If U.S. soccer star Carli Lloyd pursues an NFL career, Stephen Hauschka wants to help however he can.

The Buffalo Bills place-kicker told ESPN on Thursday night he is "excited" for Lloyd, who became a viral sensation last week after a video of her kicking a 55-yard field goal during a Philadelphia Eagles-Baltimore Ravens practice led to multiple offers from NFL teams.

Hauschka, 34, played soccer at Middlebury College before transitioning to football, and said he can relate to Lloyd's consideration of making a similar career move.

"I saw the way she kicked that ball and she's obviously got a lot of talent," Hauschka said after the Bills' preseason finale. "It feels close to my heart because when I was 18, 19 years old, I was a soccer player and I had a dream of kicking footballs just for my Division III college team. I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity and I had a coach that showed me how to do it.

"If it's something she really wants to do, not only will I help her out -- if she wants it -- but I hope she goes for it. I do think it's possible to kick well in this league as a female. It's a very mental position, it's physical, it's technical and I think it could be done eventually."

Lloyd's coach told ESPN she would aim for the 2020 season if she decides to attempt to become the NFL's first female player. Doing so would allow her to train properly and shore up the technical differences between kicking a soccer ball and kicking a football.

Beyond the fundamentals, the challenge for her, in Hauschka's opinion, will be gaining experience in a game and league that don't present a wide margin for error for kickers.

The two-time World Cup champion and World Cup Golden Ball winner Lloyd, 37, is used to performing under pressure -- a fundamental trait for any place-kicker -- but it's difficult to start out in any sport at its highest level.

"It's definitely different, the thing I think that'll be tough for her is just game experience," he said. "There's a lot of things that you've got to learn over the course of [a career] and it's hard to learn that stuff at the NFL level because there's not room for error. I was fortunate enough to be able to kick at a Division III level and then the Division I level and work my way up.

"But I think it's really cool, a really cool story."

Hauschka, who signed a two-year, $8 million extension with the Bills on Wednesday, said it took him "about a year" to get used to kicking a football -- although he says he's still learning, even in his 12th NFL season.

As for skeptics who believe Lloyd's willingness -- or ability -- to tackle her opponents would keep her out of the NFL? Hauschka quickly shut it down.

"She doesn't have to."

Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores named Ryan Fitzpatrick the starting quarterback when Miami opens the season Sept. 8 against the Baltimore Ravens.

"After a thorough evaluation of OTAs, training camp, games, practice, we felt this was the best move for the team going into the season," Flores said Thursday. "Ryan has done a really good job from a leadership standpoint, from an execution standpoint, and we feel like it's the best move for the team."

Fitzpatrick, 36, has led the Dolphins' quarterback competition all offseason over second-year signal-caller Josh Rosen, but a strong preseason by Rosen made Flores' decision a little tougher.

It seems clear that Flores valued Fitzpatrick's experience, ability to run a new offense and his moxie to rally a young team.

"I know I have more confidence in myself than anybody in the world," Fitzpatrick said. "Sometimes that's a detriment, but a lot of times that works in my favor. I'm always confident in who I am and what I am as a player. This is where I wanted to be and what I worked to get."

Rosen, who suited up for the Dolphins' final preseason game but didn't play against the New Orleans Saints, heard the decision from Flores before Thursday's game and said he doesn't feel great about the decision.

"The battle and competition never stops," Rosen said. "I'll push him every single day for him to get better, and if he doesn't get better, hopefully I'll surpass him at some point. I'm rooting for him more than anyone."

Rosen, 22, admitted he was "drinking water from the fire hose" early in training camp before playing his best football in the second and third preseason games. He declined to directly answer whether he agreed with the decision, but said he believed his improvement, particularly in the past couple of weeks, made the decision harder on Flores.

"On this progression, I think the future will be pretty bright [for me]. I'm excited," Rosen said. "I wouldn't say it's a setback, but it's part of the journey.

"It's only [a matter of] time that this team is mine, but until then I'm going to be as supportive of a backup as I can and push him every single day."

