Patriots blank Sea Dogs in 1-0 victory

The Somerset Patriots pulled off a stunning 1-0 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs in an Eastern League game at Bridgewater, New Jersey, the morning after a high-scoring affair. Oswald Peraza, on a rehab assignment from the New York Yankees, made a significant impact by hitting a home run in the fourth inning, one of only three hits allowed by Portland.

Peraza’s solo shot off Angel Bastardo cleared the fence in left-center, marking his third homer in six rehab games. Bastardo put up a strong performance, striking out eight batters and allowing just three hits and one walk over five innings. CJ Liu, recently back from the injured list, pitched three hitless innings with five strikeouts and one walk.

The Sea Dogs, who had triumphed over the Patriots 11-10 the previous night, struggled to generate offense and were limited to just four hits, with Marcelo Mayer accounting for two of them.

In other sports news, the Italian Open saw Danielle Collins continue her impressive run by defeating former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka to reach the semifinals. The U.S. Open men’s final will be broadcast on ABC this year, while the women’s final remains on ESPN. Major League Soccer announced suspensions for several players involved in an incident after a match between New York City FC and Toronto FC.

Italian cyclist Jonathan Milan claimed victory in the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia, with Tadej Pogacar maintaining his lead in the overall standings. Olympic triathlete Taylor Knibb secured a surprising win at the U.S. road cycling championships, earning a spot to compete in two sports at the upcoming Paris Games. Additionally, the Brooklyn Nets announced the retirement of Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey in honor of his Hall of Fame career.