Tom Brady's return made complete sense to Tampa Bay Buccaneers team-mate Scotty Miller, who was stunned the legendary quarterback briefly retired in the first place.
That Brady's decision to quit ahead of his 45th birthday could have come as a surprise to anyone says a great deal for his enduring quality.
Indeed, Brady, who finished the 2020 season celebrating his seventh Super Bowl success, was still setting career highs in 2021.
In no previous season had the veteran thrown (719) or completed (485) more passes for more yards (5,316) – albeit with an extra game on the slate.
Only in his 50-touchdown season of 2011 had Brady completed a greater share of his passes (67.5 per cent) or tossed more TDs (43). Brady only has three 40-touchdown seasons, with the other his first year in Tampa in 2020.
Three of his TD passes in that time have picked out wide receiver Miller, as did a 39-yard throw for a score in the NFC Championship Game in January 2021.
Injury has subsequently hindered Miller's young career, but he is delighted to get the opportunity to again link up with a quarterback who had a transformative impact after joining the Bucs at the end of the wideout's rookie season.
"[Brady's return] was awesome," Miller said. "I have so much appreciation for Tom, as we all do, and just what he has done for my career and helping me become a better player – just watching him work and how he goes about his business each and every day...
"I wasn't really expecting him to retire in the first place; that kind of shocked me, just because I know he had so much left in the tank, and he was playing at such a high level.
"And I know how competitive he is, and it would be tough for him to walk away when he's playing that well.
"When he came back, I was just super excited, super stoked to play alongside him again."
Frank Warren says world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has “itchy Feet” as he is hungry for another fight.
Fury successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title with a sixth-round knockout triumph of Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April in a bout that he claimed was the last of his illustrious career.
The 33-year-old has remained insistent he will not return to the ring but the lure of a potential unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua, who clash in Saudi Arabia on August 20, may be difficult to resist.
Warren, Fury’s co-promoter, says the unbeaten Brit wants to get back in the ring and he believes it will happen.
"He's got itchy feet at the moment, he wants to fight," he told TalkSPORT.
"I think what's going to happen is, see what happens on [August] 20th and the outcome of that and that'll determine what he intends to do in the future.
"My opinion, this is not from him, it's from me. I think he will [return] because he's a fighting man and he misses it. That's what he does, he wants to fight."
Speculation of a return to the ring for Fury was already ramped up by comments from Bob Arum, his other promoter, who revealed there has already been discussions with Usyk's camp regarding a unification bout.
"I'm hoping [Oleksandr] Usyk wins because I've talked with his people and I think they would be anxious to fight Tyson Fury and I would hope to do that fight in December, maybe, or early next year," he told Barbershop Promotions.
Fury has long been touted for a unification bout, but plans to face Joshua last year were scrapped when an arbitration ruled he must honour his trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder.
The Gypsy King subsequently beat the Bronze Bomber in a fight widely regarded as one of the best heavyweight bouts in recent memory, with both fighters hitting the canvas before Fury's stoppage in the 11th round.
Any chance of an immediate showdown with Joshua was ended after his compatriot's defeat to Usyk in September, with Joshua activating his rematch clause to set-up this month's bout in Saudi Arabia.
New Zealand coach Ian Foster says there is no point in his side "sulking" over their defeat to South Africa, as the All Blacks coach faces increased calls to stand down.
The tourists slipped to an opening defeat into the Rugby Championship against the Springboks on Saturday, with the world champions claiming at 26-10 win in Mbombela.
It means New Zealand have now gone three games without victory, following consecutive losses to Ireland on home turf, producing their longest barren streak since 1998.
With five losses in their last six Tests now, expectations are that Foster's position may become untenable with another loss in Johannesburg this weekend, with the New Zealand Herald calling for him to go in a front page editorial on Monday.
But for now, the coach say his team must focus on the next step rather than their mistakes.
Foster said: "We know there’s a lot of pressure on, and we’re feeling that. But our job is to look at our performance and how we can grow it.
"I understand the frustration, but that doesn’t change what we have to do here.
"There’s no point sulking about it for too long. We’ve just got to get into Ellis Park and keep growing our game and still believe."
