Off the wire

GOLF Barron out front

Monday qualifier Doug Barron had a one-stroke lead in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Endicott, N.Y., when lightning forced the suspension of play late in the second round Saturday. Making his second PGA Tour Champions start after turning 50 last month, Barron was 10 under for the tournament playing the par-4 15th when play was stopped at En Joie Golf Club. Barron got into the field Monday with a 66 at The Links at Hiawatha Landing. Scott McCarron was tied for second after a 66. Marco Dawson, playing alongside Barron and Miguel Angel Jimenez in the final group, also was 9 under with Scott Parel and David McKenzie. Playing together in the second-to-last group, Parel and McKenzie also were on 15 when play was suspended.

Rodriguez, Hagy lead

Jose de Jesus Rodriguez shot a 6-under 65 for one of the lowest rounds of the day Saturday and jumped into a tie for the lead at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Children’s Hospital Championship at Columbus, Ohio. Rodriguez’s 65 (the other was by Richy Werenski) tied him with overnight leader Brandon Hagy at 9-under 209. Ben Martin (68), Scottie Scheffler (67) and Scott Harrington (68) were tied for third at 8 under. Werenski was tied for 11th at 6 under. Nicolas Echavarria (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 1-under 70 and was tied for 50th at even-par 213 going into today’s final round.

Pieters by one

Thomas Pieters birdied the final hole to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Czech Masters on Saturday. Two shots off the lead after the second round, the Belgian golfer had a strong start on the front nine. He recovered from a bogey on the third hole with four consecutive birdies and added an eagle on the par-5 9th to top the leaderboard. But the 2015 Czech Masters champion opened the back nine with another bogey and had to wait until the birdie on the 18th to regain the lead and close at 6-under-par 66 for a 16-under 200 total at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague. Adria Arnaus of Spain surged on the leaderboard with a bogey-free round of 7-under 65 with seven birdies, capturing second place for himself at 15 under. Overnight leader Edoardo Molinari of Italy dropped his first shot at the Czech Masters on the 14th to finish at 2-under 70 and share third with Swedes Rikard Karlberg (66) and Robert Karlsson (67) and Chile’s Hugo Leon (67). They were two strokes behind Pieters.

TENNIS Kuznetsova advances

Ashleigh Barty lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open at Mason, Ohio, on Saturday, adding to the tournament’s week of upsets and injuries. A resurgent Kuznetsova gave Barty no openings, knocking off a topfive player for the second time this week to reach her first final of the season. The other semifinal between Madison Keys and Sofia Kenin was delayed because of storms. In the men’s bracket, David Goffin reached his first Masters 1000 final by beating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4. Goffin also is on an upswing after falling to No. 33 in the ATP rankings on June 10, his lowest since September 2014.

FOOTBALL McCown joins Eagles

Josh McCown’s retirement lasted just two months. The Philadelphia Eagles signed the 40-yearold quarterback to a one-year deal on Saturday, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. He is coming out of retirement to join his 11th team and play his 17th season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the move. McCown provides insurance behind Carson Wentz, who has finished the past two seasons on the sideline because of injuries. The Eagles already lost two quarterbacks in the first two preseason games. Nate Sudfeld broke his left wrist and is expected to return in September. Cody Kessler left Thursday night’s game with a head injury. Rookie Clayton Thorson was the only healthy quarterback on the roster behind Wentz before McCown ended his brief retirement. McCown was 23-53 as a starter, including 5-11 with the Jets over the past two seasons. He’s completed 60.2% of his passes, has thrown 98 touchdowns, 82 interceptions and has a 79.7 passer rating.

James sidelined

The Los Angeles Chargers’ worst fears were confirmed Saturday when they learned Derwin James will be sidelined deep into the regular season. The team’s All-Pro second-year safety will undergo surgery next week to repair a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. A more definitive timeline should be known after the procedure, but James has been told he’ll need recovery time of three to four months. Based on that projection, he’ll be out at least until mid-November. The Chargers play Kansas City in Mexico City on Nov. 18 during Week 11. James was injured Thursday during a joint practice in Costa Mesa, Calif., with the New Orleans Saints.

BASEBALL Robertson out after surgery

For weeks, David Robertson has known that he wouldn’t pitch again this season for Philadelphia. Now, he’s faced with the reality that he might never pitch again for the Phillies at all. Robertson underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Thursday, Phillies Manager Gabe Kapler said Saturday. Because the procedure also entailed the repair of Robertson’s flexor tendon, the veteran reliever isn’t expected to be able to pitch in games for 14-16 months, which would take him out for all of next season. The Phillies signed Robertson to a two-year, $23 million contract last winter. He made only seven appearances this season and posted a 5.40 earned-run average before being sidelined with a strained flexor tendon. Robertson attempted to come back from the injury but endured a slower-than-expected progression and several setbacks.

Sale on 10-day IL

The Boston Red Sox placed lefthander Chris Sale on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. President Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that Sale had an MRI and the team’s doctors said the results revealed inflammation. Dombrowski also said Sale felt stiffness after his start Tuesday in Cleveland and didn’t tell the team until Friday, so he was sent for the test. In addition to the team’s doctors, Dombrowski said Sale will also have the results looked at by orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, but that wasn’t expected to be until Monday. Struggling through a mediocre season, Sale is 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA, but he was coming off two solid starts in which he combined for 25 strikeouts — including the 2,000th of his career — and allowed only 3 runs in 142/3 innings.

Urias suspended

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias has accepted a 20-game suspension by MLB for a domestic violence incident and is expected to return in September. The league gave him credit for serving five games while he was on administrative leave in May, leaving 15 remaining to serve without pay. MLB said Saturday that Urias has agreed not to appeal the discipline and will participate in an evaluation and treatment program. The 23-year-old reliever from Mexico was arrested in May and accused of shoving a woman. The charges were ultimately dropped, but MLB pursued its own punishment under the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. Urias is 4-3 with a 2.64 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 26 games, including 6 starts.

OLYMPICS Bacteria cancels event

High levels of bacteria forced the swimming portion of a triathlon test event for the Tokyo Paralympics to be canceled on Saturday. It’s the second setback in the triathlon for organizers of next year’s Olympics and Paralympics. An Olympic triathlon running event was shortened from 10 kilometers to 5 kilometers on Thursday because of what the International Triathlon Union called “extreme levels” of heat. Tokyo’s hot and humid summers are a major worry for Olympic organizers. The water issues are a reminder of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics three years ago when high bacteria and virus levels were found in waters for sailing, rowing and open-water swimming. In a statement, the ITU said E-coli levels were “more than two times over the ITU limits.” It said the water was at Level 4, the highest risk level. E-coli bacteria, which normally live in the intestines of animals and people, can produce intestinal pain, diarrhea and a fever. The venue in Tokyo Bay, called Odaiba, has been a concern for organizers, who have experimented with different measures to clean the water in the area, located in an urban part of central Tokyo. The ITU is scheduled to hold it final test event today “depending on the latest water quality tests,” it said in a statement. A few days ago the ITU described water quality conditions at the venue as “very good.” However, swimmers at a recent distance swimming event at the same venue complained of foul smelling water.

Barron