MLB:
For the first time since May 30 the San Francisco Giants are looking up at another team in the NL West standings.
The Dodgers took over first place in the division, moving a half-game ahead of the Giants with a 4-3 comeback win over the Braves. Los Angeles wasted a 2-0 lead and trailed 3-2 before Justin Turner and AJ Pollock delivered RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth.
Max Muncy and Austin Barnes hit solo homers for the Dodgers, who have made up 4 1/2 games on the Giants in two weeks.
Dansby Swanson's eighth-inning homer put Atlanta ahead before the Braves saw their lead in the NL East trimmed to two games over the Phillies.
The Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Giants with a 5-2 victory that gives Milwaukee a 10 1/2-game lead in the NL West. Jace Peterson broke a 2-2 deadlock with an RBI single in the seventh. Lorenzo Cain added a two-run blast in the ninth to secure the Giants' fifth loss in six games.
Also on Wednesday’s major league schedule:
Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and had three RBIs as the Cardinals topped the Reds, 5-4 in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Cincinnati led 4-3 until Goldschmidt hit a two-run shot in the fourth inning. Harrison Bader went 3-for-4 with a homer to help St. Louis hand Cincinnati it’s fourth straight loss.
The Reds ended their skid in style as Nick Castellanos supplied a grand slam and a two-run homer in a 12-2 thrashing of the Redbirds. Sonny Gray allowed just two hits over five innings, solo homers by Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado. The doubleheader split leaves the Reds a half-game ahead of San Diego for the second NL wild card, with the Cardinals still 2 1/2 games back.
Josh VanMeter homered while the Diamondbacks tagged Yu Darvish for six runs in the third inning of an 8-3 rout of the Padres. Luke Weaver allowed one run and four hits over six innings of his first start in 3 1/2 months. VanMeter had three RBIs, while Ketel Marte and Pavin Smith each contributed three hits and two runs scored.
Jarren Duran had a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning as the Red Sox halted the Rays’ streak at nine games, 3-2. Christian Vázquez homered, drove in two runs and made a nifty defensive play as Boston cut Tampa Bay's lead in the AL East to seven games over the Yankees. Boston lefty Chris Sale tossed a season-high six innings in his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery, allowing two runs and six hits.
The Yankees were 4-1 winners against the Angels as Gerrit Cole racked up a season-high 15 strikeouts over seven excellent innings to earn his AL-leading 14th victory. Cole extended his career-best scoreless streak to 21 2/3 innings before David Fletcher delivered an RBI double in the sixth. Aaron Judge hit his 30th homer and Luke Voit poked a two-run single as the Yankees stopped a four-game losing streak.
The Blue Jays beat the Orioles, 5-4 on Randal Grichuk’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Marcus Semien hit a solo home run and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had two hits and two RBIs, helping Toronto take the rubber match of the three-game series. Jays left-hander Steven Matz helped the Orioles take the lead by issuing back-to-back walks with the bases loaded in the second.
Logan Gilbert and four relievers combined on a nine-hitter as the Mariners blanked the Astros for the second straight day, 1-0. Gilbert threw five innings before turning to Seattle’s bullpen. Abraham Toro furnished the only run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, one day after his grand slam gave Seattle a 4-0 win.
Detroit’s four-game slide is over after Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer and drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh inning of the Tigers’ 8-6 decision over the Athletics. Akil Baddoo and Harold Castro homered and drove in two runs apiece for Detroit, which had lost 12 straight at home to Oakland. Matt Olson drove in three runs for the A’s, who ended a three-game winning streak and stayed five games behind the AL West-leading Astros.
The White Sox earned a 6-3 win over the Pirates as rookie Gavin Sheets slammed a three-run homer and a solo shot hours after being recalled. White Sox starter Carlos Rodon pitched five innings of one-run ball. The AL Central leaders won for the fifth time in six games and are 22 games above .500 for the first time since September 2006, keeping them 10 games ahead of the Indians.
Austin Hedges popped an RBI single just out of reach of first baseman Carlos Santana for the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning of the Indians’ 5-3 triumph over the Royals. Cleveland’s Logan Allen retired his final 10 batters, allowing two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings. Adalberto Mondesi made his first appearance since mid-June and launched a 422-foot homer that put the Royals ahead, 3-0.
Frank Schwindel hit a three-run homer and a pair of Cubs pitchers combined on a two-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Twins. Justin Steele won for the first time since joining the Cubs’ rotation on Aug. 10, yielding one run and three walks over five frames. Adbert Alzolay worked the final four innings to earn his first career save.
Brendan Rodgers provided a two-run double while the Rockies scored five times in the ninth to beat the Rangers, 9-5. The Rockies scored three more runs aided by four Rangers infield errors, three by first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Rodgers also homered in the fourth inning after Texas took a 5-0 lead.
The Phillies-Nationals game in Washington was postponed by heavy rain. It is rescheduled for Thursday, an off-day for both teams.
TENNIS-US OPEN:
Naomi Osaka didn’t have to break a sweat this afternoon.
