Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Ryan O'Reilly had two goals and an assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 to even in their first-round playoff series. Alex Pietrangelo also scored for the Blues and added an assist. Jake Allen made 22 saves. J.T. Miller scored for the Canucks, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 shots. Game 5 is Wednesday. O'Reilly gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at 6:52 of the second as he took a pass out of the corner from David Perron, walked out in front of the net and flicked a backhander into the top corner for the second two-goal playoff game of his career. Pietrangelo fired shot that hit Edler's stick and went in with 4:13 to go in the middle period.
CHICAGO (AP) — David Bote hit a three-run homer in Chicago's four-run sixth inning, and the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 for a doubleheader split. With two outs and runners on the corners, Bote put Chicago ahead to stay with a massive drive to center field off Tyler Webb for his second career pinch-hit homer. Bote belted a game-ending grand slam for his first pinch-hit shot in a 4-3 win against Washington on Aug. 12, 2018.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nelson Cruz continued his climb up the all-time leaderboard with two home runs and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1. Devin Smeltzer (2-0) picked up the win in relief of opener Matt Wisler for Minnesota. Cruz tied Mark Teixeira for 55th on the all-time home run list. Rookie Kris Bubic (0-3) surrendered two runs on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings for the Royals. Hunter Dozier homered in the ninth inning to end Minnesota's shutout bid.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Taco Charlton has been a bust on two different teams. Tanoh Kpassagnon was considered the same for a while as he moved between linebacker and defensive end. Breeland Speaks is still trying to live up to expectations as a second-round pick after injuries scrapped his second season in the league. Yet those three could provide the depth that turns the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line into one of the best in the NFL this season.
CHICAGO (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have optioned right-hander Roel Ramírez to their alternate training site a day after he surrendered four consecutive homers in his major league debut. The 25-year-old Ramírez will remain with the team in Chicago on its taxi squad. He yielded consecutive drives by Yoán Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, José Abreu and Eloy Jiménez in the fifth inning of the Cardinals' 7-2 loss to the White Sox on Sunday. Right-hander Nabil Crismatt was promoted from the team's training site in Springfield, Missouri. St. Louis also announced that right-hander Jake Woodford will serve as the 29th man for its doubleheader against the Cubs.
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds scheduled a flight to Kansas City early Tuesday for a two-game series against the Royals that was put in doubt after a Reds player tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. Players, coaches and other organization members were retested over the weekend. The final two games of a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park were postponed. Monday was a scheduled day off. The Reds made travel plans for Kansas City and expected to start Luis Castillo in the series opener Tuesday night, assuming it's played.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The National Association of Basketball Coaches is creating a coalition of players to provide feedback on a variety of issues in the latest example of student-athletes gaining a greater voice both on and off the court. NABC executive director Craig Robinson says the coalition will meet quarterly and address the organization's board of directors and NCAA committees. The coalition also will provide coaches and other NABC members with their own experiences in professional and personal development opportunities.
Update on the latest sports
NBA-PLAYOFFS
Mitchell's 57 not enough vs. Nuggets
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Donovan Mitchell shattered the Utah Jazz playoff record for points in a game as the NBA embarked on its bubble playoffs near Orlando. But his 57-point performance wasn't enough for the Jazz to avoid a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Jamal Murray led the victory by scoring 20 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Nuggets' 135-125 win against Utah. Murray sealed the win on a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining.
Nikola Jokic (nee-KOH'-lah YOH'-kihch) finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds in the first game of postseason.
Mitchell was 19 of 33 from the floor and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He also had seven assists.
Mitchell's scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle.
In other playoff-opening action:
— Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and led the Toronto Raptors' sizzling 3-point attack in a 134-110 romp over Brooklyn. The defending champs were 22 of 44 from beyond the arc, with VanVleet hitting eight of his 10 attempts. Toronto's accuracy from beyond the arc helped the Raptors grab a 68-35 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. Serge Ibaka (ih-BAH'-kah) scored 22 points off the bench for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam (see-AK'-ihm) had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
— Jayson Tatum had career playoff highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds to guide the Celtics to a 109-101 victory over the 76ers. Tatum scored 15 points in the second quarter to give the Celtics a 55-49 lead at halftime. Kemba Walker added 19 points for the Boston, which scored 16 points off Philadelphia's 13 turnovers. Joel Embiid (joh-EHL' ehm-BEED') had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the 76ers, who nearly pulled off the win while All-Star guard Ben Simmons sits out indefinitely after left knee surgery.
