MLB:
With Hurricane Irma bearing down on South Florida, the Miami Marlins are allowing families of players and staff to travel with the team on their upcoming road trip.
The Marlins host the Nationals tonight and Wednesday before embarking on a seven-game road trip to Atlanta and Philadelphia.
The National Hurricane Center says Irma has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record.
It took 19 innings and 12 pitchers, but the Boston Red Sox managed to stretch their lead in the American League East this morning.
Hanley Ramirez singled home Mookie Betts in the bottom of the 19th to complete the Bosox's 3-2 marathon victory over the Blue Jays. Betts led off the inning with a double before scoring the first run since Boston tallied twice in the ninth to extend the game.
Betts also doubled in the ninth and scored the tying run on Mitch Moreland's grounder.
The win gives the Red Sox a 3 ½-game lead over the Yankees.
In Baltimore, the Yankees squandered a 6-1 lead and absorbed a 7-6 loss to the Orioles on Manny Machado's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Machado also sparked the Birds' rally with a homer before Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo went deep.
Did Gregorius and Jacoby Ellsbury provided two-run singles while the Yanks put together a six-run third.
Checking out the rest of the major league finals:
— Jose Ramirez homered twice and the Indians stretched the longest winning streak in the majors this season to 13 games by trouncing the White Sox, 9-4. Seven relievers combined for 8 1/3 scoreless innings after Danny Salazar got just two outs in his return from right elbow inflammation. Austin Jackson and Yan Gomes also homered for the Indians, who lead the AL Central by 11 games and are one victory away from tying the longest winning streak in team history.
— The Diamondbacks tied a team-record with their 12th straight win, scoring twice on a grounder in the 10th inning of a 3-1 decision over the slumping Dodgers. The DBacks had runners on second and third when third baseman Justin Turner fielded a grounder and threw home before the ball got past catcher Yasmani Grandal for an error. Arizona dealt the Dodgers their 10th loss in 11 games and maintained its 6 ½-game lead over Colorado for the first NL wild-card berth.
— The Pirates scored twice off Carl Edwards Jr. in the bottom of the eighth to pull out a 4-3 win over the NL Central-leading Cubs. Max Moroff tied the game with an RBI single and scored the go-ahead run on a single by David Freese. Jordan Luplow smacked a two-run homer in the Bucs' fourth straight win.
— Chicago's division lead remains 3 ½ games after Robert Stephenson handled the second-place Brewers to lead the Reds to a 9-3 win over Milwaukee. Stephenson was reached for just one run over six-plus innings and worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth by striking out three straight hitters. Scooter Gennett hit a three-run homer while Cincinnati scored five times in the seventh to take a 7-1 lead.
— Trevor Story homered and the Rockies moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the second NL wild-card berth by outscoring the Giants, 9-6. Nolan Arenado picked up his major league lead-tying 112th RBI with a double as part of a four-run sixth. Greg Holland pitched a perfect ninth for his 37th save.
— Jose Martinez homered twice and drove in three as the Cardinals doubled up the Padres, 8-4 to get within four games of the NL Central lead. Harrison Bader put St. Louis ahead for good with a three-run blast in the second inning. Michael Wacha allowed three earned runs over six innings of the Redbirds' third consecutive victory.
— The Nationals were 2-1 winners at Miami behind Stephen Strasburg's six scoreless innings. Strasburg struck out eight and allowed no walks and six hits to move to 12-4. Daniel Murphy hit a solo shot for the Nats, who lead the NL East by a major league-high 17 games.
— Cameron Maybin's tiebreaking, two-run homer also broke up a no-hit bid in the seventh inning as Justin Verlander and the Astros knocked off the Mariners, 3-1. Maybin went deep off Emilio Pagan after starter Ariel Miranda needed 112 pitches to complete six no-hit innings. Verlander was sharp in his first start for the AL West leaders, scattering six hits and allowing just one run while fanning seven over six innings.
— The Angels pulled out an 8-7 win over the Athletics on Ben Revere's RBI single in the 10th inning. C.J. Cron went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and three ribbies to help Los Angeles take over the second AL wild-card berth by a half-game over Minnesota.
— Jake Odorizzi tossed one-hit ball over 6 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Rays past the Twins, 2-1. Odorizzi had a no-hitter until Joe Mauer singled with one out in the seventh. Lucas Duda hit a solo homer and an RBI double off former teammate Bartolo Colon, who took the loss despite allowing only five hits over 6 2/3s.
— John Hicks and JaCoby Jones each homered twice and combined for seven RBIs as the Tigers slammed the Royals, 13-2. Mikie Mahtook and Jose Iglesias also went deep to help Detroit end a five-game skid and drop Kansas City under .500.
