Salvador Perez drove in a career-high six runs on a pair of homers, including a grand slam, as the Kansas City Royals moved within a game of the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central with Monday's 9-4 victory that capped a doubleheader sweep.

The surging Royals, winners of nine of their last 12 games, won the opener by a 4-3 score on Bobby Witt Jr.'s tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth inning.

Kansas City trailed 3-0 early in the nightcap but battled back to take a 5-4 lead on Perez's first homer of the game, a solo blast off Cleveland starter Logan Allen in the fifth inning. The All-Star catcher put the contest out of reach an inning later with a grand slam off Tim Herrin that marked his 17th career multi-homer outing, tied with Hall of Famer George Brett for the most in Royals' history.

Perez, who went 3 for 3 in the opener, also knocked in a run with a third-inning groundout that plated Maikel Garcia, who led off with a single and took third on a double by Witt.

Garcia and MJ Melendez each had three hits for Kansas City in the second game, while Paul DeJong went 2 for 4 with a solo homer.

The scuffling Guardians lost for the eighth time in 11 games despite three doubles and an RBI from Jose Ramirez in the nightcap. Daniel Schneemann had two hits for Cleveland, including a solo homer.

Cleveland is now 0-8 in doubleheader games this season.

In the opener, Witt drove a pitch from reliever Hunter Gaddis into the left field seats to give the Royals a 4-3 edge in the top of the eighth inning. John Schreiber and Lucas Erceg protected the one-run lead from there, with Schreiber earning the win and Erceg recording his eighth save with a scoreless ninth.

The Royals had taken a 3-2 lead on Melendez's three-run homer in the fourth inning, but the Guardians pulled even when Ramirez doubled in the seventh and later scored on Josh Naylor's single.

Jansen makes history, plays for the Blue Jays and Red Sox in same game

Danny Jansen became the first player in MLB history to appear for both teams in the same game when the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox completed a previously suspended contest.

Jansen was a member of the Blue Jays when a June 26 matchup with the Red Sox was suspended in the second inning due to rain. He was traded to Boston on July 27 and inserted into the Red Sox's lineup when the game resumed Monday to accomplish the unprecedented feat.

The catcher's old team got the better of his current one, however, as Toronto posted a 4-1 win in the suspended game before dealing the reeling Red Sox a 7-3 defeat in Monday's regularly scheduled contest.

George Springer homered in both games, including a three-run shot in the fifth inning that erased a 1-0 deficit for Toronto in the nightcap.

Springer followed a double by Leo Jimenez and a walk to Steward Berroa with an opposite-field blast off Brad Keller to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. Toronto scored twice more in the fifth on an RBI single from Addison Barger and a run-scoring double by Ernie Clement.

The big inning helped Jose Berrios (13-9) win his fourth straight start after the Toronto hurler held the Red Sox to three runs - two earned - and struck out six over 7 2/3 effective innings. Brendon Little relieved Berrios and tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his first major league save.

Toronto has now won five straight in addition to the suspended game, while Boston has dropped four in a row along with the makeup game and is now five games out of a play-off spot in the AL.

Jarren Duran also homered in both games for Boston. The All-Star outfielder accounted for the Red Sox's lone run in the suspended game with a solo homer, then went 3 for 4 with a two-run shot in the follow-up meeting.

Springer's solo homer off Nick Pivetta in the suspended game snapped a scoreless tie in the seventh inning, and the Blue Jays scored three more times in the eighth on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s two-run double and an RBI double from Barger.

Pivetta (4-5) took the loss despite striking out 10 in six innings. The Boston right-hander allowed three runs - two earned - and just four hits.

Harper's hit in 10th puts Phillies over Astros

Bryce Harper's run-scoring single off Josh Hader in the 10th inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 comeback win over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game interleague series between division leaders.

