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#SportsReport: Houston Teams Unsure When They Can Return To Home Stadiums

Houston Astros MinuteMaid Park
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MLB:

Hurricane Harvey has forced both the Houston Astros and Houston Texans to play home games miles away from the flood-stricken city. Players are now beginning to wonder when they will be able to come back.

The Astros will play a three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, this week, starting Tuesday, and the Texans will wrap up their preseason schedule against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington instead of NRG Stadium.

Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph says, "''You have to go about your business and handle it."

But he adds that "it's kind of hard at the same time to kind of sit there and play football and then think about your family that's back home when there's constantly updates going on around the clock about things that are going on back in your hometown."

Aaron Judge, please be seated.

The slumping slugger is getting a couple of days off, and the New York Yankees hope the rest will help him find his swing.

Manager Joe Giradi says the aim is to try to "refresh him and get him going. He's played in a lot of games."

Judge was out of the lineup Monday night as the Yankees faced 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game series. Aaron Hicks played right field in Judge's place.

Girardi said Judge probably will also sit out Tuesday night, and the plan is to avoid even using him off the bench.

Judge leads the American League with 37 home runs and a .581 slugging percentage, but has tailed off dramatically since winning the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break. The big rookie was batting .179 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in the second half, dropping his overall average 49 points to .280.

Ravaged by injuries, the New York Mets have terminated David Wright's rehab assignment because of shoulder pain and ruled Yoenis Cespedes out for the rest of the season with a hamstring problem.

The banged-up Mets announced on Monday that Wright was returning to New York to be re-examined later this week. Wright played third base Friday and Saturday at Class A St. Lucie and decided to have the shoulder pain checked by doctors.

Cespedes strained his right hamstring running the bases in Washington on Friday night. An MRI confirmed the strain, which includes a recovery time of six weeks, ending Cespedes' season.

The Mets also say outfielder Michael Conforto will have a second opinion Tuesday on his dislocated and torn left shoulder after being examined in New York on Monday.

Corey Kluber outpitched Luis Severino in a marquee matchup of All-Stars, and slumping Jose Ramirez homered twice to power the Cleveland Indians past the New York Yankees 6-2 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

Carlos Santana hit a tiebreaking homer off Severino in the seventh inning and Austin Jackson also went deep for the AL Central leaders, who increased their cushion to seven games over idle Minnesota.

Coming off three consecutive shutouts in a sweep of Kansas City, the defending AL champions ran their scoreless streak to 30 innings before Chase Headley homered against Kluber (13-4) leading off the third. The 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner went eight innings and allowed only three hits, rebounding from a loss to Boston last week that ended a five-game winning streak and marked his first defeat since July 4.

Kluber struck out seven and walked one as the Indians (74-56) won for the 14th time in 18 games.

The Class-A minor league Houston Astros affiliate Tri-City ValleyCats have announced that they will be donating $1.00 of each ticket sold between Monday, August 28 and Saturday, September 1 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief in Texas.

The ValleyCats have five more home games in the 2017 regular season, and tickets can be purchased online at tcvalleycats.com, by calling 518-629-CATS (2287), or at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium Box Office. You can also help people affected by Hurricane Harvey by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS or texting the word HARVEY to 90999 to make a make a $10 donation.

In other games:

- Toronto relievers surrendered four earned runs on five hits, including a two-run homer to Christian Vazquez, as the Boston Red Sox edged the Blue Jays 6-5. Vazquez hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Red Sox snapped a four-game losing streak. Boston's AL East lead goes back to 3 1/2 games over the New York Yankees.

—Rhys Hoskins ended his homer streak but did drive in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double, Aaron Nola pitched seven strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1. Cameron Rupp homered for the Phillies, who have connected in 10 straight games and totaled 21 homers over that stretch.

—Jayson Werth returned from a long injury layoff to hit a 2-run home run to lead the Washington Nationals to an 11-2 victory over the visiting Miami Marlins. Miami trailed the Nationals by 12 games coming into Monday night's game, and lost a chance to close the margin in the NL East Division. Righthander Max Scherzer, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, got his 13th win of the season, also returning from an injury.

—Adam Jones hit a milestone home run, Wellington Castillo had three hits and two RBIs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 for their fifth straight victory. Baltimore jumped past Seattle (66-66) to within 1 ½ games of idle Minnesota for the final AL wild-card spot. Jones' solo home run in the fifth inning gave him 25 for an Orioles-record seventh consecutive season.

—The Kansas City Royals extended their scoreless streak to an AL record-tying 43 innings, getting shut out for a fourth straight game in a 12-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Royals haven't scored since the second inning of a 3-2 loss to Colorado last Thursday. Austin Pruitt (7-4) pitched six one-run innings for Tampa Bay, and Matt Andriese allowed one more hit while getting a three-inning save, his first this season.

