MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, the Yankees topped Boston 13-8, Toronto bested Cleveland 5-1 to remain atop the AL East by 1 ½ games over New York. Minnesota blanked the White Sox 3-0, Baltimore edged Tampa Bay 7-6 in 11 innings, the Angels won against Oakland 9-4, Kansas City bested Detroit 12-1, and it was Seattle over Houston 8-3.
In the National League, the Mets beat Philadelphia 9-4 to maintain their 6 ½ game lead over the Nationals who beat St. Louis 4-3, Milwaukee defeated Pittsburgh 9-4, Colorado won against Arizona 9-4, the Dodgers beat San Francisco 2-1, Cincinnati trumped the Cubs 7-4, and it was Miami over Atlanta 7-3.
In interleague play, Texas beat San Diego 4-3 in 10 innings.
The NL East-leading New York Mets confirmed that starter Noah Syndergaard will be skipped this weekend in Miami when fellow rookie Steven Matz returns from injury. Mets manager Terry Collins also acknowledged ace Matt Harvey will likely be passed over once more in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
The Boston City Council has approved a ban on chewing tobacco and other smokeless tobacco products at Fenway Park and other Boston sports venues. Council members yesterday unanimously approved the ban proposed by Mayor Marty Walsh this summer. It also had the backing of the Boston Red Sox and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a mouth cancer survivor.
A fan who was injured at Fenway Park while trying to catch a foul ball was expected to be released from a hospital last night. The man flipped backward over a railing in the lower box seats and landed on a concrete walkway during an afternoon game between the Red Sox and New York Yankees. Emergency medical personnel at the stadium treated him for a possible concussion and he was taken away on a stretcher.
A deal has been reached to replace the Connecticut minor league baseball team that New Britain is losing to Hartford with a franchise from the independent Atlantic League. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart and the league announced a tentative deal this week that would put an expansion team in New Britain or relocate an existing franchise from the eight-team league to the city for the 2016 season.
Tennis:
Novak Djokovic, the top seed at the U.S. Open, took some time to get going last night at the U.S. Open, splitting the opening eight games. Then he reeled off 14 of the remaining 17 in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over 52nd-ranked Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria to reach the third round.
Top seed Serena Williams is into the third round of the U.S. Open but it was hardly a masterpiece. The defending champ bested Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-6, 6-3, overcoming 10 double faults and two dozen other unforced errors. Afterward, she said she was a "little tight" about the match.
Williams is looking to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four majors in one year. Sister Venus Williams moved closer to the tournament's second week by beating Irina Falconi 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 in an all-American second-round matchup.
American Madison Keys has reached the third round at the U.S. Open for the first time, beating Tereza Smitkova 6-1, 6-2. The 19th seed has now advanced to at least the third round at every major this year.
The Bryan brothers will go a year without winning a Grand Slam title for the first time in more than a decade. The top-seeded twins were upset by fellow Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3 in the first round of men's doubles.
NCAA:
Quarterback Trevone Boykin and his buddies at TCU have grown tired of hearing about last season, when the Horned Frogs shared the Big 12 title but were left out of the first College Football Playoff. The second-ranked Horned Frogs finally get to start fresh with an early opener as they are at Minnesota tonight with their highest preseason ranking ever.
Two other teams ranked in The Associated Press Top-25 preseason poll are in action tonight as well. No. 16 Georgia Tech is home to Alcorn State and No. 22 Arizona hosts Texas-San Antonio.
NFL:
In NFL preseason play, the Giants are in New England at 7:30 tonight, Buffalo is in Detroit at 7:30, and Philadelphia is in the Meadowlands tonight at 7:00 to take on the Jets.
The wife of Washington Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan has apologized for "disparaging" and "unfounded" comments on her Twitter account about an ESPN reporter. The Redskins issued a statement on behalf of Jessica McCloughan last night in which she acknowledged making the remarks, which said the reporter exchanged sexual favors for information.
The New York Giants have re-signed place-kicker Chris Boswell. New York made the move because veteran Josh Brown bruised his leg two weeks ago when he made a tackle against Jacksonville. Boswell was in the Giants' training camp until being waived on Aug. 16.
Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips has been charged with murder in the death of his cellmate at a Central California prison. Phillips is in prison for choking his girlfriend and driving a car into three teens after a pickup football game. He is suspected of strangling 37-year-old Damion Soward at Kern Valley State Prison in April. Phillips was once one of the nation's top college football players at Nebraska. He played for the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers during a three-year NFL career.
NHL:
New Jersey Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador has retired after nearly 800 games in 14 NHL seasons. Salvador was a captain for the Devils the past three seasons but missed most all but 15 games last season with a back injury. He finishes his career with 24 goals and 86 assists in 786 games split between the Devils and the St. Louis Blues.
Horse Racing:
Alto Racing's Azar rallied to beat Next Shares by three-quarters of a length Wednesday in the Grade 2 $200,000 With Anticipation for 2-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course.
Ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Azar raced to his first victory in three career starts, saving ground running third on the inside before swinging outside in the stretch and passing Next Shares.
The Todd Pletcher-trained Azar ran 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf course in 1:41.68 and paid $24.40, $9.40 and $5.20. Next Shares returned $13.20 and $6.90, and Unbridled Daddy paid $2.80 to show.
The owner of American Pharoah says a decision whether to keep racing his Triple Crown winner or retire him to stud could be announced as early as this morning.
In a Twitter post Wednesday, owner Ahmed Zayat tweeted he and trainer Bob Baffert recently had a four-hour meeting and "analyzed every aspect of AP future" and "I learned a lot will get it one more day."
After American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, the 3-year-old colt easily won the Haskell Invitational in New Jersey on Aug. 2. In the Travers on Saturday, he was passed in the stretch by Keen Ice and finished second, a result that had Zayat wondering about retirement rather than a planned final race in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Oct. 31.
After the Travers, Zayat said his "gut feeling right now, without being outspoken, is to retire."
Schools Athletic League NYC:
An expansion of New York City's Public Schools Athletic League will emphasize girls' teams and new teams at small schools.
Chancellor Carmen Farina said Wednesday that about 220 new teams will be added in the 2015-2016 school year. They'll provide athletic opportunities for an additional 3,000 high school students.
The city's Department of Education says studies have shown that students who play high school sports have better educational outcomes, including higher grades and standardized test scores.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says physical activity may help students improve their concentration and focus in the classroom.
It also says sports helps adolescents strengthen muscles and bones, and reduces the risk of developing obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
WNBA:
In the WNBA playoffs, Phoenix topped Washington 73-53.
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