Update on the latest sports
TENNIS-US OPEN
Fans are back, as US Open begins
NEW YORK (AP) — Play has started at the U.S. Open, with fans back in the stands for the final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season.
The event was held without spectators last year due to the pandemic but stands are allowed to be filled to 100% capacity this year. Those 12 and older must show proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to enter the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Defending women’s champion Naomi Osaka is scheduled to lead off the night session in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Kluber returns for Yankees
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Corey Kluber is set to return to a major league mound for the first time in more than three months when he starts for the Yankees on the road against the Angels. Kluber pitched a no-hitter at Texas on May 19, then exited his next start on May 25 against Texas after three innings because of a strained right shoulder.
Among the other games on the schedule:
— For the third time in six games, the Texas Rangers will have a starting pitcher making his major league debut. Right-hander A.J. Alexy was added to the taxi squad on Sunday in advance of his scheduled start in the opener of a three-game home series against Colorado. He will be the 13th Rangers player — and the eighth pitcher — to make his big league debut this season.
— Rays rookie shortstop Wander Franco has reached base in 29 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. Franco will try to extend his streak when the Rays host Boston in the series opener between playoff-contending division rivals.
MLB-PIRATES-ECKSTEIN
Pirates fire hitting coach
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The last-place Pittsburgh Pirates have fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein.
The Pirates have struggled to produce offense all season. Pittsburgh is dead last in the majors in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging. The Pirates are also 27th in the majors in batting average and are on their way to a third straight fifth-place finish in the NL Central.
The team is in the early stages of a franchise-wide reboot under general manager Ben Cherington. Eckstein had little to work with at the major league level while the organization focuses on stockpiling prospects.
MLB-MARLINS-EDER
Marlins prospect Jake Eder to undergo elbow surgery
MIAMI (AP) — Miami Marlins pitching prospect Jake Eder is scheduled to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and might be sidelined until 2023.
Eder was a fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Vanderbilt and is ranked as one of baseball’s top 100 prospects. A 22-year-old left-hander, Eder went 3-5 with a 1.77 ERA over 15 starts this year for Double-A Pensacola. He was chosen for MLB’s Futures Game.
NFL-SAINTS-DISPLACED BY IDA
Saints working 500 miles from home after displaced by Ida
DALLAS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints are at the home of another NFL team after being displaced by Hurricane Ida.
Saints players and staff, along with about 120 family members, relocated to North Texas in advance of the storm that made landfall south of New Orleans on Sunday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph and left that entire area without power.
Coach Sean Payton says the Saints will practice through Wednesday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. That is before a previously planned break before the start of the regular season.
