MLB
The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired veteran slugger Jose Bautista from the New York Mets for a player to be named later or cash.
Bautista batted .196 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs for the Braves and Mets this season. The Phillies entered Tuesday night's game against Washington 3½ games behind Atlanta in the NL East. A six-time All-Star for Toronto between 2010-2015, Bautista has 342 career homers. The right-handed hitter is expected to come off the bench for the Phillies.
Philadelphia has been active, acquiring infielder Asdrubal Cabrera and two-time All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos last month and first baseman Justin Bour and lefty reliever Luis Avilan in August.
In Other MLB Action:
J.D. Martinez scored when Marlins shortstop JT Riddle threw away a potential double-play ball in the ninth inning, lifting the Boston Red Sox over Miami 8-7 following a wild, back-and-forth final two innings. Boston snapped a three-game skid and avoided its first four-game losing streak of the season — barely. Miami scored five runs in the eighth inning to lead 6-4, allowed three runs to Boston in the bottom of the inning, then tied the game at 7 in the top of the ninth. The series continues Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.
Pinch-running pitcher Vince Velasquez was called out for leaving second base early while tagging up, resulting in a game-ending double play that gave the Washington Nationals a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. After Aaron Nola outpitched Max Scherzer for the second time in six days in a matchup of NL Cy Young Award contenders, the Phillies watched Washington rally for three runs in the ninth to take a 5-3 lead.
Jose Martinez and Tyler O'Neill homered, rookie Jack Flaherty pitched seven innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 in Mike Shildt's first game since being promoted to full-time manager. The Cardinals have won six of seven and are 20-5 in August. Earlier in the day, St. Louis took off the interim tag on Shildt, who was put in charge after Mike Matheny was fired last month a day before the All-Star break.
Jose Peraza started Junior Guerra's rough outing with a two-run homer, and the Cincinnati Reds withstood Christian Yelich's first multi-homer game for a 9-7 victory, extending the Milwaukee Brewers' fade in August. Since trailing the Cubs by a game on Aug. 4, Milwaukee has gone 8-11 and slid to third in the NL Central.
Pinch-hitter Neil Walker connected for a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat the Chicago White Sox 5-4. Aaron Hicks hit a tying homer in the eighth and rookie Miguel Andujar also had a two-run shot to help the injury-depleted Yankees win for the ninth time in 11 games. The series continues Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
Carlos Carrasco struck out 11 and withstood another scary Minnesota line drive, pitching the Cleveland Indians past the Twins 8-1. Francisco Lindor matched a career high with four hits while Jose Ramirez drove in three runs for the AL Central leaders. Carrasco allowed four hits in 7 2/3 innings. In the fifth, Carrasco was hit in the glove by Ehire Adrianza's liner. The force of the blow knocked Carrasco to the ground, but he was OK.
Pinch-runner Adam Duvall scored the tiebreaking run on a delayed dash from third base in the eighth inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat Tampa Bay 9-5 to snap the Rays' eight-game winning streak. Tyler Flowers and Ender Inciarte hit homers in the four-run inning.
Josh Rogers won his major league debut, Tim Beckham hit a three-run homer and the Baltimore Orioles rolled over the Toronto Blue Jays 12-5. Rogers, acquired from the Yankees for closer Zach Britton in July, allowed three runs and seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk over five innings. He was the first left-handed pitcher to start a game for Baltimore this season.
Jakob Junis held scuffling Detroit to six hits in his first career complete game, Adalberto Mondesi homered to spur a five-run frame and the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 6-2 to begin their midweek, two-game series. Matthew Boyd allowed five runs in six innings for Detroit.
Travis Jankowski homered on Felix Hernandez's first pitch and rookie Jacob Nix came within two outs of a complete game in his fourth big league start for the San Diego Padres, who beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1. The Padres, who have the worst record in the NL, snapped a five-game losing streak and won for just the second time in seven games.
