Rookie Luis Gil pitched six scoreless innings to win his seventh straight start and Aaron Judge continued his great pace with a two-run double to lead the New York Yankees to their sixth straight win, 5-1 over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
Gil gave up just one hit with three walks and six strikeouts to improve to 7-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his last seven starts. He is the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least six innings and allow no more than one run in seven consecutive starts.
Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run and Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run shot for the Yankees (43-19), who have won 17 of 21 to tie Philadelphia for the majors’ best record.
Judge went 2 for 3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. He is 41 for 100 (.410) with 15 home runs, 31 RBIs and 32 runs in his last 29 games.
New York are 105-42 against Minnesota since 2002 – the best record for any team against an opponent in their own league during that span.
The Twins’ lone run came on Royce Lewis’ homer on his return from a 58-game injury absence. That snapped a 32-inning scoreless drought for the Twins against Yankees pitching.
Fried stifles Red Sox as Braves win
Max Fried had a career-high 13 strikeouts in seven innings and Ozzie Albies snapped a tie with a three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-3.
Fried allowed two earned runs and four hits with one walk while pitching at least seven innings for the sixth time in his past eight starts.
His previous best of 11 strikeouts came most recently on September 30, 2019, against the White Sox.
Orlando Arcia also homered to help the Braves improve to 3-0 this season against the Red Sox.
Albies’ homer off Kutter Crawford snapped a 3-all tie and came after Austin Riley walked and Marcell Ozuna reached on an infield single.
Phillies walk-off Brewers in 10th
Nick Castellanos lined an RBI double in the 10th inning after Alec Bohm tied it with a solo homer in the eighth as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 in a matchup of division leaders.
After Bryson Stott was intentionally walked to open the bottom of the 10th, Castellanos doubled to right off Joel Payamps to score Whit Merrifield with the winning run for Philadelphia’s 43rd win, tied for the major league lead.
The Phillies have won five of six and lead the NL Central by seven games over Atlanta.
Bohm lifted Philadelphia into a 1-1 tie when he led off the eighth against Elvis Peguero with his sixth home run.
Milwaukee’s lone run came in the third when Bryce Perkins doubled, moved up on a flyout and scored on Andruw Monasterio’s groundout.
Jamaican Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight secured his third win in a row and seventh win in his last eight fights with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian veteran Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Brown won two out of three rounds on all three of the judges scorecards to move his overall MMA record to 19-5.
Despite the win, Brown, in the post-fight interview, maintained that he still has work to do to get to where he needs to be to be a top contender.
“Still not happy. We got work to do. Skills pay the bills,” Brown said.
Brown then gave love to his Jamaican fans.
“You know I have to big up Jamaica. I have to big up all my people. We’re here on the biggest stage doing a lot. Big up Spanish Town, Old Harbour, the whole of St. Catherine,” Brown said.
The night could’ve gone much differently for Brown as he fought the final two rounds of the fight with a broken foot.
“I broke the foot close to the big toe knuckle at the instep,” he told SportsMax.tv on Tuesday.
“It happened one minute into the first round,” he added.
When asked about who he wants to fight next, Brown called out number 10 ranked Welterweight, Geoff Neal.
“Come on Geoff Neal, it’s my time. I didn’t get the finish tonight but I’ve got to get to the top 15. I’m on a mission right now. It’s my time and I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said.
“Geoff Neal, you are that guy right now and I need you. Come on let’s do this. You don’t have a fight so let’s go,” he added.
Neal is 2-3 in his last five fights and has an overall record of 15-6 in MMA.
England coach Matthew Mott blamed nerves for his side's "sloppy" start against Scotland, but believes they had "all things in their favour" in the chase had the game not been abandoned.
Their World Cup opener was rained off after only one innings, which was split in two due to the bad weather, though Scotland's Michael Jones and George Munsey scored an impressive 90-0 in their 10 overs.
England were then set a target of 109 in 10 overs, but another rainstorm denied them a chance to begin the chase before the match was called off.
