season debut

A couple of former University of Oregon quarterbacks square off Sunday in a pivotal AFC West matchup. It’s Justin Herbert of the Chargers and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos, both backed by talented defenses.

The Chargers are making their season debut at SoFi Stadium, and they already have two big pelts to hang on the wall. They’ve beaten Kansas City and Las Vegas, and against Denver are looking to sweep their first half of AFC West games. Last season, in the debut of Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton with their respective teams, the Chargers swept the Broncos.

“Obviously, his success speaks for itself both at the NFL level and college level,” Payton told reporters this week of Harbaugh. “I was excited that he got a job in our league, but not so much in our division.”

How the Chargers can win: Get another strong performance from Herbert. Spread the ball around to exploit soft spots in Denver’s secondary. Put the clamps on a Broncos ground game and in particular former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins. So far, the Chargers rank eighth in run defense.

How the Broncos can win: Win on early downs so they can avoid third-and-five (or longer) situations. Establish the run to set up the play-action passing game. Finish stronger — Denver has tended to fade late in games. Make the Chargers one-dimensional; they’ve had a hard time establishing the run.

Thirteen months after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament, Sparks forward Cameron Brink made her season debut, stepping onto the court at the 2:39 mark of the first quarter.

Brink looked comfortable despite the long layoff, jumping into the midseason contest intensity with confidence. She was active and competitive throughout, playing 13 minutes and 55 seconds during her return.

“We’re thrilled to have her back, and I’m incredibly proud of her,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “She’s on a minutes restriction. … I told her that she needs to enjoy the moment. … It’s a hard injury to come back from mentally and physically, and she’s done it with a smile on her face.”

But the night marked the end of the WNBA’s longest active winning streak, as the Sparks fell 89-74 to the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Sparks (11‑15) trailed by double digits for most of the game and couldn’t recover against the surging Aces (14‑13), who extended their lead to as much as 21 points.

In the third matchup between the two teams this season, the Sparks came out a bit hesitant, while the Aces were the aggressors from the tip.

“That was the worst shooting we’ve had all season,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to be able to defend. It’s knowing personnel, it’s knowing tendency, it’s staying locked into the game plan even when they score the first eight points.”

The Aces leaned on strong starts from Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson, who combined for 34 points in the first half.

Wilson finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Young recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Dearica Hamby remained a bright spot for the Sparks, contributing 15 points and six rebounds. Hamby was named WNBA Western Conference player of the week after leading the Sparks to three wins, including a road victory over the defending champion New York Liberty on Saturday.

Kelsey Plum added 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the loss. Brink had five points, including a three-pointer, three rebounds, one block and one steal in 14 minutes of play.

“I was really proud of her,” Plum said of Brink. “I told her after the game, ‘It’s very impressive to come in, make the impact that you did.’ … I think she’s gonna continue to just help us a ton.”

The Sparks, who had been rolling offensively, were startled by their difficulty scoring.

“We have been so used to making shots and so I think it caught us off guard a little bit,” Roberts said.

The Sparks will look to regroup before playing the Storm in Seattle Friday night.

TORONTO — Bo Bichette homered and scored the deciding run to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to their season-high eighth straight victory, 3-2 over the Angels on Sunday.

The American League East-leading Blue Jays improved to 52-38, sweeping a homestand of seven of more games for the first time since 1994 and second in franchise history.

Toronto drew even on with Bichette’s leadoff homer in the fourth inning. His 12th homer came after his error in the top of the inning loaded the bases for the Angels. Davis Schneider drove in Bichette in the sixth inning with a single down the left-field line.

Mike Trout homered for the Angels with two out in the first.

After Bichette’s homer, Toronto went ahead in the fourth on a two-out single from Joey Loperfido, who made his season debut. The Angels tied it in the fifth when Taylor Ward singled over Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks. Tyler Anderson (2-6) yielded three runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in five-plus innings.

Reliever Ryan Burr (1-0) got the victory in his first outing of the season after dealing with a right-shoulder injury. Jeff Hoffman picked up his 22nd save.

Key moment

With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning, Gausman coaxed Gustavo Campero into a 1-3 double play.

Key stat

The Blue Jays have 52 wins with six games remaining before the All-Star break. The club record for victories before the break is 53, set in 1985 and matched in 1992.

Up next

Yusei Kikuchi, who was named to the AL All-Star team on Sunday, was scheduled to start for the Angels at home Monday night against Texas. Jose Berrios (4-3) was set to start for Toronto on Monday night in Chicago against the White Sox’s Sean Burke (4-7).