Raheem Sterling's first goal at a major tournament saw England get their Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start, as they beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley.
Having never won their opening game at a European Championship, England ended the wait to take a big step towards progression from Group D.
In stark contrast to their World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia in 2018, Gareth Southgate's side enjoyed a measure of control throughout, albeit Phil Foden's early strike against the upright was the closest they came until the 57th minute when Sterling broke his tournament duck.
Harry Kane squandered a great chance to double England's lead, but the Three Lions were not made to pay by an ineffective Croatia attack.
The pre-match build up was dominated by whether fans at Wembley would boo the taking of the knee, but the vast majority of spectators seemed well on side with England's players ahead of kick-off.
They were almost celebrating a goal in the sixth minute – Foden's curling effort hitting the post at the culmination of a swift attack led by Sterling.
Dominik Livakovic subsequently had to parry away Kalvin Phillips' volley as Croatia failed to clear their lines amid constant pressure.
England failed to keep the momentum up, and the malaise continued into the second half until, just as the Wembley crowd seemed to grow anxious, the breakthrough arrived.
Phillips made an excellent run to inject pace into a move that looked to be going nowhere, with the Leeds United midfielder keeping his poise to find Sterling, whose first-time finish had too much power on it for Livakovic.
Kane seemed set to make it 2-0 from Mason Mount's cross soon after, only for Josko Gvardiol to do enough to block off the England captain, who tumbled into the woodwork.
Ante Rebic and Marcelo Brozovic lashed wide as Croatia rallied, though chances going begging for Mount and Sterling at the other end failed to lift the visitors, who lost a Euro opener for the first time.
Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest when collapsing on the pitch against Finland and "was gone" before being resuscitated, Denmark's team doctor has said.
Inter midfielder Eriksen was given CPR by medics in the first half of Saturday's Euro 2020 match after falling to the ground with no other player around him.
The fixture was originally suspended, but Eriksen was later confirmed to be "awake" and the game resumed a little under two hours later, with Finland winning 1-0 in Copenhagen.
The Danish Football Union (DBU) provided a further update on Sunday confirming Eriksen remains in a stable condition pending further examinations.
"His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination," the statement read.
"This morning we have spoken to Christian, who has sent his greetings to his team-mates.
"The team and staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday's incident.
"We would like to thank everyone for their heartfelt greetings."
Speaking at a news conference called by the DBU on Sunday, team doctor Morten Boesen revealed the full extent of the worrying incident that overshadowed the result itself.
"We got him back after one defib. That's quite fast," Boesen said. "He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest. How close were we [to losing him]? I don't know."
Denmark skipper Simon Kjaer has been widely praised for stopping Eriksen from swallowing his tongue and placing his stricken team-mate in the recovery position.
Medics were on the field within seconds and provided the 29-year-old with life-saving treatment, before escorting him to a nearby hospital where he is being monitored.
"When I got to him, he was on his side, he was breathing, I could feel a pulse, but suddenly that changed and we started to give him CPR," Boesen said.
"The help came really fast from the medical team and the rest of the staff with their co-operation, and we did what we had to do and managed to get Christian back."
Denmark's next Group B match is against Belgium in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Barbora Krejcikova became the first woman for 21 years to win both singles and doubles titles at the same French Open as the Czech completed her staggering fortnight in Paris.
"We will have a little glass of champagne," said Krejcikova, the breakout star of Roland Garros this year, after she and Katerina Siniakova fended off Iga Swiatek and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in Sunday's doubles final.
A 6-4 6-2 victory for the Czech duo gave them a third women's grand slam title as a pair, and a second in Paris after their 2018 triumph.
Krejcikova was already established as a world-class doubles player, but it has been as a singles player that she has emerged in recent times, having only entered the WTA top 100 rankings for the first time last October.
A three-set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday's singles final gave the world number 33 a first major title without a team-mate at her side.
