The downside of the Tampa Bay Lightning's high-powered offense is that it overshadows their excellent defense. It was the defense that allowed them to clinch their second consecutive Stanley Cup in a Game 5 win over the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0. Conn Smythe Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy needed to make just 22 saves in his fifth shutout of the postseason, giving him a 1.90 goals-against average. He's the first netminder in NHL history to record shutouts in five consecutive series clinchers. Vasilevskiy remains undefeated in games after a loss over the past two playoffs. The lone goal was provided by Ross Colton in the second period off a feed from defenseman David Savard. Neither player was with the Bolts for last year's Cup run. Nikita Kucherov had 32 points to join Mario Lemieux as the only players to lead the postseason in scoring two years in a row. Carey Price stopped 29 shots for the Canadiens, whose team-record Cup drought will enter its 29th consecutive year.
MLB
Jacob deGrom's ERA climbed over 1.00 for the first time all season, but the Mets rallied for two runs in the eighth inning to beat the Brewers, 4-3 in Game 1 of a twinbill. DeGrom struck out 10 and allowed four hits over seven innings, including solo homers by Luis Urias and Jace Peterson. Jose José Peraza tied it with a homer in the seventh and Jeff McNeil won it with a two-run single for the NL East leaders. Milwaukee won the second game 5-0 behind two-run homers by Manny Pina and Urías along with Willy Adames' solo shot. Urías has 12 homers already this season after hitting none last year. Jake Cousins got his first big league win in the second game by pitching a perfect fifth in relief of starter Brett Anderson, who threw four innings for the NL Central leaders.
Elsewhere in baseball:
Aaron Judge capped the Yankees' early offensive outburst against All-Star Yusei Kikuchi with his 20th home run of the season before New York hung on to beat the Mariners, 5-4. Judge's two-run shot landed in the second deck of the left field seats and gave the Yanks a 5-1 lead. Seattle's Tom Murphy belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning, his first round-tripper since June 1.
Shohei Ohtani broke the single-season big league record for home runs by a Japanese-born player, slamming his 32nd in the Angels' 5-4 victory over the Red Sox. Ohtani broke Hideki Matsui's record with his 433-foot shot to right off Eduardo Rodríguez, putting the Angels ahead to stay in the fifth inning. Fellow All-Star Jared Walsh homered twice for the Angels, who won for the sixth time in seven games and took two of three from the AL East leaders.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. raised his major league-leading RBI total to 73 by providing three hits and driving in two runs in the Blue Jays' 10-2 blowout over the Orioles. Bo Bichette drove in three runs and had three hits, including a two-run drive into the left-field seats. Matt Harvey was tagged for six runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings, leaving him 0-9 in 12 starts since May 1.
The Cubs' 11-game losing streak is over after Anthony Rizzo, Joc Pederson and Nico Hoerner each had two hits and an RBI in their 8-3 trouncing of the Phillies. Patrick Wisdom added a two-run double in Chicago's three-run sixth inning after replacing third baseman Kris Bryant, who left in the fourth with right hamstring tightness. The Cubs raced to an early five-run lead off Zack Wheeler and avoided matching their longest skid since a 12-game slide in May 2012.
All-Star Juan Soto smacked a three-run shot just three batters into the Nationals' 15-5 assault on the Padres. Starling Castro and Josh Bell drove in three runs apiece, while Bell and Harrison each provided three of the Nationals' 17 hits. San Diego's Chris Paddack was rocked for eight earned runs over two-plus innings.
The Tampa Bay Rays completed a doubleheader sweep by tossing a combined no-hitter that won't count. Five pitchers worked on the seven-inning gem, with Pete Fairbanks recording the final out in a 4-0, 7-inning victory over the scuffling Indians. However, Major League Baseball only recognizes no-hitters that go at least nine innings. Oscar Mercado was one of the Indians' three baserunners in the nightcap when Josh Fleming and Wander Franco collided on a third-inning grounder. Originally ruled a hit, it was changed to an error an inning later. In Game 1, Kevin Kiermaier provided a two-run double and a three-run homer to finish with a career-high five RBIs in Tampa Bay's 8-1 rout. Winning pitcher Michael Wacha allowed one run, four hits and struck out six in six innings. Cleveland has dropped nine in a row, its longest skid under manager Terry Francona.
