GOLF
Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, a local prosecutor, asked a judge Wednesday afternoon to drop the four charges against Scheffler. Scheffler was not required to be in the courtroom Wednesday. Scheffler was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, along with three misdemeanors. Scheffler has said he simply misunderstood the commands coming from traffic officers.
TENNIS
Iga Swiatek has saved a match point and come back to beat Naomi Osaka 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 in the second round of the French Open. Both players own four Grand Slam titles. Swiatek is currently ranked No. 1 and Osaka is a former No. 1. But Osaka has taken a lot of time off in recent years for mental health breaks and to have a baby. She is ranked only 134th now. But she did not play like that on Wednesday night. It took every bit of Swiatek's guile and experience to allow her to extend her winning streak at Roland Garros to 16 matches.
Nelly Korda is playing so well she makes it look easy. But no one can expect an easy time at the U.S. Women's Open. It's billed as the toughest test in golf, and Lancaster Country Club figures to be every bit of that. Korda calls it a beast of a course. The 25-year-old American has won six of her last seven tournaments coming into the second major of the year. Only two players at No. 1 in the world have won the Women's Open since the world ranking began in 2006. Korda has only two top 10s in the Open.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY
Minnesota won the inaugural championship of the Professional Women’s Hockey League last night, getting 17 saves from Nicole Hensley to beat Boston 3-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 and claim the Walter Cup. Liz Schepers scored to break a scoreless, second-period tie, Michela Cava made it 2-0 midway through the third period and Kendall Coyne Schofield added an empty-netter with two minutes left. Hensley, a two-time Olympian from Colorado, earned her second shutout of the playoffs after posting one in 14 regular-season games. Boston goalie Aerin Frankel made 41 saves for the runners-up.
NHL
Mattias Janmark and Leon Draisaitl scored in a 51-second span in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 to even the Western Conference final. Janmark tied it on a short-handed, 2-on-1 break with Connor Brown with 5:29 left in the period, and Draisaitl followed with his 10th of the postseason with 4:38 to go. Game 5 is Friday night in Dallas. Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, into a empty net with 1:53 remaining, also scored for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner made 20 saves. Wyatt Johnson and Esa Lindell scored as Dallas raced to a 2-0 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes. McLeod and Bouchard countered for Edmonton late in the period.
The the NHL Playoffs where Game 5 of the Panthers-Rangers series is 8 tonight in New York, tied at two games apiece.
MLB
Luis Gil struck out nine and won his sixth straight start, continuing a record run by the starters, Alex Verdugo homered and the New York Yankees bounced back with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Anthony Volpe extended his hitting streak to 21 games with two hits, tying the longest run in the majors this season. He also scored a run. Logan O’Hoppe had a solo shot for the Angels, who have dropped four of five. After the Yankees had an unassisted double play turned against them in the first inning due to baserunner interference by Juan Soto and a second-inning rally end due to Anthony Rizzo being hit by a batted ball from DJ LeMahieu, Verdugo drove an elevated sinker by Tyler Anderson into the right field stands.
Shohei Ohtani homered and drove in three runs, Will Smith went deep twice and the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the frustrated New York Mets with a 10-3 victory. Smith’s second homer was a tiebreaking solo shot off Adam Ottavino to start a six-run eighth inning capped by Ohtani’s two-run drive. Miguel Vargas blooped a two-run double, and Miguel Rojas bounced an RBI single over a drawn-in infield during the latest meltdown by a dreadful Mets bullpen. Jason Heyward had a pinch-hit triple in the eighth and added a solo homer in the ninth. Rojas matched a career high with four of Los Angeles’ 16 hits.
Gunnar Henderson’s grand slam in the second put Baltimore ahead to stay, and Corbin Burnes pitched seven sharp innings to help the Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1. The Orioles have won six of seven and have not lost any of their last 18 series against AL East foes, going 13-0-5. The defending division champs took two of three from Boston, scoring five runs in the second inning. Burnes allowed an unearned run and three hits. He struck out five and walked three. Kutter Crawford permitted five runs in six innings to fall to 2-4.
