Aaron Judge hit two more home runs to become the fifth player in MLB history with three seasons of 50 or more, and the New York Yankees went deep five times in all en route to a 10-3 rout of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
Judge connected on a two-run homer in the first inning to join Babe Ruth (four times), Mark McGwire (four), Sammy Sosa (four) and Alex Rodriguez (three) as the only players with three 50-homer seasons. The American League MVP front-runner added a solo shot in the seventh, one of three consecutive homers that helped the Yankees earn their fourth win in five games and extend their lead to 1 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.
Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres also homered for New York. All three finished with two hits, with Torres driving in four runs on the day and Soto two.
Judge's 50th homer came with Torres aboard and erased an early 1-0 deficit after Colorado scratched home a run in the top of the first. Charlie Blackmon led off the game with a walk against Marcus Stroman, advanced to third on an Ezequiel Tovar single and an error, and scored on Brenton Doyle's fielder's choice grounder.
The Yankees extended the lead to 4-1 in the second inning with four consecutive two-out singles off Colorado starter Austin Gomber, including run-scoring hits by Torres and Soto.
Drew Romo singled in Jake Cave in the fourth to allow the Rockies to close the gap, and they got within 4-3 an inning later when Doyle drew a walk against Stroman and came home on Ryan McMahon's two-out double.
The Yankees pulled away in the seventh, however, when Soto, Judge and Stanton all homered in succession off reliever Jeff Criswell.
Judge's blast was his seventh homer in six games and put him on pace for 63, one ahead of the AL-record 62 he hit during his 2022 MVP season.
Torres pushed the margin to 10-3 in the eighth when he followed singles by Alex Verdugo and DJ LeMahieu with his 11th homer of the season.
Stroman (9-6) received the win after striking out five and allowing three runs in five innings. Gomber (4-9) lasted six innings while surrendering four runs.
Bregman, Diaz homers help Astros earn split with Orioles
The Orioles lost ground to the Yankees in the AL East race with a 6-3 defeat to the Houston Astros, who were boosted by back-to-back home runs from Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz in the seventh inning that snapped a tie game.
Bregman's two-out shot off Burch Smith broke a 3-3 deadlock, and Diaz took the Baltimore reliever deep on the very next pitch to give the AL West leaders a two-run advantage.
Zach Dezenzo added a two-run double to help Houston earn a split of this key four-game series. Dezenzo, Bregman and Mauricio Dubon all finished with two hits.
The Orioles managed just two hits on the night, though one was Ramon Urias' three-run homer that tied the game in the fifth inning.
Houston had gone up early by scoring three times in the fourth inning, all with two out. Jeremy Pena began the rally with a single and then raced all the way from first on Victor Caratini's base hit to account for the game's first run.
After Ben Gamel followed with a single, Dezenzo extended the margin to 3-0 with a double off Baltimore starter Dean Kremer.
Houston's Yusei Kukuchi didn't allow a hit until Eloy Jimenez's lead-off single in the bottom of the fifth, but the left-hander later walked Emmanuel Rivera to set the stage for Urias' game-tying homer on a 1-2 pitch.
Bregman and Diaz's power displays would put the Astros back in front in the seventh, and Houston scratched home another run in the eighth. Gamel walked before advancing to third on a Dezenzo single and an error by Urias, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Jake Meyers.
The Orioles put the lead-off man on in the ninth when Gunnar Henderson drew a walk off Josh Hader, but the veteran closer later got a game-ending double play to seal the win and notch his 28th save.
Kikuchi yielded just two hits despite surrendering three runs in 5 2/3 innings. Kremer struck out five while permitting three runs in six innings.
Diamondbacks finish sweep of Red Sox, extend win streak to six
Eugenio Suarez's go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning lifted the surging Arizona Diamondbacks to their sixth straight win, a 7-5 comeback victory over the fading Boston Red Sox.
Suarez went 4 for 4 to cap a huge series in which the third baseman drove in 10 runs to help the Diamondbacks to a three-game sweep. Geraldo Perodomo added a solo homer while knocking in a pair of runs in the finale.