— Kawhi (kah-WY') Leonard had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the Clippers got a big boost from the ejection of Kristaps Porzingis (KRIHS'-tahps pohr-ZIHN'-gihz) to beat the Mavericks. 118-110. Los Angeles pulled into the lead when Porzingis was ejected for picking up his second technical foul in the third quarter. Paul George added 27 points and Marcus Morris had 19 for the Clippers. Dallas lost despite 42 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from Luka Doncic (DAHN'-chihch).
NHL PLAYOFFS-SCHEDULE
Bolts, B's, Avs up 3-1
UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche hold three-games-to-one leads in their Stanley Cup first-round series after winning on Monday.
Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde (YAH'-nee gohrd) each had a goal and an assist as the Lightning downed Columbus, 2-1. Tampa Bay took control by scoring twice in the first 4:09 of the second period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (va-sih-LEHV'-skee) had 28 saves and blanked Columbus after Cam Atkinson beat him in the middle period, two minutes after Gourde gave the Bolts a two-goal lead.
Also in Toronto, Jake DeBrusk scored twice while the Bruins were turning a 2-0, third-period deficit into a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes. Brad Marchand and Connor Clifton also scored in the third for Boston, which outshot the Hurricanes, 16-2 in the final 20 minutes. Justin Williams and Jordan Martinook scored to give Carolina the 2-0 lead before the Bruins ran off four straight goals.
The Avalanche coasted to a 7-1 rout of the Coyotes as Nazem Kadri (NA'-zehm KA'-dree) delivered two goals and an assist. Kadri already has five goals and nine points in seven games at the Edmonton bubble.
Matt Calvert, Cale Makar (mah-KAHR') and Mikko Rantanen each had a goal and an assist for the Avs, who chased Darcy Kuemper (KEHM'-pur) from the nets after two periods.
Philipp Grubauer faced just 15 shots and blanked the Coyotes until Jakob Chychryn (JAY'-kuhn CHIHK'-rihn) scored a power-play goal 13 1/2 minutes into the second period.
Meanwhile, the defending Stanley Cup champs have knotted their series at two games apiece.
Ryan O'Reilly scored twice and had an assist in the Blues' 3-1 verdict over the Canucks. O'Reilly snapped a 1-1 tie seven minutes into the second period and set up Alex Pietrangelo (peh-TRAN'-jeh-loh) later in the stanza.
Jake Allen stopped 23 shots for the Blues, who have won the last two games of the series.
NHL-PENGUINS-MALKIN
Malkin undergoes elbow surgery
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has undergone left elbow surgery. The team did not provide specifics on the nature of Malkin's injury or when it occurred. The 34-year-old Malkin led the Penguins with 74 points during the regular season but was ineffective during a four-game loss to Montreal in the qualifying round of the playoffs.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Tatis batters Rangers
UNDATED (AP) — Fernando Tatis (tah-TEES') Jr. continues to add to his young baseball legacy.
The second-year player leads the majors with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs after delivering a three-run shot and a grand slam in the Padres' 14-4 dismantling of the Rangers. Tatis put the game out of reach with his eighth-inning blast before his bases-loaded bomb capped the Padres' scoring in his 108th big league game. The two homers raised his average to .305.
Austin Hedges also homered and Jurickson Profar (JUR'-ihk-suhn PROH'-fahr) had two RBIs for San Diego.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Brad Miller hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning of the Cardinals' 3-1 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of a doubleheader. St. Louis improved to 3-1 since it returned Saturday after a coronavirus outbreak derailed their season, leaving them idle for weeks and resulting in 18 confirmed cases in the organization.
— The Cubbies ended the season-worst, four-game skid in the nightcap as David Bote (BOH'-tee) belted a three-run homer in a four-run sixth that pushed them to a 5-4 victory. St. Louis wasted a big performance by Miller, who homered twice and drove in three runs in Game 2.
— Dansby Swanson slammed a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to cap the Braves' four-run rally against Daniel Hudson in a 7-6 triumph over the Nationals. Washington led 6-3 in the ninth until Adam Duvall hit a two-run shot.
— Pete Alonso and Robinson Cano (kah-NOH') each homered twice as the Mets crushed the Marlins, 11-4 to end a three-game losing streak. Alonso and Cano each had three of New York's 14 hits.
— Luke Voit (voyt) homered twice in the Yankees' 10th consecutive win over the rival Red Sox, 6-3. Aroldis (ah-ROHL'-dihs) Chapman picked up the save in his return from the COVID-19 injured list, helping New York get its sixth straight victory overall.