Nick Castellanos had a two-run homer among his three hits, Cristopher Sánchez struck out seven in six scoreless innings and the MLB-leading Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 6-1 to snap a three-game losing streak. Castellanos added a double and a single as Philadelphia avoided a series sweep and ended a nine-game losing streak at Oracle Park. Sánchez (3-3) scattered four hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 2.83. Kyle Schwarber hit his 36th career leadoff homer and his fifth this season. Cristian Pache had two hits, including an RBI single. Heliot Ramos drove in San Francisco’s run with a bloop RBI single with two outs in the ninth.
Paul Skenes struck out nine and earned his second career victory and the Pittsburgh Pirates salvaged a doubleheader split with a 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Skenes, making his fourth major league start, gave up two runs and three hits in six innings. Andrew McCutchen had a three-run homer in the third inning for his 1,600th career hit. McCutchen had three hits and a walk while driving in four runs. Nick Gonzales also had three hits, including a solo homer. In the opener, Matt Vierling had a three-run homer and drove in four runs in Detroit’s 8-0 victory.
Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager has eight homers in as many games. Seager lined a two-run homer just beyond the right-field wall in the fifth inning of their 6-1 win over Arizona on Wednesday. He also went deep in the same inning on Tuesday night in the first game of the World Series rematch. It was Seager’s 13th home run overall, and fourth homer in three games. The two-time World Series MVP hit two in a series finale at Minnesota on Sunday, a day after he didn't homer for the only time since May 19. He is only the fifth player in Rangers history with at least eight homers in an eight-game span.
Brendan Rodgers hit a two-run home run during a six-run second inning, Ty Blach overcame a shaky start to give up two runs over seven innings and the Colorado Rockies beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-4. The last-place Rockies have now won three consecutive series and have gone 12-7 after a disastrous 8-28 start to the season. Eight of the nine players in Colorado’s lineup had a hit, with Ryan McMahon, Elias Díaz, Jacob Stallings, Sean Bouchard and Hunter Goodman each recording an RBI. Josh Naylor had two hits and an RBI for Cleveland.
Jose Siri made a tremendous catch in the top of the ninth inning and singled in the winning run in the bottom half in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. Amed Rosario doubled leading off the ninth against Michael Kelly (2-2), went to third on Alex Jackson’s sacrifice bunt, and scored on Siri’s hit. Pete Fairbanks (1-2) survived the ninth after allowing a leadoff double to Miguel Andújar. He retired the next three batters on balls all hit 102.3 mph or higher, including Zack Gelof’s 107.7 mph drive to center that Siri made a leaping catch on.
Nelson Velázquez homered twice, Salvador Perez hit his team-leading 10th homer of the season and the Kansas City Royals snapped a three-game skid with a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Velázquez’s first homer came in Kansas City’s four-run third inning. After Minnesota jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, the Royals countered with four runs off Twins starter Bailey Ober. Perez drove in the go-ahead run with a double to left, and Veláquez knocked in Perez two batters later with a two-run shot to center for a 4-1 lead. Perez hit a solo homer in the fifth inning and Veláquez followed with his seventh homer of the season. Royals right-hander Seth Lugo (9-1) earned his fourth win in as many starts.
Trevor Richards and Toronto’s bullpen delivered after Alek Manoah departed because of elbow discomfort, and the Blue Jays beat the slumping Chicago White Sox 3-1. With two out and a runner on third in the second inning, Manoah was checked on by manager John Schneider and a trainer after throwing a 91.4 mph sinker to Dominic Fletcher for a ball. The big right-hander then departed after a short discussion on the mound. Richards came in and pitched 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball. Tim Mayza, Zach Pop and Yimi García each got three outs before Jordan Romano earned his eighth save in nine chances, finishing a four-hitter.
J.P. Crawford drove in Jonatan Clase with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. A game dominated by pitching ended with Crawford lifting a fly ball to deep right field that allowed Clase to jog home and give the Mariners wins in the first three games of the four-game series with their AL West rival. The winning run came after dominant starting pitching by Houston’s Justin Verlander and Seattle’s George Kirby. Verlander allowed one run, three hits and struck out nine over seven innings; Kirby allowed one run, six hits and struck out eight in six innings.
Matt Carpenter hit a go-ahead home in the third inning, Nolan Gorman also went deep and the St. Louis Cardinals reached .500 for the first time in six weeks with a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds Carpenter hit his first home run for the Cardinals since April 30, 2021, as St. Louis (27-27) won for the 12th time in 15 games. The Cardinals had not been at .500 since they were 9-9 before play on April 17 and they had dropped to 15-24 before their turnaround. They have won five straight series.