Lance Lynn is 9-3 after the All-Star allowed one run and four hits over six innings of the White Sox's 6-1 win over the Twins. Tim Anderson and Leury Garcia led Chicago's 15-hit attack on a day the White Sox cut outfielder Adam Eaton. Anderson had four hits and Garcia delivered a two-run homer, along with an RBI triple that helped the Sox improve to 10-2 versus the Twins this season.
Miguel Cabrera had a go-ahead RBI infield single as a pinch-hitter in the Tigers' 5-3 win at Texas. Jeimer Candelario hit a solo homer for Detroit, which tagged All-Star Kyle Gibson to five runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. Joey Gallo homered twice to become the first Rangers player ever with 10 in a 10-game stretch.
Jose Altuve slammed a three-run homer, but the Astros needed Kyle Tucker's tiebreaking solo shot in the seventh to beat the Athletics, 4-3. Altuve's home run gave the Astros the lead in the third, but the A's scored two in the sixth to tie it before Houston earned its sixth straight win and moved 5 1/2 games ahead of second-place Oakland in the AL West. The A's lost for the fifth time in six games despite solo homers from Matt Olson and Elvis Andrus.
Pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte had a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning and added a two-run home run as the Braves clobbered the Pirates, 14-3 to avoid a series sweep. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his 24th home run for the Braves while going 3 for 5. Drew Smyly overcame a three-run home run by Jacob Stallings in the first inning to win his fifth straight start.
The Reds rallied for three runs in the seventh inning and beat the Royals, 5-2. Jonathan India hit a two-run double that put Cincinnati ahead for good. Sonny Gray picked up his first win in four starts by allowing just two runs and scattering seven hits over seven innings.
The Marlins pulled out a 9-6 win over the Dodgers on Jesús Aguilar's three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Garrett Cooper had his first career multi-homer game for Miami with solo shots in the first and sixth. Zack McKinstry hit a one-out solo homer in the ninth to tie it before L.A. dropped its third in a row.
Alex Wood pitched seven innings of three-hit ball as the Giants downed the Cardinals, 5-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Darin Ruf homered for San Francisco, which also received RBI doubles from Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano. The Giants had lost six of nine but still owns the best record in the majors at 54-32 with three games left before the All-Star break.
Eduardo Escobar had a three-run homer among his three hits to push the Diamondbacks past the Rockies, 6-4. Escobar's team-leading 19th home run broke open a 3-1 game in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Diamondbacks own the majors' worst record at 25-63 despite winning back-to-back games for the first time since mid May.
In MLB news:
Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw has been placed on the 10-day injured list by the Dodgers because of left elbow inflammation. Kershaw is 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA in 106 innings this season. The 33-year-old left-hander is tied for the NL lead in starts with 18. Also in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have canceled Trevor Bauer's bobblehead night and pulled his merchandise from their team stores. The decision comes in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct against the Cy Young Award-winning pitcher. Fans at Dodger Stadium had been scheduled to get their first bobblehead doll of Bauer on Aug. 19.
Oakland closer Trevor Rosenthal will have season-ending surgery for a torn hip labrum. Rosenthal signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Athletics this offseason but hasn't played all year after having thoracic outlet surgery in April.
Nationals outfielder Juan Soto is joining Monday's All-Star Home Run Derby at Denver's Coors Field. The first-time All-Star has 11 home runs, including last night's blast.
