LONDON -- Results mean everything in football. Managers will always talk up the importance of performances, but supporters are more interested in the cold reality of the final score, which is why Arsenal head coach Unai Emery will have left the Emirates feeling like the big winner of Sunday's pulsating North London derby against Tottenham.

Emery spends most games wearing a pained expression in the technical area, but the Spaniard allowed himself to smile in the closing stages of this one, perhaps because deep down, he knew that he and his team got away with it against Mauricio Pochettino's side by claiming a 2-2 draw after falling 2-0 behind in the first half. "I'm pretty proud of our work," Emery said. "We played with our heart, sometimes more than our head and we need the balance. We need to be clearer in our mind."

That, in a nutshell, is the problem that Emery has to solve at Arsenal. Their football is too chaotic, but right now it is exciting chaos, and that is helping the former Paris Saint-Germain coach win the PR battle, if nothing else. On the pitch there was no victor, with Arsenal and Spurs taking a point each from a game that saw the home side trail 2-1 at half-time before salvaging a draw with a stirring second-half fightback.

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In the first half, we saw the Arsenal that we usually see against a "Big Six" rival: outplayed, outfought, out-thought and defensively naïve. Since Emery replaced Arsene Wenger as manager in the summer of 2018, Arsenal have played 15 games against the "Big Six" in league and cup and won just three of them, while losing eight. The old failings of the final years of the Wenger era always seem to be triggered by an encounter with a well-resourced rival and, in the first 45 minutes of this game, it was the same old story.

A week after surrendering their 100 percent winning start to the season with a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool, the Gunners appeared to be going the same way against their neighbours. Yet the second-half was a different story. Determination replaced disarray where Arsenal were concerned, with Alexandre Lacazette's goal in first-half stoppage time providing the platform for the second-half performance, in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang earned the draw with a 71st minute equaliser.

Spurs helped their neighbours, by giving them the freedom to chase to the game, but Aubameyang's strike was a big goal for so many reasons.

First of all, it ensured that Arsenal did not lose this game. Ahead of an international break, it would have almost signalled a mini-crisis at the Emirates had they gone into it on the back of defeats against Liverpool and Spurs, with their top four ambitions under fierce scrutiny. Staving off that kind of knee-jerk inquest was another upside from Aubameyang's equaliser, but for Emery, the goal and the draw also ensured that he could push on with his Arsenal rebuild with this result in the bank.

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Supporters will always offer more patience towards a manager and a team when they see their players produce the kind of fightback which leads to a positive result from a seemingly lost cause. Sending supporters away from a game with smile on their face and spring in their step is crucial at any time, but especially so when a club is in a state of transition and the rebuilding process is not without its difficulties.

Against Spurs, Emery's unsuccessful track record against the "Big Six" began to look like a growing problem during the first half, when Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane (the latter from the penalty spot) put Spurs 2-0 ahead. All of those questions about Emery's tactical nous were beginning to rear their heads once again, especially after his disastrous ploy of using a diamond formation against Anfield that allowed Liverpool full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold to wreak havoc down both flanks.

Even though Arsenal's defending was typically shambolic at times against Spurs, Emery's bold second-half substitutions, when he introduced Dani Ceballos and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in an effort to pose Tottenham more questions in their defensive third, led to the home side throwing everything forward and being rewarded for their adventure.

Fortune favours the brave and that certainly applied to Emery and Arsenal, and if the second-half fightback ensures that the supporters spend less time worrying about their defending, the Gunners coach will be certainly happy about that. But he will also know that he cannot allow Granit Xhaka to defend so recklessly in future -- the Arsenal captain conceded a penalty for a ridiculous challenge on Son Heung-Min -- and he needs to find a way to get David Luiz fully focused on defending.

With the attacking talent in their ranks, Arsenal will always pose opponents problems going forward, but their defensive frailties will also lead to more occasions when they have to chase games. As he embarks on his second full season in charge, Emery still has plenty of work to do, but days like this will only help buy him the time to see the job through.

New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has been ruled out of the ongoing T20 series against Sri Lanka with a fractured thumb. Ferguson sustained the injury at training on Friday, while fielding. X-rays revealed a "small fracture to the middle joint", according to an official release.

"It's a shame for Lockie to have to miss this series, especially coming off the back of such an impressive World Cup campaign in England," said head coach Gary Stead. Ferguson had been the second-highest wicket-taker in the series, with 21 dismissals.