Braxton Garrett outlasted Yu Darvish, Josh Bell had three hits and scored twice and the Miami Marlins beat the sloppy San Diego Padres 9-1 to avoid a sweep. Jesús Sánchez hit a solo homer and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had two hits and drove in two runs as the Marlins had a season-high 16 hits Wednesday and snapped the Padres’ three-game winning streak. The Padres dropped to 13-19 at home. Garrett was impressive for five innings, allowing one run and six hits, with two strikeouts and no walks. His only big mistake was allowing Ha-Seong Kim’s leadoff homer in the third, his seventh.
Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins and Willy Adames hit home runs and the Brewers erupted for five runs in the third against Shota Imanaga as Milwaukee downed the Chicago Cubs 10-6. Imanaga entered the game with a major league-leading 0.84 ERA. He had allowed five earned runs in his first nine starts before being charged with seven on Wednesday as his ERA jumped to 1.86. Imanaga gave up a season-high eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, his second-shortest outing of the season. He had one walk and one strikeout. Jared Koenig (5-1) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to get the win.
Lane Thomas hit a three-run home run and the Washington Nationals beat Atlanta 7-2 on Wednesday night to spoil Braves right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach’s major league debut. Schwellenbach (0-1), who had never pitched above Double-A, lasted five innings, giving up three runs on five hits with five strikeouts, one walk and a hit batter. After a leadoff double in the fifth, Schwellenbach hit Jacob Young in the head with a fastball when the No. 9 hitter squared to bunt. Young fell, face-down at the plate. Young was down for a minute, but stayed in the game. Two batters later, Thomas homered to give Washington a 3-1 lead. One inning later, Young laced a two-out, two-run single to push the lead to 5-2.
The Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Angels when they were done in by an unconventional double play. Giancarlo Stanton hit a high popup near the bag at second. Umpires called an infield fly, but Juan Soto bumped into Angels shortstop Zach Neto with his hip as he tried to get back to second base, causing Neto to lose track of the ball and it landing in the infield. Second base umpire Vic Carapazza ruled that Soto interfered with Neto, leading to the second out.
Jorge López will be cut by the struggling New York Mets after the reliever threw his glove into the stands following his ejection from a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called the outburst “not acceptable” and said it would be handled internally. López expressed no remorse for his display, saying he didn't regret it. Afterward, the Mets began the process of designating López for assignment. They will have seven days to trade or release him, or send him outright to the minors if no other team claims him on waivers.
Baseball players and fans alike are learning more about the Negro Leagues after the statistics for more than 2,300 players — historic figures like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles — were incorporated into the major league record book following a three-year research project. A 17-person committee chaired by John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, met six times as part of the meticulous process of examining statistics from seven Negro Leagues from 1920-1948. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene calls the move “long overdue.” Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen says he is doing some “deep diving” into some Negro Leagues players that he hadn't heard of before.
WNBA
Sabrina Ionescu scored 22 points and Jonquel Jones added 20 to help the New York Liberty beat the Phoenix Mercury 81-78 on Wednesday night. New York trailed 74-71 late in the fourth quarter before going on a 9-0 run, including four points by Jones to take control. Her layup with 2:12 left started the spurt and she hit two free throws with 1:09 left that gave New York a 76-74 lead. After a stop, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton hit a tough foul line jumper with 30 seconds left that gave the Liberty a four-point cushion. Phoenix (3-4) couldn’t recover. Natasha Cloud scored 21 points and Kahleah Copper added 20 for the Mercury.
Allisha Gray scored 19 points, Tina Charles had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream beat the winless Washington Mystics 73-67 on Wednesday night. Washington, which has lost seven in a row, is off to its worst start since 2007, when it set a franchise record with eight straight losses. Gray made a steal and fast-break layup to extend Atlanta’s lead to 63-58 midway through the fourth quarter. Ariel Atkins led Washington with 21 points. Shakira Austin had 12 points and nine rebounds and Stefanie Dolson scored 10.