Foster also stated his intent to address South Africa's mid-air challenges following a scrappy first encounter, with Beauden and Jordie Barrett both injury doubts following tackles by Kurt-Lee Arendse.
"It*s becoming a free-for-all for jumpers just to be able to jump and stick a hand out and say they’re competing. It needs to be addressed," he said.
Manny Machado feels the San Diego Padres have no reason to be concerned despite falling to a weekend sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres were beaten 4-0 at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, following their previous two heavy 8-1 and 8-3 losses to the same opponents.
But three convincing defeats to the Padres' star opponents have not overly concerned Machado.
The 30-year-old faced questions on how big the gap was to their division rivals despite the high-profile trade for Juan Soto earlier in the week, which came along with moves to sign Josh Bell, Brandon Drury and Josh Hader.
Tyler Anderson gave the Padres little chance on Sunday, and they have now dropped to 2-8 against the Dodgers this season, with a huge 15.5-game gap to Los Angeles in the National League West.
Machado was asked how concerned he was about the prospect of facing the Dodgers in the postseason based on the way these latest matchups had gone.
"Concerned? Why would I be concerned? Not at all," he said, per ESPN. "We know what we have and that's it.
"We have no pressure in here. We're going out there and playing baseball every single day. Whatever that day brings us, we're going to go out there and give it all we have.
"We keep playing baseball. It's plain and simple. Nothing else to it."
San Diego have the chance to bounce back with a three-game home series against the San Francisco Giants, which begins on Monday.
Daria Kasatkina continued her strong season on Sunday by defeating American Shelby Rogers 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-2 in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic.
Russia's Kasatkina made her deepest grand slam run earlier this year by reaching the semi-final of the French Open, where she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek, and with this singles title – the fifth of her WTA career – she has claimed a career-best ranking of ninth in the world.
Against Rogers, the story was how the effectiveness of Kasatkina's serve continued to improve the further the match went on.
In the hard-fought opening set, Kasatkina won just 53 per cent (26-of-49) of her service points, allowing two breaks of serve and then flailing in the tie-break to drop five consecutive points.
Something changed from that point on, with Kasatkina improving to take 69 per cent (18-of-26) of her service points in the second frame, and that jumped again to 76 per cent (16-of-21) in the decider as she either figured something out, or Rogers ran out of steam.
Kasatkina did not allow a single break point opportunity after the first set, while converting four of her six chances to take a double-break in both the second and third.
Rogers had not lost a single set in her four matches to make it to the final, putting the exclamation point on a terrific run from Kasatkina that included wins over world number 27 Elena Rybakina, world number six Aryna Sabalenka and world number three Paula Badosa.
Nick Kyrgios capped off a terrific week at the Washington Open by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 6-3 in the singles final, before combining with Jack Sock to also win the doubles 7-5 6-4 against the team of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
In the singles, Kyrgios' serve was overpowering against his Japanese opponent, winning 76 per cent (38-of-50) of his points on serve, and saving the only break point opportunity he faced, which came early in the opening set.
His return game was also sharp, collecting breaks of serve in the first game of each set to snatch all the momentum and keep Nishioka on the back foot and chasing all day.
Kyrgios finished with 12 aces to Nishioka's three, and finished the match just like he started it with a break of serve.
It caps off a tournament where he dropped only one set in his six matches – against Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-final – to win his first singles title since this same event back in 2019.
Just a few hours later, Kyrgios was back on the court with Sock contesting the doubles final, with the pair saving both break points they faced.
After an even start, Kyrgios and Sock broke late in the first set, and then struck again to break in the opening game of the second set, going on to serve things out comfortably, never allowing Dodig and Krajicek to even reach deuce against their serve.
In doing so, Kyrgios became the first player to ever sweep both the singles and doubles in Washington.
He only had one doubles title before this season – back at the Lyon Open in 2018, also partnered with Sock – but Kyrgios has now won three in the past eight months, emerging triumphant with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at both the Australian Open and last month's Atlanta Open.
It was far from a warm welcome for newly acquired New York Yankees starting pitcher Frankie Montas, getting smacked around in a 12-9 away loss to the St Louis Cardinals.
