Update on the latest sports
MLB
Santiago faces MLB sticky ban, Naylor injured
UNDATED (AP) — Major League Baseball will deal with Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago, the first player ejected under the new crackdown against grip-enhancing sticky stuff. He could draw a 10-game suspension.
Santiago was tossed Sunday in a 3-2 win over the White Sox. The 33-year-old lefty was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning and his glove was confiscated. It was later announced that Santiago had been thrown out.
Santiago said he did nothing wrong. He explained he had used rosin to stop the sweat from dripping on both his arms on a humid day in Chicago.
Also happening in MLB:
— The Indians will see how right fielder Josh Naylor is doing, a day after he was injured in a collision with rookie second baseman Ernie Clement. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Naylor had suffered a broken bone but wasn’t sure which one, and was being treated at a hospital Sunday. The accident occurred in the fourth inning when Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco checked his swing and made contact, sending a flare into the shallow outfield. Naylor went flying and spinning after the collision and had his right foot catch underneath him, twisting the foot the wrong way.
— Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox are rolling, fresh off a three-game sweep of the Yankees that put them back on top of the AL East. Garrett Richards (4-5, 4.74 ERA) looks to turn the page on his shortest outing of the season when he starts at Fenway Park against Kansas City. The Royals have lost five straight on a 10-game trip. They are 4-17 since a five-game winning streak that put the club three games over .500. Danny Duffy (4-3, 1.81 ERA) pitches for Kansas City.
— The top two teams in the NL Central open a three-game series when the division-leading Brewers host the Cubs. Milwaukee has won five straight but will be facing Kyle Hendricks, who has won eight straight starts for the longest such streak by a Cubs pitcher since Jake Arrieta won nine in a row from 2015-16. Hendricks (10-4, 3.84 ERA) has a 15-inning scoreless streak and leads the NL in wins. Freddy Peralta (7-2, 2.11) will be facing the Cubs for the fourth time this season — he is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA against them.
WIMBLEDON
Soggy day at Wimbledon
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Sixteen singles matches at Wimbledon have been postponed until Tuesday because of rain, which has delayed the start of play on the outer courts.
Six men’s matches and 10 women’s matches were called off. They included five-time champion Venus Williams against Mihaela Buzarnescu, and No. 10-seeded Denis Shapovalov against Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Play is underway on Centre Court and Court 1, each of which has a retractable roof. No. 2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is this year’s first winner at Wimbledon. She swept her opening match against qualifier Monica Niculescu.
Also at Wimbledon:
Novak Djokovic was greeted on his return to Wimbledon by a standing ovation today with the Centre Court crowd limited to 50% capacity because of the coronavirus pandemic. Djokovic won the tournament the last time it was held, in 2019, beating Roger Federer in an epic final. He is halfway to a Grand Slam in 2021, having won the Australian Open and the French Open. The No. 1-ranked Djokovic smiled as he entered the stadium. The retractable roof was closed because of rain that’s delayed the start of play on outer courts. Djokovic’s opponent is wild card Jack Draper.
TOUR DE FRANCE
Geraint Thomas crashes during Tour de France Stage 3
PONTIVY, France (AP) — Former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas was jnvolved in a crash during the third stage of the three-week race.
The Ineos-Grenadiers leader fell off his bike with about 145 kilometers left in today’s stage in the Brittany region.
Thomas remained on the ground for a while and looked like he would retire but ultimately went back on his bike. Tour organizers say the peloton was riding at 43 kph when the crash took place. Robert Gesink also fell and was forced to abandon.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN
Japan ups health controls as Olympic athlete tests positive
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is pledging to strengthen health controls at airports after a Ugandan Olympic team member tested positive for COVID-19 at the town hosting their training camp, triggering concerns that the upcoming Olympic Games will spread infections.
A Ugandan team member, reportedly a coach, tested positive on Saturday at Tokyo’s Narita airport and was quarantined there. But the rest of the nine-person team was allowed to travel on a chartered bus to their pre-Olympics camp in the western prefecture of Osaka. Three days later, a second Ugandan also tested positive for the virus, forcing seven town officials and drivers who had close contacts with the team to self-isolate.
TOKYO-JAPAN MEDALS
Japan backs off on forecast of 30 gold medals at Tokyo Games
TOKYO (AP) — Japan is backing off a forecast of how many gold medals it will win at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics that are set to open next month.
Just a few months before the pandemic hit, the Japanese Olympic Committee said 30 gold medals was the target. The Japanese Olympic committee president now says that’s no longer the goal.
Yasuhiro Yamashita says: “In regard to whether it’s important to achieve 30 (gold) medals, I would have to answer clearly ‘no.’” Predicting performance could be a problem for many countries. The pandemic has disrupted qualifying events, thrown training into turmoil, and raised questions about the effectiveness worldwide tests for doping.
