Maverick Vinales is full of confidence after putting his disastrous German Grand Prix showing behind him to claim pole position for Sunday's Dutch TT.
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider finished last at Sachsenring last week, but stuck with the same bike at Assen and dominated qualifying on Saturday.
Vinales topped FP1, FP1 and FP3 before setting a new lap record of 1:31.814 seconds in qualifying, the 26-year-old finishing 0.071s ahead of team-mate Fabio Quartararo.
It was the perfect response on the back of last week's calamity, but Vinales insists the dominant showing at Assen should not come as a surprise.
"Honestly this should be the norm all weekends," he said. "I think we have a good level, our confidence is high.
"I have a really high confidence in what we are able to do but just we didn't find the way to do it before.
"This weekend we didn't touch anything. I said, 'don't touch the bike, it's perfect'. And working on that, it was good, I'm quite happy and now we'll see.
"Tomorrow we have a good chance, we will push at the maximum. For me the result isn't important – for me it's important to give the maximum from one to lap 25."
Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia will join Yamaha pair Vinales and Quartararo on the front row for Sunday's race, while Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco are on row two.
Quartararo tops the riders' standings and has a 22-point lead on Johann Zarco, but the Frenchman accepts he faces a tough task overhauling Vinales on Sunday.
"I think with Maverick we need to be clever, because it's true that on the paper we have really good pace," he said.
"So, I think if we need to play something in my opinion it's great to be clever on the first lap and see at the end.
"But it will depend. I feel great to fight for the victory. It's not that because my main contenders are behind me that I need to be careful.
"For me, it’s the beginning of the championship, we are not even in the middle. So, if I have one chance to fight for the victory I will go for it."
Marc Marquez came out on top in Germany last week, but he will start from 20th in Sunday's 26-lap Dutch TT after crashing in qualifying.
The Repsol Honda rider was flung from his RC213V early on in Friday's FP2 session and admits that accident affected him the following day.
"It's true that today I started the morning and the first thing was I was like, 'OK, it will be impossible to ride the bike' because after the crash from yesterday I had a lot of pain," he said.
"Then it was very difficult. This was in the morning, then in the afternoon step by step I felt better, and this makes me happy because it looks like now if it's in a better way.
"But it's true that the crash from yesterday affected me a lot today."
Provisional classification
1. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:31.814
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.071s
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.302s
4. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.500s
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.580s
6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.636s
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.783s
8. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.795s
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.852s
10. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.934s
11. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +1.016s
12. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +1.105
British and Irish Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones has been ruled out of the tour of South Africa after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the 28-10 victory over Japan.
Jones had to be replaced in the eighth minute of the warm-up Test at Murrayfield on Saturday after sustaining the injury while being cleared out of a ruck as he attempted to get his hands on the ball.
Lions head coach Gatland confirmed after the match that Jones will not fly out to face the world champions.
The New Zealander said: "He's dislocated his shoulder.
"Prognosis of him being fit and very, very best-case scenario is the first Test [in Cape Town on July 24]. He's going to go and get a scan but we’re looking like we’re going to have to replace him."
Gatland added: "It’s pretty much made [the decision that Jones will not travel to South Africa], I was speaking to the physios, I’ve spoken to Alun Wyn.
"He understands, very best case scenario, he may get back for the Test but we need to call someone in and hopefully get them on the flight tomorrow.
"It's very disappointing, he’s been around rugby long enough, he's going to be gutted, I'm very disappointed for him. It's one of those things, you’ve got to put that behind you and move on as quickly as possible you can."
Gatland will consider who to replace lock Jones with in the squad and a new skipper.
He added: "We are discussing a couple of names at the moment, unfortunately I got called away to do a press conference.
"I'm going back to finalise that after I've spoken to you guys, we’ll make that call, have a discussion about who comes in and potentially who’s going to take over as tour captain as well."
Justin Tipuric also suffered a shoulder injury early on but Gatland is unsure of the extent of the damage.
The former Wales boss said: "It was a sting in the shoulder. We're going to check, to make sure there's no nerve damage.
"If there was nerve impingement that could rule him out - at the moment, pretty sure he’s going to be okay."
A hamstring injury sustained by Jack Conan will also be checked on.
Jelena Ostapenko has targeted a return to the top 10 of the WTA rankings after beating Anett Kontaveit in straight sets to win the Viking International in Eastbourne.