Prior to the first rain break, Mark Wood had George Munsey caught on 16, but the opener was reprieved when Wood was shown to have bowled a front-foot no-ball, while misfields allowed extra runs.
Despite what Mott labelled as "sloppy" play while bowling, he was confident his side would have been able to mount a successful chase.
"It was probably just a bit of nerves at the start of a tournament," Mott told the BBC.
"There's definitely areas we want to improve on, but there was a lot of good stuff in there as well.
"That was certainly an achievable chase. We probably would have had all the things in our favour in terms of only 10 overs, 10 wickets in hand and a wet ball [for Scotland's bowlers].
"It was frustrating not to get back out there, but that's the way it is."
Next up for England in Group B is Australia on Saturday at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.
"I definitely think Australia is a big game but it's our next game and that's why it's a big game, and then depending on how we go there we reset and go again," Mott added.
"I'm sure, if the weather allows us, I think it'll be a fantastic contest."
Carlos Alcaraz continued his perfect start to the French Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday.
It is the second year running that Alcaraz has brushed aside Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, this time with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory in just two hours and 15 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The Spaniard set the tone early on with a break in the opening game as he comfortably cruised through the first set and was 3-0 up in the second before Tsitsipas started to mount a comeback.
The momentum stayed with Alcaraz as he stretched his lead following the tie-break though, and held his nerve to see out the third set.
The world number three has reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, and has booked a meeting with the new world number one, Jannik Sinner.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz keeps chasing records
Alcaraz has become the youngest player since Andy Roddick in 2003 (v Xavier Malisse) to defeat a player in all his first six meetings in ATP events.
Not only that, but among players who started their career in the Open Era, only Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe (59 each) have registered 50 Men's Singles Grand Slam wins in fewer matches than Alcaraz (60).
Troy Parrott proved the last-gasp hero as Ireland stole a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary, who suffered a blow less than two weeks before their Euro 2024 campaign starts.
Adam Idah opened the scoring in the first half at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, only for Adam Lang to level for the visitors four minutes later.
Yet Marco Rossi's team, who face Switzerland in their Euros opener on June 15, fell to late defeat as Parrott delivered a 92nd-minute winner for the home side.
That late strike ended Hungary’s 14-match unbeaten run (W9 D5) since losing 2-0 to Italy in a Nations League match back in September 2022.
Rossi may not be too concerned as that run was their longest undefeated streak since an 18-match streak between September 1954 and November 1955.
Hungary will also take comfort from the dominance of Dominik Szoboszlai, who created six chances in this match, the most of any player on the pitch and the same amount as all of his team-mates combined.
Switzerland, who join Hungary, Scotland and hosts Germany at the upcoming European Championship, were victorious on Tuesday after a 4-0 success against lowly Estonia.
Steven Zuber, Xherdan Shaqiri, Zeki Amdouni and Nico Elvedi were all on target at Swissporarena in Lucerne as Murat Yakin's men eased to a convincing warm-up win.
Switzerland continue their preparations for the Euros with their next friendly against Austria, who battled to a 2-1 victory over Serbia in Vienna.
Christoph Baumgartner scored one and assisted another for Patrick Wimmer before Strahinja Pavlovic pulled one back for Dragan Stojkovic's side.
Serbia open their Euro 2024 campaign against England on June 16 before meeting Slovenia, who were triumphant earlier in a day littered by international action.
Armenia's Varazdat Haroyan levelled after Jan Mlakar's early opener for Slovenia before veteran Josip Ilicic snatched a 2-1 victory for England's group opponents.
In the least entertaining game of the midweek action, Romania and Bulgaria shared a goalless draw in Bucharest.
Italy extended their unbeaten run with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Turkiye on Tuesday, though potentially suffered another injury blow in the process.
Luca Pellegrini was taken off in the 68th minute and was seen on the bench with an icepack strapped to his knee, following Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini's withdrawals from the squad in the last week.
In the first of their two warm-ups ahead of Euro 2024, Italy came closest to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time when Bryan Cristante thumped a header against the post.
