Julius Randle, the NBA's Most Improved Player, has been handed a four-year, $117million extension with the New York Knicks.
CAA Sports, the agency which represents Randle, told ESPN of the deal on Thursday.
Randle earned individual recognition in an outstanding 2020-21 regular season, acknowledged as the Most Improved Player and also named to the All-NBA Second Team.
The 26-year-old averaged career-highs of 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game to lead the Knicks back to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, showing the greatest year-to-year improvement in win percentage in franchise history.
Randle supplied 22.2 per cent of his team's points – ranking sixth in the league in that sense – as his usage rate rose to 29.3 per cent under Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau.
His most prominent area of progress was from three-point range, up from 27.7 per cent shooting to 41.1. The Knicks were the most improved team in the NBA from deep.
Although Randle then averaged only 18.0 points in the playoffs, with 33.3 per cent three-point shooting, as the Knicks were dumped out by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, he was well worth a lucrative new deal.
And in agreeing terms now, rather than at the end of his existing contract in 2022, the 6ft 8in forward has granted the Knicks greater flexibility to continue to build a team around him.
No team in the league had more cap space heading into free agency this year than the Knicks, whose early moves saw a number of last year's key men return alongside Evan Fournier, the France international coming off a short stint with the Boston Celtics.
Wednesday then brought news of a deal to bring in Kemba Walker, who agreed a buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Walker appears primed to start at point guard in an area the Knicks badly needed to improve, with Elfrid Payton eventually losing the faith of Thibodeau in the postseason after 13 minutes, one point and one assist.
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has announced he will retire at the end of the 2021 season after a 26-year career.
The nine-time MotoGP world champion confirmed this campaign would be his last at the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria – where the Italian claimed his first Grand Prix podium in 1996 – on Thursday.
After falling down the pecking order at Yahama this season, Rossi, who has achieved 115 Grand Prix victories and 235 podiums in 414 starts, decided to continue his career with Petronas, though only managed to collect 17 points from the first nine races in the 2021 campaign.
Ahead of the summer break, the Italian was expected to announce his future plans and he did so during Thursday's exceptional news conference.
"It's a very sad moment," Rossi said to the media. "It's difficult to know that next year I will not race with a motorcycle.
"It was a long journey that I enjoyed very much. Next year, my life will change.
"It's a difficult decision but in the end in all sports it's results that make the difference, so I think it's the right decision. I can't complain about my career."
Rossi had been winless in MotoGP since the 2017 Dutch TT, though his legacy will not shrink away from the sport to which he has contributed so much.
Having set up the VR46 Riders Academy to help young Italian talent, Rossi's own VR46 team will make its debut in 2022.
While Rossi's next move remains unclear, there is speculation around him competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, given he has previously expressed a desire to compete with GT3 machinery.
Max Scherzer has started life with the Los Angeles Dodgers in style, tossing down 10 strikeouts in their 7-5 victory over the Houston Astros in MLB on Wednesday.
Scherzer joined the Dodgers from the Washington Nationals upon last week's MLB Trade Deadline.
The 37-year-old right-hander had 10 K's across seven innings, only allowing five hits and two runs.
Scherzer becomes the seventh pitcher to strike out 10 or more players in their first Dodgers start since the franchise moved to Los Angeles.
The pitcher's display fuelled the 52,724 fans at Dodger Stadium, sparked after striking out Jose Altuve on four pitches.
"The crowd was definitely into it and you can feed off that, you definitely get some adrenaline from that," Scherzer said.
"To go out there and pitch well and to have the fans ask for a curtain call for me, I've never had that happen, so that's a cool moment and something I'll never forget."
Baez stars for Mets, Gausman finds form
Javier Baez dazzled in the New York Mets' 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins that ended their three-game losing run. Baez hit a solo homer in the eighth but also completed an incredible second-inning slide for home plate.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman re-captured some form as he sent down eight strikeouts across six innings as they triumphed 7-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani always elicits a lot of excitement but he had no at-bat impact yet tossed down six strikeouts across six innings, allowing only one earned run, in the Los Angeles Angels' 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers.