Flores didn't waver when asked if there was a timetable for Rosen to become the starting quarterback. He said Fitzpatrick is his starter and that he's comfortable with that, and there isn't a set amount of time Rosen needs to start this season for him to be evaluated. It's worth noting the Dolphins have a Week 5 bye, which could be an opportunity for a quarterback switch if one is required.

"He's improved greatly over the course of training camp," Flores said of Rosen. "Playing quarterback in this league takes some time. He's in a new offense. I think he'll get there. When? I don't know. A lot of that is up to him. He knows that."

Fitzpatrick will be the 20th quarterback to start for the Dolphins since Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season. Miami has been searching for a franchise quarterback since then.

The Dolphins signed Fitzpatrick to a two-year deal in March with hopes he could be at least a bridge quarterback until whenever they brought in their quarterback of the future. In Rosen, who was the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier saw what he determined to be a great value on draft weekend in April, acquiring him from the Arizona Cardinals for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick.

Fitzpatrick is set to become the first quarterback to start a game for eight teams.

"I'm excited to get out there and lead this team and do the best I can out there," Fitzpatrick said. "It's a situation I've been in for multiple franchises, and I'll lean on my experience a little bit and try to get the guys out there, everybody on the same page, great communication, and playing with a lot of excitement."

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy will not play again until next week after being hit by a pitch on his right wrist, manager Dave Roberts said Thursday.

Muncy left Wednesday's game against the Padres with what was initially diagnosed as a wrist contusion. He was scheduled to undergo X-rays before Thursday's series opener in Arizona.

Roberts said Muncy won't return until early next week even if X-rays don't reveal a fracture, and the outcome of his tests could affect the team's plans for the September roster.

"If we get different news than the initial diagnosis [on Muncy], then, yeah, we'll probably be a little more aggressive with our September call-ups," Roberts said. "I don't really know who, but obviously you've got to replace him."

Roberts would not say if that plan could include shortstop Gavin Lux, whom ESPN's Keith Law ranked in July as the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball. Lux is hitting a combined .346 with 26 homers and 76 RBIs in 112 games at Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Muncy said Thursday that the injured wrist felt "pretty painful" and had limited range of motion.

"If there's a tiny crack or hairline fracture, the machine won't show it. So we're basically just double-checking it and hoping for the best," Muncy said. "With how it feels right now, I'm a little nervous. But I'm also just trying not to get my hope up that, 'Oh, the pictures came out negative, it's all good.' ... I'm trying to stay neutral with it right now."

Muncy, 29, who is batting .253 with 33 homers and a career-high 87 RBIs in 129 games, was a first-time All-Star this season, his second with the Dodgers. He is unlikely to be placed on the injured list because rosters expand Sunday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The Oakland A's added a key insurance run in the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, thanks to the enforcement of an obscure rule.

A's second baseman Corban Joseph popped a foul with one out and runners on second and third, and third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert made a nifty catch falling into the third-base dugout.

But under Rule 5.06(b)(3), both runners on base were entitled to advance a base once Cuthbert entered the dugout, sending Seth Brown home from third.

The rule reads: "Each runner, other than the batter, may without liability to be put out, advance one base when: A fielder, after catching a fly ball, steps or falls into any out-of-play area."

Cuthbert said he wasn't aware of the rule.

"At one point when I was getting close to the ball, I looked down to see where I was at -- if it was going to be a tough play," Cuthbert said. "That's why my first instinct was to hold on to the railing to not fall into the dugout. When the ball was coming down, that's the only shot I had.

"Then the umpire said the runners were going to advance a base. I didn't know about that rule. Every day you learn something in baseball."

The run gave Oakland a 9-7 lead and proved to the be difference in the game after Kansas City scored one run in the bottom of the ninth.

"I knew it right away, but you don't see it very often," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "[Third-base umpire Chris Segal] was right on it. That's a huge play, obviously, to get that second run."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MIAMI -- Aristides Aquino's homer set a record.