"The thumb has been put in a splint and is expected to take four to six weeks to recover; so we're optimistic he'll be available for the five-game T20 series against England, which starts on November 1."

While New Zealand don't have a spare fast bowler on tour - Tim Southee, Seth Rance and Scott Kuggeleijn the only frontline quicks in the 14-man squad - the team will not name a replacement for Ferguson, Stead said.

New Zealand play three T20s against Sri Lanka in all, on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. There are no ODIs on this tour.

Wriddhiman Saha, Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav will slot back in with the India A squad following their tour of the Caribbean with the national side. Saha will lead in the second four-day fixture against South Africa A in Mysore.

Shubman Gill will lead in the first four-dayer starting on September 10 in Wayanad. The game will also feature the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ammolpreet Singh, K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mohammed Siraj, all of whom were part of the India A squad that toured the West Indies last month.

Vijay Shankar, who was ruled out of the ongoing one-day series because of a thumb injury, has also been included subject to clearance from the medical team. Ruturaj, who will feature in the first four-dayer, was part of only the limited-overs squad in the West Indies and is currently part of the India A one-day team playing South Africa A in Thiruvananthapuram.

The selection committee picked two different squads as a number of India A regulars like Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran will be involved in the Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru starting on September 4.

Ishan Kishan, who is currently part of the India A one-day team, will rejoin India Red for that Duleep Trophy final, while Rahul Chahar will be replaced by Mayank Markande in the India Green side. Kishan's inclusion in this game is perhaps a sign of the selectors perhaps being satisfied with his white-ball credentials and wanting to give him enough exposure in the red-ball format.

Meanwhile, Karun Nair was rewarded for his Duleep Trophy form with a return to the India A fold for the first time since November last year. Nair made scores of 99, 166 not out and 90 in his first two first-class outings this season. Nair is on a comeback trail of sorts after being controversially left out of the India Test squad midway through the England tour last year.

With South Africa due to tour India for a full tour, the four-dayers are seen as a shadow tour for a number of their Test aspirants like Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Anrich Nortje.

India A squad for 1st four-dayer: Shubman Gill (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Ankeet Bawne, KS Bharat (wk), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar

India A squad for 2nd four-dayer: Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (Capt, wk), K Gowtham, Kuldeep Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan

Stumps West Indies 117 and 45 for 2 (Bravo 18*, Brooks 4*) need 423 to beat India 416 and 168 for 4 dec. (Rahane 64*, Vihari 53*, Roach 3-28)

India swiftly ended West Indies' innings, went 299 ahead, decided to bat again, collapsed against Kemar Roach, and still ended the day comfortably ahead of West Indies. Setting them 468 to draw the series, India dismissed both openers to reduce West Indies to 45 for 2 at stumps.

For the first time in three innings, West Indies' top-order batsmen looked like they played with some comfort against India's fast bowlers, although much of that was down to a lack of swing in the evening. Left-handers John Campbell and Darren Bravo nailed the timing on many of their favourite front-foot strokes, scoring rapidly after Kraigg Brathwaite edged behind off a straightening Ishant Sharma delivery. But shortly after he was dropped at first slip by Hanuma Vihari, Campbell threw his hands at a wide delivery from Mohammed Shami and found Virat Kohli at third slip. West Indies then slowed down for the last five overs of the day, the only notable incident being a bouncer from Bumrah that struck Bravo on the helmet in the last over. Bravo chose to stay on for the last two balls to take them to stumps.

Quick scoring was also a feature of the partnership between Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane, who had rapidly turned the game after tea, scoring at nearly six per over to add 95 as India declared to put West Indies in for the last hour. They put up a hundred stand in the process, got to half-centuries, and finished the series with two fifties and a hundred each.

Unlike the afternoon session, where ball dominated bat, West Indies had little control over the pair who looked like they'd come out with declaration in mind. The move began with two glorious Vihari on-drives early in the session, followed by both batsmen running down at Rahkeem Cornwall and chipping him either side of square leg.

West Indies went on the defensive and bowled spin from both ends. The move almost paid off, with Rahane sweeping one straight to Shannon Gabriel at deep backward square, only for the fast bowler to lose balance and fluff the chance as he went down. That over ended with Vihari chopping one to point and Rahane drilling a full toss to the cover boundary.

