MLB
Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees has pitched the 24th perfect game in major league history, retiring every Oakland batter in an 11-0 victory over the Athletics. It was the first perfect game since Seattle Mariners ace Félix Hernández threw one against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. There were three that season — but none since until Germán finished the first no-hitter in the big leagues this year. Coming off a pair of terrible starts, Germán struck out nine against the A’s, who have the worst record in the majors. The 30-year-old right-hander had never before thrown a complete game in the big leagues. He was winless in six previous outings against Oakland.
Jean Segura hit a two-run single in a three-run sixth inning and the Miami Marlins beat the Boston Red Sox 6-2 on Wednesday night after a rain delay. Braxton Garrett (4-2) pitched five innings for the victory, allowing a run on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts. The Marlins have won eight of his last nine starts, the last six in a row. A.J. Puk closed for his 12th save. Garrett Cooper opened the second inning with a home run for Boston against Kaleb Ort. Rafael Devers tied it in the fourth with his 19th homer, a two-out shot. Nick Pivetta (4-5) was the loser.
Brandon Nimmo homered twice and David Peterson threw six scoreless innings in his return to the majors as the struggling Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 Tuesday night, hours after New York owner Steve Cohen announced plans to hold a press conference on the state of the team. The Mets, who opened this season with a record $355 million payroll, won for the third time in 10 games and for the sixth time in 22 games, improving to 36-43.
Nick Castellanos, Edmundo Sosa and Josh Harrison homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 on Wednesday night. Castellanos hit a three-run homer in the second off Drew Smyly after Sosa launched a two-run shot earlier in the inning. Castellanos also hustled out an RBI double and scored in a two-run fourth. Harrison added a solo homer in the fifth off Hayden Wesneski to make it 8-2, helping Philadelphia overcome a shaky start by Aaron Nola to win for the 17th time in 22 games. The Phillies also won their eighth straight road game, matching their longest streak since 2011. Chicago has lost three straight since winning nine of 10.
Mets owner Steven Cohen is threatening his underperforming team with the prospect of a trade deadline selloff unless New York gets back into contention for a playoff berth. Cohen said manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler will keep their jobs no matter that through the end of the season, but the team is still pursuing a president of baseball operations. For this year, older players could be at risk of getting dealt. Cohen said he would be willing to cover their salaries in trades if it brought back better prospects. New York currently projects to a $360 million payroll and is on track for a record luxury tax of about $99 million.
NHL
The Chicago Blackhawks have selected Connor Bedard with the first pick in the NHL draft. The move should kick-start a hopeful new era for Chicago. Bedard is a highly skilled offensive forward who's drawn comparisons to Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. Bedard is the second No. 1 pick in Blackhawks history. Chicago took Patrick Kane first in 2007 and he helped form the core of a team that won three Stanley Cup championships. Anaheim selected Sweden forward Leo Carlsson second, followed Columbus picking Michigan freshman Adam Fantilli. Russian forward Matvei Michkov had to wait until the seventh selection to be drafted by Philadelphia.
PARIS OLYMPICS
Tony Estanguet won gold medals for canoeing in the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games. Now, the trim 45-year-old is the face and chief organizer of the 2024 Paris Games. He presides over a rapidly growing workforce whose preparations were progressing largely smoothly before financial crime investigators raided their headquarters last week. In an interview with The Associated Press, Estanguet insists that the two French police probes into Olympic-related contracts bear no comparison with corruption and ethics scandals that have dogged the Olympic movement and its flagship money-spinning event for decades. He says senior colleagues who are subject to the investigations will not resign “for the moment.”
NBA
Victor Wembanyama’s official height is 7 feet, 3 1/2 inches. That's according to the San Antonio Spurs, who got the actual measurement over the weekend. It ends months of speculation about how tall Wembanyama is. Some sites have listed him as tall as 7-foot-5. Also Wednesday, it was announced that Wembanyama's NBA summer debut is expected to come in Las Vegas. The Spurs said the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft will be with the team at NBA Summer League that starts July 7. Wembanyama won't accompany the Spurs when they travel later this week for the California Classic — the first of two summer league appearances for the club next month.
NFL
Two people familiar with the plan say the NFL is finalizing disciplinary action against more players for gambling violations, including Indianapolis Colts defensive back Isaiah Rodgers Sr. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because an official announcement won’t be made until later this week. Rodgers is the only identified player of the group, identifying himself in a Twitter post as the Colts player accused of gambling earlier this month. The identities of the other players are not yet known. A year-long suspension would be consistent with similar punishments handed down by the NFL.
NCAA
Tennessee State announced it will become the first historically Black college and university to introduce ice hockey. The school plans to have a men's team playing at the club level in 2024, with a goal of having Division I men's and women's teams eventually. The program has been created in partnership with the National Hockey League, National Hockey League Players' Association and the Nashville Predators. Since 2017, the NHL and its players’ union have sponsored feasibility studies for U.S. colleges and universities interested in exploring the addition of Division I men’s and women’s programs.
CONCACAF GOLD CUP
Jesús Ferreira scored his second international hat trick, Djordje Mihailovic had two goals and the 13th-ranked United States overwhelmed No. 139 St. Kitts and Nevis 6-0 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mihailovic, Bryan Reynolds and Ferreira scored in a 3-minute, 50-second span to build a 3-0 lead by the 16th minute. Ferreira has 11 goals in 20 appearances. Mihailovic also had two assists for the defending champion Americans, who matched their largest Gold Cup victory margin. The U.S. leads Group A with four points and closes group play Sunday against Trinidad and Tobago.
FORMER OLYMPIANS
Simone Biles is back. The gymnastics superstar plans to return to competition at the U.S. Classic outside Chicago in early August. The meet will be Biles' first since the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Biles made headlines at the 2020 Games when she removed herself from several events to focus on her mental health. She returned on the last day of the meet to earn bronze on the balance beam, her seventh career Olympic medal. Biles will be joined at the U.S. Classic by 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee.
Katie Ledecky will concede that a few things have changed over her long career at the top of swimming. Like those nagging aches and pains. Not that anyone else can tell. At 26, Ledecky already has sealed her legacy as one of the greatest freestyle swimmers the sport has ever witnessed yet she shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, she seems to be getting better. Ledecky started off the U.S. national championships with a dazzling performance in the 800-meter freestyle. She turned in her fastest time since setting the world record at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
FRONTIER LEAGUE BASEBALL
Carson McCusker, an outfielder for the Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats, based in Troy, NY, has signed with the Minnesota Twins. McCusker was Frontier League’s batting average leader at .433, led the league in RBIs in with 51, and was second in home runs with 17.
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