Harold Ramirez's homer set off a celebration.

Aquino broke the National League rookie mark for homers in a month with his 14th in August, but Ramirez homered leading off the 12th inning for the Miami Marlins, who beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Thursday night to avert a four-game sweep.

Aquino hit a two-run homer in the first for Cincinnati, and his two-out RBI single in the eighth tied it at 3.

Miami's Jon Berti, Austin Dean and Starlin Castro hit solo home runs off Alex Wood, who has allowed 10 homers in 35⅔ innings this season. Ramirez, a rookie, pulled a 1-1 pitch over the fence against closer Raisel Iglesias (2-10) for his third walk-off RBI.

"I can't explain it," Ramirez said. "I am proud of every walk-off."

"I'm going to start leaving him on the bench until walk-off time," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.

The Marlins finished 1-6 in the season series with the Reds, and earned only their sixth victory in the past 26 games.

"Any time we can get a win right now, it feels good," Mattingly said.

Aquino broke the rookie record of 13 in a month set by the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger in June 2017. The major league record by a rookie is 18 by the Tigers' Rudy York in August 1937.

Reds manager David Bell's reaction to his outfielder's latest achievement?

"Speechless," Bell said. "Guys are having fun watching him and what he's doing. Pretty special."

Aquino, who was promoted from the minors Aug. 1, tied the Reds record for homers by a player in a month held by Frank Robinson (1962) and Greg Vaughn (1999). He leads majors with 32 RBIs this month.

Robert Dugger, making his second career start for the Marlins, pitched seven innings and allowed two runs, both unearned. He retired 13 in a row during one stretch.

"It just shows I guess I belong here," Dugger said.

Tyler Kinley (3-1) pitched two perfect innings. Attendance was 6,466, and only a few hundred spectators remained at the end.

Cincinnati's Joey Votto reached on a two-base error in the first inning when his deep fly was dropped by center fielder Lewis Brinson. With two out, Aquino homered.

Berti led off the Marlins' first with a homer for the third time this year. Dean homered to tie the game in the fifth, and Castro's 14th homer in the sixth gave Miami a 3-2 lead.

It was the first time in franchise history that four or more solo homers accounted for all of the team's runs.

CLOSER'S WOES

Iglesias has 27 saves but is now tied for the team lead in losses.

"When you come in to save a game, it is not a secret that the adrenaline is different," the Cuban right-hander said in Spanish. "Apparently, tie games and I are not friends."

UPCOMING MOVE

Reds RHP Tyler Mahle will be recalled from Triple-A Louisville to start one game of their doubleheader Saturday in St. Louis. RHP Sonny Gray will start the second game.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Jose Urena (lower back) and SS Miguel Rojas (hamstring) are close to being activated from the injured list, Mattingly said.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Trevor Bauer (10-11, 4.34) is scheduled to start Friday in the opener of a four-game series at St. Louis. The Reds have lost four of his five starts since he was acquired July 31.

Marlins: RHP Elieser Hernandez (3-5, 4.97) is scheduled to start Friday to begin a three-game series at Washington.

One month ago, few baseball fans outside of prospect hounds or regular followers of the Louisville Bats had heard of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino. That's not a criticism. Aquino had made some minor waves on prospect lists a few years ago, but after hitting .216 at Double-A in 2017 and .240 while repeating the level in 2018, he had fallen off the radar.

In fact, for 24 hours last offseason, any team could have signed Aquino. He had appeared in one game for the Reds in August and struck out in his lone plate appearance but wasn't called back up when rosters expanded in September. On Nov. 30, the Reds non-tendered Aquino, needing space on their 40-man roster for other moves. The Reds let him know they wanted to bring him back, but he was technically a free agent and could have signed with any other team.

"When you take a guy off the roster, you are exposed," Reds general manager Nick Krall told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer earlier this month. "We told him we were going to take him off, but we also expressed, 'Hey, we want to bring you back.' It was pretty quick. We signed him that night."

