BASEBALL

Sea Dogs complete sweep, shutting out Richmond

The visiting Portland Sea Dogs scored four runs in the third inning Thursday night, highlighted by Jeremy Barfield’s RBI double and Danny Bethea’s run-scoring single, and shut out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-0 to sweep a three-game series.

Dedgar Jimenez went the first six innings allowing six hits, striking out five and walking a batter for Portland (56-58), which has won four straight. Ty Buttrey threw 11/3 innings of relief, striking out three.

Richmond lost its fourth straight, falling to 49-66.

EMPIRE LEAGUE: Trailing 3-2 in the fifth inning, the Old Orchard Beach Surge tied it on a double by James Simpson and grabbed the lead for good when Calvin Graves followed with a two-run single to defeat the Plattsburgh Redbirds 10-5 at Plattsburgh, New York.

TENNIS

ROGERS CUP: Roger Federer overcame a weak first set to post a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over David Ferrer of Spain in the third round at the men’s event at Montreal.

In the quarterfinals Friday, the second-seeded Federer will face 12th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, who outlasted Gael Monfils of France, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2).

n Karolina Pliskova advanced to the quarterfinals in the women’s event at Toronto when Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka was forced to retire because of an injury.

SOCCER

FIFA RANKINGS: The United States climbed nine spots to 26th after winning the Gold Cup.

Brazil regained the top spot after a one-month absence, replacing World Cup champion Germany. Argentina remained third. Switzerland rose to fourth – its highest position since the first rankings 24 years go – and Poland moved to fifth, its high.

MEXICO: The national team and club Atlas issued cautious statements backing embattled star Rafael Marquez but also apparently distancing themselves after he was sanctioned by the U.S. government for alleged drug trafficking ties.

HIGH SCHOOLS

PLAYER DIES: A high school football player lifting a large log with teammates as part of a Navy SEALs-style drill was hit in the head by the log and died at Farmingville, New York, raising questions about adapting such military training to young athletes.

Joshua Mileto, a 16-year-old Sachem East High junior, and about five teammates were carrying the log overhead when the accident happened at a preseason exercise camp supervised by a half-dozen coaches, Suffolk County police said.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he’s proud of his accomplishments after Kevin Harvick suggested NASCAR’s growth has been hindered because Earnhardt hasn’t won enough.

“I put a lot into this sport, and I know that I might not have met everyone’s expectations but I certainly exceeded my own,” Earnhardt said while appearing at Chevrolet’s event introducing the Camaro ZL1, a new race car.

– Staff and news service report

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