New recruits Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson all delivered for the Atlanta Braves, with the former pair homering and the latter with a double in their 7-4 victory over the St Louis Cardinals.
Bryce Harper starred again with his 17th home run of the season as the Philadelphia Phillies won 9-5 over the Washington Nationals.
Mejia tough shift for Indians
The Cleveland Indians had mounted a good run in the American League Central but their 8-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays leaves them 52-53, having lost three of their past four games. They were not helped after trailing 8-0 after three innings as Jean Carlos Mejia allowed seven hits and eight earned runs early.
Rizzo makes Yankees history
Anthony Rizzo hit his third New York Yankees home run to become the first player with RBI in each of his first six games in their long franchise history as they won 10-3 over the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees have been around since 1903.
Wednesday's results
Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Minnesota Twins
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Seattle Mariners
Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Oakland Athletics 5-4 San Diego Padres
Philadelphia Phillies 9-5 Washington Nationals
New York Yankees 10-3 Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays 8-6 Cleveland Indians
Boston Red Sox 4-1 Detroit Tigers
New York Mets 5-3 Miami Marlins
Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 9-1 Chicago White Sox
Atlanta Braves 7-4 St Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs 3-2 Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants 7-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Houston Astros
Mariners at Yankees
Rizzo will look to continue his hot form for the Yankees (58-49) when they host the Seattle Mariners (58-51) in the first of their four-game series.
World number 26 Madison Keys was one of three seeded players to be eliminated in the second round of the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose on Wednesday.
The American third seed was beaten by China's Zhang Shuai 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in one hour and 39 minutes.
Keys sent down 7-1 aces but Zhang, ranked 51st in the world, was excellent on return, converting four of her 11 break points.
Fourth seed Daria Kasatkina was also in danger after losing the first set but rallied to win 3-6 7-5 6-3 over France's Caroline Garcia.
"It was a tough match. From my point of view, I think the level of the game was very good, and I'm really happy that I was able to turn the match in the second set," Kasatkina said in the on-court interview.
Ninth seed Alison Riske was emphatically beaten by Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 13 minutes, while sixth seed Petra Martic bowed out to Poland's Magda Linette 7-5 7-6 (7-5).
World number three Rafael Nadal outlasted Jack Sock in a three-hour epic to progress through to the third round at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat American wildcard Sock 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-1).
Sock, who is currently ranked 192nd in the world, stormed back into the match with an early break in the second set after the Spaniard cruised in the first.
In a three-hour-and-a-four-minute match which saw only five breaks, Nadal got the edge winning more on his second serve, while he produced some vintage winners too.
Nadal goes through to the third round where he will face 14th seed Lloyd Harris, who progresses after a walkover with Tennys Sandgren retiring mid-match.
Third seed and world number 18 Alex De Minaur was bundled out by world number 81 Steve Johnson 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2.
Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov also was dumped out with a 6-2 7-6 (7-4) defeat to Belarussian world number 65 Ilya Ivashka.
Sixth seed Dan Evans went out in straight sets to 20-year-old American Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-1) 6-0 while 10th seed Taylor Fritz also bowed out to Denis Kudla 6-4 6-2.
Former winner Kei Nishikori knocked off ninth seed Alexander Bublik 6-2 7-5, while 13th seed Benoit Paire lost in three sets to Mackenzie McDonald.
Fifth seed Jannik Sinner got through in straight sets against Emil Ruusuvuori, along with eighth seed Reilly Opelka and 11th seed John Millman.
Free agent Victor Oladipo has agreed to a one-year deal to stay with the Miami Heat, according to reports.
The 29-year-old point guard had joined the Houston Rockets from the Indiana Pacers as part of January's James Harden trade, before moving again to the Heat in March.
Olapido is set to remain in Miami and consider free agency in 2022 once he is at full fitness, after a sustaining a knee injury before opting for season-ending surgery on his quad in May.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that the Heat will retain Oladipo's Bird Rights, which will allow them to find the means to sign him again next offseason.
Oladipo averaged 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season having had a breakout 2017-18 with the Indiana Pacers, before a series of injuries slowed his progress.
The two-time All-Star played just four games with the Heat following his trade from the Rockets.
