MLB
J.A. Happ allowed one soft single in seven shutout innings to win his third consecutive start since joining the New York Yankees, who beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1. The wild card-leading Yankees remained 10 games behind the runaway Red Sox in the AL East despite having the second-best record in the majors at 75-44. The series continues Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
Pinch-hitter Brock Holt hit a tiebreaking solo homer, Rick Porcello threw seven impressive innings and the major league-leading Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1. Sandy Leon also went deep for the Red Sox, who improved to 86-35. Game 2 is Wednesday at 7 p.m.
In other league action:
Ryan Braun hit two of Milwaukee's four homers, Jhoulys Chacin struck out 10 in seven innings and the Brewers cut into Chicago's NL Central lead with a 7-0 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday. Lorenzo Cain homered on Jose Quintana's second pitch. Braun hit a two-run drive in the first and third. Erik Kratz added a solo homer in the sixth and an RBI double in the eighth. Chacin allowed three hits and walked two. The right-hander is 6-1 in his past eight outings. The Brewers pulled within two games of the Cubs after dropping eight of 11 against them. Milwaukee will try for a two-game sweep on Wednesday. Quintana got tagged for five runs and six hits in five innings after dominating the Brewers over seven previous starts. Manager Joe Maddon got ejected for the second time in four games when plate umpire Phil Cuzzi called Ben Zobrist out on strikes in the sixth.
Yasiel Puig took a swing at Giants catcher Nick Hundley during a benches-clearing scrap in the seventh inning, then Alen Hanson hit an RBI single in the ninth to lift San Francisco over the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1. The fracas starter when Puig swatted his bat in frustration after fouling off a pitch from Tony Watson, and Hundley said something to the mercurial slugger. Puig walked toward Hundley, the catcher stood up, and they stood face to face and argued before Puig shoved Hundley twice.
Justin Upton had three hits, including a home run for the second straight night, and drove in three runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Upton's 26th homer of the season made it 5-1 in the fifth inning.
Ronald Acuna Jr. kept up his torrid pace with a leadoff homer and a three-run shot in the 7th inning to help the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 10-6. NL East-leading Atlanta has won 13 of 17 games.
Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Tim Beckham each homered to back a strong performance by starter Andrew Cashner, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Mets 6-3 to snap a five-game skid. Baltimore won both games against the Mets at Citi Field on June 5-6 and can complete the season sweep Wednesday. The series continues Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
Jose Ramirez hit his 36th home run and Corey Kluber extended his dominance of the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians rolled to an 8-1 win. Kluber allowed one run and five hits and struck out seven in seven innings.
Ryan LaMarre hit his first major league home run and Lucas Giolito escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam as the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-3. LaMarre, who played college baseball at Michigan, gave the White Sox a 4-3 lead in the second inning, and Giolito pitched out of trouble in the sixth inning with a 6-3 lead.
Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story each went deep, German Marquez pitched well in a clash with Justin Verlander, and the Colorado Rockies beat the slumping Houston Astros 5-1. Houston has matched a season high with five straight losses and extended its home skid to nine games, its longest of the season.
Jorge Polanco went 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs and Miguel Sano hit a two-run home run, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jake Odorizzi won for the first time in six starts for the Twins, striking out nine batters in 5 2/3 innings before yielding to the bullpen.
Paul Goldschmidt hit his 27th homer to put Arizona ahead to stay, All-Star lefty Patrick Corbin worked seven innings for his 10th victory and the NL West-leading Diamondbacks won 6-4 at Texas. Corbin struck out seven without a walk while throwing 66 of 96 pitches for strikes.
John Gant homered for his first major league hit and pitched one-run ball into the sixth inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 for their season-high seventh consecutive victory. St. Louis pulled within four games of the NL Central-leading Cubs and moved within one game of the Phillies for the second NL wild card.
Kevin Pillar hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays over the Kansas City Royals 6-5. Blaine Boyer retired his first two batters before walking Aledmys Diaz and backing Pillar into an 0-2 count. Pillar hit the next pitch over the wall down the left field line. Ken Giles worked a perfect ninth for his 14th save and second with the Blue Jays since being acquired from Houston on July 30.
In other MLB news:
The Chicago Cubs expect Yu Darvish to go on a minor league rehab assignment, assuming he experiences no setbacks after pitching a simulated game on Tuesday. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein says the Japanese right-hander is "just about ready for the next step" after throwing about 55 pitches. The Cubs will see how he feels on Wednesday. Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati on May 20. He is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in eight starts after signing a $126 million, six-year deal with the Cubs in February.