The Latvian was the first wildcard to reach the final since Daniela Hantuchova in 2000 and kept up her good form ahead of Wimbledon by beating Kontaveit 6-3 6-3.
French Open 2017 winner Ostapenko dominated from the start and picked up the victory in one hour and five minutes, adding to her three previous career WTA titles.
She has now won titles on all four surfaces – clay, hard, indoor and grass – and is hopeful of improving on her current ranking of 43rd in the world.
"I think it says that I can be dangerous and playing well on all surfaces probably," she said in her on-court interview.
"Of course I enjoy to play more on just some of them, but in general I can adjust well to different surfaces.
"I think this is just the beginning for me. If I keep playing the way I played this tournament, I think I can be back in top 10 and play well.
"I just have to keep that in my mind and work even harder."
Ostapenko made good use of her strong service game to break Kontaveit's serve in the third and fifth games.
Kontaveit earned a first break in the eighth game with four service return winners in a row, but Ostapenko recovered from 40-15 in the next game to take the opening set.
It was then plain sailing for Ostapenko in the second set as she earned the only break at 2-1 and held for the remainder, clinching the victory with her second championship point.
Ostapenko will face Leylah Fernandez in the first round of Wimbledon next week.
Alex De Minaur claimed the first grass-court title of his career with a hard-fought three-set victory over Lorenzo Sonego in the Viking International final.
De Minaur lost the first set against his Italian opponent, who reached a career-high ranking of 26 earlier this month, but the Australian fought back to prevail 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
Having forced a decider, it was De Minaur who had the most left in the third-set tie-break, which decided an entertaining contest that lasted two hours and 40 minutes.
It marked De Minaur's second title of 2021 following his success at the Antalya Open back in January.
Prior to Saturday, all four of De Minaur's ATP titles had come on hard courts.
However, an excellent backhand return of a second serve set him up for a forehand smash to clinch a triumph that should give him great confidence heading into Wimbledon.
De Minaur starts his campaign at the All England Club on Monday with a testing opening clash against Sebastian Korda while Sonego faces Pedro Sousa.
Speaking at the presentation, De Minaur paid tribute to Sonego, who recently lost his grandmother.
"Everyone should congratulate Lorenzo for an incredible week. Everyone should be scared of you at Wimbledon next week," said De Minaur.
"It's been a long week, I've played some great tennis, I've managed to pull through a very tough win.
"Hopefully I can keep it going through Wimbledon, I can't wait to go there next week."
Daniil Medvedev made light work of sealing his first grass-court title, as he defeated Sam Querrey in straight sets at the Mallorca Championships.
The world number two was playing in his first final on grass, and took just 63 minutes to win 6-4 6-2 and warm up for Wimbledon in emphatic fashion.
It brings up Medvedev's second title of the season and his 11th in total, though he had failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals in his last five tournaments since winning in Marseille in March.
Medvedev suggested he was clicking into gear after his win over Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday, and he backed up his point on Saturday, cruising to victory without offering up a single break point.
The 25-year-old broke world number 60 Querrey – seeking his first ATP Tour title since 2017 – on three occasions, and an ace, his 10th of the match, sealed victory.
Like at the French Open, Medvedev heads to Wimbledon as the second seed. He is the same half of the draw as 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer, and has a first-round encounter with Jan-Lennard Struff, who knocked the Russian out of the Halle Open last week.
Captain Alun Wyn Jones suffered an early injury blow before three British and Irish Lions debutants scored tries in a 28-10 defeat of Japan at Murrayfield.
Jones was withdrawn in pain in the eighth minute of the first-ever Lions Test in Scotland on Saturday with what was reported to be a shoulder injury.
Justin Tipuric was also forced off with an injury in the first half of the Lions' first meeting with Japan ahead of the tour of South Africa, which Warren Gatland's side won comfortably to lift the 1888 Cup.
Josh Adams, Duhan van der Merwe and Tadhg Beirne marked their debuts with a try, while Robbie Henshaw also touched down and the excellent Dan Biggar was on target with all four conversions.
Japan, playing their first Test since losing to the Springboks in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup, entertained in the second half and were rewarded with a try from Kazuki Himeno.
There was concern for the Lions when skipper Jones was replaced early on after doing damage while trying to turn the ball over before his Wales team-mate Adams got the first points on the board.
