Sports briefs

Baseball SIGNINGS: Pat Rapp, the 31-year-old right-hander who was 12-13 for Kansas City last season, agreed to a $1.5 million, one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have a $3 million option for 2000. And Doug Jones, 11th on the career saves list with 291, signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics. Jones, 41, split last season with Milwaukee and Cleveland. Tennis SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL: Pat Rafter was sidetracked again Tuesday in his Australian Open preparations, falling 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 to teen-ager Lleyton Hewitt in the first round of the Sydney International. Swiss star Martina Hingis, trying to regain the top spot in the rankings from American Lindsay Davenport, easily advanced to the women's quarterfinals, beating Australia's Alicia Molik 6-1, 6-2. Germany's Steffi Graf, playing her first tournament in Sydney in 13 years, beat Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-0, 6-4 in a first-round match. In another first-round match, Russia's Anna Kournikova beat Italy's Silvia Farina 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. In a second-round match, Austria's Barbara Schett beat fifth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (9-7). In men's first-round matches, third-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain beat Sweden's Thomas Johansson 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), and Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten defeated fifth-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Defending champion Karol Kucera of Slovakia beat Spain's Francisco Clavet of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), and Todd Martin of the United States defeated Morocco's Hicham Arazi 6-1, 6-3. AUCKLAND OPEN: Defending champion Marcelo Rios made a controversial first-round exit Tuesday in the Auckland Open in New Zealand. Rios, the Chilean star ranked No. 2 in the world, led Romania's Andrei Pavel 7-5, 0-2 when he retired from the match in the Australian Open tune-up event, citing a lingering hamstring injury. Romania's Adrian Voinea, a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 winner over American Jim Courier, said Rios -- reportedly paid an appearance fee of about $50,000 -- appeared to have "tanked" the match.