The game between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets was suspended with the score tied at 1 in the top of the 10th inning following a rain delay of 53 minutes. The game will resume Wednesday at noon. The finale of the three-game series, scheduled for 1:20 p.m., will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the suspended game.
The race for the American League West just got tighter:
Nick Martini hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Oakland Athletics defeated Houston 4-3, snapping the Astros' six-game winning streak. The A's moved within 1 ½ games of the AL West-leading Astros. Ramon Laureano drew a one-out walk from Roberto Osuna, then Jonathan Lucroy singled and Martini followed with his double.
The Diamondbacks couldn't get a run across and dropped a 1-0 game to the Giants in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Gorkys Hernandez drove in the game's lone run, sending Steven Duggar home with a single to left field. Arizona remains in first in the NL West, but now shares the spot with Colorado. The two teams have identical 72-60 records, while the Dodgers sit one game out.
Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the first inning and the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 to split their series. Kyle Freeland allowed one run and five hits in six innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked two in his first career start against the Angels. Wade Davis struck out the side in the ninth to earn his NL-leading 36th save, extending his career high. The win moves Colorado into a tie for first in the National League West, and just a half game back of Milwaukee in the race for a wild card.
Manny Machado drove in four runs, Brian Dozier hit his 20th homer of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Texas Rangers 8-4. The Dodgers have won four in a row. Machado's four RBIs were the most in his 36 games for the Dodgers since being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles last month. Dozier hit his fourth homer in 24 games since going to Los Angeles from Minnesota.
Elsewhere in the Majors:
Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais kept his word to Edwin Diaz, matching the closer's flashy haircut following a milestone save over the weekend. Servais had promised he'd get a styled cut similar to Diaz's if the closer got 50 saves. Diaz notched his 50th save on Saturday, and Servais sat in the chair for Diaz's personal barber Tuesday. Diaz told MLB.com Servais is "looking fresh" and that he looks like "the swaggiest manager in the league."
The San Diego Padres have selected the contract of 21-year-old Luis Urias, one of their top prospects who is expected to be the second baseman of the future. The arrival of Urias marks the beginning of another wave of talent coming from the prospect-rich farm system to the rebuilding big league squad, which at 50-83 has the worst record in the NL. He hit .296 with a .398 on-base percentage with Triple-A El Paso. He hit eight homers and drove in 45 runs, with 67 walks and 109 strikeouts.
David Wright is moving up to Triple-A to continue his rehab assignment, but the New York Mets say it's unlikely the third baseman will play in the majors this season. He's trying to make a comeback from back and shoulder injuries and hasn't appeared in a big league game since May 2016.
Catcher Tyler Flowers has agreed to a contract extension with the Atlanta Braves that could keep him with the team through the 2020 season. The agreement includes a $4 million contract for 2019 and a $6 million club option, with a $2 million buyout, for 2020. The 32-year-old Flowers is hitting .225 with five homers in his third year with Atlanta while sharing playing time with Kurt Suzuki.
TENNIS
Roger Federer improved to 18-0 in first-round matches at the U.S. Open and took one step toward a potential quarterfinal showdown against Novak Djokovic. The 20-time major champion delivered 14 aces and never was in any trouble during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over 117th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. Federer saved the first eight break points he faced before finally faltering by pushing a forehand long on the ninth, losing serve for the only time while trying to close out the match at 5-2 in the third set. By then, the match was 1 hour, 45 minutes old — and it would last another seven minutes.
Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the U.S. Open, fighting through extreme heat that caused him to feel sick during his match to beat Marton Ducsovics in four sets. Djokovic missed the U.S. Open last year because of an elbow injury and was playing his first match in Flushing Meadows since losing the 2016 final to Stan Wawrinka. It was a tough one, until he dominated after players were allowed to leave the court for 10 minutes following the third and fourth sets. Once they returned, the No. 6 seed finished off a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory in 2 hours, 59 minutes.
