Off the wire

TENNIS Nadal, Halep advance

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal opened his Rogers Cup title defense Wednesday, beating England’s Daniel Evans 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a second-round match in Montreal delayed by rain three times. After rain delays of six and 30 minutes, Nadal fought off two set points in the firstset tiebreaker. Play was stopped for 1 hour, 56 minutes with Nadal leading 2-0 in the second set. The 33-yearold Spanish star is a four-time Rogers Cup champion. Also, 14th seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Australia’s John Millman. In women’s play, Wimbledon champion Simona Halep of Romania beat American qualifier Jennifer Brady 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) in Toronto. Halep lost a 4-0 lead in the third set when Brady won five straight games. The No. 4 Halep broke the 76th-ranked Brady for a third time in the set to go up 6-5, but the former world No. 1 was broken right back to set up the tiebreak. Halep will face either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Donna Vekic in the third round. Third-ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic also advanced, beating American qualifier Alison Riske 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2. No. 16 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia reached the third round when Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain retired with a hip injury while trailing 7-5, 3-1. Kontaveit will face Pliskova on Thursday. Victoria Azarenka of Belarus was eliminated, losing 7-5, 7-5 to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.

Cubs sign Lucroy

The Chicago Cubs have signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy, 33, was designated for assignment by the Angels last Friday, then cleared waivers and was unconditionally released by Los Angeles on Wednesday. The 10-year-veteran and two-time All-Star is expected to join the NL Central-leading Cubs in Cincinnati on Thursday. Lucroy will pair with Victor Caratini behind the plate for Chicago to help plug a gap created when All-Star Willson Contreras suffered a right hamstring strain on Saturday. Contreras is expected to miss four weeks. Lucroy batted .242 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI in 74 games with the Angels this season.

Pedroia’s future in doubt

The Boston Red Sox said second baseman Dustin Pedroia has had another surgery on his troublesome left knee. Pedroia, 35, has played only six games this season, all in April. The four-time All-Star was limited to three games last year. The Red Sox said Pedroia had knee joint preservation surgery in Colorado on Tuesday. He will begin his rehabilitation in Arizona, and it’s uncertain whether the 2008 AL MVP will ever again play in the majors. This was the latest of several surgeries Pedroia has had on the knee since he injured it taking a hard slide from Manny Machado in 2017. Pedroia said in May that he would take an indefinite leave of absence in his long struggle to recover from the knee issues, putting in doubt his path back to the big leagues.

Rojas on 10-day IL

The Miami Marlins placed shortstop Miguel Rojas on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring before Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against the New York Mets. Rojas was injured in the third inning Tuesday night, stumbling over first base while trying to avoid a double play. He remained on the ground for a while and needed help walking off the field. The 30-yearold is in the midst of a productive season, hitting .289 in 108 games and playing a key role defensively for a young Miami team. Rojas will undergo tests today to determine the severity of the injury. Infielder Deven Marrero was selected from Class AAA New Orleans to take Rojas’ roster spot.

Girardi to manage team

Four-time World Series champion Joe Girardi will manage Team USA at an Olympic qualifying tournament in November, hoping to guide the squad to a spot at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. USA Baseball said Wednesday the rest of the coaching staff for the Premier12 competition in Mexico will be announced later. Girardi steered the New York Yankees to the 2009 title and also played for them when they won three championships. The former catcher started as a major league manager with the Marlins in 2006 and led the Yankees from 2008-17. Girardi, 54, works as an analyst for MLB Network. While his work at the upcoming Olympic qualifier could lead to him guiding the squad at the Summer Games if the United States makes it, he’s also likely to attract interest from major league teams that would want him to manage in 2020.

MLB urged to collect data

Illinois’ two senators have urged Major League Baseball to be more transparent about fans who are injured by foul balls, saying the lack of data is creating confusion about the extent of the problem. Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said in a letter to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred this week that MLB should “collect and report data about fan injuries.” The letter said “we currently rely on media coverage about foul ball injuries, which can lead to misinformation and confusion.” The senators said the data “will provide a more honest dialogue and help protect baseball’s biggest (and littlest) fans.” Last month, the Chicago White Sox became the first major league team to extend protective netting from foul pole to foul pole. The safety measure was announced a week after a foul ball at the park sent a woman to the hospital with her head bleeding. Several fans, including a 2-year-old girl in Houston, have been injured by hard-hit foul balls this season.

FOOTBALL Brown’s feet frostbitten?

Raiders receiver Antonio Brown has been missing practice because of frostbite to his feet, according to Chris Simms, co-host of ProFootballTalk Live on NBC Sports.com. Simms said Brown blistered the bottoms of his feet in a cryotherapy machine when he failed to use proper footwear. Simms said his information came from someone with knowledge of the situation. According to USA Today, “full-body cryotherapy is a popular recovery method used by athletes like LeBron James. Basically you stand in a cryotherapy chamber for roughly three minutes as temperatures drop as low as minus-11.” Brown’s absence from the practice field has been one of the biggest plot lines at Raiders’ training camp, and his tender feet have been a source of frustration for head Coach Jon Gruden, who is counting on the erstwhile Pittsburgh Steeler to jump-start the team’s offense. The seven-time Pro Bowler averaged 1,245 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches during his nine years with the Steelers.

No standard injury reports

Standardized injury reports will not be implemented across college football this season after the NCAA explored the possibility in response to the rise of legalized sports betting. The NCAA’s Board of Governors said Wednesday it still supports the association’s rules prohibiting athletes and school administrators from wagering on sports or providing information to people associated with gambling.