Justin Wilson and the Mets' bullpen held on this time, rookie Pete Alonso hit his major league-leading 45th home run and New York bounced back from a brutal loss to stop the Washington Nationals 8-4, a day after a trio of Mets relievers was tagged for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in an 11-10 loss.
The Nationals lead the NL wild-card race by three games over the idle Chicago Cubs. The Mets trail the Cubs by 4 ½ games.
Aaron Judge hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to keep up his power resurgence, Gleyber Torres added his 34th home run and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 to move 43 games over .500 for the first time since 2009.
Mookie Betts homered on the first two pitches he saw, collecting four hits and five RBIs in all, and Eduardo Rodriguez allowed just five singles in seven shutout innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Reliever Michael Lorenzen hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Cincinnati Reds pulled away to an 8-5 victory that cost the Philadelphia Phillies a chance to gain ground in the wild card race. The Phillies had their three-game winning streak snapped and slipped to three games behind the idle Cubs for the final NL wild card.
In MLB news, Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will head to the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Florida, this week for batting practice, among the final steps before returning for the final weeks of an injury-wrecked season. The 29-year-old slugger has been limited to nine games with the Yankees this year. He strained his left biceps on March 31 in his third game, strained a shoulder and calf during his rehabilitation and did not return until June 18. Just a week later, he hurt his right knee.
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal has reached his 33rd Grand Slam semifinal and prevented Diego Schwartzman from making it to his first. Nadal beat Schwartzman 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to move a step closer to a fourth U.S. Open championship and 19th major title in all, which would be just one short of Roger Federer's record. Nadal will meet No. 24 Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the semifinals Friday. Matteo Berrettini advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal after nearly four exhausting hours, edging Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Belinda Bencic powered her way into her first Grand Slam semifinal, wearing down Donna Vekic for a 7-6, 6-3 victory at the U.S. Open. The No. 12 seed from Switzerland advances to face 15th-seeded Bianca Andreescu. Bianca Andreescu became the first teenager to reach the U.S. Open semifinals in a decade, beating Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
NFL
Ezekiel Elliott has a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys, just in time for the regular season. The star running back and the club agreed on a $90 million, six-year extension that will make him the NFL's highest-paid player at his position and end a holdout that lasted the entire preseason. Elliott will get $50 million guaranteed. The $15 million-per-year average on the extension surpasses the $14.4 million Todd Gurley got from the Los Angeles Rams last summer. Gurley's guarantee was $45 million. The 24-year-old has a contract that totals $103 million over the next eight seasons.
Antonio Brown says the Oakland Raiders have fined him close to $54,000 for missing a practice and walkthrough. The star receiver posted a letter on his Instagram account from general manager Mike Mayock saying that he was fined $40,000 for an unexcused absence from practice on Aug. 18 and $13,950 for skipping a walkthrough in Winnipeg on Aug. 22.
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is "ready to go" for the season opener against Tennessee after not playing in any exhibition games. Beckham sat out Cleveland's four preseason games with what the team described as a minor hip injury.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles will start the season on the injury report. The team listed Foles on its initial report Wednesday with an abdominal oblique injury — he had some soreness following training camp — but said he's expected to play in the season opener against Kansas City. The Jaguars host the Chiefs on Sunday.
The Tennessee Titans have placed kicker Ryan Succop on injured reserve and have added veteran Cairo Santos to replace him.
The Denver Broncos have partnered with Empower Retirement on a 21-year deal to name their stadium "Empower Field at Mile High." The Metropolitan Football Stadium District will meet later this week to sign off on the agreement that runs through 2039 and ends a three-year span without a title sponsor for the stadium that opened in 2001.
Bobby Dillon, the Green Bay Packers' career leader in interceptions died Aug. 22 in Temple, Texas. He was 89. Dillon was successful despite losing his left eye during his childhood. Dillon's daughter, Karen Gooch, said the cause was complications of dementia. Dillon played safety for Green Bay from 1952 to 1959, setting the franchise record for interceptions with 52, including four against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 1953. Dillon returned five interceptions for touchdowns and led the league in interception return yards in 1956 with 244. Dillon retired in 1959 after playing just one season for Vince Lombardi. At the time, his 52 interceptions ranked second on the NFL's all-time list behind Emlen Tunnell.
NHL
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman headlines the 2019 class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Bettman, former Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas, longtime NHL forward Brian Gionta, Washington youth hockey staple Neal Henderson and U.S women's star Krissy Wendell will be inducted at a ceremony December 12th. Thomas in 2011 became the second American and the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when he led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup. Gionta, a native of Rochester, New York and former captain of the Sabres, put up 595 points in 16 NHL seasons and won the Cup with New Jersey in 2003. He represented the U.S. in the 2006 and 2018 Olympics.
The Arizona Coyotes have locked up forward Clayton Keller through the 2027-28 season, signing him to an eight-year contract extension. The deal announced Wednesday has an average annual salary of $7.15 million. The 21-year-old Keller led the Coyotes in scoring last season with 14 goals and 33 assists in 82 games. He also joined Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne as the only players in franchise history to have four separate points streaks of at least six games within the first 100 games of his career.
Forward Adrian Kempe has agreed to a three-year, $6 million deal to stay with the Los Angeles Kings. Kempe is a restricted free agent who turns 23 next week. Kempe had 12 goals and 16 assists in 81 games last season for the Kings, the NHL's second lowest-scoring team with just 199 goals. The Swedish two-way center scored 37 points during the 2017-18 season, his first full NHL campaign.
NBA
An attorney for Bucks guard Sterling Brown says Milwaukee's $400,000 offer to settle Brown's lawsuit against the city over his arrest last year is insufficient because it doesn't include an admission of guilt, but, his attorney said that any settlement would have to include such an admission. Brown has 14 days to accept or decline the settlement offer. Brown contends in his lawsuit that police used excessive force and targeted him because he is black when they confronted him for parking illegally in a handicapped-accessible spot in January 2018.
GOLF
Kyle Berkshire won the World Long Drive Championship, beating two-time champion Tim Burke with a 406-yard drive at WinStar World Casino and Resort. After Burke got to 374 on his eighth and final attempt, Berkshire missed the grid on his first three shots before nailing the winner for his first world title and third tour victory of the season. South Africa's Chloe Garner won the women's title.
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