With his team trailing 4-3 in the sixth, Suarez followed Pavin Smith's single and a walk to Adrian Del Castillo with a drive over the Green Monster in left field off Boston starter Tanner Houck that put Arizona ahead.
Perdomo provided some insurance with a solo homer in the top of the ninth. Justin Martinez gave up Tyler O'Neill's solo shot in the bottom of the inning that brought Boston within 7-5, but retired the next three men he faced to record his sixth save.
The Red Sox fell to 6-11 over their last 17 games despite building a 4-0 lead after four innings, with Triston Casas quickly putting them ahead with a solo homer off Merrill Kellly in the first.
Casas and Wilyer Abreu singled in the fourth to put two on for Rafael Devers, who crushed Kelly's pitch over the center field wall for his 200th career homer.
Houck (8-9) held the Diamondbacks scoreless through four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth, as he walked two batters around a Suarez single to load the bases with none out.
Arizona proceeded to manufacture two runs on a Perdomo groundout and Corbin Carroll's sacrifice fly, and another on Jake McCarthy's RBI single which cut the lead to 4-3.
Kelly moved to 4-0 on the season despite permitting four runs with five strikeouts in six innings. Houck was tagged for six runs on seven hits and walked four over six innings.
Carlos Alcaraz insists his recent ankle concern is nothing serious and that he will "be at 100%" for this year's US Open.
The Spaniard is seeking his second triumph at Flushing Meadows, where he was victorious two years ago, as well as a third major of the season following his success at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Although, there were briefly question marks over Alcaraz's participation in the year's final slam after he pulled out of practice on Friday with an ankle injury.
Nevertheless, he said the reason for not continuing the session was precautionary above anything else.
"After a few hours after finishing my practice, I have not felt anything and everything is fine and under control," said Alcaraz, who begins his campaign against Li Tu on Wednesday "I think it is not going to be anything serious.
"We will take care of it in the next few days and we will be extra cautious. I think it was just a scary moment, but I am sure I will be at 100%."
Alcaraz also reflected on his Olympic gold medal match against Novak Djokovic earlier this month, in which the Serb avenged his Wimbledon showpiece defeat to complete a career golden slam.
The Spaniard admitted it was a defeat that hurt, but made him more determined to go the extra step in four years' time.
"It was one of the most important finals of my career, my life," he said. "I know the Olympic Games is every four years, so I don't know if I'm going to have another chance to win the gold. I'm going fight for it, for sure, at the next Olympic Games.
"It was a difficult moment [for me to] deal with, losing the gold medal in a really close match when I had opportunities, but in front of me, I had a really good player that day.
"[Djokovic] was fighting for the same thing as me and he deserved it, and days after the Olympics, I realised that I won the silver medal. It was a great achievement for me."
Marcos Llorente scored a fine individual effort as Atletico Madrid claimed their first LaLiga victory of the season with a 3-0 win over Girona.
Antoine Griezmann and substitute Koke were also on target for Diego Simeone's side at Estadio Civitas Metropolitano.
Atletico, who handed a debut to new signing Conor Gallagher later on, broke the deadlock six minutes before half-time.
Griezmann stepped up and drilled a fierce 18-yard free-kick beyond Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had been penalised for handball just outside his own penalty area.
Gazzaniga was helpless again within three minutes of the restart, as Llorente embarked on a powerful solo run from just inside his own half, before rifling into the roof of the net from 20 yards.
And Los Rojiblancos sealed the victory in stoppage time following a swift counter that culminated in Llorente crossing for Koke to volley home.
Data Debrief: Griezmann picks up where Suarez left off
Since the 2015-16 season, Atletico have scored 10 goals directly from free-kicks in all competitions, with Griezmann scoring nine of those.
His effort today was the first such goal by a Los Rojiblancos player since Luis Suarez against Cadiz back in January 2021.
Griezmann also continued his personal scourge of Girona. Indeed, that was the midfielder's fifth goal against them in LaLiga (equalling Borja Iglesias), with no player registering more.
