The Philadelphia Phillies were back in action after a week-long hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak in baseball. They ran into a buzz saw on Monday as the New York Yankees rolled to their seventh consecutive win, 6-3.
The Phillies were able to end Aaron Judge's career-high home run streak at five games, but the Yankees still hit three to take a 6-1 lead. Gio Urshela belted a three-run shot for the Bombers, who also received home runs from DJ LeMahieu and Brett Gardner. That was enough offense for Gerrit Cole as he won his 19th consecutive regular-season decision. Cole allowed one run and five hits over six innings for his second win as a Yankee, helping his new team improve to a major league-best 8-1. Jay Bruce homered for the Phillies.
Tuesday's game between the Yankees and visiting Phillies has been postponed because of the approach of Tropical Storm Isaisas. The game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Wednesday in Philadelphia, where the teams had been scheduled to play single games Wednesday and Thursday.
In other MLB action:
Jacob deGrom notched his first win of the season by striking out 10 while allowing two runs over six innings of the Mets' 7-2 win over the Braves. DeGrom received support from batterymate Wilson Ramos, who belted a two-run homer that put New York ahead, 7-0. Ramos and Robinson Cano each finished with three RBIs as the Mets ended a five-game skid and stopped the Braves' five-game winning streak.
Kris Bryant homered in his return to the lineup and Alec Mills pitched seven effective innings to lead the Cubs to their fourth straight win, 2-0 over the Royals. Bryant also doubled in the first after missing two games with a stomach ailment. Javier Báez had a sacrifice fly and a nice play in the field as Chicago improved to 8-2 for the first time since its 2016 title run.
Jake Cronenworth singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning to carry the Padres past the Dodgers, 5-4. Trent Grisham, Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr. homered off Walker Buehler to help Chris Paddack beat Los Angeles for the first time. Paddack allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.
Nolan Arenado slammed his first homer of the season to ignite a five-run sixth in the Rockies' 7-6 win versus the Giants. Colorado trailed 4-1 until Arenado furnished a two-run blast. The Rockies have tied their best nine-game start at 7-2.
The Twins earned their fourth straight win by downing the Pirates, 5-4 on an RBI double by Nelson Cruz in the bottom of the ninth. Cruz knocked in two runs to raise his season total to 14 RBIs. Pittsburgh dropped its fifth in a row and owns the majors' worst record at 2-8.
The White Sox picked up their fifth win in a row by scoring four times over the last three innings of a 6-4 win at Milwaukee, spoiling the Brewers' belated home opener. José Abreu (ah-BRAY'-oo) smacked a tying, two-run homer in the seventh, Leury García scored on a wild pitch in the eighth and Yoan Moncada added a solo shot in the ninth. Avisaíl García doubled, singled and drove in three for the Brewers.
Ramón Laureano and Chad Pinder both had two-run singles while the Athletics erupted for eight runs with two out in the fifth inning of an 11-1 laugher against the Mariners. Winning pitcher Frankie Montas cruised through seven innings, giving up four hits and struck out nine. Seattle's only run came on Kyle Seager's two-out double in the third inning.
Joey Votto hit a two-run, go-ahead homer and Nick Castellanos also connected to power the Reds to a 3-2 victory against the Indians. Sonny Gray worked six innings despite allowed runs in each of the first two frames. Cincinnati ended a six-game home losing streak against their in-state rival.
In MLB news:
Seven St. Louis Cardinals players and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, causing Major League Baseball to postpone the team's four-game series at Detroit. The series was to have been played at Comerica Park from Tuesday through Thursday. St. Louis has been in quarantine since Thursday in Milwaukee, where the Cardinals' series last weekend was postponed, and the team is being tested daily. The Cardinals are the second team sidelined by the novel coronavirus since the season started July 23. The Miami Marlins are set to resume play Tuesday in Baltimore.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter blames the team's coronavirus outbreak on a collective false sense of security that made players lax about social distancing and wearing masks. Infected were 21 members of the team's traveling party, including at least 18 players. Jeter says none is seriously ill, and he expects all to return this season.
Braves ace Mike Soroka is out for the season after tearing his right Achilles tendon in Monday's loss to the Mets. Soroka broke toward first base to cover the bag after a grounder to Freddie Freeman, only to go down on his first step off the mound. He yelled in obvious pain and tried to walk gingerly for a couple of steps before dropping to his knees.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell says bench coach Pat Murphy has been released from the hospital after suffering a heart attack during a team workout Saturday. Milwaukee doesn't plan to bring in an additional staff member while Murphy recovers.
Indians manager Terry Francona will not be with the club for its series opener in Cincinnati as he deals with a gastrointestinal issue. Francona was scheduled for an exam at the Cleveland Clinic to address his condition. Coach Sandy Alomar Jr. is running the team in Francona's absence.
NHL
The Carolina Hurricanes couldn't beat the New York Rangers during the NHL regular season, but they find themselves up two-games-to-none in their best-of-5 qualifying series. Andrei Svechnikov recorded the first playoff hat trick in franchise history to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-1 verdict over the Blueshirts. The game was tied 1-1 until he and Jordan Martinook tallied 71 seconds apart early in the second period. Svechnikov got his third goal of the day on a sweet two-one-one breakaway with 5:58 remaining. Petr Mrazek stopped 23 shots for the Hurricanes, who can complete a sweep Tuesday in Toronto.
