ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Max Scherzer Scherzer retired the first 13 batters he faced, and 15 of 16 overall, over five scoreless innings in the Rangers’ 4-0 win Sunday over the Kansas City Royals. The 39-year-old Scherzer hadn’t started a game for the Rangers since Game 3 of the World Series on Oct. 30, when he exited after three scoreless innings because of back tightness. He had surgery in mid-December to repair a herniated disk in his lower back, then during his rehab dealt with a nerve issue that was diagnosed and still an issue after he experienced right thumb soreness. The only Royals batter to reach against him was MJ Melendez, who had a ground-rule double with one out in the fifth. Scherzer struck out four without a walk while throwing 39 of his 57 pitches for strikes.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tennessee’s prodigious home run prowess arrived too late in Game 1 of the College World Series finals. It showed up right on time in Game 2. Tennessee’s Dylan Dreiling hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, Cal Stark went deep in the eighth and after Nate Snead turned back a scoring threat by Texas A&M in the bottom of the ninth, the Volunteers had forced a deciding third game with a 4-1 victory Sunday. One of the teams will win its first national title in baseball and become the fifth straight champion from the Southeastern Conference when they meet Monday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martínez has been suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball following a positive test for the performance-enhancing drug Clomiphene. The announcement comes two days after the 22-year-old Martínez made his major league debut. He issued a statement Sunday apologizing to the Blue Jays and their fans and saying he and his girlfriend were trying to start a family, so he visited a fertility clinic in the Dominican Republic where he was prescribed treatment that included a banned substance. Martínez has been on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster since November 2022. He went 1 for 3 with a strikeout on Friday at Cleveland.
CHICAGO (AP) — New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz is facing a 10-game suspension after being ejected from the team’s 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander came on in the ninth to try to seal the victory for the Mets, but was tossed by third-base umpire Vic Carapazza before throwing a pitch after an inspection of his glove and throwing hand. Both Díaz and manager Carlos Mendoza said the umpire said he thought the pitcher had too much of a combination of rosin, sweat and dirt on his throwing hand. Carapazza said in a pool report after game it “definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat” on Díaz’s hand.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest comebacks in sports history. They can win the Stanley Cup in Game 7 of the final against the Florida Panthers on Monday night after falling behind 3-0 in the series and reeling off three consecutive victories. The previous time an NHL team with that deficit came all the way back to hoist the Cup was the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942. The Oilers are doing their best to block out the ramifications of this improbable rally by focusing on the final game of the season.
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler beat Tom Kim on the first playoff hole to win the Travelers Championship on Sunday. He had to wait out a disruption by climate protesters who sprayed powder on the 18th green. It was his sixth win of the year. That’s the most in one PGA Tour season since Tiger Woods won six in 2009. And Scheffler still has two months to go. It was Scheffler’s fourth victory of the year in the PGA Tour’s $20 million, limited-field signature events. He earned $3.6 million.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Christian Pulisic scored in the third minute and assisted on Folarin Balogun’s goal in the 44th as the United States cruised past Bolivia 2-0 in their Copa America opener. Among six invited guests to South America’s championship, the U.S. is expected to advance from Group C to the quarterfinals along with Uruguay. Bolivia lost its 13th straight Copa America match dating to 2015 and has one win in its last 31. The 11th-ranked U.S. plays Panama on Thursday at Atlanta and closes the group against Uruguay on July 1 at Kansas City, Missouri.
SAMAMMISH, Wash. (AP) — Amy Yang built a huge lead and survived a couple of late mistakes to win her long-awaited first major title, a three-shot victory in the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship. Yang closed with an even-par 72 at Sahalee to finish at 7-under 281. She was nearly flawless for the first 15 holes and reached 10 under for the tournament for a seven-shot lead before running into a little bit of trouble. But none of her pursuers was able to mount a significant charge. At age 34, Yang is the oldest major winner on the LPGA Tour since Angela Stanford won the 2018 Evian Championship at age 40.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simone Manuel has earned an individual race at the Olympics on the final night of the U.S. swimming trials, winning the 50-meter freestyle. Coming back from overtraining syndrome, which hampered her preparations leading up to the Tokyo Games, Manuel won the frantic dash in 24.13 seconds. Gretchen Walsh took the second spot. In the final race of the nine-day trials in Indianapolis, Bobby Finke blew away the field in the 1,500 free. He'll head to the Olympics looking to defend the gold medals he won in the 800 and 1,500 freestyle at Tokyo. The real race was for the last spot on the Olympic team. David Johnston edged Luke Whitlock by only 26-hundredths of a second after nearly 15 minutes of racing.
DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — NHRA great John Force was alert and talking to safety workers immediately after a fiery, 300-mph crash Sunday in the Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. John Force Racing said the 75-year-old Force was examined at the track by the NHRA Medical Team before being transported by medical helicopter to a facility for further evaluation. During the first round of Funny Car eliminations, the engine exploded Force’s car at the finish line, with the vehicle going across the centerline and striking the left concrete guard wall, then careening back across into the right wall. Three weeks ago in New Hampshire, Force raced to his record 157th NHRA victory and second of the season.
SUNDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 3 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Tampa Bay 3 Pittsburgh 1
Final Miami 6 Seattle 4
Final Boston 7 Cincinnati 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 11 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Houston 8 Baltimore 1
Final Texas 4 Kansas City 0
Final Cleveland 6 Toronto 5
Final Minnesota 3 Oakland 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 4 Arizona 1
Final St. Louis 5 San Francisco 3
Final Washington 2 Colorado 1
Final Milwaukee 6 San Diego 2