Antonio Conte oversaw his first Serie A victory in charge of Napoli, who ran out commanding 3-0 winners over Bologna at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone were all on target for the Partenopei as they bounced back from their defeat by the same scoreline at Verona on matchday one.
The hosts had not lost their opening two games of a Serie A season since doing so under Zdenek Zeman in 2000-01, and they broke through in first-half stoppage time.
A lovely move culminated in Kvaratskhelia clipping a delightful ball into the box for the onrushing Di Lorenzo to control and fire home.
Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead with a quarter of an hour remaining; his shot after a fine solo run deflecting beyond Lukasz Skorupski in the Bologna goal.
Napoli wrapped up the points in stoppage time when David Neres cut a cross back for fellow substitute Simeone, who made no mistake from close range.
Data Debrief: A magnificent seven for Di Lorenzo as Simeone ends drought
Napoli opened the scoring via an unlikely source in Di Lorenzo, though he converted the opportunity with aplomb.
The skipper is one of two defenders, along with Cristiano Biraghi, to score in each of the last seven Serie A seasons.
Namesake Simeone climbed off the bench to net his fifth goal against Bologna in the Italian top flight and, more importantly, end a dismal run of 24 successive league appearances without scoring.
Max Verstappen insists he and Red Bull have "no need to panic" despite seeing his Formula One winless streak stretch to five races at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Drivers' Championship leader was forced to settle for a second-place finish at Zandvoort behind Lando Norris, who closed the gap in the standings to 70 points.
Verstappen, who had won his home race in each of the past three seasons, began his 200th F1 race second on the grid with Norris in pole, but swiftly overtook the Briton with a fast start.
However, the Dutchman was unable to prevent Norris' response, and he felt a lack of grip on the tyres were impacting his performance.
Verstappen conceded he was lacking confidence in the speed of his car, and was subsequently focused on securing second place.
"You always try to do better," he said. "We had a good start, we tried everything we could today, but throughout the race, I think it was quite clear that we were not quick enough, so I tried to be second.
"I know that we have good starts, so I was quite confident that we would have another one, and luckily it was like that.
"I was just doing my own race, looking after the tyres, I tried to do the best I could. But, at one point, nothing was turning or responding anymore. Once [Lando] passed, I just focused on doing my race, tried to bring it to the end in second.
"I think this weekend was just a bad weekend in general, so we need to understand that. But the last few races, they haven't really been fantastic. So that, I think in a sense, was already a bit alarming.
"But we know that we don't need to panic. We are just trying to improve the situation, and that's what we are working on. But F1 is very complicated."
Carlo Ancelotti insists Real Madrid must be patient with Kylian Mbappe following his lacklustre home debut in the 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.
Mbappe failed to find the net on his first appearance at Santiago Bernabeu since his blockbuster move from Paris Saint-Germain, despite registering joint game-high tallies of three shots on target and eight touches in the opposing penalty box.
Madrid took until the 50th minute to break through against Valladolid courtesy of Federico Valverde's vicious free-kick, while substitutes Brahim Diaz and Endrick climbed off the bench to seal the victory late on.
Mbappe was substituted in the 86th minute, but Ancelotti leapt to the defence of the France captain, who he maintains needs time to gel with his new team-mates.
"Mbappe is a spectacular striker, very quick, he moves very well without the ball," the Italian told reporters at his post-match press conference.
"In this position, he is going to score as he has always scored. He doesn't need to play on the left or in the centre. In the end, he will score goals. Wait and see."
Ancelotti also saluted the impact of his substitutes in securing Madrid's first LaLiga win of the new season.
"The taste of a win is always good. When we win a game, I have to be happy, taking into account the difficulties we had, especially in the first half when we were slow and soft," Ancelotti told a press conference on Sunday.
"We were better after the break, with much more mobility and speed in possession. I am very happy for those who come off the bench and take advantage of the few minutes they have.
"Setting the line-up is always complicated, it bothers me, it makes me a bit sad, even though it's my responsibility. I'm the one who has to choose the 11 players that start the match.
"Bearing in mind that in this period of the season, in the heat, it is expected that players get tired. So, it would be right that when a player is tired, he should raise his hand and ask to be replaced. But in my 40 years in football, it has never happened.
