MLB
Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning and scored on a throwing error to help the Baltimore Orioles hold off the New York Yankees 7-6 in a wild finish. New York ace Gerrit Cole was charged with two runs over four-plus innings in an up-and-down season debut after returning from an elbow injury. He was on the hook for his first loss since Aug. 19 last year until Giancarlo Stanton rallied the Yankees late with a three-run homer that pulled New York to 5-4 in the seventh, then laced a tying single off closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth.
New York Mets starter Sean Manaea took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Texas even after the Rangers scored on the left-hander in the first inning. The no-hit bid ended on Robbie Grossman's sharp single with one out in the sixth Wednesday night. Texas then tied the score and quickly knocked Manaea out of the game. Grossman's hit came after a string of 14 consecutive retired batters since Manaea walked the bases loaded and hit a batter to force home a run in the first inning. Manaea struck out six while giving up three runs and two hits. He got a no-decision in the 5-3 loss.
Jarren Duran and Enmanuel Valdez hit solo home runs, Brayan Bello pitched six innings to snap a three-start winless streak, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Duran had two hits and two RBIs and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Valdez scored all three times he reached base as the Red Sox won their fifth straight. Bello (7-4) allowed two runs and seven hits to win for the first time since May 28. Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-6) lost his second straight start.
Matt Waldron used his knuckleball to strike out six over seven innings and the San Diego Padres avoided a 10th straight road loss with a late rally off Philadelphia’s bullpen to beat the Phillies 5-2. The Padres avoided their first 0-6 trip since 2009 and had lost nine straight overall on the road. Robert Suárez worked the ninth for his 18th save. Bryce Harper homered twice for the Phillies and has 17 longballs this season. It was his 22nd career multi-homer game and second of the season.
Sean Murphy hit a pair of two-run homers, Reynaldo López threw five scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 7-0 victory. López lowered his MLB-leading ERA to 1.57. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out six. The Braves went 5-1 on a six-game homestand and have won six of their past seven. They allowed just two runs combined in the series. Tarik Skubal gave up five runs, four earned, in four innings and allowed two of Atlanta’s three home runs. Gio Urshela, Wenceel Perez and Andy Ibáñez each had two hits for the Tigers, who have dropped 10 of 13.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-0. Freddy Peralta struck out eight over six innings of three-hit ball. He outdueled Tyler Anderson, who yielded just one run over seven innings. Rhys Hoskins and Willy Adames drove in runs for the Brewers, who took two of three in Anaheim to open their California road trip. Anderson held his opponents to one run for the sixth time in his last seven starts, but lost for the third time in that stretch. The veteran lefty allowed four hits and three walks over seven sharp innings, striking out five.
Tanner Bibee struck out a career-high 12 in six innings, Josh Naylor homered twice and had four RBIs, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Seattle Mariners 8-0 in a battle of American League division leaders. Bibee struck out multiple batters in each of the first five innings, allowing three hits and one walk to improve to 5-2. The right-hander had 11 strikeouts in his previous start on June 12 at Cincinnati, his first double-digit game in the majors. Steven Kwan hit a two-run homer and José Ramírez and Bo Naylor each had two hits for the Guardians. Seattle starter Bryan Woo took the loss.
Hunter Brown tossed six innings of one-run ball for his third straight win, backup catcher César Salazar had a pair of RBI singles and the Houston Astros topped the Chicago White Sox 4-1. Jake Meyers lined a pair of doubles to end an 0-for-17 slump and scored two runs to help Houston end a two-game slide. Andrew Benintendi hit a solo shot in the fourth for Chicago, ending Brown’s streak of scoreless innings at 16. Brown scattered seven hits, struck out six and walked none in his sixth straight quality start.
The Tampa Bay Rays scored on a throwing error by Minnesota's Royce Lewis with two outs in the 10th inning for a 3-2 victory that stopped the Twins’ six-game winning streak. The Rays are a major league-best 25-11 in games decided by one or two runs. They won for just the fourth time in 12 games. Phil Maton worked a perfect 10th for his second save. In the top of the inning, Lewis fielded a sharp chopper at third base to his left and sent his deep throw sailing past first base that let the Rays score the go-ahead run.