The move to bowl spin played into their hands, and might have been a relief in comparison to when they came together at 57 for 4 in the post-lunch session, when West Indies and Kemar Roach had given India a jolt. The seamer went past Wes Hall's 192 wickets, into ninth place overall for the West Indies. He also came close to emulating another Wes Hall feat - a Test hat-trick - but missed out by inches.

Not much had changed about Roach's attacking strategy. It was the same length - just full enough to get batsmen forward - and the same line, just outside off, with which he's troubled India all series, with little fortune. Having already pinned Mayank Agarwal deep in the crease and poking across the line before lunch, he persisted with the attack in KL Rahul's corridor post the session.

Rahul once again showed indecisiveness outside off, often finding himself halfway between a guide to third man and a leave. This was a telling feature through his entire innings which lasted 63 balls and during which he scored only 6 - he added no runs in the 11.1 overs after the break.

His dismissal was built upon that indecisiveness. Roach went stock - wide of the crease, angled into off stump, moving away off the surface. Rahul, in similar fashion to his first innings dismissal, was caught inside the line and followed the ball with his hands a touch, guiding it straight to wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton.

The very next ball, he got the ball to straighten even more subtly from wide of the crease. Virat Kohli's guard and shuffle across got him well into the off side as he looked to defend on the front foot, but Roach had done just enough to find the edge and get him for a first-ball duck.

For the hat-trick ball, Rahane walked into yet another tricky situation, and with catchers all around him, looked tentative as he got on the back foot to poke one into the off side. The resulting inside edge narrowly missed leg stump, as all leg-side catchers tumbled in despair instantaneously. It seemed Roach's bad luck, briefly dismissed, had returned.

Earlier in the day, India took just over an hour to end West Indies' innings, with Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja splitting the last three wickets between them. West Indies were bowled out for 117..

Mohammed Shami got a sharp, well-directed bouncer up at Cornwall's throat and had him fending from underneath it. He could only manage to get his gloves on it from that position, a gentle lob for Rahane to hold on to coming in from gully.

Roach, who has also been one of West Indies' most confident batsmen in the series so far, looked it when he came out. He played stylish square drives off both Jasprit Bumrah and Shami, with a neat tuck through midwicket sandwiched in between. At the other end, for almost 10 overs, Hamilton added no runs to his overnight score of 2.

He became Ishant Sharma's only wicket of the innings. Hamilton's 57-ball 3, an exercise in survival, ended with an outside edge to slip as he went with his trusted forward block. Ravindra Jadeja extracted prodigious turn in his very first over of the day and soon had Roach slice one to cover.

With that turn, he activated a potential fourth menacing bowling option for India, and a follow on wouldn't have been out of the question. But conditions have been humid and sapping fast bowlers all through the match, and that is likely to have influenced Kohli's decision.

Western Storm 174 for 4 (Knight 78*, Sharma 39*) beat Southern Vipers 172 for 7 (Wyatt 73) by six wickets

An unbeaten 78 from England captain Heather Knight saw Western Storm win their second and final Kia Super League title in a thrilling run chase at Hove.

Southern Vipers posted an imposing 172 for 7 after winning the toss, led by a 42-ball 73 from Danni Wyatt, but were left to rue the fact that the final six overs of their effort heralded only 38 runs, as the Storm turned things around after a loose start.

They had fallen behind the rate in the chase after the early wickets of Smriti Mandhana and Rachel Priest, and were in some bother at 103 for 4 when Deepti Sharma strode to the crease, but her unbeaten stand of 71 in 6.3 overs with Knight was enough to change the dynamic of the game completely, as they snuck home with an over to spare.

Sharma ended unbeaten on 39 from 22 balls, smoking seven powerful boundaries, including one over midwicket and another over extra cover in Suzie Bates' 19th over which effectively put the game to bed.

It is hard to argue that the Storm did not merit their second title, not least after nine wins and a single dead-rubber loss in the group stage. They have won more games than any other side over the course of four KSL seasons, and in a tournament where teams are typically top-heavy in their batting, they have remarkable depth; that the big-hitting Sharma came in as low as No. 6 demonstrated their middle-order riches.

And while Priest, Fran Wilson and Mandhana have all starred throughout the season, it was fitting that Knight should be the one to see them home. She became the first player to go past 1000 runs in the tournament during her brilliant innings on Sunday, and found an extra gear that has, at times, escaped her at international level.

