MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Michael Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Philadelphia Phillies history, a dazzling performance in his second start and home debut with his new team, to beat the Washington Nationals 7-0. The 31-year-old Lorenzen struck out five, walked four and improved to 2-0 since he was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline for a minor leaguer. Lorenzen retired Lane Thomas on a grounder to open the ninth and struck out Joey Meneses looking. The crowd of 30,406 erupted when Lorenzen retired Dominic Smith on a flyball on his 124th pitch to end the game. Lorenzen flipped his cap backward and was mobbed by his teammates in a rowdy celebration near the plate.
Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Weston Wilson homered in his first major league plate appearance, a long-awaited milestone for the 28-year-old rookie who was drafted in 2016. Wilson batted seventh in Wednesday’s game against the Washington Nationals and hit the third pitch he saw from MacKenzie Gore into the seats in left-center. Marlon Anderson was the last Phillies player to homer in his first MLB at-bat, on Sept. 8, 1998. Wilson was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round of the 2016 draft, and had 2,836 at-bats in the minor leagues until he was called up Sunday from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Pete Alonso launched yet another homer against the Chicago Cubs, and Jeff McNeil hit a tiebreaking shot that sent the New York Mets to a 4-3 victory. With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Phil Bickford struck out No. 3 batter Ian Happ to save it for New York. It was a costly defeat for Chicago, locked in a crowded National League playoff race. The Cubs lost for just the sixth time in 22 games and fell 2 1/2 games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central. Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki homered for the Chicago, which is bunched with several teams fighting tooth-and-nail for the league’s final wild card. The Mets took two of three games from the Cubs, who won their previous six series.
Mike Clevinger pitched six strong innings, Elvis Andrus drove in three runs and the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 9-2 for their fourth win in five games. Yoan Moncada doubled twice and scored one run while Yasmani Grandal had two hits with an RBI and a run. Gregory Santos pitched two scoreless innings to earn his third save of the season for Chicago (47-69). The Yankees have now lost seven out of their last 11 games. They went into today five games back from a wild-card spot. The only offense they could muster against Clevinger (5-5) was a solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton, his 18th. The Yankees (59-56) were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Luis Severino (2-7) gave up four runs on five hits in two innings coming out of the bullpen.
Alex Verdugo had a two-run double to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 in a game with one of the strangest ground-rule doubles in Fenway Park history. In the top of the second inning with two out and Matt Duffy on first base, Kyle Isbel lashed a drive to left field that looked as if it would be caught by Masataka Yoshida, who lunged and clasped his glove. But Yoshida missed the ball, crashing into the wall. The ball was not on the field. It had smashed through one of the red lights on the wall that denote the number of outs. Yoshida picked the ball through the hole in the light, with the play ruled a ground-rule double.
NFL
The pre-season continues tonight with the Patriots facing the Texans at 7 p.m.
Dak Prescott keeps falling short in trying to end nearly three decades of playoff futility for the Dallas Cowboys. The star quarterback is ready for another go. Prescott has turned 30 while going through his eighth training camp with the Cowboys. He says the scars of years past are part of the motivation going forward. The Cowboys haven't advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs since the last of the franchise's five Super Bowl titles to cap the 1995 season. Prescott knows the legacies of Dallas quarterbacks are defined by championships.
Former Las Vegas Raiders player Henry Ruggs has been sentenced to at least three years in a Nevada prison for killing a woman in a fiery crash while driving his sports car drunk at speeds up to 156 mph on a city street nearly two years ago. The former first-round NFL draft pick apologized in court in Las Vegas before sentencing for felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. He'll serve three to 10 years. The 24-year-old Ruggs was cut by the Raiders following the predawn crash that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor. Tintor’s mother said in court that the case shows the importance of people looking out for one another.
WORLD CUP
Generational talents Marta, Christine Sinclair and Megan Rapinoe have all played in their final Women’s World Cup. All are leaving the game in a much different place than when they started. Also retiring Estefania Banini, who is just 33 but has decided that it’s time to make way for younger Argentinian players. There’s also Caroline Seger, who is still playing in the tournament with Sweden but has already said that it will be her last. Each of those players were instrumental in elevating the women's game, on and off the field.
In today’s Women’s World Cup action, Spain will play the Netherlands at 9 p.m. in the first quarterfinal match.
US OPEN
Video review for double bounces and certain other rulings will be making its Grand Slam tennis debut when main-draw competition begins at the U.S. Open later this month. Players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows will get three challenges per set for things such as whether a ball touches a player’s body, a player touches the net or a player was hindered by noise made while she or he was attempting a shot. The chair umpire will review a replay on the screen and decide whether a call should be changed. The system will be available on five of 17 competition courts during the two-week tournament in New York.
NCAA
The Atlantic Coast Conference presidents have chosen not to vote on whether to add Stanford and California to the league. That's according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the ACC nor the schools disclosed their internal discussions publicly. The ACC's inaction keeps the Northern California schools in limbo as they look for an escape from the crumbling Pac-12. The ACC has also been looking at SMU, the Dallas-based school from the American Athletic Conference, as an expansion target.
Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg criticized assistant football coaches and staff members for wearing shirts supporting fired coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice. Gragg called the shirts “inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf” given the hazing and abuse scandal engulfing the football program and other teams. Gragg says he and the university were unaware that the assistants and staff members owned the black shirts with “Cats Against the World” and Fitzgerald’s old number “51” in purple type or would wear them at practice. He issued the statement after interim coach David Braun called it a free speech issue and said his focus was on supporting his players and staff.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said he plans to retire next summer. Smith, who has spent the past 18 years at Ohio State leading one of the largest and most successful athletic programs in the country, announced Wednesday that he would step down in July 2024. Smith, a Cleveland native who played college football at Notre Dame, became Ohio State’s eighth athletic director in April 2005. He had previously been athletic director at Arizona State, Eastern Michigan and Iowa State. Ohio State teams have won 115 team Big Ten titles under Smith. He had signed a four-year contract extension in 2021.
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