MLB:
In Major League Baseball, in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies have tossed the first combined no-hitter in team history on Monday as Cole Hamels and three relievers led the Phils to a 7-0 victory in Atlanta. Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and closer Jonathan Papelbon each pitched a perfect inning of relief to finish off the fourth no-hitter in the majors this season. It was 12th no-hitter in Phillies history, and the first since Roy Halladay threw a perfect game against the Marlins during the 2010 season and a no-hitter against the Reds in the 2010 playoffs.
Meanwhile Miami topped the Mets 9-6, Philadelphia shut out Atlanta 7-0, St. Louis edged Pittsburgh 5-4, the Cubs doubled up Milwaukee 4-2, San Diego defeated Arizona 3-1, Colorado slid past San Francisco 10-9 in the first game but San Francisco beat Colorado 4-2 in the second, and it was Washington over the Dodgers 6-4.
In the American League, in a walk off victory the Tampa Bay Rays salvaged a split of a four-game series by beating the Boston Red Sox 4-3 yesterday. Matt Joyce had an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. After Mike Napoli hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, Yoenis Cespedes got the Red Sox even at 3-3 with an RBI single off Steve Geltz in the eighth. Elsewhere Minnesota beat Baltimore 6-4, Detroit blew out Cleveland 12-1, Oakland defeated Seattle 6-1, and it was Kansas City over Texas 4-3.
The Houston Astros have fired manager Bo Porter and bench coach Dave Trembley with the team mired in fourth place in the five-team AL West. The Astros have the second-worst record in the league and are 25 games out of first place. Tom Lawless will serve as interim manager through the end of the season.
Tennis – U.S. Open:
No. 1 seeds Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic have moved into the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Eighth seed Andy Murray, third seed Stan Wawrinka, No. 10 Kei Nishikori and women’s No. 17 Ekaterina Makarova, No. 10 Caroline Wozhiacki, and No. 17 Victoria Azarenka all advanced to the quarterfinals.
Horse Racing:
At the last meet of the season at Saratoga Race Course, Jockey John Velazquez rode Ring Weekend to victory at the $300,000 Grade III Saranac Stakes for trainer Graham Motion. Velazquez also won riding Competitive Edge to win the $350,000 Grade I Hopeful Stakes for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Golf:
Chris Kirk closed with a 5-under 66 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston. Kirk came up with three big putts on the back nine to pull away for a two-shot victory over Geoff Ogilvy, Billy Horschel and Russell Henley.
Kirk has three career victories, including two this season as he tries to gain one of the three Ryder Cup picks that will be announced on Tuesday.
Horschel had a chance to force a playoff, but he chunked his second shot on 18 so badly that it barely reached the hazard.
NCAAF:
Boston College doesn't have a player who can replace Heisman Trophy finalist Andre Williams. So the Eagles will rotate three players at running back. Quarterback Tyler Murphy can carry the ball, too. Murphy was the leading rusher in BC's season-opening victory over UMass on Saturday.
NFL:
Star tight end Rob Gronkowski says he will play in the New England Patriots' opener at Miami this Sunday. Gronkowski didn't play in any of the four preseason games as he completed his recovery from December right knee surgery.
New York Giants middle linebacker Jon Beason hopes to play in the regular-season opener despite missing all of training camp with a foot injury. Beason practiced for the first time yesterday. It felt good enough for him to believe he can have a role against the Lions in Detroit on Monday night.
Despite a thin secondary, general manager John Idzik says moving on from cornerback Dimitri Patterson was "the best thing for the Jets." New York released Patterson on Saturday as the team got to the mandatory 53-player limit. Patterson was suspended after he went missing before the Jets' preseason game on August 22nd without speaking to anyone in the organization.
The St. Louis Rams have signed 10 players to their practice squad. As expected, Michael Sam was not among them.
The Rams added two each at linebacker, offensive line, wide receiver and safety Monday, fortifying needy positions. Sam starred at defensive line for Missouri, but coach Jeff Fisher said the defensive line was the strongest group on the team.
Rookie quarterback Garrett Gilbert and seven others were among the cuts that got the roster to 53 players.
The group includes linebackers Denicos Allen and Kevin Riddick, wide receivers Emory Blake and Justin Veltung, safeties Christian Bryant and Matt Daniels, plus tackle Sean Hooey and guard Brandon Washington. Defensive tackle Matt Conrath also was added.
Allen was cut by the Panthers and Reddick had been with the Saints.
NHL:
Former NHL defenseman Carol Vadnais, a six-time All-Star, has died. He was 68.
The New York Rangers reported on their website that Vadnais, who spent seven seasons with the team, passed away Sunday. A cause of death was not given.
Vadnais made his NHL debut in 1966-67 with his hometown Montreal Canadiens and played 17 seasons, winning Stanley Cups in 1968 with Montreal and 1972 with Boston. He also played for the California Golden Seals and New Jersey Devils.
Vadnais had 169 goals and 587 points in 1,087 games. He appeared in 106 playoff games with 10 goals and 40 assists.
The Rangers acquired Vadnais along with Phil Esposito in 1975 in one of the biggest trades in NHL history. New York sent Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi to the Bruins. Vadnais twice made the All-Star Game while a Ranger.
Vadnais is survived by his daughter, Michele, and two grandchildren.
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