MLB
The Milwaukee Brewers stayed 2 ½ games behind the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs by getting a one-of-a-kind performance from their All-Star outfielder.
Christian Yelich hit for the cycle for the second time this season and Wade Miley worked five innings of the Brewers' 8-0 rout of the Reds. Yelich belted a two-run homer and added a two-run triple that completed his cycle in the fifth inning.
The Milwaukee outfielder is the fifth player in major league history to do it twice in one season, and the first to accomplish it against the same team. Yelich also hit for the cycle while going 6-for-6 versus Cincinnati less than three weeks ago.
Domingo Santana also homered for Milwaukee, which ended a two-game skid and improved to 13-5 since Aug. 29.
The Cubs also won as Kyle Hendricks came within one out of a complete game in a 5-1 win at Arizona. Hendricks struck out eight and blanked the Diamondbacks until A.J. Pollock led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run.
Javier Baez and Kris Bryant hit two-run homers in the Cubs' fifth win in seven games.
Checking out the rest of Monday's major league schedule:
Joc Pederson homered twice and had three RBIs as the Dodgers thumped the Rockies, 8-2 to move a half-game ahead of second-place Colorado in the NL West. Max Muncy's three-run blast gave Los Angeles a 6-0 lead in the third inning with a three-run shot off loser Jon Gray. Hyun-Jin Ryu was sharp in limiting the Rockies to four hits and no walks over seven scoreless innings.
Home runs by Kolten Wong, Paul DeJong, Yadier Molina and Harrison Bader powered the Cardinals past the Braves, 11-6. St. Louis was clinging to a 6-5 lead when Bader launched a three-run shot in the eighth. Miles Mikolas is 16-4 after giving up two runs and four hits over five frames.
The Braves' magic number to win the NL East is down to seven after the second-place Phillies suffered a 9-4 loss to the Mets. Michael Conforto had three hits and a career-high six RBIs, including a three-run homer in the ninth. Zack Wheeler gave up four runs and only three hits over seven innings, leaving him9-1 with a 1.68 ERA over his last 11 starts. Game 2 is Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
Houston's 4-1 loss to Seattle cuts the Astros' lead in the AL West to four games over Oakland. The Mariners trailed until Daniel Vogelbach belted a grand slam in the eighth inning off Hector Rondon. Edwin Diaz worked the ninth to complete a combined three-hitter and notch his major league-leading 56th save.
Starlin Castro belted a solo homer and drove in three as the Marlins upended the Nationals, 8-5. Washington led 4-0 until Castro's two-run double in the fifth. The Nats wasted homers by Victor Robles and Anthony Rendon.
The Rays were 3-0 winners over the Rangers behind Tyler Glasnow's six innings of two-hit ball. Ji-Man Choi hit a solo homer and an RBI single as the Rays moved a season-high 17 games over .500 at 83-66. Tampa Bay has posted the third-best record in the majors since June 21, going 48-26.
The Pirates pulled out a 7-6 win over the Royals on Jacob Stallings' walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Adam Frazier hit a two-run double in the fourth and Starling Marte tied the game with an RBI triple following a run-scoring error by first baseman Ryan O'Hearn in the eighth. O'Hearn homered and had two RBIs for Kansas City.
Evan Longoria smashed a two-run homer and Brandon Crawford added a solo shot in the Giants' 4-2 win at San Diego. Andrew Suarez helped San Francisco win for the third time in four games since an 11-game skid, holding the Padres to two runs and four hits over 7 2/3 innings. Austin Hedges homered for the Padres.
The Twins sandwiched solo homers around a four-run fourth in a 6-1 win at Detroit. Eddie Rosario and Jorge Polanco went deep for Minnesota, who received RBI singles from Jake Cave, Ehire Adrianza and Joe Mauer in the fourth. Kohl Stewart worked six innings of relief and allowed just an unearned run and three hits.
Toronto earned a 5-0 shutout of Baltimore as rookie Ryan Borucki limited the Orioles to three hits while striking out seven over eight innings. Danny Jansen, Kevin Pillar and Aledmys (ah-LEHD'-mees) Diaz homered as the Blue Jays dealt the O's their 107th loss, tying the club record for the most since the club moved from St. Louis after the 1953 season. The 1988 Birds finished with 107 losses after opening the year 0-21.
Tuesday the Boston Red Sox take on the Yankees in New York at 1:05 p.m.
Elsewhere in the MLB:
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge had 11 at-bats in a simulated game and closer Aroldis Chapman threw 22 pitches, perhaps the last steps before both are cleared to return to full action.
Judge is recovering from a broken right wrist, sustained when he was hit by a pitch on July 26. His only major league action since then was two innings in right field on Friday night.
Chapman has not pitched in a game since Aug. 21 because of left knee tendinitis. The team said Judge and Chapman did not have any issues.
Also in the majors:
Michael Fulmer is seeking a second opinion after an MRI showed possible damage to the right-hander's meniscus. Fulmer was removed after five pitches Saturday at Cleveland after tweaking his right knee trying to field a bunt attempt. The 2016 AL Rookie of the Year, is 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA this season and has dealt with various health issues the past two years.
