TENNIS
American singles players didn't fare too well in the main draws at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. Serena Williams was the lone exception.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has moved into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over eighth seed Karolina Pliskova. The 17th-seeded Williams fell behind a service break in the opening set before knocking off the last player to beat her at Flushing Meadows.
Williams reeled off 13 aces and won eight straight games en route to her 12th semifinal appearance at the Open.
The outcomes for Americans Sloane Stephens and John Isner weren't as positive.
Stephens never got going in a 6-2, 6-3 loss to 19th seed Anastasija Sevastova, who will take on Williams on Thursday. The third-seeded Stephens seemed to lack some of her usual sideline-to-sideline court coverage as temperatures soared over 90 degrees.
Stephens beat Sevastova in the same round last year en route to her first Grand Slam title.
The 11th-seeded Isner ended his bid to become the first American since Andy Roddick to reach the men's semifinals. He was eliminated with a 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 loss to Juan Martin del Potro
The third-seeded del Potro made only 14 unforced errors in the 3 ½-hour match compared to Isner's 52.
The last match of the day was the longest as men's top seed Rafael Nadal pulled out a 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 win over No. 9 Dominic Thiem. It was only the fourth time in 282 career Grand Slam matches that Nadal lost a set by a 6-0 score, and the first in which he rallied to win. He came within two points of victory late in the fourth set before being pushed to a fifth, where he was two points from a loss before advancing to face del Potro.
As two American stars lost in the main draw, another of the country's rising stars was on display. Top-seeded junior Cori "Coco" Gauff won her second round match in straight sets before juniors matches were suspended because of the heat.
MLB
The Colorado Rockies are spending one more day atop the NL West standings following their fourth straight win.
Carlos Gonzalez lined a bases-loaded triple in a five-run seventh that sent the Rockies past the Giants, 6-2 in Denver. Ryan McMahon sparked the seventh-inning rally with a tying homer and Gonzalez scored the final run when Gerardo Parra worked out a bases-loaded walk.
David Dahl also homered and German Marquez struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings for the Rockies.
Colorado continues to lead the division by a half-game over the Dodgers and 1 ½ games over the Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers spotted the Mets a 4-0 lead before Austin Barnes and David Freese homered to power Los Angeles to an 11-4 rout. Barnes finished with three RBIs and Freese drove in two to help the Dodgers overcome two-run blasts by Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto. Manny Machado and Kike Hernandez each had two hits and an RBI for Los Angeles. The series continues Wednesday at 7:35 p.m.
The Diamondbacks' four-game losing streak is over after Robbie Ray struck out 10 while yielding only two hits over 6 1/3 innings of a 6-0 shutout of the Padres. Nick Ahmed tripled home the game's first run in the second before scoring on Ketel Marte's sacrifice fly. Pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso, A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt added RBI singles in a four-run seventh that secured the victory.
Checking out Tuesday's other major league action:
The Brewers hammered the Cubs, 11-1 behind Wade Miley, who limited the NL Central leaders to a run and three hits over six innings. Jonathan Schoop drove in three runs, Christian Yelich hit a two-run double and Jesus Aguilar added two ribbies as Milwaukee beat Chicago for the second straight day. The Brewers are within three games of the Cubs and still lead the Cardinals by 1 ½ games for the first NL wild card.
Yadier Molina hit a grand slam and Marcell Ozuna homered twice as the Cardinals outscored the Nationals' 11-8. Molina's sixth-career grand slam put St. Louis ahead 11-5 in the ninth. Paul DeJong and Patrick Wisdom also went deep as the Redbirds stopped a three-game skid.
Asdrubal Cabrera and Cesar Hernandez drove in three runs apiece and Jake Arrieta worked into the eighth inning of the Phillies' 9-4 trouncing of the Marlins. Hernandez delivered a bases-loaded triple for the Phils, who also got home runs from Cabrera and Carlos Santana. Jake Arrieta fanned 11 and allowed four runs over 7 1/3 innings as Philadelphia climbed within three games of the NL East-leading Braves.
Atlanta lost to Boston for the second straight day as Steve Pearce provided three hits and three RBIs in the Red Sox's 5-1 victory over the Braves. Rick Porcello limited Atlanta to a run and two hits over five innings to improve to 10-3 on the road this season. Porcello improved to 16-7 and blanked the Braves following Kurt Suzuki's second-inning homer. The pair face off again Wednesday at 12:10 p.m.
The Yankees' 5-1 win at Oakland keeps New York 8 ½ games behind the AL East-leading Red Sox and drops the Athletics 3 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West. Luke Voit homered for the second straight day to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth. Adeiny Hechevarria also homered and Aaron Hicks had two RBIs as the Bombers stopped a two-game skid. The series continues Wednesday at 10:05 p.m.
Yuli Gurriel's two-run homer capped a four-run first in the Astros' 5-2 verdict over the Twins. Alex Bregman added a pair of RBI doubles and Justin Verlander was reached for just one run and three hits over seven innings of his 14th win. Houston has won four straight and 11 of 14 since a 2-8 slide.
The Mariners' 5-3 loss to the Orioles puts Seattle 5 ½ games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card. Robinson Cano's first-inning, solo homer held up for the Mariners until Renato Nunez went deep to spark Baltimore's four-run seventh. Alex Cobb gave up a run and four hits over six innings to improve to 5-15.
