MLB
Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer, José Quintana won for the first time this season and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2. Quintana (1-4) beat his former team by pitching into the seventh inning. He gave up three hits, including a homer in the seventh to Tyler O’Neill, and two runs. It was his first time facing the Cardinals since signing with the Mets as a free agent in the offseason. Tim Locastro led off the ninth with a pinch-hit home run, his first this season for New York. Trevor Gott pitched the ninth for his first save. He got Paul Goldschmidt looking with two on to end the game.
Chris Sale couldn’t make it through the fifth inning in his second start back from a shoulder injury, and the Boston Red Sox suffered another blow to their playoff hopes, losing 10-7 to the last-place Washington Nationals. Luis Urías hit a grand slam in the seventh inning as Boston tried to rally from eight runs down, a two-out shot to left-center off Robert Garcia. It was the first career grand slam for Urías. Sale was expected to throw about 75 pitches but was lifted with one out in the fifth after throwing just 65. Joey Meneses drove in five runs and Patrick Corbin pitched six sharp innings for Washington.
Austin Barnes hit a solo shot in the eighth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win their 11th in a row with a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The NL West-leading Dodgers swept the NL Central leaders, outscoring them 14-3 in three games. The Dodgers earned their 12th shutout of the season. Lance Lynn dueled Brewers starter Corbin Burnes although neither figured in the decision. Burnes gave up two hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked two. Barnes hit his first homer since last September and he also singled for his first multi-hit game of the season.
The Yankees and Phillies were off last night. The Yankees begin a three-game series at home against the Red Sox at 7:05 tonight. The Phillies start a three-game series against the Nationals at 7:05 tonight in DC.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Backup quarterbacks Marcus Mariota of Philadelphia passed for 85 yards and Dorian Thompson-Robinson of Cleveland threw for 164 while starters Jalen Hurts and Deshaun Watson watched from the sidelines as the Eagles and Browns played to an 18-18 tie on Thursday night in a preseason game that was marred by injuries. Mariota completed 9 of 17 passes with an interception and was sacked three times in the first half for the defending NFC champion Eagles. Signed to a one-year deal in the offseason to back up Hurts, Mariota was high and off target on several throws while playing behind Philadelphia’s backup offensive linemen and reserve receivers. Most of his completions were short passes that went for longer yards on runs after the catch. Thompson-Robinson was 13 for 25 in the first half.
NFL
More NFL hopefuls are getting an opportunity to stick around a little longer to showcase their skills this summer. One cutdown deadline will make things more difficult for personnel staffs because 1,184 players will become available at the same time. Teams are relying on their scouting evaluations to be prepared to scoop up talented players who get cut. Plus, they’ll be busy assembling a 16-man practice squad so it’s going to be a hectic time. When the league eliminated the first two rounds of roster cuts in March, it allowed teams to carry 90 players throughout the preseason. Rosters have to be trimmed to 53 by Aug. 29.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Chelsea Gray had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for her second career triple-double and the Las Vegas Aces beat the New York Liberty 88-75 for their 21st straight home victory. The Las Vegas offense responded after scoring just 63 points in a loss to the Liberty on Tuesday in the Commissioner’s Cup. The rematch on Thursday snapped New York’s six-game winning streak — not including the win in the in-season tournament. A’ja Wilson added 21 points, Kelsey Plum had 18 points and Jackie Young added 16 for Las Vegas (28-3). Sabrina Ionescu had six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for New York (24-7). Betnijah Laney added 17 points and Breanna Stewart finished with 13 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
NHL
Rick Jeanneret, regarded as the voice of the Buffalo Sabres after a 51-year broadcasting career and the Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2012 Foster Hewitt Award recipient, died on Thursday. He was 81. The Sabres released a statement from Jeanneret’s family saying he died with his family by his side following a two-year battle with multi-organ failure. Known as RJ, Jeanneret was a part of Sabres broadcasts on either radio or TV since the 1971-72 season, the franchise’s second, until he retired following the 2021-22 season. He had the longest play-by-play announcing career in NHL history.