NFL
The Chicago Bears put together an outstanding defensive performance on a night they presented longtime linebacker Brian Urlacher with his Ring of Excellence for being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Khalil Mack had one of the Bears' six sacks of Russell Wilson, and Prince Amukamura returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown in a 24-17 victory over the Seahawks. Mack had a strip-sack in the first half and consistently pressured Wilson in another dominant performance. Amukamura's first career TD gave Chicago a 24-10 lead with 6:37 remaining.
Mitchell Trubisky was 25 of 34 for 200 yards, hitting Trey Burton and rookie Anthony Miller for touchdowns. Trubisky was also picked off twice in the first half, but the Bears managed to even their record at 1-1.
Wilson has been sacked six times in each of Seattle's first two games. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback completed 22 of 36 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the 0-2 Seahawks.
Carson Wentz is about to make his NFL season debut:
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has been cleared to play and is slated to start Sunday against Indianapolis. Wentz tore his left ACL and LCL last December and underwent surgery three days later.
Wentz set a single-season franchise record with 33 touchdown passes last season. The final one came a few plays after he suffered his injury.
Backup quarterback Nick Foles led the Eagles to their first NFL title since 1960 and was Super Bowl MVP in the 41-33 victory over New England. Foles has led Philadelphia to a 1-1 record this year.
In other NFL news:
The Browns have traded problematic wide receiver Josh Gordon to the Patriots for a fifth-round draft pick. Gordon has been suspended for much of his NFL career and took a leave of absence to battle substance abuse during training camp before playing in Cleveland's season opener. But the Browns decided to cut ties when Gordon reported to the team on Saturday with a hamstring injury after practicing all week.
The Browns have released kicker Zane Gonzalez signed free-agent Greg Joseph, who was with the Dolphins during training camp. Gonzalez missed four kicks on Sunday in New Orleans, one week after he missed a potential game-winning kick against the Steelers in the season opener.
The Jaguars will be without left tackle Cam Robinson for the rest of the season because of a left knee injury suffered in the first quarter of Sunday's 31-20 victory against New England. Fourth-year pro Josh Wells will replace him in the starting lineup.
The Vikings have waived rookie kicker Daniel Carlson after the fifth-round draft pick sent all three of his field-goal attempts wide right during Sunday's game at Green Bay. Two of Carlson's misses came in overtime, forcing the Vikings to settle for a 29-29 tie with the rival Packers. The Vikings didn't immediately add a replacement for Carlson, but coach Mike Zimmer confirmed they've invited free agent Dan Bailey to Minnesota for a physical exam.
Bills running back LeSean McCoy has been diagnosed with damage to his rib cartilage, leaving his status uncertain for next week's game at Minnesota. McCoy was hurt in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Chargers.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn is disputing an ESPN report that running back Devonta Freeman will be out for as long as three weeks with a knee injury. Freeman injured his right knee in a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and didn't play in Sunday's 31-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Quinn said Monday that Freeman is listed as day to day.
NFL television ratings generally have been up through the first two weeks of the schedule. CBS scored its best opening NFL doubleheader game rating in three years with the highest-rated window Sunday on any network, Patriots at Jaguars and Raiders at Broncos in late afternoon. "The NFL Today" pregame show earned a double-digit ratings increase for the second consecutive week. Fox reported an 18 percent rise over last year's Week 2 games. And ESPN's broadcasts of last Monday's two games were the two highest-rated telecasts of the night across all broadcast and cable networks. NBC has seen a slight decrease in its night broadcasts, but they have been the top-rated show in prime time.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer says he has sent letters and had conversations with families of players as a key step toward containing and repairing the scandal that led to his three-game suspension.
Meyer acknowledged Monday that the program's reputation has suffered and said he hopes more clarity about what happened will help mitigate the damage.
Meyer was questioned at length during a 55-minute news conference about his mismanagement of an assistant coach accused of domestic abuse. The session would have normally been about his team's upcoming football game.
Meyer reiterated his contention that he did not turn his back on domestic violence allegations against wide receivers coach Zach Smith, who was fired in July.
In other college football news:
Florida running back Malik Davis will miss an "extended period" after breaking his left foot. Coach Dan Mullen says he's unsure how long Davis will be sidelined. Davis tore a ligament in his right knee against Georgia last October and missed the final four games. Florida did get some good news on the injury front. Mullen says linebacker David Reese, who led the team with 102 tackles last year, will return after missing three games with an ankle injury.
Arkansas coach Chad Morris says Ty Storey will start at quarterback for Saturday night's game at No. 9 Auburn. Storey didn't play last week as the Razorbacks lost at home to North Texas, dropping their record to 1-2 this season.
NHL
The Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman Darnell Nurse to a two-year contract that ends a negotiating impasse between the two sides.
The 23-year-old Nurse led Edmonton blue liners in 2017-18 with six goals and 20 assists in 82 games.
Nurse had said he wouldn't participate in training camp without a new contract.
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