MLB:
The Tampa Bay Rays were able to turn just five hits into their ninth consecutive win.
Yandy Díaz drove in two with a double during a six-run second that pushed the Rays past the Red Sox, 8-5. Wander Franco and Austin Meadows had RBI singles for the AL East leaders, who are 36 games over .500 for the first time in club history.
Boston finished the game without Xander Bogaerts, who had a first-inning RBI single before leaving in the second following a positive test for COVID-19. The positive test result came hours after the Red Sox announced that pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura tested positive.
Tampa Bay's division lead is seven games after the second-place Yankees were beaten by the Angels, 6-4.
Jared Walsh put Los Angeles ahead for good with a three-run homer, one inning before Shohei Ohtani scored on a double steal. The Yankees lost their fourth in a row since a 13-game winning streak despite homers by Anthony Rizzo and Gary Sanchez.
Also on Tuesday’s major league schedule:
Matt Chapman smacked a two-run homer and a solo shot in the Athletics’ third straight win since a six-game skid, 9-3 at Detroit. Mark Canha homered as Oakland moved within one game of Boston for the second AL wild card. Josh Harrison provided three hits and two ribbies in the win.
The A's also pulled within five games of the AL West lead with the Astros' 4-0 loss to the Mariners. The game was scoreless until Abraham Toro hit a grand slam in the eighth off Kendall Graveman, who was part a four-player swap that brought Toro to Seattle. Yusei Kikuchi worked past the sixth for the first time since July 1, limiting Houston to four hits over seven innings.
Yasmani Grandal and Jose Abreu homered again for the White Sox in a 4-2 downing of the Pirates. Grandal is batting .500 with four homers and 11 RBIs in 14 at-bats since returning from the 10-day injured list. Five relievers combined for 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball after Chicago starter Lucas Giolito left the game with tightness in his left hamstring.
The Orioles picked up a 4-2 win at Toronto behind Keegan Akin, who allowed a run and two hits over five innings to win his second straight start. Ramón Urías hit a go-ahead double in the sixth inning to get Akin the win. The Blue Jays wasted home runs by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Danny Jansen in ending a three-game winning streak.
The Giants’ lead in the NL West is down to a half-game over the Dodgers after the Brewers earned a 6-2 win in San Francisco. Brandon Woodruff struck out eight in six innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time since late June. Lorenzo Cain furnished a homer and an RBI single as Milwaukee extended its lead in the NL Central to 10 games over the Reds.
Corey Seager delivered a tiebreaking, RBI double in the eighth inning to give LA a 3-2 win over the Braves. Mookie Betts homered to get the Dodgers with 2-1 in the fourth, and scored the winning run following a leadoff walk. Atlanta finished the game without second baseman Ozzie Albies and saw its lead in the NL East shrink to 2 1/2 games over Philadelphia.
It’s now a five-game winning streak for the Phillies following a 12-6 pounding of the Nationals. Bryce Harper delivered a tiebreaking, two-run single while Philadelphia scored six times in the sixth to erase a 5-3 deficit. Rafael Marchan, Brad Miller and Andrew McCutchen smacked two-run homers and rookie Matt Vierling had four hits, leaving him 7-for-12 in his first seven big league games.
Blake Snell threw seven no-hit innings for San Diego before being pulled in a 3-0 shutout of the Diamondbacks. Manny Machado hit a two-run homer as the Padres moved into a tie with Cincinnati for the second NL wild card. Pinch-hitter David Peralta ended the Padres' combined no-hit bid with a bloop single in the eight.
Javier Báez singled in the ninth and scored the winning run as the Mets earned a 6-5 win over the Marlins in the completion of a suspended game. Báez entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and sparked the Mets’ five-run ninth, hours after he and teammate Francisco Lindor apologized for their thumbs-down celebration gestures last weekend. The Mets trailed 5-1 until Brandon Nimmo slammed a two-run homer.
Michael Conforto hit the eventual winning single in the first game and homered in Game 2 as the Mets posted their fourth straight win, 3-1. Conforto hit a two-run homer and Baez scored on Jeff McNeil’s double. Winning pitcher Aaron Loup (loop) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to keep the Mets ahead.
Amed Rosario had the first five RBI game of his career and matched a career high for hits in the Indians’ 7-2 thumping of the Royals. Rosario became the first player since at least 1920 to go 5 for 5 with five RBIs, an inside-the-park homer and a drive over the fence. Zach Plesac pitched two-hit ball over seven scoreless innings, helping Cleveland end Salvador Perez’s five-game home run streak.
The Rangers topped the Rockies, 4-3 as Nathaniel Lowe furnished a home run and an RBI single among his three hits. Leody Taveras homered for the second game in a row, helping Jordan Lyles win for the second time in three starts. Lyles worked 6 2/3 innings and allowed six hits, including solo homers by Sam Hilliard, C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon.
The Cubs’ bullpen worked shutout ball over 4 2/3 innings to secure a 3-1 verdict over the Twins. Rowan Wick closed it out for his first save of the season. Frank Schwindel and Ian Happ sandwiched solo homers around a tiebreaking triple by Robinson Chirinos.
The Reds-Cardinals game in Cincinnati was rained out and rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on Wednesday.
