Seahawks survive Wilson's return, edge Broncos on missed FG
SEATTLE (AP) — Geno Smith threw two first-half touchdown passes, Denver fumbled twice at the 1-yard line in the second half, and the Seahawks beat the Broncos 17-16 in Russell Wilson’s return to Seattle. Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal attempt with 20 seconds left and the Seahawks escaped with another wild victory involving Wilson at quarterback. Except this time Wilson was the opponent and there will be plenty of questions about Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett’s late-game clock management and decisions in his first game. Denver faced fourth-and-5 at the Seattle 46 and had three timeouts left, but the Broncos ran significant time off the clock before Hackett called timeout and decided to have McManus try the long field goal.
Trout HR 7th game in a row; Guardians beat Angels, pad lead
CLEVELAND (AP) — Angels star Mike Trout homered in his seventh consecutive game, one shy of the major league record, but the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians beat Los Angeles 5-4. Amed Rosario hit a go-ahead double in the seventh for Cleveland, which increased its advantage to three games over the White Sox and five games over third-place Minnesota. The game featured a strange sequence in the seventh when Cleveland manager Terry Francona and Angels interim manager Phil Nevin were both ejected without a pitch being thrown in-between. Trout’s 35th homer of the season came in the fifth. Pittsburgh’s Dale Long set the MLB record of eight straight games with a home run in 1956. Don Mattingly of the Yankees matched it in 1987, as did Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993.
Dodgers beat D-backs 6-0, clinch playoff spot (for real)
PHOENIX (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a three-run homer, Tyler Anderson threw seven sharp innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-0, becoming the first major league team to clinch a playoff spot this season. For real, this time. The Dodgers thought they had secured a playoff berth Sunday after beating the Padres 11-2. They celebrated with a postgame toast and distributed caps with the postseason logo on them. But after further review, the math didn't add up. This time, there shouldn't be any confusion. The Dodgers won their 97th game of the season and are 54 games over .500.
Geno Smith hears chants, relishes Seahawks opening victory
SEATTLE (AP) — Geno Smith left the field hearing his name chanted after the Seattle Seahawks opened the regular season with an unexpected victory over the Denver Broncos. It was a gratifying performance for Smith eight years after he last started a game on the opening weekend of the NFL season. Smith threw two touchdowns and the Seahawks held on to beat the Broncos 17-16. Most of the attention was on Russell Wilson's return to Seattle with the Broncos. But it was Smith that played a nearly perfect first half and ending up in the celebratory locker room afterward.
Analysis: Nathaniel Hackett's headscratcher caps wild Week 1
The Denver Broncos acquired quarterback Russell Wilson from Seattle for three players and five draft picks and then gave him a huge contract before he'd taken a single snap in a game for them. But when rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett was faced with fourth-and-5 from the Seattle 46 in the closing minutes of Wilson's return to Seattle on Monday night he decided to take the ball out of his $296 million man's hands. Instead, Hackett went for a 64-yard field goal and Brandon McManus was wide left, leaving the Seahawks as 17-16 winners.
Carlos Alcaraz: 19, US Open champ, No. 1, unique
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz is the U.S. Open champion and the No. 1-ranked player in men’s tennis at age 19. And he is exhausted. He tells The Associated Press on Monday that he is not quite sure how he managed to play and win so many tough and long matches in a row to earn his first Grand Slam title. He also says he considers himself a unique player who can hit a lot of different shots and never gives up on a ball. He grew up admiring Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer but is not interested in comparing himself to either.
Wentz triumphant in Week 1 Revenge Tour; Wilson next?
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Carson Wentz made clutch throws to erase big mistakes and pull out a victory that eluded Baker Mayfield and Joe Flacco. Russell Wilson is up next in the NFL’s Week 1 revenge tour. Wilson returns to Seattle on Monday night to play his first game for the Denver Broncos. Mayfield came up short Sunday against the Browns. Flacco had no chance against the Ravens. Wentz didn’t face his former team - he’ll play against the Eagles in two weeks and the Colts next month - but his first game for the Washington Commanders came against Doug Pederson, the coach who drafted and developed him into an MVP candidate by his second season before both were quickly run out of Philadelphia.
As Judge approaches milestone, what counts more: 61 or 73?
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees' Aaron Judge is keeping his special season going. Judge entered this week with 55 homers through the Yankees’ first 141 games, and he still has 21 games to go. Judge towers over everyone else this season. Kyle Schwarber is second in homers with 37 for Philadelphia. Judge also has 121 RBIs — 12 more than anyone else.
Epic opening win comes with possibly high cost for Steelers
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers may have paid a stiff price in their season-opening win over Cincinnati. The Steelers prevailed in overtime but could be without star outside linebacker T.J. Watt for an extended period. The NFL's reigning defensive player of the year exited late in the fourth quarter with a left pectoral injury and his status is uncertain. The three-time All-Pro outside linebacker made a brief appearance Monday in the Pittsburgh locker room and seemed upbeat as he declined an interview request from The Associated Press. If Watt is unavailable, the Steelers will turn to recent additions Malik Reed and Jamir Jones to fill in. Pittsburgh hosts New England in its home opener on Sept. 18.
Prescott sub Rush faces challenge of keeping Cowboys afloat
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Cooper Rush is filling in for an injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for the second year in a row. This time the challenge will be much tougher for the sixth-year player. Prescott is out multiple weeks with a fracture near the thumb of his right hand. Rush won a game last season when Prescott had a calf strain. The victory helped keep the Cowboys on track for the NFC East title. Rush will have to do much more than that to keep Dallas in contention this time.