Zac Gallen turned in a masterful performance with a three-hitter and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Friday afternoon.

Gallen struck out nine and walked one to record his second career complete game and second shutout.

His other complete game came in a one-hitter in a 5-0 victory over Atlanta in a seven-inning doubleheader on April 25, 2021.

Rookie Corbin Carroll had a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning for the game’s only run.

Seiya Suzuki nearly made an outstanding catch in right field, but the ball hit the grass and the out call by first base umpire Stu Scheurwater was overturned in a video review.

Arizona won for the fourth time in five games and moved within two games of Chicago for the No. 2 spot in the NL wild-card race.

Cubs starter Jameson Taillon was also outstanding, pitching six innings of one-hit ball with one walk and nine strikeouts.

The loss dropped Chicago three games behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee though it remained two games in back of Philadelphia, which holds the top wild-card spot.

Suzuki had two of the Cubs’ three hits, with his one-out single in the fifth the first hit off Gallen.

Surging Orioles roll past Red Sox

Kyle Bradish continued his stellar pitching and Adley Rutschman homered and drove in three runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles to an 11-2 rout of the fading Boston Red Sox.

Bradish limited Boston to two runs and four hits over six innings with nine strikeouts to win his fourth consecutive start.

He is 5-0 with a 2.38 ERA in his past seven starts.

Ryan O’Hearn also homered, and Cedric Mullins had a two-run double during a four-run sixth inning as Baltimore won for the 12th time in 15 games.

Connor Wong went deep for the Red Sox, who have lost three straight and eight of 11.

Pinto, Ramirez homers in 7th rally Rays past Mariners

Rene Pinto and Harold Ramirez hit two-run home runs in the seventh inning and the Tampa Bay Rays came from behind to beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-4.

Pinto went deep on George Kirby’s 102 and final pitch to forge a 4-4 tie, and Ramirez’s drive off Isaiah Campbell came after Yandy Diaz’s walk and made it 6-4.

Isaac Paredes added a home run in the eighth inning and the Rays held on to remain four games behind AL East-leading Baltimore.

Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suarez homered for Seattle, which stayed one-half game behind AL West-leading Houston.

Experience put paid to youthful exuberance as Novak Djokovic ended Ben Shelton’s American dream at the US Open.

Djokovic, 36, halted big-serving 20-year-old Shelton’s breakthrough run in the semi-finals with a 6-3 6-2 7-6 (4) victory.

It was a defeat which will prolong America’s wait for a first home men’s champion since Andy Roddick in 2003 for at least another year.

The gulf in big-occasion nous was apparent from the start, with Djokovic playing in his 100th US Open match and Shelton his seventh.

Shelton was the youngest American man to reach the semi-finals since Michael Chang in 1992, Djokovic the oldest since Jimmy Connors a year earlier.

The Serbian was playing in his 47th grand-slam semi, and Shelton his first.

Now Djokovic is one win away from a 24th major title and becoming the oldest winner in the Open era, surpassing Ken Rosewall who was 35 when he won the title in 1970.

“Look, these are the kind of matches and occasions that I still thrive on, that inspire me to wake up every day and work hard,” Djokovic said.

“Grand slams are the most important, the ones that mean the most to me. Playing an American player is never easy and I had to hold my nerve. It was anybody’s game at the end of the third set. I’m really pleased with this win today.”

A poor service game saw Shelton gift Djokovic a break in the first set with three unforced errors including an ill-advised drop shot.

The youngster saved four set points on his own serve and had a break-back point in the next but was unable to take it as Djokovic got the first set on the board in 34 minutes.

A double-fault gave Djokovic another break in the second as Shelton’s unforced errors really began to pile up; by the end of the second set he had made 27 to Djokovic’s nine.

Shelton gave the New York crowd something to cheer in the third when he twice retrieved breaks and had a set point on the Djokovic serve.

It was quickly snuffed out, though, and Djokovic prevailed in the tie-break to book a 36th grand slam final – which is incredibly half of the majors he has competed in.

France handed a nation the result it craved as they opened their Rugby World Cup campaign on home soil by beating New Zealand 27-13 in Paris.

It was the All Blacks’ first pool-phase defeat in World Cup history and they could have few complaints.

Although the game never took off as a true spectacle at Stade de France, it was all about the result as Les Bleus prevailed through second-half tries by wing Damian Penaud and replacement Melvyn Jaminet, plus 17 points from full-back Thomas Ramos.

Wing Mark Telea scored two tries for New Zealand, with fly-half Richie Mo’unga kicking a penalty. While New Zealand are still odds-on to secure a quarter-final place from Pool A, France’s success sent an immediate message of their world title intent.

New Zealand suffered a late injury blow when captain Sam Cane was ruled out.

The All Blacks announced just 45 minutes before kick-off at Stade de France that flanker Cane would miss the heavyweight clash, although they did not specify his injury.

Number eight Ardie Savea took over as skipper, with Dalton Papalii moving from blindside to openside flanker and Tupou Vaa’i being promoted to the starting XV.

Despite the loss of Cane, New Zealand showed no sign of it unsettling them as they went ahead after just 93 seconds when full-back Beauden Barrett’s precision kick was gathered by Telea for the opening try.

Although Ramos kicked a penalty shortly afterwards, Les Blues struggled to settle and hooker Julien Marchand was forced off injured after 13 minutes.