Luis Medina held down Kansas City to get his first victory in more than 11 months and the Oakland Athletics won their second straight game following a nine-game skid by beating the Royals 5-1. Medina had lost five straight decisions since beating Boston on July 18 last season but allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings against the struggling Royals. Brett Rooker hit a pair of RBI singles for Oakland and Zack Gelof hit a solo homer to provide the offense. Kansas City has lost eight of 10 games.
Bryan Reynolds hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Cincinnati Reds 1-0. Reynolds pounced on an 80 mph changeup from Nick Martinez and sent it just over the wall in center field for his 10th homer of the season as the Pirates took two of three from Cincinnati. Colin Holderman retired the three batters he faced in the eighth after coming on for a brilliant Mitch Keller. David Bednar worked a perfect ninth for his 16th save. Cincinnati starter Hunter Greene tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings for the Reds.
Otto Lopez hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to drive in Tim Anderson and the Miami Marlins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3. Lopez’s liner off Ryan Fernandez was bobbled by right fielder Alec Burleson, but is doubtful he would have had a play. Tanner Scott got the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth. The NL-worst Marlins took two of three from the Cardinals, who fell back below .500 at 36-37.
Ian Happ hit a 442-foot homer, Dansby Swanson made it back-to-back longballs and the Chicago Cubs hung on to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5. Jorge Soler made it interesting in the eighth inning with a 444-foot grand slam over the bleachers in left field against Tyson Miller that got the Giants within one, but Colten Brewer pitched around back-to-back walks to Wilmer Flores and Brett Wisely in the ninth and finished for his first save. Kyle Hendricks pitched neatly into the sixth inning, allowing one run on two hits in his longest outing of the season and lowering his ERA from 8.20 to 7.46.
Jesse Winker hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning and the Washington Nationals defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1. Ildemaro Vargas added an RBI single for Washington, which has won nine of 11 overall and seven of its last eight at home. Arizona was denied getting back to .500 for the first time since April 16, when it was 9-9. Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and four walks and had no strikeouts. Derek Law pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the victory. Kyle Finnegan handled the ninth for his 21st save in 23 opportunities.
Brenton Doyle broke a ninth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly and the Colorado Rockies rebounded from a tough loss to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 on Wednesday night. Doyle’s fly ball to center was deep enough for Jake Cave to score from third, giving Colorado the victory a night after the Rockies blew a five-run lead in the ninth inning in an 11-9 loss. Cave and Elhehuris Montero led off the ninth with singles off Yohan Ramirez (0-3), and rookie Adael Amador, who had two hits, reached on a fielder’s choice. Michael Toglia homered and tripled and Jalen Beeks (3-3) pitched an inning of relief to help Colorado snap a four-game skid. Shohei Ohtani doubled, singled and drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
A mural honoring baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays has been unveiled in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Mays died Tuesday at the age of 93. The mural depicts a smiling “Say Hey Kid” and his bevy of athletic accomplishments. It was created by artist Chuck Styles ahead of Thursday's game between Mays' longtime team, the San Francisco Giants, and the St. Louis Cardinals at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The game is intended to honor the Negro Leagues, where Mays began his career in 1948. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol says the game becomes even more meaningful after Mays' death. Tributes to Mays poured in from around the country on Wednesday.
Aaron Judge was out of the New York Yankees’ lineup against the Baltimore Orioles, one night after he was hit on the left hand by a pitch. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge was feeling better, though, and even took a few swings in the indoor batting cage. Boone said he thinks Judge is day to day. Trent Grisham replaced Judge in center field and batted ninth as New York lost 7-6 in 10 innings. Judge was struck by a 94-mph fastball from Baltimore starter Albert Suárez during New York’s 4-2 win Tuesday night. The slugger left the game an inning later, but X-rays and a CT scan were negative, so it appears he avoided serious injury.