Kemba Walker is joining his hometown New York Knicks after agreeing to a buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
ESPN and The Athletic reported the move, which sees Walker leave the Thunder without playing a game.
The four-time All-Star was part of a June trade that saw OKC send Al Horford back to the Boston Celtics and receive the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The Thunder, who are building a young team after trading superstars Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul in recent seasons, turned that selection into two more in a deal with the Houston Rockets.
Walker's exit gives OKC more minutes to dish out to prospects and sees the Knicks recruit the starting point guard they badly needed.
Elfrid Payton started 63 games last season but lost his place after 13 minutes, one point and one assist in the playoffs. Frank Ntilikina appeared fleetingly in three postseason games.
Derrick Rose was promoted to a starting role, having rediscovered some form leading the second unit, but the Knicks lost all three of his starts and badly missed his consistent contributions from the bench.
Rose has returned to Madison Square Garden on a three-year, $43million contract yet will likely now serve as back-up to Walker.
Walker is expected to fit into the $10m salary cap space left in New York following the Knicks' free agency business, which included the signing of the guard's former Celtics team-mate Evan Fournier.
Walker, who is only two years removed from an All-NBA Third Team season with the Charlotte Hornets, still had two years and $74m remaining on his previous deal before Wednesday's agreement with the Thunder.
The Knicks will be hoping for an offensive boost from Walker, who was born in The Bronx and went to high school at Rice in Manhatten.
The best defense in the league, giving up only 104.7 points per game, carried the Knicks to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, but they scored only 107.0 points on offense, ranking 26th, and lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.
Walker scored 25.6 points and played all 82 games for the Hornets in a career year in 2018-19, earning the move to Boston.
But a series of injuries kept him from playing or performing consistently for the Celtics, while his usage rate last year fell to 26.3 per cent alongside ball-dominant duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Walker will get the opportunity to shine again in a prominent role at MSG, as long as he can stay fit.
Danielle Collins eased past Shelby Rogers 6-4 6-3 to book her spot in the second round at the Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday.
World number 36 Collins proved too strong for American compatriot Rogers, winning in one hour and 25 minutes.
Collins will meet another American in the second round, with Sloane Stephens up next.
Former U.S. Open winner Stephens beat Caty McNally 6-4 6-2 earlier in the day.
Yulia Putintseva, meanwhile, eased her way into the second round with a 7-5 6-3 win over Croatian Donna Vekic.
Putintseva will face Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round after she fought back to overcome Amanda Anisimova 1-6 7-5 7-5.
France's Kristina Mladenovic won 6-4 6-4 over Han Na-Lae, while American Claire Liu won in three sets against Dayana Yastremska.
Mladenovic will face top seed Elise Mertens, while Liu meets second seed Elena Rybakina.
Miguel Cabrera moved closer to his 500th career home run with number 498 in the Detroit Tigers' 4-2 win against the Boston Red Sox.
The 38-year-old designated hitter sent Garrett Richards over the fence at right-field with the Tigers trailing 2-0 in the second inning.
The home run takes two-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star Cabrera's 2021 majors tally to 11 homers, and 498 for his career.
Akil Baddoo drove in Derek Hill's to make it 3-2 to the Tigers in the fifth inning, before Robbie Grossman brought Jonathan Schoop home for an RBI single and insurance run.
Polanco's game to remember
Gregory Polanco robbed Eduardo Escobar of a walk-off homer in the ninth inning before the Pittsburgh Pirates on 8-5 over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The catch capped a spectacular game for Polanco who brought up a no-hitter in the seventh inning by grounding a single, before the Pirates late rally.
After a long lay-off, Hyun-Jin Ryu returned to the mound at home and tossed down eight strikeouts across seven innings as the Toronto Blue Jays won 7-2 over the Cleveland Indians.
Bryce Harper homered in the eighth inning against his former club as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Washington Nationals 5-4.
Tommy Pham hit a lead-off home run, the fourth of the day, as the San Diego Padres won 8-1 at the Oakland Athletics.
