MLB
New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, the team announced Wednesday. Germán, who threw a perfect game June 28 at Oakland, was placed on the restricted list two days before his 31st birthday. Germán is 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 20 appearances this season. He was scratched from his scheduled start Monday night against Tampa Bay, with the Yankees saying it was because of armpit discomfort. The right-hander then entered in relief and tossed five scoreless innings of two-hit ball.
Slade Cecconi’s first career strikeout might go down as one of the most unique in the majors. The ball wound up stuck high in catcher Jose Herrera’s inner thigh. Just more than a month past his 24th birthday, the Arizona right-hander threw a 3-2 fastball to Giants leadoff man LaMonte Wade Jr. in the first inning of the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 loss to San Francisco. The ball grazed off the knob end of Wade’s bat and Herrera somehow pinned the ball in his leg without letting it hit the ground. Initially ruled a hit by pitch, the D-backs challenged the call and it was overturned to a strikeout.
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen met with player and team personnel in Kansas City prior to the team's game Wednesday. Speaking with media afterwards he discussed reasons for the trades and his decision to become deadline sellers. Cohen also spoke about his vision for the club's future, emphasizing sustainability and getting a good return for the star players.
The Texas Rangers certainly expected to win a lot of games this season after bolstering their rotation and hiring three-time championship manager Bruce Bochy last winter. Now there are thoughts of maybe winning it all. General manager Chris Young says Texas entered 2023 focused on being competitive and playing meaningful games late into the season. He made moves to get better after the Rangers charged out to the AL West lead. Young got a head start by acquiring hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman a month ago. They went all in adding three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, lefty Jordan Montgomery and another reliever before the trade deadline.
Giancarlo Stanton homered and drove in four runs to lead Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees past the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2, preventing a three-game sweep. Cole recovered from a rocky start and beat Shane McClanahan in a marquee matchup of All-Star aces. New York scored five times in the third inning, highlighted by rookie Anthony Volpe’s two-run homer and Stanton’s three-run shot. Stanton added a run-scoring single in the seventh to match his season high for RBIs. New York finished with 13 hits and scored its seventh run when Gleyber Torres came home on a double steal. Cole allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight, walked two and improved to 6-0 after a Yankees loss this season.
Cole Ragans pitched out of trouble for six spotless innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 4-0 for their fifth consecutive victory, extending their longest winning streak in more than two years. Michael Massey hit a two-run double off rookie Kodai Senga in the first. Drew Waters homered late and threw out a runner at the plate from right field. Called up from the minors earlier in the day, Ragans struck out eight in his first win with the Royals. The left-hander allowed seven hits and walked one in his second start for Kansas City since being acquired June 30 from Texas. Maikel Garcia had three singles as Kansas City extended its best winning streak since taking six straight games in July 2021.
Julio Rodríguez hit a tiebreaking RBI single and stole home in a four-run seventh inning, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Rodríguez hit a broken-bat grounder that rolled into left field when Boston shortstop Yu Chang and third baseman Rafael Devers collided while trying to field the ball, allowing Tom Murphy to score. Eugenio Suárez followed with an RBI single to right field, giving the Mariners a two-run lead. Then, Rodriguez, on a double steal with Suárez, scored from third when Boston catcher Connor Wong threw to second base.
Jesús Sánchez hit a bases-loaded single with no outs in the 12th inning as the Miami Marlins rallied from a five-run deficit and came back twice in extra innings for 9-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night in a matchup of NL wild-card contenders. The Marlins faced a 5-0 deficit going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but forced extra innings when Jorge Soler slugged a solo homer with one out in the ninth. Josh Bell and Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered on consecutive pitches for the Marlins. Alec Bohm led the Phillies with a game-best four hits, including one that drove in a go-ahead run in the top of the 11th. He went 4 for 6 with three RBIs.
WORLD CUP
In yesterday’s World Cup action, Sweden beat Argentina 2-nil, South Africa topped Italy 3-2, France crushed Panama 6-3, and Jamaica’s match with Brazil ended in a scoreless tie.
At halftime in today’s action, the final game of group stage play, Morocco leads their match with Columbia 1-nil, and South Korea’s match with Germany is tied at 1.
Forget about orange slices, players like Alex Morgan, Australia’s Katrina Gorry and Jamaica’s Cheyna Matthews are redefining what it means to be a “soccer mom.” While it is nothing new for mothers to be elite athletes, the level of support they’re getting while on the job is improving. There are three mothers on the U.S. team: Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz. Other moms at this World Cup included Jamaica’s Konya Plummer, France’s Amel Majri, Argentina’s Vanina Correa and Germany’s Melanie Leupolz.
NCAA
A group of Big Ten presidents has begun discussing the possibility of adding more West Coast schools to the conference if the Pac-12 continues to crumble, according to two people familiar with the conversations. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the conversations were preliminary and the Big Ten was not going public with its internal discussions. Oregon and Washington would be the primary targets if the conference decided to make a move. The Pac-12 is down to nine schools seemingly committed beyond this year, with Southern California and UCLA heading to the Big Ten in 2024 and Colorado to the Big 12.
Ten athletes are now suing over alleged hazing incidents at Northwestern University. The latest lawsuit involves a former player who accuses the athletic department of allowing racism and sexual abuse to thrive. Ramon Diaz says it caused psychological and emotional damage to athletes of color. Diaz says he was 17 when upperclassmen shaved “Cinco de Mayo” onto the back of his head as the entire Wildcats football team watched. Former football head coach Patrick Fitzgerald said he had no knowledge of the hazing before he was fired last month. Northwestern has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate.
Gambling investigations at Iowa and Iowa State have resulted in criminal charges filed against seven current or former athletes. Ex-Hawkeyes basketball player Ahron Ulis and Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers are the ones with the highest profiles. All are accused in the complaints of tampering with records related to an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling. Charges in Johnson County have been filed against Ulis, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and Iowa kicker Aaron Blom. Dekkers was charged in Story County, as were ISU football player Dodge Saucer, ISU wrestler Paniro Johnson and former ISU football player Eyioma Uwazurike.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Lionel Messi scored in his third straight game and had his second consecutive multi-goal performance for Inter Miami in a 3-1 victory over Orlando City. The Leagues Cup Round of 32 match was delayed 95 minutes because of thunderstorms. Messi scored seven minutes into the match then added a second strike in the 72nd minute. As he eluded the Orlando City backline, Messi stopped a pass from Robert Taylor on his chest, dribbled a couple of yards near the edge of the 6-yard box and converted a shot that landed under the crossbar. The goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 lead before Orlando tied it 11 minutes later. Messi struck again when he received a centering pass from Josef Martinez and flicked a right-footed shot inside the left post and put Inter Miami ahead 3-1.
NFL
Mekhi Becton last stepped onto a football field to play in a game nearly two years ago. It seems more like a lifetime to the New York Jets offensive tackle. The 24-year-old Becton is ready for his big comeback moment. It’ll finally come tonight in the Jets’ preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. After two knee injuries and surgeries Becton is healthy again and leaner. He's working at the left and right tackle spots during training camp and still envisions himself as a starter in the NFL.
The Kansas City Chiefs allowed wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman to walk away in free agency, and in their place they signed a couple of relative unknowns while taking a gamble on an injury-prone talent and unproven draft pick. The expectation is that Patrick Mahomes can make it work, just as he has so many years before, but is that finally asking too much of the league’s MVP? The answer will play out this season as the Chiefs try to defend their Super Bowl. Kadarius Toney is already battling another injury, but players such as rookie Rashee Rice and second-year pro Justyn Ross have turned heads in training camp, and that is a reason for optimism.
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