July 14, 2021 3:44 am
DENVER (AP) – The American League has earned its eighth consecutive All-Star Game victory. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Mike Zunino hit solo homers and Xander Bogaerts had two of the AL’s nine hits in a 5-2 victory over the National League. Marcus Semien put the junior circuit ahead to stay with an RBI single in the second, one inning before Guerrero went deep. Guerrero also poked an RBI grounder and Bogaerts added a run-scoring single. Guerrero is the first Toronto Blue Jay to be named the MVP of the All-Star Game. J.T. Realmuto put the NL on the board with a solo shot in the fifth. Jared Walsh made a sliding catch in left field on Kris Bryant’s tricky liner with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning, keeping the AL ahead. Angels star Shohei Ohtani made history as the first All-Star to be selected as both a pitcher and a hitter. He was the AL starting pitcher and worked a perfect first inning to get the win but finished 0-for-2 at the plate. Corbin Burnes took the loss, yielding two runs and four hits over two frames. The AL owns a 46-43-2 lead in the all-time series.
July 14, 2021 3:45 am
DENVER (AP) – Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says banning or limiting defensive shifts would be an effort to restore Major League Baseball to how it was played before offense was suffocated by analytics. Speaking before the All-Star Game in Denver to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Manfred said seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second base likely will be dropped after this season. He said extending the DH to the NL could be possible. Manfred said MLB was considering having umpires explain video review decisions to fans at ballparks over the public-address system, similar to the procedure in the NFL.
July 14, 2021 3:47 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has announced his retirement after 15 NHL seasons. The Finland native says he’s been on an incredible journey, with the Predators taking him to more places than he could imagine. Rinne says this decision wasn’t easy but the right one at the right time. The 2018 Vezina Trophy winner earned a 5-0 win over the Hurricanes in his last start on May 10. It was his 60th career shutout and tied him with Tom Barrasso for 19th on the NHL wins list with 369.
July 13, 2021 3:51 am
Pete Alonso danced to his second straight Home Run Derby title, besting Shohei Ohtani, Trey Mancini and Juan Soto on a night of record long balls in the thin Rocky Mountain air of Coors Field. The New York Mets first baseman hit 74 total home runs and beat Mancini 23-22 in the final round, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14) in winning consecutive titles. Batting second, Alonso trailed 22-17 after the first two minutes of the final round, then hit six homers on six swings over the first 28 seconds of his final minute.
July 13, 2021 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Fans and players who will be at Coors Field for the MLB’s All-Star Game are both looking forward to the Greatest Show on Earth. Shohei Ohtani is the top star of baseball’s midsummer classic, the center of attention for players and fans like no one before. Fans cheered when he was introduced at a news conference located outdoors, across the street from Coors Field due to the pandemic. Ohtani has generated huge buzz across baseball for his exploits at the plate and on the mound. He leads the majors with 33 home runs and is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA in 13 starts. Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals will start for the NL in the game at Coors Field in Denver.
July 13, 2021 3:52 am
The Chicago Blackhawks have traded two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers for young defenseman Caleb Jones and a third-round draft pick. The Blackhawks also sent forward Tim Soderlund to the Oilers, who were looking for some help on defense after they were swept by Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs. The 2022 draft pick becomes a second-rounder if Edmonton reaches next year’s Stanley Cup Final and Keith is among the top four Oilers defensemen in total ice time through three rounds. Keith has two years left on his contract at a salary-cap hit just over $5.5 million. He turns 38 on Friday.
July 13, 2021 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – Longtime television analyst Pierre McGuire is returning to an NHL front office with the Ottawa Senators. He will be their senior vice president of player development. McGuire was one of the faces of NBC Sports’ hockey coverage since 2006 and often served as the between-the-benches analyst. McGuire spent time as a coach, scout and executive before his broadcasting career. This is a return to those roots for the 59-year-old. McGuire was a Senators pro scout between 1994 and 1996 before going into radio and TV. He won the Stanley Cup twice as a Pittsburgh scout and assistant in the early 1990s.
July 12, 2021 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the first pick in baseball’s amateur draft, with the Texas Rangers then taking Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the picks from Denver’s Bellco Theater. Major League Baseball moved the draft from its longstanding June slot to July’s All-Star weekend in an effort to better showcase its future stars. Davis has big power and an even bigger arm, throwing out 46% of would-be base stealers to become a finalist for the Buster Posey Award as college baseball’s best defensive catcher.
July 12, 2021 3:52 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Wilmer Difo’s tie-breaking single in the ninth inning capped Pittsburgh’s biggest comeback of the season, and the Pirates rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat the New York Mets 6-5. The NL East-leading Mets jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Chase De Jong in the first on a two-run homer by Francisco Lindor and a three-run shot by Michael Conforto. Rodolfo Castro hit two home runs for the Pirates.
July 12, 2021 3:53 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Bucks gave up an absurd number of 3-pointers while dropping the first two games of the NBA Finals. They seemed to figure things out. The Bucks held the Suns to 9-for-31 shooting from beyond the arc in earning a 120-100 win over Phoenix in Game 3. Devin Booker shot 3-for-14 overall and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc after draining seven of his 12 long-range attempts in Game 2. Booker finished with 10 points and Cameron Payne was held to seven on 3 of 10 from the field. The Suns led by three until the Bucks outscored them, 35-17 in the second quarter. Phoenix eventually whittled its deficit to four, but Milwaukee closed the third period with 16 straight points to go up by 20. Giannis Antetokounmpo shredded through the Suns with 41 points on 14 of 23 shooting. Antetokounmpo also was 13 of 17 from the line, grabbed 13 rebounds and had six assists. Jrue Holiday finished with 21 points and Khris Middleton had 18 after both experienced shooting woes in Game 2 on Thursday. Chris Paul had a team-high 19 points for the Suns, one more than Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton. Crowder was 6-for-7 from beyond the arc. The series stays in Milwaukee for Game 4 on Wednesday.
