Update on the latest sports
APMLB
Yankees-Braves showdown, Cabrera savors 500
UNDATED (AP) — Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees visit Atlanta tonight for the start of a two-game interleague series featuring two of baseball’s hottest teams.
The NL East-leading Braves have won nine in a row and 16 of 18. The Yankees have also won nine straight and should be well-rested after Sunday’s scheduled game against Minnesota was postponed because of Tropical Storm Henri.
New York holds the top AL wild card and is 4 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
Also in major league baseball:
— Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers get a day off to savor the slugger becoming the 28th player in major league history to hit 500 home runs. The 38-year-old Cabrera connected Sunday in Toronto off left-hander Steven Matz, sending a sixth-inning solo drive over the scoreboard in right-center field. Detroit went on to win 5-3 in 11 innings.
Cabrera’s 500th home run was hit No. 2,955 of his career, and he can reach the 3,000 milestone this year, too, if he can stay healthy and average one hit per game. Only six players have 3,000 hits and 500 homers: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Eddie Murray.
— All-Star pitcher Lance Lynn takes the mound for the White Sox for the first time since he was ejected from a game against Oakland for throwing his belt during a foreign-substance check at the dugout. The 34-year-old Lynn has been one of the best pitchers in the big leagues this season with a 10-3 record, 2.26 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings. He’ll face Blue Jays rookie Alek Manoah (5-2, 3.34) in the opener of a four-game series.
— The Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox play a makeup game this afternoon at Fenway Park, one day after Tropical Storm Henri forced two major league games to be postponed. The Twins-Yankees game in New York also was postponed and rescheduled for Sept. 13. Minnesota will have to interrupt a six-game homestand to return to the Bronx for the makeup game.
— The plummeting Chicago Cubs have lost a franchise-record 13 consecutive games at Wrigley Field as they welcome Colorado for a three-game series. Chicago has dropped 18 of 22 overall since trading away stars Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez and Craig Kimbrel, among others, leading up to the July 30 trade deadline. Kyle Hendricks (14-5, 4.04 ERA) pitches against Antonio Senzatela (2-9, 4.58) and the Rockies, who are 14-45 on the road.
— The Baltimore Orioles get a day to regroup before trying to stop an 18-game losing streak that’s the longest in the major leagues since Kansas City dropped 19 in a row in 2005. The Atlanta Braves beat Baltimore 3-1 on Sunday. It was only the third time during the skid that the Orioles lost by two runs or fewer. The Orioles host the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series starting Tuesday.
PARALYMPICS-AFGHANISTAN FLAG
Afghanistan flag to be displayed in Paralympic ceremony
TOKYO (AP) — The Afghanistan flag will be displayed in Tuesday’s opening ceremony of the Paralympics even though the country’s athletes were not able to get to Tokyo to compete.
The president of the International Paralympic Committee says it will done as be a “sign of solidarity.”
IPC President Andrew Parsons says a representative of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees will carry the flag in the National Stadium during the opening ceremony. It’s the same stadium where the opening of the Olympics took place on July 23.