The winger showed great feet and good strength to come in off the line and power his way over following a strong run from Bundee Aki.
Tipuric also made a concerning early exit before Van der Merwe caught Japan napping, picking the ball up from the back of a ruck and crossing all too easily.
The Lions were dominant and Ireland centre Henshaw ploughed over from close range after taking a pass from Conor Murray, with the impressive Biggar's third successful conversion increasing the lead to 21-0.
Courtney Lawes, Jones' replacement, lost control before grounding the ball when he crashed over early in the second half, but Beirne took a great line and showed a sharp turn of foot to burst through and go under the posts.
The Brave Blossoms enjoyed themselves after the break and Himeno finished following a lineout routine as the Lions defence work given a great workout with bigger tests to come.
Lions wait on Jones and Tipuric
It takes a lot to keep Jones down, so the sight of the lock grimacing on the deck and taking a rueful look to the skies was a worry for the Lions.
Gatland faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of the most-capped player in Test history's injury before the Lions board the plane to South Africa.
Flanker Tipuric's involvement was also brief just under a month before the first Test against the world champions in Cape Town.
Debut delight
Wales winger Adams and Scotland flyer Van der Merwe wasted no time in marking their mark on their Lions bows.
Van Der Merwe, the leading try-scorer in the Six Nations this year, made 72 metres from eight carries and beat four defenders.
Adams did not see as much of the ball, but grasped his early chance, while Beirne made 49 metres from his 10 carries and won two turnovers in an eye-catching display.
Chris Froome's Tour de France hopes were left in tatters on the four-time champion's return to the race as he was caught up in the second of two major crashes on stage one, which saw Julian Alaphilippe lay down an early marker with victory.
The 197.8 kilometre ride from Brest to Landerneau had already been disrupted by a massive crash in the peloton at the 152km mark.
A collision between Tony Martin and a spectator's placard sent riders careering to the tarmac and saw the front of the race neutralised to allow the peloton to catch up.
Breakaway rider Ide Schelling, whose efforts on the climbs ensured he took the polka dot jersey at the end of the stage, was eventually reeled in, but there was more drama to come with 7.5km left.
Froome, making his first appearance at the Tour since 2018 for Israel Start-Up Nation, was left on the ground after another crash that came about in less controversial circumstances, with Greg Van Avermaet and Richie Porte also involved.
Those fortunate to avoid the carnage were left with the opportunity to pick up huge amounts of time on other general classification contenders and world champion Alaphilippe grasped that chance with both hands, the Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider attacking with 2.2km to go and making the move stick.
The Frenchman crossed the line to delight the home fans, ensuring he will swap the rainbow jersey for the yellow jersey with his sixth stage win at the Tour.
Froome, who was seemingly finding it difficult to stand following his crash, succeeded in getting back on bike and riding to the finish at a pedestrian pace.
Even if he can recover, Froome's chances of claiming a fifth title this year are surely already gone.
Lewis Hamilton has cast doubt on prospects for a Mercedes victory at the Styrian Grand Prix but promised to "give it everything" to challenge Max Verstappen.
Pole position went to Verstappen on Saturday as the Red Bull team showed impressive pace at their home circuit in Spielberg, Austria.
Championship leader Verstappen, who heads Hamilton by 12 points after the opening seven races of the season, expressed satisfaction as a job well done.
Hamilton reacted to being only third quickest, behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas, by saying Mercedes simply do not have the speed that Red Bull are showing at present.
A three-place grid penalty for a pit-lane spin on Friday means Bottas will drop to fifth, with Hamilton bumped up a spot, spared having to start on the second row.
Hamilton said: "Well done to Max. I've been giving it absolutely everything. It just wasn't the greatest of sessions, but nonetheless I'm still on the front row.
"I did everything I could and we go into the race on Sunday for a fight.
"Generally they [Red Bull] had a quarter of a second on us all weekend. I don't think we have the raw pace to overtake them, that's for sure."
But Hamilton added: "We'll be giving it everything. Maybe Sunday we'll be surprised, maybe it rains, who knows."
Verstappen has won two of the last three races to power ahead at the top of the drivers' standings, giving him early season hope of a first world title.
"It's been a very good weekend," said Verstappen. "Again in qualifying the car was really good to drive. I'm super happy to be on pole here at home. It's nice to see a Red Bull car first here.