— Carlos Correa hit a two-run double to back a strong start by rookie Brandon Bielak in the Astros' fifth win in a row, 2-1 versus the Rangers. Bielak allowed one hit and one run in six innings to move to 3-0.
— Nelson Cruz Jr. smacked a pair of solo homers and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter in the Twins' 4-1 victory against the Royals. Cruz surpassed Duke Snider and tied Mark Teixeira (teh-SHEHR'-uh) with his 409th career homer, good for 55th all-time.
— Tim Anderson and Luis Robert each hit two of the White Sox's six home runs in a 7-2 decision over the Tigers. Yoan Moncada and Danny Mendick also left the yards for Chicago, which banged out four consecutive home runs in Sunday's win over the Cardinals.
— Kike (KEE'-kay) Hernandez launched a two-run homer that capped the Dodgers' five-run eighth in their sixth straight win, 11-9 against the Mariners. Mookie Betts also homered and Corey Seager added a three-run blast for Los Angeles.
— David Peralta slapped a bases-loaded single with one out in the ninth inning to give the Diamondbacks their fifth straight win and ninth in 12 games, 4-3 over the Athletics. Nick Ahmed atoned for a game-tying error by leading off the ninth with a double and scoring the winning run, helping Arizona move above .500 for the first time this season.
— The Angels came away with a 7-6 win over the Giants after Tommy La Stella hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning. Mike Trout hit his 10th homer and Albert Pujols had a two-run double to help Los Angeles halt a four-game slide.
— Hyun Jin Ryu (hyoon jihn ree-OO') pitched six innings of four-hit ball as the Blue Jays whipped the Orioles, 7-2. Randal Grichuk (GRIH'-chuhk) homered and drove in four runs to back Ryu.
NFL NEWS
Cowboys newcomer Gerald McCoy out for season with leg injury
UNDATED (AP) — Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is out for the season after tearing the quadriceps tendon in his right leg.
McCoy suffered the injury while working out against Antwaun Woods in an individual drill during the first padded practice of training camp.
In other NFL news:
— The Giants have cut placekicker Chandler Catanzaro, just 16 days after the team signed the veteran following the release of incumbent Aldrick Rosas. New York is in talks with former Carolina Panthers veteran Graham Gano.
— Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes had surgery for a torn pectoral muscle, a significant setback to a defense in transition. The Bengals signed Waynes to a three-year deal as a free agent from Minnesota.
— The Lions have signed running back Jonathan Williams, adding depth in the backfield behind Kerryon Johnson and rookie D'Andre Swift. Williams has 329 yards rushing on 79 carries with two touchdowns over parts of three seasons with the Colts, Saints and Bills.
— The Washington Football Team has hired Jason Wright as team president. He's the first Black person to hold that position in NFL history and at 38 becomes the league's youngest team president. Wright spent seven years as an NFL running back, was an Arizona Cardinals captain and their Players Association representative.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
K-State OK'd for 25% capacity for football games
UNDATED (AP) — Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn says his players have had 33 positive tests for COVID-19 this summer.
Malzahn says his Tigers had no positive tests last week, but four players are still going through the testing protocols. He added that the school has administered 863 tests among players, an average of more than seven times each.
In other college football news:
— Kansas State will allow 25% capacity at its football stadium for games this season after getting approval Monday from the county commission. That means a maximum crowd of just under 15,000 fans.
— Mississippi starting center Eli Johnson says he won't play football this season. Johnson announced on Twitter that he'll sit out the season and focus on completing his master's degree in criminal justice in December.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
No fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium through Sept.
UNDATED (AP) — There will be no fans at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium for NFL and MLS games played in September. The Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United say the coronavirus pandemic forced the decision. The teams say they will continue to collaborate with local and national health officials before deciding on the possibility for fans in games after September.
In other virus-related sports news:
— The Canadian Football League has canceled its 2020 season because of the pandemic. The decision marks the first year since 1919 the Grey Cup won't be awarded.
TENNIS - US OPEN
Halep opts out of U.S. Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Simona Halep (see-MOH'-nah HA'-lehp) will skip the U.S. Open, saying she wants to put her health first amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Halep is a former top-ranked player who is currently No. 2. She won the title in Prague on Sunday.
Six of the top eight women in the WTA rankings won't play in New York, including No. 1 Ash Barty and defending champion Bianca Andreescu.