Friday’s Sports in Brief

BASEBALL

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Clayton Kershaw tossed eight innings of two-hit ball in the Dodgers’ second straight playoff shutout, and Manny Machado slugged a two-run homer as Los Angeles beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series.

The Dodgers used a nearly identical formula to win 6-0 in Game 1 behind Hyun-Jin Ryu, who allowed only four two-out singles over seven innings, and home runs by Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez.

Kershaw struck out three and walked none in remaining unbeaten against Atlanta throughout his illustrious career.

Los Angeles can sweep the best-of-five series in Game 3 on Sunday in Atlanta, where the Baby Braves will be looking to score for the first time this postseason.

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Jhoulys Chacin and the Milwaukee bullpen kept in control, Mike Moustakas contributed two more big hits and the Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies 4-0 on Friday for a commanding 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series.

The Brewers won their 10th straight game going back to their impressive finish to the regular season. Erik Kratz had two hits and drove in two runs, Hernan Perez hit two ground-rule doubles and Milwaukee’s bullpen closed the door after Chacin delivered in his playoff debut.

Game 3 is Sunday at Coors Field. Another win, and Milwaukee is into the NL Championship Series for the first time since its previous postseason appearance in 2011.

BOSTON (AP) - Chris Sale struck out eight for his first postseason win, J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer and the Boston Red Sox sweated out their shaky bullpen to hold off the New York Yankees 5-4 on Friday night in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.

Sale took a four-hit shutout into the sixth inning. The Yankees loaded the bases in the sixth and seventh, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Aaron Judge homered off Craig Kimbrel leading off the ninth before the Red Sox closer retired the next three batters, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit for the save.

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Saturday night, with Boston starting another pitcher trying to overcome a history of postseason struggles: left-hander David Price is 0-8 as a starter in the playoffs. He’ll face Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka.

HOUSTON (AP) - George Springer and the Houston Astros picked up right where they left off last postseason, hitting four home runs to power past the Cleveland Indians 7-2 Friday in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.

Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Martin Maldonado also connected for the Astros, who hit a World Series-record 15 homers last year in winning their first championship.

Game 2 is Saturday in Houston.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The Oakland Athletics plan to discuss a contract extension with manager Bob Melvin this offseason as well as possible new deals with home run leader Khris Davis and All-Star second baseman Jed Lowrie.

Two days after the A’s lost to the New York Yankees in a wild-card game, team officials began mapping out the framework for 2019 with hopes of capitalizing on the team’s first playoff appearance in four years.

Signing Melvin, Oakland’s manager since 2011, to an extension is high on the list of things to do. He’s currently signed through the 2019 season.

Davis isn’t scheduled to be a free agent until after the 2019 season but the A’s are hopeful of getting the slugger inked to a long-term deal before then.

Davis led the majors with 48 home runs this year, his third consecutive season with 40-plus homers.

Lowrie’s situation is more uncertain despite his first All-Star appearance. The veteran infielder hit .267 with a career-high 23 home runs and 99 RBIs and was a key influence inside Oakland’s mostly young clubhouse.

FOOTBALL

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - The New York Jets will have to stop the Denver Broncos’ offense without their No. 1 cornerback.

Trumaine Johnson was ruled out for Sunday’s game because of a strained quadriceps. He was hurt during practice Thursday and sat out Friday.

“He’ll be out this week,” coach Todd Bowles said. “So we’re just going to monitor it after that and see how he’s feeling.”

Bowles would not give any details but did not think it was a season-ending injury.

Johnson was the Jets’ top free-agent signing in March, giving him a five-year, $72.5 million deal. He has had a mostly inconsistent first four games with New York after spending his first six seasons with the Rams.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - New York Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers is dealing with what coach Todd Bowles calls a “serious” illness and it’s uncertain if he’ll be on the sideline for the game against Denver.

Bowles made the announcement Friday to end his news conference after the Jets’ final full practice before facing the Broncos at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

“He’s a tough guy,” Bowles said. “It’s a serious thing.”

Rodgers and the Jets’ other coordinators usually meet with reporters every Thursday. But the team said Rodgers had an appointment with doctors and would speak Friday.

However, a visibly concerned Bowles announced Rodgers was sick and wasn’t at the facility.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The family of the late NFL star Junior Seau has settled its wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL over the popular San Diego linebacker’s 2012 suicide.

The confidential settlement comes after the family opted out of the NFL concussion settlement covering more than 20,000 retired players. That plan pays up to $4 million to families of men like Seau, who were found after their deaths to have the brain deterioration chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE.

BASKETBALL

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A doctor has found the jailed ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright mentally competent to stand trial.

