MLB
Pinch-hitter Jesse Winker led off the ninth inning with his first home run for the New York Mets, giving them another rousing 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Mets starter Sean Manaea retired his first 17 batters and Mark Vientos put New York ahead 3-2 with a solo homer in the seventh. Francisco Lindor also went deep and J.D. Martinez drove in a run with a grounder to help the Mets take two of three in the series. Austin Slater had a two-run homer for the Orioles. In the series opener Monday night, it was Francisco Alvarez’s solo homer in the ninth that gave the Mets a 4-3 victory.
Aaron Judge homered twice and drove in three runs and Juan Soto hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in five to power the New York Yankees to an 8-1 rout over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night. Judge hit a two-run homer in the third and added a solo shot in the seventh, upping his major league-leading total to 47. Judge has six homers in his last nine games, 12 in his last 23 games and is on pace to hit 60 home runs. Judge had his fourth multi-homer game this season and it was the slugger’s 38th career multi-homer game.
Rookie Ceddanne Rafaela doubled twice with two RBIs and fellow rookie David Hamilton added a solo homer in the ninth inning to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros. Rafaela’s first double off Justin Verlander gave Boston a 2-1 lead in the second inning Wednesday. He drove in another run with a double with two outs in the seventh. Hamilton’s home run to right field off Seth Martinez made it 4-1 with two outs in the ninth.
Brandon Marsh’s tie-breaking pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night. The win pushed the Phillies’ lead in the National League East to seven games over the Braves, with five games remaining between the two teams in the regular season. Weston Wilson went 2 for 3 and scored the winning run in the eighth after leading off with a double. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner each had an RBI for the Phillies.
Wyatt Langford’s single scored pinch-runner Ezequiel Duran with two out in the ninth inning, giving the Texas Rangers a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jonah Heim and Adolis García singled off David Bednar (3-6) to open Texas’ half of the ninth. Duran, running for Heim, advanced to third on a flyout to deep right field by Nathaniel Lowe. Bednar struck out Josh Jung on a 3-2 fastball after García stole second base. Langford then laced an RBI single to center field. Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for the Rangers. The Pirates went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, left 10 runners on and struck out 16 times. They’ve lost three of their last four games.
Korey Lee hit a tiebreaking two-run single that highlighted a four-run ninth inning as the Chicago White Sox snapped a four-game skid with a 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi drew consecutive walks off Erik Miller (3-4) with one out in the ninth. After Andrew Vaughn reached on an infield single, Miller struck out Gavin Sheets. Then, Lee singled on a 2-2 fastball from Spencer Bivens, giving the White Sox a 4-2 lead. Lenyn Sosa followed with another two-run single to help seal the win. Fraser Ellard (1-1) retired three batters and earned the win.
Matt Wallner’s three-run homer highlighted a seven-run fourth inning as the Minnesota Twins beat the San Diego Padres 11-4. With the win, Minnesota snapped a three-game skid and avoided a sweep in San Diego. The Twins completed a seven-game trip at 4-3. The Padres lost for just the seventh time in 29 games. Jackson Merrill and Donovan Solano homered and Matt Waldron took the loss for the Padres.
Elly De La Cruz homered and became the fifth player since 1901 to have at least 20 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season and the Cincinnati Reds overcame a six-run deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-7 on Wednesday night. Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run, and Noelvi Marte and Jonathan India also connected as the Reds took two of three from Toronto. De La Cruz reached base four times. He stole third base in the fifth inning, his majors-leading 60th. De La Cruz added his 22nd homer, a solo shot off Zach Pop in the eighth. Toronto’s George Springer hit the 60th leadoff home run of his career.
Riley Greene, Trey Sweeney and Kerry Carpenter homered, helping the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs 8-2. Detroit won for the seventh time in nine games, bouncing back nicely after losing 3-1 to Chicago in the series opener on Tuesday. Greene, Sweeney and Carpenter were among seven left-handed batters in the Tigers’ starting lineup for the matchup with Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon. Brant Hurter (1-1), the second of five Detroit pitchers, worked 3 2/3 innings for his first win in his fourth major league appearance.
