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Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Friday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- NEW YORK -- Contenders at the U.S. Open could find themselves with a particularly tough first-round matchup when the draw is completed. Two Olympic medalists -- Monica Puig, who won gold for the women, and Juan Martin del Potro, who won silver for the men -- are unseeded, which means they could face a highly ranked player right away. Draw starts 11:30 a.m.- NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Two-time defending champion Petra Kvitova faces top-seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the Connecticut Open, attempting to move into her fifth straight final in New Haven.- FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Patrick Reed and Martin Laird are tied for the lead going into the second round of The Barclays.- CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NFL MVP Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers will see his most extensive playing time of the preseason against then New England Patriots, while Tom Brady may have to take a back seat to Jimmy Garoppolo. Game starts 7:30 p.m.- Other NFL preseason games: Buffalo at Washington, 7:30 p.m.; Pittsburgh at New Orleans, 8 p.m.; Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m.; Green Bay at San Francisco, 10 p.m.- Various stories from NFL training camps and college football practices.- LOS ANGELES -- Carlos Ruiz is set to make his debut for the Dodgers, a day after them got him in a trade of popular backup catchers that sent A.J. Ellis to Philadelphia. Bud Norris starts for Los Angeles against left-hander Mike Montgomery of the Chicago Cubs in the series opener between the first-place teams. Game starts 10 p.m.- BOSTON -- The Red Sox, tied atop of the AL East after a 7-4 road trip, return home for six-game homestand. The defending champion Kansas City Royals are hoping for another strong start from Ian Kennedy, while Steven Wright returns from the disabled list for Boston. Game starts 7:10 p.m.- BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Olympic gold medalist Lilly King became the face of clean athletes in Rio. King isnt backing away from that reputation and instead hopes to use her success to send a message to everyone else as she enters her sophomore season at Indiana.- BROOKLYN, Mich. -- With Dale Earnhardt Jr. still recovering from a concussion, Alex Bowman is filling in behind the wheel of the No. 88 car at Michigan this weekend.- FORT WORTH, Texas -- James Hinchcliffe has been leading the rain-interrupted IndyCar race at Texas for 11 weeks. During that unprecedented delay, Will Power has won three of the five races completed and was the runner-up in the other two, moving up to second in season points.- GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Rattlers look for their fourth Arena Bowl title in five years when they face the Philadelphia Soul. Game starts 10 p.m.Nets Jerseys 2020 . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Brooklyn Nets Pro Shop . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/ .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Brooklyn Nets Store .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Wholesale Nets Jerseys . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187.HOUSTON -- Josh Hamilton turned from his locker and saw a group of reporters waiting to talk to him after Saturdays game against Houston. "Im not answering any questions about hitting," he said. That was just fine after the defensive show the Angels struggling slugger put on in Los Angeles 7-2 win over the Houston Astros. Joe Blanton pitched seven sharp innings, and Howie Kendrick and Chris Iannetta both homered to lead the Angels. Alberto Callaspo and Erick Aybar drove in two runs apiece in a big fourth inning, but it was Hamilton who everyone was talking about. He likely robbed Houston of two home runs with his glove. "Through this whole struggle on the offensive side with him trying to find his comfort zone in the box, hes played great defence for us," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "Great range, today he took away a couple home runs. Josh made them look easy." Blanton (2-10) tied season lows with three hits and two runs, pitching six scoreless innings before a two-run home run by Brett Wallace in the seventh. He appreciated the work of Hamilton perhaps more than anybody. "They were both great catches," Blanton said. "Short field over there, he played the wall great, timed his jumps perfectly, made two outstanding plays." Kendricks solo homer came in the fifth and Iannetta tacked on two with a home run in the eighth. Houston starter Jordan Lyles (4-3) was done in by a four-run fourth inning by the Angels. He allowed five hits, four runs and walked two in four innings for his first loss against Los Angeles in three starts. Blanton was perfect through 3 1-3 innings before a double by Jose Altuve. Altuve advanced to third on a wild pitch before a two-out walk to Chris Carter. Blanton escaped the jam when Hamilton leaped to grab a fly ball hit by J.D. Martinez at the wall in right field. It was the second time Martinez hit the ball hard and came away empty. Mike Trout caught another drive from him on the warning track in left-centre in the second inning. Hamiltons second nifty defensive play came when he jumped and reached over the short wall in right field to catch a ball hit by Matt Dominguez in the seventh inning. Hamilton tumbled to the ground after the catch while Dominguez stood motionless and stared at him in disbelief. He didnt think the first one would have been a home run, but was certain that the second one would have gone out. Hamilton, who joined the Angels this season after signing a five-year, $125 million contract, is hitting just .221 with 10 homers this season. He was disappointed in a span earlier this season when he wasnt hitting well and he was struggling on defence. "If you dont do it at the plate you want to do it in the ffield, and during that stretch I wasnt doing it either way," he said.dddddddddddd "I felt like I wasnt. But I feel better. Everybody keeps telling me to go out and play and have fun. Just relax." He did just that on Saturday, and said making plays like that "are favourite things for me, more fun than hitting a home run." Mark Trumbo singled to get things going in the fourth inning. Lyles then started to struggle with control, plunking Howie Kendrick before walking Hamilton to load the bases. Callaspos single scored Trumbo and Kendrick to make it 2-0. Things continued to go downhill for Lyles when he hit Peter Bourjos with a pitch. Aybars two-run single pushed the lead to 4-0, but he was out trying to stretch it into a double. Lyles finally escaped the inning when Trout lined out to Brandon Barnes in centre field. "I think it is one of those things where you try to make the perfect pitch, and you are falling behind and you try to make a better pitch and a better pitch and a better pitch. He could not get his fastball command back," Houston manager Bo Porter said of Lyles in the fourth inning. Kendrick hit his ninth homer of the season to the seats in right field off Josh Fields with two outs in the fifth to make it 5-0. Carter walked with no outs in the seventh before Wallace hit his first homer of the season with one out to the Crawford Boxes in left field to make it 5-2. Bourjos bruised his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch, and he left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Trout took over in centre field for Bourjos, and J.B. Shuck entered the game in left field. Bourjos said he was sore after the game. Scioscia said he would have X-rays on the wrist as a precaution. NOTES: Houston reliever Travis Blackley shoved Shuck when he tagged him in the back on a rundown eighth inning. He regretted the move soon afterward. "I never try to be malicious toward anyone," he said. "It was one of those things where the heat of the moment kind of got me. I dont mean anything by it." ... The series wraps up on Sunday when Los Angeles left-hander C.J. Wilson opposes Lucas Harrell. ... Someone from Houstons dugout yelled "got it," causing Los Angeles catcher Hank Conger to let a foul ball he could have caught drop during Friday nights game. Porter wouldnt say who did it, but was unhappy with the incident and called Scioscia to apologize on Saturday morning. "I apologized to him on behalf of our ball club," Porter said. "Its not something that I condone, and I take full responsibility. It wont happen again." Scioscia wasnt that concerned about it. "He called and I appreciated it but its no big deal," he said. ' ' '