WNBA
Indiana 88 Washington 81
Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston scored 22 points apiece, Caitlin Clark had her second career double-double and the Indiana Fever won their third-straight game with an 88-81 victory over the Washington Mystics. Clark had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds plus six assists and four steals for the Fever. Ariel Atkins had 27 points to lead the Mystics. Down nine entering the fourth quarter, Washington started with a 9-2 run, pulling within 70-68 on a three-point play by Emily Engstler with seven minutes to go. Erica Wheeler quickly answered with a jumper, Clark had a steal that led to Wheeler feeding Mitchell for a layup and then Clark hit a 3 off a Wheeler assist to make it 77-68 with 5:05 left.
Minnesota 68 Atlanta 55
Napheesa Collier scored 16 points and the Minnesota Lynx used a balanced attack to defeat the Atlanta Dream 68-55 for the fifth-straight win. Bridget Carleton scored 14 points and Dorka Juhasz had 10 points off the bench for the Lynx. Minnesota struggled with its offense, going 7 of 22 from 3-point range and shooting 35.5% overall (27 of 76) but held the Dream to 29% (19 of 66). Tina Charles led Atlanta with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Atlanta’s top two scorers, Rhyne Howard (16.2) and Allysha Gray (15-8) combined for 13 points on 2 of 25 shooting, 0 of 14 from 3-point range. Howard left the game in the third quarter with a lower leg injury and did not return.
Las Vegas 94 Seattle 83
Jackie Young scored 32 points, A’ja Wilson added 27 and the Las Vegas Aces celebrated the return of All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray by defeating the Seattle Storm 94-83. Gray, a five-time All-Star and 2020 Olympic gold medal winner who will head to the Paris Games next month, had seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks with one point in 16 minutes. which led by double figures from the 1:53 mark of the first quarter and by as many as 20 points Nneka Ogwumike had 21 points for the Storm and Magbegor had 19 with 13 rebounds. Jewell Loyd was held to a single point.
Los Angeles rookie Cameron Brink tore the ACL in her left knee in the first quarter of the Sparks’ 79-70 loss at Connecticut. Brink played just four minutes and committed one foul before getting hurt Tuesday night. Once over to the sideline, Brink hobbled toward the locker room, but was forced to stop as a result of the pain. A pair of Sparks personnel lifted Brink off her feet and carried her to the locker room.
Not even a WNBA basketball game is an escape from the arguments and polarization that are so common in American life these days. Some of the atmosphere in the public and media that has swirled around the professional women’s league since the season started last month has been less fun time and more culture war. Rookie Caitlin Clark is the eye of the storm. The white, 22-year-old number one draft pick has become a canvas for all sorts of projections in her debut season with the Indiana Fever. She, and the predominantly Black and brown women in the league, have become proxies for longstanding American issues including race, gender, who's in the spotlight and who is ignored.
NBA
The Detroit Pistons have fired coach Monty Williams after just one season that ended with an NBA-worst 14-68 record. Last season was the first in what was a six-year, $78.5 million contract for Williams — one that, at the time, was the richest ever given to an NBA coach. At one point, the Pistons had a 28-game losing streak. It was the longest ever in a single season in NBA history and tied for the longest ever when factoring in multiple seasons.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Sixteen-year-old forward Julian Hall subbed into the match in the 87th minute and scored in the 88th, becoming the second youngest player to score a goal in league history and rallying the New York Red Bulls from a two-goal deficit to a 2-2 draw with CF Montreal. At 16 years and 87 days, Hall becomes the second youngest goal scorer in MLS history, behind only Freddy Adu. Hall replaced Dylan Nealis before scoring the equalizer. Montreal (4-7-7) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Sunusi Ibrahim used an assist from Gabriele Corbo to score his team-high sixth goal of the season. Montreal took a two-goal lead into halftime when Kwadwo Opoku scored in the 40th minute.
