OLYMPICS
A’ja Wilson scored 24 points and Breanna Stewart added 22 to help the U.S. beat Japan 102-76 in the Olympic opener for both teams. Wilson also had 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. The Americans now have a 56-game Olympic winning streak that dates to the 1992 Barcelona Games. The U.S. also beat Japan in the final at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. This was Brittney Griner’s first game internationally since she spent time in a Russian prison in 2022. She had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Novak Djokovic dominated rival Rafael Nadal at the start, and then held off a comeback attempt to win 6-1, 6-4 at the Paris Olympics in the second round. Monday's match was the 60th — and likely last — head-to-head matchup between the two tennis greats. Djokovic claimed 10 of the initial 11 games, with Nadal nowhere near the skilled and ever-hustling version of himself that won a record 14 French Open trophies on the same red clay at Roland Garros that is hosting Summer Games matches. Then, suddenly, the indefatigable Nadal got going, making a push to turn this contest competitive. He got to 4-all in the second set, before Djokovic took the last two games.
The men’s Olympic triathlon has been postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris’ Seine River, where the swimming portion of the race was supposed to take place. Organizers said they will try to hold the men’s triathlon Wednesday instead of Tuesday as planned. The women’s competition is also scheduled for Wednesday, but both are subject to water tests. A risk of rain through Thursday could complicate rescheduling. The decision to postpone the men’s event followed a meeting that included the sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city officials. The event is now scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m., which may make heat more of a factor.
Swimming’s next generation of stars claimed the spotlight at the Paris Olympics on Monday night, a brash group that comes from all over the globe. Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old phenom from Canada. David Popovici, a 19-year-old from Romania. Mollie O’Callaghan, a 20-year-old speedster who took down her mighty Australian teammate, Ariarne Titmus. Throw in an Italian gold medalist, and another from South Africa, and it was clear that swimming’s reach stretches far beyond the traditional powerhouse, the United States. The Americans collected some hardware on Day 3 at La Defense Arena, but only silver and bronze.
The U.S. men’s basketball team overflowed with highlights in its opening game, blowout win over Serbia. LeBron James awed with his signature one-handed dunks and celebratory flexes. Kevin Durant had a nearly perfect shooting night in his first official basketball game in weeks because of a calf strain. But just as eye-popping was that Jayson Tatum – the newly-minted highest-paid player in the NBA – and Tyrese Haliburton, who recently signed a franchise record contract himself, didn’t even play. It illustrates the embarrassment of riches for a team that says it’s still figuring out how best to utilize its talent.
American swimmers won four medals at the Olympics Monday night, but none of them gold. Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant went silver and bronze against Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh in the 400-meter individual medley. Ryan Murphy took a bronze in the 100-meter backstroke, his seventh medal over three Olympics. Luke Hobson earned a bronze of his own in the 200 freestyle.
The U.S. men's gymnastics team hopes the program's first Olympic team medal in 16 years can give the sport a boost back home. The Americans surged to bronze in the team final to give the U.S. its first team medal since Beijing in 2008. The team says their NCAA careers helped prepare them for the moment. Paul Juda says he hopes their performance will help college athletic directors see the importance of NCAA programs help fuel the U.S. Olympic team.
MLB
Aaron Judge sent a sweeper from Phillies All-Star Zack Wheeler deep into the left field seats, a first-inning homer that jolted scores of New York Yankees fans in No. 99 jerseys out of their seat in euphoria. They could have stood all game - the Yankees were about to turn the game into home run derby. Judge heard “MVP! MVP!” chants when he hit his second homer of the game in opener of a three-game series between World Series hopefuls, sending the Yankees past the Philadelphia Phillies 14-4.
Pete Alonso homered to start a six-run fourth inning and the New York Mets blew out the Minnesota Twins 15-2, turning the opener of an interleague series between playoff contenders into a lopsided laugher. Jeff McNeil and Luis Torrens each drove in three runs for the Mets, who batted around twice in three innings. Every starter had at least one RBI besides newcomer Jesse Winker, who singled and scored in his first Mets start before getting lifted in the sixth. Winker was acquired from Washington in a trade finalized Sunday morning. Jose Quintana fell behind 1-0 after five pitches but kept Minnesota off the scoreboard after that, throwing six effective innings to win his second consecutive start.
Wilyer Abreu capped a 12-pitch at-bat with an RBI single and Masataka Yoshida hit the next pitch for a two-run homer as the Boston Red Sox scored seven runs in the third inning on the way to a 14-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Yoshida also had a double among his three hits and drove in four runs. Abreu had two RBIs for Boston, which had lost seven of nine games since the All-Star break. Dominic Smith added a solo homer and two RBIs, Romy Gonzalez hit a pinch-hit two run shot and the Red Sox had a season-high eight doubles. Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh hit solo homers for the Mariners, who had a three-game winning streak halted.
Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer, Nathan Eovaldi worked six solid innings and the Texas Rangers snapped a three-game skid with a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Wyatt Langford added three hits for the Rangers, who have gone 6-5 since the All-Star break. Corey Seager, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia and Leody Taveras also drove in runs for the Rangers. Matt Carpenter homered for St. Louis, which has lost four of its last five games.