Five straight defeats for Red Sox
The Red Sox' 4-2 loss to the Tigers means they have lost five games in a row, including three against the Tampa Bay Rays, one against the Toronto Blue Jays (13-1) as well as Detroit. Boston are 63-45 and drop to second behind the Rays in the American League East.
Another Mookie Betts special
Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts pulled off a spectacular diving catch on the grass just outside the diamond to rob Michael Brantley of a hit. Only two days ago Betts pulled off another special grab against the Arizona Diamondbacks. For the record, the Dodgers lost 3-0 to the Houston Astros who improve to 64-42.
Tuesday's results
Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Washington Nationals
New York Yankees 13-1 Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers 4-2 Boston Red Sox
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Cincinnati Reds
Miami Marlins 5-4 New York Mets
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Los Angeles Angels 11-3 Texas Rangers
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago White Sox 7-1 Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves 6-1 St Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies 13-6 Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres 8-1 Oakland Athletics
Houston Astros 3-0 Los Angeles Dodgers
Padres at Athletics
The San Diego Padres (62-47) continue their series against the Oakland Athletics (60-48).
Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime survived after an early scare against Andreas Seppi to progress to the third round at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
The Canadian world number 15 won 2-6 6-2 6-2 in just under two hours over the 37-year-old Italian.
Seppi had beaten Auger-Aliassime in the opening round at the French Open in June.
Auger-Aliassime this time hit 25 winners, including nine aces, overcoming a slow start where he was broken twice inside the opening six games to win in three sets.
Youngster Jenson Brooksby continued his bright start in Washington D.C. with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 win over fellow American Francis Tiafoe.
Australian Nick Kyrgios was bundled out by Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 6-4, while 12th seed Sebastian Korda eased past Vasek Pospisil 7-5 6-4 in the second round.
Seventh seed Cameron Norrie also triumphed in straight sets over Marcos Giron 6-4 6-3, while emerging star Brandon Nakashima celebrated his 20th birthday with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Alexei Popyrin.
Denis Kudla beat Feliciano Lopez to set up a second round date with 10th seed Taylor Fritz, while Tennys Sandgren will meet 14th seed Lloyd Harris after beating James Duckworth in three sets.
Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori beat India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran 2-6 6-1 6-1 and will take on fifth seed Jannik Sinner in the second round.
DeMar DeRozan is headed to Chicago on a new three-year, $85million contract after the Bulls and San Antonio Spurs orchestrated a sign-and-trade deal, multiple outlets on reported Tuesday.
The Spurs received Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu, who are both on expiring contracts, as well as a future first-round draft pick and two future second-round picks.
DeRozan, who turns 32 later this week, is one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA, averaging at least 20 points per game over each of the last eight seasons.
The 6ft 6in swingman averaged 21.6 points and a career-high 6.9 assists last season for San Antonio while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor.
DeRozan's game, however, has come under scrutiny by some due to his unwillingness to attempt and inability to make three-pointers.
He shot just 22.7 percent from beyond the arc in his three-season tenure with the Spurs.
The move is the latest for Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley in an effort to end the franchise's four-season playoff drought.
Also joining Chicago will be point guard Lonzo Ball, who received a four-year, $85m contract Monday in a sign-and-trade deal that ended his tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Bulls also signed restricted free agent guard Alex Caruso after the Los Angeles Lakers declined to match Chicago's four-year, $37m offer.
Chicago were buyers at last season's trade deadline, acquiring former All-Star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, and are making an urgent push to build around Zach LaVine and win their first playoff series since 2015.
Always a dangerous scorer, LaVine achieved new levels of efficiency last season, shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range, both career highs.
Chicago was thought to be in the market for a polished player or two this offseason, but many thought the team would need to part ways with a young asset.
But the Bulls' front office was able to add both DeRozan and Ball without giving up Lauri Markkanen, Patrick Williams or Coby White.
The Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry agreed to a max contract extension, paying the two-time league MVP $215.4million over four years.
Added to his previous deal of $201m, signed in 2017, Curry becomes the first player in NBA history to ink multiple deals worth at least $200 million, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday.
Curry will be 38 at the end of his new contract but has shown no signs of slowing down after averaging a career-high 32.0 points during the regular season to become the oldest NBA scoring champion since a 35-year-old Michael Jordan accomplished the feat in 1997-98.
