MLB
The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals were studies in contrast during their three-game series in the Nation's Capital. The Bosox's sweep puts them a season-high 30 games over .500 and drops the fading Nats one game under .500.
Eduardo Rodriguez and Jackie Bradley Jr. led the Red Sox past the Nationals, 3-0. Rodriguez struck out six over six innings before three relievers finished up a combined six-hitter. Bradley delivered two RBIs with a sacrifice fly and a double to help Boston keep its one-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
The Nationals kept the Red Sox scoreless before losing their fifth in a row. Washington has dropped 17 of its last 22 to fall under .500 this late in a season for the first time since 2015. Boston has the night off and will take on the Royals Friday at 8:15 p.m.
The Yankees kept pace with the Red Sox as Giancarlo Stanton crushed a three-run homer and CC Sabathia tossed five-hit ball over six innings of a 6-2 win against the Braves. Aaron Judge homered for the third time in four games, giving him 24 for the season. And Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka became the ninth player since 1920 whose first three hits were home runs. New York has the night off as they head to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays Friday at 7:07 p.m.
Elsewhere around the majors:
The Phillies are within 1 ½ games of the NL East-leading Braves after Aaron Nola and Nick Williams led Philadelphia to its fourth consecutive victory, 4-1 over the Orioles. Nola is 11-2 after holding Baltimore to a run and seven hits while striking out nine over seven innings. Williams launched a two-run homer to help Nola win his fifth straight decision.
Seventh-inning homers by Brad Miller and Nate Orf gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead in a 3-2 victory against the Twins. Orf was 0-for-7 in the majors before going deep off Minnesota starter and loser Juan Berrios, who carried a three-hitter into the inning. Chase Anderson allowed a run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings to help Milwaukee stay one game ahead of Chicago in the NL Central.
Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning and later added a two-run double to complete the scoring in the Cubs' sixth straight win, 5-2 over the Tigers. Contreras was also at the plate when Javier Baez stole home for the tying run in the fourth. David Bote smacked a solo homer and winning pitcher Jose Quintana gave up two runs over six innings.
Yasmani Grandal and Chris Taylor drove in three runs apiece and the Dodgers won their fourth in a row by topping the Pirates, 6-4. Winning pitcher Rich Hill gave up two runs and four hits over five innings for Los Angeles. The Dodgers failed to homer after going deep 18 times during a seven-game home run streak.
Los Angeles is within a half-game of the NL West lead after the first-place Diamondbacks absorbed an 8-4 loss to the Cardinals. Yadier Molina capped the Redbirds' five-run seventh with a three-run homer that put St. Louis ahead 6-2. Yairo Munoz also homered and Tommy Pham had three RBIs, including the tiebreaking single in the seventh.
The Mariners' eight-game winning streak is over after Kole Calhoun belted a two-run homer and Luis Valbuena collected two RBIs in the Angels' 7-4 win at Seattle. Calhoun had three hits and three RBIs in helping Garrett Richards get the victory in his return from the disabled list. Calhoun is batting .306 with four homers and eight RBIs since returning from the DL on June 18.
The Astros lead the AL West by 1 1/2 games over the Mariners after beating the Rangers, 5-4 on a sacrifice fly by Evan Gattis in the 10th inning. Yuli Gurriel homered, doubled and scored twice as Houston overcame an early four-run deficit. Jose Altuve delivered a one-out single in the 10th for his major league-leading 115th hit before scoring the winning run.
Cleveland's 3-2 win at Kansas City gives the Indians an 11 ½-game lead in the AL Central. Trevor Bauer helped the Indians complete a three-game sweep by holding the Royals to a pair of runs and seven hits over 7 2/3s. Michael Brantley hit an RBI double in the first and scored on Edwin Encarnacion's sac-fly later in the inning.
The A's earned a 4-2 win over the Padres as Stephen Piscotty doubled three times and had three RBIs. Khris Davis singled home the other run and Lou Trivino retired two batters to improve to 7-1. Oakland has won 14 of 17 to move a season-high nine games over .500.
The Rockies completed a three-game sweep as Chris Iannetta homered in the seventh and Tyler Anderson pitched eight innings of a 1-0 shutout of the Giants. Anderson (6-3) scattered two hits and tied a season high with nine strikeouts in Colorado's sixth victory in seven games. It was the first 1-0 game at Coors Field in eight years.
Jose Urena and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Marlins shook off the hangover from a 16-inning loss to beat the Rays, 3-0. J.T. Riddle singled, tripled and homered to support Urena, who scattered three this and struck out five over six innings. Riddle broke a scoreless tie with an RBI triple in the sixth before scoring on JB Shuck's fielder's choice later in the inning.
