Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

MLB roundup: Walker sharp in Blue Jays debut

Taijuan Walker pitched six scoreless innings in his Toronto Blue Jays debut and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio each had two RBIs in a 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night at Buffalo. Walker (3-2), who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, allowed four hits and three walks and struck out four in his first outing in 10 days. It was his 100th career major league start.

Alpine skiing: Germany’s Olympic champion Rebensburg retires

Germany’s leading skier and 2010 Olympic giant slalom champion Viktoria Rebensburg is retiring after a dip in form, she said on Tuesday. Rebensburg, 30, added that her performances in training in recent months showed she could not reach her past top level.

Braves pull away to defeat Red Sox

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley broke open a tie game with a bases-loaded triple and propelled left-hander Max Fried to his sixth victory in a 6-3 win over the host Boston Red Sox on Monday. In the fifth inning with score even at 2-2, Riley greeted reliever Phillips Valdez with a line drive off the low wall in right field, just beyond the Pesky Pole. It was Riley’s first triple of the year and extended his hitting streak to five games. He went 2-for-5 on Monday, and he is hitting .421 (8-for-19) in his five-game streak, raising his average to .240.

Roglic wins Tour de France stage four, Alaphilippe retains yellow jersey

Slovenian Primoz Roglic won the fourth stage of the Tour de France, a 160.5-km ride from Sisteron on Tuesday. His compatriot Tadej Pogacar was second.

Former No. 1 Kerber eyeing improvement after rehiring coach Beltz

Angelique Kerber has not won a title since 2018 but the former world number one is hoping better days lie ahead after rehiring compatriot Torben Beltz as her coach and restoring a partnership that helped the German win two of her three Grand Slam titles. Kerber, who has slipped down the rankings to 23rd, parted ways with Dieter Kindlmann in July while the tennis circuit was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Djokovic embracing the pressure as he extends winning streak

Novak Djokovic showed a bit more passion than might have been expected in his first-round win over Damir Dzumhur on Monday but the world number one brushed aside any question that he was feeling the pressure as overwhelming U.S. Open favourite. The Serbian lost his way a bit in the second set but rallied for a straightforward victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium that extended his extraordinary winning streak to 24 matches this year.

Tsitsipas opens up on his relationship with his towel

The U.S. Open is very different this year because of health protocols and for world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas, the difficulty in getting regular access to his towel is proving quite a challenge. The Greek stormed into the second round with a three-set victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Monday and spent his entire post-match news conference discussing his relationship with the humble towel.

Mum’s the word as Serena, Clijsters, Azarenka take the stage at US Open

A trio of mothers kick off their campaigns at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday with former champions Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters in action on day two along with twice runner-up Victoria Azarenka. Six-times U.S. Open winner Williams resumes her quest for a 24th major title with her first career meeting against compatriot Kristie Ahn, the world number 96, in the second match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Padres continue to roll, shut out host Rockies

Piggy-backing starting pitchers Garrett Richards and Adrian Morejon blanked Colorado on five hits over 6 2/3 innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run triple and Wil Myers hit his ninth homer Monday night as the San Diego Padres defeated the Rockies 6-0 in Denver. The Padres won three of the four games in the series. They outscored Colorado 32-10 in the four games and had a 56-35 edge in hits. The Padres finished with a 4-3 edge at Coors Field this season.

Osaka keen to spread awareness about racial injustice

Japan’s Naomi Osaka says she wants to spread awareness about racial injustice after the former U.S. Open champion walked onto court with a mask bearing the name of Breonna Taylor on Monday. Osaka, who moved to the United States as a three-year-old, has seven separate masks with her at Flushing Meadows and hopes to wear a different one at each stage on her path to the final.