The Washington Nationals have placed reliever Ryan Madson on the 10-day disabled list with a back injury. The Nationals also promoted right-hander Trevor Gott and left-hander Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse before their game against St. Louis. Lefty Sammy Solis was sent down, and right-hander Erick Fedde was moved from the 10-day to the 60-day disabled list.
Adrian Beltre was out of the Rangers lineup a day after re-aggravating a left hamstring injury. Baseball's active career hits leader already has been on the disabled list twice this season because of hamstring issues. Manager Jeff Banister says Beltre will be re-evaluated Thursday before the opener of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Cleveland Indians have placed right-hander Trevor Bauer on the 10-day disabled list with a small stress fracture in his right leg. Bauer was struck by Jose Abreu's liner in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 3-1 win at the Chicago White Sox. He returned to Cleveland after experiencing soreness and swelling, and an MRI revealed the injury.
NFL
The Chicago Bears have signed first-round draft pick Roquan Smith after a holdout by the linebacker over his contract.
A person familiar with the situation said Smith has agreed to a four-year contract that guarantees $18.5 million and includes an $11.5 million signing bonus.
Smith was the No. 8 overall selection in April's draft after starring at Georgia. He's the final pick from this year's NFL draft class to reach an agreement. He and the Bears disagreed over whether the team would be allowed to take back guaranteed bonus money if he was suspended for disciplinary reasons, including a violation of the league's new rule preventing players from leading with their helmet.
In other NFL news:
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane tells The Associated Press no "legit evidence" has come to light in a lawsuit filed against LeSean McCoy to change the running back's status as a member of the team. Beane reiterated what he said at the start of training camp last month by saying he foresees McCoy being in the Bills lineup to start the regular season.
Free-agent wide receiver Dez Bryant is set to visit the Browns. The three-time Pro Bowler was released by Dallas in April. The Browns say he will be at their training camp Thursday. Bryant has shown interest in signing with Cleveland, and receiver Jarvis Landry said Monday the team would welcome him with "open arms."
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson says he's "very encouraged" about ongoing contract talks between his agent and the team and he hopes a deal gets done soon. Johnson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns two seasons ago but fractured his left wrist in last year's opener and missed the rest of the season.
Rookie third-round pick Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs, Pittsburgh's fourth-round selection in 2017, will see all of the playing time when the Steelers visit the Green Bay Packers for their second preseason game on Thursday.
Carson Wentz expects to participate in 11-on-11 drills next week, but it's uncertain whether he'll be ready for the season opener. The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 6. Wentz's goal since having surgery last December to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee has been to be ready for that game.
The Oakland Raiders have activated tackle Donald Penn off the physically unable to perform list. Penn took part in his first practice Tuesday since injuring his right foot in Week 15 last season. Penn had played in 174 consecutive regular-season games before the injury.
NHL
Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis has signed an eight-year deal worth $50 million that keeps under contract through the 2026-27 season.
The 27-year-old Ellis will earn $6.25 million annually starting in 2019-20. He has one year remaining on the five-year, $12.5 million contract he signed on Oct. 5, 2014.
The Predators now have three of their top four defensemen (Ellis, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm) signed through the 2021-22 season and Roman Josi signed through 2019-20.
Ellis set career highs in assists (23) and plus-minus rating (plus-26) in 2017-18 despite playing in only 44 games due to his recovery from offseason knee surgery. He didn't make his season debut until Jan. 2.
Ellis has spent his entire NHL career with the Predators.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Maryland has parted ways with its strength and conditioning coach and has acknowledged that "mistakes were made" in the treatment of offensive lineman Jordan McNair, who collapsed on the practice field and subsequently died.
Athletic director Damon Evans said Tuesday that Rick Court is no longer associated with the program. Evans added that a decision on the status of head coach DJ Durkin, who is on administrative leave, will come "as additional information comes forward."
Evans says "mistakes were made" in the treatment of McNair after he fell ill during a conditioning drill.
Evans and university President Wallace Loh met with McNair's parents on Tuesday to apologize.
SPORTS BETTING
Atlantic City's Golden Nugget casino will become the sixth in New Jersey to offer sports betting.
State Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck says he has approved the Golden Nugget to begin offering on-premises sports betting Wednesday morning.
The Golden Nugget will take its first sports bet about 90 minutes before Resorts opens its in-person sports betting operation. Resorts already offers online and mobile sports betting.
They will join the Borgata, Ocean Resort, Harrah's and Bally's casinos among sports betting providers.
The Monmouth Park and Meadowlands racetracks also offer sports betting.
Figures released Tuesday show New Jersey casinos and tracks took in $40.6 million in July, the first full month it was legal.
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