Asdrúbal Cabrera hit the last of Washington's four home runs and drove in five runs, and three relievers combined for 6 2/3 innings of one-hit ball as the Nationals thumped the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-0. The Nationals have scored 79 runs in their last eight games while going 7-1. They've scored 43 times in their past three, including a 15-14 loss.
In MLB news, Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale is receiving treatment for inflammation in his elbow that will shut him down for the rest of the regular season, another blow to the defending World Series champions whose postseason hopes appear all but dashed. Orthopedist Dr. James Andrews gave Sale an injection of platelet-rich plasma on Monday and said he will be re-evaluated in six weeks. Looking beyond this frustrating season, the treatment could be good news for the club, which feared Sale might need Tommy John surgery. That would likely have cost him the 2020 season. Boston was off Monday and was 6½ games out of a wild card spot. Sale signed a six-year, $160 million contract in March that includes $50 million in deferred money.
Al Jackson, a member of the original New York Mets, has died at 83. Jackson was a tough left-hander who provided a rare glint of hope in the early days of the woebegone expansion team. He worked for the Mets for 50 years in a variety of jobs. The team says it would be "impossible to calculate" the number of people he influenced. Jackson won 13 games for the 1963 Mets and for his 10-year career went 67-99. He died Monday at a nursing home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, after a long illness.
Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer is expected to come off the injured list to start Thursday against Pittsburgh. The three-time Cy Young Award winner had a bullpen session Monday. Scherzer has been on the injured list for most of the past six weeks because of a strained muscle in his back. Scherzer is 9-5 with a 2.41 ERA in 20 starts. His 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings leads the NL.
The Braves have claimed outfielder Billy Hamilton off waivers from the Kansas City Royals to bolster their injury-plagued roster. The 28-year-old Hamilton is a five-time Gold Glove finalist and switch-hitter who gives Atlanta some defensive options and speed off the bench. He played in 93 games for the Royals, hitting .211 with 18 stolen bases.
NFL
Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders had a better return to action than 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco's 24-15 preseason win at Denver on Monday night. Broncos rookie QB Drew Lock injured his right thumb when he was sacked on the first series of the second half, cutting short his most significant action of the preseason in his quest to win the backup job behind starter Joe Flacco. Sanders caught a 5-yard pass from Flacco on the Broncos' first offensive play and added a 19-yard run on a reverse in his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in practice last December. (He also hauled in a 45-yard reception that was erased by left tackle Garett Bolles' holding penalty.) Garoppolo went just 1 for 6 for zero yards and an interception in his first game since suffering a season-ending knee injury last September.
In NFL news, the New England Patriots have placed receiver Josh Gordon on the non-football injury list while he gets back into shape following his suspension. The move comes after the NFL conditionally lifted the suspension. Gordon was suspended indefinitely in December for violations of the league's substance abuse policy.
The Buffalo Bills have reached an injury settlement and released cornerback E.J. Gaines. The move comes two weeks after the fifth-year player suffered a core muscle injury during training camp. Gaines was competing for a starting job opposite Tre'Davious White.
Aaron Rodgers is participating in practice and is expected to play in the Packers' third preseason game against the Oakland Raiders in Canada. Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst said Monday the plan is for the two-time MVP to make his preseason debut Thursday night in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Rodgers sat out the Packers' second preseason game in Baltimore and was sidelined during practice Sunday with back tightness. Rodgers, along with 25 other teammates, did not dress for the first preseason game against Houston. Thursday will mark the third time the Packers have played a preseason game outside the United States.
Star receiver Antonio Brown has returned to training camp with the Oakland Raiders a day after being given an ultimatum by general manager Mike Mayock to be "all in or all out." Brown didn't attend practice Sunday as he works to find a helmet that he's comfortable using and that meets safety standards set by the NFL and NFLPA.
Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills is objecting to recent comments from rapper Jay-Z about social activism by current and former NFL players, including Colin Kaepernick. Jay-Z and the league last week announced a partnership he characterized as a progressive step to carry on the campaign that Kaepernick began by kneeling during the national anthem to bring attention to police brutality and racial division. Stills isn't so sure the Jay-Z partnership represents progress.
Jim Hardy, the oldest living University of Southern California and Los Angeles Rams football player who was the MVP of the 1945 Rose Bowl, has died. He was 96. The university said he died Aug. 16 of natural causes at his home in the desert city of La Quinta. Hardy played seven seasons in the NFL.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Cross off another milestone for Clemson, college football's newest superpower. For the first time, the defending national champion Tigers are No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 presented by Regions Bank. Clemson won its second national title in three seasons behind freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence to claim equal standing with Alabama at the top of the sport. The Crimson Tide, coming off a 44-16 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship, is No. 2. Clemson received 52 first-place votes and Alabama received the other 10. Clemson snaps a record-tying string of three straight years in which Alabama was the preseason No. 1. Georgia, Alabama's Southeastern Conference rival, is No. 3, followed by No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Ohio State.
No. 4 Oklahoma has named Jalen Hurts its starting quarterback for the Sept. 1 season opener against Houston. Hurts played in three national championship games for Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide win the 2017 national title. He transferred to Oklahoma in January.
Wisconsin football officials say they don't have any information on when reinstated receiver Quintez Cephus might rejoin the team. The school reinstated Cephus after he was acquitted of sexual assault charges, but his attorney says the school has upheld a sexual harassment violation against him. Two women had accused him of assaulting them both in one night in April 2018. Cephus was expelled earlier this year ahead of his trial. The school said new information had come to light but some violations of the university's nonacademic misconduct policy were upheld. The statement didn't elaborate.
NBA
The Atlanta Hawks have given general manager Travis Schlenk an extra title: president of basketball operations. Owner Tony Ressler announced the promotion on Monday, saying he is "extremely pleased with the direction that Travis and our entire basketball operations team has us heading as a franchise." As he goes into his third year with the Hawks, Schlenk has totally overhauled the roster and assembled an impressive core of young players through the draft, including Trae Young, John Collins and incoming first-round picks De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish. The Hawks have endured two straight losing seasons but Ressler says the massive rebuilding job has provided "the cap space, draft picks and financial flexibility needed to have long-term success in the NBA."
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry is helping Howard University launch a Division I golf program. The Golden State Warriors star guard and the school announced the six-year partnership Monday. The specifics of his contribution were not disclosed. Howard officials say they plan to have women's and men's golf teams for the 2020-21 academic year. The school had a Division II golf program in the past, along with intercollegiate and intramural club teams. The 31-year-old Curry, who has won three NBA championships with the Warriors, says he decided to get involved after meeting a Howard student who had been trying to get the university to have a golf team. Curry says "it's tough" to hear about students "who have the talent but don't have a fair shot at the game."
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