Paul Skenes allowed one earned run over six innings in a no-decision and Michael A. Taylor hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth off Josh Hader that led the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Houston Astros 6-3. Skenes lowered his ERA from 1.93 to 1.90, giving up two runs, five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. His 103 strikeouts in his first 13 starts trail only Hideo Nomo (119), Kerry Wood (118), Herb Score (107), Jose DeLeon (106), while matching Masahiro Tanaka. Skenes’ streak of starts with seven or more ended at nine.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in both games of a doubleheader, including a solo shot to center in the nightcap that helped the Toronto Blue Jays earn a split with an 8-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Guerrero went 7 for 10 in the doubleheader with five RBIs. In Game 2 Monday night, he had a homer, three doubles and three RBIs. Baltimore made three errors in the second game, leading to three unearned runs. In the opener, Zach Eflin turned in a gritty pitching performance in his Orioles debut, Anthony Santander hit his 30th home run and Baltimore cruised to an 11-5 victory. But the struggling Orioles never led in the second game and now have lost 11 of 17.
José Ramírez homered twice to give him 26 this season and had an RBI double, providing plenty of offense for Tanner Bibee and the Cleveland Guardians in an 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers. Ramirez’s second homer was No. 240 of his career, tying him with Albert Belle for second in Cleveland history behind Jim Thome’s 337. He has 25 multihomer games, one shy of the totals of Thome and Belle. Bibee kept the Tigers scoreless until they opened the seventh inning with three straight hits, including Dillon Dingler’s RBI double in his major league debut.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in both games of a doubleheader, including a solo shot to center in the nightcap that helped the Toronto Blue Jays earn a split with an 8-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Guerrero went 7 for 10 in the doubleheader with five RBIs. In Game 2 Monday night, he had a homer, three doubles and three RBIs. Baltimore made three errors in the second game, leading to three unearned runs. In the opener, Zach Eflin turned in a gritty pitching performance in his Orioles debut, Anthony Santander hit his 30th home run and Baltimore cruised to an 11-5 victory. But the struggling Orioles never led in the second game and now have lost 11 of 17.
Bobby Witt Jr.'s grand slam — and fourth hit of the game — capped Kansas City’s six-run, eighth inning rally and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5 on Monday night. Witt lofted the first pitch he saw from John Brebbia, a low slider, into the left-center stands for 19th homer and third career grand slam. Witt also singled twice and doubled as the Royals handed the major league worst White Sox a franchise-record 15th straight loss. With Kansas City trailing 5-2 entering the eight, Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez hit back-to-back solo drives off reliever Steven Wilson. Brebbia hit Adam Frazier with a pitch and issued a walk to Michael Massey before Witt connected.
Carson Spiers allowed one hit in five scoreless innings in his return from the injured list, and the Cincinnati Reds homered three times in a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Cubs reliever Nate Pearson and manager Craig Counsell were ejected in the eighth inning after Pearson hit Tyler Stephenson in the helmet, one pitch after he allowed a homer to Jeimer Candelario. TJ Friedl hit a three-run homer for the Reds and Will Benson hit a two-run shot, his career-best 12th of the season. Both came against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon, who allowed a season-high six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Willy Adames hit a three-run homer in the sixth and rookie Jackson Chourio added a two-run shot in the eighth to lift the Milwaukee Brewers past the Atlanta Braves 8-3 on Monday night. Adames’ 416-foot home run came off reliever Jesse Chavez, who took the loss. Joey Ortiz’s run-scoring triple in the seventh gave Milwaukee a three-run margin and Chourio’s homer gave the Brewers a five-run edge. Grant Holmes, a 28-year-old rookie right-hander who spent nearly 10 years in the minors before being called up in mid-June, made his first career start for the Braves. He gave up three hits and one run in five innings. He struck out eight and didn’t issue a walk.
Corbin Carroll hit a pinch-hit homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a five-run rally, and the Arizona Diamondbacks shocked the Washington Nationals with a 9-8 win on Monday night. The D-backs trailed 8-4 heading to the ninth, but Geraldo Perdomo’s RBI single brought home Alek Thomas and Ketel Marte followed with a two-run homer down the right-field line off Washington closer Kyle Finnegan. Finnegan retired Gabriel Moreno for the first out before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled up the middle. That brought up Carroll, who jumped all over a Finnegan splitter, launching the ball over the right-center fence to set off a raucous Arizona celebration.
The trade deadline is 6 p.m. tonight.
The St. Louis Cardinals added starting pitcher Erick Fedde and Milwaukee, the team they are chasing in the NL Central, acquired starter Frankie Montas. Those were among the flurry of trades Monday by playoff hopeful teams on the day before the MLB deadline. Kansas City got veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen. The NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers got hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopeck in the three-team deal that sent Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham from the lowly White Sox to the Cardinals. Houston and Seattle are in a tight race for the AL West lead, and both acquired players from Toronto. The Mariners got veteran infielder Justin Turner and the Astros added left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi.
NFL
Aaron Rodgers was downright ticked off. The New York Jets quarterback took the snap, started to drop back and ended up sprawled on the grass after one of his offensive linemen stepped on one of his feet. Rodgers shouted. He wasn’t hurt, but he was angry. Monday was the first practice in full pads and the Jets' offense was sloppy. Tight end Tyler Conklin acknowledged it was a little frustrating, but said the offense can learn from days like that. Center Joe Tippmann has been struggling with some of his shotgun snaps, something coach Robert Saleh says needs to be fixed.
The NFL has suspended Houston Texans defensive lineman Denico Autry for the first six games of the regular season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancers. Autry denied he knowingly ingested a banned substance but said he would accept the suspension. Autry is allowed to participate in preseason practices and games. His first regular-season availability will be Oct. 20 at Green Bay. Autry apologized to the Texans organization, his teammates and fans for any distraction.
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