BASEBALL
Phillip Clarke hit a three-run double in the top of the seventh inning to lift the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to a 6-2 win over the Portland Sea Dogs in an Eastern League game Sunday at Hadlock Field.
Portland lost its second straight game after opening the season with a win on Friday, despite a strong effort from starting pitcher Brandon Walter. In five scoreless innings, Walter allowed just one hit and struck out seven.
New Hampshire scored four times in the seventh then added a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on a double by Spencer Horwitz.
Kole Cottam had a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth for Portland. Five New Hampshire pitchers held the Sea Dogs to just five hits, including Paxton Schultz, who pitched four scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. He allowed two hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
Portland travels to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to begin a six-game series with the Senators on Tuesday.
HOCKEY
ECHL: Patrick Bajkov scored 18 seconds into overtime as the Reading Royals beat the Maine Mariners 2-1 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Kelti Jeri-Leon gave Maine (30-31) a 1-0 lead with 1:22 left in the second period. Trevor Gooch answered for Reading (43-16) midway through the third.
Jeremy Brodeur stopped 16 shots for the Mariners, while Logan Flodell recorded 27 saves for the Royals.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Charles Leclerc has completed a dominant weekend in his Ferrari after converting his pole position into a comprehensive triumph in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia.
The 24-year-old Leclerc extended his lead in the drivers’ championship while claiming his second win of the season following victory in the season-opening race in Bahrain.
Leclerc was able to hold off Red Bull rival Max Verstappen during the opening laps and defended well mid-race under safety car conditions to pull away for a decisive 20.524-second victory.
INDYCAR: Josef Newgarden won for the first time on the downtown streets of Long Beach, California, holding off Romain Grosjean to make Team Penske 3 for 3 to open the IndyCar season.
Newgarden led a race-high 32 laps to win a second consecutive race. Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin won the opener at St. Petersburg, then Newgarden won at Texas and now Long Beach to bump McLaughlin from the championship lead.
SOCCER
PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester City retained its one-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling 2-2 draw between the title challengers.
Kevin De Bruyne put the defending champions into the lead in the fifth minute at the Etihad Stadium but Diogo Jota leveled eight minutes later for Liverpool.
Gabriel Jesus restored City’s advantage before halftime but Sadio Mane marked his 30th birthday with a second equalizer for the 2020 champions.
• Brentford looks sure to be playing a second season in the Premier League after Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney combined to clinch a 2-0 win over West Ham.
Their second-half goals lifted the west London team 12 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with six games remaining, building on last weekend’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea.
• Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored his first Premier League goal as Leicester beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to swap positions with the Eagles.
• Burnley squandered an opportunity to close the gap to Premier League safety, losing 2-0 to bottom club Norwich at Carrow Road.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Police are investigating an incident that saw Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo apparently slapping a phone out of a supporter’s hand as he left the field after a loss at Everton.
The force in Liverpool is appealing for witnesses after footage was posted on social media following United’s 1-0 Premier League loss on Saturday.
TENNIS
MONTE CARLO MASTERS: Novak Djokovic is ready to move on from the controversy surrounding his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I miss competition,” the Serbian tennis star said on the opening day of the clay-court season at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. “I still feel motivation to be on the tour and compete… and try to challenge the best players in the world for the biggest titles.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has played only one tournament so far in 2022, losing to Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships.
Djokovic could not defend his Australian Open title in January after he was deported from the country for not being inoculated.
More recently, he had to skip tournaments in Indian Wells, California, and Miami because he couldn’t travel to the United States for the same reason.
His opening match in Monaco is scheduled for Tuesday.
CHARLESTON OPEN: Belinda Bencic won three of the last four games to outlast Ons Jabeur 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 and win in Charleston, South Carolina for her first clay-court championship.
Bencic won her sixth career WTA title and first since the Tokyo Olympic.
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