The doubles triumph means the French Open women's title double has been achieved for the first time since Mary Pierce cleaned up in 2000, when the Frenchwoman beat Conchita Martinez in singles and paired up with Martina Hingis to beat Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano Pascual.
The 25-year-old Krejcikova becomes just the seventh woman to clinch the double, after Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Virginia Ruzici, Martina Navratilova and Pierce.
Pierce wrote on Twitter: "Well done @BKrejcikova! Welcome to a very special club."
Krejcikova said she had not slept well after her singles triumph, and she felt not only tired but complained of "having some pains in my leg" after the doubles.
It has been a strenuous fortnight, and she was determined to finally unwind on Sunday evening.
"I think we going to have a dinner together this evening. We will have a little glass of champagne," she said.
"I already said I don't really drink but I think it's a time to actually celebrate it. I think we going to really enjoy ourselves.
"The rest, I just want to go back home. I just really have to relax. I have to spend some time with my family. After that, just start to work again."
Krejcikova will be a marked player at Wimbledon after her rapid rise in the rankings was capped by the slam success.
"I hope I'm going to have some chances on the grass, but I don't really know because I'm not that experienced on it," she said. "We will see.
"I just know from now on I can really enjoy because I have pretty much achieved everything I really wanted.
"Now I can just improve, that's the only thing I can do, just improving. All the guys and the ladies are doing. That's what I think."
Didier Deschamps has confirmed Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema are fit to play a part in France's Euro 2020 opener against Germany.
Griezmann sustained a calf injury in France's 3-0 win over Bulgaria on Tuesday in their final warm-up match and Benzema left the pitch before half-time with a dead leg.
However, both players took part in full training on Saturday and Deschamps expects to have a fully-fit squad to choose from at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Asked if Griezmann and Benzema will be available against Germany, Deschamps told TF1: "Yes, it looks like it. Everyone took part in yesterday's training session.
"We have two sessions left before the game and there shouldn't be any problems."
Griezmann's return to fitness is a big boost for France, with the Barcelona forward having scored more goals against Germany (four) with France than against any other team.
He has also been directly involved in more goals (14) than any other European player over the past two major tournaments – 10 goals and four assists in 14 games at Euro 2016 and the World Cup in 2018.
Benzema was not involved in either tournament for Les Blues after being exiled from the national team for nearly six years prior to his surprise recall last month.
The Real Madrid striker made his first appearance for the world champions in five years and 237 days in the recent 3-0 friendly win against Wales, a game in which he missed a penalty.
That was Benzema's third penalty miss in a row for his national side, having also failed to convert against Switzerland and Sweden in 2014, and he only lasted 41 minutes before limping off against Bulgaria.
But Benzema is now expected to start against Germany in Tuesday's huge Group F clash in Bavaria.
"If I resumed training with the squad yesterday it means I've got nothing amiss, no pain," he told TF1.
"Physically I feel good as I was training indoors, so I'm 100 per cent."
France and Germany have met on five previous occasions at major tournaments, winning two matches apiece and drawing the other.
Joe Root insists lessons must be learned by his England side after they suffered an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the second Test at Edgbaston.
New Zealand clinched just their third series win in England – and first since 1999 – as they eased to a win which takes them to the top of the ICC Test rankings.
The Black Caps, who face India in the ICC Test Championship final next week, did the damage on Saturday, leaving England heading into day four on 122-9 in their second innings.
Trent Boult dismissed Olly Stone with the first delivery on Sunday, and New Zealand tallied up the 38 they required to win within the hour, although Devon Conway and Will Young lost their wickets.
England do not play another Test series until August, when they host India, and Root knows there is much to improve upon.
"More than anything, it's what we can take from it. You can have bad sessions on occasion with the ball but you can't have a session like that with the bat," he said at the post-match presentation.
"That's cost us, but throughout the game New Zealand outplayed us. If we lose quick wickets, how are we going to get through that? Mentally we have to make sure we're resilient and we manage passages of play better.
"It's the lessons from watching the opposition, using the experience in the dressing room, and trying to make sure when you're in the same situation to don't make the same mistakes.