After Philadelphia center fielder Johan Rojas made a diving catch with a runner at third to keep the game at 2-2 in the top of the 10th, Harper stepped to the plate with runners at first and second in the bottom of the inning and sent a ground ball through the infield. Kyle Schwarber beat the throw home from Houston right fielder Ben Gamel to score the deciding run and give the National League East-leading Phillies their third straight win.

Philadelphia trailed 2-0 after four innings, but closed the gap on Brandon Marsh's solo homer in the fifth and tied it in the sixth when Harper doubled and later scored on a Nick Castellanos single.

The Astros had gone ahead with two runs in the fourth. Victor Caratini drew a walk against Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler and Gamel followed with a single, and both runners came home when Shay Whitcomb delivered a two-out double to left.

That was the only rough inning for Wheeler, who permitted two runs and struck out six over six frames.

Ronel Blanco worked 5 2/3 innings for Houston and also surrendered two runs while striking out five.

The Astros lost for the fifth time in seven games and had their lead atop the AL West shrink to 3 1/2 games after the second-place Seattle Mariners recorded a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Dani Parejo's 110th-minute goal sealed a 4-3 victory for Villarreal over Celta Vigo, snatching a late win on Monday.

Celta had come from behind to level the score with 10 minutes of normal time remaining and looked to be heading home with a point until late drama flipped the script.

The visitors actually took the lead in the 12th minute with Borja Iglesias breaking the deadlock after Alfon Gonzalez's effort was cleared off the line. 

Sergi Cardona levelled the score from close range, but Celta were soon back in front as Oscar Mingueza's long-range strike deflected in off the post.

Yerry Pino hit the woodwork on the stroke of half-time, but Villarreal turned things around in a four-minute period in the second half thanks to Thierno Barry and an own goal from Jailson.

Carl Starfelt got Celta back on level terms again 80 minutes in before Tasos Douvikas was denied a winner when he hit the frame of Diego Conde's goal.

Hugo Alvarez's late challenge in the box then gave the hosts an opportunity to win it from the spot. Parejo saw his penalty saved well by Ivan Villar, but the goalkeeper could only push it back into the midfielder, who made no mistake on the second attempt.

Data Debrief: Leaving it late

It was a game of football that would delight any neutral, with both teams throwing caution to the wind with an all-out attacking approach.

Villarreal had 24 shots, creating 3.64 expected goals, compared to Celta's 20 (2.74 xG), with both teams registering nine efforts on target each.

It is the first time that Villarreal have won a LaLiga home game despite conceding three goals for the first time since January 2008 (4-3 v Deportivo La Coruna).

Jerod Mayo is yet to name the New England Patriots' starting quarterback for the season but says Drake Maye has closed the gap to Jacoby Brissett.

Rookie Maye has impressed in preseason so far, racking up 66 snaps and going 21-of-34 for 192 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also added seven rushes for 32 yards and one touchdown.

Meanwhile, Brissett, who has struggled with a shoulder injury, started all three games, playing 27 snaps and finishing 5-of-14 for 36 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Despite losing two of their three games, including a defeat to the Washington Commanders in their final outing on Sunday, Mayo has been pleased with the form shown by his quarterbacks, especially Maye.

"I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby," Mayo said on Monday in his weekly appearance on WEEI's 'The Greg Hill Show'.

"Now in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp. And we'll see where we end up.

"It's Drake becoming more comfortable with the scheme and more comfortable with the players around him. I don't know how the story ends with Drake's rookie season, but all possibilities are open."

Mayo is set to tell the Patriots who will be playing as the quarterback on Tuesday in their season opener against the Cleveland Browns.

The coach has kept a close eye on his two options throughout the offseason, explaining how everything he has seen over the last few months has played a part in his decision.

"It starts in practice and also in the game, where Drake has played better," Mayo told reporters later on Monday.

"In saying that, everyone wants to know who the starter is going to be. There are multiple factors that have to go into this decision.

"One is the total body of work, whether we're talking about the spring or the entirety of training camp. And I would also say, oftentimes we forget about the overall experience that a guy like Jacoby has, which will also be weighted in the decision we have to make in the near future.