In other NHL action:
Nikita Kucherov scored the shootout winner in the Lightning's 3-2 win against the Capitals in Eastern Conference round-robin play. Kucherov also scored in regulation, opening the scoring 12:53 into the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped two of the three Capitals players he faced in the shootout after making 31 saves in regulation and overtime.
The Penguins evened their qualifying series at a game apiece on goals by Sidney Crosby, Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel in a 3-1 decision over the Canadiens. Zucker scored with about five minutes left to give Pittsburgh a two-goal cushion. Matt Murray stopped 26 shots and blanked Montreal until Jesperi Kotkaniemi beat him with 2:09 left.
Connor McDavid's hat trick was the difference in the Oilers' 6-3 win over the Blackhawks, evening the qualifying series at a game apiece. McDavid opened the scoring just 19 seconds in and added another goal less than four minutes later. Alex Chiasson added a goal and an assist for Edmonton.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored a third-period power-play goal to give the Winnipeg Jets a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Adam Lowry led the Jets with a goal and an assist as the Jets evened the NHL qualifying series at a game apiece. Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves for the win.
Will Carrier scored the tiebreaker with 5:12 left as the Golden Knights beat the Stars, 5-3 in Western Conference round-robin play. Dallas led 3-1 in the third period until Vegas scored three times in 5:02 to take control. Chandler Stephenson, Mark Stone, Nate Schmidt and William Karlsson also scored for the Knights, and Robin Lehner handled 24 shots.
NBA
The Toronto Raptors have opened their NBA restart schedule with back-to-back wins over division leaders. Fred VanVleet poured in a career-high 36 points and the defending champions followed their win over the Los Angeles Lakers by downing the Miami Heat, 107-103. He finished 7 of 12 from 3-point range and was a perfect 13 of 13 from the line. Pascal Siakam added 22 points and Kyle Lowry had 14 with eight rebounds for Atlantic Division leaders. Goran Dragic had 25 points for the Heat.
Also around the NBA:
Shake Milton drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds remaining to push the 76ers past the Spurs, 132-130. Joel Embiid had 27 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, finishing the scoring with a free throw with 0.4 seconds to play. The Sixers opened a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, then recovered after falling behind by four in the final minute.
T.J. Warren followed his career-high 53-point performance by providing 34 in the Pacers' 111-100 victory over the Wizards. Warren had 16 points in the third quarter to spark a 22-2 run after Washington had fought back into the game.
The Lakers clinched the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs as Anthony Davis contributed 42 points and 12 rebounds in a 116-108 downing of the Jazz. Davis' final basket resulted in a 4-point play with 42 seconds left, as he sank a 3-pointer while getting fouled by Rudy Gobert and made the ensuing free throw to give the Los Angeles a 114-104 lead. LeBron James scored 22 points for the Lakers, wile Donovan Mitchell was high man for Utah with 33 points.
Michael Porter Jr. contributed a career-high 37 points and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double to help the Nuggets top the Thunder, 121-113 in overtime. Jokic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to help Denver strengthen its hold on third place in the Western Conference standings.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and the Pelicans got a much-needed 109-99 victory over the Grizzlies. Zion Williamson had 23 points, seven rebounds and tied a career high with five assists in his most extensive playing time since returning to the NBA bubble.
NFL
The Raiders will play their first season in Las Vegas without any fans at their home games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team sent a letter to season ticket holders saying that after discussions with health care officials and local leaders, the decision was made not to allow fans. Both the New York Jets and Giants previously announced they would play without fans this season. Most other teams are hoping to be able to have at least limited crowds.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
Eagles coach Doug Pederson says he feels great and has no symptoms after testing positive for the coronavirus. Pederson is quarantining at home away from family members. He plans to run the team virtually while assistant head coach Duce Staley handles leadership duties during training camp. Pederson didn't want to comment on how he contracted the virus but is comfortable with the safety measures at the team's practice facility.
Broncos right tackle Ja'Wuan James has decided to skip the 2020 season over concerns about the coronavirus. James says he already has one family member who was infected by the virus and he doesn't want to risk bringing the virus home to his wife and newborn son.
Panthers linebacker Christian Miller has informed the team he has opted out of the 2020 season. The 2019 fourth-round pick out of Alabama played in seven games last year.
Browns star wide receiver Odell Beckham has fully participated in the early stages of Cleveland's training camp. This comes after he expressed reservations whether the NFL should forge ahead and have a season with the coronavirus still spreading.
The Falcons have signed former Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard. A first-round pick by the Bengals in 2014, Dennard has made 24 starts in 77 games.
XFL
Former wrestling star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson says he has acquired the XFL. The 48-year-old actor made the announcement on Twitter. Reportedly the price is $15 million. The XFL had eight franchises and played five games out of a planned 10-game schedule before canceling the remainder of its season in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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