"You can look for excuses but they outplayed us, they played good cricket and we've not matched that. We know we're better than this."
England have white-ball series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan coming up, and Root is hoping a switch to a different format will offer a reset for some of the squad.
"Freeing the mind, look at the game in a different context, it can liberate you. It's the chance to go back into a different format and find rhythm," he added.
"You can never beat wickets and runs."
New Zealand stand-in captain Tom Latham surpassed 4,000 Test runs on Sunday, and fittingly clipped away the winning boundary.
"Great to have that performance, through the four days it was outstanding, with a few changes, everyone came out and did their roles. It was a complete team performance," he said.
"[England have] a fantastic attack, a lot of wickets among them. We played them really well on surfaces we weren't expecting at Lord's and here. I thought we adapted well."
Poland will look to talisman Robert Lewandowski to improve their paltry European Championship goalscoring returns when they face Slovakia in Euro 2020 Group E.
In their 11 previous matches at the finals, Poland have never scored more than one goal, while they also have a habit of making sluggish starts.
A 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at Euro 2016 was their only win in the past nine tournament openers, with four draws and four defeats elsewhere.
Arkadiusz Milik scored the winner in Nice five year ago, but the 27-year-old forward's subsequent wretched luck with knee injuries struck again this week as he was ruled out of Poland's forthcoming campaign.
Head coach Paulo Sousa has elected not to call up a replacement, placing even more emphasis on Bayern Munich superstar Lewandowski.
The 32-year-old broke Gerd Muller's 49-year-old Bundesliga record by scoring 41 goals in just 29 league games this season, with an overall return of 48 in 40 for Bayern in 2020-21.
"It's a big challenge, not just for me, but for the whole team," Lech Poznan centre-back Lubomir Satka, who will be tasked with trying to shackle Lewandowski, told UEFA.com
"I hope the other guys will help me."
Once upon a time, that task would have been one for Martin Skrtel and the former Slovakia and Liverpool defender is cautiously optimistic over his compatriots' hopes in a tough group that also features Spain and Sweden.
"Everything is possible," he told SPORT. "I don't want to guess, but if we were second to the Spanish, it would be great."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Poland – Robert Lewandowski
His exploits this season took him on to a staggering 277 Bundesliga goals, meaning Lewandowski is only behind Muller (365) in the all-time standings. However, eight previous Euro appearances have yielded only two goals. Surely that record is about to improve for the leading centre-forward in world football?
Slovakia – Juraj Kucka
If Slovakia are to upset the odds, expect Parma's Kucka to be involved. In fact, irrespective of the result, the 34-year-old midfielder is likely to be reasonably visible. He was involved in nine of his club's 39 Serie A goals this season, with seven goals and two assists, while his 15 tackles per-game were the highest average of any midfielder in Italy's top flight.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Slovakia have won just one of their four previous matches at the European Championship, beating Russia 2-1 in their second match back in 2016.
- Slovakia are making their third appearance at a major tournament, after World Cup 2010 and Euro 2016. They were eliminated in the round of 16 in both of those tournaments.
- Poland were the only team never to trail at any point of a game at Euro 2016 in normal or extra time. They were knocked out on penalties by Portugal in the quarter-finals.
- In March 2021, Kacper Kozlowski became the youngest player to play for the Poland at 17 years and 163 days. He is also the second youngest player to play in the Polish Ekstraklasa (15y 215d).
- Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (101) this season became the third Slovakian to surpass 100 Premier League appearances after Skrtel (242) and Szilard Nemeth (117).
Tom Latham surpassed 4,000 Test runs as he led New Zealand to a comprehensive eight-wicket triumph over England in the second Test at Edgbaston.
The damage had been done on Saturday, as England collapsed to 122-9 in their second innings, leaving the Black Caps on the verge of their first Test series win in England since 1999.
Trent Boult sent Olly Stone back to the pavilion with the first delivery of day four, leaving New Zealand chasing a mere 38.