Anchoring the chase, Knight picked off anything short or wide, lofting over the covers and sweeping hard to find the boundary with a level of ease that had eluded her team-mates, smiting Bates for four over long-off to seal the win.

After missing out on Finals Day following a remarkable tournament haul of 421 runs with a strike-rate of 174.68 last season, Mandhana could hardly have imagined a worse outcome than this from a personal perspective.

After giving Wyatt a life at long-on when she put down a straightforward chance, she then chipped the first legitimate ball she faced to mid-on, where Marie Kelly took a brilliant catch diving forward. Mandhana's 268 runs this season are not to be sniffed at, but by her own standards represented an underwhelming return.

If Wyatt's innings was of the sort expected from one of the women's game's best T20 batters, it was also confirmation that her poor run in the Ashes this summer was little more than a blip.

It would be overly simplistic to attribute Wyatt's growth over the past four years to the KSL alone, and would undersell the impact that a central contract, the trust of the England management, and the Big Bash have had on her game. But regardless, it is hard to avoid the thought that the tournament has helped her game no end.

Wyatt made just 39 runs in five innings for Lancashire Thunder in 2016, and only 92 in her first year as a Vipers player the following season. Last year brought 172 runs in nine innings, but this year she has been relentless: nobody has ever scored more KSL runs in a single season than her 466 this campaign.

And if Wyatt rode her luck at times - she was dropped on 55 by Sophie Luff and on 65 by Mandhana - then she was also relentless in putting away anything too wide or too straight.

Vipers' top three of Wyatt, Bates and Tammy Beaumont ended the tournament having scored more than 60 percent of their team's runs off the bat, and it felt like an important moment when Sonia Odedra held onto a quite brilliant caught-and-bowled chance after Bates' attempts to work to leg only drew a leading edge. The ball looped up agonisingly, seemingly out of reach, but Odedra dived at full stretch, extending a hopeful mitt, and as she hit the turf found the ball nestled safely in her clutches.

But Beaumont and Wyatt continued to build, Beaumont playing with a characteristic deft touch as Wyatt pummelled slog-sweeps and pulls over the leg side. From 134 for 1 with six overs to go, they were well-placed to make 200, but fell away badly after Wyatt offered a catch straight to Anya Shrubsole at long-on, and Beaumont was involved in a mix-up with Maia Bouchier for the second time in the day, selling her junior partner short looking for a third run.

The Vipers' lower-middle order struggled to find the pace of a hard, but deceptively slow pitch, and the last six overs brought just 38 runs as six wickets fell. They had hoped it would not prove crucial, but as Knight and Sharma started to find gaps with growing ease, it looked increasingly like a huge opportunity missed.

Heather Knight paid credit to her Western Storm side's batting depth after Deepti Sharma's crucial unbeaten 39 from 22 balls from No. 6 lifted them over the line in a nail-biting run chase against Southern Vipers at Hove.

Sharma came in with Storm needing 70 off 7.3 overs after prolific openers Smriti Mandhana and Rachel Priest had fallen early, but struck seven boundaries in her cameo in the middle to support Knight - who made 78 not out - as they chased down their target with an over to spare.

"We've had people throughout the order play brilliantly throughout the competition," Knight said. "Fran Wilson and Sophie Luff have been outstanding for us this year, and Deepti has had some really good cameos, even though she hasn't had to bat too much.

"I'm really delighted with how we've gone. The two at the top [Mandhana and Priest] obviously have a job to try and score quickly and sometimes that doesn't pay off so we've got the middle order to patch that up if that does happen."

Also read: Knight leads Storm to title with unbeaten 78 against Vipers

Vipers captain Tammy Beaumont suggested that while her side's middle order had chipped in throughout the tournament, the difference in batting depth was ultimately the difference between the sides.

"Yeah definitely, you look at them - they've got seven international players, and we're kind of lacking that a little bit in our team," she said.

"Full credit to the girls, they've all stepped up at different times. Amanda Wellington has played some gems of innings for us at five or six, and so have Fi Morris and Paige Scholfield, so that's just the way it is. But yeah, of course - having someone of the class of Deepti is maybe a little bit of a difference there."

