AP National Sports

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka has made a dominant return to Grand Slam tennis by grabbing eight of the last nine games in her first-round match at the U.S. Open. The two-time champion in New York beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Osaka had not

By PATRICK STEVENS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper homered in the first inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 7-4, stretching their win streak to four games. Brad Miller also went deep and Ronald Torreyes added a bases-loaded triple for Philadelphia, which improved to 7-1 at Nationals Park this season. Carter

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A.J. Alexy won his major league debut pitching one-hit ball through five shutout innings while DJ Peters, Leody Taveras and Nick Solak homered in consecutive innings as the Texas Rangers hung on to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3. Alexy allowed only a second-inning double to C.J. Cron. The 23-year-old who was

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Wander Franco extended his on-base streak 30 games with a two-run single, fellow rookie Luis Patiño pitched neatly into the sixth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays won their eighth in a row, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-1. Brandon  Lowe hit his

By The Associated Press Mets fans get their say after it was revealed stars Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez were among the New York players making derogatory hand gestures at Citi Field crowds. Frustrated at their team’s poor play in August, Mets fans have been booing the club. Báez said Sunday that he and teammates

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 37th and 38th home runs, Robbie Ray pitched seven innings and won for the first time in six starts and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3. Guerrero hit a solo home run off right-hander Chris Ellis in the fourth

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jon Lester allowed one hit while pitching into the seventh inning, Paul Goldschmidt homered and the St. Louis Cardinals inched closer to the slumping Cincinnati Reds in the NL wild-card race with a 3-1 win Monday night. The Cardinals closed within 2 1/2 games of Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot. The

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Right-hander Johnny Cueto was scratched from his scheduled start for San Francisco against Milwaukee because of cold and flu-like symptoms, while fellow Giants starter Alex Wood tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing symptoms.  Wood has headaches and a sore throat. Cueto, who has tested

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have acquired cornerback Sidney Jones IV in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Seattle’s cornerback position has emerged as one of the biggest unknowns for the Seahawks heading into the season. Jones is returning to the town where he was a star

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani will not take the mound for Tuesday night’s game against the New York Yankees in order to give his right hand extra time to heal. Ohtani was hit in his pitching hand by a 93 mile per hour

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer Fully vaccinated players will be required to get tested for COVID-19 weekly instead of every 14 days as part of the revised protocols for the regular season agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA. The weekly testing applies also for fully vaccinated Tier 1 and 2 staff. There’s

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance will miss one week of practice after injuring a finger on his throwing hand during an exhibition game. Lance was hit on his right hand by the helmet of Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Max Richardson. Lance

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan lost his closest confident and biggest fan earlier this summer. His father, Ted, died after a 14-month fight with brain cancer. The fourth-year QB has found plenty of support from Gophers coaches and teammates. The grit, leadership and maturity that Morgan displayed

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs began trimming their roster to the 53-man limit for the regular season, and coach Andy Reid may have found himself having a more difficult time this year than any other during his tenure in Kansas City. Among the early cuts were running

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer Purdue coach Jeff Brohm made it clear throughout preseason camp that he expected his offense and defense to be more aggressive. On Saturday night at home against Oregon State, the Boilermakers will get a chance to put their revised philosophy on full display. Brohm named Jack Plummer the starting

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Tulane’s season opener against No. 2 Oklahoma this weekend has been moved from New Orleans to the Sooners’ home field. Both schools says the move to Norman, Oklahoma, made sense given the destruction in New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida. Tulane’s atheltic department is operating out of Birmingham, Alabama, until it

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have been dealt their first injury setback of the season with knee surgery scheduled for tight end Irv Smith Jr. The procedure on Smith’s meniscus will likely sideline him for at least a few games. The timetable for his return won’t

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys are close friends who were supposed to be practice partners. Those plans were scrapped once the U.S. Open draw was unveiled. The Americans were drawn to face each other in the first round in a rematch of the 2017 final.

By JOHN FINERAN Associated Press SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — When No. 9 Notre Dame opens its season Sunday night at Florida State, coach Brian Kelly wouldn’t mind a little deja vu. On Labor Day in 2019, the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish opened the season at Louisville. Leading the Cardinals 21-14 at halftime, the Irish dominated

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Alex Carpenter and Abbey Murphy scored in the second period, and the United States beat Finland 3-0 to advance to the final of the women’s world hockey championship. The five-time defending champion United States will play in its 20th gold-medal game on Tuesday against Canada. Carpenter put the U.S. in front