BASEBALL
Jasson Dominguez tripled in the bottom of the eighth inning and scored on a single by Austin Wells as the Somerset Patriots beat the Portland Sea Dogs 2-1 in an Eastern League game Friday in Bridgewater, New Jersey, snapping the Sea Dogs’ eight-game winning streak.
Somerset took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a home run by Jeisson Rosario. Portland tied it in the sixth on an RBI double by Izzy Wilson.
Portland starting pitcher Sterling Sharp allowed one run in five innings, allowing three hits, while striking out four and walking one. Somerset’s Clayton Beeter pitched five scoreless, allowing two hits, while striking out seven and walking two.
Portland and Somerset close out the regular season with games Saturday and Sunday, then face each other in a first-round playoff series starting Tuesday in Portland.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Point guard Dennis Schröder is returning for a second stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The German guard spent the 2020-21 season with LeBron James and the Lakers, averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game. Los Angeles offered him a four-year contract extension worth more than $80 million during the season, but he turned it down to seek more money in free agency.
But Schröder struck out in the market and signed a $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics, who then traded him to Houston late last season in a deal for Daniel Theis.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR XFINITY: Noah Gragson held off Brandon Jones over the closing laps Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway to win his third consecutive Xfinity Series race.
Gragson won his series-high sixth race of the season driving a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. He was aided when teammate Justin Allgaier was flagged for speeding during the final pit stops under caution; Gragson did not pit and restarted the race in the lead.
Gragson and his JRM crew climbed the Bristol fence in celebration, then a breathless Gragson sat on the wall to collect himself.
HOCKEY
NHL: Evander Kane and the San Jose Sharks reached a settlement on the grievance he filed over the termination of his contract last season.
The Sharks announced the agreement that they said was approved by the NHL and the Players’ Association, saying they were “satisfied that its terms will not adversely impact the team, either financially or competitively, in this or future seasons.”
The Sharks terminated Kane’s contract in January for violating virus protocol while with their top minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda. The contract termination cost Kane just under $23 million from the $49 million, seven-year contract he signed in May 2018.
Kane and the NHL Players’ Association filed a grievance contending the Sharks didn’t have sufficient grounds to make that move. While that process was ongoing, he signed for the remainder of the season with the Oilers and re-signed for $20.5 million over four years in Edmonton.
GOLF
PGA: Max Homa moved into position to defend his title at the Fortinet Championship, shooting a 5-under 67 in Napa, California to share the early 36-hole lead with Danny Willett at the PGA Tour’s season opener.
Homa, a two-time winner last season and a captain’s pick for next week’s Presidents Cup, had an eagle, four birdies and a bogey – his first of the week – for a two-day total of 12-under 132 at Silverado Resort & Spa.
LIV: Dustin Johnson ran off nine birdies, none longer than about 12 feet, and posted a 9-under 63 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, to build a three-shot lead after the first of three rounds in the LIV Golf Invitational-Chicago.
British Open champion Cameron Smith rediscovered his putting form toward the end of the round and finished with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 second hole for a 66.
EUROPEAN: Rory McIlroy (66) produced an eagle for the second consecutive day and Matt Fitzpatrick (69) had five straight birdies in the second round as they stood 1-2, respectively, near the midpoint of the Italian Open in Guidonia Montecelio, Italy. The round was suspended because of darkness for the second straight day.
McIlroy – playing in Italy for the first time as a pro specifically to gain familiarity with the Ryder Cup course – was at 9-under 133 overall with Fitzpatrick one stroke behind.
LPGA: Esther Henseleit rolled in 10 birdie putts on her way to an 8-under 64, giving the 23-year-old German a share of the lead with Lilia Vu going into the weekend.
Vu and Henseleit were at 10-under 134.
They were one shot ahead of Carlota Ciganda of Spain, who had a 66. The large group at 8-under 136 included another former No. 1 amateur, Andrea Lee, and one of the hottest players on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Maja Stark of Sweden.
SOCCER
PREMIER LEAGUE: Fulham scored three goals in a six-minute passage of play to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in an entertaining match between teams having contrasting fortunes since promotion to the English Premier League.
Tosin Adarabioyo, Joao Palhinha and Harrison Reed scored in a whirlwind spell from the 54th minute at City Ground, helping Fulham move up to sixth place.
• Aston Villa further eased the pressure on manager Steven Gerrard with a scrappy 1-0 win over Southampton in the English Premier League earned by Jacob Ramsey’s 41st-minute goal.
WORLD CUP: Yunus Musah will miss the United States’ last two World Cup warmup matches because of a left groin injury, depriving the Americans of a chance for their preferred midfield trio to play together ahead of the tournament in November.
Johnny Cardoso of the Brazilian club Internacional replaced Musah on the roster for the matches against Japan on Sept. 23 in Düsseldorf, Germany, and Saudi Arabia four days later in Murcia, Spain.
TENNIS
DAVIS CUP: Felix Auger-Aliassime ruined the homecoming of Carlos Alcaraz after fighting back to beat the world’s newest top-ranked player 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 as Canada beat Spain at 2-1 in the Davis Cup in Barcelona, Spain.
Roberto Bautista gave Spain the first point after he fought back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Vasek Pospisil, who needed medical treatment to his upper left thigh.
With no time to recover, Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil showed no sign of being worn down when they came from behind to beat Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the decider.
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