The move comes during a crucial offseason for the Warriors after two straight injury-riddled campaigns have seen them fall short of a postseason berth.
Curry carried the Warriors in 2020-21 with Klay Thompson and 2020 second overall pick James Wiseman both suffering season-ending injuries.
Golden State general manager Bob Myers admitted he is not sure if Thompson will be healthy by the start of next season. The five-time All-Star tore his right Achilles before last season's training camp.
That came after Thompson missed the 2019-20 season with a torn ACL suffered in a Game 6 NBA Finals loss in June 2019 that gave the Toronto Raptors their first NBA title.
“I don't know that it'll be the start of the year,” Myers said. "We'll see more as camp gets closer. When I say start of the year, I mean Game 1. I don't know if that's realistic or not.
“What we're focused on is when do we expect Klay to be Klay, and I don't know if that'll be January, February, March. It's too early to say."
With Curry at 33 years old and Thompson and Draymond Green both 31, the Warriors have been connected to rumors of a win-now move that would add veteran talent, but Myers has yet to pull off such a blockbuster.
Wiseman, whose college career at Memphis was cut short due to eligibility issues, has played just 42 games since leaving high school and remains a raw prospect.
Myers has insisted that the club does not intend to trade Wiseman, however, saying he can be an asset in both the short and long term.
The Warriors left many pundits puzzled after last Thursday's NBA Draft, where they used the seventh overall pick on unpolished forward Jonathan Kuminga and the 14th overall selection on guard Moses Moody, leading to even more trade speculation.
There appears to be much left to accomplish this offseason for Myers and the Warriors, but a new contract extension ensures Curry will be the centrepiece of it all, just as he was for three NBA titles and five straight NBA Finals appearances from 2015-19.
Kyle Sinckler is free to play in the British and Irish Lions' deciding third Test against South Africa on Saturday after a citing for alleged biting against the prop was dismissed.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland has made six changes to the side that lost 27-9 in last weekend's encounter in Cape Town.
Hooker Ken Owens, prop Wyn Jones, scrum-half Ali Price, centre Bundee Aki, wing Josh Adams and full-back Liam Williams all come into the XV.
Wales duo Adams and Williams are likely to have an important role in the back three under the Springboks' kicking game that dismantled the Lions after half-time last time out.
Tight-head prop Sinckler will take his place on the bench alongside fly-half Finn Russell, lock Adam Beard and number eight Sam Simmonds – the three of whom are in Test squad for the first time in the series.
Gatland has axed Owen Farrell Taulupe Faletau, Anthony Watson, Stuart Hogg, Rory Sutherland, Tadhg Beirne and Chris Harris from his 23.
"The matchday 23 have an incredibly special opportunity in front of them - to seal a Lions series victory in South Africa," said the veteran coach.
"It doesn't get much bigger than this and we're excited by the challenge that faces us on Saturday.
"We've no excuses from last week - the Springboks put us under pressure in the second half and deserved the win. We have to be much better than that second-half performance, and I believe we will be."
Sinckler denied allegations that he bit Franco Mostert and World Rugby were unable to find sufficient evidence to punish the England forward, who was facing a minimum 12-week ban.
A statement from the governing body read: "Having reviewed all the evidence, the committee deemed that on the balance of probabilities, it could not be satisfied that the player committed an act of foul play.
"On that basis, the committee dismissed the citing and the player is free to play again immediately."
South Africa are without world player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit and influential scrum-half Faf de Klerk through injury.
Cobus Reinach comes in for De Klerk while Franco Mostert's switch to blindside flanker means Lood de Jager will partner Eben Etzebeth in the second row.
Veteran fly-half Morne Steyn, whose long-range penalty secured a series triumph for the Springboks over the Lions in 2009, is named on the bench.
British and Irish Lions: Liam Williams, Josh Adams, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe, Dan Biggar, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Courtney Lawes, Tom Curry, Jack Conan
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Adam Beard, Sam Simmonds, Conor Murray, Finn Russell, Elliot Daly
South Africa : Wille le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Morne Steyn, Damian Willemse
Alex Dickerson hammered a grand slam as the San Francisco Giants won 11-8 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB on Monday.