The contrast with the Vipers - who were 134 for 1 after 14 overs, but lost six wickets for 38 runs in the final six overs - was clear, and Knight paid credit to her side's decision to sign a full quota of overseas players that would be available for Finals Day, which contrasted with the other two sides.

"Trevor Griffin has been amazing, putting the squad together," she said. "No-one works harder as a coach than him in the early summer going to see players play in county cricket, and stuff like that, and assembling the best squad we could.

"We made the decision to go with an overseas [player] that was going to be available for the final, because obviously we lost Smriti last year. It was sad to let Stafanie [Taylor] go but obviously she wasn't available for today, and Deepti's been outstanding for us, and obviously we had that little bit of extra depth which was nice."

With Danni Wyatt, who was confirmed as player of the tournament after the final, striking the ball cleanly, the Vipers had been set for a total far in advance of the 172 they ended up with, and Knight credited her seamers with dragging things back in their favour.

"I thought they were on for 200-plus at one point, the way Tammy and Danni were going there in the middle," Knight said. "It was a really good track, really hard to defend or stop the flow of runs when players were going like that.

"We bowled outstandingly - Freya [Davies] and Anya [Shrubsole] in particular pulled it back nicely, managed to pick up a few wickets and I thought 170 was going to be really tough to chase, but we knew it was probably within our grasp.

"We've chased some really good totals over the past couple of years, and we've somehow found a way to win a lot this season in tricky situations, so to do that, with the belief we've had, we knew that if one batter was there at the end we were in with a good chance. [I'm] delighted it was me, and happy to pick up the trophy."

Serena Williams overcame a rolled right ankle to advance to the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Williams, seeded eighth, suffered the injury in the middle of the second set against Petra Martic, but managed to finish out the 6-3, 6-4 victory in 1 hour, 32 minutes.

"I just rolled it. I don't know why," Williams said of the injury that left her cross-legged in the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium for a few moments. "I was volleying and it just went over, so that was a little frustrating."

She immediately asked for a trainer, who added tape to her lower right leg and foot during a medical timeout at the ensuing changeover. Soon enough, Williams was back on course to make her 11th straight quarterfinals appearance at Flushing Meadows.

She ended this match by raising both arms after smacking an ace at 118 mph, her fastest of the afternoon, punctuating an overpowering performance that included 38 winners to Martic's 11.

Next up for Williams is Wang Qiang, who knocked off No. 2 seed Ash Barty in straight sets.

Williams' win Sunday comes on the second birthday of her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., which Williams noted on Instagram earlier in the day.

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The last 2 years have been my greatest accomplishment

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Sep 1, 2019 at 5:59am PDT

The winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, Williams is looking for her elusive first tournament win of any kind since stepping away from tennis in 2017 for the birth of her daughter.

Williams has dealt with various health issues all season, including one that ended her stay at the Australian Open.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The Oakland Raiders claimed quarterback DeShone Kizer off waivers from the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Kizer was among the Packers' cuts on Saturday as the team trimmed down its roster to 53 players.

The Raiders now have four quarterbacks on their roster as Kizer joins Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman as backups to starter Derek Carr -- for now. Oakland released defensive end Josh Mauro in a corresponding roster move.

A day earlier, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock laughed when asked whether keeping three quarterbacks in Carr, Glennon and Peterman was the plan all along.

"When you work with Jon Gruden, it probably is," Mayock said. "And yeah, I mean, bottom line is that Jon loves his quarterbacks, does a great job developing them and I think we pretty much knew all along, especially if all three of them played the way they did, I think it became obvious that we were going to go with three."

The Raiders got a close look at Kizer in a preseason game against the Packers on Aug. 22 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as they sacked him three times and picked him off once. Kizer completed 4 of 7 passes for 24 yards in Oakland's 22-21 exhibition victory.

Kizer was waived Saturday less two years after he started 15 games for the Cleveland Browns as a rookie. The Packers traded former first-round pick Damarious Randall to the Browns for Kizer on March 15, 2018. While Randall flopped as a cornerback for the Packers, he started all but one game for the Browns last year at safety and is projected to be a starter again this season.

