WIMBLEDON
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner has been beaten in the Wimbledon quarterfinals by Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3. The fifth-seeded Medvedev's victory Tuesday moved him into a semifinal against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. They also met in the final four at the All England Club last year, and Alcaraz won that one. Alcaraz advanced Tuesday by eliminating Tommy Paul 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Sinner was treated by a trainer in the third set against Medvedev. It was not immediately clear what was wrong with the 22-year-old from Italy. Medvedev won the 2021 U.S. Open.
MLB
All-Star Isaac Paredes hit a three-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays held on to beat struggling AL East rival New York 5-3 — the Yankees’ 17th loss in 23 games. Paredes went deep during a four-run first inning against left-hander Carlos Rodón. Right-hander Ryan Pepiot limited one of baseball’s best offenses to one run and four hits over 5 2/3 innings, and Tampa Bay won despite only having two hits after the third inning. The Yankees got the potential tying run to the plate with one out in the ninth, but reliever Pete Fairbanks struck out Ben Rice and retired Juan Soto on a fly ball to end the game.
Jose Quintana permitted one hit over seven shutout innings, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor both homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 7-5. Harrison Bader had three hits and scored twice for the Mets, who moved back to .500 at 45-45. Lindor also had three hits and scored two runs. Keibert Ruiz and pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas each had a two-run homer in the late innings for Washington. Edwin Díaz struck out All-Star CJ Abrams for his ninth save in 14 opportunities.
Brayan Bello fanned a career-high 11 batters to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 12-9. Bello got each of his first 10 outs by strikeout. Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith homered on back-to-back pitches in Boston's eight-run second inning. Rafael Devers had two hits and a walk while driving in three runs and scoring twice. The Red Sox earned their seventh win in eight games and improved to a season-high 10 games over .500.
Trea Turner hit his sixth career grand slam, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh went deep and the Philadelphia Phillies welcomed back Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber from injuries with a 10-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies lost ace Zack Wheeler on a steamy night with left low back tightness after five innings. Wheeler won his 10th game of the season. He joined Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez as a trio of Phillies pitchers with 10 wins before the All-Star break. The Phillies scored six runs in the fourth inning to win the opener of the three-game series. Cavan Biggio homered for LA.
Michael Busch and Ian Happ homered, and Jameson Taillon and three relievers combined for a five-hitter as the Chicago Cubs beat the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles 9-2. Taillon (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits with seven strikeouts and a walk over six innings. The 32-year-old right-hander retired the last 11 batters he faced. The Cubs improved to 10-4 against the Orioles since 2014, and have won four of the last five games since Aug. 18, 2022. Rookie Jordan Westburg hit his 15th home run of the season for Baltimore, which lost for the fourth time in 12 games.
Alex Bregman had three RBIs and his tiebreaking two-run home run in the seventh inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 4-3 win over the Miami Marlins Tuesday night. The game was tied at 2-2 with one out in the seventh when Chas McCormick reached on a throwing error by rookie shortstop Xavier Edwards. There were two outs in the inning when Bregman sent an off-speed pitch from Huascar Brazobán (1-2) into the seats in left field to make it 4-2. The victory is Houston’s seventh straight at home and comes after the Astros dropped the final two games of a series at Minnesota this weekend.
Brett Wisely hit a tying RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and Tyler Fitzgerald scored the winning run moments later on a wild pitch by Trevor Richards, rallying the San Francisco Giants past the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3. Richards allowed Patrick Bailey’s single and walked Fitzgerald to put the tying and go-ahead runs aboard in the ninth before Wisely’s single got through between first and second. Yusei Kikuchi struck out a career-high 13 pitching into the eighth inning and Ernie Clement’s three-run homer in the seventh put the Blue Jays in good position.
Julio Rodríguez went 4 for 4 with a 411-foot home run into the second deck in left field, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer from each side of the plate and All-Star Logan Gilbert was brilliant for the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners, who beat the San Diego Padres 8-3. Rodríguez also drove in two runs and scored three times in his biggest game of the year. The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year has been in a slump since mid-June, although he homered and doubled in a 7-3 win against Baltimore on Thursday. That homer was his first since June 15.
José Ramírez became the second player to get intentionally walked three times and have three hits in a game since Major League Baseball began tracking free passes in 1955 as the Cleveland Guardians held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 9-8 in 10 innings Tuesday night. Josh Naylor hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th for his fourth RBI and Brayan Rocchio added a sacrifice fly in the extra inning for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who blew a 6-0 lead early in the game. Scott Barlow pitched the ninth for the win and Emmanuel Clase closed the game for his 28th save in 31 chances.
Adolis García broke out of a 1-for-19 slump with a solo homer in the eighth inning and the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high five games, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 5-4. The Angels lost for the eighth time in nine games despite two homers and three hits from Logan O’Hoppe. García was batting .115 in July (3 for 26) before he drove a sinker from Luis García into the elevated stands in right-center. Josh Smith, a surprise omission off the All-Star Game roster, had three hits, including a home run in the first inning.
Will Benson hit a three-run homer in a five-run second inning, rookie Rece Hinds crushed a 458-foot shot and the Cincinnati Reds cruised to a 12-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. The 23-year-old Hinds hit a long homer for the second time in as many nights. He had a 421-foot shot in his major league debut on Monday, before teeing off on Colorado reliever Justin Lawrence as part of a four-run Cincinnati seventh. He came up a single short of hitting for the cycle. Tyler Stephenson and Spencer Steer also homered.
Joey Bart hit a grand slam and the Pittsburgh Pirates scored six runs in the sixth inning to storm past the Milwaukee Brewers 12-2. All-Star Bryan Reynolds, Rowdy Tellez, Jack Suwinski and Joshua Palacios also homered for the Pirates, who won in Milwaukee for just the 12th time in 42 games since 2019. The five home runs were a season-high off Brewers pitching. Quinn Priester (1-5) pitched six innings in relief to get the win, giving up one earned run and four hits with eight strikeouts.