Montas, who was traded from the Oakland Athletics before the deadline, struggled mightily, conceding six runs in the first two innings, with four coming off the bat of Nolan Arenado.
Arenado collected an RBI single in the first inning to cancel out an early Yankees run, and after the visiting side jumped ahead 4-1 in the second frame thanks in large part to a two-RBI base hit from AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge, it all began to fall apart.
Dylan Carlson's RBI double started the rally and cut the margin to 4-2, a sacrifice-fly from NL MVP favourite Paul Goldschmidt made it 4-3, and then Arenado connected on a three-run home run to lead 6-4 after two innings.
Montas would be pulled to begin the fourth frame, finishing with figures of six earned runs from five hits and three walks in his 64 pitches.
To the Yankees' credit, they refused to lay down, with Judge driving in another two runs with a double in the fifth inning to tie the game at 6-6, but the Cardinals continued to answer right back, adding three more runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth.
The Yankees again cut the lead to 9-8, but Paul DeJong put the game to bed in the eighth inning with a three-run homer to grab a winning break.
Overall, the teams combined for 21 runs from 27 hits, with Arenado going three-for-five at the plate with four RBIs, and Judge finishing two-for-five with four RBIs. Judge now leads the majors in RBIs with 97, two more than New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso.
DeGrom makes his case as the game's best pitcher
There were concerns that perhaps injuries would strip New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom of his status as the sport's most elite pitcher, but he continued to dispel that myth on Sunday in his side's 5-2 win against the Atlanta Braves.
DeGrom, in his second start of the season, struck out 12 of the 19 batters he faced, going on to finish with two earned runs from one hit and one walk in five-and-two-thirds innings.
Through five innings, deGrom had a perfect game with 10 strikeouts, but was pulled in the sixth after his first walk of the game was followed by a home run from Dansby Swanson to cut the Mets' lead to 5-2, with both bullpens keeping things scoreless the rest of the way.
Rays pull off improbable late rally
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, there had yet to be a run in the Tampa Bay Rays' road game against the Detroit Tigers, before an incredible offensive explosion saw the Rays prevail 7-0.
The Rays as a team conceded only three hits and no walks as six pitchers combined beautifully, while the Tigers relied on Matt Manning to get them through most of the game, pitching seven scoreless frames for seven baserunners and seven strikeouts.
In the ninth inning, after two outs, the Rays rattled off consecutive at-bats resulting in a double, three walks, a single, a double and another single as seven straight batters reached base.
20-year-old Kim Joo-hyung became the second-youngest player since 1932 to win a PGA Tour event – trailing only Jordan Spieth – as he produced a final-round 61 to run away with a five-stroke buffer and claim the Wyndham Championship at 20 under.
In doing so, he became the event's youngest ever winner, and after entering the last tournament of the season ranked in the 400s in the FedEx Cup standings, he booked his place in the playoffs later this month.
His final round included an incredible front-nine score of 27, with six birdies and an eagle, and making his win even more remarkable is the fact that he started his week with a quadruple bogey from his opening hole on Thursday.
Speaking to CBS after stepping off the final green, Kim said his ability to keep a sense of humour about his rough start was the key to bouncing back.
"I stayed very patient this week," he said. "I felt like after that quad, once I started to laugh it off I could feel like I was in a much better mental state.
"Instead of being angry and depressed I just stayed in the moment – I can't believe I won with a quadruple bogey on the first hole – hopefully that doesn't happen again.
"It's definitely a week I will remember forever."
He added: "it was a hard day – I didn't know golf was this stressful before."
Finishing in a tie for second was Kim's South Korean compatriot Im Sung-jae and American John Huh at 15 under, with Ben Griffin alone in fourth at 14 under.
American trio Max McGreevy, Russell Henley and Taylor Moore tied for fifth at 13 under, and there was another two-stroke gap to the group rounding out the top-10 at 11 under consisting of England's Tyrrell Hatton, Australia's Cameron Percy, India's Anirban Lahiri, and Americans Brandon Wu and Chesson Hadley.
Germany's Stephan Jaeger posted Sunday's second-best round with a 62 to finish tied for 13th at 10 under, and Canada's Corey Conners produced a pair of 66s on the weekend to sit on the fringe of the top-20 after scraping through right on the cut-line, tied with Will Zalatoris at nine under.
