Wayne Byers Show – Morning – Aug 28

MLB..

UNDATED (AP) _ The Twins lead the majors with 255 home runs after Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop hit solo shots in the second inning of a 3-1 verdict over the White Sox. Michael Pineda struck out eight and was reached for four hits over five innings, including Tim Anderson’s home run. Eddie Rosario knocked in an insurance run in the eighth as the AL Central leaders Twins’ won their third straight to remain 3 ½ games ahead of Cleveland.

_ The Indians beat the Tigers for the 12th straight time as Franmil (FRAHN’-meel) Reyes’ three-run homer highlighted a six-run seventh in Cleveland’s 10-1 pounding of Detroit. Carlos Santana had three hits and scored three times for the Indians, while four Cleveland pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts. Adam Plutko is 6-3 after striking out a season-high nine while yielding one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

_ Kole Calhoun hit a two-run double and pinch-hitter Brian Goodwin added a two-run single in the seventh as the Angels dumped the Rangers, 5-2 to end a five-game losing streak. Mike Trout slammed his 43rd homer in the eighth inning for Los Angeles, driving in 100 runs for the first time since 2016 with his solo shot to left. Andrew Heaney had 10 strikeouts over six innings of four-hit ball in his second straight outstanding start against Texas.

The Atlanta Braves have suffered their second straight loss since reeling off eight consecutive victories.

Justin Smoak belted his 20th home run and had an RBI single as the Blue Jays downed the Braves, 3-1 in Toronto. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits and an RBI to back Zack Godley, who pitched three innings for the win in relief of opener Wilmer Font.

Former Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson went 0 for 4 in his first game back in Toronto.

Mike Soroka (sah-ROH’-kah) lost in his home country, giving up two runs and eight hits over six innings.

The outcome keeps the NL East-leading Braves 5 ½ games ahead of Washington.

The Nationals failed to gain ground as Aaron Brooks combined with four relievers on a four-hitter in Baltimore’s 2-0 shutout of the Nats. Brooks came in with a 6.21 ERA and was facing a team averaging 9 ½ runs over its last 11 games before limiting the Nationals to four baserunners over six innings.

Rookie Hunter Harvey worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, striking out Asdrubal Cabrera after yielding a triple to Trea Turner and a pair of two-out walks.

Elsewhere on major league diamonds:

_ The Cardinals continue to lead the NL Central by three games over Chicago after Yadier (YAH’-dee-ehr) Molina homered twice in a 6-3 victory at Milwaukee. Molina’s second round-tripper was a two-run blast that put St. Louis ahead, 3-1 in the seventh. Miles Mikolas was reached for one run and only four hits while striking out 10 over six innings to help the Redbirds get their sixth straight win.

_ The Cubs bounced back from their three-game sweep by Washington to take the opener of their series with the Mets, 5-2. Yu Darvish scattered five hits and struck out seven over eight masterful innings, although he surrendered rookie Pete Alonso’s team-record 42nd home run. Javier Baez and Addison Russell each had three hits, including a two-run homer.

_ The Dodgers blew out the Padres, 9-0 as Walker Buehler fanned 11 and allowed only four hits in six innings to improve to 11-3. Buehler improved to 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA in four career appearances against San Diego in two seasons, including a combined no-hitter in Mexico. Joe Pederson homered for the NL West leaders, who also got two RBIs apiece from Corey Seager, Kike (KEE’-kay) Hernandez and Will Smith.

_ The Pirates pulled out a 5-4 win over the Phillies when Rhys Hoskins dropped a throw to first on a potential inning-ending double-play grounder. Bryan Reynolds and Colin Moran drove in two runs apiece as Pittsburgh dropped Philadelphia two games out of an NL wild-card berth. Logan Morrison tied it at 4-all in the sixth with his fifth career pinch-hit home run.

_ Mike Leake picked up his first win since joining the Diamondbacks and Adam Jones supplied a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning of a 3-2 victory against the Giants. Leake gave up two runs and four hits over 7 1/3 innings as Arizona moved within four games of a wild-card slot. Ketel (keh-TEHL’) Marte homered in the fifth for the DBacks but came up limping as he ran the bases and left because of a cramp in his right hamstring.

_ Curt Casali belted a solo homer and broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run single before the Reds completed an 8-5 victory against the Marlins. Eugenio (ay-oo-HEH’-nee-oh) Suárez went deep for the third straight day and finished with three hits to back a shaky Luis Castillo, who struck out 11 but was reached for five runs over six innings.

_ Marcus Semien sparked the Athletics’ offense in a 2-1 win over the Royals, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Fiers scattered eight hits in his 5 1/3 innings but managed to win his 11th straight decision and improve to 13-3. The victory allowed the Athletics to move a game ahead of Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card.

_ The Rays absorbed a 15-1 loss to the Astros as Houston tagged former teammate Charlie Morton for six runs over four innings. Rookie Yordan Alvarez homered twice with four RBIs to help the Astros win their fifth in a row and maintain their nine-game lead over Oakland atop the AL West. Justin Verlander allowed four hits and struck out four in 5 1/3 scoreless innings to improve to 16-5, although he was ejected for screaming at plate umpire Pat Hoberg over a perceived missed strike call.

_ Masahiro Tanaka (mah-sah-HEE’-roh tah-NAH’-kah) threw seven sharp innings and outpitched Yusei Kikuchi (YOO’-say kih-KOO’-chee) in a showdown of Japanese starters as the Yankees blanked the Mariners, 7-0 in Seattle. Tanaka held the M’s to three hits while striking out seven to help the Yanks stretch their lead in the AL East to 10 ½ games over Tampa Bay. Aaron Judge launched a two-run blast in the first inning to become the third-fastest player in major league history to hit 100 home runs.

