The Washington Nationals were able to wrap up a disturbing weekend by splitting two with the Padres on Sunday. Alcides Escobar homered in the eighth inning and hit a game-ending single in the ninth to give the Nats an 8-7 win against San Diego. Washington blew a 4-0 lead and trailed 6-4 following Manny Machado's seventh-inning blast. Escobar's round-tripper and Juan Soto's two-run homer put the Nationals ahead 7-6, only to have Brad Hand surrender an RBI single by Trent Grisham with two out in the ninth. Escobar's final hit ended Washington's six-game losing streak and came a day after a game with the Padres had to be suspended following a shooting outside Nationals Park. The Padres took the suspended game by a 10-4 margin after four San Diego relievers combined to toss four scoreless innings. The Metropolitan Police Department says three people were injured in the Saturday shooting, which was an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars. Police say they don’t believe the ballpark or fans were a target.
Elsewhere in the majors:
The Yankees blew past the Red Sox, 9-1 as Gleyber Torres and Rougned Odor homered to back another strong start from Jameson Taillon. Taillon pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of four-hit ball in his 100th major league start, improving to 4-0 in his past five outings. The Yankees won their second straight against rival Boston after dropping the first seven meetings this year.
The Mets avoided a three-game sweep by storming back from a 6-0, first-inning deficit to beat the Pirates, 7-6. Michael Conforto crushed a two-run homer in the ninth to end New York's three-game skid, all against the last-place Bucs. Pinch-hitter Travis Blankhorn got the Mets within 6-4 with a three-run blast in the fourth, his first major league homer.
J.T. Realmuto had a big day at the plate, following a two-run walk-off homer in the completion of Saturday's suspended game with a 3-for-5 performance and two RBIs as the Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 7-4. Realmuto's two-run 10th-inning homer gave the Phillies a 4-2 win in the suspended game. Andrew McCutchen and Didi Gregorius also homered in Sunday's scheduled game for the Phillies, who rallied from a 4-2 deficit to win for the 10th time in 14 games.
The Blue Jays began a doubleheader sweep with a 5-0 shutout of the Rangers. Hyun Jin Ryu threw a three-hitter for his third career shutout and Danny Jansen homered. Toronto combined its double-shutout in a twinbill and became the first team to blank Texas twice in the same day since the franchise moved from Washington 50 years ago. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. launched a first-inning grand slam and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged his 31st homer of the season as part of the Blue Jays' 10-0 assault on the Rangers. George Springer and Randal Grichuk also went deep to back Steven Matz, who combined with two relievers on a three-hitter.
The Rockies pulled out a 6-5 win over the Dodgers on Charlie Blackmon's solo homer in Colorado's two-run 10th. Trevor Story hit a tying sacrifice fly and Blackmon followed with a drive to right. Will Smith and Justin Turner each homered for the Dodgers, who remain one game behind the NL West-leading Giants.
Harrison Bader's check-swing single went off the glove of first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr., bringing home the deciding run in the seventh inning of the Cardinals' 2-1 downing of San Francisco. Paul DeJong homered for the Cardinals and Matt Carpenter sparked the go-ahead rally with a double. Darin Ruf homered for the Giants, who dropped two of three in each series with the Redbirds this season.
The Brewers complete a three-game sweep and stretch their lead in the NL Central to seven games by slamming the second-place Reds, 8-0. Corbin Burnes struck out 12 while allowing five hits and a walk over 8 1/3 innings. He didn't allow a runner past first until the Reds loaded the bases in the ninth. Christian Yelich hit a solo homer in the seventh and Willy Adames added a two-run shot in the ninth.
Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run homer and the Diamondbacks avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-4 win over the Cubs. Merrill Kelly needed just 75 pitches to navigate the Cubs' lineup through eight innings and threw 59 strikes. He was helped by two spectacular catches by Kole Calhoun and was pulled after allowing back-to-back hits to start the ninth.
Yandy Diaz homered during a four-run seventh that sent the Rays past the Braves, 7-5. The Rays trailed 3-0 after four innings and 4-3 before completing their 28th come-from-behind win. Kevin Kiermaier doubled home the tying run and Austin Meadows lifted a sacrifice fly that put Tampa Bay ahead in the rubber match of the three-game set.
The White Sox won for the seventh time in eight games as Carlos Rodon allowed one hit over seven innings of a 4-0 shutout of the Astros. Abraham Toro's third-inning single was the only hit off Rodón and accounted for Houston's only baserunner. Yoán Moncada and Tim Anderson hit solo homers, for the White Sox, who took the last two games of the series after dropping their first five meetings with the Astros.