Quade Cooper says he is "ready and prepared for this journey" after suffering an Achilles injury during Australia's Rugby Championship 41-26 win over Argentina on Saturday.
The fly-half went down injured seven minutes into the second half after slipping while in possession, and grabbed for his left leg before leaving the field with support from medical staff.
Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie revealed after the game that Cooper's injury appeared to be "pretty serious".
The 34-year-old had only just returned from a strained calf that saw him miss the home series defeat to England, and faces a long lay-off just over a year before the Rugby World Cup in France.
Cooper took to Instagram on Sunday to thank his team-mates and medical staff, while vowing to support his team-mates from the sidelines.
He wrote: "Ready and prepared for this journey. Doesn’t mean it will be easy but I know I’ve prepared myself for the challenge ahead by building systems and habits to guide me through each obstacle on my path.
"Prepare for the storm so you are strong enough to endure it.
"Want to thank both my team-mates and the Argentinian players for their support and care when I got injured. My team-mates who continue to help me learn and grow each day I will miss you all but be supporting your journey as I continue mine.
"Our coaches for believing in me and continuing to push my growth. Our medical team who put so much time and energy into each and everyone of us."
Liudmila Samsonova secured her second career singles title on the WTA Tour by defeating Kaia Kanepi in the final of the Citi Open.
Unseeded Russian Samsonova beat Estonian Kanepi 4-6 6-3 6-3 to take the title in Washington on Sunday.
It was Kanepi, the tournament's sixth seed, who struck first in a tight opening set with strong serving from both players, capitalising on the only break point opportunity in the 10th game.
While Samsonova won at least 70 per cent of her service points in each of the three sets, Kanepi's effectiveness dipped after the opener, with a 77 per cent (20-of-26) success rate in the first set, which dropped to 63 per cent (15-of-24) in the second and the third (12-of-19) to provide the Russian with an avenue back into the contest.
Kanepi led 3-2 in the second set, before Samsonova rattled off the next five games, securing a double break in the process and forcing a decider.
In a tight third frame, with Samsonova leading 4-3, she created three break point opportunities and only needed the first to grab a winning buffer, serving out the match for the title.
It is the 23-year-old's first singles title since her maiden victory at the German Open 14 months ago, and she only dropped two sets in the process while defeating fifth seed Elise Mertens, second seed Emma Raducanu, China's Wang Xiyu and Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.
Ashleigh Buhai won the Women's Open in dramatic fashion to earn her first major title after beating Chun In-gee in a play-off at Muirfield.
The South African held a five-shot lead going into the final round on Sunday, but needed four extra holes to seal the biggest victory of her career after a closing four-over 75.
Buhai held a healthy lead despite being one-over for her round at the turn, but a nightmare triple bogey seven at the 15th dropped to 10 under and into a share of the lead with Chun - who shot a one-under 70.
Both players avoided bogeys in their remaining holes to set up a play-off, and Buhai looked as if she was going to be victorious after a brilliant second shot got her onto the green, while Chun's second stroke landed in the bunker.
But a sublime chip from Chun put her on the green and she successfully putted for par, while Buhai's putt for birdie and the championship went awry.
The two matched each other again on the second play-off hole with bogeys, while another long championship putt for the South African on the third extra hole went agonisingly left.
A poor tee shot from Chun on a fourth attempt at the 18th hole meant it was advantage Buhai, and the 33-year-old held her nerve despite a poor second stroke to better Chun's bogey with a par and secure her first major title in stunning circumstances.
Hinako Shibuno, who led heading into day two, carded a level-par final round to finish third on nine under, while Madelene Sagstrom bogeyed the 18th to drop to joint-fourth alongside Leona Maguire and world number two Minjee Lee.
Another poor round from Olympic gold medallist and world number three Nelly Korda meant she finished tied for 41st at four over, while former world number one Lydia Ko finished joint-seventh at five under.
On Thursday, Jamaica’s all-female elite shooting team, Super Six, loaded up their cash cartridges when top roofing company, Spectrum Systems, announced sponsorship for them to participate in the upcoming Pan Am Handgun Championships.