Dejan Joveljic scored late in the first half, Diego Fagúndez scored early in the second with an assist from Joveljic, and the Los Angeles Galaxy blanked New York City FC 2-0. John McCarthy finished with four saves to earn his fourth clean sheet of the season for the Galaxy (9-3-7). Joveljic gave Los Angeles the lead for good when he scored unassisted in the 41st minute with a left-footed shot from the center of the box. It was his 11th goal of the season. Joveljic added his fourth assist in the 49th minute when Fagúndez found the net for the third time this season. Matt Freese saved three shots for New York City (9-7-2), which has lost two in a row following a five-match win streak.
Reigning MVP Luciano Acosta scored in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time, polishing off a two-goal night and leading FC Cincinnati to a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Union. Acosta, who notched an assist on the first goal of the night, became the seventh player in league history to have a hand in 100 regular-season goals over a four-year span. Acosta, who has career totals of 43 goals and 57 assists, used a helper from Yamil Asad to score the winner and help Cincinnati (12-3-3) keep pace with front-running Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia (4-6-8) pulled even just before halftime when Tai Baribo scored his first career goal — in the 43rd minute.
Kerwin Vargas scored during first-half stoppage time and Kristijan Kahlina made it stand up for Charlotte FC in a 1-0 victory over D.C. United. Charlotte (8-6-4) waited until the seventh minute of stoppage time to take a halftime lead. Vargas used an assist from defender Jere Uronen to score for a third time this season. Kahlina finished with one save to earn his league-leading eighth clean sheet of the season for Charlotte. Alex Bono stopped one shot for DC United (4-7-7), which saw its winless streak reach six.
Ian Fray and Leo Campana each scored in the opening 22 minutes, and short-handed Inter Miami beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Wednesday night without Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Miami (12-3-5) played without Messi, Suárez and midfielder Matías Rojas due to international duty in the Copa América. Columbus (7-3-6), the reigning MLS Cup champions, had won its last four road games. Columbus hasn’t played at Lower.com Field since May 11, a string of six straight games. Fray, in his first MLS game since July 15, 2023 due to an ACL surgery, opened the scoring in the 10th minute by heading in Julian Gressel’s corner kick. Campana made it 2-0 in the 21st with his fifth goal of the season.
Sam Surridge scored his second goal of the game in the 90th minute as Nashville beat Toronto 2-1 on Wednesday night for its first come-from-behind victory of the season. Nashville (5-5-8) has lost just one of its last six games since a 2-0 win over Toronto on May 15. Toronto (7-9-3) is winless in its last five league outings and has won just one of its last eight. Tyler Boyd set up the winning goal by cutting through the defense and sending a cross for Surridge to knock home with a backheel for his seventh goal of the season. Surridge tied it at 1-all in the 65th by curling a shot inside the far post.
Rookie Petar Musa had three goals for FC Dallas, finishing off his first career hat trick with the go-ahead score in the second half of a 5-3 victory over Minnesota United. Musa used an assist from Paul Arriola to find the net for the first time, giving Dallas (5-8-5) a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. Musa’s second goal came with an assist from Bernard Kamungo in the 38th minute for a 2-1 advantage. He put Dallas on top for good in the 62nd minute — with an assist from Sebastian Lletget — for a 3-2 lead. Bongokuhle Hlongwane had a goal and an assist for Minnesota United (8-5-5).
Paul Rothrock and Jackson Ragen scored six minutes apart in the second half as the Seattle Sounders played the Houston Dynamo to a 2-2 draw. Seattle (5-7-7) has lost to Houston just once in all competitions since 2017, going 11-1-1. Houston (6-6-6) last defeated Seattle in October 2021. The Dynamo took the lead in the 30th minute when they capitalized on a turnover in Seattle’s defensive half. Josh Atencio sent a cross past Stefan Frei to Latif Blessing, who dove forward to redirect it with his stomach. Rothrock, in his first start of the season, sent a shot right at Steve Clark, who spilled the attempt and Rothrock slid the rebound into the back of the net. Ragen equalized in the 63rd when he redirected Albert Rusnák’s cross.