Starting pitcher Sal Romano dropped down a suicide squeeze during a six-run fourth inning that propelled the Reds to a 7-4 win against the White Sox. Jesse Winker and Jose Peraza each had a two-run single during the big inning to help Cincinnati withstand homers by Daniel Palka and Yoan Moncada. The Reds have come from behind in eight of their last 11 wins and are 13-4 in their last 17 games.
Todd Frazier banged out a two-run homer to ignite the Mets' five-run fifth in a 6-3 victory at Toronto. Seth Lugo worked three innings of one-run relief to get the victory in New York's third win in 14 games. The Mets' bullpen came through with five strong innings after being torched for six runs over 1 2/3 innings of Tuesday's 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays. The Mets have the night off as they head home to take on Tampa Bay Friday at 7:10 p.m.
In other MLB news:
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres has landed on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained right hip. Torres was removed from Wednesday's game after striking out in his second at-bat in the fourth inning.
Rangers reliever Tony Barnette has gone on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain a day after leaving a game in the middle of a batter. Barnette had an MRI on Wednesday, though the team didn't immediately reveal or know the results of the exam.
The Reds traded right-hander Dylan Floro and a minor league pitcher to the Dodgers for two minor league pitchers. Cincinnati also optioned utility player Brandon Dixon to Triple-A Louisville and recalled Tanner Rainey and Cody Reed from the same club to bolster a depleted bullpen.
TENNIS
Men's top seed Roger Federer has advanced to the third round at Wimbledon, but women's No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki is done after two matches.
Federer breezed through a convincing 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 win over Slovakian Lukas Lacko. Federer didn't drop a single point on serve in the second set as he seeks his second straight Wimbledon crown and ninth overall.
Wozniacki is making another earlier departure from All England Club. The Australian Open champion went out before the third round for the fourth time in seven years, losing 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia. Wozniacki also complained to the chair umpire about insects that invaded No. 1 court during the second set.
Serena Williams moved into the third round as she goes for her eighth Wimbledon singles title. The No. 24 seed just five of 32 points on her first serve in a 6-1, 6-4 win over Viktoriya Tomova. It was her 16th straight victory at Wimbledon, although she missed last year's tournament while pregnant.
Other second-round winners on the women's side include seventh seed Karolina Pliskova, ninth seed Venus Williams, No. 10 Madison Keys and No. 13 Julia Georges. Wozniacki was the only women's seed to fall.
Lucas Pouille was the lone men's seed to fall. Dennis Novak knocked out the 17th seed in five sets.
No. 13 Milos Raonic and No. 11 Sam Querrey earned straight-sets victories before the Day 3 schedule on the outdoor courts was halted by rain.
NBA
The Cavaliers signed guard Collin Sexton to a rookie contract.
The Cavs selected Sexton with the No. 8 overall pick in last month's NBA draft. He averaged 19.2 points as a freshman at Alabama and played his best in big games while leading the Crimson Tide to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
Also in the NBA:
A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Amir Johnson has accepted a one-year deal with the 76ers. The 13-year NBA veteran was primarily a reserve for the 76ers last season, averaging 4.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
SOCCER
The Costa Rica soccer federation says national team coach Oscar Ramirez is out after the team's disappointing performance at the World Cup.
Costa Rica compiled a record of 9 wins, 6 ties and 4 defeats in 16 qualifying and three World Cup matches under Ramirez.
The world cup picks up again Friday. Uruguay will take on France at 10 a.m. ET and Brazil will go against Belgium at 2 p.m.
In other World Cup news:
Brazil midfielder Paulinho has practiced separately from the group but is expected to be available for Friday's quarterfinal against Belgium. The federation says Paulinho needed an extra recovery day following Brazil's round-of-16 win over Mexico on Monday. All other players participated in the training session in Sochi, including Marcelo, who didn't play against Mexico because of a back spasm. Filipe Luis substituted Marcelo in the team's 2-0 win.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan says he never knew of sexual abuse by a now-dead doctor who examined wrestlers Jordan helped coach decades ago at Ohio State University.
Jordan repeatedly denied claims by ex-wrestlers Mike DiSabato and Dunyasha Yetts, who say the powerful Republican congressman from Ohio knew back then that Richard Strauss was groping male athletes.
Jordan acknowledged that Strauss was among faculty members and other employees who used the same open shower area as athletes in the building where they practiced, but he said he and other coaches with whom he has spoken weren't aware of any abuse by Strauss.
Male Ohio State athletes from 14 sports have alleged sexual misconduct by Strauss, whose death in 2005 was ruled a suicide.
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