CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera has his way, Cam Newton wont be running as many read-option plays as he has in the past. If Jonathan Stewart runs the way he did Sunday night, Newton wont need to. Newton made a successful return following ankle surgery, Stewart ran for two touchdowns and the Panthers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-16 in a preseason game. Newton completed 4 of 9 passes for 65 yards and led a pair of touchdown drives before exiting late in the second quarter with Carolina (1-1) up 14-6. Stewart ran for 26 yards on four carries and made a strong case to be the Panthers goal-line back -- if not their primary ball carrier -- with scoring runs of 3 and 2 yards. Newton has been hit more than any quarterback in the NFL over the past three seasons and Rivera has said hed like to reduce the wear and tear on his franchise quarterback. "If we can run the ball effectively with the backs and not have to rely on him running we would much rather do that," Rivera said. And thats fine with Newton. "Im trying to win football games and if that is saying, Cam hand the ball off every play. Cam run the ball down the field 20 yards like a chicken with his head cut off every play. Cam drop back and throw the ball. Cam go get everybody a drink of water. ... Whatever is asked of me, I will do to try to win the football game," Newton said. Newton was rusty early. Carolinas first three possessions netted a yard and no first downs. Newton compounded the problem by overthrowing Kelvin Benjamin on a deep ball after the rookie receiver got behind the secondary. But Stewart replaced DeAngelo Williams and immediately gave the Panthers a boost with a 17-yard carry around left end. The Panthers found their rhythm after that, driving 66 and 50 yards for touchdowns on their next two possessions. "We had a slow start tonight, which is unacceptable," Newton said. "We have to stay on schedule and not waste opportunities like the shot to Benji. Kansas Citys a good football team and we didnt match their intensity early." Kansas Citys Alex Smith finished 14 of 22 for 127 yards. The Chiefs (1-1) moved the ball well early on without star running back Jamaal Charles, but were forced to settle for a pair of field goals -- one of them a 54-yarder by Ryan Succup. "We did some good things," Smith said. "We moved the ball on a stout defence. We just didnt finish, but self-inflicted things tonight." Kansas Citys search for a reliable No. 2 receiver continues. Dwayne Bowe, who will miss the first game of the regular season because of an NFL-imposed suspension, had five catches for 62 yards but none of the Chiefs other wide receivers stood out. Rookie quarterback Aaron Murrays first NFL pass was for a 43-yard touchdown strike to tight end Travis Kelce, but he later threw an interception leading to a Carolina touchdown. Newton had to shake off some early rust. He missed on five of his first six passes and was sacked for a 13-yard loss, leading to three straight three-and-outs to start the game. Carolina benefited from a 32-yard pass interference penalty on Chiefs cornerback Ron Parker that set up Stewarts first TD -- a run in which the 5-foot-10, 235-pounder bounced off a defender and bowled his way into the end zone. Newton connected on a 24-yard pass to Benjamin over the middle on Carolinas next series leading to Stewarts second score. It was an encouraging return to the field for Stewart, a former first-round draft pick who has missed 17 games the past two seasons with foot and ankle injuries. Stewart has been limited to 516 yards rushing and one touchdown the past two seasons. "Its been a while since Ive touched the end zone," said Stewart, who sat out the first preseason game because of a strained hamstring. The Panthers had a chance to extend their lead before halftime, but Benjamin lost his cool and head-butted Chiefs defensive back Chris Owens. That cost the Panthers 15 yards and took them out of field goal range. NOTES: Chiefs WR Junior Hemingway left the game with a strained hip flexor. Coach Andy Reid said Hemingway he will re-evaluated Monday. ... Rivera wasnt ready to declare Byron Bell his starting left tackle, but said he has played extremely well. ... Rivera pulled cornerback Josh Norman from the game after he started talking trash on the field in the first half. Stitched Sports Jerseys . People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend. Sports Jerseys From China . 