— The Phillies crushed the Mets, 9-1 as pitcher Ben Lively delivered a two-run homer and a two-run single while limiting New York to a run and four hits over seven innings. Nick Williams drove in three runs for the Phillies, who tagged Mets ace Jacob deGrom for nine runs - six earned - over 3 2/3 innings.
— The Braves and Rangers were postponed by rain in Atlanta, leading to a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday.
The Boston Red Sox may have received a little help when they won a series with the New York Yankees at Fenway Park last month.
The New York Times has reported that the Red Sox used a high-tech watch to relay signs by the Yankees catchers during the series. The Times said Major League Baseball began a probe after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman filed a complaint with the commissioner's office that included video. The newspaper said the video showed a member of Boston's training staff looking at his Apple Watch in the dugout and relaying a message to players.
The Red Sox have reportedly admitted to MLB that they improperly used electronic devices to steal signs from their longtime rivals. The Times said the Red Sox told MLB investigators that Boston manager John Farrell, general Dave Dombrowski and other team executives were not aware of the scheme.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said he wanted to get the matter resolved quickly and declined to comment about possible penalties.
The Red Sox took two of three during the series.
In other major league news:
— Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta has undergone an MRI on his sore right hamstring, one day after taking himself out during the third inning of a start in Pittsburgh. Arrieta had been 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA since the All-Star break before Monday's shortened outing. He is slated to pitch Saturday against Milwaukee at Wrigley Field, but manager Joe Maddon says he might rest Arrieta regardless of the MRI results.
— The Pirates have signed manager Clint Hurdle and GM Neal Huntington to four-year contract extensions that will keep them in Pittsburgh through 2021. Huntington took over 10 years ago and hired Hurdle three years later. They oversaw three straight playoff teams from 2013-15, but the club has struggled to stay above .500 this season and current sits at 66-72.
NFL:
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has lost the appeal of his six-game suspension.
Arbitrator Harold Henderson made the decision on Tuesday following a 2 ½-day hearing last week. The punishment stems from a domestic violence case.
However, Elliott will be allowed to play in the Cowboys' season opener Sunday against the Giants due to the timing of Henderson's decision.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant said he would rule on Elliott's request for a temporary restraining order by Friday. If the request is denied and no further legal action taken, Elliott's suspension would start in Week 2 at Denver.
Elliott was suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell after the league concluded he had several physical confrontations last summer with a former girlfriend.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— The NFL says Sunday's game between the Dolphins and Buccaneers will not be played in Miami this week. If the game is not relocated, it will be postponed until November, when the teams share the same bye week. A decision on when and where to play is expected by Wednesday.
— The Cardinals have signed guard Alex Boone to a one-year contract, days after he was released by Minnesota. Boone started 14 games for the Vikings last year.
— Wide receiver Jeremy Kerley is back with the Jets after accepting a one-year package. The former Jets draft pick had a career-high 64 receptions last season for the 49ers, who released him over the weekend.
TENNIS-US OPEN:
Venus Williams has moved into the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time in seven years.
The ninth-seeded Williams rallied in the third set to beat No. 13 Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6. The outcome makes the 37-year-old Williams the oldest women's semifinalist at any Grand Slam tournament since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994.
Next up for Williams is fellow Sloane Stephens, which guarantees at least one American will compete for the women's title. Stephens is still alive in the draw following a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over No. 16 Anastasija Sevastova.
The unseeded Stephens trailed 3-1 in the third set before reaching the Final Four of a Grand Slam event for the first time in four years.
In the men's bracket, 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta beat No. 29 Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time. Carreno Busta still hasn't dropped a set in the tournament, having beaten four straight qualifiers before taking on Schwartzman.
Carreno Busta will face South Africa's Kevin Anderson, who fired 22 aces in a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 win over American Sam Querrey. Anderson's match ended shortly before 2 a.m.
T25 College Football:
Alabama and Ohio State remain 1-2 in the latest Associated Press college football poll, but there are numerous changes after that.
The Crimson Tide claimed 60 of 61 first-place votes following their 24-7 win over previous No. 3 Florida State. Clemson has replaced the Seminoles in the three-hole, followed by Penn State and Oklahoma.
Southern Cal, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin and FSU round out the top 10. The Seminoles are spending the rest of the season without quarterback Deondre Francois because of a season-ending knee injury suffered against Alabama.
No. 23 TCU and No. 24 Notre Dame have cracked the poll, replacing West Virginia and Texas.
SOCCER:
The United States men's soccer team did little to improve its shot at a World Cup berth.
The Americans could only play to a 1-1 tie at Honduras and needed Bobby Wood's goal in the 85th minute to avoid a second straight loss. The U.S. trailed for 58 minutes before Wood scored off a scramble.
The U.S. dropped to fourth in the North and Central American and Caribbean region with nine points, ahead of Honduras on goal difference and one point behind Panama with two qualifiers remaining. The top three nations in the six-team group qualify for next year's tournament in Russia.
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