Leading 3-1 at the top of the fifth inning, Dickerson hit Diamondbacks right-hander J.B. Bukauskas over at right-field with bases loaded.
It was Dickerson's third career grand slam, having crushed one on his memorable franchise debut two years ago.
The home run was only Dickerson's 10th of 2021, with only 28 RBI this season.
The table topping Giants led 7-1 but the Diamondbacks, bottom of the National League West, stormed back after two-run shots from Josh Reddick and Asdrubal Cabrera.
Wilmer Flores homered to make it 8-5 before Arizona tied it up after three runs in the seventh inning off reliever Jay Jackson.
In the 10th inning, Buster Posey drove in Brandon Crawford, before two more runs, with Jarlin Garcia closing it out.
Brinson grand slam, Escobar HR home debut
Lewis Brinson hit a first-innings grand slam to lead the Miami Marlins to a 6-3 win over the New York Mets. With bases loaded, Brinson drove it out over right-field.
New acquisition Eduardo Escobar marked his home debut with a three-run home run in the Milwaukee Brewers' 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Right-hander Jorge Lopez allowed one hit across six innings as the Baltimore Orioles won 7-1 over the New York Yankees.
Andy Ibanez made an incredible sliding stop at second base with a throw to first in the Texas Rangers' 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Rays brushed aside by Mariners
The Tampa Bay Rays (64-43) may be top of the American League East but they were humbled 8-2 by the Seattle Mariners (57-50) after conceding five runs in the third inning. It was not a good shift on the mound for Michael Wacha, allowing eight hits in four innings.
Guerrero tops the charts
Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit a two-run home run to tie it up in the Toronto Blue Jays' 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Guerrero now has an league high 82 runs and 85 RBI, while he is second behind only Shohei Ohtani for most home runs, with 34.
Monday's results
Cleveland Indians 5-2 Toronto Blue Jays
Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 Washington Nationals
Baltimore Orioles 7-1 New York Yankees
Miami Marlins 6-3 New York Mets
Seattle Mariners 8-2 Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers 4-1 Los Angeles Angels
Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants 11-8 Arizona Diamondbacks
Astros at Dodgers
World champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers (64-43) will host the Houston Astros (64-42) in a blockbuster rivalry meeting.
Ninth seed Alison Riske defeated former top 10 player CoCo Vanderweghe in the opening round of the Silicon Valley Classic in straight sets on Monday.
Riske, who made the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2019 and is currently ranked 37th in the world, won 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 28 minutes.
In a match which saw eight breaks converted, Riske's ability to win on her first serve proved the difference.
Vanderweghe, who made the Silicon Valley Classic finals in 2012 and 2017, was broken five times and won 58.1 per cent of first serve points.
Croatian sixth seed Petra Martic eased into the second round with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Anastasija Sevastova.
Martic will face Magda Linette next, after the Pole accounted for Dutch qualifier Lesley Kerkhove 6-3 6-3.
Ana Konjuh defeated Marie Bouzkova in a three-set epic which last two hours and 41 minutes, winning 7-5 3-6 7-5.
China's Zhang Shuai won over Emma Raducanu in straight sets, along with Carolina Garcia who defeated Emina Bektas.
Young American Jenson Brooksby claimed some revenge for last month's Hall of Fame Open final defeat to Kevin Anderson by beating the South African 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in the Citi Open first round on Monday.
Brooksby, who received a wildcard for the draw, triumphed in one hour and 49 mnutes against the former world number five.
The 20-year-old American saved a set point at 5-6 in the first set, before winning in a tiebreaker off the back of winning six consecutive points having trailed 1-4.
Former City Open finalist Anderson, who sent down 10-1 aces, had defeated Brooksby to win the Hall of Fame Open last month.
World number 130 Brooksby, who had started the season outside the top 300, claimed the crucial break in the eighth game of the second set.
Brooksby advances to take on American Francis Tiafoe, fresh from competing at Tokyo 2020, as numerous big names enter the draw for the second round.
Kei Nishikori, who won in Washington in 2015, got past American Sam Querrey 6-4 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Kazakhstani ninth seed Alexander Bublik.
