AP Tuesday Sports Roundup

MLB-SCHEDULE

Labor Day matinee play

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Mets created some breathing room for themselves in the NL East race on Labor Day despite blowing an early 3-0 lead.

Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo homer, doubled twice and had two RBIs as the Mets downed the second-place Nationals, 8-5 in Washington. Kelly Johnson and Michael Conforto also hit solo shots for the Mets, who broke a 5-5 tie on David Wright's RBI single in a three-run seventh.

Wilson Ramos hit a grand slam to put the Nationals ahead in the fourth inning, but the Mets managed to move five games ahead of Washington in the division race.

Elsewhere in the majors on Labor Day:

— St. Louis still tops the NL Central by 5 ½ games over Pittsburgh after the Cardinals absorbed a 9-0 loss to the streaking Chicago Cubs. Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run and added a two-run double in the second before Addison Russell's three-run homer capped a five-run third that made it 8-0. Dan Haren scattered seven hits in seven innings as the Cubs earned their fourth straight win and moved 8 ½ games ahead of Washington for the second NL wild-card berth.

— Anthony DeSclafani carried a shutout into the eighth inning and Cincinnati took advantage of four errors to score a pair of unearned runs and beat the Pirates 3-1. Eugenio Suarez drove in a run and scored another to help the Reds record their first winning streak since Aug. 12-13.

— The Dodgers were 7-5 winners against the Angels as Scott Van Slyke went 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Zack Greinke saw his major league-leading ERA rise to 1.68, but he still improved to 16-3 despite surrendering three runs and seven hits in six innings. The outcome gives the Dodgers an 8 ½-game lead in the NL West and keeps the Angels 5 ½ games behind the AL West-leading Astros.

— Josh Phegley belted a two-run homer and three of his teammates drove in two runs as Oakland outscored Houston 10-9. Coco Crisp hit a two-run double and Billy Burns added a two-run single while the Athletics put together a six-run sixth to take an 8-2 lead. Astros rookie Carlos Correa smacked a three-run homer and had four RBIs.

— Houston's lead in the AL West is down to two games after the second-place Rangers posted a 3-0 shutout of Seattle. Yovani Gallardo combined with three relievers on a seven-hitter as Texas ended the Mariners' five-game winning streak. The game was scoreless until Adrian Beltre lined a two-run single in the sixth inning.

— The Yankees rallied from a 4-1 deficit and beat Baltimore 8-6 to pull within a half-game of the AL East-leading Blue Jays. Rookie Greg Bird snapped a 4-4 tie with a three-run shot in the seventh inning. Alex Rodriguez and John Ryan Murphy also homered as the Yankees moved 18 games over .500 for the first time in three years.

— Toronto absorbed an 11-4 beating by Boston as Jackie Bradley Jr. went 4-for-4 with a two-run home run and four RBIs. Travis Shaw hit a two-run homer in the Red Sox's fourth consecutive victory. Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak hit solo homers for the Jays, who lost for only the fourth time in 16 games.

— Eduardo Escobar had three hits and three RBIs as Minnesota downed Kansas City 6-2. Aaron Hicks hit a solo homer and Tommy Milone tossed seven strong innings to help the Twins stay 1 ½ games behind Texas for the final AL wild-card berth. The Royals' lead the AL Central by 11 games over Minnesota.

— Ryan Raburn hit the tying and go-ahead solo homers as Cleveland rallied to beat Chris Sale and the White Sox 3-2 in Chicago. Winning pitcher Trevor Bauer pitched two-hit ball over seven innings of the Indians' ninth victory in 12 games.

— Rajai Davis homered twice to help Detroit win for only the fourth time in 17 games, 5-4 over Tampa Bay. James McCann also went deep as the Tigers handed the Rays their fourth loss in five games. Evan Longoria and J.P. Arencibia provided long balls for the Rays.

— Patrick Corbin threw six scoreless innings and Arizona stopped a four-game skid by thumping San Francisco 6-1. Phil Gosselin belted a three-run homer and A.J. Pollock added a solo blast as the Diamondbacks dealt the Giants their eighth loss in 10 games. Giants starter Mike Leake was tagged for six runs in 5 2/3 innings, dropping him to 0-3 in five starts since being acquired from the Reds.

— Kyle Kendrick pitched five innings and hit his first major league home run to carry Colorado past San Diego 6-4. The Rockies finished the game without third baseman Nolan Arenado, who left in the eighth with a chest contusion after attempting to dive into the stands for a foul ball.

— Hernan Perez had three hits and three RBIs in Milwaukee's seventh victory in eight games, a 9-1 pounding of Miami. Zach Davies earned his first big league win by yielding just one run and four hits in seven innings.

— Atlanta's 12-game losing streak is over after Hector Olivera hit a two-run homer and a two-run double in a 7-2 win against Philadelphia. Freddie Freeman also smacked a two-run shot and winning pitcher Williams Perez was reached for two runs and six hits in seven innings.

MLB-METS

Mets detail plan for Harvey

WASHINGTON (AP) — The New York Mets now say they have a game plan on using starting pitcher Matt Harvey for the rest of the season. General manager Sandy Alderson says he expects Harvey won't pitch beyond 180 innings in the regular season unless needed in the final series in early October.