Guglielmo Vicario denied Merih Demiral on the half-volley in a bright second half for Turkiye, while Giacomo Raspadori's tame shot was held by Altay Bayindir in the final seconds as both sides failed to find a way through.
Data Debrief: Not good signs for the reigning Euros champions
Italy are not favourites going into their title defence in Germany later this month, and they struggled to show much attacking flair.
Although the Azzurri extended their unbeaten run over Turkey to 14 games, they created an expected goals (xG) of just 0.67, hitting the target with two of their 11 shots.
Portugal ramped up their Euro 2024 preparations as Bruno Fernandes was twice on target to stave off a late Finland fightback in Tuesday's 4-2 friendly victory.
Roberto Martinez's side were on course for a routine win in their first of three warm-up matches as captain Ruben Dias and Diogo Jota – the latter from the penalty spot – scored in the first half on Tuesday.
Fernandes furthered the hosts' lead after the break at Jose Alvalade Stadium, only for Finland to threaten a comeback just two weeks before Portugal's Euros opener against Czech Republic.
Former Norwich City forward Teemu Pukki twice fired past Jose Sa late on, though his efforts were not enough to salvage an unlikely draw after Fernandes made sure of victory six minutes from time.
Data Debrief: Dominant Portugal avoid late scare
Although Pukki's two strikes within five minutes offered Portugal a little to think about, Martinez's hosts were good value for their win – accumulating 3.05 expected goals to Finland's 0.96
Alongside Fernandes' heroics, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha was the star of the show in midfield, creating a game-leading five chances, three more than the entire Finland team managed all game.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta says his decision to dismiss Xavi came after doubts the Blaugrana head coach had lost faith in his squad.
The LaLiga giants were expected to part ways with former midfielder Xavi at the end of the season, only for the Spaniard to change his mind and opt to fulfill his contract with the club.
Yet in another unexpected turn of events, Xavi was given his marching orders – and chief Laporta claims the Barcelona boss had expressed concerns over the capabilities of his current players.
"If Xavi can change his mind, so can we," Laporta said in an interview with Barca One, the Blaugrana's in-house television channel.
"Everything was a bit forced when we decided to keep him on. Xavi is a club legend and his enthusiasm led us to the decision to ratify his position.
"At the time of his U-turn, I asked him: 'Do you believe in the team?' He told me 'Yes.' He said he had faith in this team.
"However, there were then comments in which he changed his discourse after conversations with [sporting director] Deco with respect to necessary changes to the squad.
"That forced me to reconsider the situation and I felt the squad needed a new impetus to be more competitive and get the best out of what we have.
"I have had to make these tough decisions with Barca legends. My heart told me he should stay on, but not my head.
"I hope [our] relationship can continue. I have been through it with [Ronald] Koeman, [Lionel] Messi, [Gerard] Pique, [Sergio] Busquets, [Jordi] Alba and now Xavi. All decisions are made for the good of Barca -- the club comes first."
In stark contrast, Laporta assured new head coach Hansi Flick – formerly of Bayern Munich and Germany's national side – backs Barcelona to succeed, with or without further investment.
"Flick feels capable of competing with this squad," the Barca president continued. "That was decisive."
"Flick's task is to win and he's accepted the challenge. The players must be well-prepared physically. The youngsters, the substitutes, players like [Robert] Lewandowski ... everyone has to be in good shape physically.
"The physical preparation is essential because, with that, and having the ball, we can win everything. This season we saw the team dip after the 60th minute physically. We didn't finish games as we wanted –in the two Clasicos, for example.
"I am not saying the team was not well prepared, but there are always things to improve. We need more."
Although adding to the playing squad was a contentious issue leading to Xavi's exit, Laporta expressed an interest in renewing the loans of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix.
"We want the two Joaos to continue," he said. "The idea is that they are here for another year. Deco is working on it. Flick rates them highly and when he was at Bayern he was interested in signing Felix.
