MLB:
There’s no change among the first three positions in the National League East standings following wins by the first-place Atlanta Braves, second-place Philadelphia Phillies and third-place New York Mets.
Ozzie Albies homered on the first pitch of Ryan Feltner’s major league debut, sparking the Braves’ 9-2 pounding of the Rockies. Austin Riley, Adam Duvall and Travis d’Arnaud also went deep for the Braves, who earned a split of the four-game series.
Charlie Morton pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs on two hits in his 13th win.
The outcome keeps the Braves two games ahead of the Phils, with the Mets 3 1/2 games back.
The Phillies avoided a three-game sweep by downing the Marlins, 4-3 on Odubel Herrera’s RBI single in the 10th inning. Herrera had been 0 for 4 in the game before driving in automatic runner Freddy Galvis from second.
Bryce Harper hit his 27th home run and Galvis also connected for the Phillies.
Kevin Pillar’s grand slam capped a six-run ninth as the Mets beat the Nationals for the third time in four games, 13-6. Franciso Lindor sparked the ninth-inning rally with a leadoff homer. Javier Báez went 4 for 4 with a home run for the Mets, who also received a round-tripper from Jonathan Villar in their seventh win in eight games.
Checking out Sunday’s other major league action:
The Giants defeated the Dodgers, 6-4 to regain the NL West lead by one game over Los Angeles. Steven Duggar hit a tiebreaking two-run triple after being called up earlier in the day. Brandon Belt homered and Brandon Crawford added an RBI double as San Francisco beat Walker Buehler for the first time in eight decisions.
Daniel Vogelbach delivered a pinch-hit grand slam off Alex Reyes to cap a five-run ninth that gave the Brewers a 6-5 triumph over the Cardinals. Milwaukee’s Pablo Reyes celebrated his 28th birthday by hitting his first homer of the season, helping the NL Central leaders move 11 games ahead of second-place Cincinnati. St. Louis starter Jon Lester allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings.
Jeimer Candelario delivered a two-run triple in the sixth inning, breaking a scoreless tie and sending the Tigers past the Reds, 4-1. Gregory Soto uncorked a wild pitch that scored a run in the eighth inning before fanning Nick Castellanos and Joey Votto with two on in the eighth. The Reds have dropped six of eight, leaving them a half-game behind San Diego for the second NL wild card.
The Padres surged past Cincinnati by defeating the Astros, 4-3 on Jake Cronenworth’s solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. San Diego hadn’t scored since the first, when it took a 3-1 lead against Luis Garcia. The Astros tied it in the seventh when Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa homered on consecutive pitches off Chris Paddack.
Nick Gordon furnished the tying and go-ahead hits as the Twins cooled off the Rays, 6-5. Gordon tied the game with an RBI single in the seventh and added another in the ninth. Luis Arraez singled home a pair for the Twins, who handed the Rays just their third loss in 14 games.
Tampa Bay still leads the AL East by 7 1/2 games after the second-place Yankees lost to the cellar-dwelling Orioles for the second straight day, 8-7. New York led until Jorge Mateo and Kelvin Gutierrez poked RBI singles in the seventh. The Yanks lost despite Gary Sanchez, who hit a grand slam and a two-run homer.
Franmil Reyes was 4-for-4 with a solo homer and a two-run double as the Indians routed the Red Sox, 11-5 to avoid a three-game sweep. Bradley Zimmer had a two-run single for the Indians, who matched their single-season record streak of homering in 19 consecutive games. J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs for the Bosox, who lead Seattle by three games for the second AL wild card.
Kyle Seager’s two-run double sparked a seven-run 10th that sent the Mariners to their fifth win in a row, 10-4 over the Diamondbacks. Jake Bauers added a two-run double for Seattle, which also received RBI singles from Abraham Toro, Tom Murphy and Mitch Haniger. The M’s improved to 14-4 in extra inning games and are one game ahead of Toronto and Oakland in the wild-card scramble.
The Blue Jays blanked the Athletics, 8-0 to complete a three-game sweep and win for the seventh time in eight games. Robbie Ray struck out 10 while pitching one-hit ball into the seventh inning. Marcus Semien belted his 35th home run, Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run shot off loser Cole Irvin and Bo Bichette went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Brady Singer tossed seven scoreless innings and Salvador Perez hit another home run as the Royals beat the White Sox, 6-0. Perez had his third home run of the series, eighth in the last 11 games and 41st of the season. He’s second in the majors behind Shohei Ohtani.
DJ Peters homered twice, had a career-high four hits and drove in four runs in the Rangers’ 7-3 downing of the Angels. Peters hit a solo shot in the second and a three-run blast in the third before adding a single and a late double. Taylor Hearn pitched seven innings of seven-hit ball to win his third consecutive start.