OLYMPICS
Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie’s autopsy included an easy-to-overlook notation beneath the heading “Medical History:” Bipolar disorder. In track circles, the champion sprinter's mental health struggles were more than an afterthought. They were a stark reality that came to light during training over the years. They also revealed themselves in the Florida neighborhood where police found her body days after the 32-year-old, who was eight months pregnant, died due to what the coroner said were childbirth complications. People who knew the sprinter told The Associated Press they believe mental health played a role in how she handled what became an increasingly difficult pregnancy, and one she dealt with without much assistance from friends, family or medical professionals.
SOCCER
Lionel Messi spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since announcing on June 7 that he’d join Inter Miami. The 36-year-old said he’s still adapting to his new surroundings, but the transition hasn't been too difficult. He has nine goals in six-matches with Inter Miami and has the club on a six-match winning streak. Inter Miami will compete for its first title Saturday against Nashville in the Leagues Cup final.
NBA
Maximizing player rest and limiting travel demands were again part of the NBA’s formula for the coming regular season. That's what the league indicated Thursday when announcing the schedule for 2023-24. Teams have an average of 14 instances of back-to-back games this season, up slightly from last year’s rate of 13.3 per team. But back-to-backs involving travel are down to 9.0 on average. The rate of those last season was 9.6 per team. No team will play the day before or after high-profile national television games, such as Christmas matchups and all ABC weekend matchups.
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP
Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman share the lead at the BMW Championship at rain-soaked Olympia Fields. McIlroy is using that to his advantage. He blasted away off the tee because he realized the rough wasn't necessarily the worst place to be. The greens are so soft it was at times easier to hit into them without spin. He also had a little magic on the 17th hole by going through trees and over a bunker and chipping in for birdie. Harman made two long birdies at the end. That includes a chip-in. Scottie Scheffler and Rickie Fowler were one back.
WESTERN AND SOUTHERN OPEN
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked players in tennis, got past adverse weather conditions and challenging opponents on to reach the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals. Alcaraz overcame two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 35 minutes and 14th-seeded American Tommy Paul, who beat him last Friday in the Canadian Open quarterfinals, for a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (0), 6-3 win Thursday in a match that lasted 3 hours, 9 minutes. Swiatek adjusted to a stiff wind and came from behind to advance to a matchup with 10th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over China’s Zheng Quiwen.
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
A World Cup trophy may indeed be coming back to the birthplace of soccer for the first time in 57 years. But if the trophy returns to England, it will be with the women's squad, not the men. The Lionesses will play for their first title in the tournament Sunday morning at 6 against Spain. It is England coach Sarina Wiegman’s second straight trip to the Women’s World Cup finals: she led the Netherlands into the title match against the United States in 2019. Spain has defied expectations in the World Cup, reaching the final despite a near-mutiny by players last fall. Fifteen Spanish players stepped down from the national team citing concerns about mental health and calling on the federation to create a more professional environment.
Salma Paralluelo could have been preparing for next year’s Olympics if she’d decided to stick with her track career. She specialized in the 400 meters and 400 hurdles growing up. But instead, she chose to focus on soccer and now the 19-year-old winder is playing for Spain in a Women’s World Cup final. The title match is set for Sunday morning at 6 against England. Paralluelo has been one of the brightest young stars in the tournament, scoring two crucial goals to help Spain get closer to its first major trophy.
Meanwhile, the third-place match between Sweden and Australia is tomorrow morning at 4.
COLLEGE SPORTS
Stanford has not given up on getting an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference as its fellow Pac-4 members wait and hope to rebuild their plundered league. Leaders from Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State spoke Thursday and Stanford told its colleagues it had informed the ACC that it would be open to joining the conference at greatly reduced or even no media rights payout for several years, a person familiar with the discussions told AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the schools’ were not making their internal discussions public.
LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES
Caribbean 2, Australia 1
Northwest 10, New England 0
Asia-Pacific 6, Canada 0
West 4, Great Lakes 3
SARATOGA RACE COURSE
It’s the sixth weekend of the Saratoga Race Course meeting. Friday’s highlights include the Skidmore Stakes, a five-and-a-half-furlong turf race for two-year-old fillies. No Nay Mets is the morning line favorite.
The $600,000 10-furlong Grade I Alabama Stakes for three-year-old fillies and the turf $200,000 one and one-sixteenth mile Grade II Lake Placid Stakes for three-year-old fillies, will be run Saturday.
Sunday’s top race is the $150,000 Bolton Landing Stakes, a five-and-a-half-furlong race for three-year-old fillies.
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