MLB
Ronald Acuna Jr. pulled off one of the rarest feats in baseball history, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader to lead the first-place Atlanta Braves to a sweep of the Miami Marlins on Monday.
The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves' bullpen in Game 1 , powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory. Haitian-American Touki Toussaint pitched six strong innings to claim the win in his major league debut.
It was more of the same from Acuna in the nightcap. He sent a towering shot into the seats in left-center, sparking the Braves to a 6-1 win behind another strong outing on the mound from Mike Foltynewicz.
The win edges the Braves a bit further ahead of the Phillies atop the NL East. The Braves led by just a percentage point at the start of the day. The Phillies are idle.
In other league action:
Jed Lowrie drove in four runs to back Sean Manaea and the Oakland Athletics held off a late Seattle rally to beat the Mariners 7-6 on Monday night in a matchup of AL West contenders. Manaea (11-8) pitched into the eighth and bounced back from a season-low 2 2/3 innings against the Dodgers his last time out. Second-place Oakland moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Mariners, who had momentum coming off a four-game sweep at first-place and defending World Series champion Houston.
Pinch-hitter Nick Hundley hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to give the Giants their first lead, and San Francisco rallied for a 5-2 victory on Monday night, handing the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen its fourth consecutive loss.This time, the Dodgers wasted a masterful start by Clayton Kershaw, who held the Giants to one run on eight hits, all singles.
Boston had the night off as they traveled to Philidelphia to take on the Phillies Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
Jacob deGrom struck out 12 and the New York Mets backed him in a big way, hitting five home runs while battering Luis Severino and the New York Yankees 8-5. DeGrom pitched into the seventh inning and leads the majors with a 1.81 ERA. The Mets head to Baltimore to take on the Orioles Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. and the Yankees host Tampa Bay Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
Jose Ramirez connected for his 35th homer and Yandy Diaz hit a tiebreaking RBI double in Cleveland's seven-run sixth inning, helping the Indians pull away from the Cincinnati Reds for a 10-3 victory. It was Cleveland's fifth win in six games.
Bartolo Colon won his first start since setting the record for victories by a Latin American pitcher, going five innings to help the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3. Colon has 247 career wins, two more than Dennis Martinez of Nicaragua.
Ryan O'Hearn homered and drove in a career-high three runs, Brad Keller threw seven strong innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 to spoil Sean Reid-Foley's major league debut. Reid-Foley is only the second player in major league history to be born in Guam. He was 12-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 23 minor league starts this season.
Nicholas Castellanos had a career-high five hits, including a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, and drove in five runs as the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5. It was Castellanos' sixth five-RBI game of Castellanos' career.
Paul DeJong handed the Washington Nationals their second straight walk-off loss, capping a back-and-forth finish with a game-ending solo homer in the ninth inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 7-6 victory. DeJong took Koda Glover deep leading off the ninth. A night earlier, Ryan Madson allowed a game-ending ninth-inning grand slam to the Chicago Cubs' David Bote to end a 4-3 defeat.
Kole Calhoun hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning and Justin Upton added a two-run homer to cap a four-run rally that carried the Los Angeles Angels past the San Diego Padres 6-3 in 10 innings on Monday night. Jose Briceno homered early for the Angels, who got 7 1/3 solid innings from starter Andrew Heaney. Upton robbed pinch-hitter Eric Hosmer of a go-ahead homer in the eighth, making a catch above the left-field wall to leave Hosmer with a tying sacrifice fly.
In other MLB news:
The New York Yankees have put pitcher CC Sabathia on the 10-day disabled list because of right knee inflammation. The Yankees made a series of roster moves. Reliever George Kontos was promoted from Triple-A, infielder Ronald Torreyes rejoined the Yankees and first baseman Luke Voit was sent to the minors. Sabathia was put on the DL a day after pitching six shutout innings of one-hit ball against Texas. The 38-year-old left-hander is 7-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 22 starts. Sabathia has been bothered by knee trouble for several seasons. The Yankees also transferred left-hander Jordan Montgomery (elbow) to the 60-day disabled list.
Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen expects to have a second heart surgery in the offseason but is confident he'll be able to come off the disabled list within the next few weeks. The All-Star reliever, out since Thursday with an irregular heartbeat, rejoined the Dodgers when they returned home and threw a light bullpen. He plans to throw bullpens again on Wednesday and Friday.
Shohei Ohtani moved another step closer to pitching again this season for the Los Angeles Angels when he threw a 33-pitch pregame bullpen session. It was the second pitching workout in three days for the right-hander. Ohtani has been held back from pitching by a sprained right elbow.
A baseball with the signatures of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and eight other legends of the game has sold for more than $600,000. The players all signed the ball on the same day in 1939, when they were gathered to become the first class to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Kansas City Royals have placed left-hander Danny Duffy on the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder impingement. The 29-year-old Duffy received an anti-inflammatory shot after allowing six runs in 5 1/3 innings in Saturday's 8-3 loss to St. Louis. He has lost three of his last four starts.
NBA
Carmelo Anthony has signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets.
Anthony was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks last month before the Hawks released him.
Houston general manager Daryl Morey announced the signing Monday and the Rockets posted a picture on social media of Anthony signing his contract.
The 34-year-old joins a team led by MVP James Harden and star point guard Chris Paul. The Rockets hope the addition of Anthony will help them contend for their first title since 1995. They lost to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals last season.
NFL
Coach Kyle Shanahan says the San Francisco 49ers are bringing in veteran Alfred Morris to provide depth at running back while they deal with injuries at the position.
Morris was a sixth-round draft pick of Washington in 2012 when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. He rushed for 2,888 yards and 20 touchdowns during his first two seasons. The move won't become official until he passes a physical.
In other NFL news:
The new stadium being built for English Premier League club Tottenham isn't ready to host the NFL this year. The first NFL game at Tottenham was due to feature the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders on Oct. 14. That will now be played across north London at Wembley Stadium on the same day.
LeSean McCoy's ex-girlfriend is suing the Buffalo Bills running back for failing to protect her after she was bloodied, beaten and had $133,000 worth of jewelry stolen during a home invasion last month. Delicia Cordon also alleges in a lawsuit filed in Fulton County, Georgia on Friday that McCoy would "often brutally beat his dog," and would also "aggressively, physically discipline and beat his young son."
The Minnesota Vikings have placed guard Nick Easton on injured reserve with a neck injury that required surgery and has likely ended his season. The Vikings filled Easton's roster spot by signing guard Kaleb Johnson. Easton started 12 games at left guard last year. He had a procedure done last week to repair a bulging disk in his neck.
Former Tennessee star linebacker A.J. Johnson is getting a shot at the NFL a month after he was acquitted of rape charges. Johnson has signed with the Denver Broncos. The former Volunteers star was a four-year starter at Tennessee but was kicked off the team after he and a teammate at Tennessee were accused of raping a woman.
A high school hit hard by Hurricane Harvey is getting a new playing surface thanks to the Houston Texans. The Texans say they're donating the turf they played on at NRG Stadium last season to C.E. King High School after its field was destroyed in flooding from Harvey.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says he doesn't expect any of his players to be suspended for selling shoes.
Harbaugh told reporters Monday night all team issued-shoes of current players have been accounted for by the school. Harbaugh says many former players and some former assistant coaches had access to the shoes that have been sold on the secondary market.
North Carolina announced last week that 13 football players will miss games while serving suspensions for selling team-issued shoes. The school reported the secondary NCAA violations.
WWE
Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, who joined with brother-in-law Bret Hart to form one of the top tag teams in the 1980s with the WWE, has died. He was 63.
The Pasco Sheriff's Office said Neidhart fell at home, hit his head and "succumbed to his injury" on Monday in Wesley Chapel, Florida. No foul play was suspected.
Neidhart's daughter, known as Natalya, wrestles for the WWE and is a former women's champion. Neidhart made appearances with his daughter on the WWE reality series "Total Divas."
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