BASEBALL
Izzy Wilson hit a home run in the ninth inning Wednesday night to give the Portland Sea Dogs a 2-1 Eastern League win over the Somerset Patriots at Bridgewater Township, New Jersey.
The win gives the Sea Dogs a share of first place with the Patriots.
Wilson scored in the second inning on a single by Tyler Dearden to give the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead, but the Patriots tied it an inning later on an RBI single by Anthony Volpe.
Sea Dogs starter Brandon Walter pitched six innings and allowed one run. He struck out seven and walked none. Reliever Jacob Wallace (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win and Andrew Politi pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.
TENNIS
MADRID OPEN: Top-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew from the tournament because of a sore arm.
Swiatek, who has won four straight titles, was going to be the top-seeded player in the women’s draw for this week’s clay-court tournament.
BMW OPEN: Danish teenager Holger Rune upset top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Munich.
The 18-year-old Rune broke Zverev’s first service game in each set to take control of the match on his way to his first career win over a player ranked in the top 10.
Rune next faces Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori, who won 6-3, 6-3 against Maxime Cressy.
Fourth-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili needed nearly two hours to beat Ilya Ivashka 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 and set up a quarterfinal with seventh-seeded Miomir Kecmanovic. Cristian Garin lost an all-Chilean first-round match 6-3, 6-4 against Alejandro Tabilo, and Botic van de Zandschulp beat Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (3), 6-3.
SOCCER
NWSL: Two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd is re-joining NJ/NY Gotham FC as a minority owner, six months after retiring from the game.
The New Jersey native joins an ownership group led by Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy. The other minority owners are Kristin Bernert, Karen Bryant and Ed Nalbandian.
VENEZIA: Last-place Venezia fired Coach Paolo Zanetti less than a year after he helped the club earn what might be a short-lived promotion to Italy’s top division.
The club, mired in an eight-match losing streak ahead of a trip to Juventus, said it made the move in search of “a miracle” to remain in Serie A with five games left in the season.
Venezia had celebrated its promotion – after a 19-year absence – with a boat parade on the city’s famed canals.
MLS: Atlanta United reacquired goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo for the rest of the year after a season-ending injury to Brad Guzan.
The 19-year-old Rios Novo was picked up on loan from Club Atletico Lanus in Argentina’s Primera Division.
He will get a chance to compete for the No. 1 job with Bobby Shuttleworth, who took over after Guzan ruptured his right Achilles tendon in an April 17 match against Cincinnati.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: A third final in five years is in sight for Liverpool after a 2-0 win over Villarreal in the first leg of the semifinals, secured after an own-goal by Pervis Estupinan and a poked finish by Sadio Mane in a two-minute span early in the second half.
The second leg takes place on Tuesday and only a major surprise will prevent Villarreal from bowing out at the semifinals stage, just like in 2006.
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