The multi-million-dollar sponsorship means Spectrum Systems will cover the cost of airfare, accommodation and match ammunition for five of the team’s members who will compete at the championships scheduled for Florida from September 14-21 this year. One team member is unavailable due to personal reasons.
Spectrum’s sponsorship is also another first for the history-making shooters as it is the first time a shooting team leaving Jamaica to a major tournament has been sponsored.
It is also the first time Jamaica will be represented at a significant shooting tournament by more than one woman.
“Spectrum Systems, Jamaica’s number-one roofing company, is pleased to sponsor Jamaica’s number-one shooting team. We wish them all the best as they represent us at the championships. Spectrum will ensure they have all they need ahead of and during the championships,” said Andrew Stanigar, Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Systems.
Meanwhile, chairman of Super Six, Robin Richki, who with the group’s marketing and public relations director Steve Brown and the entire team was present at the announcement, said the agreement has helped clear a difficult hurdle.
“Words cannot express how grateful the Super Six family is to Spectrum Systems. This sponsorship has placed us in a position where the dreams of these ladies can be achieved, and I am confident they will make Jamaica proud,” Richki said.
According to Richki, it was obvious from day one that the women on the team have the potential to do well in the sport. Their growth and impact, Richki said, have raised eyebrows and restated the importance of women in any field.
“This support from Spectrum Systems will send the performance of these ladies to the roof of the sport in short order. In just a few months, they have become the face of the sport and are attaining scores that keep going up,” said Richki.
Team leader Detective Corporal Sasha Mullings said this was the best news for the team she leads.
“We are thankful to Spectrum Systems, the Jamaica Rifle Association, our coach Anthony TJ Johnson and our management team for believing in us. We are super elated by this sponsorship and although it is a different environment, we are ready for any challenge,” she said.
Callum Shinkwin stormed to a four-shot victory for his second DP World Tour title at the Wales Open on Sunday.
The Englishman carded a one-under 70 in his final round at the Celtic Manor Resort to finish on 12-under for the tournament, comfortably clear of runner-up Connor Syme.
Shinkwin had looked poised to go head-to-head with playing partner Julien Guerrier, having held a one-stroke lead heading into the final day.
But after making six birdies and five bogeys, the 29-year-old found himself comfortably clear of the Frenchman, who endured an awful five-over final round to tie for third with David Dixon, Lucas Bjerregaard, Renato Paratore and Andy Sullivan at five under.
Back-to-back bogeys on the seventh and eighth in Newport halted Shinkwin's momentum, but he held his nerve to seal another title.
Shinkwin's only previous victory had come at the Cyprus Open in 2020.
Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt is asking for a trade, but the team has denied his request, cleveland.com reported on Sunday.
Hunt is in the final year of a two-year, $13.25million extension, and sat out team drills the past few days at training camp as he was seeking a long-term extension.
Hunt is coming off a 2021 season in which he was limited to eight games due to calf and ankle injuries. That came after he had 1,145 scrimmage yards and 11 total touchdowns for the Browns in 2020, while appearing in all 16 games and forming a solid 1-2 punch with Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb.
Hunt joined Cleveland in 2019 but sat out the first eight games that season after being suspended for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy while playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City selected Hunt in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and he led the league in rushing as a rookie with 1,327 yards.
Hunt's trade request is yet another distraction for the Browns, who acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in the offseason and traded fellow quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers.
Watson was suspended for the first six games of the upcoming season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy after two dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct during massage treatments while he played in Houston.
The NFL, though, is appealing that decision – leaving Watson's status in limbo.
Johann Zarco was "surprised" by his crash at Silverstone that denied him the chance to secure a first MotoGP victory.
The Pramac Racing driver started the British Grand Prix on pole as the season resumed following a five-week break and was able to maintain his lead in the early laps of the race.
A crash at turn eight on lap five ended that charge, however, with Zarco initially continuing but later returning to the pits and retiring from the race.
It was the eighth time in the premier class that Zarco has failed to turn pole position into a victory, and he felt his tyres were the reason why he missed out again.
