The Cincinnati Reds placed reliever Graham Ashcraft on the 60-day injured list on Friday with a UCL sprain in his right forearm.

Ashcraft, 28, last pitched on Monday, striking out two batters and allowing no hits or runs in the ninth inning in a 7-2 road win against the New York Mets.

Moving directly to the 60-day IL is a worrying sign for Ashcraft’s long-term prognosis, potentially indicating the need for surgery.

The right-hander is 1-1 with one save and a 3.33 ERA in 26 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this season. Ashcraft is 26-26 with a 4.67 ERA in 148 games (60 starts) since making his debut with the Reds in 2022.

The Reds selected the contract of right-hander Yunior Marte from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move. He is 2-0 with five saves and a 5.12 ERA in 20 games (no starts) this season at Louisville.

Marte, 31, last pitched in the majors in 2024 with Philadelphia. He is 2-2 with two saves and a 5.64 ERA in 102 career games (no starts) with the San Francisco Giants (2022) and Phillies (2023-24).

–Field Level Media

French Open organizers on Friday said a “significant sanction” will be imposed on Adolfo Daniel Vallejo after the player said his second-round match should not have been umpired by a woman.

The sanction will be a fine, with the amount not announced.

Buoyed by the home crowd, French teenage prodigy Moise Kouame staved off a late rally to record a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8) victory over Vallejo on Thursday. Vallejo led 5-2 in the deciding set before the 17-year-old Kouame battled back to end the match in just less than five hours.

Vallejo, a 22-year-old from Paraguay, took issue with the time Kouame was allowed to take between points and argued that umpire Ana Carvalho did not control the crowd, which loudly cheered for the teen.

“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man. It’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” Vallejo told Clay magazine. “It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”

The French Tennis Federation and Roland Garros organizers deemed Vallejo’s comments as “unacceptable.”

“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” the organizers said. “The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks. The tournament organizers will impose a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.

“The Roland-Garros tournament strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them, and offers its support to the match umpire and, more broadly, to all the tournament’s umpiring officials.”

Vallejo, who is ranked 71st in the world, posted in Spanish on X that his words had been misconstrued.

“I never spoke about women in general, I spoke about the referee specifically, who didn’t handle the crowd at any point during the match,” Vallejo wrote. “That said, I also didn’t say that I lost because of her. I congratulated the opponent and it’s normal for the crowd to cheer for the home player.”

–Field Level Media

With Cristiano Ronaldo set to be 45 years old when Portugal hosts the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Morocco, one might think it’s unlikely that he’ll be on the squad for what would be his seventh World Cup.

But don’t tell that to Portugal’s manager Roberto Martinez.

“No one should doubt that (he could play in 2030),” Martinez said Thursday in an appearance on Cadena Ser radio. “He’s earned it.”

Ronaldo, who debuted for Portugal at 18 in August of 2003, is comfortably the country’s leader in all-time appearances (226, 80 more than Joao Moutinho) and goals (143, 96 more than Pauleta).

He led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship and to a fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup, the country’s best finish at a World Cup since a third-place showing in 1966.

A penalty-kick goal against Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar made him the first player to score at five different World Cups.

Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi are set to simultaneously become the first players in history to appear in six World Cups at this summer’s event.

“I have worked with many players that have won a Champions League or a Ballon d’Or, and the next day they lose their appetite. What we have with Ronaldo is an example of a different mentality,” Martinez said.

“I believe that having that goal is what allows for longevity. Of course, there is a genetic aspect, the work he puts in – he uses everything that can help his body – and his mentality.”

Portugal, in Group K for the first-ever 48-team World Cup, opens play June 17 against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Houston.

–Field Level Media