AP Tuesday Sports Roundup

AL East race tightens

UNDATED (AP) — Just two games separate the top three teams in the American League East after the first-place Toronto Blue Jays lost for the third time in four games.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and three RBIs to back Masahiro Tanaka (mah-sah-HEE'-roh tah-NAH'-kah) as the New York Yankees topped the Jays 5-3. Ellsbury put the Yankees ahead to stay with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first and added an RBI single in the third.

Austin Romine delivered a two-run double to help the Yankees stay within 3 ½ games of an AL playoff berth.

Tanaka improved to 12-4 by limiting the Blue Jays to two runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Toronto maintained its one-game division lead when the second-place Red Sox suffered a 2-1 loss at San Diego. Adam Rosales smacked a two-run homer and Edwin Jackson struck out 11 while scattering four hits over seven scoreless innings. Jackson had allowed 18 runs over just 11 2/3 innings in his previous three starts.

Baltimore is within two games of the AL East lead after Chris Davis homered and collected three RBIs in the Orioles' 7-3 win at Tampa Bay. Ubaldo Jimenez (oo-BAHL'-doh) HIH'-meh-nehz) fired a two-hitter in his first complete game in five years, retiring 25 of 26 hitters following Logan Forsythe's three-run blast in the bottom of the first. Jonathan Schoop (skohp) chipped in a two-run single after Davis banged out his 34th home run.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Baltimore and Detroit continue to share the final AL wild-card slot after Justin Upton crushed a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the 11th inning of the Tigers' 5-3 triumph against the White Sox. Miguel Cabrera hit his 30th and 31st home runs of the season as the Tigers won for the sixth time in seven games. Justin Verlander had to settle for a no-decision after fanning 11 and giving up two runs and eight hits over seven innings.

— The Tigers are within 4 ½ games of the AL Central-leading Indians after the Alex Bregman smacked a two-run homer to help the Astros end Cleveland's six-game winning streak, 6-2. Bregman has hit all seven of his homers and driven in 22 runs over his last 19 games. Houston remains two games behind the Tigers and Orioles for the last AL wild-card spot.

— Franklin Gutierrez was 3-for-4 with a solo shot and four RBIs as Seattle hammered Texas 14-6. Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH') went deep to spark the Mariners' five-run first, and Dae-Ho Lee collected three RBIs to help a shaky Felix Hernandez get the victory. Hernandez was reached for six runs in 5 2/3 innings, including Nomar Mazara's (mah-ZAH'-rahz) three-run shot and Rougned Odor's (ROOG'-nehdn oh-DOHRZ') 30th home run of the season.

— Colorado added to San Francisco's recent woes as Carlos Gonzalez belted a grand slam in a six-run third that carried Colorado's 6-0 rout of the Giants. Chad Bettis allowed just two hits in his first career complete game to help the Rockies drop the Giants to a major league-worst 16-31 since the All-Star break. The Giants are four games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers, and just a half-game ahead of St. Louis for the league's first wild-card berth.

— Los Angeles belted five home runs off former Dodger Zack Greinke (GREHN'-kee) to build an 8-0 lead in a 10-2 pounding of Arizona. Corey Seager hit a three-run shot, Adrian Gonzalez provided a two-run blast and Justin Turner, Joe Pederson and Yasmani Grandal (yahs-MAH'-nee grahn-DAHL') also homered to help Kenta Maeda (mah-AY'-dah) get to 14-8. Maeda retired 18 straight batters after Jean Segura led off the game with a single.

— The Cardinals crushed the Pirates 12-6 to stay in sole possession of the NL's second wild-card slot, one game ahead of the Mets. Winning pitcher Adam Wainwright was tagged for four runs and seven hits in five innings, but he also went 2-for-3 with three RBIs as part of the Redbirds' 14-hit attack. Jedd Gyorko (JUR'-koh) and Matt Adams hit longballs for St. Louis.

— The Mets won for the 12th time in 16 games as Bartolo Colon combined with three relievers on an eight-hitter in a 5-0 shutout of the Reds in Cincinnati. Colon went six innings and improved to 13-7 on the season, including a 4-1 mark with a 2.25 ERA in his last seven starts. Matt Reynolds and Kelly Johnson each hit solo shots for New York.