Max Muncy’s three-run double highlighted a five-run fifth inning, Shohei Ohtani stole his 39th base of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners 8-4. Ohtani is just one stolen base and one home run away from becoming the fastest player in major league history to reach 40-40. The Japanese superstar would be the first player in Dodgers history to do so. The Dodgers outscored the Mariners 17-6 while sweeping the three-game interleague series. Jack Flaherty got the win to improve to 10-5. Seattle's Logan Gilbert took the loss and had three wild pitches that led to runs. The reeling Mariners went 1-8 on their road trip to Detroit, Pittsburgh and LA.
Michael Lorenzen pitched seven shutout innings, MJ Melendez homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on Wednesday for their sixth win in seven games. The Royals spoiled the season debut of Johnny Cueto, a 17-year veteran who helped Kansas City win the 2015 World Series. He allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings and left the mound to an ovation from the Kansas City crowd. Lorenzen allowed four hits, two walks, a hit batter and struck out five. Lucas Erceg worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his sixth save and fourth with the Royals.
Jose Siri hit a late go-ahead homer for the second straight game, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Wednesday. Siri’s 423-foot, two-run blast to left in the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie. The center fielder had been hitless in 21 at-bats prior to driving in the lone run of the game in the Rays’ 1-0 win on Tuesday with an eighth-inning solo homer. He went 2 for 4 on Wednesday. The Rays have won five of six, while the A’s lost consecutive games for just the second time since the All-Star break.
Mitchell Parker gave up one run and five hits in seven innings, Luis García Jr. hit a three-run homer and the Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 6-1. James Wood had three hits for the Nationals, who had scored a total of 14 runs while losing five of their past six games. Keibert Ruiz and Andrés Chaparro had two hits each. Parker (7-7) walked one and struck out six while throwing 83 pitches. Brendan Rodgers and Brenton Doyle each had a double and a single for the Rockies, who had won three of four.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in four runs, including a go-ahead, pinch-hit three-run double in the seventh inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Miami Marlins 10-8. Jake McCarthy and Geraldo Perdomo homered for the Diamondbacks, who swept the three-game series and are a major league best 31-13 since July 1. Down 6-3, Arizona scored four against relievers Jesús Tinoco and Andrew Nardi (3-2). Josh Bell’s RBI single made it 6-4 before Gurriel cleared the bases with a drive to the wall in center field. Dylan Floro (5-3) got the last out in the sixth for the win, and Justin Martinez got the last five outs for his fifth save. Jake Burger hit his 25th homer for the Marlins, who have lost six of seven.
Nolan Arenado hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 10-6 comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Arenado’s fifth career walk-off homer and sixth career grand slam gave the Cardinals their second win in their last eight games and snapped the Brewers’ six-game winning streak. The Brewers led 6-4 after Joey Ortiz’s two-run double in the eighth inning. But the Cardinals capitalized on Devin Williams’ control issues. Williams hit Willson Contreras to start the ninth and St. Louis tied the game at 6-all with bases loaded walks to Matt Carpenter and Tommy Pham. Ryan Helsley (5-4) pitched a scoreless 10th for the win.
WNBA
Tina Charles became the second all-time leading scorer in WNBA history while posting 12 points and 17 rebounds, and the Atlanta Dream defeated the Phoenix Mercury 72-63. Allisha Gray had 21 points and Rhyne Howard 19 to lead the Dream, who won their season-best third straight. Charles, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft out of UConn, opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key that moved her past Tina Thompson. Charles' 7,491 points are more than 3,000 behind Diana Taurasi, who was held to a late 3-pointer in this game. Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 22 points.
Napheesa Collier scored 23 points, Courtney Williams added a season-high 22 and the Minnesota Lynx raced past the Las Vegas Aces 98-87. Minnesota scorched the two-time defending champions at home for the second time this season, winning its June game in Las Vegas 100-86. Jackie Young had 26 points, hitting 6 of 8 behind the arc, and Kelsey Plum had 20 for Las Vegas. A'ja Wilson had 15 with nine rebounds, ending her run of 20 and 10 at eight straight.