The 23-year-old Kizer, who was the 52nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, was never able to rectify the accuracy problems that plagued him during his rookie season as the Browns' starter. He threw a league-high 22 interceptions and just 11 touchdowns in the Browns' winless 2017 season. For Kizer, this was his was fourth different offense in as many seasons -- from his last year at Notre Dame to the Browns to his first year with the Packers under then-coach Mike McCarthy to new Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

Kizer played in three games in relief of Rodgers last season, including three drives in the season opener after Rodgers hurt his knee against the Bears and then most of the season finale against the Lions after Rodgers suffered a concussion. He threw two interceptions without a touchdown on 42 pass attempts in those two games.

ESPN's Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco told reporters on Sunday that the team informed running back Melvin Gordon's representation that talks regarding his contract extension have been postponed until the end of the season.

"When or if Melvin reports, he'll play this season under his current contract, and we'll just revisit it after the season," Telesco said.

Gordon is set to make $5.605 million in 2019 on the fifth-year team option of his rookie deal.

With contract talks at an impasse, the Chargers granted Gordon's representation permission to seek a trade with another team, so he could potentially play elsewhere this season under a new deal if he finds a trade partner and the Chargers agree to the terms.

The Wisconsin product did not report to the start of training camp at the end of July, telling the Chargers through his representation that if he does not receive a new deal, he'll sit out and demand a trade.

Gordon desires a contract extension that will compensate him among the top running backs in the league such as Todd Gurley, David Johnson and Le'Veon Bell, who earn an average of $13 to $14 million annually.

Earlier this summer, the Chargers offered Gordon a new contract that potentially doubled his salary at roughly $10 million annually -- but at this point that offer does not appear to be available anymore.

Telesco said the Chargers will turn to Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson to shoulder the load at running back with Gordon unavailable.

"Those two guys are going to work in tandem with each other," Telesco said. "I think the day and age of having to have one running back to carry it 300 times is probably not the smartest thing in the world anyways.

"Even if you have a big, bell-cow back, you'd like to have another back to come in and spell them, give them some rest and have a different dimension. So right now we're very happy with Austin as an every-down back."

Gordon's holdout is one of a couple of early-season adversities facing the Chargers, a team expected to compete for a playoff berth for a second year in a row and a deep postseason run in 2019.

Left tackle Russell Okung was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list to start the season due to a pulmonary embolism caused by blood clots and cannot play for at least the first six weeks of the regular season. Okung will only return to the field when cleared by doctors.

And All-Pro safety Derwin James is expected to be placed on the injured reserve list after surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot, and will not be available until November at the earliest.

However, Telesco said his team is unfazed by early misfortunes.

"Every season there's going to be obstacles that you have," Telesco said. "And that's just the way it is. It's our job to figure out a way around them. It's our job to have solutions to them, and it's our job to play through them."

CHICAGO -- The Milwaukee Brewers have cut another key performer from last year, designating reliever Jeremy Jeffress for assignment on Sunday.

Jeffress went 8-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 15 saves in 2018, helping Milwaukee win the NL Central and make it all the way to the NL Championship Series. The right-hander also made the All-Star team for the first time.

But Jeffress hasn't been able to find the same form this year. He was hampered by right shoulder weakness during spring training, and then went back on the injured list last Sunday with a strained left hip.

Jeffress, who turns 32 on Sept. 21, is 3-4 with a 5.02 ERA and one save in 48 games this season.

"Unfortunately we just got to a position where at a time in the season where we didn't see him making an impact," manager Craig Counsell said before Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs. "It's a little bit of a future decision as well with 40-man roster issues."

Milwaukee began the day in third in the NL Central, 6½ games back of division-leading St. Louis. The Brewers also are in the mix for an NL wild card.

Jhoulys Chacin, who had a career-high 15 wins last season and served as Milwaukee's Opening Day starter this year, was designated for assignment last weekend. He signed a minor league deal with Boston on Saturday.

"At this point where we are with Jeremy, progression from his hip strength, with his performance and where we are from a 40-man roster perspective, this a move we felt was the right move to make now," president of baseball operations David Stearns said. "Certainly a tough one, but one we felt was the right thing to do from the club."

The Brewers also designated outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. and right-hander Aaron Wilkerson for assignment to create space on their 40-man roster.

Right-hander Jimmy Nelson and left-hander Brent Suter were reinstated from the 60-day injured list. First baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin had his contract selected from Triple-A San Antonio.

The Brewers also recalled right-handers Jake Faria and Freddy Peralta and catcher David Freitas from San Antonio before the matchup with the Cubs. Freitas was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .381 batting average at the time of his promotion.