— Washington earned a 6-4 triumph against Atlanta to retain its 8 ½-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Chris Heisey (HY'-see) ripped a three-run homer and Trea (tray) Turner added a two-run blast and three RBIs to help the Nationals cut their magic number to 17. Max Scherzer (SHUR'-zur) is 16-7 after limiting the Braves to two runs over seven frames.

— The Cubs' 7-2 romp at Milwaukee reduces Chicago's magic number to 10 for winning the NL Central. Kyle Hendricks gave up a run and five hits over six innings to move to 14-7 with a major league-leading 2.07 ERA. Chris Coghlan drove in three runs in the Cubs' seventh victory in eight games.

— Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer and Jerad Eickhoff allowed two runs over six innings of Philadelphia's 6-2 win against Miami. Eickhoff and the Phillies' bullpen blanked the Marlins after Ichiro Suzuki and J.T. Realmuto (ree-al-MOO'-toh) lined RBI singles in the first inning. The Marlins have dropped four straight and nine of 10 to fall five games out of an NL playoff berth.

— Albert Pujols (POO'-hohlz), Jefry Marte (JEH'-free mahr-TAY') and Nick Buss drove in two runs apiece to carry the Angels past the A's 10-7. Kole Calhoun homered as Los Angeles won for the eighth time in nine games.

— Brian Dozier's three home runs weren't enough for Minnesota as the Royals got three-run blasts from Kendrys (KEHN'-drees) Morales and Eric Hosmer in Kansas City's 11-5 trouncing of the Twins. Hosmer finished with four RBIs, and Jarrod Dyson was 3-for-5 with three runs scored for the Royals.

MLB-ANGELS-SHOEMAKER SURGERY

Angels Shoemaker has surgery for brain bleed

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Angels' pitcher Matt Shoemaker has undergone surgery to stop bleeding on his brain after he was struck in the head by a line drive against the Seattle Mariners Sunday.

Angels general manager Billy Eppler says Shoemaker had been receiving CT scans every 2-3 hours when the third image showed increased bleeding, prompting the surgery. The Angels expect Shoemaker to be cleared to travel home sometime this week, and Eppler says Shoemaker is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for next season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-FLORIDA ST./MISSISSIPPI

'Noles beat Ole Miss

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida State Seminoles can expect to move up when The Associated Press football poll is released on Tuesday.

Freshman Deondre Francois threw for 419 yards and the fourth-ranked Seminoles scored 23 unanswered points in the third quarter to turn a 28-13 halftime deficit into a 45-34 win against No. 11 Mississippi. Freddie Stevenson and Kermit Whitefield scored on short runs 2:05 apart to put FSU ahead 29-28 midway through the third period. Francois added his second TD pass of the night later in the quarter to give the Seminoles an eight-point cushion.

Freshman Ricky Aguayo converted an FSU-record six field goals on six attempts, breaking a mark shared by his brother Roberto.

Dalvin Cook was a double threat on offense, rushing for 91 yards on 23 carries and catching seven passes for 101 yards.

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns but was intercepted three times.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-Top 25

LSU suspended Boutte

UNDATED (AP) - LSU has suspended offensive lineman Josh Boutte for one game after his late hit Saturday in the final minutes of the Tigers' loss to Wisconsin.

Boutte leveled D'Cota Dixon while the Wisconsin defensive back celebrated his victory-clinching celebration.

Elsewhere:

— Former Southern Cal head football coach Steve Sarkisian (sar-KEE'-zhun) is joining Alabama's coaching staff as an analyst. Sarkisian was fired by USC in October after the school says he showed up in no condition to lead practice. That followed an embarrassing appearance at a pep rally where he appeared intoxicated while giving a speech. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban says Sarkisian knows the consequences that he will have to deal with professionally if he has any issues or problems.

TENNIS-US OPEN

No Williams showdown

NEW YORK (AP) — There will be just one Williams sister in the U.S. Open women's quarterfinals.

Top-ranked Serena Williams has advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph against Yaroslava Shvedova (yar-al-SLAH'-vah SHVEH'-doh-vah). It was the 308th Grand Slam singles victory for Williams, passing Roger Federer for the most in tennis' Open era.

