WAMC Sports News: Yankees' Pitcher Germán First To Win 16

(AP)  Domingo Germán became the season’s first 16-game winner by working the first seven innings of the Yankees’ 8-3 rout of the Orioles. Germán allowed two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts in winning his seventh consecutive decision. DJ LeMahieu  homered on the first pitch he saw and Aaron Judge added a two-run double in New York’s 16th straight win over Baltimore.

_ The Minnesota Twins are back atop the AL Central by a half-game over Cleveland following a comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Marwin Gonzalez smacked a three-run home run off of Josh Hader in the eighth inning to propel the Twins past the Brewers, 7-5. Gonzalez emerged as the hero after Yasmani Grandal’s (yahs-MAH’-nee grahn-DAHLZ’) three-run blast put Milwaukee up 5-4 in the seventh.

Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich (YEH’-lihch) had an RBI double in the seventh after staying out of the starting lineup for five straight games because of a back injury. But Hader recorded his fifth blown save to prevent Milwaukee from inching closer to the NL Central lead.

Jackie Bradley Jr. did the Twins a favor by belting a home run with one out in the 10th inning to send the Red Sox past the Indians, 7-6. Rafael Devers (DEH’-vurz) went 6-for-6 with four doubles and three RBIs, but he also made a costly error at third base while Boston was blowing a 6-1 lead. Red Sox lefty Chris Sale became the fastest pitcher in major league history to record 2,000 career strikeouts, passing the mark set by former Boston ace Pedro Martinez.

The Cardinals now find themselves within a one game of the NL Central-leading Cubs and 2 ½ games ahead of the third-place Brewers after Jack Flaherty tossed three-hit ball over seven innings to carry St. Louis past Kansas City, 2-0. Flaherty has allowed 20 hits with 50 strikeouts and 0.70 ERA since the All-Star break to help the Redbirds challenge for the division crown.

Paul Goldschmidt lifted a sacrifice fly and Tommy Edman added an RBI single for the game’s only runs.

The Cubs absorbed a 4-2 loss to the Phillies as J.T. Realmuto (ree-al-MOO’-toh) homered and doubled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning. Jason Vargas allowed two runs and five hits over six frames before the Philadelphia bullpen shut the door. Cubs starter Jose Quintana had a career-best 14 strikeouts while allowing one earned run and five hits over six innings.

Elsewhere on major league diamonds:

_ Ronald Acuña (ah-KOON’-yah) Jr. homered, scored his 100th run of the season and threw out a runner at the plate from left field as the Braves downed the Mets, 5-3 to maintain their six-game lead over Washington atop the NL East. Max Fried (freed) is 14-4 following his fifth consecutive win, limiting the Mets to one run and five hits over six innings. New York has dropped two straight since a 15-1 stretch.

_ Brian Dozier and Juan Soto homered in their returns to the lineup as the Nationals downed the Reds, 3-1. Joe Ross extended his scoreless streak to 17 1/3 innings before José Iglesias hit an RBI single to end Ross’ day. Ross allowed one run and five hits in his 6 2/3 innings of Washington’s third straight win.

_ Will Smith belted two of the Dodgers’ six home runs in a 15-1 mauling of the Marlins. Corey Seager and Smith crushed back-to-back blasts in the fourth, three innings before Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger hit consecutive homers. They were Bellinger’s 39th home run of the season and Turner’s 20th for the runaway leaders of the NL West.

_ Jarrod Dyson homered on the second pitch of the game to spark a five-run first in the Diamondbacks’ 9-3 pounding of the Rockies. Nick Ahmed (AH’-mehd) and David Peralta (peh-RAHL’-tah) added two-run homers off Jeff Hoffman, who was making an emergency start following Jon Gray's late scratch due to left ankle soreness. Ahmed finished a double shy of the cycle in sending the Diamondbacks to their fifth straight win over Colorado.

_ Josh Bell slammed his 31st home run and drove in three as the Pirates topped the Angels, 10-7. Bryan Reynolds was 3-for-4 with a solo blast and three runs scored as part of Pittsburgh’s 17-hit attack. Adam Frazier and Starling Marte (mahr-TAY’) also had three hits apiece for the Bucs.

_ Ji-Man Choi’s two-run shot ignited the Rays’ three-run seventh in a 7-5 comeback win over the Padres. Austin Meadows added a solo homer and two RBIs for Tampa Bay, which trailed 4-1 after one inning. The Rays moved three games ahead of Oakland for the second AL wild card by rallying after Luis Urias (YOO’-ree-uhs) laced a three-run double.

_ George Springer and José Altuve (al-TOO’-vay) hit solo homers to support Zack Greinke (GREHN’-kee) as the Astros took the opener of their doubleheader with the White Sox, 6-2. Springer connected on the first pitch of the day and also threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Greinke allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings to win for the second time in two starts since Houston acquired him from Arizona in a deal at the trade deadline.

_ The White Sox gained a split of the twinbill as Ivan Nova tossed a four-hitter in a 4-1 victory. Nova gave up just an unearned run and improved to 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA in his last five starts. Houston hurler Gerrit Cole was slated to start the nightcap, but the right-hander was scratched because of right hamstring discomfort before Houston lost for just the second time in 11 games.

