Sports

By BRIAN HALL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a three-run homer, Teoscar Hernández homered for the second straight day and the Toronto Blue Jays cruised to a 9-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Whit Merrifield, who revealed earlier in the day that he’s now vaccinated against COVID-19 and cleared to play

By DAVID SOLOMON Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Newly acquired José Quintana won in his debut with St. Louis, Tyler O’Neill and Nolan Arenado homered and the Cardinals beat Chicago 7-2, completing a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs. The Cardinals won the opener 4-3 as Lars Nootbaar hit a tying sacrifice fly in the

SAN JOSE (AP) — Coco Gauff held off four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. Gauff, the No. 6 seed, held all of her serves in the opening set and finished the 45-minute session with three aces. Osaka had the first

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Meibrys Viloria had a tiebreaking pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh inning and Texas beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2. The Rangers became the first team since 1986 to have two of its first-round picks make their big league debuts as starters in the same

By DAVID SMALE Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a line drive, three-run homer run to break open a close game and finished with four RBIs, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 7-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Perez’s blast in the seventh inning appeared to hit the wall

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Josh Jacobs and rookie Zamir White ran well on a rain-soaked field and the Raiders routed Jacksonville 27-11 in the Hall of Fame game Thursday night, spoiling coach Doug Pederson’s first game with the Jaguars. Derek Carr and Davante Adams warmed up but they

By AARON BRACY Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Noah Syndergaard won his Phillies debut despite giving up four runs, Alec Bohm hit a three-run home run and Philadelphia won a rain-shortened, five-inning game 5-4 over the Washington Nationals. Rhys Hoskins also went deep, helping secure a victory for Syndergaard two days after he was acquired

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The Calgary Flames and recently acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau have agreed to an $84 million, eight-year contract extension. The 29-year-old Huberdeau came to Calgary from the Florida Panthers with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick last month for star forward Matthew Tkachuk. Huberdeau finished last

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils avoided salary arbitration with Miles Wood, agreeing to a one-year, $3.2 million deal with the forward. General manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the signing Thursday night, two days before the two sides were scheduled to go to arbitration. Wood will be an unrestricted free agent at the end

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Following Brittney Griner’s sentencing in Russia to nine years in prison Thursday, WNBA players, coaches and fans locked arms and tried to send the American basketball star strength during a moment of silence. Before the Connecticut Sun beat the Phoenix Mercury 77-64, players from both teams met at midcourt and silently

By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera says he may end his likely Hall of Fame career at the end of this season. The 39-year-old Detroit Tigers star mused on the subject Thursday amid a slump through the dog days of summer. Cabrera joined the 3,000-hit/500-homer club earlier in the season, and

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Teaira McCowan made a go-ahead layup with 11.4 seconds left to help the Dallas Wings beat the Las Vegas Aces 82-80. Kelsey Plum sank a 3-pointer with 1:11 left to pull Las Vegas within 80-78 and after a Dallas miss, Chelsea Gray made a jumper from the free-throw line to tie

By BRIAN DULIK Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings for his MLB-leading 15th victory, Chas McCormick and Martin Maldonado each homered and had three RBIs, and the AL West-leading Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-0. Verlander, making his comeback from Tommy John surgery, extended his winning streak to seven

By DAVE HOGG Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Brandon Lowe had a home run among his three hits and drove in three runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-2. Randy Arozarena had four hits for Tampa Bay, which won back-to-back games for the first time since the All-Star break. Rays starter

By JERRY BEACH Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Deadline acquisition Tyler Naquin homered twice in his home debut, Edwin Diaz locked down his first two-inning save as a pro and the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 to open a pivotal five-game series between the NL East rivals. Pete Alonso and Daniel

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels tied a major league record with seven solo home runs, including two by Shohei Ohtani, but still lost to the Oakland Athletics 8-7. The Angels are the first team in the majors to hit seven solo homers and score no other

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Peter Drury’s voice has been synonymous with the Premier League for over 20 years. As he embarks on his first season as NBC’s play-by-play announcer, his new bosses have made one thing clear — don’t change the style. Drury takes over for Arlo White, who called NBC’s coverage of

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Jonquel Jones had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Brionna Jones added 13 points and nine rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun beat the short-handed Phoenix Mercury 77-64. Connecticut started the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run to take control. Phoenix, which was without Diana Taurasi for the first time this season, struggled

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers introduced their latest first-round draft pick, and then saw two former No. 1 picks make their big league debuts together. Kumar Rocker will spend a few more days around the team. The third overall draft pick will is expected to make his