Devon Conway was dismissed in the second over, though stand-in captain Latham (23) ticked off a milestone as New Zealand cruised to a maiden Test win at Edgbaston, setting themselves up for the ICC Test Championship final against India in emphatic fashion.
Any possibilities of complacency creeping in from New Zealand were dashed before a minute of play, Boult's supreme delivery nicking off Stone's edge and through to Tom Blundell.
A maiden over from James Anderson – whose record-setting Test match has not gone according to script – kept Latham, six off his 4,000th run in the longest format, at bay, and Stuart Broad subsequently gave the crowd something to cheer.
Conway fished at a delivery outside his off stump, with James Bracey gathering it in.
Latham and Will Young knew the Test was won, though, with sensible shots from New Zealand's stand-in skipper ticking him towards the landmark, which came when he nudged Broad for a single.
Mark Wood very nearly ran Latham out with an acrobatic, underarm throw from close range, though even that wicket would have been immaterial.
After clipping a brilliant shot through backward point, Young dragged a wider Stone delivery onto his stumps, but Latham fittingly had the final say.
A sublime flick to the legside boundary was followed up by a deft touch through to third man to seal a 1-0 series win, just New Zealand's second in England.
No home comforts for sorry England
England's footballers get their Euro 2020 campaign started on Sunday, and the Edgbaston crowd were singing "football's coming home" as they watched the cricketers learn a brutal lesson in the Birmingham sunshine.
Joe Root's team, who have lost a series on home soil for the first time since 2014, do not convene again until they host India in August. While they had injuries to key players, along with off-the-field issues that marred the first Test, England have much to improve on, with their batting once again letting their bowling attack down.
Black Caps top the rankings as dominance over England rolls on
With this triumph, New Zealand have moved ahead of India to the top of the ICC Test rankings, though the ultimate test will of course come in the inaugural ICC Test Championship final against Virat Kohli's team in Southampton next week.
New Zealand may have ended a dismal run in England, but overall, they have now not lost a Test to them since 2015 – a run of seven.
Adelaide United progressed to the A-League semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar, but look set to be without winger Craig Goodwin for a clash with Sydney FC.
A first-half double from Tomi Juric saw Adelaide into the last four, with Brisbane unable to complete a comeback despite Alex Parsons pulling a goal back in the 56th minute.
They now face Sydney for a place in the Grand Final, having come through their elimination match minus Goodwin.
Goodwin suffered an ankle injury in training on Saturday and coach Carl Veart said: "He'll have a scan on Tuesday.
"He's had an X-ray, there's no break there but the way he went down, the pain he was in, it didn't look good.
"We can keep our fingers crossed and hopefully it's not too bad but he was in a lot of pain so I think it will be fairly serious."
On loan from Saudi club Abha, Goodwin has been instrumental for Adelaide this season.
He has scored eight goals and provided five assists, with his 53 chances created the eighth-most in the A-League.
Portugal have been dealt a blow ahead of their Euro 2020 campaign, with full-back Joao Cancelo testing positive for COVID-19 and Diogo Dalot called up.
Manchester City right-back Cancelo had an exceptional season for the Premier League champions, and looked set to be a key player for Portugal as they aim to defend their European crown.
Indeed, he scored one and set up another as Portugal ended their preparations with a 4-0 friendly win over Israel on Wednesday.
However, the 27-year-old returned a positive test on Saturday and has now been placed into isolation. Further tests carried out across the rest of the squad revealed no more positive cases.
In accordance with UEFA's rules for the tournament, Portugal have replaced Cancelo with uncapped Manchester United defender Dalot, who spent last season on loan at Milan.
"Under-21 international Diogo Dalot will join the national team's delegation in Budapest to prepare for his debut at Euro 2020," a Portugal statement read.
"He will replace Joao Cancelo, who tested positive for COVID-19 following a rapid antigen test carried out this Saturday by the FPF Health and Performance Unit.
