THE HOT CORNER

PRO BASEBALL: Mark Appel

1 is a big league ballplayer nine years after he was selected No. 1 overall in the amateur draft. Appel has been promoted by the Philadelphia Phillies. The righthander, who turns 31 on July 15, went 5-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 19 appearances for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Appel was selected by Houston with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft after a standout college career at Stanford.

PRO BASEBALL: Royals catcher 2

Salvador Perez had surgery on his left thumb Friday and was placed on the 10-day injured list. The operation repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, and he’s expected to need eight weeks to recover, manager Mike Matheny said.

PRO FOOTBALL: Bears linebacker 3

Matt Adams was arrested and charged with misdemeanor firearm possession, Chicago police said Friday. Police said they recovered a weapon during a search of his vehicle in downtown Chicago on Thursday evening. He was also cited for possessing a high-capacity magazine within the city limits and metalpiercing bullets, a municipal code violation. Adams has a court date scheduled for Aug. 24.

AUTO RACING: Ryan Preece won 4 for the second straight year at Nashville Superspeedway and gave David Gilliland Racing its second consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory Friday night. Preece moved ahead on the final restart with nine laps left and held off fellow Ford driver Zane Smith.

AUTO RACING: Top Fuel points

5 leader Brittany Force broke both ends of the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park track record Friday night to open qualifying for the NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. In the final pair of the second session, Force had a 3.666-second run at 333.08 mph — the quickest and fastest run in the facility’s history.