Shelby County Criminal Court judge Lee Coffee said Friday that he’s been informed by Dr. Wyatt Nichols that Sherra Wright can advise her lawyers and help with her defense against charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in her ex-husband’s slaying.

Coffee had ordered a mental evaluation of Sherra Wright.

Lorenzen Wright’s body was found riddled with bullet wounds in a swampy field in Memphis in July 2010. He was missing for 10 days before his body was found.

Sherra Wright and co-defendant Billy Ray Turner were indicted in December. Turner also is charged with first-degree murder. Both have pleaded not guilty.

SOCCER

Cristiano Ronaldo’s image is vanishing from the website of a key sponsor. The stock price for his Juventus team dropped 10 percent on Friday.

A week after a Nevada woman filed a civil lawsuit accusing Ronaldo of rape in 2009, attempts by the five-time world player of the year and his Italian club to sway public opinion in his favor have not succeeded.

Sponsors are continuing to express concern about the case despite a denial from Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo is available to play for his Italian soccer team on Saturday.

CHICAGO (AP) - Midfielders Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams will miss the United States’ exhibition games against Colombia and Peru because of injuries.

Pulisic has a torn calf muscle, Borussia Dortmund said this week. The 20-year-old star has played once for the national team since the loss at Trinidad and Tobago last October that ended the Americans’ streak of seven straight World Cup appearances.

Adams has back spasms and missed the New York Red Bulls’ game against Atlanta last weekend.

The U.S. has 23 players reporting to Tampa, Florida, this weekend ahead of the match there against Colombia on Oct. 11. The U.S. also plays Peru on Oct. 16 at East Hartford, Connecticut.

COLLEGES

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska running back Greg Bell has left the team and received a release from his scholarship.

An athletic department spokesman said Friday night that Bell didn’t make the trip for the Cornhuskers’ game at No. 16 Wisconsin on Saturday and planned to transfer.

Bell started the first three games but lost the job to Devine Ozigbo last week. The junior from Chula Vista, California, had 173 yards on 35 carries for the season.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte said Friday a university review into possible rules violations found nothing to substantiate claims made in testimony at a college basketball corruption trial in New York federal court.

Del Conte issued a statement following testimony this week from Brian Bowen Sr., who testified that his son, Brian Jr., was offered thousands of dollars to play at major programs.

Bowen Sr. said that an aspiring agent, Christian Dawkins, told him he could pocket $50,000 if his son played at the University of Arizona, $150,000 at Oklahoma State or $100,000 at Creighton. Bowen said there was some interest from Oregon but didn’t recall a cash offer. He also testified Dawkins suggested Texas assistant Mike Morrell, now the head coach at UNC Asheville, could “help me with housing.”

Asked if he specifically talked with anyone at Texas about “such an offer,” Bowen replied no.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State University has been billed about $1.5 million and counting for the investigation into a team doctor accused of sexual misconduct against scores of athletes and other young men decades ago.

Most of that cost is for Perkins Coie, the Seattle-based law firm hired to investigate claims raised this year about now-deceased physician Richard Strauss, according to a list of related invoices provided by the university.

The list contains no details about the expenses and reflects invoices only through Aug. 17. The lawyers have indicated they might be able to wrap up fact-finding efforts in the ongoing, 6-month-old investigation this fall.

HOUSTON (AP) - Prosecutors have charged a former Rice University football player with selling the drugs that a current player fatally overdosed on earlier this year.

Twenty-five-year-old Stuart Michael Mouchantaf was being held Friday in the Harris County jail in Houston on a charge of delivery of a controlled substance causing death.

The county district attorney’s office says in a news release that 21-year-old Blain Padgett thought he was buying hydrocodone from Mouchantaf but actually received pills containing carfentanil, which was originally made as an elephant tranquilizer and is so potent that a lethal dose could be invisible to the human eye.

Padgett, a defensive lineman, was found dead in March by other players after he missed practice.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Yale women’s basketball coach Allison Guth has signed a contract extension through the 2023-24 season.

The school announced the deal Friday.

Guth is entering her fourth season as Yale’s head coach. She led the Bulldogs to a school-record 19 victories last season and the WBI Championship.

MISCELLANEOUS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Charles Barkley has been honored in Philadelphia with a media award.

Barkley received the Lew Klein Excellence in the Media Award at Temple University on Friday.

The basketball Hall of Famer and commentator on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” told the room full of journalists to “be mad, be frustrated, but don’t stop doing your job and telling the truth.”

He said he was going to mind the “three B’s” in his speech: “be brief, brother.” And he did, keeping his remarks under 10 minutes.