Update on the latest sports

MLB SCHEDULE

Cole sharp in return from COVID-19, Yanks top Angels 2-1

UNDATED (AP) — Gerrit Cole pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning and struck out nine in his return from the COVID-19 injured list, Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1.

New York has won 10 of 13 and pulled within two games of Boston for an AL wild-card spot. The Yankees open a three-game series against the Red Sox with a day-night doubleheader Tuesday. Cole went 5 2/3 innings, the only damage against him coming on Justin Upton’s homer in the first. The Yankees’ ace walked just one batter and threw 90 pitches, reaching 100 mph.

In other Monday action:

—Brett Phillips had an inside-the-park homer, Brandon Lowe went deep twice, and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays handed the Baltimore Orioles their 12th consecutive loss, 9-2. Baltimore has been outscored 113-36 during the skid. The Orioles dropped 14 in a row from May 18-31. Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Brosseau also homered for the Rays, who are 12-1 against the Orioles this season. Tampa Bay has outscored Baltimore 103-51, and has had nine runs or more in eight of the games.

MLB-NEWS

Rays sign Olympic pitcher

UNDATED (AP) — The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays have signed 36-year-old reliever David Robertson to a major league contract and will have him report to Triple-A Durham. Robertson pitched for the silver medal-winning USA team in the Tokyo Olympics.

The right-hander is 53-33 with 137 saves and a 2.90 ERA in 12 major league seasons, including nine with the New York Yankees. Robertson last appeared in the majors in 2019, pitching in seven games for Philadelphia.

The Rays started the week with 16 pitchers on the IL, including ace Tyler Glasnow and last year’s closer Nick Anderson.

Elsewhere in the majors :

—An attorney for Trevor Bauer has told a judge that the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher had every reason to believe that a woman wanted the rough treatment he gave her in two sexual encounters that led to her seeking a five-year restraining order against him. Lawyer Shawn Holley made the argument at a hearing in Los Angeles. The woman alleges that without her consent, Bauer punched her, choked her with her own hair until she lost consciousness and sexually abused her. Bauer’s representatives say every interaction between the two was wholly consensual.

— The Chicago White Sox have placed outfielder Adam Engel on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. The White Sox also promoted right-handers Ryan Burr and Mike Wright from Triple-A Charlotte. Reliever Matt Foster was sent down, and right-hander Zack Burdi was designated for assignment. The move for Engel was made retroactive to Friday. Engel also began the season on the IL with a hamstring injury.

—Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn’t certain that Clint Frazier will be able to play baseball again after the outfielder was pulled from a minor league rehab assignment amid continuing issues with his vision. The 26-year-old Frazier began a minor league rehab assignment last Tuesday after missing nearly six weeks due to dizziness and other symptoms consistent with vertigo. He went 4 for 10 over three games, but Boone said Frazier felt unwell prior to Sunday’s game with Double-A Somerset and took himself out of the lineup.

— The attorney for a 2-year-old girl struck by a foul ball during a 2019 Houston Astros game at Minute Maid Park says the Astros have settled the family’s claim for damages. Attorney Richard Mithoff said Monday that the terms of the settlement are confidential. An Astros spokesman said the team would have no comment. The girl suffered a skull fracture and brain injury when she was hit by the ball. Mithoff says she has been on anti-seizure medication since. However, her doctors have been weaning her from the medication, and she hasn’t had a seizure in 22 months.

NFL-NEWS

Falcons first NFL team to have 100% of players vaccinated

UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have become the first NFL team to have all of its players complete COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Falcons opened training camp with more than 90% of their players vaccinated, and they confirmed Monday they reached 100%. The NFL announced the Falcons were the first team to reach 100%. Atlanta becomes the first team able to have all its players not wear masks around the facility and eat and work out together.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

— The New York Giants have waived-injured third-string quarterback Clayton Thorson and signed former Michigan State star Brian Lewerke. The team announced the moves Monday, just two days after Thorson sustained a concussion while being sacked for a safety late in a 12-7 loss to the Jets.Thorson spent most of the 2020 season on the Giants’ practice squad. Lewerke spent the spring and summer of last season with the New England Patriots.

