WEDNESDAY SPORTS PAGE: DRAFT DAY
The two-day, seven-round NHL entry draft gets underway tonight at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Chicago Blackhawks will make the first overall pick just after 7 p.m. Eastern Time and are expected to take teen phenom Connor Bedard of North Vancouver, B-C. The Anaheim Ducks select second, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens. The Vancouver Canucks will have the 11th pick, followed by the Calgary Flames at 16th, Winnipeg Jets 18th and the Toronto Maple Leafs 28th.
The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to produce a win and a few runs when they face the visiting San Francisco Giants tonight in the second outing of their three-game interleague series. Last night the Giants blanked the Jays 3-0 despite being outhit 8-6. Right-hander Logan Webb will be on the mound for the Giants, who have won 13 of their past 15 and have won 10 straight on the road. The Jays haven’t named their starting pitcher.
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Shohei Ohtani became the first American League pitcher in nearly 60 years to hit two homers and strike out 10 batters in a game, leading the Los Angeles Angels past the Chicago White Sox 4-2 last night. Ohtani, who leads the majors with 28 home runs, hit solo shots in the first and seventh innings, the first time he has gone deep twice while also pitching. The superstar from Japan struck out 10 in a 6 1/3-inning start that ended because of a cracked fingernail.
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Paul Blackburn pitched into the sixth inning for Oakland, allowing one run on Josh Donaldson’s homer in his return to the lineup and sending the Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Yankees last night. The slumping Donaldson connected in the fifth in his first action since Friday, but that was it for New York. The former Blue Jay and 2015 AL MVP went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, raising his batting average to 132 in 22 games.
Despite playing without several key stars, Canada came within minutes of knocking off Guadeloupe in last night’s CONCACAF Gold Cup Group D match at BMO Field in Toronto. Instead, Canada had to settle for a 2-2 draw after surrendering the tying goal halfway through stoppage time. Lucas Cavallini scored for Canada and the hosts got an own goal, while Thierry Ambrose scored for Guadeloupe, which tied the game on an own goal. Canada plays Guatemala on Saturday in Houston.
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The PGA Tour sought to assure players last night that they will have a say in the tour’s new partnership with the Saudi funders of LIV Golf, with its policy board issuing a statement that noted players would have to approve any final agreement between the once-rival tours. The statement was released after a meeting of the board, which includes players Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy and Webb Simpson.
(Canadian Press)
