AP Sports Summary for September 6th, 2023.
Altuve homers 3 times, Maldonado twice as Astros pummel reeling Rangers 14-1
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jose Altuve homered his first three times up, starting with a pair off All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in his return from the injured list, and the Houston Astros pummeled the Texas Rangers 14-1. The third homer was to center field off Dane Dunning, a starter who came out of the bullpen to clear the way for Eovaldi to start coming off a right forearm strain. MartÃn Maldonado homered twice and Yordan Alvarez connected for his 24th as the Astros set a Globe Life Field record with six long balls.
Ben Shelton tops Frances Tiafoe at the US Open for his first Slam semifinal. Novak Djokovic is next
NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Shelton has reached his first major semifinal by beating Frances Tiafoe in four sets at the U.S. Open. It was the first Grand Slam quarterfinal between two African-American men in the professional era. After a victory that ended after midnight on Wednesday, the 20-year-old Shelton will face 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic on Friday for a berth in the final. Djokovic reached his record 47th Grand Slam by defeating Taylor Fritz 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on a steamy Tuesday afternoon. Djokovic improved to 13-0 for his career in quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows — and to 8-0 against Fritz, an American who was seeded No. 9.
Colorado, Duke surge into the AP Top 25 after huge upsets; Florida State climbs into top five
No. 21 Duke and No. 22 Colorado have jumped into the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll after scoring the biggest upsets of the opening weekend of the season. No. 4 Florida State also climbed into the top-five with a resounding victory over LSU, which dropped from fifth to No. 14. Georgia remained No. 1 and Michigan held steady at No. 2. No. 3 Alabama moved up a spot and Florida State climbed four places and received three first-place votes. Ohio State dropped two places to round out the top five.
Chiefs' All-Pro TE Travis Kelce hyperextends knee in practice for opener vs Detroit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tight end Travis Kelce hyperextended his knee during the Chiefs' final practice before their opener against Detroit on Tuesday, leaving his status in question for Thursday night's game. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the injury occurred during their final full workout Tuesday but provided no other details. The 33-year-old Kelce has not missed a game to injury since his rookie year in 2013, which he had a microfracture procedure to fix a cartilage problem in his knee. He has twice been held out of meaningless games to end the regular season.
MLB investigating after UrÃas' arrest on felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Major League Baseball has opened an investigation into Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio UrÃas after he was arrested Sunday on a felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman confirmed the charge Tuesday. UrÃas did not travel with the Dodgers to Miami, where they open a three-game series against the Marlins on Tuesday night. He was scheduled to make his next start Thursday. UrÃas was arrested late Sunday night by Department of Public Safety officers in Exposition Park, south of downtown Los Angeles. The park is home to BMO Stadium, where Lionel Messi was playing in a Major League Soccer game with numerous celebrities in attendance.
Coco Gauff reaches her first US Open semifinal at 19. Ben Shelton gets to his first at 20
NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff has reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time by eliminating 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2 on a steamy afternoon. Gauff is a 19-year-old from Florida who is the first American teenager to reach the final four at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2001. This was the 16th victory in her past 17 matches for Gauff. She will No. 10 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic on Thursday with a berth in the final at stake. Muchova beat No. 30 Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3. Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton set up a meeting in the men's semifinals.
No. 22 Colorado off to flying start by following lead of unconventional coach Deion Sanders
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders wants his players reading all about how good they are because the Colorado coach isn't one to keep his players grounded. He prefers them flying high. After beating heavily favored TCU last weekend, the Buffaloes moved into the AP Top 25 poll at No. 22. The unconventional Sanders is proving to be a master motivator. He's all about not running from publicity but remembering it. He has his team at the center of the college football universe, at least for now. The 22nd-ranked Buffs will host old rival Nebraska this Saturday in the home debut for Sanders.
USA rolls past Italy 100-63 to reach Basketball World Cup semifinals
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States is headed to the medal round of the Basketball World Cup after bouncing back from its first loss of the tournament in emphatic fashion. Mikal Bridges scored 14 of his 24 points in the first half and the U.S. was airtight for long stretches defensively on the way to beating Italy 100-63 on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The win ensures the 15th top-four finish for the Americans in 19 World Cups. They'll play either Germany or Latvia in Friday's semifinals.
Coach of Spain's World Cup-winning women's soccer team is fired weeks after victory celebration kiss
MADRID (AP) — The coach of Spain's World Cup-winning women's soccer team has been fired. The announcement Tuesday came less than three weeks after the victory celebration that led to the suspension of the country's soccer federation president for kissing a player. The Spanish soccer federation offered no immediate explanation for the dismissal of coach Jorge Vilda. The federation says Vilda was key to the growth of women's soccer and thanked him for leading the national team to the World Cup title and to No. 2 in the FIFA rankings. Vilda was among those who at first applauded federation president Luis Rubiales when he refused to quit.
Say cheese: Ohtani body double finds way into Angels' team photo
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — It is next to impossible to replace all that Shohei Ohtani can do when standing on a baseball field, although the Los Angeles Angels did their best for a few minutes Tuesday. With Ohtani unavailable for team photo day, as he continues to be examined for oblique soreness that cropped up Monday, the team put a body double in a No. 17 jersey and lined him up in the outfield with the rest of the players. After the photo was completed, the Ohtani imposter was ushered out of a tunnel beyond the left field wall.
AP-Scorecard
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 7 Seattle 6
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Minnesota 8 Cleveland 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 5 Detroit 1
Final Kansas City 7 Chicago White Sox 6
Final Houston 14 Texas 1
Final Tampa Bay 8 Boston 6
Final Toronto 7 Oakland 1
Final Baltimore 5 L.A. Angels 4
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 6 L.A. Dodgers 3
Final Milwaukee 7 Pittsburgh 3
Final N.Y. Mets 11 Washington 5
Final St. Louis 10 Atlanta 6
Final Chicago Cubs 11 San Francisco 8
Final San Diego 8 Philadelphia 0
Final Colorado 3 Arizona 2
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WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Chicago 96 Indiana 69
Final Connecticut 90 Los Angeles 76
Final New York 94 Dallas 93
Final Washington 100 Phoenix 77
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