"I'm happy with the way those guys are battling it out. Hopefully, over the next couple days, we can name a starter and get the season rolling."

Dominic Thiem's grand slam career ended in the first round of the US Open in a straight-sets defeat to Ben Shelton on Monday.

Thiem won his sole major at Flushing Meadows in 2020, coming from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev with no crowd present due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In what turned out to be his final appearance at a grand slam, Shelton cruised to a 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory, before the American led the crowd in a standing ovation for Thiem.

The Austrian has struggled with a wrist injury in recent years, and announced in May that he would be retiring at the end of the 2024 tour.

Thiem was the first Austrian player in the Open Era to receive a wildcard for the men's singles at the US Open, and the first to receive wildcards to multiple grand slam events after last year’s Australian Open

"It's actually a really important moment for me because I had my greatest success of my career here on this court, in a weird 2020 in very strange and different circumstances," Thiem told the crowd.

"I'm super happy that I got the chance to play my last US Open and I can spend some time with you guys, just to say thank you and to make the time up from what we missed four years ago."

Elsewhere, fourth seed Zverev, Andrey Rublev and 2022 finalist Casper Ruud were among the winners in the first round in New York.

Paulo Dybala says he thought about taking the lucrative deal offered to him from the Saudi Pro League before ultimately deciding to stay at Roma. 

The World Cup winner was being linked with a move to Al-Qadsiah, who reportedly offered him a three-year contract worth €75million.

However, Dybala chose to turn the offer down to stay in Italy and was part of the team that started their 2-1 defeat to Empoli in Serie A on Sunday.

"Everybody looks at the money, but I put many things on the table to come to my decision: my family, my wife, the city, the team, and my desire to return to the national team," Dybala told Sky Italia.

"I'm 30 and feel good. I've seen a lot of criticism about the injuries, but I try to work hard every day to take care of myself and perform the best I can."

Dybala has been a fan favourite at Roma since joining from Juventus in 2022 and has been an influential figure for the club.

He scored 16 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions last season, with only Romelu Lukaku bettering his tally (21 in 47 games).

The Argentinian was also involved in more goals than any of his team-mates (26), having registered 10 assists, while he also led the way for chances created (61) and big chances created (15) among Roma players in 2023-24.

And Dybala admitted that while he is happy with his decision to stay in the Italian capital, he did debate taking the offer.

"Surely when you see that kind of figure… I can't say I didn't think about it, but I weighed a few aspects. It made no difference to my agent. It's not true that he would have made a lot of money.

"The most important thing for him is my happiness. We've collaborated for a long time. I don't know how the Arabs reacted as I didn't speak with them directly."

Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to help Juventus secure a comfortable 3-0 victory at Verona in Serie A on Monday.

Nicolo Savona thought he had marked his first start for the club with an early goal, slotting into the bottom-right corner, but he had strayed well offside. 

Vlahovic then put Juve in front in the 28th minute with a low shot from around the penalty spot before Savona did hit the back of the net with a looping header into the far post.

The Serbian forward then made it 3-0 from the spot following half-time, after Juve were awarded a penalty for Jackson Tchatchoua's foul on Samuel Mbangula.

Juventus are the only side to win their first two games in Serie A and Thigao Motta's men currently lead the standings with six points.

Data Debrief: Vlahovic off the mark

After failing to hit the back of the net in their Serie A opener, Vlahovic's wait for a first goal of the season did not last long on Monday, scoring after 28 minutes.

The Serb has scored multiple goals in more games than any other player in Serie A over the last six seasons (18 since 2019-10), followed by Lautaro Martinez (17) and Ciro Immobile (16) in this period. 

Meanwhile, Kenan Yildiz (born in 2005) is the youngest player in the top 5 European leagues to have provided more than one assist (two) so far this season.

