MLB
Brandon Nimmo hit a game-ending double in the 10th inning and the New York Mets recovered from a string of mental and physical errors to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 for a two-game Subway Series split. Isiah Kiner-Falefa stole home off Brooks Raley as the Yankees scored two runs without a hit to take a 3-1 seventh-inning lead. The Mets tied the score in bottom half when Ron Marinaccio hit Nimmo with a pitch and Starling Marte hit an RBI single. That rally ended when Nimmo was thrown out. The Yankees' Gerrit Cole and the Mets' Justin Verlander combined to allow two runs in 12 innings.
Nick Castellanos drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning after two Arizona players collided on a fly ball, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Phillies starter Ranger Suarez held the Diamondbacks in check with seven scoreless innings, but Christian Walker tied it in the eighth with a three-run homer. After Craig Kimbrel stranded a runner at third in the ninth inning, Trea Turner floated a fly ball to shallow right field off Scott McGough. The ball dropped when Arizona second baseman Geraldo Perdomo and right fielder Jake McCarthy collided, putting runners on second and third for Castellanos.
Alex Verdugo and Rob Refsnyder had two RBIs apiece and the Boston Red Sox rallied in a five-run seventh inning to avoid a sweep with a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. The start of the game was delayed more than two hours because of thunderstorms. Garrett Whitlock (4-2) pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits with seven strikeouts. He improved to 3-0 in his past four starts. Colorado starter Austin Gomber (4-6) gave up three runs.
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the seventh inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Semien’s two-run homer struck high up the left-field foul pole to break a 1-1 tie. Seager followed with a shot to right field on the next pitch. Leody Taveras hit a solo homer in the third and added one of two RBI singles in the eighth inning. Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer in the ninth, his AL-leading 21st. It extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games. The Angels saw a three-game winning streak end as they left 10 runners on, nine in the first four innings.
Elly De La Cruz turned some heads when he not only homered in his first big league series with the Cincinnati Reds but deposited the pitch nearly 460 feet from home plate. Then he ripped off a triple as quick as anyone in the majors this season, and flashed his big arm with a laser across the diamond. The 21-year-old switch-hitting infielder now hopes to ride his hot first week in the majors into a season-long surge that, along with a bunch of other talented rookies, have beleaguered Cincinnati fans buzzing for the first time in a while.
An Arizona woman has sued former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer, accusing him of sexual assault. She alleges that Bauer held a knife at her throat and choked her until she passed out during a rape that left her pregnant in late 2020. He was never arrested or charged. The accusations are in a lawsuit updated this week in Maricopa County Superior Court. The woman first sued Bauer in December, and he countersued, denying the allegations and accusing the woman of faking a pregnancy and extortion. Bauer now plays in Japan after the end of his suspension from Major League Baseball.
Images of players are being used in sportsbook advertisements. Sportsbook branding has prominent placement in stadiums and arenas, including some with on-site betting. Major League Baseball — long the most gambling-averse of the U.S. leagues — now permits its players to be ambassadors for gambling companies. It’s the backdrop for an era of legal sports betting in the U.S. that’s brought in huge revenues but also has some experts sounding cautionary notes.
NFL
Stefon Diggs was back on the field practicing, and Bills coach Sean McDermott said whatever lingering issues from last season that raised concern and confusion over the absence of Buffalo’s top receiver a day earlier have been resolved. McDermott expanded and clarified on the limited statements he made a day earlier by saying Diggs didn’t skip the team’s mandatory session on Tuesday, but was in fact excused. He also said a series of discussions airing out Diggs' concerns have left the team and receiver “in a real good spot.” Diggs’ participation was his first with the team this offseason after he skipped the Bills voluntary workout and practice sessions.
NFL Vice President Troy Vincent and his wife Tommi are helping launch a domestic abuse study at Niagara University that will focus on male student-athletes. The year-long study is part of Vincent's vision to uncover fresh data and find new ways to approach an issue that particularly affects college women between the ages of 18 and 24. Vincent has spent his adult life speaking out on abuse after growing up witnessing his mother getting abused by her boyfriend. His wife is chairwoman of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Niagara was selected because Vincent previously collaborated with the school on domestic violence issues during his time playing with the Buffalo Bills.
US OPEN
Brooks Koepka says he enjoys chaos. He's come to the right place at this U.S. Open. Players have been trying to digest the news of the PGA Tour's shock partnership with LIV Golf's Saudi Arabian backers. And then PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan had to turn off day-to-day control to two executives because of what's described as a medical situation. Still to be determined is what kind of chaos Los Angeles Country Club delivers. The U.S. Open starts today on a course smack dab in the middle of LA on a course that looks big and plays small.
The word of the week at the U.S. Open is barranca. It stems from the Spanish word meaning cliff, precipice, gully or ravine. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a deep gully or arroyo with steep sides.” At Los Angeles Country Club, the barranca, lined with sand and dotted with native grasses and ball-entangling plants, winds through most of the first nine holes and part of the back nine, as well. Much like the seawall cliffs at Pebble Beach or the church pew bunker at Oakmont, it’s the barranca that stands out as the most feared and talked-about feature for the U.S. Open’s first return to LA since 1948.
NHL
The modern era for Las Vegas sports began when the NHL awarded the city an expansion franchise in 2016. The Golden Knights began playing in the 2017-18 season. They won their first Stanley Cup on Tuesday. Since the Knights came onboard, Las Vegas acquired an NFL team in the Raiders, and the WNBA’s Stars moved from San Antonio and became the Aces. The Aces won the championship last year and this season are again the league’s best team.
TENNIS
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has revealed he spent time in a psychiatric ward following a loss at Wimbledon in 2019 because of suicidal thoughts. Kyrgios' comments in interviews for the upcoming Netflix documentary series “Break Point” have been widely published in Australia. Kyrgios says he went to a hospital in London to “figure out my problems” four years ago and he says he "was genuinely contemplating suicide." Kyrgios has previously discussed his mental health struggles on social media and in interviews and has said he's doing better after seeking help. He lost the 2022 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic and has been largely sidelined by injuries since.
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