"The lap, when you look at the track you think there are not many corners, but the corners you have are quite difficult. It's a small track but it's hard to get a good lap out of it. The first lap in Q3 was not too bad. It's never perfect, but it was good enough."
Looking ahead to race day, Verstappen said: "It's never easy – I wish sometimes it was easy. I'm sure again it will be very tight. Hopefully again it will be as interesting as it was in France."
Verstappen won after an undercut as he delivered victory last weekend at the French Grand Prix. Hamilton took second place there, with Sergio Perez third and Bottas fourth.
Bottas said his grid penalty this weekend was "a shame", adding: "It's a new day on Sunday with a race ahead and anything is possible."
Lando Norris (McLaren) and Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Perez will form the second row, with the relegated Bottas alongside Pierre Gasly on row three.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc struggled for pace with Ferrari in qualifying, and Sainz was bumped out of the top 10 close to the end of Q2, qualifying only 12th quickest.
Leclerc clambered to seventh on the grid, with Gasly's AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda eighth and Fernando Alonso ninth.
Sainz still qualified ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel – 13th and 14th respectively – with George Russell just a sliver away from making it through to Q3. Williams driver Russell was 11th, a mere 0.008 seconds behind Lance Stroll's Aston Martin.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:03.841
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.194secs (has three-place grid penalty)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.226s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.279s
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.327s
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.395s
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.631s
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +0.673s
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +0.733s
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.867s
A collision between Tony Martin and a spectator's placard led to a huge crash in the peloton on the first stage of the Tour de France.
Shortly after Ide Schelling had topped the final climb of the 197.8 kilometre ride from Brest to Landerneau to ensure he will finish the stage in the polka dot jersey, Martin was sent careering to the tarmac, his crash sending scores of riders to the ground.
The incident led the front of the race to be neutralised to allow those caught up in the crash to catch up, but Jasha Sutterlin of DSM was not able to do so.
Sutterlin was forced to abandon the race in an extremely unfortunate turn of events for a rider competing in only his second Tour.
Schelling was eventually caught by the peloton once the race was allowed to restart at normal speed.
Angelique Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova in straight sets on Saturday to win the inaugural Bad Homburg Open and end her three-year wait for a title.
The number four seed, whose last tournament triumph was at Wimbledon in 2018, prevailed 6-3 6-2 on home soil in a time of one hour and 25 minutes for her 13th career WTA singles crown.
Kerber overcame Amanda Anisimova and top seed Petra Kvitova on Friday to reach her first final in two years but took time to get going against Siniakova, who won her only two career titles in 2017.
Siniakova broke Kerber's serve in the third game, only for the German to quickly respond by taking the next game as the pair continued to exchange blows.
World number 28 Kerber slowly found her rhythm and opened up a two-game lead at 5-3, but she had to save three break points before Siniakova fired into the net to concede the opening set.
The second set played out in a similar manner to begin with as Siniakova battled back after losing serve in the first game to level at 2-2 against her former world number one opponent.
But Kerber showed her quality by reeling off four games in a row and getting over the line with her third match point to add to her trophy collection.
The victory for the 33-year-old was her 75th on grass, which is the third most among active players behind Serena and Venus Williams.
Kerber is seeded 25th for Wimbledon and will face Nina Stojanovic in the first round next week.
"Everyone knows that I love to play on grass, I really feel well," she said in her on-court interview.
"I had some great matches. The goal was to have some good matches to prepare for Wimbledon. Let's see and hope I can continue this next week."
There was concern for the British and Irish Lions when captain Alun Wyn Jones was forced off early in Saturday's Test against Japan.
Jones was withdrawn after doing damage while trying to turn the ball over in the eighth minute of the match at Murrayfield.
The lock appeared to injure his left wrist and walked off the field shaking his head in the warm-up match ahead of the tour of South Africa.
Jones, the most-capped player in Test history, was replaced by England lock Courtney Lawes.
The Lions start the three-match series against the Springboks at Cape Town Stadium on July 24.
The Russian Grand Prix will be staged at a new purpose-built circuit just outside St Petersburg from 2023.
The Sochi Autodrom has been the venue for the race since it was added to the calendar in 2014.
Autodrom Igora Drive, 54 kilometres from St Petersburg, will be the next Russian track to host a Formula One Grand Prix after it was given Grade 1 status by the FIA last year.