The No. 3 seed and defending champion advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open when Olga Danilovic of Serbia withdraw for medical reasons.
Sloane Stephens made quick work of Coco Gauff, posting a 6-4, 6-2 victory in 66 minutes. Stephens won eight of the last 10 games in winning the all-American matchup against the 17-year-old.
French Open champion and seventh seed Barbora Krejcikova is headed to third round after a 6-3, 6-1 victory over American Christina McHale.
Two-time Grand Slam champions Simona Halep and Garbiñe Muguruza also advanced to the third round, joining second seed Aryana Sabalenka, fifth seed Elina Svitolina, No. 15 Elise Mertens and No. 18 Victoria Azarenka.
On the men’s side, Stefanos Tsitsipas heard boos from the crowd for yet another long trip off court after dropping a set during a second-round victory over Adrian Mannarino. The third-seeded Tsitsipas hit 27 aces in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-0 victory. He drew the ire of Andy Murray on Monday after a pair of extended breaks.
No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev eased into the third round with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Dominik Koepfer. Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev also advanced, as did American Frances Tiafoe. Casper Ruud fell in four sets to Botic van de Zandschulp. No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov retired after losing two tiebreakers and trailing 4-0 in the third set against Alexei Popyrin.
Rain led to the suspension of the Kevin Anderson-Diego Schwartzman match and caused the Angelique Kerber-Anhelina Kalinina match to be pushed back to Thursday.
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccines continue to receive pushback within Major League Baseball.
A person with knowledge of the situation says Nationals Vice President Bob Boone has informed the club he’s resigning rather than comply with the organization’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Nationals said employees were notified of the policy Aug. 12 and had until Aug. 26 to provide proof of full vaccination or one dose or apply for an exemption.
The former All-Star catcher had been with the franchise since 2004 and moved into his role as VP and senior adviser to general manager Mike Rizzo after the 2015 season.
John Smoltz and Al Leiter are not making in-studio appearances for MLB Network after refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine. That’s according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Wednesday was the first day of MLB Network’s policy making it mandatory for all employees to be vaccinated. Smoltz and Leiter will still do analysis for studio shows, but it will be remotely instead of from the network’s studio.
Also around the majors:
Khris Davis is back with the Athletics, four weeks after being signed to a minor league contract. His recall comes after he hit .333 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs in 16 games for Las Vegas The major league home run leader in 2018 was released by the Rangers in July after hitting .157 with two homers and five RBIs in 51 at-bats this season.
Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda has undergone season-ending Tommy John surgery. The surgeon added an internal brace to the arm, a recent development in the Tommy John technique that could help speed the rate of recovery, which is traditionally at least a year.
Red Sox infielder Yairo Muñoz has become the latest team member to test positive for COVID-19. Eight Boston players and two coaches have either had a positive test or have been identified as close contacts since Friday.
The Mariners have rewarded team executive Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais as the team challenges for an AL wild-card berth. The Mariners promoted Dipoto to president of baseball operations and signed Servais to a multiyear contract extension.
Mets acting general manager Zack Scott was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated Tuesday morning, hours after attending a fundraiser at team owner Steve Cohen’s house. White Plains police say they found him asleep at the wheel of his SUV at a traffic light and determined he was intoxicated. A police spokesperson said Scott refused a breathalyzer test, was booked and released.
NFL:
The New Orleans Saints will open their regular-season schedule in Jacksonville instead of the Superdome.
The Saints will take on Green Bay in Jacksonville on Sept. 12 after practicing in Dallas for the better part of two weeks. The venue change was announced three days after Hurricane Ida battered the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving the entirety of New Orleans in darkness until small pockets of the city began to get power back on Wednesday.
In other NFL news:
Chiefs All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu has tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the league’s reserve list. A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that Mathieu is fully vaccinated. Mathieu has been an All-Pro each of his first two seasons in Kansas City and is entering the final season of a three-year, $42 million contract.
The Vikings are bracing for a season-long absence for on-the-rise tight end Irv Smith Jr., after knee surgery Wednesday for a torn meniscus. Smith had the procedure after being injured in the team’s last exhibition game Friday at Kansas City. He was in line for a breakout season on the heels of the departure of 10-year veteran Kyle Rudolph.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel returned to work Wednesday after a 10-day quarantine for COVID-19. The Titans still have nine players currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including five starters.
The St. Louis Blues are keeping Colton Parayko in their long-range plans.
Parayko has accepted an eight-year, $52 million contract with an average annual cap hit of $6.5 million. The new deal begins next season and ends speculation Parayko would be traded.
Injuries limited him to two goals and 12 points in 32 games last season.
The Islanders have announced new contracts for free agent forwards Anthony Beauvillier , Casey Cizikas and Kyle Palmieri, along with goaltender Ilya Sorokin. Forward Zach Parise told The Athletic that he’s also agreed to a contract with the Isles.
TOKYO PARALYMPICS:
And Oksana Masters won her second gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics in women’s hand-cycle road race on Wednesday, bringing her career total to four gold and 10 medals overall in both summer and winter events.
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