As for the postseason, Harvey's availability will depend partly on how he's used down the stretch for the NL East leaders. Alderson says the plan is not set because he has yet to talk with Harvey's agent.

Alderson said he has talked with noted surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, and Harvey. The right-hander has pitched 166 1-3 innings in his first season since Tommy John surgery. He's due to pitch Tuesday night in Washington.

MLB-YANKEES-EOVALDI

Eovaldi shelved

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees have lost another starting pitcher.

Nathan Eovaldi has an inflamed right elbow and won't throw for two weeks. Eovaldi is 14-3 this season despite a 4.20 ERA. He has allowed eight runs and 13 hits over 10 1-3 innings in his last two starts.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-OHIO STATE/VIRGINIA TECH

Buckeyes outscore Hokies in opener

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Top-ranked Ohio State has begun its national championship defense by showcasing its high-octane offense in a 42-24 win at Virginia Tech.

Cardale Jones started the game at quarterback and was 9 of 18 passing for 186 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 99 yards rushing, but the Buckeyes found themselves trailing 17-14 at halftime before taking off.

Former OSU quarterback Braxton Miller scored two touchdowns and put the Buckeyes ahead 28-17 with a 53-yard run late in the third quarter. Miller also grabbed a 54-yard TD pass from Jones that put Ohio State ahead for good early in the second half.

Reigning Big Ten player of the year J.T. Barrett finally entered the game in the fourth quarter and promptly led a touchdown drive, ripping off a 40-yard run and throwing a 26-yard scoring pass to Michael Thomas.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-PITT

Panthers lose running back

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh running back James Conner will miss the rest of the 2015 season after tearing the MCL in his right knee during Saturday's win over Youngstown State. The reigning ACC Player of the Year ran for a pair of early touchdowns against the Penguins before tweaking the knee on a carry early in the second quarter.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-ARIZONA

All-American LB Wright out a month

UNDATED (AP— Arizona All-American linebacker Scooby Wright will miss up to a month after having surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

Wright was injured in the first quarter of the 22nd-ranked Wildcats' 42-32 win over UTSA on Thursday. He tried to come back, but lasted one play before heading back to the bench. The junior spent the second half in street clothes while walking with a cane.

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez says Wright had arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus lateral tear and will miss three to four weeks.

NFL-NOTES

JPP reports

UNDATED (AP) — Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has reported and met with the New York Giants, two months after injuring his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident. A person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Monday about the meeting.

Coach Tom Coughlin has not ruled Pierre-Paul out for the season opener in Dallas on Sunday night. Coughlin refused to say much about Pierre-Paul after practice because he had no knowledge that the player had arrived.

Also:

— The Titans have re-signed tight end Chase Coffman a day after releasing him to make roster space. To make room, they placed rookie running back David Cobb on injured reserve designated to return.

— James Jones has returned to the Green Bay Packers to add a veteran presence to a receiving corps following the season-ending knee injury to wideout Jordy Nelson. The 31-year-old Jones is back with the team that drafted him in the third round in 2007. He played seven years in Green Bay before going to Oakland for the 2014 season.

— Jets quarterback Geno Smith says he has no plans to file charges against former teammate IK Enemkpali, the linebacker who broke his jaw with a punch last month. Smith had screws and metal plates inserted into his jaw after being hit during the locker room altercation.

— The Houston Texans have signed long snapper Jon Weeks to a contract extension. Weeks has appeared in all 80 regular-season games and Houston's four playoff games since signing with the team as a free agent in 2010.

— The Browns have suspended offensive line coach Andy Moeller indefinitely for an unspecified incident.

US OPEN

Day 8 play

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Anderson authored the biggest Labor Day upset at the U.S. Open.

The 15th-seeded Anderson had never advanced to a grand slam quarterfinal until he fired 25 aces in a 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 win over third seed Andy Murray. Anderson also hit 81 winners compared to 49 by Murray, who had reached the quarters at his previous 18 Grand Slam tournaments.

American John Isner gave Roger Federer all he could handle before the five-time U.S. Open champ prevailed in a 7-6, 7-6, 7-5 decision. Federer broke in the last game, ending Isner's streak of 110 consecutive service holds at Flushing Meadows over the last two years.

Federer has not dropped a set on the way to a quarterfinal against No. 12 Richard Gasquet, who got past No. 6 Tomas Berdych 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

No. 5 Stan Wawrinka eliminated American Donald Young 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his third straight U.S. open quarterfinal.

No. 2 Simona Halep advanced to the women's quarters by dispatching No. 24 Sabine Lisicki, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. Fifth seed Petra Kvitova was a 7-5, 6-3 winner against Johanna Konta. No. 20 Victoria Azarenka and No. 26 Flavia Pennetta won in straight sets to join Halep and Kvitova in the quarterfinals.

GOLF-DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

Fowler rallies

NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Rickie Fowler rallied from two shots down with five holes remaining to beat Henrik Stenson and win the Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston.

Fowler sank a 40-foot birdie putt on 14 en route to a 3-under 68 and a 15-under total. Stenson never trailed in the final round until his tee shot on the par-3 16th came up short and bounced into the water for a double bogey.