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"The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- There was a lot of grumbling in the Los Angeles Angels clubhouse following Garrett Richards latest strong performance. Richards won his sixth decision in seven starts and had a career-high 11 strikeouts Sunday, leading the surging Angels to a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros and completing a four-game sweep that extended Los Angeles home winning streak to 10 games. But when the pitchers and reserves for the AL All-Star team were announced after the game, Richards name wasnt among them. He could still get the final spot on the squad through fan voting on the Internet. "Its a little disappointing," Richards said. "Theres still a chance, and its an honour just to be considered. If it happens, it happens. But Im more concerned with the second half of the season, to be honest. Ill take a World Series over an All-Star game any day." Richards (10-2) allowed six hits over 7 1-3 innings, including an RBI single by Carlos Corporan in the seventh. The right-hander has a 1.45 ERA in his last seven outings and has allowed no more than four hits in six of them. "Its the same thing Ive been doing all year -- getting ahead of hitters with the fastball and breaking ball, putting guys away with two strikes, throwing quality strikes and just attacking guys," Richards said. "Im happy with the work Ive put in so far, but the seasons only halfway over. Ive had a pretty good first half. But more importantly, were playing good baseball as a team right now." Richards strikeout total was the highest by an Angels pitcher since June 18 last season, when Joe Blanton fanned 11 in a no-decision against Seattle at Anaheim. "I think the skys the limit for Garrett," pitching coach Mike Butcher said. "You look at the stuff, and hes got undeniable stuff -- a mid-90s fastball that cuts and sinks, a power slider that has great depth to it, good action and commands it in the zone very well. Hes got one of the better curveballs in the game and a changeup that is still developing -- but hes getting a feel for that, too." Albert Pujols drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single and Kole Calhoun homered, helping the Angels go 15 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2012 season at 89-73. They swept a four-game set at home for the first time since July 2011 against Seattle and are 21-3 at the "Big A" since May 17 -- their best 24-game stretch at home in franchise history. "Were playing good ball," centre fielder Mike Trout said. "Were pitching well and our timely hittings been pretty good lately. Were having great at-bats and not trying to do too much." Joe Thatcher, obtained in a trade from Arizona on Saturday, threw one pitch in his Angels debut and gave up a one-out single in the eighth by Jason Castro. But Mike Morin finished the inning with a diving catch of Jon Singletons popup after first baseman C. J. Cron collided with catcher Hank Conger to the right of the mounnd, knocking the ball out of Congers mitt.dddddddddddd "When it first went up into that tough sky, I just kept drifting and started creeping back a bit more than I should have," Conger said. "Then I kind of heard C.J. at the last minute. I felt like I fell into a brick wall. I dont like to give pitchers too much respect, fielding-wise, but I told Mike: Nice catch." Collin McHugh (4-8) gave up three runs -- two earned -- and four hits through four innings before leaving with a broken nail on his middle finger. The right-hander walked two and struck out four in his third start against the Angels this year, becoming the first pitcher in Astros history to get at least four strikeouts in each of his first 14 starts of a season. The Angels loaded the bases in the third when McHugh gave up singles by Conger and Calhoun, and hit Trout on the left biceps with a first-pitch fastball. Pujols stroked a two-run single to left field to open the scoring. Until that hit, the three-time NL MVP was 0 for 13 this season in bases-loaded situations. Trout then scored from second on a throwing error by second baseman Jose Altuve, who was trying to complete a double play on Josh Hamiltons grounder to shortstop Marwin Gonzalez. "We didnt play well. But at the same time, the Angels played real well," manager Bo Porter said. "We didnt help ourselves. When you look at the number of strikeouts and the way we played these last four games, they pretty much took it to us in every aspect of the game. "Right now were in a rut, and we have not played well. But nobody is going to feel sorry for you. Its up to the men in this clubhouse. These are the guys that we have and those are the guys were going to run out there. Its going to be up to us to rectify what it is we have going." Calhoun added his ninth homer in the seventh against David Martinez, who was pitching his third inning after getting recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Angels tacked on two more runs in the eighth against Chad Qualls. NOTES: Trout, heading to his third straight All-Star game, said he will not participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby. ... Pujols two RBIs raised his career total to 1,555, tying Willie McCovey for 41st place all-time. ... Hamilton was 2 for 15 with no RBIs and eight strikeouts in the series, after going 29 for 89 with nine homers and 17 RBIs in his previous 25 games against the Astros since the start of last season. ... Altuve, who began the day leading Texas Adrian Beltre by three percentage points in the AL batting race, got his league-leading 122nd hit and needs two more in the Astros next six games to break Bob Watsons 1973 franchise record for hits before the All-Star break. ... Astros rookie RF George Springer struck out all four times up, increasing his AL-worst total to 105. ... Altuve stole his 25th consecutive base in the sixth inning, the longest streak by an Astro since 2004, when Carlos Beltran swiped 28 in a row. ' ' '