Defending champion Coco Gauff stormed into the second round of the US Open with a comfortable straight-sets win over Varvara Gracheva on Monday.

The 20-year-old only needed 67 minutes to see off the Frenchwoman 6-2 6-0 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Gracheva started brightly, serving to love in the first game and twice came close to breaking Gauff's serve in the second before the American finally found her footing.

Gauff got two breaks shortly after, going on a three-game winning run to take the first set.

She was in cruise control in the second though, comfortably seeing off Gracheva without dropping a game as she set up a second-round meeting with Tatiana Maria.

Elsewhere, Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng had to come from behind to beat Amanda Anisimova.

After losing the first set, the seventh seed rallied to win 4-6 6-4 6-2, gaining control of the match in the decider to book a place in the next round.  

Data Debrief: Gauff sends out statement

Gauff won her first grand slam title at Flushing Meadows last year, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999.

And she is now the youngest player to register eight consecutive wins at the tournament since Maria Sharapova who won nine between 2006-07.

Gauff is also the youngest player to secure 15 women's singles wins at the US Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

CeeDee Lamb will begin the 2024 NFL season with a new contract.

The Dallas Cowboys signed the superstar to a four-year, $136million contract extension on Monday, according to multiple sources.

As part of the deal, he receives a $38million signing bonus - the largest ever for a wide receiver - and $100million in guaranteed money.

With an average annual value of $34million, he becomes the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, totalling just less than the $35million Justin Jefferson received from the Minnesota Vikings in early June.

Heading into the final year of his rookie contract after being selected 17th overall in the 2020 NFL draft, Lamb had been holding out of training camp while seeking a new contract.

The 25-year-old has emerged as one of the league's top receivers, leading the NFL with a Cowboys franchise-record 135 receptions in 2023. His 1,749 receiving yards were also the most in a single season in team history and were 50 fewer than the Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill for the most in the NFL last year, while his 12 touchdown catches ranked third.

He was named an All-Pro for the first time this past season and finished third in Offensive Player of the Year voting.

In 66 career games in four seasons, the three-time Pro Bowler has 395 receptions, 5,145 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns. Only Jefferson (5,899), Michael Thomas (5,512) and Randy Moss (5,396) have more receiving yards through their first four pro seasons.

Dallas finished 12-5 last season to capture the NFC East crown, but again failed to advance to the conference championship, suffering a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round of the play-offs.

The Cowboys, who haven't reached the NFC title game since winning the Super Bowl in the 1995 season, open this season on the road against the Cleveland Browns on September 8.

We're into the swing of the new Premier League season, with matchday two bringing plenty more thrills and spills.

Big wins for Chelsea and Manchester City were accompanied by hat-tricks for Noni Madueke and Erling Haaland, while Everton's miserable start to 2024-25 continued as they were thrashed 4-0 at Tottenham.

But who were the lucky winners and the unlucky losers to emerge from this weekend's set of fixtures, according to the underlying metrics?

With the help of Opta data, let's find out.

Lucky winners: Chelsea

While Chelsea's thumping 6-2 win at Wolves was the most emphatic victory of a goal-laden matchday, perhaps fortune smiled on the Blues as they got off the mark under Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea's six goals came from an expected goals (xG) figure of just 1.68, with the Blues giving up chances worth 1.96 xG at the other end. 

Madueke was joined on the scoresheet by Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Joao Felix as Maresca became the first manager in Premier League history to see his team score six goals in his first away game at the helm.

Unlucky losers: Wolves

It might be a tad generous to suggest Wolves were unfortunate after shipping six goals on home soil, four of them coming in a miserable second half as they attempted to chase the game.

However, it is certainly fair to say the scoreline did not tell the full story of a game in which Gary O'Neil's men managed 12 shots to Chelsea's 14 and bettered the Blues' 21 touches in the area, registering 25.

Chelsea's xG overperformance of 4.31 is the largest of the season by some margin, with Brighton and Spurs both outdoing their underlying figures by 1.57 in their victories over Everton.

