BASEBALL
Marcelo Mayer hit a two-run single in the third inning, and Wikelman Gonzalez and Ryan Zeferjahn combined on a two-hitter as the Portland Sea Dogs salvaged a doubleheader split Saturday afternoon with a 2-1 win over the Reading Fightin Phils at Hadlock Field.
Reading won the opener, 13-4.
Gonzalez didn’t allow a hit in Game 2 until Baron Radcliff homered with two outs in the fifth. Gonzalez left after retiring one more batter, finishing with eight strikeouts and no walks, though he did hit a batter.
Zeferjahn struck out three over the final two innings, earning his third save.
In Game 1, Portland grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI triple by Alex Binelas, an RBI single by Matt Donlan and an RBI double by Roman Anthony. The Fightin Phils answered with five runs in the third and four in the fourth.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: Christopher Bell posted the fastest time in qualifying at Kansas Speedway to earn the pole for the third time in his last five NASCAR Cup Series visits to the track.
Bell turned a lap of 183.107 mph in his No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Ross Chastain will start alongside Bell in Sunday’s race, with Noah Gragson and Kyle Larson in the second row.
FORMULA ONE: Max Verstappen continued his long domination of Formula 1 qualifying, winning his seventh consecutive pole as he earned the top starting spot for the Miami Grand Prix.
After winning the sprint race, the Red Bull driver turned a lap at 1 minute, 27.241 seconds to best the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.
GOLF
PGA: Taylor Pendrith chipped in twice for consecutive eagles to kick-start an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead over second-round leader Jake Knapp at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in McKinney, Texas.
Knapp birdied the par-5 18th for a 67.
Ben Kohles (65) and first-round leader Matt Wallace (67) were two shots off the lead.
LIV: Brooks Koepka, looking for his fourth victory on the LIV Golf circuit, shot a 7-under 64 to lead by three strokes after the second round in Singapore.
Koepka was at 12-under overall.
Abraham Ancer (67), Matthew Wolff (65), Thomas Pieters (67) and Adrian Meronk (66) were tied for second.
EUROPEAN TOUR: The third round of the China Open in Shenzhen was canceled because of thunder and lightning.
The European Tour announced it will now be a 54-hole event.
Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden leads at 16 under, three shots better than Paul Waring of England.
SOCCER
ENGLAND: Erling Haaland scored four goals – including a first-half hat trick – as Manchester City crushed visiting Wolverhampton, 5-1, to retain control of the Premier League title race.
City, chasing an unprecedented fourth straight league crown, remained one point behind Arsenal but has three games left, while Arsenal has only two remaining.
• Arsenal maintained its pursuit of the Premier League title with a 3-0 win at home against Bournemouth.
Bukayo Saka converted a penalty in the 45th minute after a trip on Kai Havertz, before Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice added second-half goals.
• Ipswich will play in the Premier League for the first time since 2002 after securing the second automatic promotion spot from the second-tier Championship by defeating Huddersfield, 2-0.
SPAIN: Real Madrid won its record-extending 36th Spanish league title with a 3-0 win over Cadiz, combined with Barcelona’s 4-2 loss at Girona, which gave Madrid a 13-point lead with only four matches left.
TENNIS
ITALIAN OPEN: Second-ranked Jannik Sinner announced that he is withdrawing from the Italian Open next week because of an injured hip – denying the tournament of its most anticipated home player in decades.
Sinner joins third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz on the sidelines. The Spaniard withdrew a day earlier because of a right forearm injury.
MADRID OPEN: Top-ranked Iga Swiatek avenged her loss in last year’s final by defeating No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7), for her third title of the season.
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