Three games into his major league career, Nolan McLean has already accomplished something Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Jacob deGrom or anyone else wearing a New York Mets uniform could not. McLean became the first Mets pitcher to win his first three MLB starts, tossing eight marvelous innings in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that completed a three-game sweep. Facing the Phillies, who entered Wednesday with the second-best batting average in the majors, the 24-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and walked none with six strikeouts. He threw 95 pitches — just 55 through the first six innings.
Final N.Y. Yankees 11 Washington 2
Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer and Cody Bellinger homered on the next pitch as the New York Yankees went deep four times and scored nine runs in the third inning of an 11-2 rout of the Washington Nationals. Max Fried took a no-hit bid into the sixth before allowing three straight hits on Wednesday. He allowed one run and four hits in seven innings for his longest start since June 25. Judge hit a two-run homer in center field and Bellinger followed with a drive into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center. Ryan McMahon and Ben Rice also homered in the third.
Final Boston 3 Baltimore 2
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. After Baltimore's Keegan Akin worked out of a jam in the eighth to preserve a one-run lead, the left-hander couldn’t contain Boston in the ninth. Jarren Duran led off with a single and Rafaela followed with a towering fly that cleared the wall in left-center. Rookie Dylan Beavers scored a run and had an RBI for the Orioles.
Final Seattle 4 San Diego 3
Final Houston 4 Colorado 0
Final Cleveland 4 Tampa Bay 3
Final Toronto 9 Minnesota 8
Final Kansas City 12 White Sox 1
Final Texas 20 L.A. Angels 3
Final Athletics 7 Detroit 0
Final Atlanta 12 Miami 1
Final Pittsburgh 2 St. Louis 1
Final Arizona 3 Milwaukee 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 Cincinnati 1
Shohei Ohtani’s reliance on his fastball caught up with him recently, making the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar intent on changing his pitch mix. He had given up a combined nine runs and 14 hits in his two previous outings, a pair of Dodgers losses to the Los Angeles Angels, his former team, and the Colorado Rockies. Making his 11th start as he returns from elbow surgery two years ago, Ohtani struck out a season-high nine over five innings in a 5-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds for his first win on the mound with the Dodgers. His previous pitching win came on Aug. 9, 2023, with the Angels against San Francisco.
Final San Francisco 12 Chicago Cubs 3
Major League Baseball's hitters are starting to win a few more battles against their hard-throwing pitcher counterparts. Hits could outpace strikeouts in big league games for the first time since 2017. MLB teams are averaging exactly 8.28 hits and strikeouts per game through Aug. 26 and league-wide batting average is up slightly to .246. Managers and players said hitters are starting to adjust in the face of increased velocity, coming to the plate with a better two-strike approach. Technology has also played a factor, with new pitching machines better able to mimic the high-speed, high-spin deliveries.
US OPEN
Carlos Alcaraz’s accidental buzz cut is moving on at the U.S. Open thanks to an easy-as-can-be victory in the second round. It came a year after he lost at that stage in the Grand Slam tournament. The No. 2-seeded Alcaraz — who shaved his head after his brother messed up his hair — needed a little more than 1 1/2 hours to beat 65th-ranked Mattia Bellucci of Italy 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday night under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Alcaraz never faced a break point and accumulated a 32-11 advantage in winners.
Novak Djokovic says he is trying to solve riddles in his game at the U.S. Open. Even after dropping an opening set on Wednesday, Djokovic progressed to the third round. He improved to 36-0 across the first and second rounds in New York, a place he’s won four championships, by coming back to beat 145th-ranked American qualifier Zachary Svajda SVEYE DUH (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. This was Djokovic's first tournament anywhere since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals last month. Winners included both of last year’s runners-up — Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz — and 2021 champion Emma Raducanu. No. 12 seed Casper Ruud, the 2022 runner-up, lost to Raphael Collignon Ra-fa-el Co-li-nyon.