A’ja Wilson had 29 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, Jackie Young added 19 points and 10 assists, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Minnesota Lynx 80-66 on Wednesday night. Wilson became the first player in WNBA regular-season history with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in five consecutive games. Young narrowly missed her fifth straight game with at least 20 points and six assists. Las Vegas had its nine-point halftime lead trimmed to 56-54 with 1:28 left in the third quarter before Kate Martin sank a corner 3-pointer from the corner and Wilson beat the third-quarter buzzer with a layup for a 62-56 advantage. The Aces continued to pull away in the fourth by extending their run to 20-5 to make it 77-61.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Emil Forsberg scored two goals in two minutes, Andres Reyes added another second-half goal and the New York Red Bulls beat Charlotte 3-1 after a lengthy weather delay. New York (7-3-5) is on a nine-match home unbeaten streak across all competitions. The Red Bulls have gone unbeaten in their first six home matches to open a season, doing so for the first time since 2012. Charlotte (6-6-4) had produced five shutouts in a row for three wins and two draws, including the team’s first away victory of the season. Forsberg opened the scoring with a free kick in the 74th minute — for Charlotte’s first goal allowed since April 27. Then Forsberg was left wide open at the penalty spot for Lewis Morgan’s nice pass on a breakaway.
New England 0 Columbus 0
Hany Mukhtar had two assists over a four-minute span in the first half, Joe Willis had a season-high six saves and Nashville SC snapped FC Cincinnati’s seven-match win streak with a 2-0 victory. Nashville (4-4-7) notched its first victory for interim manager Rumba Munthali, who led the club to draws in his first two outings after taking over for fired manager Gary Smith. Willis’ effort gives him four clean sheets this season with three of them coming in the last four matches. Cincinnati (10-3-3) was shut out for the first time since a scoreless draw with D.C. United on March 10.
Toronto FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson made one save in his 401st career start and rookie Oliver Semmle saved three shots for the Philadelphia Union in the 11th start of his career as the two clubs played to a scoreless draw. Johnson trails only the Seattle Sounders’ Stefan Frei, who was in line to make his 421st start later in the night, among active keepers. Nick Rimando and Kevin Hartman are the only other keepers in league history to top the 400 mark. Semmle has posted all three of his clean sheets this season in the last three matches for the Union (4-4-7) after allowing multiple goals in six straight starts prior to the streak. Toronto (7-7-2) leads the all-time series 13-11-8.
Lionel Messi scored yet again but it wasn't enough as Inter Miami's 10-match Major League Soccer winning streak came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Atlanta United. Saba Lobjanidze scored once in each half, Jamal Thiaré helped put the game away with a goal in the 73rd minute and Atlanta United snapped a nine-match MLS winless streak on Wednesday night. Atlanta United was 0-5-4 in MLS play since beating Chicago 3-0 on March 31. Messi had some good opportunities in the first half but could not connect.
Sunusi Ibrahim scored a goal in each half, Ariel Lassiter added a goal and two assists to help offset a pair of first-half goals by Christian Benteke and propel CF Montreal to a 4-2 victory over D.C. United. Lassister took a pass from Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and scored his third goal of the season to give Montreal (4-7-4) the lead in the 6th minute. Benteke scored in the 29th minute to pull DC United (4-6-6) even. Benteke used assists from defender Lucas Bartlett and Aaron Herrera to find the net. Montreal regained the lead in the 34th minute when Ibrahim used an assist from defender Ruan to score.
Evander curled in a beautiful free kick in first-half stoppage time, Jonathan Rodríguez added a penalty-kick goal in the 66th minute and the Portland Timbers beat Austin 2-0 to end a three-game road losing streak. Portland (5-7-4) won its first game away from home since March 9 against New York City. Austin (6-5-5) had won its last five matches at Q2 Stadium. The Timbers have a head-to-head series lead against Austin with five wins, two losses, and one draw. Rodríguez, who scored his sixth goal of the season, has produced a goal contribution in five straight games to tie the second-longest streak in Portland history. The Timbers earned their first clean sheet of the season. James Pantemis dove to his left to deny Sebastián Driussi’s penalty-kick attempt in the 16th.
