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• Jamaica tops inaugural Ice Hockey Challenger Series

  Jamaica’s Ice Hockey team emerged victorious in the final match of the Challenger Series after beating a very strong Lebanon team 12-8 at the College Ice Arena in Toronto on Saturday evening.

  In a pulsating match played before hundreds of cheering supporters, Jamaica took the early lead in the first period but fell behind after Lebanon scored three unanswered goals over the next 15 minutes of the first period. During the second of three 20-minute periods, Jamaica regrouped and fought back to take a 6-4 lead, before Lebanon pulled level at 6-6.

  Buoyed by the enthusiastic support from the massive crowd, Jamaica asserted their authority on the contest to end the period at 9–6. With victory in sight at the start of the third and final period, the Jamaicans applied pressure on their Lebanese counterparts and extended their lead to 11-7 with four minutes left in the game.

  Tight defensive work then ensured Jamaica added to their tally, though they also conceded another goal in the latter stages of the encounter. Reggie Millette and Givani Smith both scored a brace, while Maleek McGowan, Captain Taos Jordan, Amari Sellers, Tyler Drummond, Dante Sheriff, Avery Grant, Josh Mitton, and Marquis Grant-Mentis got the others.

  The Challenger Series is a new tournament involving Puerto Rico, Lebanon, and Jamaica, who are all associate members of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

  The Challenger Series began in Chicago in April, continued in New York in June, and culminated in Toronto on Saturday.  At the end of the second leg in New York, Jamaica was in pole position and, as such, earned the automatic right to the final by virtue of the accumulation of points over the first two legs.

  Lebanon defeated Puerto Rico 9-3 in the playoff for a spot in the final.

  Across the three legs, Jamaica won six of their nine matches and now has an overall tally of 22 matches since it started to play competitively in 2019. Their record currently stands at 16 wins and six losses, with over 100 goals to their tally.

  Don Anderson, president of the Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation (JOIHF), said the Federation is now setting its sights on establishing an ice rink in Jamaica as well as building a strong local program that will facilitate the team playing in qualifying tournaments for the Olympics. He added that expert opinion is that this team could be highly ranked globally if it had the opportunity to play at the next level amongst countries with Ice Rinks.

• NHL free agency: Predators sign Stamkos, Marchessault, Skjei

  The Nashville Predators came out aggressively on the first day of NHL free agency Monday with the additions of forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault along with defenseman Brady Skjei.

  Stamkos spent his entire 16-year career with the Tampa Bay Lightning after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft.

  The 34-year-old Stamkos won two Stanley Cup titles with Tampa Bay and is the franchise leader in games (1,082), goals (555) and points (1,137).

  Marchessault, 33, played the last seven seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights after being an original member of the expansion franchise in 2017-18.

  He was the Conn Smyth Trophy winner as play-off MVP in 2023 after leading Vegas to its first Stanley Cup championship.

  Marchessault set a career high this past season with 42 goals and leaves the Golden Knights as the club’s all-time leader in games (514), goals (192) and assists (225).

  Marchessault and Stamkos were teammates for parts of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

  Skjei, 30, is also coming off a career season with a personal-best 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) with the Carolina Hurricanes.

  He began his career with the New York Rangers in 2015 and was traded to Carolina in February 2020.

  Nashville was eliminated in the first round of the post-season in 2023-24 and has not won a play-off series since advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals in 2018.

• MLB: Machado hits 2 home runs as surging Padres rout Red Sox

  Manny Machado homered twice and drove in five runs and Jackson Merrill had three hits, including a home run, to lead the streaking San Diego Padres to an 11-1 rout of the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

  Machado hit a two-run homer in the third inning off Tanner Houck and added a three-run shot in the fifth to extend the lead to 8-0.

  It was the 40th career multihomer game for Machado, who is 17 for 41 (.415) with four home runs and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games.

  Bryce Sullivan also went deep as the Padres (46-41) won their season-high fifth straight and ninth in 10 contests to move five games over .500.

  Michael King limited the Red Sox to one run and five hits over six innings with one walk and six strikeouts.

  Houck was tagged for a career-worst eight runs in 4 1/3 innings on his 28th birthday, raising his ERA from an AL-best 2.18 entering the day to 2.67.

  Jarren Duran homered for Boston, which has been outscored 29-7 during a three-game skid after an 8-1 stretch.

  Astros score 8 unanswered to rally past Mets

  Alex Bregman delivered a two-run single to cap a three-run eighth and the Houston Astros rallied from five down for a 9-6 victory over the New York Mets.

  Jake Meyers hit an early home run and Jeremy Pena triggered the comeback with a two-run double during a three-run fourth against starter Tylor Megill.

  The Astros drew four walks and had just one hit in the decisive eighth inning. Reed Garrett threw a run-scoring wild pitch before Bregman’s line single to right scored two to give Houston a 7-6 lead.

  Maurico Dubon added some insurance with a two-run double in the ninth and the Astros won for the 11th time in 15 games.

  Mark Vientos homered and Jose Iglesias had three hits for the Mets, who had won four straight and 16 of 20.

  Kjerstad’s slam lifts Orioles

  Rookie Heston Kjerstad hit his first career grand slam and Anthony Santander added his 13th home run this month as the Baltimore Orioles held on for their fourth straight win, 6-5 over the reeling Texas Rangers.

  The Orioles became the third team in MLB history to hit at least 60 homers in a calendar month, joining the 2023 Atlanta Braves (61 in June) and the 2019 Yankees (74 in August).

  Baltimore has gone deep 14 times in its last five games and leads the majors with 139.

  Cade Povich earned his first major league win after allowing two runs – both on homers – and five hits in five innings.

  Craig Kimbel walked two in the ninth but got Adolis Garcia to fly out for the final out for his 19th save.

  Corey Seager, Derek Hill, Nathaniel Lowe and Garcia homered for the Rangers, who matched a season high with their sixth straight loss and dropped their ninth in a row on the road.

  Seager left in the fifth inning after he was hit on his left wrist by a pitch from Povich. The Rangers said X-rays on the wrist were negative, and the four-time All-Star would be evaluated Sunday.