Update on the latest sports
APMLB-SCHEDULE
Yankees seek 11th in a row
ATLANTA (AP) — Riding a 10-game winning streak, Giancarlo Stanton and the New York Yankees go for a two-game interleague sweep at NL East-leading Atlanta. Stanton homered and drove in three runs Monday night as New York cooled off the streaking Braves with a 5-1 victory. New York snapped Atlanta’s own nine-game winning streak in the first regular-season matchup in almost 120 years between teams that had won at least nine in a row. Andrew Heaney makes his fifth start for the Yankees since being acquired from the Angels. He is 2-1 with a 6.55 ERA for his new team. Charlie Morton tries for his third consecutive win for the Braves. He is 4-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 11 career starts against the Yankees. Morton has lasted at least six innings in seven of his past eight starts.
Among the other games on the schedule:
— One day after firing pitching coach Larry Rothschild, the slumping San Diego Padres begin a three-game series at home against the NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers. After a solid start to the season, San Diego’s staff has a 4.82 ERA in August. Three of the Padres’ main starters — Yu Darvish, Chris Paddack and Dinelson Lamet — are on the injured list. So is Drew Pomeranz, one of the club’s top relievers.
— Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds visit Milwaukee in the start of a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL Central. The first-place Brewers have a 7 1/2-game advantage over Cincinnati, which leads San Diego by one game for the second NL wild card. Corbin Burnes pitches for Milwaukee against Tyler Mahle as the Brewers look for their 11th victory in 14 games. Votto is batting .320 since the All-Star break and leads the majors in homers (17) and RBIs (41) during that stretch.
— Baltimore attempts to halt an 18-game losing streak when the Orioles host Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series. It’s the longest skid in the majors since Kansas City dropped 19 in a row in 2005. Only three times during the slide have the Orioles lost by two runs or fewer. Spenser Watkins pitches for Baltimore against Dylan Bundy, a first-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2011. He last pitched for them in 2019.
— All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson could return to the Chicago White Sox lineup in Toronto after sitting out three straight games because of soreness in his legs. Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos is 0-1 with a 5.28 ERA in his past three starts. Dylan Cease pitches for Chicago, which has a comfortable cushion in the AL Central.
— Tampa Bay has some significant concerns heading into a two-game interleague series at Philadelphia. The AL East leaders put designated hitter Nelson Cruz on the COVID-19 injured list Sunday before a 9-0 victory over the White Sox. Tampa Bay also lost starting pitcher Chris Archer and first baseman Ji-Man Choi early in the game. The Rays started the day with 16 players, including 15 pitchers, on the IL.
NFL-PATRIOTS-NEWTON
Newton on track to return to practice after testing mishap
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says he expects Cam Newton to return to the field this week for the second day of joint practices with the Giants after the quarterback missed a second day of practice because of a misunderstanding of COVID-19 testing rules.
Newton is under an NFL-mandated five-day reentry process for unvaccinated players after traveling to an out-of-town medical appointment over the weekend. The Patriots said Newton had tested negative daily for COVID-19 while he was away but had misconstrued the protocols about tests conducted away from NFL facilities.
Belichick did acknowledge that Newton’s unavailability would give rookie quarterback Mac Jones an increased opportunity while Newton was missing practice.
In other developments from NFL training camps:
— A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that Buffalo Bills receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis must spend at least five days away from the team facility after having close contact with a trainer who tested positive for COVID-19. That means Beasley and Davis will miss the Bills’ final preseason game. Buffalo hosts Green Bay on Saturday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-CONFERENCE ALLIANCE
AP source: ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 to announce alliance plans
UNDATED (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12 plan to announce that the three powerful leagues will form an alliance to work together on football scheduling and college sports governance. A person familiar with the talks among the conferences told The Associated Press the commissioners of the three leagues are expected for the first time to publicly address an idea that has been discussed for several weeks.
PARALYMPICS-OPENING CEREMONY
Paralympics open in empty stadium — just like Olympics
TOKYO (AP) — The Paralympics have begun in the same empty National Stadium that hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics. Japanese Emperor Naruhito again had the official honor of getting it all started.
The Paralympics open with COVID-19 cases on the rise in Tokyo and Japan. Daily new cases in Tokyo have increased four to five times since the Olympics opened on July 23. Tokyo is under a state of emergency until Sept. 12. The Paralympics end Sept. 5. Organizers say they are confident the Paralympics can be held safely.