Venus Williams wasn't as fortunate, failing to convert a match point as 10th seed Karolina Pliskova rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory. The sixth-seeded Williams led 5-4 in the third set and up 30-40 with Pliskova serving. The 36-year old Williams was trying to become the oldest Grand Slam quarterfinalist since Martina Navratilova was 37 at Wimbledon in 1994.

The biggest stunner of the day was authored by 18-year-old Ana Konjuh (KAHN'-yah), who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by downing fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska (ag-neh-EHSH'-kah rahd-VAHN'-skah), 6-4, 6-4. The 92-ranked Konjuh compiled a 38-9 edge in winners and dropped Radwanska to 0-5 in fourth-round matches at the Open.

Fifth seed Simona Halep (HA'-lehp) has also reached the quarterfinals by beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 7-5.

In the men's bracket, Juan Martin del Potro (wahn mahr-TEEN' dehl -POH'-troh) moved into the quarterfinals when Dominica Thiem (teem) had to retire with a knee injury. Del Potro was up 6-3, 3-2 when the match was stopped.

At No. 142, del Potro is the lowest-ranked U.S. Open quarterfinalist since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

Second seed Andy Murray rolled to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 rout of Grigor Dimitrov to reach the quarterfinals for the 22nd time in his past 23 Grand Slam tournaments. Third seed Stan Wawrinka (vah-VRIHN'-kuh) reached the quarters with a four-sets victory against Illya Marchenko, and No. 6 Kei Nishikori (kay nee-shee-KOHR'-ee) rolled to a straight-sets win over No. 21 Ivo Karlovic (EE'-voh kahr-LOH'-vihch) to advance to the quarterfinals.

NFL-MOVES

Wentz to start for Eagles

UNDATED (AP) — Rookie Carson Wentz will start at quarterback when the Eagles take on Cleveland in their NFL season-opener Sunday. The second overall pick in the draft was named the starter over Chase Daniel just two days after Philadelphia dealt Sam Bradford to Minnesota.

Daniel will be the backup. Daniel signed a three-year, $21 million contract in the offseason to play behind Bradford and mentor Wentz.

In other NFL news:

— Texans defensive end J.J. Watt will play in the team's season opener against the Bears on Sunday. Watt has been sidelined since back surgery in July and was activated from the physically unable to perform list on Saturday.

— Chargers rookie defensive end Joey Bosa watched Monday's workout with his left leg wrapped as he walked with a slight limp. While the injury isn't considered serious, it calls into question Bosa's status for Sunday.

— Cincinnati tight end Tyler Eifert hasn't been cleared for practice heading into the Bengals' season opener at the Jets on Sunday. He had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle and is expected to miss a few games.

— The 49ers have released tight end Bruce Miller just hours after reports emerged he was arrested for assaulting two men in a hotel fight. The decision came after the Niners initially said they were investigating the situation.

— Seahawks defensive back Jeremy Lane says he will continue to sit for the national anthem when the regular season begins Sunday at home against Miami. Lane said he hasn't noticed much in terms of negative response for the decision and that he feels he has support of the team and his teammates in expressing his stance.

GOLF-DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

McIlroy rallies to win Deutsche Bank Championship

NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Rory McIlroy roared from six shots off the pace in the final round to win the Deutsche (DOY'-chuh) Bank Championship.

McIlroy shot a 6-under 65 to earn his first victory of the year in the second of four FedEx Cup playoff events.

Paul Casey started the final round with a three-shot lead but could only manage a 2-over 73 that left him in second place, two shots back. Casey was looking for his first PGA Tour win in seven years.

NFL-KAEPERNICK-OBAMA

Obama: Kaepernick exercising constitutional right

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — President Barack Obama says 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's (KAP'-ur-nihks) refusal to stand for the national anthem makes him the latest in a long line of professional athletes who have exercised their constitutional right to make a statement about social issues.

Kaepernick has been heavily criticized since starting his silent protest to bring attention to racial injustice.

Obama approvingly says Kaepernick has generated more national conversation about "issues that need to be talked about."