—Dak Prescott’s opportunity to play in the preseason for the Dallas Cowboys appears to be fading. There’s a chance the start quarterback will go into the opener against Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay without having taken a snap in a game since his severe ankle injury last October. Coach Mike McCarthy says Prescott won’t play in the preseason if he doesn’t get into the home exhibition opener Saturday against Houston. Prescott has a right shoulder injury and McCarthy says the team is being cautious about his return.

—The Detroit Lions are aware of the car accident cornerback Alex Brown was involved in before his release. The 24-year-old South Carolina native has three games of NFL experience with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. Michigan State Police say the driver of the car that caused the crash was driving the wrong way on a highway in Detroit shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday. Police say its investigation revealed that the 24-year-old male driver from South Carolina was impaired. Police say the passenger in the car going the wrong way as well as another driver were critically injured. The Lions say tight end Charlie Taumoepeau is receiving medical care following injuries sustained from the accident.

— The Browns placed tight end Stephen Carlson on injured reserve after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Saturday night’s exhibition opener at Jacksonville. Carlson juggled a short pass and was turning upfield when he took a hit on the knee along Cleveland’s sideline in the first half. The 24-year-old appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the Browns in 2020 and made two starts.

— Dick Schafrath, a star offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns who blocked for Hall of Fame running backs Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell before going into politics after retiring, has died at 84. The team said Schafrath died on Sunday night. No cause of death was given. Schafrath was a four-time All-Pro during his career with Cleveland. After he stopped playing in 1971, Schafrath was an assistant coach with Washington on coach George Allen’s staff before entering politics and serving as a state senator in Ohio.

NBA-GRIZZLIES-CLIPPERS TRADE

Clippers trade Beverley, Rondo to Memphis for Eric Bledsoe

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have brought guard Eric Bledsoe back to the team where he started his NBA career in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. The trade sends Bledsoe to the Clippers for guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo and center Daniel Oturu.

Bledsoe spent his first three seasons after being the 18th pick overall out of Kentucky in 2010 playing 197 games before going to Phoenix, Milwaukee and New Orleans. Memphis acquired Bledsoe in a trade in late July with New Orleans that also brought the Grizzlies center Steven Adams for center Jonas Valanciunas along with a swap of draft picks.

NHL-WILD-FIALA

Wild sign forward Kevin Fiala to $5.1 million, one-year deal

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild have signed Kevin Fiala to a $5.1 million, one-year contract.

Fiala had 20 goals and 20 assists in 50 games last season with the Wild. He led the team with five game-winning goals and 41 takeaways. Fiala has 101 points in 133 games over two-plus seasons since Minnesota acquired him from Nashville for Mikael Granlund just before the 2019 trade deadline. He has 91 goals and 198 points since the Predators drafted him No. 11 overall in 2014.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL

Alabama tops preseason poll

UNDATED (AP) — Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for fourth time in the past six seasons. The Crimson Tide are the defending national champions.

Alabama received 47 of 63 first-place votes from sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the poll presented by Regions Bank. Oklahoma is No. 2 with six first-place votes, just ahead of No. 3 Clemson. Ohio State and Georgia round out the top five.

The Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 conferences each have five teams in the Top 25. The ACC and Big 12 each have three.

PARALYMPICS-NO FANS

Paralympics follow lead of Olympics: No fans during pandemic

TOKYO (AP) — All fans will be barred from the Paralympics because of the coronavirus pandemic just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics.

The Paralympics open Aug. 24 with about 4,400 athletes. That is a far smaller event than the Olympics with 11,000 athletes. But the Paralympics come as new infections accelerate in Tokyo that may expose a population that is more vulnerable to COVID-19. New infections in Tokyo tripled during the 17 days of the Olympics.

Medical experts say the surge was not directly linked the Tokyo Games but they suggested an indirect effect.