"So, it is up to me, the coach, to pick out the ones I think are tired. I think the players have to be more responsible with that. I say it here because I have said it to them privately. I have a lot of resources to use in this squad."
Jamaica's Ackera Nugent, the national record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, took a moment to express her deep gratitude following a remarkable performance at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland on Sunday, where she twice broke the meet record.
In what was only her second appearance in a Diamond League event, Nugent stunned the field by first setting a meet record of 12.30 seconds in the preliminaries, and then surpassing that with a 12.29-second run in the final, just shy of her lifetime best of 12.28 seconds set earlier this year at the Jamaica National Senior Championships.
Despite her extraordinary achievement, Nugent remained humble, focusing on the significance of her journey rather than just the results.
"This is my first year of competing as a professional, and I feel so grateful to just be able to compete against these great ladies," Nugent shared. "I am just getting used to running on the circuit. Coming here to compete against all the best in the world, on one hand, I did not expect to win, but on the other, I knew I had to execute well and do what is under my control."
Her words reflected a mix of humility and determination, qualities that have endeared her to fans and fellow athletes alike. Nugent’s rapid rise in the sport is impressive, but she remains focused on the bigger picture, acknowledging the learning curve that comes with competing at the highest level.
"I do not know what is to come for me; I just want to have confidence in what I am doing and let things take their turn," she said, indicating a mindset that embraces both the challenges and the unpredictability of elite competition.
Nugent's display of gratitude and humility serves as a reminder of the dedication and perseverance required to excel at the professional level. As she continues to make strides in her career, her grounded approach is likely to serve her well as she navigates the pressures and expectations of being one of the world’s top hurdlers.
Next up for Nugent is the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League in Rome on August 30, where she will have another opportunity to showcase her talents against the best in the world. But for now, she remains content, thankful for the journey she’s on, and looking forward to whatever the future may hold.
Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany praised his side's mentality after they came from behind to beat Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday.
An 82nd-minute goal from Serge Gnabry secured a 3-2 win at Wolfsburg and handed Kompany, who replaced Thomas Tuchel after their disappointing third-place finish last season, a winning start in the Bundesliga.
Bayern took the lead thanks to Jamal Musiala's 19th-minute opener, but started the second half in shocking fashion as they gave away a penalty just after the restart and then made a defensive error that enabled Wolfsburg to turn matters around.
However, after an own goal from Jakub Kaminski, Harry Kane teed up Gnabry to grab a late winner and seal all three points.
"I enjoyed it, it was my first Bundesliga game as a coach," Kompany said.
"The first half was dominant, as it should be. We didn't concede any chances. The second half wasn't good at the beginning, we conceded two quick goals. The third point is that our mentality was right at the end, and that's why we won the game.
"Mistakes happen, the important thing is how the team reacts. That took a while in the second half. Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman came in with the right mentality and the tempo came back.
"At the end of the second half, we had a lot of courage to win the game. It wasn't perfect, but we'll keep going."
Joshua Kimmich said Bayern's reaction was good in the second half.
"It was extremely difficult, the pitch was very dry, so the game stalled at times. Perhaps it wasn't always presentable," he said.
"But in the end I'm happy that we won it. The mentality was right."
Bayern are now undefeated in their past 13 Bundesliga openers (W11 D2) – a new record for a team in the competition's history.
Lando Norris claimed the pace of his McLaren even surprised him as he overcame a poor start to clinch victory at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris was overtaken by home favourite Max Verstappen early on, but soon recovered, passing the reigning Formula One champion on lap 20 before building a comfortable lead, eventually winning by 22.8 seconds.
The 24-year-old was even slightly taken aback by the pace of his car in the first race back from the summer break.
He said: "Obviously, I didn't start in the most optimistic way, but the pace was unbelievable from the beginning, and I could go with Max quite happily at the start.
"I just didn't expect our pace to be probably as good as what it was today, which is a good thing. It's nice to be kind of a little bit surprised by this. And as soon as I got ahead, it was quite straightforward.