Young American Frances Tiafoe finally has his first U.S. Open win on his fourth try — and he eliminated a seeded player, to boot. Tiafoe, a 20-year-old from Maryland, beat No. 29 Adrian Mannarino of France 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to get to the second round at Flushing Meadows.
Nick Kyrgios doesn't really do nuance, so when he was asked about some key break chances early in a first-round victory at the U.S. Open, he explained that he approaches every point the same. "I just come up to the line," Kyrgios said, "and try to serve it as hard as I can." It seemed to work on this night, anyway. The 30th-seeded Kyrgios hit 25 aces — and also had 14 double-faults — while beating Radu Albot 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Madison Keys eased into the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 71st-ranked Pauline Parmentier of France. The 14th-seeded Keys was the runner-up to Sloane Stephens at Flushing Meadows in 2017. That was the first career Grand Slam final for Keys, who was one of four American women in the semifinals last year at the U.S. Open.
Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki easily reached the U.S. Open's second round by beating 2011 titlist Sam Stosur 6-3, 6-2. The No. 2 Wozniacki is the highest-seeded woman left in the field after No. 1 Simona Halep lost her opening match. Wozniacki was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2009 and 2014.
Maria Sharapova held on to edge 39-year-old Patty Schnyder, the oldest female qualifier in Grand Slam history, in the U.S. Open's first round. Sharapova let a big second-set lead slip away, then needed four match points to close out Schnyder 6-2, 7-6 (6).
Eugenie Bouchard has won a match at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2015, the year she withdrew from the tournament after a fall left her with a concussion. Bouchard had to go through qualifying to reach the main draw and moved into the second round by beating Harmony Tan of France 6-3, 6-1.
CoCo Vandeweghe double-faulted 12 times and is gone in the first round of the U.S. Open a year after making it all the way to the semifinals. The 24th-seeded American lost to Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-3, 7-6 (3). Vandeweghe made a total of 35 unforced errors, 16 more than Flipkens. At the 2017 U.S. Open, Vandweghe was one of four Americans in the semifinals.
Twice a Grand Slam semifinalist, Johanna Konta can't seem to make any headway at the majors these days. A 6-2, 6-2 loss to No. 6 seed Caroline Garcia in her opener at Flushing Meadows is Konta's fifth consecutive exit in the first or second round at a Slam.
Heat Rule In Effect:
Facing dangerously high temperatures expected to last for more than a day, the U.S. Open has extended a heat rule to men that only exists in the women's tour.
The U.S. Tennis Association says its medical team recommended the immediate implementation of the heat policy for the men, who will be allowed a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets.
Its statement says the tournament referee, along with the medical team, would continue to monitor conditions on site to determine when the extreme heat policy would no longer be in effect.
The WTA has a heat rule allowing women a break between the second and third sets. There is no such rule on the ATP Tour.
Temperatures were already in the mid-90s by the early afternoon and expected to stay there or above until late Wednesday.
NFL
The Bengals have agreed to contract extensions with defensive tackle Geno Atkins and end Carlos Dunlap, who were entering the final years on their deals.
Dunlap tweeted about the deals, which weren't immediately confirmed by the Bengals. Atkins' agents confirmed on Twitter he got a four-year deal, while Dunlap was extended for three years.
Atkins made his sixth Pro Bowl and led the Bengals with nine sacks last season, the most by an NFL interior lineman. He has 61 sacks in his eight seasons, most by a Bengals interior lineman.
Dunlap's best season was 2015, when he had 13½ sacks, second-most in club history. His totals have slipped each of the past two seasons. He had 7½ sacks last year.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
The Tennessee Titans have acquired linebacker Kamalei Correa from the Baltimore Ravens for an undisclosed draft pick. Correa was the 42nd pick overall in 2016 out of Boise State, and the 6-foot-3, 241-pound linebacker started four of his 25 games with Baltimore.
Robert Ayers' stint with the Detroit Lions was a short one. The Lions have the released the veteran defensive end, and their announcement Tuesday of Ayers' departure came about 28 hours after the team said it had signed him.
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