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Guardians ride late heroics into rematch vs. White Sox

Jul 2, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) jumps into the arms of manager Stephen Vogt (12) after hitting a game-winning two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn ImagesJul 2, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) jumps into the arms of manager Stephen Vogt (12) after hitting a game-winning two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio came through in the bottom of the ninth inning in the series opener between the top two teams in the American League Central.

Their battle for first place continues Friday, when the first-place Chicago White Sox and Guardians meet in the second contest of a four-game set in Cleveland.

White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay (6-3, 4.50 ERA) will take on Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams (9-4, 3.81) in front of what is expected to be the first of three straight sellout crowds.

The teams have split their first four games this season, all of which have been decided by one run. That includes Cleveland’s 6-5 win on Thursday that ended on Rocchio’s two-run homer off the foul pole in right field with one out in the ninth.

“The ball has really been flying this week, so I didn’t know if it was fair, but I knew it was a home run,” Rocchio said. “Every time, it’s a good matchup facing those guys, especially how they’re playing right now.

“They play hard, they play smart, so it’s very fun to face them consistently.”

Rocchio’s second career walk-off homer came off Grant Taylor, who was called upon to work two innings for his third straight appearance by White Sox manager Will Venable. Taylor didn’t allow a baserunner in the first two outings.

Chicago catcher Kyle Teel said he believed throwing a fastball was “the right call,” as did Taylor, whose reasoning was an inability to locate his other primary pitch. He walked two of the first six batters he faced before Rocchio’s towering, 380-foot blast.

“I wasn’t lining up the curveball, so went with another pitch,” said Taylor, who has converted just two of five save opportunities. “I threw a pretty good location, but he was looking for it and got a good swing.”

Taylor currently is the closer because Seranthony Dominguez blew back-to-back save chances, moving him into second place in the majors with five failures in 17 save opportunities. Bryan Hudson is second on the team with three saves but pitched the previous day.

The White Sox (45-41) are a shaky 23-of-41 in save opportunities on the season but sit .0005 percentage points ahead of Cleveland (46-42) in the division standings.

“You don’t have to be perfect, and Grant knows that,” said Teel, who had a two-run double in the fifth. “(Rocchio) just took a good swing on a good pitch.”

Kay was one of the more surprising success stories in the AL in March, April and May, before cratering in June with a 1-2 record and 6.35 ERA. His lone quality start in the month came against Cleveland on June 22, throwing six shutout innings in a no-decision of a 6-5 Chicago win.

The Guardians have yet to score a run against Kay in three appearances (one start) totaling 7 1/3 innings, but he has no decision against them.

Williams also has seen his breakout season go south with a four-start winless streak, going 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. He pitched against Kay in that June game, giving up two runs in five innings while not factoring in the outcome.

In four career starts against the White Sox, Williams is 1-1 with a 5.21 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 19 innings.

“There is a lot of season left, but this series is huge,” said Cleveland left fielder David Fry, who has homered in consecutive games. “Obviously, every game is big and any time we can get a comeback win, it’s huge.”

–Field Level Media

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Paige Bueckers leads Wings to comeback win over Sun

Jul 2, 2026; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) passes the ball against Connecticut Sun forward Diamond Miller (1) in the first half at PeoplesBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn ImagesJul 2, 2026; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) passes the ball against Connecticut Sun forward Diamond Miller (1) in the first half at PeoplesBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Paige Bueckers scored a game-high 25 points and Jessica Shepard made two key free throws in the final seconds as the Dallas Wings came back from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Connecticut Sun 86-83 on Thursday in Hartford, Conn.

The Sun led by 13 points in the second quarter and by eight at halftime but by just seven after an uneven third period. Dallas closed within 72-68 on Azzi Fudd’s jumper with 5:05 to play and within 74-72 on a layup by Bueckers with 3:08 left.

Dallas (12-8) tied the game at 78 on Li Yueru’s 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining and then took the lead on a three-point play by Bueckers with 1:17 to play.

The Sun responded with a basket and free throw by Aaliyah Edwards on the ensuing possession that tied the game again. Fudd and Edwards traded buckets before Bueckers converted 1 of 2 free-throw chances with 25.9 seconds left to put the Wings up by a point.

The Sun’s Leila Lacan missed a contested jumper in the lane with five seconds left, and the rebound was taken by Shepard, who was fouled and made both free throws with three seconds to play.

Connecticut could not get off a 3-point attempt in the final seconds.

Shepard finished with 14 points while Alanna Smith added 11 for Dallas, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Lacan led the Sun (4-16) with 18 points. Charlisse Leger-Walker had 14 points, Brittney Griner amassed 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored 11 points apiece as Connecticut had a two-game winning streak snapped.

