AP National Sports

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona’s first season without Lionel Messi after nearly two decades has started with a home match against Real Sociedad. The fans are still adjusting to the loss of the club’s greatest player. Messi signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain. At Camp Nou Marc van

By The Associated Press Max Scherzer faces a familiar NL East foe when his Dodgers go for a three-game sweep of the Mets in prime time. It’ll be Scherzer’s third start with LA since being acquired from the Nationals, and he should be plenty comfortable at Citi Field. The right-hander is 12-5 with a 2.70

By CHRIS TALBOTT Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Toronto center fielder George Springer departed with an ankle injury, part of a tough night for the Blue Jays during a 9-3 loss to Luis Torrens and the Seattle Mariners. Torrens’ three-run homer off Trevor Richards in the seventh inning lifted the Mariners to their fourth straight

By DOUG PADILLA Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Rookie outfielder Jake Meyers hit the first two home runs of his career, including a grand slam, and the Houston Astros shook off Shohei Ohtani’s major league-leading 39th homer in an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Luis Garcia recovered from a wobbly start to

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Darius Bradwell rushed for a touchdown in the third quarter and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-6 in the first NFL game with fans at SoFi Stadium. Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s palatial football arena welcomed his team and its co-tenants for

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Bobby Wood scored in 32nd minute in Real Salt Lake’s 1-0 victory over expansion Austin FC on Saturday night. Wood found space between defenders to bounce a header past goalkeeper Brad Stuver. Real Salt Lake improved to 6-6-0, and Austin dropped to 4-10-4.

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kyle Freeland pitched six strong innings to win his third straight start, C.J. Cron hit his 19th home run and the Colorado Rockies got a rare road win, beating San Francisco 4-1 to end the Giants’ six-game winning streak. Brendan Rodgers singled to extend his hitting

W.G. RAMIREZ Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman completed 29 of 38 pass attempts for 246 yards and the Las Vegas Raiders opened the preseason with a 20-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. With starter Derek Carr skipping the opener, and backup Marcus Mariota nursing a leg injury, Peterman looked solid

By MATT CARLSON Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Joey Gallo hit a two-run shot in the 10th inning for his second homer of the game, and the New York Yankees outlasted the Chicago White Sox 7-5 in another back-and-forth thriller. Aaron Judge homered again for New York and finished with four RBIs. Judge’s solo shot

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Trey Lance threw an 80-yard touchdown pass that led to loud cheers from San Francisco fans, but also showed some rookie traits during his preseason debut in the 49ers’ 19-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Lance had an up-and-down first performance with

By AVERY OSEN Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nolan Arenado homered and drove in four runs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 9-4. Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs as the Cardinals earned their fifth straight win. Edmundo Sosa went 4 for 4, and Tommy Edman had two hits

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Nico Ali Walsh made a successful pro debut Saturday night, winning in the first round and then paying homage to his grandfather, Muhammad Ali. Wearing trunks made for his grandfather, Ali Walsh knocked down his outmatched opponent midway through the first round before the middleweight fight was finally stopped at 1:49

HOUSTON (AP) — Michael Barrios and Braian Galván scored  in the second half to help the Colorado Rapids beat the Houston Dynamo 3-1 on Saturday night. Coloradois unbeaten, with two wins, in its last three games and has just one loss in its last eight. The Dynamo are winless in their last 12 games. Mark-Anthony

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil club Atletico Mineiro has signed 32-year-old Spain international and free agent Diego Costa. Local media say the contract with the former Atletico Madrid and Chelsea striker is valid until December next year. Atletico Mineiro has not lifted the Brazilian title since 1971 and plans to inaugurate a new stadium next

By TYLER MASON Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kenta Maeda pitched six effective innings, Luis Arraez hit a two-run homer and the Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 12-0. Max Kepler, Brent Rooker and Ryan Jeffers also went deep for the Twins, who won for the third time in four games. Maeda allowed three

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Tyler Gilbert became the first pitcher in 68 years to throw a no-hitter in his first big league start, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks over the San Diego Padres 7-0 Saturday night with the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. The last to accomplish the

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Tyrod Taylor went 4 of 4 for 40 yards in his lone series and rookie quarterback Davis Mills led a couple of scoring drives for the Houston Texans in a 26-7 preseason victory over the Packers. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Houston’s Deshaun Watson

MONTREAL (AP) — Victor Wanyama scored on a penalty kick eight minutes into second-half stoppage time to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. Bjorn Johnsen’s cross hit Amro Tarek’s hand three minutes into stoppage time and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Sunisi Ibrahim tied it

By JERRY BEACH Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Mets 2-1 after Will Smith homered in the seventh for the first hit off New York starter Taijuan Walker. The 10-inning win was the second in two nights

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the NFL preseason with a 19-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Chris Evans finished a long drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and kickers Evan McPherson and Austin Seibert combined for four second-half field