Nick Podkul drove in three runs and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats withstood a ninth-inning comeback bid by the Portland Sea Dogs, earning a 7-6 win Sunday at Hadlock Field.
Portland trailed 7-3 going into the bottom of the ninth but quickly cut the deficit to 7-6 on a single by Hudson Potts and back-to-back home runs by Ronaldo Hernandez and Tanner Nishioka. Will Dalton kept the rally going with a two-out double high off the wall in left-center, but Fisher Cats reliever Emerson Jimenez came in to retire Pedro Castellanos on a popup for the final out.
Hernandez and Nishioka each finished with two hits and two runs scored, and Nick Sogard went 3 for 4 for the Sea Dogs, who will be on the road for the next two weeks against Binghamton and Somerset.
NECBL: Mitchell Moralez and Shane Paradine each drove in two runs during a five-run third inning, and the Sanford Mainers earned a doubleheader split against the North Shore Navigators with a 5-3 victory in Game 2 at Lynn, Massachusetts.
Earlier, the Mainers lost 10-3 in the completion of a game that was suspended on Tuesday because of rain. Logan Bravo broke a 3-3 tie with a grand slam in the eighth and finished with two home runs and six RBI.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Frenchman Esteban Ocon won a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix, while an exhausted Lewis Hamilton finished third to take the championship lead from Max Verstappen by six points heading into the midseason break.
Hamilton needed a check from the Mercedes team doctor after the race.
“Had really big dizziness and everything got a bit blurry,” he said. “I have been fighting all year really with the health, staying healthy after what happened at the end of last year (with coronavirus).”
Verstappen placed 10th after being taken out early in the race by Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in a first-lap crash in the rain that caused both drivers and three others to retire.
The victory was Ocon’s second career podium finish. He placed second at the Sakhir GP in Bahrain late last year.
The Alpine driver finished ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. fourth ahead of Ocon’s teammate, Fernando Alonso.
HOCKEY
NHL: Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has committed to playing for the Chicago Blackhawks this season, setting aside his reservations about leaving Vegas.
The 2020-21 Vezina Trophy winner spent a few days contemplating his future after being traded to Chicago on Tuesday. He had been with the Golden Knights since becoming their highest-profile selection in the 2017 expansion draft.
• San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane denied allegations his wife made on social media that he bet on NHL games, including against his own team.
Kane responded Sunday morning to allegations made the previous day from the Instagram account of his wife, Anna.
“I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game,” he wrote on Twitter. “The facts are I personally had my best season of the my career last year and was the most consistent I’ve been throughout any season, I’m proud of that. I love the game of Hockey and would never do any of what was alleged. I look forward to cooperating fully with the league’s investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season.”
The NHL said Saturday night that it was made aware of the social media posts from Anna Kane and plans to conduct a full investigation.
• The expansion Seattle Kraken have revised their contract with goaltender Philipp Grubauer after the initial deal was rejected by the NHL for violating the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person with knowledge of the move.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the change that involves $250,000 being moved from 2023-24 to 2022-23 to satisfy CBA requirements.
Grubauer will still count $5.9 million against the salary cap throughout the $35.4 million, six-year deal. Some money needed to be moved after rules were changed years ago to prevent teams from front-loading contracts.
FOOTBALL
NFL: Mike Gesicki and two other Miami Dolphins tight ends went on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list.
Cethan Carter and Adam Shaheen are also sidelined.
The Dolphins didn’t say whether the three players tested positive or entered protocol because of contact tracing.
• Tennessee’s search for a solution to its kicking problems continued Sunday when the Titans claimed Sam Ficken off waivers from the New York Jets and waived undrafted free agent Blake Haubeil.
Haubeil and Tucker McCann had been competing for the spot in the first four practices.
• Former Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants running back Devonta Freeman has joined the New Orleans Saints.
Freeman has played eight NFL seasons since Atlanta selected him in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft out of Florida State. He appeared in five games for New York last season, rushing 54 times for 172 yards and one touchdown and catching seven passes for 58 yards.
BASKETBALL
NBA: The Dallas Mavericks picked up the $4.1 million team option on center Willie Cauley-Stein’s contract, opting to keep a player who provides depth in a front court headlined by Kristaps Porzingis.
GOLF
U.S. SENIOR WOMEN’S OPEN: Annika Sorenstam closed with a 4-under 68 for an eight-stroke victory in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Sorenstam, 50, finished at 12-under 276. Fellow Swede Liselotte Neumann was second after a 74.
WORLD INVITATIONAL: England’s Daniel Gavins overturned a seven-shot deficit to claim his first European Tour title, and Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn recovered from a triple bogey to win the women’s tournament after a playoff in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
Gavins carded a bogey-free, 5-under 65 to set the clubhouse target of 13 under. Compatriot David Horsey (72) held a share of the lead until losing a ball on the 18th, finishing a shot behind in second. New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier (70) also got to 13 under before dropping shots on the 16th and 17th, winding up tied for third with Jordan Smith (74), Alejandro Canizares (67) and Masahiro Kawamura (69).
Gavins, who was ranked 995th in the world at the end of 2020, had never recorded a top-10 finish on the European Tour.
In the women’s event, Anannarukarn (70) beat American Emma Talley (70) with a par on the second playoff hole.
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