The Cubs outslugged the Pirates, 11-8 on grand slams by Frank Schwindel and Matt Duffy. Schwindel’s sixth homer in six games was a slam that erased Chicago’s 8-7 deficit. Duffy homered twice to help the Cubbies overcome Bryan Reynold’s grand slam.
The Yankees have placed reliever Jonathan Loaisiga on the 10-day injured list because of a strained right rotator cuff.
Manager Aaron Boone said Loaisiga experienced some pain after he surrendered a game-tying homer to Jorge Mateo in the seventh inning of Friday night’s 4-3 victory over Baltimore. An MRI showed the strain and Loaisiga was given a cortisone injection. Boone is hoping the hard-throwing right-hander can return this season.
In other MLB news:
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli left the team during Sunday’s game to return home to Minnesota for the birth of his child. Veteran coach Bill Evers will fill in for Baldelli, who may miss a four-game series that starts Monday night at Cleveland.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Ninth-ranked Notre Dame managed to avoid a season-opening loss.
The Irish coughed up an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter before Jonathan Doerer hit a 41-yard field goal in overtime to send Notre Dame past Florida State, 41-38.
The winning kick came after Ryan Fitzgerald’s 37-yard attempt sailed wide left to begin OT. Fitzgerald extended the game with a 43-yard kick.
Jack Coan completed 26 of 35 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns in his Notre Dame debut.
Jashaun Corbin had an 89-yard touchdown run for the Seminoles, who have dropped five straight openers.
TENNIS-US OPEN:
No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev has cruised into the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 24 Daniel Evans.
Medvedev has yet to drop a set on his way to the quarterfinals for the third straight year. He next plays qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, the third unseeded player he’ll face at Flushing Meadows. Van de Zandschulp pulled off a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 win over No. 11 Diego Schwartzman. He joined Nicolas Escude and Gilles Muller as just the third men’s qualifier ever to reach the quarterfinals.
Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest male quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open since 1963. The 18-year-old from Spain reached the final eight by beating 141st-ranked qualifier Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0. Alcaraz also becomes the youngest men’s quarterfinalist at any Grand Slam tournament since Michael Chang was 18 at the 1990 French Open.
No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time by firing 24 aces to shake off Frances Tiafoe, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4. The Canadian is the youngest man to reach consecutive major quarterfinals since Juan Martin del Potro made it to three straight in 2008-09.
No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina advanced to the quarterfinals by beating two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3. Svitolina has not dropped a set in the tournament.
Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez has followed up her upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open by beating another past title winner at Flushing Meadows. The 73rd-ranked Fernandez came back from a set and a break down to eliminate 2016 U.S. Open champion Angelique Kerber 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova is headed to the quarterfinals in her singles debut at Flushing Meadows after a wild 6-3, 7-6 victory over two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza. The eighth-seeded Krejcikova took a medical timeout while down 6-5 in the second set before winning the next seven points.
Next up for Krejcikova is second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who knocked out No. 15 Elise Mertens by a 6-4, 6-1 margin.
PGA-TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP:
Patrick Cantlay has won the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize.
Cantlay had a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm on the final hole of the Tour Championship. With Rahm just behind the green in light rough in two, Cantlay hit a 6-iron to 12 feet.
Rahm narrowly missed his chip-in for eagle. That left Cantlay a safe two-putt birdie for a 69.
Rahm made $5 million as the runner-up. Cantlay is now a front-runner for player of the year.
GOLF-SOLHEIM CUP:
Defending champion Europe will take a 9-7 lead into the final day of the Solheim Cup. The Europeans relied heavily on the team of Leona Maguire and Mel Reid to stay in front. Reid and Maguire improved to 2-0-1 on the weekend when Reid birdied the 18th to halve their four-ball match against Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas.
Europe is attempting to win the Cup on U.S. soil for just the second time in the event’s 31-year history.
NASCAR:
Denny Hamlin has ended his season-long winless drought with a victory at the Southern 500 to open the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Hamlin had to hold off the season’s top playoff seed in Kyle Larson, who closed to Hamlin’s bumper racing to the finish line. The win allowed Hamlin to move into the second round without having to scrape for points with close finishes as he did to qualify seventh for the playoffs this season.
Ross Chastain finished third, the only non-playoff driver among the top eight. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth, followed by Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.
NFL:
The Dallas Cowboys are expected to open the season at Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay without right guard Zack Martin after the four-time All-Pro tested positive for COVID-19.
Martin is the latest of several Dallas starters to test positive and miss time, but the others have since returned. Coach Mike McCarthy said news of Martin’s positive test came Saturday. Backup tackle Brandon Knight is also on the COVID-19 list.
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