No team managed a bigger overperformance than that throughout the entirety of last season, either, with Newcastle's eight goals from 3.92 xG versus Sheffield United the closest any team got.

Lucky winners: Arsenal

Chelsea's win at Molineux was one of just two games in the Premier League on matchday two where the victors lost the xG battle.

But on a weekend where justice was largely done, Arsenal could perhaps count themselves fortunate to leave Aston Villa with a 2-0 victory.

The Gunners accumulated just 0.87 xG to Villa's 1.28, but goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey maintained their 100% start to the season.

This is the third time they have won their first two matches of a top-flight campaign without conceding a goal, having previously done so in 1924-25 and 1971-72.

Unlucky losers: Aston Villa

Villa were a lucky winner on matchday one as they escaped the London Stadium with a 2-1 victory over West Ham, but there was to be no repeat against Arsenal.

Unai Emery's team only hit the target with three of their 11 shots, and striker Ollie Watkins was particularly wasteful as he failed to net from two efforts worth 0.87 xG.

That is the second-highest figure registered by a player who failed to score in a Premier League match this season, after Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenkovic versus Southampton on Saturday (0.98 xG).

Novak Djokovic is hoping his Olympics success will spur him to US Open glory despite not playing since the Paris Games.

Djokovic became just the second player in the Open Era to win all four grand slams, the gold medal at the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals after Andre Agassi.

The Serb triumphed at Flushing Meadows last year, winning his 24th major title, but one year on, is still waiting for the win that would take him clear of Margaret Court as the outright record holder.

He came close at Wimbledon but lost the final in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz, who he then beat to claim his elusive gold medal earlier this month.

Djokovic, the number two seed for the tournament, will begin against Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot on Monday, and he believes his recent success will serve as the perfect springboard for a similar outcome in New York.

"I hope to never recover from that [Olympic triumph] because it's the best set of feelings that I ever had as an athlete," he told Eurosport.

"On the court but also off, when we went back to celebrate with our people, all of the Serbian Olympians that managed to win a medal.

"It was a very unique moment for me. I'll never forget it, and I'll try to use it as a great confidence boost for what's coming up in New York in the next few weeks."

At 87.1%, Djokovic holds the second-best win percentage at the US Open in the Open Era of players to have featured in at least 30 matches at the event, after Sampras (88.8%).

And the 37-year-old will be hoping that is a good omen as he aims to win a joint-record fifth title at the tournament.

Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have split the major trophies between them so far in 2024, while the last time Djokovic failed to win a single grand slam in a calendar year was in 2017.

Djokovic has not competed in the hard-court swing so far, instead choosing to recover, having struggled with a knee injury since the French Open in May, but he is sure that break will help his performance.

"I haven't had much time to recover or much time to train," he added. "I tried to get the most out of the few weeks that I had.

"I had more than all the other guys that played the tournaments, but that was a conscious decision that I made not to have any lead-up tournaments to the US Open because I just felt that the calendar is too congested this year with the Olympics.

"I needed my break, short but sweet, celebration, family quality time and then, of course, [I] started my training and trying to build my body, build my form for the start of the tournament."

Barcelona have started the LaLiga season with two consecutive wins despite missing several key players, raising expectations around the prospects of new head coach, Hansi Flick.

Topping the table along with Celta Vigo on six points, Barcelona travel to Rayo Vallecano, who are unbeaten after shocking Real Sociedad 2-1 and holding Getafe to a hard-fought goalless draw on Saturday.

"The goal in Barcelona should always be to win the league," Flick told a press conference on Monday.

"Sure, it's a long road, but we have started well, although everything can change quickly.

"Now we are happy about our start and we are confident. We are not looking ahead to May, our focus is to keep momentum in the next game.

"We are very satisfied with what the team is doing on the pitch. The quality of the training sessions is good, the players are very focused, the intensity is good, and you can see that in the matches."