"I am pleased to confirm following joint intensive work with our Russian partners and detailed assessment of Igora Drive – Formula One will be racing at that amazing circuit from 2023," said F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
"I am impressed by St Petersburg and believe that the Russian Grand Prix at Igora Drive will be an incredible event."
The new circuit will feature 10 different track layouts in an area of around 100 hectares.
Lewis Hamilton has won four times in Sochi, but it was his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who took the top step of the podium last year.
The 2021 Russian Grand Prix will be staged at the Sochi Autodrom on September 26.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dismissed suggestions he should get on with it from the free-throw line after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a series-levelling win over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Eastern Conference Finals could sway on how Giannis performs over the coming games, with the teams now poised at 1-1 following the Bucks' storming 125-91 win on their home court.
The Hawks are reportedly annoyed at NBA officials ignoring Antetokounmpo repeatedly taking longer than the allotted 10 seconds at the line.
It was reported by The Athletic that Antetokounmpo took between 11.5 seconds and 13.3 seconds for each of his eight free-throw attempts in Game 1 against the Hawks.
"Usually I take eight to nine seconds. So it was borderline 10 seconds," Antetokounmpo responded on Friday night.
"When my coaching staff tells me to speed it up I know I'm maybe around 10 and sometimes the referee will talk to me and say, 'You've got to speed it up'.
"Then I make an effort to take it a second or two seconds faster. But my mindset going into this game was to do my routine, get as many dribbles as I can, get my breath and just shoot my shot."
Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo posted 25 points in 29 minutes and Jrue Holiday added 22 points of his own as the Bucks made light work of the fifth-seeded Hawks.
Antetokounmpo said the key for the Bucks after their 116-113 setback in Game 1 was to take a measured approach into the second clash in the series.
"I was calm, it wasn't the end of the world – if we had lost today I would have been a little bit more nervous," he said.
"I trust my team-mates, trust our habits. I think everybody's on the same page and know what we have to do. We knew we had to come in here and get this game and that's what we did.
"There's got to be some urgency, but you still have to enjoy the fact that we're here. We worked extremely hard to be one of the last four teams standing.
"We're going to try to play good basketball. The way I think about it is I'm going to be doing this for a long time so I've got to enjoy each game."
He relished the home support but added: "Also, there's an enjoyment factor when you're on the road and everyone's booing you and counting... '1, 2, 3, 4...'.
"What I do is enjoy each moment. You never know when it's going to be taken away from you, you can never take it for granted."
Ahead of Sunday's Game 3, Antetokounmpo said the Bucks would keep learning from each performance.
"We've got to focus on ourselves and how can we get better and put ourselves into position to win a game. We've got to keep getting better, each game at a time," he said.
"From Game 1 to Game 2 we've been better, we're happy about that, and hopefully from Game 2 to Game 3 we can get better."
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola tied a 51-year-old strikeout record in MLB on Friday.
Nola matched Tom Seaver's strikeout record after striking out 10 consecutive batters in the Phillies' 2-1 loss to the New York Mets in game one of a doubleheader.
While the Phillies went on to lose, Nola joined Seaver (1970) as the only pitchers in baseball history to accomplish the feat.
"It's pretty cool being in a category with Tom," Nola said.
Nola finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts, but the Phillies still lost, though they bounced back 2-1 in the second game.
"It was tough," Nola said about the loss. "I mean, yeah, it's a cool accomplishment. But winning's cooler, in my opinion."
As for the Mets, they have allowed three runs or fewer in 21 of their last 22 home games. According to Stats Perform, they are the first team to do so in any span of 22 home games since the 1917 White Sox, who went on to win the World Series.
The Tatis show
Fernando Tatis Jr. recorded his first career three-homer game as the San Diego Padres crushed the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-5. Tatis took his tally to 25 home runs for the season, moving level with Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Los Angeles Angels fell 4-3 to the high-flying Tampa Bay Rays but two-way star Shohei Ohtani hit a 453-foot home run. It was his seventh homer in nine games and 24th of the season.
Johnny Cueto pitched seven shut-out innings to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 2-0 win over the Oakland Athletics. Cueto struck out six batters while allowing just five hits and one walk.