U.S. Open opponents Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko YUH·LAY·NUH AA·STUH·PENG·KOW got into a face-to-face argument on the Court 11 sideline right after their second-round match ended. Townsend said Wednesday that Ostapenko told her she has no class and no education. Townsend, who is from Chicago, was a 7-5, 6-1 winner against 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, who is from Latvia. After the two players met at the net for a postmatch handshake, they stayed near each other instead of going their separate ways, as players usually do. Ostapenko wagged a finger at Townsend as they spoke.
Daniil Medvedev has been fined $42,500 by the U.S. Open for his meltdown during a first-round loss after a photographer wandered onto the court during the match. That is more than a third of Medvedev's $110,000 tournament prize money. Tournament referee Jake Garner docked Medvedev on Wednesday $30,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and another $12,500 for racket abuse. When the match ended, Medvedev repeatedly smacked a racket against his sideline chair, destroying the equipment. Medvedev is a former No. 1-ranked player who won the championship at Flushing Meadows in 2021. He was angered on Sunday night when chair umpire Greg Allensworth decided to allow opponent Benjamin Bonzi another first serve after the bizarre interruption.
WNBA
Final Connecticut 101 Dallas 95
Leila Lacan had 22 points, Marina Mabrey scored 18 points, including two key free throws with 16.6 seconds left, and the Connecticut Sun beat the Dallas Wings 101-95 for their highest scoring game this season. Dallas played without No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers, who was a late scratch from the lineup due to an illness. Aziaha James led Dallas (9-30) with 22 points. Myisha Hines-Allen scored a career-high 18 points and Maddy Siegrist added 15 points. Tina Charles also scored 18 points for Connecticut, (10-28) which won on the road for just fourth time this season in 20 tries.
Final Las Vegas 81 Atlanta 75
NFL
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The suspension follows his guilty plea to two third-degree felony charges related to a March 2024 crash in Dallas. The NFL’s decision comes after an internal investigation and voids a scheduled hearing. Rice will miss several high-profile games, including the season opener against the Chargers in Brazil and a Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles. He will be eligible to return on Oct. 19 when Kansas City faces the Raiders.
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone says two-way star and new father Travis Hunter is “rolling full speed” after missing the final two games of the preseason with an upper-body injury. Gladstone says the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and the second pick in the NFL draft in April is good to go for the season opener against Carolina. The Jaguars have been taking a cautious approach with Hunter. He was injured during a scrimmage two weeks ago and sat out exhibitions against New Orleans and Miami. He posted a video titled “Dear Son” late Wednesday announcing the birth of his first child with wife Leanna Hunter.
The Minnesota Vikings have reacquired veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen from the Carolina Panthers. The Vikings traded draft picks for Thielen, who has the third-most catches in franchise history. The team needed more depth after losing Rondale Moore to a season-ending knee injury and Jordan Addison to a three-game suspension. Thielen is a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He became a success story after starting in 2013 as an undrafted player. He made two Pro Bowls with the Vikings. The 35-year-old still lives in Minnesota and has worked out with new Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy over the past two summers.
RYDER CUP
U.S. captain Keegan Bradley decided the best way to win back the Ryder Cup was to leave his golf clubs at home. Bradley filled out his 12-man roster Wednesday with six captain’s picks that did not include himself. He had considered becoming the first playing captain of the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963 at East Lake. Instead, Bradley went with a pair of Ryder Cup rookies in New York native Cameron Young and Ben Griffin, who finished at No. 9 in the standings. Joining them as picks will be Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay. That gives the Americans four Ryder Cup rookies for the Sept. 26-28 matches against Europe at Bethpage Black on New York's Long Island.
SOCCER
Lionel Messi scored twice in his return and Inter Miami beat Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night to advance to the Leagues Cup Final. Inter Miami will be on the road to face the Seattle winner in the final Sunday. The Sounders beat the LA Galaxy 2-0 on the road later Wednesday. Messi was back for the second time in two weeks after a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Marco Pašalić opened the scoring for Orlando just before halftime. Messi tied it in the 77th, converting from the penalty spot after Tadeo Allende was pulled down in the box. It was more Messi magic in the 88th when he combined with Jordi Alba to put Miami ahead.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