TENNIS-US OPEN:
The No. 1 seeds are off to a good start at the U.S. Open.
Novak Djokovic has started his bid to make history with a four-set victory over Danish teenager Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1.
The top-seeded Djokovic is trying to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since Rod Laver in 1969 and collect a record-breaking 21st major singles championship.
Women’s top-ranked Ash Barty knocked off Vera Zvonareva, 6-1, 7-6 in her first U.S. Open match in two years. The 25-year-old Barty finished with 31 winners, including 11 aces.
Barty skipped last year’s Open because of the pandemic.
Also on Day 2 of the year’s final Grand Slam:
The first major upset of the tournament was crafted by Maxime Cressy, who dispatched ninth seed Pablo Carreno Busta, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6. Cressy saved four match points in the fifth-set tiebreaker to knock off the two-time U.S. Open semifinalist.
American Taylor Fritz has eliminated 14th-seeded Alex de Minaur in four sets to give the host country 13 men in the second round. Fritz won a three-hour match that ended just past midnight by a score of 7-6, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Jenson Brooksby is one of those 13 American men who advanced, moving into the second round by beating Mikael Ymer 7-5, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Brooksby reached the finals in Newport and the semifinals in Washington during the leadup to the U.S. Open.
Alexander Zverev opened his bid for a second straight U.S. Open final appearance by defeating American Sam Querrey, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in 100 minutes. Zverev won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and is one of three players with four titles this season.
No. 11 Belinda Bencic advanced in straight sets, as did fourth seed Karolina Pliskova.
Tenth seed Hubert Hurkacz was a straight-sets winner on the men’s side, as was No. 22 Reilly Opelka.
American Mackenzie McDonald pulled off a mild surprise with a straight-sets victory over No. 27 David Goffin.
NFL:
The New England Patriots have shown Cam Newton the door after just one season with the team.
The Pats have released the 2015 NFL most valuable player, paving the way for rookie Mac Jones to open the season as the starting quarterback.
Veteran players say Jones has impressed them in training camp with his work ethic. Jones won a national title last year at Alabama.
The Patriots are trying to rebound from a disjointed 2020 season. Newton finished 7-8 as the starter and the Patriots went 7-9 overall after Tom Brady’s departure.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
Quarterback Deshaun Watson remains on the Houston Texans’ active roster as the team made cuts to reduce their roster to 53 players. Watson’s future with the team is in question after 22 women filed lawsuits alleging that he sexually assaulted or harassed them. Watson reported to camp to avoid being fined and participated in individual drills but never practiced with the team, watching as Tyrod Taylor ran the offense.
Saints head coach Sean Payton says the displaced team is exploring the possibility of remaining in the Dallas area for up to a month and opening their regular season against Green Bay in the Cowboys’ home stadium. There are logistical challenges with staffing an NFL game at the Superdome in the near future because of the widespread damage by Hurricane Ida in the New Orleans area. While the Superdome appears to have been spared significant damage, many New Orleans residents have evacuated and officials have advised them not to return for at least another several days.
Saints head coach Sean Payton says the displaced team is exploring the possibility of remaining in the Dallas area for up to a month and opening their regular season against Green Bay in the Cowboys’ home stadium. There are logistical challenges with staffing an NFL game at the Superdome in the near future because of the widespread damage by Hurricane Ida in the New Orleans area. While the Superdome appears to have been spared significant damage, many New Orleans residents have evacuated and officials have advised them not to return for at least another several days while infrastructure is repaired or replaced.
A person with direct knowledge of the deal has told The Associated Press the Jets have traded tight end Chris Herndon to the Vikings. Herndon spent his first three seasons with New York, catching 71 passes for 796 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Packers won’t have David Bakhtiari for the start of the season. The All-Pro left tackle is recovering from a torn ACL and won’t be available for at least the first six weeks. That leaves reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers without the player who has protected his blind side for the last nine seasons.
The Buffalo Bills’ proposed new $1.4 billion stadium would include about 60,000 seats and 60 suites.
The Bills’ proposal includes a timeline for construction with a completion date pegged for no later than 2027 based on how quickly a deal can be struck, a person with direct knowledge of the documents presented to state and county officials told the AP on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.
NBA:
Rajon Rondo has re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers to pursue another championship ring. The Lakers are bringing back Rondo on a one-year contract.
The veteran point guard played an important role as a reserve and a team leader on Los Angeles’ 17th NBA championship team during the 2019-20 season, his second with the Lakers. The 35-year-old Rondo agreed to a buyout with Memphis last Saturday and quickly rejoined a title contender. The Clippers traded Rondo to the Grizzlies two weeks ago along with Patrick Beverley in the deal sending Eric Bledsoe back to LA.
NHL:
The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a four-year contract extension with defenseman Connor Murphy. The deal runs through the 2025-26 season and carries a $4.4 million salary-cap hit.
HOCKEY-WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Canada has dethroned the United States as world champions in women’s hockey.
Marie-Philip Poulin capped the Canadians’ comeback by scoring in overtime to complete a 3-2 victory over the five-time defending champions in the final. Canada trailed 2-0 before scoring twice in a 2:29 span of the second period.
It is Canada’s first gold medal at the women’s hockey world championship since 2012.
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