The Baltimore Orioles snapped their 20-game road skid after rallying past the Blue Jays 6-5 in 10 innings. An away drought tied for the second-longest in American League (AL) history came to an end thanks to a four-run eighth inning. Guerrero's home run had helped the Blue Jays take a 5-1 lead before their five-game winning streak was halted.
The Boston Red Sox made it four straight wins after upstaging bitter rivals the New York Yankees 5-3.
Luis Torrens homered twice to help the surging Seattle Mariners trump the Chicago White Sox 9-3. Seattle have won nine of their last 11 games.
A.J. Pollock, Max Muncy and Zach McKinstry homered in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-2 victory at home to the Chicago Cubs.
Martin struggles
The less said about Corbin Martin's performance, the better. In just 0.1 innings, Diamondbacks pitcher Martin gave up three hits, four runs, two homers and two walks without a strikeout. He finished with a 10.69 ERA. Arizona team-mate Riley Smith did not fare much better after allowing three hits, four runs and three homers in 3.2 innings.
Arenado milestone
The slumping St Louis Cardinals lost 5-4 to the Pittsburgh Pirates but it was a memorable outing for Nolan Arenado, who hit his 250th career homer in the third inning.
Friday's results
Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 Colorado Rockies
New York Mets 2-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 New York Mets
Baltimore Orioles 6-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Los Angeles Angels
Atlanta Braves 3-2 Cincinnati Reds
Boston Red Sox 5-3 New York Yankees
Miami Marlins 11-2 Washington Nationals
Texas Rangers 9-4 Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins 8-7 Cleveland Indians
Seattle Mariners 9-3 Chicago White Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 St Louis Cardinals
San Francisco Giants 2-0 Oakland Athletics
San Diego Padres 11-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros-Detroit Tigers (postponed)
Astros at Tigers
The Astros (47-28) and Tigers (32-43) will clash in a doubleheader after Friday's game was washed out. Houston are riding an 11-game winning streak and will send Framber Valdez to the mound in game one, while Casey Mize starts for the Tigers.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was labelled the "best in the world" after guiding NHL champions the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final.
Lightning goaltender Vasilevskiy starred after stopping all 18 shots he faced as the Lightning outlasted the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of the semi-finals on Friday.
Vasilevskiy produced his second shutout in three games, while Yanni Gourde scored shorthanded in the second period for the Lightning – who will face the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos hailed Vasilevskiy after the Islanders – who were trying to reach the Cup Final for the first time since 1984 – were shut out in a Game 7 for the firs time.
"I don't think we can say anything more about him," Stamkos said. "He's the best in the world for a reason. He's the steady rock that allows us to play with pace, play with confidence and play with a lead."
Canadiens star Carey Price and Vasilevskiy will be the first former Vezina winners to face each other in the Stanley Cup Final since Ed Belfour (Dallas Stars) and Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) in 1999, according to Stats Perform.
Tampa Bay's Brayden Point fell short of an NHL record after failing to score a goal in a 10th straight Stanley Cup playoff game.
Point was unable to match Philadelphia Flyers forward Reggie Leach, who scored a goal in 10 successive postseason games in 1976.
"We've come such a long way; I've been with this group for a while," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. " … It's so [darn] hard to win in this League, but last year, I just found we could win in different ways, but in the end, just the warrior mentality this group had, and it was prevalent tonight.
"After a really tough loss the other night [in Game 6], you just can't count them out. They've just learned how to defend, and again another masterful performance in the defensive zone to win a huge Game 7 for us."
The Lightning will host the Canadiens – featuring in the showpiece for the first time since 1993 – in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks trounced the Atlanta Hawks 125-91 to square the Eastern Conference Finals series at 1-1.
After dropping the series opener, the third-seeded Bucks responded by routing the visiting Hawks in Game 2 in the NBA playoffs on Friday.
Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo posted 25 points in just 29 minutes and Jrue Holiday added 22 points of his own as the Bucks eased past the fifth-seeded Hawks in Milwaukee.
The Bucks – ahead 103-63 at the end of three quarters – never trailed against the Hawks, leading by at least 30 points through the second half as both teams rested their starters for the entire fourth period.
In Game 1, Antetokounmpo and Holiday became the first pair of team-mates to each attempt 25-plus field goals and make at least half of them in a playoff game since Kyrie Irving (16-for-29) and LeBron James (15-for-27) did it for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals.
