BASEBALL

Phillip Sikes hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and five Portland pitchers combined on a one-hitter as the Sea Dogs pulled out a 2-1 win over the Somerset Patriots in an Eastern League game Friday night at Hadlock Field.

Allan Castro’s first Double-A home run gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Wikelman Gonzalez, meanwhile, didn’t allow a hit through five innings, but Somerset got its only hit in the sixth inning and then tied the game against rehabbing Boston Red Sox reliever Justin Slaten. Rafael Flores broke up the no-hit bid with a single after rehabbing New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo drew a leadoff walk. Rizzo eventually scored on a wild pitch.

A leadoff double by Nathan Hickey in the ninth set up the winning run. Pinch runner Elih Marrero advanced to third on an Alex Binelas single and scored on Sikes’ fly ball to center field.

Gonzalez struck out six and walked three. Christopher Troye, Alex Hoppe and Zach Bryant (4-1) closed out the win as the Sea Dogs increased their Northeast Division lead to 5 1/2 games over Somerset.

• Boston Red Sox minor league pitcher Anthony Felix was suspended for 56 games Friday following a positive test for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol under baseball’s drug program for players assigned outside the U.S. and Canada.

A 20-year-old right-hander, Felix signed with Boston in June for a $10,000 bonus and was 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA and two saves in 14 games in the Dominican Summer League.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Michael McDowell won the pole for Saturday night’s 400-mile Cup Series race at Daytona Interna, edging Front Row Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland in qualifying.

Joey Logano was third for Team Penske, followed by Ryan Preece, Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing.

It was McDowell’s fourth career pole, all this season.

COLLEGES

BIG 12: Big 12 presidents are scheduled next week to discuss potentially inviting UConn to the conference after school officials made an in-person pitch to the league that included a hefty investment in the Huskies’ struggling football program, two people familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.

The people said a plan to add UConn, which has won the last two men’s college basketball national championships, would include the school’s football team staying independent until 2031 and would not require current members to take a cut in their current expected conference revenue share.

HOCKEY

AHL: The American Hockey League announced that cut-resistant neck protection is mandatory for every player and on-ice official across all 32 teams beginning this season.

AHL President and CEO Scott Howson said the league’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the move, which applies to any skater and official, regardless of age and experience.

The International Ice Hockey Federation announced in December it will mandate neck guards at all levels of tournaments it runs. The NHL does not have a mandate, and it would be subject to negotiations between the league and the players’ union.

NHL: The San Jose Sharks acquired prized goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov from Nashville in a deal that sends a 2025 first-round pick to the Predators.

Askarov, 22, reportedly asked for a trade with his path to a starting role in Nashville blocked by Juuse Saros.

SOCCER

ITALY: United States midfielder Weston McKennie has a signed a contract extension to stay at Juventus until June 2026, the Italian club said.

McKennie had a team-high 10 assists in all competitions for Juventus last season.

GERMANY: Florian Wirtz saw his penalty saved in the 11th minute of added time but converted the rebound to secure a 3-2 win for defending Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen in its season opener against Borussia Monchengladbach.

CYCLING

SPANISH VUELTA: Wout van Aert grabbed his second stage win at this edition of the Spanish Vuelta, while Ben O’Connor kept his commanding overall lead.

Van Aert added to his Stage 3 win with another dominant performance to take the seventh stage – a  180.5-kilometer ride from Archidona to Cordoba in 4 hours, 15 minutes. Mathias Vacek was second.

O’Connor retained his lead of 4 minutes, 45 seconds over three-time overall winner Primoz Roglic, his nearest chaser.