"I could push. I had good confidence to push the whole race, save the tyres a little bit, but just get in a good rhythm and go from there. So the car felt amazing."
Norris cut Verstappen's lead to 70 points in the Drivers' Championship with nine races remaining, but was under no illusions as to how difficult the challenge would be to overtake the Red Bull star, and was not keen to talk up his prospects.
"I've been fighting for the championship since the first race of the year. There's no sudden decision of now. I need to do better," he said.
"I've been working hard the whole year and I'm still 70 points behind Max. So it's pretty stupid to think of anything at the minute.
"I just take one race at a time and just keep doing what I'm doing now because there's no point to think ahead and think of the rest. I don't care about it at the minute."
Juventus have confirmed the signing of winger Nicolas Gonzalez from Fiorentina in a reported €32 million move.
Gonzalez finished last season with 14 goal contributions in Serie A as Fiorentina finished eighth and reached the final of the Europa Conference League for the second year running.
The forward also helped Argentina win the Copa America in the off-season, and on Sunday, completed his switch to Turin.
Speaking of Gonzalez's addition, as well as the impending signing of Francisco Conceicao from Porto, new Juve boss Thiago Motta said: "They are strong players which is why they will come to our squad. Every player that arrives will give us a big hand to be competitive until the end.
"That is the case for those already here and those who will arrive."
Motta's team started their Serie A campaign with a 3-0 win over Cesc Fabregas' Como last week, and face Hellas Verona on Monday.
"We remain with our feet on the ground after the first day of the championship," Motta said on Sunday.
"Now we are on the second day, we face a team that is in good form after their victory against a team that is a serious candidate for the Scudetto.
"We played at home against Como, which was a good performance and a good result for us. Tomorrow I expect a different story and we have to be ready for everything.
"You look at it from the outside but from the inside my life is beautiful. I wake up early with great energy and enthusiasm to come to training.
"I find myself with fantastic people who have that same enthusiasm. I find myself with guys who arrive with a huge desire to improve."
Liverpool still have "a lot to prove" despite maintaining their strong start to the Premier League season, so says new boss Arne Slot.
Goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah in Sunday's 2-0 win over Brentford continued the Dutchman's perfect record as Reds head coach following their opening-day win over Ipswich Town last week.
Slot's side are yet to concede a goal this term, scoring four in return, as he became the first Liverpool boss since April 1991 to win his first two league matches in charge.
Yet Slot knows it is early days as he aims to walk in the shoes of the legendary Jurgen Klopp.
He told BBC Sport: "The fans loved to see the team playing really well but they also loved to see the team working very hard.
"I liked what I saw so if I like it then mostly the fans like it.
"Again we won against Ipswich, won against Brentford. Two good teams but I am not expecting them to be in the top six in the upcoming year so still a lot to prove for us in the upcoming weeks and months."
Liverpool were frustrated in their attempts to extend their lead against the Bees by visiting goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who made six saves, but Slot was quick to point out the defensive solidity shown by his team, who limited Brentford to just 0.36 expected goals (xG).
"Most importantly, we did not concede much," the former Feyenoord coach said.
"The only big chance we conceded was a set piece and that is always so difficult when you play Brentford. They can threaten in many ways but one is certainly set pieces, and we controlled that quite well apart from that one moment."
Slot also praised many of his players for returning from their holidays in fine physical condition, and he thinks that has been one of the main factors in Liverpool achieving two wins out of two so far.
"The players came back after three weeks of holiday and in most cases two weeks before the start of the games but they came back really strong physically", he said.
"Compliment to the players for how they came back and, like I have said, we haven't changed much compared to the former regime, so it is not so difficult for them to start playing again. That was a very positive thing."
Slot's biggest test as Liverpool coach comes next week, with the Reds heading to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
Virgil van Dijk insists there is "no reason" for him to start looking elsewhere from Liverpool, despite his contract at Anfield now running into its final year.
The Reds made it two wins from two under new head coach Arne Slot as Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah were on target in a 2-0 victory over Brentford.
Van Dijk made his 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool at Anfield, and celebrated the milestone with a second clean sheet in as many matches.