While they did not reach those numbers in the second showdown, Antetokounmpo (11-for-18 shooting) and Holiday (nine-for-14 shooting) were heavily involved again as the Bucks bounced back on home court.
Brook Lopez (16 points) and Khris Middleton (15 points) were the only other players to finish in double digits for the Bucks, who blew out the Hawks 43-17 in the second period.
Hawks star Trae Young came into the clash on the back of a 48-point, 11-assist performance in Game 1 but he was unable to replicate those numbers.
Young finished six-for-16 shooting for a team-high 15 points as starters John Collins (11 points), Clint Capela (two points and eight rebounds), Bogdan Bogdanovic (eight points) and Kevin Huerter (eight points) struggled.
Suns at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers, still missing Kawhi Leonard (knee) can level the Western Conference Final at 2-2 when they host the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 on Saturday.
Nani scored a stunning late goal to lead high-flying Orlando City to a 2-1 win at MLS rivals Inter Miami.
Orlando rallied away to David Beckham's Inter Miami on Friday, Nani's memorable 80th-minute effort completing the comeback.
After a scoreless opening half, former Juventus and Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain had come off the bench to give Inter Miami a 67th-minute lead.
Higuain scored within seven minutes of his introduction, a low shot from distance putting the hosts ahead at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
But Orlando hit back within six minutes – Chris Mueller teed up by Nani for the equaliser before the latter decided the contest.
Former Manchester United star Nani cut onto his right foot and hit a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area with 10 minutes remaining.
After three wins in six days, Orlando are now second in the Eastern Conference and just two points behind New England Revolution, while Inter Miami are 11th.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will miss his sixth consecutive game after being ruled out of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Leonard has endured an injury-hit NBA playoff campaign, having not played since suffering a sprained right knee in Game 4 of the Conference semi-finals against the Utah Jazz.
The Clippers will again be without Leonard when they host the second-seeded Phoenix Suns on Saturday, looking to level the matchup at 2-2.
In this season's playoffs, two-time NBA champion Leonard has been averaging 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the fourth-seeded Clippers.
The Clippers trail the Suns 2-1 in the series following Thursday's 106-92 win at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Paul George led the way with 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Clippers celebrated their first ever victory in the Western Conference Finals.
Entering the contest following back-to-back games on the road, George had scored at least 20 points in all 15 games this postseason.
The latest performance saw George eclipse LeBron James' run of 15 consecutive games (in 2016) with 20-plus points in the playoffs – Kevin Durant is the only other active player to achieve the feat in the postseason (20 straight in 2012 and 21 in a row in 2018).
Angelique Kerber won two games on Friday to progress to the final of the inaugural Bad Homburg Open, with unseeded Katerina Siniakova her opponent.
Kerber made home advantage count, following up a 2-6 6-3 6-3 quarter-final win over Amanda Anisimova – a match that was pushed back from Thursday when rain washed out play – with a triumph over top seed Petra Kvitova.
The former world number one came back from behind to win 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) and take a spot in her first WTA singles final since 2019.
Kerber and Kvitova have now met 15 times, with the German winning on nine occasions.
She will go up against an unexpected finalist in the form of Siniakova, who defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo.
The Czech is the world number two in doubles, winning three grand slam titles in that format, and will be looking to replicate the feat of her regular partner Barbora Krejcikova, who triumphed at the French Open this year.
At the Viking International in Eastbourne, Jelena Ostapenko made light work of Elena Rybakina, while Anett Kontaveit made it into the final due to Camila Giorgi's retirement.
Latvian wildcard Ostapenko finished her 6-4 6-1 victory with zero double faults – the first time she has managed such a performance since winning in Luxembourg two years ago.
"I'm really happy with the way I played this week, and every match I played better and better," Ostapenko told a news conference after clinching a spot in her ninth career final.
"It's been a while [since making a] final, so I'm really happy to be in a final and looking forward to tomorrow's match."
The 2017 French Open champion will face Estonia's Kontaveit, who has won their previous two meetings and was 5-4 up in the opening set against Giorgi when her opponent retired hurt.
"It's actually nice to have a Baltic final, because [we're] not such big countries, but we still have good players," Ostapenko added.
"Anett, I know since juniors. We have been playing a lot, maybe not so many matches but we practice sometimes together, in juniors, and played even doubles. So I know her quite well."
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