Hugo Cuypers scored midway through the second half to rally the Chicago Fire to a 1-1 draw with Orlando City. Cuypers scored for a fourth time in his first season with Chicago (2-8-6), using assists from defender Arnaud Souquet and Maren Haile-Selassie to find the net in the 70th minute. The Fire earned a point but saw their winless streak reach nine in a row. Orlando City (4-6-5) jumped in front in the 4th minute when Facundo Torres slipped a shot out of a crowd past Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady for his second netter of the season. It was the 32nd goal of Torres’ career, moving him past Nani into second place on the club’s all-time list. Cyle Larin leads with 44.
Amine Bassi, Latif Blessing and Sebastian Kowalczyk each scored, and the Houston Dynamo beat the Colorado Rapids 3-1 without head coach Ben Olsen, who served a one-match suspension for yellow-card accumulation. Houston snapped a three-game winless run with its first win at Shell Energy Stadium since March 30. Colorado played its 900th regular-season match. Andrew Tarbell started for the second straight game after not doing so since Sept. 02, 2023. Colorado midfielder Djordje Mihailovic tied it at 1-all in the 49th minute, denying Houston a 13th clean sheet of the season. Blessing put Houston ahead for good in the 70th with his second goal in the last two games. Colorado goalkeeper Zack Steffen punched a lofted cross outside of the area, but Blessing one-touched it home.
Felipe Mora and Evander both had a goal and an assist and the Portland Timbers won for just the second time in 12 matches by handing Sporting Kansas City its fifth straight defeat with a 2-1 victory. Portland (4-7-4) improves to 2-7-3 in its last 12 matches under first-year manager Phil Neville. The Timbers had allowed multiple goals in 10 straight matches entering play. Sporting KC (2-7-5) is winless in its last eight outings.
Dejan Joveljic scored twice and Riqui Puig added his fifth goal of the season to help the LA Galaxy beat FC Dallas 3-1. The Galaxy (7-2-7) secured their second win in the last seven matches to remain unbeaten at home this season. Dallas (3-7-4) was looking for its first road win of the season, having only managed two draws and five losses. Joveljic opened the scoring in the fourth minute on a wide-open shot from the penalty spot, and he added his ninth goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 66th for a 2-1 lead. Puig added a goal in second-half stoppage time after an individual effort.
Andrés Gómez scored in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time after Seattle had a goal disallowed three minutes earlier and Real Salt Lake rallied for a 1-1 draw with the Sounders to extend its unbeaten run to 12. Real Salt Lake (8-2-6) is off to the best start in franchise history and has moved to the top of the Western Conference with its 7-0-5 streak. Albert Rusnák scored off a free kick in the 68th minute to give Seattle (4-6-6) a 1-0 lead. Rusnák became the fifth active player and the 29th in league history to reach 50 goals and 50 assists in regular-season play.
Denis Bouanga scored on a first-half penalty kick, Mateusz Bogusz added a late goal and Hugo Lloris notched his fourth straight clean sheet to help Los Angeles FC up its win streak to four and snap Minnesota United’s six-match unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory. LAFC (8-4-3), which lost to the Columbus Crew in the championship match last season, dropped a 3-1 decision on the road to the San Jose Earthquakes to begin the month and has not lost or surrendered a goal since. Minnesota United (7-3-4) had used a 4-0-2 run to climb into a second-place tie in the Western Conference. The loss drops the club into fourth place.
NCAA
Iowa State has already scrapped plans for a new wrestling facility. Texas A&M laid off a dozen or so athletic staffers. That could be the tip of the iceberg when millions in college revenue starts going directly to the athletes instead of coaching salaries, facilities or athletic department staffs. A revenue-sharing model proposed in a court settlement would mean a school could pay up to about $21 million annually to its athletes. One economist called it “an economic earthquake" that will have impacts still being determined.
SOCCER
Olympiakos has won Greece’s first European club title by beating Fiorentina 1-0 after extra time in the Europa Conference League final. Ayoub El Kaabi dived to nudge in a last-gasp goal in the second period of extra time with fans erupting in celebration after a lengthy wait for a VAR check for offside. The Morocco striker is the competition’s top scorer. He struck in the 116th minute of the match after meeting a cross from Santiago Hezze to decide a game that had looked destined for a penalty shootout following an energetic but largely risk-free encounter at AEK Arena. Olympiakos coach Jose Luis Mendilibar secured a second straight European title after winning the Europa League with Sevilla last season.
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