"The Hungarian health authorities were immediately informed and the player – who is doing well – was placed in isolation.
"The result of the test carried out by USP was confirmed by an RT-PCR test carried out on Joao Cancelo also on Saturday and whose result was known on Sunday morning.
"In accordance with the COVID-19 protocol defined by UEFA before the EURO 2020 matches, all players and members of the entourage underwent RT-PCR tests on Saturday. The results, with the exception of Joao Cancelo, were negative."
Fernando Santos' side start their campaign against Hungary on Tuesday, before taking on Germany four days later and rounding off their Group F fixtures against world champions France.
Paul George earned the praise of his coach Tyronn Lue as the Los Angeles Clippers hit back to beat the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals.
Having lost the opening two games in Utah – with George, the subject of vitriol from the Jazz supporters, struggling to find his best form, although he did score 27 points in Game 2 – the Clippers struck back on their home court on Saturday in a 132-106 victory.
George was decisive, scoring 31 points, converting six three-pointers, while tallying five assists and three rebounds.
His 20 points in the first half set the standard for the Clippers, who also had fellow talisman Kawhi Leonard firing on all cylinders, putting up 34 points in 38 minutes.
"Oh, we're a different team," Lue said when asked to explain the impact of George getting into his stride early on.
"We know that. It's been like that all season long. He's been great. You know, he had one bad game, whatever, but people are going to have bad games."
The Clippers will aim to level the series in Game 4 on Monday, which again takes place at Staples Center, and with Leonard and George at their best, Lue was in a bullish mood.
"With our two guys, we know that they are two of the best in the league," Lue said.
"I don't go to Mastro's [restaurant] to order the ketchup. I go to order the steak. And tonight, our guys were steak. That's what we need."
While the Clippers' stars thrived, Utah guard Donovan Mitchell endured a difficult game, with an apparent recurrence of an ankle injury that kept him out for the final 16 games of the regular season forcing an early exit from the court, though he expects to be fighting fit for Game 4.
Christian Eriksen remains in a stable condition in hospital pending further examinations, the Danish Football Union (DBU) said in an update to the midfielder's condition on Sunday.
The football world has rallied around Eriksen after he collapsed on the pitch during Denmark's Euro 2020 game with Finland on Saturday.
Eriksen fell to the ground with no other player around him during the first half in Copenhagen.
Team-mates and referee Anthony Taylor called for immediate help from medical staff, with the players forming a protective barrier around Eriksen while efforts were made to resuscitate him.
He was subsequently transferred to hospital, with UEFA saying Eriksen had been "stabilised". The DBU added that he was "awake" and set for "further examinations".
Following a lengthy suspension, the match was resumed and Finland went on to win 1-0.
A DBU statement read: "This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his team-mates. His condition is stable, and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination.
"The team and the staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other following yesterday's incident.
"We would like to thank everyone for the heartfelt greetings to Christian Eriksen from fans, players, the Royal Families from both Denmark and England, international associations, clubs etc.
"We encourage everyone to send their greetings to the Danish FA, where we will make sure they are all passed on to Christian and his family."
One of his Inter team-mates, Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, showed his support for Eriksen after netting the opening goal in his country's 3-0 victory over Russia.
The striker shouted "I love you Chris" into a television camera having put the Red Devils in front.
And, following his decisive penalty in South Korea's 2-1 victory over Lebanon on Sunday, former Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min ran to the camera and said "Chris, stay strong, I love you."
Denmark face Belgium in their next Euro 2020 game on Thursday.
It has been a long time since Paraguay last conquered South American football, and they start their 2021 Copa America campaign looking to arrest a slump against Bolivia.
Paraguay are two-time winners of the Copa America, though not since 1979 have La Albirroja hoisted the trophy aloft.
Since then, their best performance has been reaching the 2011 final, which they lost against Uruguay. Paraguay did make it to the 2019 quarter-final, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Brazil on penalties.
There are familiar faces in the squad – captain Gustavo Gomez, Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron and Angel Romero.