—Mike Montgomery pitched six-hit ball into the eighth inning and helped himself at the plate, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Montgomery (5-6) struck out four and walked none in his second start since he was inserted into the rotation after Jon Lester was placed on the 10-day disabled list. The left-hander was pulled after Jordy Mercer snapped his 17 1/3-inning scoreless streak with a leadoff homer in the eighth.

— Nicholas Castellanos had three hits, including a two-run triple, and Jordan Zimmermann rebounded from early trouble to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Monday night. The Rockies stranded 11 baserunners as they began a nine-game homestand. Their lead for the second NL wild-card spot dwindled to three games over idle Milwaukee.

— Andrew Heaney struck out a career-high 10, Martin Maldonado had three hits and scored twice and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1. Heaney (1-0), making his third start since Tommy John surgery, struck out the side in the first and the sixth innings. He had his best outing since the surgery.

— Jeff Samardzija allowed just three singles in pitching his first shutout since 2015, and Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik homered to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres. The former Notre Dame wide receiver struck out five and walked none.

NFL:

A person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that the Buffalo Bills have agreed to sign Keith Wenning to address their injury-depleted quarterback position entering their final preseason game.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because the Bills have not yet announced the deal first reported by ESPN.com.

Buffalo turned to Wenning because starter Tyrod Taylor and third-stringer T.J. Yates are both being evaluated for concussions suffered Saturday in a 13-9 preseason loss at Baltimore. The injuries left the Bills with fifth-round pick Nathan Peterman as the only quarterback available for their preseason finale against Detroit on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Wenning has yet to play in an NFL game since being selected by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. He was signed by the New York Giants late last season before being cut in May.

Linebacker Reggie Ragland will get a fresh start in Kansas City after the Chiefs acquired the second-year player in a trade with the Buffalo Bills.

In exchange, the Bills acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft.

The Chiefs land a player with the potential of being an upgrade for Josh Mauga, who was released earlier in the day. Ragland also gets a chance to play in a three-lineman, four-linebacker-styled defense, which he was accustomed to at Alabama.

For the Bills, they cut ties with a 2016 second-round draft pick who was in jeopardy of being cut this weekend when teams establish their 53-player roster. The Bills drafted Ragland because he was considered an ideal fit in former coach Rex Ryan's defense. That changed when Ryan was fired and replaced by Sean McDermott, who prefers a 4-3 system.

Ragland missed all of last season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during training camp.

The New England Patriots have pledged up to $1 million to help the Houston area recover from Hurricane Harvey. The team announced Monday it would match all donations made to the American Red Cross' Hurricane Harvey disaster relief fund up to $1 million. Owner Robert Kraft says Houston is special to the Patriots because it's where the team has won two Super Bowls, including February's 34-28 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Alabama coach Nick Saban says defensive lineman Raekwon Davis has been released from the hospital.

Davis was shot in the right leg outside a Tuscaloosa bar early Sunday morning. Saban said Monday he's getting treatment and is "day to day" for Saturday's opener for the top-ranked Crimson Tide against No. 3 Florida State.

Saban says he's not happy about them being out that late but that "it doesn't seem like our players were guilty of anything other than being out late."

The 6-foot-7, 306-pound Davis is battling with Joshua Frazier for a starting defensive end spot. He played in seven games as a freshman.

A Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's spokesman said Sunday that a 20-year-old was shot in the right leg Sunday morning and a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to AP that Davis was the victim.

NHL:

New York Rangers Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle will finally get his No. 19 raised to the rafters at Madison Square Garden, the same season Eric Lindros will have his No. 88 retired by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Lindros will be honored by the Flyers before their Jan. 18 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ratelle will have his night Feb. 25 before the Rangers face the Detroit Red Wings.

Ratelle, who played parts of 16 of his 21 NHL seasons with the Rangers, entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985 and is second on their franchise goals list with 336 and third in assists with 481 and points with 817. Lindros is the sixth Flyers player to have his number retired after Bernie Parent, Mark Howe, Barry Ashbee, Bill Barber and Bobby Clarke.

US OPEN:

Do not look for President Donald Trump to show up at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, for a change.

U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said that the Trump Organization suspended its suite agreement at the U.S. Open, which began Monday, while Trump is in the White House — but wants to renew it when he is out of office.

Widmaier told The Associated Press: "Following Donald Trump's election, we were approached by the Trump Organization."

He said the Open officials were asked to suspend the suite agreement but added that "they also asked that at the conclusion of his presidency, would we agree to re-engage with them on their traditional suite." He said the suite would be renewed.

Widmaier said that particular suite, which is adjacent to the television broadcasting booth in Arthur Ashe Stadium, would be sold on at most a one-year basis and "there will be no long-term agreement" with anyone else.

PATROONS:

The Albany Patroons professional basketball team is back ... again.

Dave Magley, president of the North American Premier Basketball League, will be at the Washington Avenue Armory Wednesday to announce the return of professional basketball to the Capital District.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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