Yandy Diaz was 3-for-4 with a solo homer and an RBI triple as the Indians roughed up the Royals, 9-3 to reduce their magic number to 10 for winning the AL Central. Francisco Lindor slammed his 31st home run and Jason Kipnis added a pair of run-scoring singles to help Cleveland stop a three-game skid. Mike Clevinger struck out 10 and held Kansas City to one run and three hits over six innings.
Seven pitchers combined on a three-hitter in the Rays' 4-0 shutout of the Blue Jays. The Rays broke it open with a three-run seventh as Ji-Man Choi hit an RBI double and scored on Tommy Pham's triple. Tampa Bay is a season-high 13 games over .500 following its 13th win in 15 games.
The Pirates were 7-3 winners over the Reds as Starling Marte belted a two-run homer and Gregory Polanco doubled home a pair. Joe Musgrove struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings and blanked Cincinnati until Scooter Gennett homered in the seventh. Gennett also hit a solo shot one inning later, but the Reds lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre smacked fourth-inning homers and Nomar Mazara added a two-run double in the fifth as the Rangers doubled up the Angels, 4-2. Mike Minor is 11-7 after allowing two runs and three hits over five-plus innings, including Shohei Ohtani's, 16th home run of the year.
Grayson Grenier and Dawel Lugo laced two-run doubles while the Tigers scored five times in the second inning of an 8-3 rout of the White Sox. Greiner had three RBIs and Mikie Mahtook capped the scoring with a two-run blast in the eighth. Francisco Liriano gave up two earned runs over five innings for his fourth win in 13 decisions.
Puig loses appeal:
Dodgers’ outfielder Yasiel Puig began his two-game suspension on Tuesday after losing his appeal.
Puig was involved in an altercation with San Francisco's Nick Hundley during an Aug. 14 game, taking an open-handed swipe at the catcher's mask. He is eligible to return for Friday's series opener at Colorado.
Elsewhere in the majors:
A brawl involving several players broke out in the Mariners' clubhouse before Tuesday's game at Safeco Field. Shortstop Jean Segura, catcher Mike Zunino and other players were involved in the skirmish, which began moments after center fielder Dee Gordon politely asked reporters to leave the clubhouse.
White Sox All-Star first baseman Jose Abreu says doctors performed emergency surgery last month to correct a groin condition. Abreu says he had testicle torsion and underwent a procedure on Aug. 21.
Ryan Howard has officially retired nearly two years after he last played in the majors with the Phillies. The 2006 NL MVP spent 13 seasons with the Phillies and helped them win five division titles and the 2008 World Series. He hit 382 homers and had 1,194 RBIs with a .258 career average.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
There's been some movement within The Associated Press college football poll, but the top three teams remain the same.
Alabama remains No. 1 as the Crimson Tide picked up 48 of 61 first-place votes following their 51-14 blowout of Louisville. Second-ranked Clemson claimed 12 first-place votes, while Georgia held at No. 3.
Ohio State moved up a notch to fourth, just ahead of Big Ten rival Wisconsin. Oklahoma, Auburn, Notre Dame, Washington and Stanford round out the top 10.
The Fighting Irish went up four spots following its convincing win over Michigan.
LSU climbed from 25th to 11th with its 33-17 win over Miami, which plummeted from eighth to 22nd.
Texas and Florida State fell out of the poll, replaced by No. 24 South Carolina and No. 25 Florida.
NBA
The Indiana Pacers have signed coach Nate McMillan to a multi-year contract extension.
McMillan is 90-74 in two years as head coach after serving as the associate head coach for three seasons under Frank Vogel. He finished sixth in Coach of the Year balloting after the Pacers surprised nearly everyone in earning the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48-34 record last season. Indiana took the Cavaliers to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals before falling.
NFL
Julio Jones did not take a snap in preseason and the two-time All-Pro receiver is not the least bit concerned.
When the Atlanta Falcons visit Philadelphia to open the NFL schedule on Thursday night, Jones says he will be fully healthy to face the defending champions.
After playing through a hip flexor, a back injury and an ankle injury last year, Jones says he feels better than he has to begin a season since 2015, the breakthrough year that stands as his best statistically.
In other NFL news:
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says the offense will be just fine with second-year running back James Conner if All-Pro Le'Veon Bell doesn't sign his one-year franchise tender in time for the season opener in Cleveland.
The Chiefs have signed backup offensive lineman Cam Erving to a two-year contract extension, one year after acquiring the former first-round draft pick in a trade with Cleveland.
Nike's stock is down more than two percent following an announcement that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has a new deal with the athletic clothing and footwear maker. The deal was a trending topic on Twitter and other social networks, with some fans urging a boycott of the company's clothes and sneakers.
President Donald Trump says Nike is sending a "terrible message" by making Kaepernick part of a new ad campaign tied to the 30th anniversary of its "Just Do It" series. Trump told The Daily Caller that "there's no reason for it," but he also feels Nike's ability to make its own business decisions "is what this country is all about."
GOLF
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau have been selected as three of Jim Furyk's four captain's picks for the Ryder Cup later this month.
Woods returns to the Cup as a player for the first time in six years, while Mickelson will make a record 12th straight appearance in the event. DeChambeau has won the first two FedEx Cup playoff events to rise to No. 7 in the world.
Furyk's final captain's pick will be announced Monday after the BMW Championship.
USA GYMNASTICS
Kerry Perry has resigned as president of USA Gymnastics, days after the United States Olympic Committee questioned the direction of the organization under her leadership.
Perry has struggled to outline a clear path forward during her nine months on the job. She repeatedly came under scrutiny by athletes who felt she was mishandling the fallout from the abuse scandal surrounding disgraced former team doctor Larry Nassar.
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