Juan Carlos Osorio oversaw Paraguay's run to the last eight two years ago, but former Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao boss Eduardo Berizzo is now at the helm as the country dreams big.
But Berizzo finds himself under pressure amid a four-game winless streak following their 2-0 defeat to Brazil in World Cup qualifying prior to the Copa America – the nation's first loss at home to the Selecao since 1985.
"The Copa America will serve to consolidate the concept and the idea," Paraguayan Football Association (APF) vice-president Javier Diaz de Vivar told Radio Monumental 1080 AM following the Brazil loss. "We see a growing Paraguay, we need to be more forceful and perhaps be a little more vertical, but we are doing well, working, we chat every day with Eduardo Berizzo."
Bolivia will be hoping the delayed Copa will help the team – the 1963 champions have not progressed from the group stage since 2015.
An additional advantage could be that most of Bolivia's squad play in the domestic league, which has been suspended due to the COVID-19 situation.
With more time to prepare together, Marcelo Martins and Bolivia – who took part in the 2015 quarter-finals, their first knockout-round appearance since finishing runners-up in 1997 – are looking beyond the group phase.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Paraguay – Julio Enciso
The youngest player at the Copa America, Enciso has already played 24 top-flight matches for Libertad and was briefly the youngest player to score in the Copa Libertadores this century with his goal against Jorge Wilstermann last year when still 16. A good dribbler and not shy to take a shot, Enciso has been used almost everywhere across the front for Libertad and could be an interesting wildcard option for Paraguay.
Bolivia – Marcelo Martins
The heart and soul of a nation? Look no further than Martins. The iconic forward stands alone as Bolivia's record holder for goals (25 in 83 appearances). Of those, 18 have come in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, also making Martins Bolivia's top scorer in that competition. Playing his football for Cruzeiro in Brazil, Martins scored three goals in the two qualifiers immediately prior to the Copa America, helping his side to earn four points. Martins scored in the previous meeting between Paraguay and Bolivia – a 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw in November.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Paraguay are winless in their last 11 games in Copa America (D6 L5), their longest winless run in the competition.
- Bolivia scored in each of their last two games in Copa America: Marcelo Martins and Leonel Justiniano found the net in their defeats against Peru and Venezuela respectively in 2019.
- This is the sixth consecutive Copa America with Paraguay managed by a Argentinian boss, with Gerardo Martino (2007 and 2011), Ramon Díaz (2015 and 2016) and Eduardo Berizzo (2019 and 2021) each taking charge for multiple tournaments.
- Bolivia boss Cesar Farías will manage his second Copa America. In his previous edition, he oversaw an historic fourth-place finish for Venezuela in 2011.
The Philadelphia Phillies keep finding ways to win, taking victory in their final at-bat for the third consecutive game with an 8-7 triumph over the New York Yankees.
It did not appear late heroics would be necessary in MLB on Saturday as the Phillies earned a commanding 7-2 lead against the visiting Yankees after five innings to back a solid start by Vince Velasquez.
But the Yankees scored a run in the sixth inning and another in the eighth before tying the game on DJ LeMahieu's three-run homer off Hector Neris in the ninth.
After Archie Bradley held the Yankees scoreless in the 10th, Jean Segura hit a ground ball to third to score Ronald Torreyes from third base with the winning run as Gio Urshela's throw home was off the mark.
It was the second successive walk-off hit for Segura after his two-run 10th-inning single beat rivals the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
Philadelphia last had three consecutive walk-off wins from August 21-23 in 2013.
Rangers hammer Dodgers to snap skid
In one of the more unexpected results, the lowly Texas Rangers pounded the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-1, with the visitors limiting the World Series champions to six hits and beating up on Trevor Bauer and their bullpen. The victory snapped a 16-game road losing streak for the Rangers.
Marcus Stroman and the New York Mets shut down the San Diego Padres' attack in a 4-1 win at Citi Field as Francisco Lindor and Jonathan Villar homered.