_ Homers by Christian Vázquez, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts (BOH’-gahrts) were among the Red Sox’s highlights in a 10-6 win at Colorado. Bradley crushed an estimated 478-foot blast into the third deck, giving Coors Field four of the eight longest homers in the majors this season. Rick Porcello gave up two runs over five innings for Boston, which survived two-run homers by Sam Hilliard and Nolan Arenado (ar-eh-NAH’-doh).

MLB-NEWS

Indians’ Ramírez has surgery; Mariners’ Broxton, Dodgers’ Turner suspended

UNDATED (AP) _ The Cleveland Indians have hope that third baseman José Ramírez can return to the team for the playoffs if they get that far.

Ramirez had surgery Monday in New York on the broken hamate bone in his right hand, an injury suffered during a hard swing during a weekend game. The team said the two-time All-Star could return in five to seven weeks, which would be the beginning of October.

Ramirez is batting .254 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs this season.

The Indians begin play with a half-game lead for the top AL wild-card berth, and 3 ½ games behind the AL Central-leading Twins.

In other MLB news:

_ Keon Broxton has received a two-game suspension from Major League Baseball for throwing equipment that hit an umpire after the Mariners outfielder struck out looking. MLB says Broxton is appealing the discipline, meaning he is allowed to play until the process is complete.

_ MLB also says Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is appealing his one-game ban for making contact with an umpire at the end of Monday’s loss at San Diego. Turner argued with plate umpire Rob Drake over a called third strike that ended the game.

_ Diamondbacks left fielder David Peralta (peh-RAHL’-tah) has decided to undergo season-ending right shoulder surgery on Friday following his third stint on the injured list. Peralta was batting .275 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs in 99 games this season before leaving the lineup last week.

_ Yankees right-hander Luis Severino feels ready to start a minor league rehab assignment following his second simulated game. Severino is coming back from a lat muscle injury suffered during spring training and said he felt good after throwing 35 pitches over two innings against minor leaguers on Tuesday. Severino was 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts last season.

_ Two people familiar with the situation tell The Associated Press that the ownership of the Kansas City Royals is open to the possibility of selling the franchise if the right buyer is found. The Athletic reported Tuesday that team owner David Glass was in discussions with a group led by Kansas City native and Cleveland Indians vice chairman John Sherman. But the depth of those discussions is unclear, and one person told the AP that the club has been open to offers for some time.

TENNIS-US OPEN

Osaka avoids upset, Gauff rallies

NEW YORK (AP) _ There were moments on Tuesday when Naomi Osaka looked nothing like a No. 1 seed or a defending U.S. Open women’s singles champion. She fell behind 3-0 and wasted a match point in the second set while displaying questionable body language.

But Osaka eventually found her rhythm and completed a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 victory over Anna Blinkova despite finishing with 50 unforced errors, more than double Blinkova’s total of 22 in the opening-round match.

American Sloane Stephens is out of the U.S. Open in the first round, just two years after winning the title. The No. 11 seed was stunned, 6-3, 6-4 by the 127th-ranked Anna Kalinskaya.

Coco Gauff has won her U.S. Open debut with a comeback effort against Anastasia Potopova. The 15-year-old Gauff lost the first set and was down a break before posting a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Gauff got a wild-card entry from the U.S. Tennis Association after making a surprising run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last month, her first Grand Slam event.

Gauff and Osaka are joined in the second round by fourth seed Simona Halep (HA’-lehp), who also needed three sets before posting a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over American Nicole Gibbs. Halep had dropped her previous U.S. Open matches, falling to Maria Sharapova and Kaia Kanepi.

Sixth seed Petra Kvitova (kuh-VIH’-toh-vah) and No. 7 Kiki Bertens dropped just six games apiece in breezing into the second round.

Men’s second seed Rafael Nadal (nah-DAHL’) remains unbeaten in opening-round matches at Flushing Meadows following a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Australian John Millman. Nadal had little trouble against the player who knocked out Roger Federer in the fourth round last year.

There were a trio of top-10 upsets on the men’s side as fourth seed Dominic Thiem (teem) was dispatched by Thomas Fabbiano in four sets. Eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten in five sets by Andrey Rublev and No. 10 Roberto Bautista-Agut (ah-GOO’) dropped a five-setter to Mikhail Kukushkin.

NFL-NEWS

Rivera expects Newton will play in opener

UNDATED (AP) _ Panthers coach Ron Rivera says “there’s no doubt in my mind” that Cam Newton will play in the team’s regular season opener against the Rams.

Rivera says the 30-year-old quarterback has made “good strides” after suffering a mid-foot sprain in last Thursday night’s preseason game against at New England.

Rivera expects Newton will return to practice when the Panthers begin preparations for the opener against the Rams on Sept. 8.

In other NFL news:

_ Denver tight end Jake Butt has had another setback in his return from a third ACL injury and might be headed back to injured reserve. Butt hasn’t practiced since playing 11 snaps in Denver’s preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend, his first game action since last September.

_ The Lions have signed quarterback Luis Perez and cut quarterback David Fales as they seek depth behind Matthew Stafford. Detroit signed Tom Savage to likely be its No. 2 quarterback, but his preseason was impacted by a concussion.

WOODS-KNEE

Woods has surgery on left knee for minor cartilage damage

UNDATED (AP) _ Tiger Woods says he has had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair what he describes as minor cartilage damage.

The surgery was not believed to be serious, and Woods says on Twitter he expects to return to practice.

Woods had the surgery last week during the Tour Championship. He won the Masters in April for his 15th major but did not finish among the top 30 in the FedEx Cup who qualified for the final event at East Lake.