HOCKEY:
Nathan MacKinnon could not find the words. Gabriel Landeskog cracked a smile and a joke.
After years of playoff disappointments, the Colorado Avalanche are back atop hockey’s mountain after dethroning the two-time defending champions.
Behind a goal and an assist from MacKinnon, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup for the third time in franchise history and first in more than two decades by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the final Sunday night.
MLB:
Aaron Judge drove a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against Houston in four days, and the New York Yankees recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game, beating Houston 6-3 to split a four-game series between the AL’s best teams. Giancarlo Stanton ended a historic hitless drought for New York with a one-out homer in the seventh inning, and DJ LeMahieu followed with a tying two-run drive in the eighth. Just like on Thursday, when he broke a 6-all tie with a single in the ninth, Judge lifted the major league-leading Yankees.
In other MLB action:
A lengthy bench-clearing brawl resulted in the ejections of six players and both managers in the second inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Three of the first four hitters in the Mariners’ lineup were ejected, while three Angels pitchers were tossed after two days of tension over inside pitches boiled over with punches thrown by people from both teams. The melee began when Seattle’s Jesse Winker charged the Angels’ emptying dugout after Winker was hit by Andrew Wantz. Luis Rengifo homered and David MacKinnon drove in the tiebreaking run with a single in the seventh for LA.
Tyler Mahle pitched into the seventh inning for his first victory in more than a month, and the Cincinnati Reds routed the San Francisco Giants 10-3. Nick Senzel singled three times to pace Cincinnati on a day when every Reds starter had at least one hit and seven drove in one run or more. Joey Votto hit an RBI double as part of the Reds’ seven-run third inning, helping Cincinnati take two of three from San Francisco after dropping seven in a row. Mike Yastrzemski hit his eighth home run for the Giants.
Daulton Varsho hit a three-run homer, Pavin Smith had a career-high four hits and three RBIs and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a series sweep with a 11-7 win over the Detroit Tigers. David Peralta also had three hits for Arizona, which snapped a five-game losing streak. Varsho’s homer was his 10th of the season, and came in a five-run sixth inning for Arizona. Former American League Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel made his debut for the Diamondbacks and gave up six hits and four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Reliever J.B. Wendelken got the win for Arizona. Detroit starter Beau Brieske allowed five hits and five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Eric Haase homered and had three RBIs for Detroit.
Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the seventh inning and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to beat the San Diego Padres 8-5. The Phillies lost NL MVP Bryce Harper indefinitely with a broken left thumb a day earlier. San Diego’s Yu Darvish left with a 5-3 lead after striking out a season-high nine in six innings. But reliever Nabil Crismatt couldn’t hold it after getting into trouble opening the seventh. Schwarber drove a 2-1 pitch into the left field seats for the lead. It was his 21st homer this season. The Phillies have won three of four.
Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning to drive in his third run of the game, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to be the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5. St. Louis led 5-0 but starter Jack Flaherty left after two innings because of right shoulder tightness, and the Cubs tied the score with a five-run fourth. The Cardinals have lost three of their last four games and seven of their last 10. Contreras hit a tying two-run single in the fourth and led off the 10th with an RBI single off Zack Thompson.
Seth Brown hit his 10th home run of the season, Nick Allen had two RBIs and the Oakland Athletics defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-3. Brown leads the team in HRs, and belted a solo shot to right in the sixth inning to make it 2-0. Kansas City responded in the bottom of the sixth with three runs, including Carlos Santana’s two-run single and a pinch-hit RBI bloop single by Edward Olivares. Allen then hit his two-RBI single in the seventh. Oakland reliever Domingo Acevedo got the win and Lou Trivino the save. Kansas City’s Brady Singer gave up five runs on seven hits in a career-high 8 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
Rowdy Tellez hit a pair of two-run homers against his former team, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3. Milwaukee took two of three in the series between teams meeting for the first time since 2017. Tellez, traded from Toronto to the Brewers last July, homered in the first inning. He then connected in the second for his 13th home run. The drive gave the Brewers an 8-3 lead as a crowd of more than 35,000 stood and chanted Tellez’s name.
Rookie Nick Fortes hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 3-2. Fortes drove an 0-1 pitch from reliever Adam Ottavino into the left field seats as Miami avoided a three-game sweep by the NL East leaders. Miami reliever Tanner Scott walked J.D. Davis to lead off the ninth. Davis advanced on a wild pitch and reached third on Luis Guillorme’s one-out groundout. Scott struck out James McCann to end the Mets threat.
Shane McClanahan struck out 10 over seven innings, Tampa Bay had a three-run seventh keyed by an overturned call and the Rays completed a three-game sweep by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2. McClanahan allowed one run and four hits, and had 10 strikeouts, lowering his major league-leading ERA to 1.77 ERA and grabbing the big league lead in strikeouts with 123. The Rays took a 4-1 lead in the seventh on Ji-Man Choi’s run-scoring double and RBI singles by Josh Lowe and Isaac Paredes off Anthony Banda, who replaced Tyler Beede with one on and two outs.
Trevor Story drove in two runs to reach 500 career RBIs, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez each had three hits and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Cleveland Guardians 8-3 for a three-game sweep that extended their winning streak to seven. Boston had 15 hits and drew 11 walks, its highest total since May 2019. The Red Sox have won 11 of 13 and are 19-4 in June, improving to a season-high 11 games over .500 at 42-31. Cleveland last lost four straight since a 7-2 trip and hosts AL Central-leading Minnesota in a five-game series starting Monday.
Byron Buxton had three hits, including an RBI triple for the second straight game, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Colorado Rockies 6-3. The Twins stretched their division lead on Cleveland ahead of another pivotal series with the Guardians. Max Kepler added two hits and two RBIs for the Twins, and Joe Ryan got his first win in more than a month. Charlie Blackmon homered for the Rockies, and starter Ryan Feltner got the loss.