_ The Giants earned a 3-2 win over the Athletics behind Madison Bumgarner, who struck out nine and gave up only two hits over seven innings. Bumgarner retired 13 straight hitters before Steven Piscotty homered in the fifth. Evan Longoria and Kevin Pillar (pee-LAHR’) each delivered RBI hits during a string of three straight two-out doubles by the Giants in the sixth against Brian Anderson.

_ Five Blue Jays pitchers combined on a five-hitter in a 3-0 shutout of the Rangers. Teoscar (tay-AHS’-kur) Hernandez and Billy McKinney hit back-to-back home runs in Toronto’s fifth victory in seven games. Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk (GRIH’-chuhk) celebrated his 28th birthday with a solo home run against Texas, which has dropped six of seven.

_ Kyle Seager homered three times and Tom Murphy added two as the Mariners outscored the Tigers, 11-6. Seager and Murphy hit back-to-back homers in the fourth and sixth innings before Seager added his third in the ninth. Seattle won for the second time in 10 games and improved to 5-0 against Detroit this season.

MLB-NEWS

No surgery for Riley

UNDATED (AP) _ Braves rookie slugger Austin Riley will not need surgery on his injured right knee and expects to return to the lineup in about two weeks. Riley has been on the IL since Aug. 5 after spraining his knee during a workout. But Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson continues to rehab a bruised right foot and is unsure when he’ll be able to come off the IL.

In other baseball news:

_ Mets All-Star utilityman Jeff McNeil had to be helped off the field in the ninth inning Tuesday night after he sustained a hamstring injury while trying to beat out a grounder in Atlanta. McNeil says he felt "a little snag" in his left hamstring as he approached first base. An MRI is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Atlanta to determine the seriousness of the injury, but McNeil says he hopes it won't be enough to send him to the injured list.

_ Cardinals catcher Yadier (YAH’-dee-her) Molina was activated for the opener of a two-game series in Kansas City. The nine-time All-Star missed 28 games after landing on the injured list July 8 with a thumb injury.

_ A person familiar with the deal says right-handed reliever Greg Holland and the Nationals have an agreement in principle on a minor league contract, pending a successful physical exam. The 33-year-old Holland was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks last week. He appeared in 24 games for Washington last season.

_ The Rockies have designated veteran catcher Chris Iannetta (eye-ah-NEH’-tuh) for assignment and purchased the contract of backstop Dom Nuñez from Triple-A Albuquerque. Iannetta departs as the team's all-time leader among catchers in games played, runs, hits, homers, RBIs and walks. The 36-year-old hit .222 with six homers in 52 games this season.

_ The Phillies have hired former manager Charlie Manuel to replace John Mallee as hitting coach for the remainder of the season. Manuel was working as senior adviser to the general manager. He was the bench boss when the Phils won the 2008 World Series.

NFL-NEWS

No Luck in preseason

UNDATED (AP) _ Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will likely miss the rest of the preseason with an injury near the front of his left ankle.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard says he isn't sure if the injury will keep Luck out of the Sept. 8 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Indy's starting quarterback has been dealing with lower leg pain since straining his left calf in March.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

_ Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has returned to training camp after missing time to see a specialist for his frostbitten feet and losing a grievance with the NFL over the use of a helmet. Brown was surrounded by cameras as he walked onto the field late in practice and greeted his teammates for the first time since leaving camp about a week ago. Coach Jon Gruden says he expects him to be ready to play the season opener Sept. 9 against Denver.

_ Giants wide receiver Golden Tate has lost the appeal of his four-game suspension for a violation of the NFL's policy on performance enhancers. Tate announced the suspension on Twitter last month and felt his appeal had merit because he was using a fertility drug prescribed by a doctor. The appeal was heard by a member of an independent appeals panel in New York last week.

_ The Jets have signed veteran cornerback Marcus Cooper for depth in their depleted secondary. Cooper has played in 74 games, including 28 starts, in stints with San Francisco, Kansas City, Arizona, Chicago and Detroit in six NFL seasons.

TENNIS-US OPEN

Gauff in, del Potro out of US Open draw

UNDATED (AP) _ Coco Gauff has received a wild-card entry for the U.S. Open's main draw. It will be the second Grand Slam tournament for the 15-year-old from Florida. She made a magical run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last month after getting a wild card into the qualifying rounds there.

Gauff became the youngest player to qualify for Wimbledon and upset five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round but wound up losing to eventual title winner Simona Halep (HAL'-ehp).

The U.S. Tennis Association announced its wild cards Tuesday. The year's last major tennis tournament begins Aug. 26.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro (mahr-TEEN’ dehl-POH’-troh) has withdrawn from the upcoming tournament while he continues to recover from right knee surgery. The 12th-ranked del Potro fractured his kneecap for the second time in less than a year while playing in a Wimbledon tuneup tournament. The U.S. Tennis Association says the withdrawal allows American Denis Kudla to move into the main draw.

Story Details