The Cincinnati Reds crushed the Colorado Rockies 10-3 to improve to 31-31 for the season after nine wins in their last 12 games.
Brian Goodwin made a memorable first impression after driving in five runs in the Chicago White Sox's 15-2 rout of the Detroit Tigers. In his debut, Goodwin doubled in a run and hit a homer in his first two at-bats. In 357 games with the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Reds, he never had a five-plus RBI game. According to Stats Perform, the only other player with that many career games to have his first five-RBI game in his team debut was Todd Cruz in 1983.
White Sox crush Urena, Tigers
Tigers starter Jose Urena did not make it out of the second inning against the high-flying White Sox, allowing eight runs (seven earned) among the 15 batters he faced. The game got so bad the Tigers used catcher Jake Rogers and infielder Harold Castro to pitch the final two innings.
The Seattle Mariners took a 4-1 lead into the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians, then saw the latter tie it up and eventually win it in the 10th on a throwing error by pitcher Paul Sewald.
Vladdy, Blue Jays rough up Red Sox
The Toronto Blue Jays bashed five home runs, including the MLB-leading 20th of the season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a career-long 468-foot shot for Bo Bichette, in a 7-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Saturday's results
Chicago Cubs 7-2 St Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals 2-0 San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants 2-1 Washington Nationals
Philadelphia Phillies 8-7 New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Boston Red Sox
Cincinnati Reds 10-3 Colorado Rockies
Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 Baltimore Orioles
Miami Marlins 4-2 Atlanta Braves
Chicago White Sox 15-2 Detroit Tigers
New York Mets 4-1 San Diego Padres
Cleveland Indians 5-4 Seattle Mariners
Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 Pittsburgh Pirates
Minnesota Twins 5-2 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 8-7 Arizona Diamondbacks
Oakland Athletics 11-2 Kansas City Royals
Texas Rangers 12-1 Los Angeles Dodgers
Padres at Mets
The Padres (37-29) will send Chris Paddack to the mound as they try to avoid being swept by the Mets (32-24) on Sunday.
Israel Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title once again, beating Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision in their rematch at UFC 263 in Arizona.
UFC star Adesanya – who defeated Vettori by split decision in April 2018 – navigated five rounds with minimal difficulty, prevailing 50-45 on all three judges' scorecards in his third title defence since taking the belt with a knockout of Robert Whittaker in October 2019.
Adesanya's only potential trouble spot came early in the third round on Saturday when Vettori knocked down the Nigeria-born New Zealander, but he weathered that challenge and handled everything else the Italian threw at him.
A rematch with Whittaker seems on the cards as Adesanya (21-0) called out the Australian following his win, demanding a showdown in Auckland, New Zealand.
"You don't get to decide -- I get to decide," Adesanya said. "Because I'm the mother****** king, b****!"
Whittaker responded with a tweet that read "rest up, see you soon."
Moreno first Mexican-born champ
In the co-headline bout, Brandon Moreno dominated Deiveson Figueiredo to take the Brazilian's flyweight strap and become the first Mexican-born UFC champion.
Saturday's fight was in sharp contrast to the pair's draw at UFC 256 in December, as Moreno (19-5-2) had his way with the titleholder from the beginning.
The 27-year-old from Tijuana submitted Figueiredo with a rear naked choke at 2:26 of the third round and exulted in his victory.
"UFC released me," Moreno said. "I wasn't that proud of my life but watch me holding this belt. I feel so amazing."
Figueiredo (20-2-1) was gracious in defeat, saying Moreno was "the better man tonight."
Edwards holds off late Diaz flurry
Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz made UFC history with the first non-main event, non-title bout to be scheduled for five rounds, and Diaz nearly made the extended term pay off.
Edwards had his way for most of the fight but had to survive a furious flurry from the bloodied 36-year-old American in the fifth to win by unanimous decision, 49-46 on all cards.
The pair had been scheduled to face off at UFC 262 last month, but the bout was pushed back when Diaz got cut in training.
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