"The warm temperature pushed me to take this medium front – that was a good tyre anyway because Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] won on it, but it seemed for me, it was the reason of the crash, because there’s always a bit less grip with this tyre," he said.
"But I was too worried to go with the soft one and not finish the race on a good pace, overall. The medium one, I knew it pretty well, so that's why I was quite confident, and the first laps were pretty good.
"But I was surprised in that Turn 8. And clearly I'm disappointed, and it's pretty hard to put all the things together to put the victory."
Zarco's failure to finish saw him drop to fifth in the championship standings, now sitting 66 points behind leader Fabio Quartararo - with Sunday's race at Silverstone being a missed opportunity to close the gap, as the Monster Energy Yamaha rider only finished eighth after having to serve an early long-lap penalty.
The championship standings do not paint a pretty picture for the Frenchman, but he believes further opportunities will arise.
"I hope I will be in good form again in Austria, because what I could feel during this weekend and even during the race helped me to grow on the Ducati and get even more feeling as I want," he added.
"So, yeah, the most positive of today is this feeling that I could take during the race, and understand even more this tyre that sometimes seems a tricky choice, because for nothing you can be hero or zero."
Francesco Bagnaia secured back-to-back MotoGP victories to hand a significant boost to his championship hopes.
The Ducati rider came off the five-week break 66 points behind the championship leader but capitalised on Fabio Quartararo's struggles, closing the gap to 49.
Johann Zarco, who started on pole and third in the championship standings, saw his hopes of a first MotoGP victory end after he crashed out in the lead, which will also have a significant impact on his title chances.
With Quartararo affected by a long-lap penalty and Aleix Espargaro – second in the standings – carrying an injury, Bagnaia's win saw Ducati secure another podium.
Quartararo had an excellent start and immediately propelled himself to second on the grid behind Zarco before serving his long-lap penalty on the fourth lap, subsequently returning to the field to take fifth as he crucially came out ahead of Maverick Vinales.
Zarco's hopes of securing a maiden MotoGP victory ended the following lap, crashing out in the lead, leaving Jack Miller and Alex Rins to challenge for first – the latter having surged from 11th at the start.
Espargaro, having been a doubt for the race after a high-side in practice on Saturday, was unable to compete and fell down the field, though the dent to his Championship hopes was not as severe with teammate Vinales overtaking Quartararo on lap nine.
Three laps later, Bagnaia made his move and became the fifth different leader of the race, while Miller rose to second soon after with Rins looking vulnerable heading into the closing stages.
Vinales jumped further up the standings in the final laps, taking Rins, Miller and then Bagnaia to cap off a stellar drive, but he could not retain the lead, with Bagnaia's title hopes boosted by two consecutive victories.
Quartararo finished eighth, narrowly ahead of championship rival Espargaro but both will now be worried about the title charge of Bagnaia.
TOP 10
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +0.426
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.614
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +1.651
5. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +1.750
6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +2.727
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +3.021
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +3.819
9. Alex Espargaro (Aprilia) +3.958
10. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +6.646
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) - 180
2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) - 158
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) - 131
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) - 118
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) - 114
Teams
1. Aprilia Racing - 240
2. Ducati - 238
3. Monster Energy Yamaha - 206
4. Pramac Racing - 195
5. Red Bull KTM - 179
Max Scherzer delivered 11 strikeouts across seven innings to cap a perfect day for the New York Mets who swept their divisional double-header with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
The Mets got past the Braves 8-5 in the matinee game, followed by a 6-2 victory in the evening led by Scherzer's impressive outing.
The wins were critical in the National League (NL) East where the Mets improved to a 69-39 record ahead of the reigning world champions at 64-45.
Scherzer was at his vintage best for the Mets, amid tension given the Braves had recently closed in on Mets in the race for first place ahead of the five-game series.
"This is what you play the game for," Scherzer said. "You play to face the best, especially deep in the season. You grind it out here in the NL East."
Scherzer's 11 KS means he sits fourth on the all-time MLB list for most 10 or more strikeout games by a pitcher with 109, behind Nolan Ryan (215), Randy Johnson (212) and Roger Clemens (110).
Yankees shut out as Montgomery stars
Jordan Montgomery came back to haunt his former employers only days after being traded as the St Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees 1-0.