"Just as we don't need a big transfer out, we don't believe we need big signings. Maybe a midfielder, a winger, but we also have an academy which can help fill these positions.
"We can compete in Europe with a squad based on the academy. That's what Flick has conveyed to us and what we think.
"We have a squad that can compete in Spain and Europe with the chance of success."
Novak Djokovic was left to rue his "tough decision" after a knee injury forced him to pull out of the French Open.
Earlier on Tuesday, the tournament organisers announced Djokovic would not be continuing his title defence after picking up a knee injury in his incredible comeback win against Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.
His withdrawal also means he has relinquished his world number one ranking, with Jannik Sinner set to take his place in the standings following the end of the tournament.
In a social media post, Djokovic confirmed the news himself.
"I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros," his post read.
View this post on Instagram
"I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday's match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.
"I wish the best of luck to the players competing this week and sincerely thank the incredible fans for all the love and continued support. See you soon."
The 37-year-old now faces a race to be fit for Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion, with the tournament beginning on July 1.
England and Scotland’s T20 World Cup opener was abandoned after the first innings due to heavy rain.
The match was initially delayed by an hour following the toss before Scotland came out to bat, racing to 59-0 during the powerplay, including a six from Michael Jones that smashed a solar panel, before the wet weather halted proceedings once more.
In what then became a reduced-overs match, Scotland looked sharp, as Jones’ 45 not out and George Munsey’s 41 not out meant they finished their 10 overs on 90-0, setting England a target of 109 to chase in their innings due to the DLS method.
However, more heavy rain made it impossible for the game to continue, and it was eventually called off with England and Scotland taking a point apiece from their opener, leaving them sitting behind early Group B leaders Namibia.
England and Scotland’s T20 World Cup opener was abandoned after the first innings due to heavy rain.
The match was initially delayed by an hour following the toss before Scotland came out to bat, racing to 59-0 during the powerplay, including a six from Michael Jones that smashed a solar panel, before the wet weather halted proceedings once more.
In what then became a reduced-overs match, Scotland looked sharp, as Jones’ 45 not out and George Munsey’s 41 not out meant they finished their 10 overs on 90-0, setting England a target of 109 to chase in their innings due to the DLS method.
However, more heavy rain made it impossible for the game to continue, and it was eventually called off with England and Scotland taking a point apiece from their opener, leaving them sitting behind early Group B leaders Namibia.
Next up for England is Australia on Saturday, while Scotland will play Oman on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Netherlands edged to a six-wicket victory over Nepal thanks to Tim Pringle and Logan van Beek's bowling in Dallas.
None of the Netherlands bowlers went for more than a run a ball, with Pringle (3-20) and Van Beek (3-18) the standouts as Nepal finished on 106 all out.
Max O’Dowd's 54 not out got Netherlands over the halfway point in their chase as they comfortably earned a win to take them second in Group D.
Nepal's return to World Cup action after a 10-year absence did not go to plan, but they will be looking to bounce back against Sri Lanka next Wednesday. Netherlands play South Africa on Saturday.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is still struggling to move past his arrest last month at the PGA Championship, despite charges being dropped.
The American is preparing for the upcoming Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio, though the events at the last major remains on his mind.
Scheffler was arrested after play was delayed at Valhalla Golf Club due to a traffic incident outside the course, with one person left dead from the incident, which did not involve the golfer.
It later emerged the American had been charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer.
An American court dismissed Scheffler's charges just 12 days later but the incident continues to trouble him.
"I would say that I still wouldn't have 100 per cent moved past it," Scheffler said.
"Because now it's almost more appropriate for people to ask me about the situation and, to be honest with you, it's not something that I love reliving, just because it was fairly traumatic for me being arrested going into the golf course.
"It's not something that I love talking about and it's something that I'm hoping to move past, but when the charges are dropped, that's kind of only the beginning of getting past it, if that makes sense.
"It was definitely a bit of a relief, but not total relief because that's something that will always, I think, kind of stick with me. That mugshot I'm sure is not going anywhere any time soon."