American Jack Sock will take on top seed Rafael Nadal in the second round after he got past Yoshihito Nishioka in a walkover 6-7 (3-7) 4-0.
Former top 20 player Andreas Seppi triumphed in three sets against Yasutaka Uchiyama while Canadian tour veteran Vasek Pospisil got past Emilio Gomez in three.
Ilya Ivashka, Marcos Giron, Ricardas Berankas and Daniel Galan were the other first round winners on Monday.
Kyle Lowry is set to leave the Toronto Raptors to join the Miami Heat after the 35-year-old point guard revealed the free agency move on social media.
The six-time NBA All-Star, who has been with the Raptors since 2012, will reportedly join the Heat on a three-year deal. The deal marks the start of the NBA free agency period.
Lowry announced the deal on Twitter, posting "Miami Heat x Kyle Lowry Let's goo!!"
ESPN claims the deal is worth approximately $90 million, completing via a sign-and-trade with the Raptors.
Lowry holds records for most assists, most three-point field goals and three-point attempts for Raptors and is widely viewed as the best player in franchise history. He was part of the Toronto side which won the 2019 NBA title.
The veteran played in 601 games after joining Toronto in July 2012, behind only DeMar DeRozan (675) on their all-time list.
Lowry averaged 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season.
The Heat reached the NBA postseason in 2020-21 but fell in the first round 4-0 to eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.
South Africa's director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is to face a misconduct hearing after publicly criticising the match officials following their first Test defeat to the British and Irish Lions.
Erasmus accused the Lions of "reckless and dangerous" play in their 22-17 win last month and hit out at the standard of refereeing from Nic Berry.
The 48-year-old made the claims in a 62-minute clip posted on social media as he highlighted what he felt were a number of calls that went against South Africa.
He also retweeted clips from an anonymous Twitter user, alleged to be one of his own accounts, highlighting "questionable calls" made by the tourists.
World Rugby has now cited Erasmus for his comments and he, along with South African Rugby, will face a judicial hearing.
"Match officials are the backbone of the sport, and without them there is no game," a statement from the rugby governing body read on Monday.
"World Rugby condemns any public criticism of their selection, performance or integrity which undermines their role, the well established and trust-based coach-officials feedback process, and more importantly, the values that are at the heart of the sport.
"Having conducted a full review of all the available information, World Rugby is concerned that individuals from both teams have commented on the selection and/or performance of match officials.
"However, the extensive and direct nature of the comments made by Rassie Erasmus within a video address, in particular, meets the threshold to be considered a breach of World Rugby regulation 18 (misconduct and code of conduct) and will now be considered by an independent disciplinary panel.
"World Rugby has reminded the management of both teams of the importance of this area and their obligations regarding the values of the sport."
In response, SA Rugby posted a brief statement on Twitter, which read: "SA Rugby has noted the charges brought by World Rugby and will respond through the designated channels. There will be no further comment from SA Rugby until the process is complete."
South Africa defeated the Lions 27-9 in a fiery encounter at the weekend to level the three-match series at 1-1 and set up a decider in Cape Town on Saturday.
Erasmus, who has doubled up as a water carrier, may still be present for that showdown as a hearing date has not yet been set by World Rugby.
George Russell will get behind the wheel of a Mercedes this week as speculation around a Formula One promotion persists.
Russell is widely considered to be vying with current Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas for a seat next season.
And the Williams man will get the opportunity to join the team in Hungary on Tuesday to test the 18-inch tyres that will be used in 2022.
Russell was part of Mercedes' junior driver programme before getting his F1 opportunity with Williams and has tested for the Silver Arrows previously.
The 23-year-old even stood in for Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when the world champion had tested positive for coronavirus.
A pit-stop mix-up cost Russell the victory on that occasion, but a ninth-placed finish secured his first points.
The Bottas rivalry will draw extra attention to Russell's performance this week, though, coming straight after his best ever result at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Russell finished eighth, earning points with Williams for the first time.
Bottas had started from second after a record-equalling 80th qualifying one-two for Mercedes, but he crashed on lap one in a chaotic start.
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