Jackson Tetreault allowed one run in six-plus innings in his third major league start, Josh Bell had his second three-hit game of the weekend and Nelson Cruz drove in three runs as the Washington Nationals beat the Texas Rangers 6-4. The Nationals scored three runs in each of the first two innings. They’ve won four of their last six games and took their first road series since sweeping three at Cincinnati on June 3-5.
Dylan Cease struck out a career-high 13 over seven innings, Gavin Sheets homered and the Chicago White Sox avoided a four-game sweep, hanging on to beat Baltimore 4-3 after the Orioles scored twice in the ninth inning. The Orioles, aided by two errors by first baseman José Abreu, loaded the bases against Kendall Graveman with none out before Jonathan Araúz lined an RBI single. After pinch hitter Rougned Odor struck out, Cedric Mullins cut it to 4-3 with a sacrifice fly. Graveman struck out Trey Mancini, and the White Sox came away with the win after losing four straight.
The Philadelphia Phillies have placed reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper on the 10-day injured list with a broken left thumb. Former No. 1 overall draft pick Mickey Moniak was recalled from Triple-A to take Harper’s roster spot. Harper’s thumb was broken when he was hit by a 97 mph pitch from San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell on Saturday night. There is no timetable for his return. Harper is hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .985 OPS, and has helped the Phillies recently surge back into playoff contention.
In other MLB news:
Ronald Acuña Jr. was not starting in the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers after fouling a ball off his left foot in Saturday night’s game. The star outfielder moved around the Braves clubhouse Sunday afternoon with his left knee on a medical scooter to keep his foot elevated. Tests showed no fracture but Acuña said he couldn’t put pressure on his foot. Acuña was not wearing a protective boot. The Braves are off on Monday, giving Acuña two days to rest.
Former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel was called up by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the minors to start against the Detroit Tigers. The 34-year-old was designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on May 28. The Diamondbacks signed him to a minor league deal on June 6 and will be responsible for $396,154 of his $18 million salary. Keuchel started two games in the Arizona Complex League for the Diamondbacks, allowing six runs while striking out 17 and walking two in 12 innings. Keuchel was 2-5 with a 7.88 ERA for the White Sox.
Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list after missing 23 games with a right quadriceps strain. The 21-year old was listed as the No. 2 hitter in Sunday’s lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Franco was hitting .270 with nine homers and 19 RBIs in 45 games when he went on the IL. Tampa Bay went 11-12 during his absence. To make room on the roster, infielder Jonathan Aranda was optioned to Triple-A Durham.
The Houston Astros have activated rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña from the injured list and optioned outfielder Chas McCormick to Triple-A Sugar Land. Star slugger Yordan Alvarez was out of the lineup Sunday with an ongoing hand issue as Houston tried to win its four-game series against the major league-leading New York Yankees. The 24-year-old Peña is a leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year but hasn’t played since June 13, when he injured his left thumb diving for a catch.
Plate umpire Mike Muchlinski left Sunday’s game between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees two innings after taking a foul ball off his mask. Houston’s Michael Brantley tipped Nestor Cortes’ 92 mph fastball straight back into Muchlinski on the second pitch of the game on a hot, sunny day in the Bronx. Muchlinski staggered and was grabbed by catcher Jose Trevino, who helped the umpire steady himself. Muchlinski remained in the game but met with a trainer after the top of the third inning and was escorted off the field.
GOLF:
Xander Schauffele won the Travelers Championship with a three-stroke swing on the final hole Sunday, hitting to 3 feet for birdie after rookie Sahith Theegala took two shots to get out of a bunker and made a double bogey in the group ahead. A stroke ahead entering the day, Schauffele finished with a 2-under 68 at TPC River Highlands to beat Theegala and J.T. Poston by two strokes. The Olympic champion had a 19-under 261 total. Theegala shot a 67, and Poston had a 64. Schauffele won for the sixth time on the PGA Tour and the second this season after teaming with Patrick Cantlay to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.
In Gee Chun rallied after losing the rest of her once-sizeable lead, overcoming a bogey-filled front nine to win the Women’s PGA Championship when Lexi Thompson faltered with her putter.
Chun shot a 3-over 75 for the second consecutive day at Congressional, but that was enough to win her third major title by a stroke over Thompson and Minjee Lee.
Chun, after leading by six at the tournament’s midway point, lost a three-shot advantage in the first three holes of the final round. But Thompson botched a short par putt on No. 14, bogeyed the 16th and three-putted on No. 17.
Padraig Harrington is the U.S. Senior Open champion. Steve Stricker made him work for it. Harrington nearly lost all of his five-shot lead at Saucon Valley. But the Irishman delivered in the clutch. Right when it looked like Stricker would tie for the lead with a short birdie chance on the 18th, Harrington made a 30-footer birdie on the 15th to stay in front. Stricker finished with two straight birdies for a 65. Harrington made three good pars with lengthy par putts and closed with a 72. He’s the third straight U.S. Senior Open champion to win in his debut.
TENNIS:
Play begins Monday at Wimbledon with Novak Djokovic on Centre Court as he opens his bid for a fourth consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh overall. He also will be aiming for his 21st Grand Slam trophy.
Djokovic is seeded No. 1 because the top two men in the rankings are not in the field: No. 1 Daniil Medvedev is barred along with all other players from Russia and Belarus, and No. 2 Alexander Zverev is injured.
Other past Grand Slam champions scheduled to play on Day 1 are Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber.
Wimbledon will be a scheduled 14-day tournament for the first time, because there will be play on the middle Sunday, traditionally a day of rest.
The women’s singles final is Saturday, July 9; the men’s singles final is Sunday, July 10.
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