Scheffler's attorney Steve Romines confirmed his client would not file a civil lawsuit after charges were dropped.
"I did not want to have to pursue legal action against Louisville because, at the end of the day, the people of Louisville are then going to have to pay for the mistakes of their police department and that just doesn't seem right," Scheffler said.
"So at no point did I ever want to sue them, but if it came there, I think my lawyer was more than prepared to use that as more of like a bargaining chip-type thing more than anything.
"I think sometimes in society people are expecting perfection out of everybody and just because somebody will make one mistake, people will crucify them for that and I've never really believed in that.
"I believe in forgiveness, I believe in grace and I try to give that out as much as possible because of how much grace I've been given."
West Indies have named returning pair Jason Holder and Jayden Seales in their Test squad for the upcoming series against England.
Veteran all-rounder Holder and pace bowler Seales missed the Windies' last red-ball outing against Australia in January.
Holder opted to play for Dubai Capitals in the International League T20 but his form in the longest format of cricket with Barbados and Worcestershire has brought a recall.
Seales was unavailable for the tour of Australia with a shoulder injury but has impressed in England this season for Sussex as the joint-highest wicket-taker in Division Two of the County Championship.
The touring West Indians will also have Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph and Kemar Roach as seam-bowling options to choose from.
At the top of the order, opening batter Tagenarine Chanderpaul has been dropped after just 31 runs across four innings against Australia.
Mikyle Louis has replaced Chanderpaul and could become the first man from St Kitts to play Test cricket for West Indies, if selected for the first Test at Lord's, starting on July 10.
"The squad has been shaped with both experience and emerging talent, ensuring a strong balance as we face the challenge of playing in English conditions," Desmond Haynes, West Indies' lead selector, said.
"Over the past year, our red-ball program has continued to develop. Following our victory in the last Test in Australia in January, it is evident that we are seeing the fruits of that investment.
"Each player selected has earned their place through consistent performances and hard work. We are confident that this blend of seasoned players and emerging faces will perform admirably against England."
West Indies 15-man Test squad for England tour:
Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva (wicket-keeper), Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph (vice-captain), Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair.
India head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed the T20 World Cup will be his last in charge, though he is putting no pressure on his players ahead of their opener against Ireland.
An enticing meeting on Wednesday in New York awaits as India, one-time winners of this tournament in 2007, aim to start with victory.
There will be further inspiration for Rohit Sharma's white-ball team, who will part ways with the experienced Dravid after the conclusion of the World Cup.
"It is going to be the last one that I am in charge of," Dravid said at his pre-match press conference, confirming his intention to leave.
"Unfortunately, the kind of schedules and where I find myself at this stage in my life, I don't think I'll be able to re-apply.
"This will be my last one. But having said that, [the significance of the tournament is] no different for me.
"I love doing the job. I've really enjoyed coaching India and I think it's a truly special job to do, and I enjoyed working with this team and it's a great bunch of boys to work with."
India were somewhat overpowered by big-hitting T20I stars as they exited in 2016 and six years later.
Yet the early results in this tournament suggest placid conditions will bring bowlers back into the contest, and Dravid hopes his side can take advantage.
"We can't say that we've not played good cricket in these tournaments," he added. "Yes, we probably haven't been able to get across the line in that one knockout game.
"Hopefully we play good cricket to get ourselves into those positions again. Then maybe play good cricket on the day to get across the line.
"But the important thing when you start these tournaments is not to think about that. It is to actually think about getting into those positions again.
"I think that's as hard as actually winning those games at times. You have to find yourselves in those positions where you are pushing for glory, and that's all you can do as a group and as a team.
"Our whole goal will be to try and get ourselves once again into a position where we give ourselves a chance to be able to win a tournament."
India have triumphed in all seven completed T20Is between these two teams, yet Ireland captain George Dockrell hopes to utilise the home contingent in the United States.
He said: "There's such great Irish roots in America, definitely in New York, so it would be nice to get a good turnout from the locals – a bit of green in the crowd to back us would be welcome."
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