NFL
Pete Carroll is heading back to the University of Southern California as a teacher. Carroll told KJR-FM that he plans to teach a class at USC in the spring, and the university confirmed the championship-winning football coach’s return in some capacity. The details of Carroll’s role haven’t been determined. Carroll coached USC through the Trojans’ best stretch of the past half-century from 2001-2009. Carroll’s teams went 97-19 and won two national championships while reestablishing USC as a national power. He left USC in late 2009 for the Seattle Seahawks, coaching the NFL team to a 137-89 record and the franchise's only championship.
Rookie Bo Nix was informed Wednesday that he'd won the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback job. That means he'll be the 14th different player to start at quarterback for the Broncos since Peyton Manning retired in 2016. Nix was the 12th player and sixth quarterback selected in the 2024 NFL draft. He started 61 games at Auburn and Oregon, which is the most by a quarterback in NCAA history. Nix beat out incumbent Jarrett Stidham and trade acquisition Zach Wilson, whom the Broncos acquired from the New York Jets in April.
The final preseason game is an opportunity for players on the bubble to impress coaches and earn a roster spot before Tuesday’s deadline for cuts. Late-round draft picks and undrafted rookies benefit most from the playing time. While young players battle for roster spots this weekend, several veteran players are on edge because they could be on the way out. Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney, Eagles safety James Bradberry, Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe, Bills offensive lineman La'el Collins and safety Mike Edwards are among the established players who could be looking for a new team soon.
Deshaun Watson is dealing with what the Browns describe as “general arm soreness.” That development could impact whether Cleveland’s quarterback makes his preseason debut this week. The Browns stopped Watson from throwing during Wednesday’s practice. Coach Kevin Stefanski said he's not "overly concerned” by the soreness. Watson had shoulder surgery in November to repair a fracture that ended his second season with Cleveland after six starts. Stefanski has not decided if or how much Watson will play on Saturday when the Browns visit Seattle Seahawks. Also, Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. has been released from a hospital after suffering a rib injury in practice.
NBA
Al Attles, a Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador, has died. He was 87. The Warriors announced that Attles had died in his East Bay home on Tuesday surrounded by family. Nicknamed “The Destroyer” for his physical style of play, the Warriors were his love and his only team after they selected him in the fifth round of the 1960 draft. Attles was one of the NBA's first Black head coaches.
GOLF
Scottie Scheffler could have skipped the BMW Championship. He already is practically assured of the top seed going to the FedEx Cup finale this week. Castle Pines is not only at mile-high altitude south of Denver, it's new to 48 out of the 50 players in the field. But Scheffler is setting his sights on another trophy. He already has six of them this year, along with an Olympic gold medal. At stake for the other 50 players is making sure they get into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup and qualify for the season finale.
TENNIS
No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player Jannik Sinner will be playing in the U.S. Open — which begins in New York next week — even though word just emerged that he tested positive twice in March for a banned anabolic steroid. It’s a case that no one knew about until Tuesday and one that has drawn all sorts of questions — and, in some instances, criticism — from other players who wonder whether there was a double standard at play because of Sinner’s success, are confused about why this was all kept under wraps and want to know why Sinner was allowed to keep competing before there was a resolution.
How well do you know the U.S. Open? The year's last Grand Slam tennis tournament begins Monday on the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The AP has written a quiz to test your tennis knowledge. Who was the last player to win at least two titles in a row at the U.S. Open? Who was the last man to win a year's last three Grand Slam titles? When did the U.S. Tennis Association introduce equal prize money for men and women at the U.S. Open?
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The impact of the NCAA ruling granting an extra year of eligibility as a result of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season remains apparent four years later as players extend their college careers into their mid-20s. Hundreds of Football Bowl Subdivision players are in their sixth season of eligibility and dozens are in their seventh year or later. Miami tight end Cam McCormick is entering his ninth season of eligibility at the age of 26. No. 17 Oklahoma State has two seventh-year players in quarterback Alan Bowman and linebacker Justin Wright. Fourteen other Oklahoma State players are entering their sixth seasons.
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