CLEVELAND (AP) — Francisco Lindor believes the Cleveland Indians need a spark. Lindor homered in the ninth inning of Cleveland’s 5-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals, then said the Indians’ “energy is down” and that “guys are dragging their feet a little.” Cleveland has lost three straight but still leads the AL Central by 14 games. Lindor added he thinks “we’ll be fine.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning, then delivered a sacrifice fly in the 10th that sent the Washington Nationals over St. Louis Cardinals 4-3. The Cardinals led 3-1 with one out in the ninth when Harper hit his 31st home run. Mark Reynolds led off the Washington 10th against Chasen Shreve with a double. Pinch-runner Michael Taylor moved to third on Adam Eaton’s bunt single and an out later, Harper flied to deep left.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Scott Frost says the game against Colorado has become more challenging team because of the weather-related cancellation of the opener against Akron. The Buffaloes beat Colorado State handily in their first game. Frost says teams typically make their biggest improvement between the first and second games. He said the Huskers will need to turn in excellent practices to be ready for the game against their former conference rival.
WASHINGTON (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will make his first major league appearance in nearly four months when he starts Sept. 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wainwright has not pitched since May 13 because of right elbow inflammation. Manager Mike Shildt says Wainwight feels “really comfortable.” Wainwright is 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA but has made only four starts in 2018 and just one since April 17.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs kept 10 offensive linemen on their 53-man roster, and just two quarterbacks and two tight ends. It’s an odd roster construction for an Andy Reid-coached team, but one that was necessary for Kansas City to keep a bunch of promising prospects. Now, the big question is whether all that youth will pay off when the season begins on Sunday.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas coach Tom Herman won’t change quarterbacks after a season-opening loss and still insists his team is better than in 2017. Herman said Monday his players were trying too hard early in a road loss to Maryland. He compared the Longhorns to the character Lennie in the classic novel “Of Mice and Men.” Herman says the Longhorns wanted to win so badly they killed their chance to do it.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia linebacker Charlie Benton will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Coach Dana Holgorsen says Benton will have season-ending surgery. Benton injured his left knee in the second quarter of West Virginia’s 40-14 win Saturday over Tennessee.
UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State’s canceled opener on Saturday was its first in 55 years. For coach Matt Campbell, it was the second time in four seasons that his first game was called off. Campbell’s opener was wiped out at halftime against Stony Brook in 2015, his last season at Toledo. It didn’t hurt the Rockets, who upset a ranked Arkansas on the road the following week, and Campbell is hoping it won’t hurt Iowa State for Saturday’s game at Iowa.
National Headlines
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA is going back to court, defending its amateurism rules against plaintiffs who say capping compensation at the value of a scholarship violates federal antitrust law. The NCAA is accused of illegally restricting schools from compensating football and basketball players beyond what is traditionally covered by a scholarship. The NCAA counters that altering amateurism rules would lead to pay-for-play and fundamentally damage college sports.
NEW YORK (AP) — American Madison Keys has moved into the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Dominika Cibulkova. The 14th-seeded Keys will play the winner of the Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Maria Sharapova match in the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sixth seed Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori) advanced to the men’s quarterfinals, while Naomi Osaka and Lesia Tsurenko earned three-sets wins to reach the women’s quarters.
NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau closed with a 4-under 67 to capture the Dell Technologies Championship near Boston by two strokes over Justin Rose. DeChambeau became only the second player to win the opening two FedEx Cup playoff events as he tries to earn a captain’s pick on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. He pulled away with three straight birdies to close out the front nine and was never seriously challenged the rest of the way.
Monday Scores
INTERLEAGUE
Final Boston 8 Atlanta 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Chi White Sox 4 Detroit 2
Final Houston 4 Minnesota 1
Final Oakland 6 N-Y Yankees 3
Final Kansas City 5 Cleveland 1
Final Tampa Bay 7 Toronto 1
Final L-A Angels 3 Texas 1
Final Seattle 2 Baltimore 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Washington 4 St. Louis 3, 10 Innings
Final Miami 3 Philadelphia 1
Final Pittsburgh 5 Cincinnati 1
Final Milwaukee 4 Chi Cubs 3
Final Colorado 9 San Francisco 8
Final N-Y Mets 4 L-A Dodgers 2
Final San Diego 6 Arizona 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final (20) Virginia Tech 24 (19) Florida St. 3