The skipper has less than a year remaining on his existing contract with the club he joined from Southampton in January 2018.
Nevertheless, he maintains he is very relaxed about the situation, while instead focusing on evolving under his new boss.
"I am very calm," he told Sky Sports. "The thing is, I want to play the best season I can. I want to be important and stay important to the club. Then, we will see.
"Everything happens for a reason, but for now, there have been no changes in my situation. I am very calm about it and there is no reason for me to start thinking about something else. I have a whole season left to play.
"We have to - I won't say forget about the Jurgen period - but that is in the past, and we had an amazing time, and now it is a time for the new boss to hopefully be successful.
"Obviously, [I have] that extra responsibility because I know the players inside and out. But I am here for him [Slot].
"I told him that from day one, and I will help them and the backroom staff. I want to be successful, and we are in the same boat. There is extra responsibility there."
Alexis Mac Allister is pleased with the development of Liverpool so far under new coach Arne Slot, but knows there is still work to do.
Mac Allister helped Liverpool to their second straight win to start the 2024-25 Premier League season, as the Reds swatted Brentford aside 2-0 at Anfield.
Slot became the first Liverpool boss to win his opening two league matches since April 1991 in the process.
And Mac Allister, who was integral to much of Liverpool's play, believes Liverpool are swiftly adapting to their new coach's approach.
He told Sky Sports: "We played a fantastic game.
"The team gave everything from the first minute which you could see and it was a good game. In possession and without the ball it was good so we are really pleased."
Liverpool were in dominant form for much of Sunday's encounter, mustering 19 shots for an accumulative 2.65 expected goals to Brentford's 0.36 xG.
But Mac Allister knows there is still more to come from the Reds, who are one of four teams to have won their opening two matches.
"We know there is still room for improvement," Mac Allister said.
"In the transition sometimes we need to be patient but instead we are quite direct but we are in that transition [towards that style]. Everyone is working hard to get into Arne's ideas."
Slot's biggest test so far as Liverpool coach arrives next Sunday in the form of Manchester United at Old Trafford, and Mac Allister is aware of the enormity of the fixture for both players and supporters.
"We know against Man Utd it is a derby, it is very important for the club and for us. We will prepare during the week and do our best to win that game," he added.
Luke Williams feels Swansea City "squandered the chance" to take all three points in the South Wales derby, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Cardiff City.
The Swans took a 10th-minute lead through academy graduate Liam Cullen, who volleyed home from close range after Ethan Horvath parried Ronald's initial effort.
However, they were pegged back 11 minutes from time when substitutes Ollie Tanner and Callum Robinson combined, with the latter ensuring a share of the spoils.
Tempers flared late on at the Swansea.com Stadium, with Cardiff boss Erol Bulut sent off for refusing to hand the ball back and his involvement in confrontations with Jay Fulton and Kyle Naughton.
Swansea had won five of the six previous league meetings between the sides on home soil, and Williams was left frustrated after his side failed to convert their general control of proceedings into a second goal.
"I think it was a very cagey game," he told Sky Sports. "The first half, we were probably the better team and deserved our lead at half-time, but the second half was a lot more even.
"I think if we'd scored the second goal, we would have taken the game away from them, but at 1-0, there is always that jeopardy.
"We squandered the chance today. It is frustrating as it is a huge game, and we know what it means. But we didn't get that second goal and then, as a coach, you probably fear the worst and really, we got what we deserved.
"On the whole, we defended well, but we didn't for one action, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. We switched off for one moment and got punished."
Meanwhile, Cardiff finally got off the mark in a season that began with back-to-back defeats against Sunderland and Burnley, in which they conceded seven goals without reply.
"We knew it would be a passionate game," Bluebirds assistant Omer Riza said. "We've worked really hard today and have ended up with a draw and, overall, we are happy.
"Going 1-0 down early meant today was always difficult, but we stuck to our guns. In the second half, we had more intent, pressed better, and we always felt our subs would be important today.
On red card, he added: "There was a challenge that frustrated Erol, he was pulled onto the pitch by one of their players and the red card is a bit harsh."
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