TUESDAY SPORTS PAGE: MCDAVID NAMED MVP

Edmonton Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid won his third Hart Trophy during Monday’s NHL Awards gala in Nashville for being the 2023 MVP. McDavid also won his fourth Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player as voted on by NHLPA members. San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson won the James Norris Trophy as top defenceman, Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins won the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender,and Boston’s Jim Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year.

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Also at the NHL Awards gala Monday, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings won his second Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for most sportsmanlike player, Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins won his sixth Selke Trophy for top defensive forward, Matty Deniers of the Seattle Kraken won the Calder Trophy for top rookie, and Kris Letang  of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his perseverance and dedication to hockey.

Andy Ibanez and Jake Rogers homered for the Detroit Tigers, who overcame the early departures of their first two pitchers to beat the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 7-2 in the opener of a four-game series. Rookie Mason Englert, the third of six Detroit pitchers who combined for 16 strikeouts, allowed one run over 2 1/3 innings. Elsewhere, the host Baltimore Orioles thumped the visiting Cincinnati Reds 10-3, and the L-A Angels edged the visiting Chicago White Sox 2-1.

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Joey Wiemer hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to straightaway centrefield in the sixth inning, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-1 win that dropped the New York Mets to a season-worst eight games under 500. Despite a major-league record 355-million-dollar payroll on opening day, New York has lost seven of nine and is 6-and-15 since completing a three-game sweep of Philadelphia on June 1st.

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Marcell Ozuna hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh, Spencer Strider allowed three hits in seven innings while striking out 10, and the Atlanta Braves beat Minnesota 4-1 in the Twins’ first visit to Atlanta in seven years. Ronald Acuna Junior added a two-run homer in a three-run seventh. In the matchup of first-place teams in the N-L East and A-L Central, the Braves won for the 11th time in 12 games.

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The Toronto Blue Jays had Monday off after winning two of three weekend games against the visiting Oakland Athletics. The Jays, with a 43-and-36 record, host the San Francisco Giants in a three-game series that starts Tuesday. Right-hander Ryan Walker will be on the mound for the Giants. Right-hander Kevin Gausman is expected to start on the hill for the Jays.

(Canadian Press)