NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka has won 16 straight Grand Slam matches as she takes on 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez tonight at the U.S. Open. Osaka caught a break when her last opponent withdrew from their scheduled match and she rolled into the third round. Osaka is the defending champion and is in pursuit of her fifth career major title. No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka also is in action, and three-time U.S. Open finalist Victoria Azarenka takes on Garbiñe Muguruza (GAHR’-been moo-gah-ROO’-thuh) in a matchup between women who each won two Slam trophies. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, twice a major runner-up, faces Pablo Andújar.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — No. 10 North Carolina and Virginia Tech will get the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division race off to a fast start when they meet tonight in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Tar Heels have one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Sam Howell. The Hokies will be trying to make a better showing than a year ago when UNC gained 656 yards in a 56-45 victory. That came against a team decimated by injuries and COVID-19 quarantine. Coach Justin Fuente says the Hokies are healthy this time.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Giants and the Dodgers are tied for first in the NL West as they open a series in San Francisco. The rivals split their first 16 games this year, with each team scoring 68 times. The Giants took two of three in their previous series from July 27-29, led by Johnny Cueto’s 5 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in a 5-0 victory in the rubber game. Los Angeles has won 23 of 29 to erase San Francisco’s lead in the division. David Price pitches tonight for the World Series champions. Anthony DeSclafani takes the mound for the Giants.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Shohei Ohtani (SHOH’-hay oh-TAH’-nee) takes a 12-start unbeaten streak into an outing tonight at Texas. The Angels’ two-way star is 7-0 with a 3.15 ERA since his last defeat May 28, asserting himself not just as a heavy favorite for AL MVP but as a likely recipient of some votes in AL Cy Young Award balloting. Glenn Otto makes his second big league start for the Rangers after being acquired from the Yankees in July for slugger Joey Gallo. The 25-year-old blanked Houston over five innings in his debut last week.

MIAMI (AP) — Bryce Harper and the Phillies’ big-name lineup have produced at least seven runs in seven straight games, a first for the franchise since June 1933. They carry a six-game winning streak into a series at Miami and trail the NL East-leading Braves by 1½ games. Harper has multiple hits in six of his past eight games and is hitting .330 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs since Aug. 1. Philadelphia right-hander Kyle Gibson is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in his past two starts. He’ll oppose Marlins youngster Jesus Luzardo tonight to open a three-game set.

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