Vallecano will rely on their raucous Vallecas Stadium on Tuesday to help stop in-form Barcelona, who convincingly beat tough opponents in Valencia and Athletic Bilbao to ease the pressure surrounding a club in turmoil on and off the pitch.

Barcelona endured a trophyless campaign last season, resulting in the controversial firing of Xavi, with Flick being brought in to help them regain the LaLiga title from Real Madrid. 

The club is having deepening financial issues as they try to reduce their first-team wage bill to comply with LaLiga's financial controls. If they cannot, they will not be able to register new signings, like Spain international Dani Olmo, who joined in a €60million deal from RB Leipzig.

The Spaniard scored 29 goals and added 34 assists across 148 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig, for whom he created 32 chances in 21 Bundesliga outings in 2023-24.

And at Euro 2024, Olmo became the first Spanish player to score in three successive European Championship games, despite only starting three of La Roja's seven matches. 

Ilkay Gundogan, one of their most influential players last season, left as a free agent to join former club Manchester City last week, while Clement Lenglet and Vitor Roque have both left on season-long loans.

Flick may still be without Olmo for their game against Vallecano, with the registration process out of the German's hands. 

"I'm hopeful I can finally can count on him tomorrow," Flick added.

"I also hoped for him in the last game, but things are the way they are. It would be fantastic, but we'll see what happens. It's something we can't control; neither the player, the team, nor the coach. We know it's a difficult circumstance.

"I've spoken to him, it's a difficult situation. Of course, he is not happy, but he knows the circumstances. He is fit and ready to play if the call comes."

James Rodriguez has sealed a return to LaLiga, joining Rayo Vallecano on an initial one-year contract.

James left Brazilian giants Sao Paulo in July following a sublime Copa America campaign with Colombia, winning the Player of the Tournament award as they reached the final.

Rodriguez laid on six assists throughout the tournament, breaking the single-edition record set by Lionel Messi at the 2021 competition (since records began in 2011).

He also led all players at the tournament for chances created, with 20, with 14 of those coming from set-pieces.

The 33-year-old, who spent six years with Real Madrid between 2014 and 2020, has now returned to the city with Rayo, who narrowly avoided relegation last term.

James has penned an initial one-year deal with Inigo Perez's side, with an option to extend his stay for a further 12 months.

Rayo have collected four points from their first two games of the season in LaLiga, beating Real Sociedad 2-1 and playing out a goalless draw with Getafe. They are next in action against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has blamed the Silver Arrows' struggles at the Dutch Grand Prix on an upgrade to the floor of the team's car.

Mercedes enjoyed a mid-season resurgence, triumphing at three of the last four races prior to the summer break, following a difficult start to the year.

Lewis Hamilton was victorious at the British and Belgian grands prix after team-mate George Russell triumphed in Austria, but neither driver was competitive in Zandvoort when the season resumed on Sunday.

Russell finished seventh and Hamilton was one place further back after qualifying in 12th, as McLaren's Lando Norris claimed a dominant win to close the gap to drivers' championship leader Max Verstappen.

Mercedes used a new floor for the race after abandoning the planned change at Spa, and Wolff admits the team may have got things wrong.

"I think these cars are a surprise-box. We've had six podiums in a row and that doesn't look like the car three weeks ago that was first and second," he told Sky Sports.

"You can't really end up with a result like this without any major factor playing in, and that's something we need to analyse in the next few days before Monza.

"Was it because we put something on the car that didn't help? Did we engineer something into the car that wasn't good?

"Then how do you justify these swings of performance? Sometimes we looked really good this weekend and then obviously today, in terms of degradation, that was not very impressive.

"Was it a setup? Was it the track? What is it that we got wrong? Was it the floor that we put on the car? Was it all of this together?

"So, hopefully we can sort it out until Monza and become competitive again. But the swing in performance from P1-P2 and P7-P8, there's a biggie in there. It's not something that was simply a setup decision in my opinion."