Montgomery pitched five scoreless innings for the Cardinals who triumphed courtesy of Paul Goldschmidt's first-inning run driven in by Nolan Arenado.
The Cards new left-handed pitcher, who was involved in the trade deal for Harrison Bader, only managed one strikeout but only allowed two hits and a walk.
Dodgers edge divisional rivals
Max Muncy's fifth-inning go-ahead three-run blast helped the Los Angeles Dodgers topple the San Diego Padres 8-3 in their National League (NL) West battle.
The Dodgers were trailing 3-2 at the time, but Muncy's intervention turned the tide. The Dodgers extend their lead in the NL West with a 74-33 record compared to the Padres who are 61-49.
The home run was Muncy's 11th for the season. Will Smith also had a solo home run, to finish with three hits with two runs and three RBIs.
World number one Daniil Medvedev strolled to victory for his first title of the year at the Los Cabos Open with a 7-5 6-0 demolition of reigning champion Cameron Norrie on Saturday.
The Russian, returning to hard-court tennis in Mexico this week ahead of his US Open title defence, pulled away after an injury timeout late in the first set to comfortably triumph against the 12th-ranked Briton.
Medvedev won every game after the timeout, taken for treatment on a hand issue, after scores were locked at 5-5, with both players having broken serve in the first set.
The third-seeded defending champion had no answers in a lopsided second set which only lasted 26 minutes.
This year's Australian Open runner-up, playing in his fourth final of the season, sent down 5-0 aces and converted six of 10 break points for the match to secure his 14th career title. He was exceptional on serve, with a 67 per cent first-serve win percentage.
The triumph capped an excellent week for Medvedev, who did not drop a set across five wins.
"Every match was very good, but the final match is always special," Medvedev said on court after the match. "It's always a high-level match and I'm really happy I managed to show some good levels and play some good shots."
Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios will take on unseeded Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the Washington Open final on Sunday after maintaining his unblemished record at this year's event with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Mikael Ymer on Saturday.
Kyrgios, who won in Washington DC in 2019, had played twice on Friday following rain delays on Thursday but found his passage through with 10 aces including one on match point to secure victory in one hour and 34 minutes.
"I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today," Kyrgios said. "I served pretty solid, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all. I'm just happy to be in the final once again."
Kyrgios is yet to drop serve throughout this year's tournament and has knocked off seeds Francis Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul along the way.
The Australian will take on Nishioka who stunned top seed Andrey Rublev 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes to secure a spot in his third career final, beating a top 10 opponent for the third time in his career.
Rublev blasted 21-8 winners but also hit 31-14 unforced errors, with the Japanese's consistency proving enough for victory.
Shelby Rogers continued her dream run at the Silicon Valley Classic with victory over ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova securing a spot in the final against last year's runner-up Daria Kasatkina who toppled Paula Badosa.
Unseeded 29-year-old American Rogers has knocked off top seed Maria Sakkari along with Amanda Anisimova and 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu on her way to the decider.
Rogers is also yet to drop a set, maintaining that run against the higher-ranked Kudermetova for a 6-3 6-4 victory in one hour and 20 minutes.
The triumph marks Rogers' biggest final in her career and her first on tour in six years.
Rogers, who trailed 2-0 in the second set, broke Kudermetova's serve with her second match point to clinch victory.
Second seed Badosa was bundled out by Kasatkina 6-2 6-4 in 46 minutes in the other semi-final on Saturday.
Badosa did not appear 100 per cent physically throughout the match and Kasatkina capitalised to secure back-to-back finals in San Jose.
The Spaniard had three break points in the decisive game before Kasatkina converted her first match point.
Kaia Kanepi and Liudmila Samsonova both powered their way into the Citi Open final with comfortable victories on Saturday.
Sixth seed Kanepi ruthlessly swept aside Australian Daria Saville 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 13 minutes, moving her closer to her fifth career title. The 37-year-old Estonian blasted 18 winners for the match.
World number 60 Samsonova proved too good for China's Wang Xiyu, winning 6-1 6-1 in one hour and seven minutes. Samsonova's big hitting was a key feature behind her win with four aces and 17 winners.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