Bradley Zimmer had three hits, including a home run on All-Star Chris Bassitt's first pitch to set the tone in the Indians' fifth win in six games, 4-2 at Oakland. Daniel Johnson connected for his first career home run and made a sparkling defensive play to help Cleveland take the rubber match of the three-game set. Zach Plesac pitched six strong innings to win in his second start since breaking his right thumb while taking off his jersey in late May.
The Mariners overcame Shohei Ohtani's major league-leading 34th home run to beat the Angels, 7-4. Ty France hit a three-run homer, Luis Torrens added a home run and Logan Gilbert struck out a career-high nine in Seattle's fifth win in seven games. Angels second baseman David Fletcher went 0-for-5 to end his 26-game hitting streak, the second longest in team history.
Jeimer Candelario homered, drove in three runs and started two double plays as the Tigers dumped the Twins, 7-0 for a three-game sweep. Wily Peralta (3-1) pitched seven shutout innings for the second time in three starts, allowing four hits and four walks while striking out four. Minnesota swept a four-game series at home immediately before the All-Star break before losing three in Detroit.
The Orioles earned a 5-0 win over the Royals as Matt Harvey ended his nine-game losing skid with his best performance in years. The former All-Star allowed just three singles, walked one and struck out two against his former team. This was the first time since September 2018 that Harvey pitched at least six innings and didn't allow a run.
In MLB news:
The New York Mets are putting pitcher Jacob deGrom on the 10-day injured list with right forearm tightness. The right-hander first experienced the tightness before the All-Star Game and determined on Friday that he would be unable to make his scheduled start on Sunday at Pittsburgh. DeGrom underwent an MRI on Friday that confirmed the issue is in his forearm and that there is no structural damage to his elbow. DeGrom has also battled through back, lat and shoulder injuries this season, but has maintained a major league-best 1.08 ERA.
The fan who hit Red Sox left fielder Alex Verdugo with a baseball thrown from the Yankee Stadium stands has been banned for life from attending big league games. Red Sox manager Alex Cora briefly pulled his team off the field in the sixth inning Saturday night after Verdugo was struck in the back by a ball thrown from the left-field seats.
GOLF
Whether it's beginner's luck or just solid play, Collin Morikawa has set himself apart in golf history. The 24-year-old Morikawa is the first golfer to win two different majors in his first attempt after rallying to capture the British Open at Royal St. George's. He began the day one stroke behind leader Louis Oosthuizen before closing with a bogey-free, 4-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Jordan Spieth. Morikawa made three straight birdies from the seventh hole to overtake Oosthuizen, who was seeking a wire-to-wire win. Morikawa played the final 31 holes without a bogey and finished at 15-under 265. That's the lowest score in the 15 times the British Open has been played at Royal St. George's. Sunday's win follows his victory last year in his first PGA Championship. Oosthuizen shot a 1-over 71 on Sunday to finish in a third-place tie with Jon Rahm, another near miss for the 2010 Open champ. Oosthuizen was the runner-up at the last two majors.
NASCAR
Aric Almirola has earned the first NASCAR Cup win of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing, taking the summer race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Almirola raced to his third career Cup victory and first since 2018, a needed boost for Ford that also played havoc with the playoff setup with only four races left before the 16-driver field is set. The race was delayed nearly two hours by rain and NASCAR called it early due to darkness, leaving it eight laps shy of its scheduled conclusion. Christopher Bell was second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Bell was the only non-Ford driver among the top 6.
F1
Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix by overcoming two early obstacles. The seven-time F1 champ roared back from a first-lap incident that sent championship leader Max Verstappen to the hospital. He also dealt with a 10-second penalty to earn his first victory in his last six races. The Mercedes driver cut the gap to Red Bull's Verstappen from 33 points to eight.
TOUR DE FRANCE
Tadej Pogacar has won the Tour de France for a second straight year after a mostly ceremonial ride into Paris. The Slovenian rider with UAE Team Emirates successfully defended his huge lead of 5 minutes, 20 seconds over second-place Jonas Vingegaard. The 22-year-old Pogacar won his first title last September when he became the Tour’s youngest champion in 116 years.
OLYMPICS
U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff won't get a chance to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. The 17-year-old American has tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing her out of the Summer Games. Gauff revealed her positive test in a tweet on Sunday. She is No. 25 in the WTA rankings and is coming off a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon.
In other Olympics news:
Two South African soccer players have become the first athletes inside the Olympic Village to test positive for COVID-19. Organizers confirmed the positive tests but only listed the two as non-Japanese.
Two people with knowledge of the situation have told The Associated Press former distance runner Tegla Loroupe has tested positive for COVID-19. Loroupe is the chief of mission for the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team and is the reason the team has been stuck in Doha, Qatar.
Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini has announced his withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics due to a thigh injury sustained at the grass-court tournament. The 25-year-old Italian said on Instagram that he had an MRI scan the day before and "was informed I will not be able to compete for a couple of weeks."
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