TENNIS
A potential Wimbledon men's final between 19-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and 20-time Major champion Roger Federer has gone off the rails. The seventh-seeded Federer was bounced from the tournament in straight sets, losing to 24-year-old Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. The 14th-seeded Hurkacz had not made it past the third round at any major tournament until this one. The eight-time Wimbledon champion said afterward that he isn't sure he'll compete at the All England Club again. The 39-year-old Federer has played in 22 Wimbledons and remains tied with Rafael Nadal for the most career grand slams Djokovic remains on course for a sixth Wimbledon title after knocking out unseeded Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The Serbian is attempting to become the first player since Rod Lever in 1969 to win all four slams in a calendar year. Djokovic will face Denis Shapovalov, who reached his first Grand Slam semifinal by edging No. 25 Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4. Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian man in 61 years to reach the Wimbledon semifinals by beating seventh-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
SOCCER
Romell Quioto and Mason Toye each scored a goal to help Montreal beat New York City FC 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. Montreal (5-3-4) is unbeaten, with three wins, in its last five games. Quioto ran onto a through ball played by Djordje Mihailovic and beat goalkeeper Luis Barraza, who came off his line, for an empty-net goal to give Montreal a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute. NYCFC (5-4-2) went into the game having with just one loss in 11 all-time matches against Montreal and had its nine-game unbeaten streak — dating to Aug. 1, 2015 — in the series snapped.
Also Wednesday:
Yeferson Soteldo, Kemar Lawrence and Tsubasa Endoh scored in the first half and Toronto FC snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the New England Revolution on Wednesday night. Assistant coach Javier Perez directed Toronto after first-year coach Chris Armas was fired following a 7-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday. Carles Gil and Adam Buksa scored for New England. The start was delayed nearly 90 minutes because of lightning.
It will be England taking on Italy for the European Championship on Sunday. Harry Kane scored in the 104th minute to give England a 2-1 victory over Denmark in the semifinals. Kane's penalty kick was saved by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, but the forward scored off the rebound. The English have lost in the semifinals four times in either the World Cup or the European Championship since capturing the 1966 World Cup. Denmark played the second half of extra time with 10 men because substitute Mathias Jensen came off injured and the team couldn't make anymore changes. England had to rally for the victory after conceding a goal for the first time at Euro 2020. Mikkel Damsgaard scored with a free kick in the 30th minute, but England tied it nine minutes later on an own-goal.
NBA
Phoenix Suns forward Dario Saric will miss the rest of the NBA Finals and then some. Saric tore the ACL in his right knee during the first quarter of Game 1 on Tuesday night. The team confirmed the severity of the injury on Wednesday. Saric's right knee appeared to buckle when he landed on a jump stop while trying to score against Milwaukee's Brook Lopez. Shortly afterward, he limped off the court and into the locker room. The 6-foot-10 Saric is one of the team's main contributors off the bench, averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in about 11 minues per game. The team has relatively thin depth in the frontcourt and turned to Torrey Craig and Frank Kaminsky to fill most of Saric's minutes in the 118-105 victory in Game 1.
COLLEGE SPORTS
A Florida business owned by a longtime Miami Hurricanes football fan has committed to a large financial deal for players to profit from use of their name, image and likeness. American Top Team is a chain of mixed martial arts gyms that is offering a $500 monthly contract to Miami's 90 scholarship players for advertising the gyms on social media. Owner Dan Lambert has also started a marketing company designed to connect local businesses with Miami players to allow them to take advantage of the NCAA's recent move to allow college athletes to cash in on their fame. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers are the first NHL team, and they believe the first U.S. major pro sports team, to establish an opportunity for college athletes to align with them as part of recent rule changes. Florida has begun the process of gauging interest from athletes who attend college nearest to where the Panthers play, primarily meaning Miami and Florida Atlantic.
GOLF
Former Masters and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera has been sentenced in Argentina to two years in prison on assault charges against his former partner. The 51-year-old Cabrera was convicted of assaulting, threatening and harassing Cecilia Torres Mana, his partner between 2016 and 2018. Cabrera denied in the trial any wrongdoing and will serve his sentence immediately.
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