Chris Sale outdueled Zac Gallen with 5 1/3 solid innings, Adam Duvall hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 for their fourth straight win. Duvall connected for his three-run shot in the sixth, extending Atlanta’s lead to 5-0. The 441-foot homer was launched deep into the left field seats, ending Gallen’s night in frustration. It was a good moment in a tough season for Duvall, who came into the game hitting just .184 with seven homers. Sale gave up two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out nine.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was formally charged by prosecutors in the Dominican Republic with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. The prosecutors decided to press charges four days after the initial deadline expired on July 5, six months after a judge ordered that Franco be investigated in connection with sexual and psychological abuse of the minor. The attorney general’s office spokesperson Nairobi Viloria confirmed to The Associated Press that the prosecutors presented before a judge the final and formal accusation, but she declined to provide further details.
WNBA
Bridget Carleton scored 16 points, Dorka Juhasz added 15 and the short-handed Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 82-67. Minnesota has won seven straight games in Los Angeles and 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Sparks overall. Minnesota took control early by making 11 of its first 16 shots, with points from nine different players, while Los Angeles was 3 of 12 from the field. The Lynx led 51-35 at halftime after shooting 54%, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Alissa Pili gave Minnesota a 25-point lead, 70-45, late in the third quarter. Kayla McBride and Cecilia Zandalasini each scored 11 points for Minnesota. Carleton made all four of her 3-point attempts to help Minnesota go 9 for 18, while Los Angeles was 3 for 20.
Caitlin Clark leads Angel Reese in the race for WNBA Rookie of the Year honors at the midpoint of the season, according to a national panel of voters who also rank the AP Power Poll each week. The duo have garnered national headlines with record-setting rookie seasons so it's no surprise that they're the leading candidates for the award. Clark is leading the WNBA in points accounted for (points plus points off assists) with 713 according to ESPN. Reese set the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles with 13 and leads the league in rebounding with 11.9 a game. The panel also unanimously voted Las Vegas forward A’ja Wilson as the Player of the Year at the halfway point and Cheryl Reeves as Coach of the Year.
COPA AMERICA
Lionel Messi scored his 109th international goal and first of the tournament, leading defending champion Argentina over Canada 2-0 and into the Copa America final. Julián Álvarez put the Albiceleste ahead in the 22nd minute and Messi redirected Enzo Fernández’s shot in off the face of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau in the 51st. Messi has 28 goals in his last 25 matches for Argentina and 14 in Copa America play. Only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with 130 has more international goals than Messi. Argentina plays Uruguay or Colombia for the title on Sunday at Miami Gardens, Florida.
Lionel Messi plans to keep playing for Argentina beyond Sunday’s Copa America final. Speaking after Canada's 2-0 win over Canada, Messi says: “I intend to continue” and adds ”I intend to keep living day by day without thinking about what will come in the future or whether I’ll continue or not. It’s something I just live each day. I’m 37 years and only God knows when the end will be.” Messi scored his 109th international goal, his first in this year’s tournament. It was his 14th in Copa America play, three shy of the record.
EURO 2024
Spain has reached the European Championship final with a 2-1 victory over France with 16-year-old Lamine Yamal becoming the youngest-ever scorer in the history of the tournament. France took an early lead when Randal Kolo Muani headed in a cross from Kylian Mbappé, who played without a mask, before Yamal’s moment of brilliance in the 21st minute. Dani Olmo scored what was to prove the winner four minutes later. Spain, which is chasing a record fourth European Championship title, will play England or the Netherlands in the final on Sunday in Berlin.
Even without the mask Kylian Mbappé was outclassed by a 16-year-old wonderkid at Euro 2024. Mbappé ditched the vision-restricting mask that he had been wearing since breaking his nose in France’s opening match but Les Bleus fell to a 2-1 loss to Spain in the semifinals as Lamine Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship. Yamal is heading to the Euro 2024 final on Sunday, the day after his 17th birthday, while Mbappé will be on holiday before joining new team Real Madrid. The France superstar should have scored and sent the match into extra time but blasted a great chance over the bar with four minutes remaining.
OLYMPICS
Russia’s war on Ukraine is demolishing the seeds of a sports culture that was a European powerhouse. It takes a decade and a national infrastructure of training facilities, feeder schools, equipment, and coaches to nurture an Olympic champion, and a process that begins in early childhood ends up winnowing out most contenders long before they reach the Games. More than 500 sports facilities were damaged or occupied by Moscow’s troops, depriving young athletes of a place to train. Practices are frequently interrupted by air raid alarms that can last hours. Some children who left early in the war haven’t returned. And the war means some children may never even begin to discover their potential.
CAR RACING
John Force is moving to a rehabilitation center closer to his home in California and the NHRA great was able to celebrate by leaving his Virginia hospital room to take his daughter for ice cream on her birthday. Force suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fiery, 300-mph crash at the Virginia Nationals last month. The 75-year-old was first in neurological intensive care and then moved into acute neuro care at the Virginia hospital. Among his other injuries is a fractured sternum. Force’s car had a catastrophic engine failure at the finish line and his dragster slammed driver-side into the left concrete guard wall and then careened back into the right wall.
NBA
Klay Thompson believes he could be the missing piece for the Dallas Mavericks after leaving his longtime NBA home in Golden State. Thompson is joining young superstar Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving after they led the Mavs to the NBA Finals. Dallas lost to Boston in five games. Thompson is a four-time champion after spending his first 13 seasons with the Warriors. The Mavs appeared to need a more dangerous third scoring option even as they advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since winning the franchise's only title in 2011.
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