Andrés Gómez scored a goal in each half and added an assist as Real Salt Lake held off Sporting Kansas City 4-3, extending club-record unbeaten runs to 15 overall and 10 on the road. Real Salt Lake (10-2-7) has moved to the top of the Western Conference by going 9-0-6 during the 15-match streak — tied for the fourth longest in league history. The club has gone 4-0-6 in its last 10 matches away from home. Gómez staked Real Salt Lake to a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when he took passes Diego Luna and Braian Ojeda and scored. Sporting KC (3-11-5) pulled even in the 28th minute when Stephen Afrifa used an assist from Nemanja Radoja to score his second career goal and his second in as many matches.
Djordje Mihailovic completed a hat trick for the first time in his career, Zack Steffen posted his second straight clean sheet and the Colorado Rapids beat St. Louis City 3-0 on Wednesday night. It was the first hat trick for the Rapids since Gyasi Zardes secured one against Minnesota in August 2022. Mihailovic scored on a header, a left-footed shot and a penalty with his right foot. An unmarked Mihailovic was first to Sebastian Anderson’s long throw in that bounced in the box and he headed it in to open the scoring in the ninth minute. Mihailovic capitalized on another St. Louis mistake in the 60th when he intercepted a throw from goalkeeper Roman Bürki and slotted it home. Mihailovic sent Bürki the wrong way on a penalty kick.
Jonathan Rodriguez scored on a header in the 72nd minute and the Portland Timbers extended their unbeaten streak to five straight with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. Evander also scored for the Timbers (6-7-6). Earthquakes goalkeeper Jacob Jackson, making his first start of the season, failed to clear the ball and Evander took advantage, gaining control and scoring his eighth of the season in the 22nd minute. Paul Marie scored for the Earthquakes (3-13-2), who are winless in seven straight matches and sit in last place in the Western Conference.
Jamal Musiala scored his second goal of the tournament to help Germany beat Hungary 2-0 and book its spot in the European Championship knockout stage. Musiala opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a goal that was furiously protested by Hungary. İlkay Gündoğan had set that up and the Germany captain got on the scoresheet himself in the second half. The 21-year-old Musiala scored Germany’s second goal in the 5-1 opening victory over Scotland on Friday. Hungary lost 3-1 to Switzerland on Saturday and now faces an uphill challenge to advance. Hungary plays Scotland in the final group match Sunday when the host nation takes on Switzerland.
GOLF
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says the difficulty in finalizing a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf isn’t a reason for concern. Monahan says it is still a great opportunity for the tour. It’s been more than a year since the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announced a deal aimed at bringing peace to a sport torn apart by the departures of dozens of players for LIV Golf. The original deadline passed with no agreement. Monahan gave few specifics but said recent meetings have been very productive.
SWIMMING
Coming back from long layoffs, American swimming stars Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel had to settle for relay spots at the Olympics on Wednesday night. Dressel, the winner of five gold medals at the Tokyo Games, won’t get a chance to defend his 100-meter freestyle title in Paris after a third-place finish at the U.S. trials behind Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy. Manuel finished fourth in the women’s 100 freestyle, with potential breakout star Kate Douglass claiming the victory and Torri Huske the second spot. In perhaps the surest bet of the trials, Katie Ledecky claimed her third victory at Lucas Oil Stadium with another dominating performance in the 1,500 freestyle.
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Justin Lamkin gave Texas A&M a second straight sensational start, Caden Sorrell homered to break open the game and the Aggies beat Florida 6-0 to reach their first College World Series finals. The Aggies will play No. 1 national seed Tennessee in the best-of-three championship series starting Saturday. It will be an all-SEC final for the second straight year and third time in four. Hours after Florida had 14 hits and scored its third-most runs this season in a 15-4 win over Kentucky, the Gators managed just four hits and were shut out for the first time in 145 games.
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