AP Sports Summary for Tuesday August 27th, 2024:
Salvador Perez hits grand slam, drives in 6 as Royals sweep Guardians, close within 1 in AL Central
CLEVELAND (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs as the Kansas City Royals completed a doubleheader sweep of Cleveland, beating the Guardians 9-4 to pull within one game of first in the AL Central. Bobby Witt Jr.'s 27th homer — and 11th since July 19 — snapped a tie in the eighth inning and sent the Royals to a 4-3 win in the day game. In Game 2, Perez hit a solo homer in the fifth inning and connected for his sixth career slam in the sixth. Kansas City was nine games back in early July, but have chipped away at Cleveland's lead by posting an AL-best 22-13 record since the break. The Guardians dropped to 0-8 in doubleheaders this season.
Receiver CeeDee Lamb agrees to 4-year, $136M deal with Cowboys, AP sources say
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Three people familiar with the deal say All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has ended his holdout with the Dallas Cowboys by agreeing to a $136 million, four-year contract. Lamb is going into the last year of his rookie contract after being drafted 17th overall in 2020. He is a close second to Minnesota receiver Justin Jefferson as the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Lamb led the NFL in receptions last season with 135 and was second in yards receiving with 1,749 and third in touchdown receptions with 12.
Danny Jansen plays for both teams in Blue Jays-Red Sox game, an MLB first
BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen became the first player in Major League Baseball history to appear in the same game for both teams when he took the field for Boston in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started for Toronto back in June. Jansen was in the Blue Jays' lineup at catcher and batting in the second inning on June 26 when the game was suspended. He was traded to the Red Sox last month, and on Monday he took his position behind the plate as pinch-hitter Daulton Varsho completed an at-bat that Jansen started.
Coco Gauff begins her US Open title defense with an easy win after a two-match losing streak
NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff's U.S. Open title defense is off to a successful start. The 20-year-old American beat Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 in just 66 minutes on Monday. Gauff had lost two matches in a row on hard courts before arriving in New York, where she won last year's championship for her first Grand Slam trophy. Other winners on Day 1 included No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, No. 14 Madison Keys, No. 4 Alexander Zverev, No. 6 Andrey Rublev, No. 8 Casper Ruud and Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. Shelton beat 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, who is retiring after the season.
Prescott's time with the Cowboys, Russell Wilson's fading career among the hot QB questions in 2024
Dak Prescott figures to get paid one way or another. The star Dallas quarterback would love for that to be with the Cowboys, but the question lingers in the final year of his current contract. Russell Wilson is in Pittsburgh after two mostly miserable years in Denver. The end of the line could be near for the former Seattle star. Wilson hasn't been announced as the starter by the Steelers, who traded for Justin Fields after adding Wilson. The look and feel of the hot seat is a bit different for Prescott and Wilson, among others in potential make-or-break situations, but it's a hot seat nonetheless.
Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Upstart's boom looms out of view at the US Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Does American tennis have a pickleball problem? Even as the U.S. Open opened this week with more than a million fans expected for the sport's biggest showcase, the game's leaders are being forced to confront the fact that the nation's fastest-growing sport is actually pickleball, which has seen participation boom 223% in the past three years. The U.S. Tennis Association is flipping the script on pickleball by promoting its own short-court version of tennis called "red ball tennis." Backers bill it as the ideal way for people of all ages to get into tennis, and say the best place to try it is on pickleball courts.
Viva La México: NASCAR to take Cup Series international for 1st points race of modern era
NASCAR will take its top Cup Series international for the first points-paying race outside the United States next year with a June stop in Mexico City. The Cup Series will race at storied Autódromo Hermanos RodrÃguez and have a Tuesday morning news conference in Mexico City to discuss the event. The Cup race will be June 15 and NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series and NASCAR Mexico Series will be part of the weekend. The Cup Series has never gone international in the modern era for anything besides exhibition races. It held exhibitions in Japan between 1996 and 1998, and once in Australia in 1988. The only two points-paying Cup races previously held internationally were in Canada, in 1952 and 1958.
NASCAR appeal officer upholds decision to revoke Austin Dillon's playoff berth after win at Richmond
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Austin Dillon's overly aggressive victory at Richmond Raceway won't land him a spot in the Cup Series playoffs. A NASCAR appeal officer on Monday upheld the sanctioning body's decision to revoke Dillon's automatic postseason berth that came with his controversial win at Richmond on Aug. 11. Dillon intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano coming out of the final turn to take the checkered flag for his first victory in two years. Three days later, NASCAR announced that Dillon's victory "crossed a line." Richard Childress Racing appealed. A NASCAR "final appeal officer" upheld the penalties and said race data indicated "that more likely than not a rule violation did occur."
US Open fans can move around in the stands and don't need to wait for changeovers to enter or exit
NEW YORK (AP) — Fans at the U.S. Open now have the freedom to do what fans at other sporting events take for granted. They can get out of their seats and move around during the action. Etiquette at tennis matches has long demanded that no one gets in or out during a game. But under a new policy instituted this year, people with tickets for certain sections at every court can move around whenever they want, even during play. Fans who spoke to The Associated Press on Monday said they liked the change. For players, it takes a little getting used to, but most don't see it as a big deal.
US Open: 16-year-old Californian Iva Jovic beats Magda Linette in the first round
NEW YORK (AP) — Iva Jovic is a 16-year-old from California who has became the youngest American to win a women's main-draw match at the U.S. Open since 2000. She eliminated 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette of Poland 6-4, 6-3 on Monday. Katrina Scott of the U.S. was 16 when she won a match at the U.S. Open four years ago. Last year, Mirra Andreeva of Russia was 16 when she did it. Here's one indication of Jovic's youth: She still is planning to enter the junior event later in the tournament. Here's another: Jovic is still in school, taking online courses through a program she described as "convenient and ... very lenient."
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 3 Houston 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 5 Washington 2
Final Atlanta 10 Minnesota 6
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Kansas City 4 Cleveland 3
Final Toronto 4 Boston 1
Final Kansas City 9 Cleveland 4
Final Toronto 7 Boston 3
Final Detroit 6 Chicago White Sox 3
Final Seattle 5 Tampa Bay 1
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 18 Pittsburgh 8
Final San Diego 7 St. Louis 4
Final Colorado 3 Miami 2
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Indiana 84 Atlanta 79
Final New York 84 Phoenix 70
Final Washington 74 Seattle 72
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Houston at Philadelphia 6:40 p.m.
Oakland at Cincinnati 6:40 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Washington 6:45 p.m.
Atlanta at Minnesota 7:40 p.m.
Baltimore at L-A Dodgers 10:10 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City at Cleveland 6:40 p.m.
L-A Angels at Detroit 6:40 p.m.
Toronto at Boston 7:10 p.m.
Texas at Chi White Sox 8:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Seattle 9:40 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chi Cubs at Pittsburgh 6:40 p.m.
San Diego at St. Louis 7:45 p.m.
San Francisco at Milwaukee 8:10 p.m.
Miami at Colorado 8:40 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Arizona 9:40 p.m.
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Las Vegas at Dallas 8 p.m.
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