The Sun racked up the final seven points in the first period to take a 22-16 lead after 10 minutes of play. Connecticut expanded its advantage to 32-20 after a three-point play from Kennedy Burke with 5:23 left in the second quarter, but Bueckers’ floater with 42 seconds remaining in the first half allowed the Wings to pull to within 43-35 at the break.

Bueckers and Lacan scored 12 points each to lead their respective teams before halftime.

Griner’s turnaround jumper four minutes into the third quarter rebuilt the Sun’s lead to 14 points.

–Field Level Media

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Switzerland blank Algeria, reach round of 16 for 4th straight World Cup

July 2, 2026; Vancouver, Canada; Switzerland's Breel Embolo celebrates scoring their first goal.  Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images July 2, 2026; Vancouver, Canada; Switzerland’s Breel Embolo celebrates scoring their first goal. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

Breel Embolo scored in the first half, Dan Ndoye tallied at the start of the second half and Switzerland advanced to the World Cup’s round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Algeria on Thursday night in Vancouver.

Johan Manzambi set up the first goal with a dazzling run and Gregor Kobel made two saves as the Swiss reached the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive World Cup.

Switzerland will face either Colombia or Ghana on Tuesday in Vancouver. The latter two squads meet Friday night in Kansas City, Mo. The Swiss will be looking to earn their first World Cup quarterfinal berth since 1954.

Luca Zidane made two saves for Algeria.

Switzerland’s first goal came in the 10th minute after a long run by Manzambi.

As Manzambi neared the goal line, he sent a pass back toward Embolo in front of the net. Embolo was able to get his left leg on the ball for an easy tap-in.

Switzerland had a solid chance in the 37th minute off a free kick, but Denis Zakaria sent a header high and wide of the right post.

Switzerland made it 2-0 in the first minute of the second half after Algeria’s Rafik Belghali sent a clearance attempt directly to Ndoye.

Ndoye capitalized by immediately sending a sharp right-footed shot into the left corner of the net.

The quick goal right after the break took some of the charge out of Algeria, who struggled to create chances.

Switzerland failed to pad the lead in the 81st minute as Zakaria’s centering pass went by a sliding Embolo to a wide-open Fabian Rieder at the far post. But despite the net being wide open, Rieder meekly hit the ball with his left heel and Zidane recovered to make the save.

In the 88th minute, Algeria seemed to have a rare chance when Anis Hadj Moussa took a left-footed shot from beyond the box. Kobel knocked the ball aside, but an offside call wiped out the play anyway.

Switzerland outshot Algeria 11-8 and had a 5-2 advantage in shots on target.

–Field Level Media

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Dodgers escape 6-run hole, overpower skidding Padres

Jul 2, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing (68) runs after hitting a two run home run against the San Diego Padres in the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn ImagesJul 2, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing (68) runs after hitting a two run home run against the San Diego Padres in the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images

Dalton Rushing had a home run among his four hits and drove in four runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who erased a six-run deficit for a 12-7 victory over the San Diego Padres on Thursday.

The Dodgers matched their season high with 17 hits and won for the eighth time in 10 games. The Padres took their sixth loss in a row, matching their worst skid of the season.

Rushing tied his career highs in hits and RBIs. Teammate Kyle Tucker matched his career best with four hits and also drew a walk.

Andy Pages delivered a game-tying two-run double for Los Angeles in the fourth inning.

The Dodgers’ bullpen gave up one run over the final six innings after Roki Sasaki yielded six runs on seven hits in a season-low three innings. Will Klein (3-2) followed with two scoreless innings.

Manny Machado hit a first-inning homer before Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth each went deep in the second as the Padres built a 6-0 lead. Randy Vasquez gave up four runs over three innings, and Wandy Peralta (1-1) was tagged for four runs on six hits in the fourth.

The Padres saw their losing skid begin with consecutive home defeats against the Dodgers last weekend before they were swept in a three-game road series against the Chicago Cubs, including a 23-3 demolition on Wednesday.

The Padres’ fast start began when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit Sasaki’s first pitch of the game for a double. Machado followed two batters later with a home run to center field.

San Diego made it 6-0 in the second on Merrill’s leadoff home run and a three-run blast from Cronenworth.

Rushing began the momentum swing for the Dodgers with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second. Los Angeles pulled within 6-4 in the third on RBI hits from Max Muncy and Tucker.

Pages tied it 6-6 in the fourth on a two-run double to left before Mookie Betts and Muncy added RBI hits for an 8-6 lead. The Dodgers’ run total reached double digits in the fifth when Tommy Edman had an RBI double before scoring on a wild pitch.

Rushing drove in runs in the sixth and eighth innings, and the Padres’ Miguel Andujar had an RBI single in the ninth.

–Field Level Media

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