July 9, 2021 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave has been extended by seven days through July 15 by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.
MLB investigators continue to look into allegations of sexual misconduct against the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. Bauer was placed on seven days’ paid leave on July 2.
July 9, 2021 3:48 am
PHOENIX (AP) – The Phoenix Suns find themselves two wins away from the first NBA championship in team history, and the first major league title for the city since the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. Devin Booker pumped in 31 points and Mikal Bridges added 27 as the Suns downed the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-108 to take a two-games-to-none lead in the Finals. Chris Paul chipped in 23 points and eight assists for Phoenix, which took control by outscoring the Bucks, 30-16 in the second quarter to go up by 11. The Suns shot 20-for-40 from 3-point range, led by Booker’s 7-for-12 from beyond the arc. Paul, Bridges and Jae Crowder each added three treys. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 42 points and 12 rebounds in his second game back after missing two games with a hyperextended left knee. But Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton combined to shoot just 12-for-37. Holiday finished with 17 points on 7 of 21 from the field. Middleton scored just 11 on 5 of 16 shooting while adding eight assists and six rebounds. Game 3 is Sunday in Milwaukee.
July 8, 2021 3:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte had a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning and added a two-run home run as the Atlanta Braves avoided a sweep by surging past the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-3. Almonte put the Braves in front in the sixth with a sharp ground ball up the middle against Kyle Crick (1-1) that started a five-run outburst. Jacob Stallings hit a three-run homer for the Pirates.
July 8, 2021 3:55 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The downside of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s high-powered offense is that it overshadows their excellent defense. It was the defense that allowed them to clinch their second consecutive Stanley Cup in a Game 5 win over the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0. Conn Smythe Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy needed to make just 22 saves in his fifth shutout of the postseason giving him a 1.90 goals-against average. He’s the first netminder in NHL history to record shutouts in five consecutive series clinchers. Vasilevskiy remains undefeated in games after a loss over the past two playoffs. The lone goal was provided by Ross Colton in the second period off a feed from defenseman David Savard. Neither player was with the Bolts for last year’s Cup run. Nikita Kucherov had 32 points to join Mario Lemieux as the only players to lead the postseason in scoring two years in a row. Carey Price stopped 29 shots for the Canadiens, whose team-record Cup drought will enter its 29th consecutive year.
July 8, 2021 3:57 am
BUENOS AIRES (AP) – Former Masters and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera has been sentenced in Argentina to two years in prison on assault charges against his former partner. The 51-year-old Cabrera was convicted of assaulting, threatening and harassing Cecilia Torres Mana, his partner between 2016 and 2018. Cabrera denied in the trial any wrongdoing and will serve his sentence immediately.
July 7, 2021 3:45 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Bryan Reynolds drew a four-pitch walk from a Tyler Matzek, forcing in the winning run in the ninth inning and giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves and a three-game winning streak. Rookie Rodolfo Castro, recalled from Double-A Altoona before the game, worked an eight-pitch walk from Matzek leading off. Adam Frazier slapped a single though a big hole at shortstop that was vacated because of an infield shift, and Ke’Bryan Hayes on a full count and Reynolds got the second game-ending RBI of his career. Matzek threw just eight of 20 pitches for strikes.
July 7, 2021 3:47 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – No team has won the Stanley Cup on home ice since the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. The Tampa Bay Lightning have that chance in Game 5 of the final against the Montreal Canadiens. Coach Jon Cooper and the Lightning were the runners up when Chicago ended the franchise’s 77-year home-ice Cup-winning drought. Watching the Blackhawks celebrate is still a vivid memory for Cooper, even after winning it all last year. That was in the bubble and Edmonton. Winning at home this time would afford the Lightning the chance to celebrate that moment with friends and family.
July 7, 2021 3:48 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Chris Paul had 32 points and nine assists, Devin Booker scored 27 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the returning Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks 118-105 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Paul scored 16 points during a sensational third quarter that had Phoenix fans who waited 28 years to see the NBA Finals again screaming in delight. Finally playing for the title in his 16th season, the star point guard has the Suns in the NBA Finals for only the third time, and it sure looked as if they could make this one different than the other two. Antetokounmpo finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds and four assists.
July 6, 2021 3:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Ben Gamel homered twice and drove in six runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Atlanta Braves 11-1 on Monday night. Gamel took Max Fried (5-5) over the fence in center field for a two-run home run in the fourth. He doubled home Bryan Reynolds in the sixth and added a three-run shot in the seventh. The Pirates have won two straight following a six-game losing streak. Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. had two hits each for Atlanta, but the Braves missed a chance to get back to .500 for the first time in a month.
July 6, 2021 3:49 am
MONTREAL (AP) – Josh Anderson scored his second goal 3:57 into overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens avoided elimination by defeating the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Pat Maroon and Barclay Goodrow scored for the Lightning who are attempting to become the NHL’s second team to win consecutive titles in the NHL’s salary-cap era. The series shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
