 1 hour, 25 minutes due to rain and mostly played under a persistent drizzle.

Eflin (7-2) allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks to become the first Phillies pitcher since Cliff Lee in 2011 to record six consecutive wins.

Orioles starter Alex Cobb (2-10) gave up three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.

CUBS 5, TIGERS 3

CHICAGO (AP) – Anthony Rizzo drove in his second run of the game in the seventh inning to snap a tie, Kyle Schwarber followed with a solo homer in the eighth and Chicago rebounded from an early three-run deficit to edge Detroit f Kevin Huerter Jersey ,