MLB
Aaron Judge and Kyle Higashioka homered, and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1. Clarke Schmidt pitched neatly into the sixth inning and combined with two relievers for 13 strikeouts, helping the playoff-contending Yankees came away with the win after losing three of four. Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run double and scored during New York’s four-run fourth against Touki Toussaint, and the Yankees scored three more in the eighth. Chicago’s Luis Robert Jr. led off the fourth with his 31st home run. But the White Sox came up short after winning three in a row.
Mike Tauchman hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Jameson Taillon retired his final 16 batters to win his fourth straight start as the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 3-2. Cody Bellinger also went deep and Yan Gomes had an RBI double for the surging Cubs, who won for the 16th time in 21 games. They began the day 2 1/2 games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central and one game out of a playoff spot. Pete Alonso hit an early two-run homer for the sinking Mets that culminated in an amusing back-and-forth trot around the bases because of a replay review. New York has lost seven of eight since trading Justin Verlander and other veterans at last week’s deadline.
Drew Waters, MJ Melendez and Michael Massey each hit two-run home runs and the Kansas City Royals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Brady Singer (8-8) allowed three runs off five hits over 6 2/3 innings, and the Royals finished with six extra-base hits. Adam Duvall had his 10th home run of the season and Connor Wong and Jarren Duran added RBIs for Boston, which has lost five of its last six. Kutter Crawford (5-6) allowed three runs off seven hits over 3 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two. Boston’s Trevor Story, who was in the lineup for the first time since last September after being activated off the 60-day injured list following offseason shoulder surgery, went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
Joey Meneses’ second homer of the game was a solo shot off Phillies All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning that gave the Washington Nationals a 5-4 win over Philadelphia and a doubleheader split. Kyle Schwarber homered twice to reach 30 for the season, drove in five runs and led the Phillies to an 8-4 win in the opener. Meneses went deep twice against the Phillies' bullpen. His two-run shot off Jeff Hoffman in the seventh tied the game at 4-all. Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer for the Phillies and Trea Turner had two hits and an RBI.
Tampa Bay Rays All-Star pitcher Shane McClanahan’s season may be over due to an injured left arm. Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals that it's "highly unlikely” McClanahan will pitch again this season. Cash said Tommy John surgery is among the options under consideration. McClanahan is scheduled to undergo further medical examination. McClanahan has an 11-2 record with a 3.29 ERA in 21 starts. He left a start last week against the Yankees in New York because of tightness in his left forearm.
Kyle Tucker’s grand slam off Félix Bautista in the top of the ninth inning gave the Houston Astros a 7-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Houston trailed 5-0 after Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman homered off Framber Valdez in the first and second innings, but the Astros pulled off a remarkable comeback in the ninth against arguably the game’s most dominant closer. Pinch-hitter Jon Singleton led off the ninth with a walk, and Jose Altuve followed with a single. Bautista struck out Alex Bregman, but Yordan Alvarez hit a long single and Tucker connected on the ninth pitch of his at-bat for his 20th homer of the year.
Max Scherzer had six strikeouts and pitched three-hit ball over seven innings and the Texas Rangers extended their longest winning streak in seven years to eight games, beating the last-place Oakland Athletics 6-1. Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young winner whom the Rangers acquired in a trade from the Mets on July 30, worked efficiently through the worst offense in the majors in front of another sparse crowd of 5,419 at the Coliseum. The 39-year-old right-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until JJ Bleday’s leadoff homer in the fourth. Scherzer also walked two.
WNBA
DeWanna Bonner scored 21 points, Alyssa Thomas had 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and four steals and the Connecticut Sun beat the Seattle Storm 81-69. Rebecca Allen added 13 points and Tiffany Hayes scored 10 for Connecticut (21-7), which has won three straight games. Bonner finished with four 3-pointers on just six attempts. Bonner scored 14 points in the final five minutes of the first half, including a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer for a 50-34 lead. Seattle scored just 14 points in the second quarter. Jewell Loyd and Sami Whitcomb each scored 11 points for Seattle (7-21), which continues its four-game homestand on Thursday. Ezi Magbegor had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had eight points and 12 rebounds.
WORLD CUP
The United States’ hold on the Women’s World Cup is over, and two-time champion Germany also exited the tournament. Olympic gold medalist Canada was bounced, and Marta and her Brazil team were knocked out before she had a chance to become the first player to score in six World Cups. Yes, the heavyweights of women’s soccer have all been eliminated, and yes, it has created a wide-open World Cup. The eight teams that advanced to the quarterfinals represent some traditional powers, one previous World Cup winner and two teams making their debut in the final eight.
Players who reached the knockout round of the Women’s World Cup got larger individual bonuses that can be life-changing to many of them. FIFA designated $30,000 for each of the 732 players on the 32 teams that played in the World Cup. The payout rises to $60,000 for players on the 16 teams that advanced out of group play. Players in the quarterfinals get $90,000. That’s a significant payday for the teams that have had financial disputes with their federations over pay and support.
In yesterday’s World Cup action, Colombia topped Jamaica 1-nil, and France beat Morocco 4-nil.
NCAA
Georgia has fired the football recruiting staffer who survived a January crash that killed player Devin Willock and another recruiting staffer, less than a month after she filed a lawsuit against the university’s athletic association. The school issued a statement saying Victoria “Tori” Bowles was dismissed because she refused to cooperate with an internal investigation into the crash. Her attorneys claim she is being retaliated against for filing the lawsuit, which also names former Georgia player and first-round NFL draft pick Jalen Carter. The Jan. 15 crash killed Willock and the driver of the Ford Expedition, Chandler LeCroy.
Atlantic Coast Conference presidents and chancellors held a conference call but took no action on West Coast expansion with California and Stanford. That's from a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke with The Associated Press. Another person with knowledge of the ACC's discussions says conference leaders are also talking about SMU as a possible addition. The Pac-12 is down to four schools committed to the conference beyond the upcoming school year: Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State.
The last time Alabama was ranked lower than No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25, Nick Saban had not yet won a national championship with the Crimson Tide. There is a very real possibility that when the new preseason AP Top 25 is unveiled on Aug. 14, ’Bama could be squeezed out of the top-three for the first time since 2009. Will two-time defending champion Georgia start No. 1 for only the second time in school history? Can Michigan make a case? And how will voters treat TCU as it tries to follow-up last season's magical run to No. 2?
PGA TOUR
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan doesn't have a lot of details to share with players on the proposed deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. That's according to two of players attending his first meeting with players since Monahan returned to work three weeks ago. Rickie Fowler says there's a lot of moving parts. Tom Hoge says there's a real possibility the deal doesn't get finalized. Only 25 players from the 70-man field attended the 90-minute meeting. Several top players already have been involved in remote meetings from their position on the policy board or advisory council.
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