Even then, it was just a minor league deal, which meant the Reds exposed Aquino in the Rule 5 draft in December. Any team could have selected him. Nobody did. He remained with the Reds, tore it up at Triple-A Louisville for four months, and after Yasiel Puig was dealt to the Indians at the trade deadline, Aquino was called up Aug. 1.

Fourteen home runs later, Aquino is most definitely on the radar of baseball fans with one of the most impressive debut months in major league history. There are still a couple of days left in August, but consider these totals:

Most home runs in one month by a rookie:
Rudy York, August 1937: 17
Mark McGwire, May 1987: 15
Aaron Judge, September 2017: 15
Aristides Aquino, August 2019: 14

Most home runs in a calendar month, Reds history:
Aristides Aquino, August 2019: 14
Greg Vaughn, September 1999: 14
Frank Robinson, August 1962: 14

Aquino isn't a kid. He's 25, making his professional debut with the Reds back in 2011 in the Dominican Summer League at age 17. He played two seasons in that league, hitting .188 and .197, which would have meant the end of big league dreams for many prospects, but the Reds liked Aquino's power potential and stuck with him. It was a slow grind through the minors before everything finally came together at Louisville this season, where he hit .299/.356/.636 with 28 home runs in 78 games.

With the Reds, he has hit even better, with a .330/.393/.804 line after going 3-for-5 with that 14th home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Marlins. Given his size and strength, the first guess might be -- especially given some of the low batting averages in the minors -- that Aquino is a strikeout-prone all-or-nothing slugger who has managed to run into a few meatballs his first month in the majors. Actually, his improvement can be traced in part to cutting down his strikeout rate even as he has faced tougher pitching:

2017, Double-A: 28.8%
2018, Double-A: 25.2%
2019, Triple-A: 25.1%
2019, MLB: 23.4%

The overall MLB strikeout rate is 22.8%, so he's just about average in this regard. His walk rate his first month has been 7.5%, just a tick below the MLB average of 8.5%. So he's solid in those important categories plus he's mashing all these home runs. All good, right? Maybe, or maybe not, because there are some red flags in Aquino's game that help identify why it took him so long to reach the majors.

Swing rate
MLB average: 47.3%
Aquino: 56.6%

Miss rate
MLB average: 25.5%
Aquino: 31%

Chase rate
MLB average: 28.7%
Aquino: 37.8%

He does chase out of the zone more than you'd like, and he does have swing-and-miss in his game. Pitchers haven't learned to exploit that just yet. Maybe they won't. Aquino's power on contact has simply been so impressive that when he connects, it flies. As you might expect from an aggressive hitter, most of his home runs have come early in the count:

Aug. 3, vs. Dallas Keuchel: 0-0 changeup (404 feet)

Aug. 6, vs. Jose Suarez: 1-1 fastball (448 feet)

Aug. 8, vs. Cole Hamels: 1-1 changeup (445 feet)

Aug. 9, vs. Yu Darvish: 1-0 cutter (373 feet)

Aug. 10, vs. Kyle Hendricks: 0-0 sinker (344 feet)

Aug. 10, vs. Hendricks: 0-0 sinker (385 feet)

Aug. 10, vs. Dillon Maples: 1-2 fastball (452 feet)

Aug. 12, vs. Tanner Rainey: 1-0 fastball (425 feet)

Aug. 14, vs. Javy Guerra: 0-1 slider (387 feet)

Aug. 16, vs. Adam Wainwright: 1-0 cutter (396 feet)

Aug. 17, vs. Miles Mikolas: 0-0 slider (408 feet)

Aug. 23, vs. Mitch Keller: 1-0 slider (401 feet)

Aug. 28, vs. Sandy Alcantara: 2-2 changeup (418 feet)

Aug. 29, vs. Robert Dugger: 0-1 curveball (393 feet)

Want to see some of those home runs? Here are his first nine -- in his first 14 career games:

Anyway, what's the deal here? Is Aquino for real? Like so many players in 2019, the juiced ball makes evaluation extremely difficult. At first glance, it's easy to attribute Aquino's improvement at Triple-A and with the Reds to the ball, more so than any changes in his approach or maturity.

Plus, as fun as this month has been, it's only one month. Consider the exploits last season of Ryan O'Hearn and Luke Voit, older players with little experience in the majors who tore it up for short spells:

O'Hearn: 149 AB, .262/.353/.597, 12 HR, 154 OPS+

Voit (with Yankees): 132 AB, .333/.405/.689, 14 HR, 193 OPS+

Aquino: 97 AB, .330/.393/.804, 14 HR, 192 OPS+

O'Hearn was making his debut, and Voit had 124 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2017, but the comparisons are somewhat similar. O'Hearn has been terrible this season and Voit has been very good with a 135 OPS+.

Is Aquino more O'Hearn or more Voit? I would lean toward the latter, even if there's nothing in his track record to suggest he's anything close to a .300 hitter in the majors -- let alone .330. He hasn't been awful in the field and he actually has had the second-highest top sprint speed on the Reds, behind only Nick Senzel, so there's some real athleticism here. (He's a better fielder and runner than, say, Franmil Reyes, a young guy with a similar powerful build.)

Add it up and I'm cautiously optimistic that there's something here -- nothing like what we've seen, of course, but a player who can be an above-average hitter even if he hits .250. The rest of the season forecasts from the various projection systems are even less optimistic than .250, but I'm not sure they've incorporated "ball, lively" into their algorithms.

So maybe Aquino isn't a future All-Star. For now, just enjoy the ride.

INDIANAPOLIS – Erica Enders’ favorite Indy memory happened in 2015 and it’s a moment she will never forget.

It marked her first win at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, coming in the midst of her back-to-back championship run in Pro Stock. Coming off a final round appearance at the most recent NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Enders will try for her second win at the Big Go during this weekend’s 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

It’s been an up-and-down year in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, but Enders and her team could be coming together at the perfect time. Getting another win in Indy on drag racing’s biggest stage would only add to that heading into the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, and Enders only has to look back to 2015 to know how much an Indy win means.

“I remember everything about that weekend,” Enders said. “It’s one of the races that will stand out most to me. As a kid growing up, and as a fan and spectator before I ever became a racer, it was the most prestigious race in NHRA drag racing and it still is that way. To add my name to the list who have win in Indy is pretty significant for me. After going to the finals at Brainerd, we’re ready to get back to the track and hopefully turn on one more win light.”

Terry McMillen (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Tanner Gray (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of a race. It is the 12th of 18 races during the Pro Stock season, and the final race of the regular season also comes with an increased amount of points via the points-and-a-half system. For Enders, she views it as a chance to gain major momentum before the playoffs.

Looking for her first win of 2019, Enders, who has two final round appearances this year, is currently seventh in points. But a jump into the top five isn’t out of the question with a strong showing at the biggest race of the year, and Enders insists there’s no let-up in her team after putting together their best showing of the season in Brainerd.

“Every point matters and I need to have a really great showing,” said Enders, who has 23 career Pro Stock wins. “This team has remained determined and persevered a lot, and hopefully that will allow us to peak at the right time. We made eight good runs in a row in Brainerd and hopefully that’s a good indication of what’s to come. You have to have all your ducks in a row at Indy, but obviously our goal is to win the race and position ourselves the best we can.”

It certainly won’t be easy, as Enders will have to contend against 20 other Pro Stock competitors in Indy, including points leader Bo Butner, Greg Anderson, who has six Indy wins, Brainerd winner Jason Line, and Elite Motorsports teammates Jeg Coughlin Jr., Alex Laughlin and Matt Hartford. Enders also knows Indy is a grueling battle, but those moments often bring out the best in her.

“I love these moments,” Enders said. “I like the added pressure and I like when there’s a lot on the line. My team is the same way. You have to treat this race as a marathon, and not a sprint. It’s definitely grueling, but we’re ready to battle it out.”