A second Ramos penalty nudged France ahead, but Mo’unga quickly cancelled that out ahead of a water-break as temperatures nudged 28 degrees at almost 10pm local time.

Ramos completed his penalty hat-trick 12 minutes before half-time as France claimed a 9-8 interval lead.

New Zealand began the second period with an immediate statement of intent as skipper Savea’s kick was gathered by wing Will Jordan before centre Rieko Ioane’s superb long pass found Telea, who sprinted over for his second try.

Back came France, though, when fly-half Matthieu Jalibert’s half-break set up Penaud for an outstanding try, and Ramos’ wide-angled conversion made it 16-13.

Jordan was shown a yellow card by referee Jaco Peyper for an illegal aerial challenge on Ramos, which was also referred to to the ‘bunker’ before remaining as a sin-binning only.

Ramos’ fourth successful penalty opened up a six-point gap inside the final quarter, and another successful kick seven minutes from time sealed the deal as France triumphed 27-13 on the back of Jaminet’s late touchdown.

Wakefield’s 24-year stay in Super League is hanging by a thread after an 18-10 defeat to Catalans Dragons left Mark Applegarth’s men rooted to the bottom of the table with two games of the season to go.

Despite dredging up two late tries, Trinity were never in the running against Steve McNamara’s visitors, for whom early tries from Tom Johnstone and Adam Keighran paved the way for a victory that reignited their hopes of claiming the League Leaders’ Shield.

It is an all together more dismal outlook for the hosts, who must now secure points in their remaining games at Leigh then at home to Hull KR if they to stand any chance of remaining in the top-flight.

Applegarth’s men made up plenty of ground but in an all-too-familiar story they contributed too little too late, and Catalans needed no fireworks to get back on track after two consecutive defeats.

Former Wakefield man Johnstone came back to haunt his former club by crossing for his 25th try of the season in seventh minute, moments after Mason Lino’s superb interception had caused Tom Davies to come up short.

Keighran extended the visitors’ advantage and 10 minutes later the Australian increased his tally when he jinked over before converting to stretch the score to 12.

Wakefield needed some inspiration and it was provided by the introduction of David Fifita, potentially playing his last game for the club, who helped pile the first spell of pressure on the Catalans’ line.

But any momentum Wakefield gleaned was interrupted by the sin-binning of Sam Eseh for a dangerous tackle on the half hour, and only some desperate defending, including another try-saving tackle by Lino to deny Tomkins, restricted the score to 12 at the interval.

Wakefield pressed forward in the first 20 minutes of the second half, forcing back to back goal-line drop-outs, but Catalans once again contained them and Manu Ma’u fluffed a fine chance to extend their advantage.

Catalans finally grabbed their third try just past the hour mark when Davies pounced on another clever Tomkins kick to cross in the corner, and although Keighran scuffed the conversion, a later penalty extended the French side’s lead to 18.

To their credit, the hosts never stopped fighting and late tries by Kelepi Tanginoa and Lee Kershaw, who charged the length of the field after an interception – made the scoreline respectable, but by then Wakefield’s fate had been sealed.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Friday that pitcher Walker Buehler will not return this season, thereby ending the two-time All-Star's attempt to come back from Tommy John surgery and help the team's beleaguered rotation for the playoff chase.

Buehler, who underwent the second Tommy John procedure of his career in August 2022, was seemingly on track to rejoin the Dodgers later this month. The right-hander threw two perfect innings Sunday in a rehab start for the team's Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City and was scheduled to pitch again Friday.

The 29-year-old is expected to be fully recovered in time for the start of the 2024 season. 

"My goal since last year has been to return to a major league mound this season," Buehler said in a statement issued by the Dodgers. "After many conversations with my doctor, the Dodgers' front office, training staff and my family, we concluded that waiting until next season is the right course of action.

"I am disappointed that I will not be able to help this team go after a title in the 2023 postseason, but I look forward to returning fully healthy in 2024 and bringing another World Series to L.A."

The news of Buehler's shutdown brings further uncertainty to a Dodgers rotation that became further thinned when former 20-game winner Juio Urias was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball on Wednesday. Two other starters, 2022 All-Star Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season.

Urias was arrested Sunday on a felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. The alleged incident occurred at BMO Stadium in Exposition Park, home of Major League Soccer team Los Angeles FC, during a game between LAFC and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami side.

Buehler, who went 16-4 and finished third in the majors with a 2.47 earned run average in 2021, has not pitched in the majors since June 10, 2022. He also played a key role on the Dodgers' 2020 World Series champion team by compiling a 2-0 record and a 1.80 ERA in five starts that postseason.

The Dodgers hold a commanding 13-game lead atop the National League West division, but are currently using a rotation with rookies Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Emmet Sheehan slotted in behind three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and veteran Lance Lynn.

Pepiot took a perfect game into the seventh inning of Thursday's start against the Miami Marlins and has thrown 12 scoreless innings over his last two outings. Miller also has pitched well down the stretch, having posted a 3-1 record and a 2.87 ERA over his last five starts. 

India’s Shubhankar Sharma and England’s Jordan Smith share the halfway lead in the Horizon Irish Open as home favourites Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy experienced contrasting finishes at The K Club.

Sharma raced to the turn in just 28 shots on his way to a second round of 66, setting what looked an imposing target of 13 under par in sweltering conditions.

Smith responded with seven birdies in the first 11 holes and took the outright lead with another on the 15th, but ran up a double bogey on the 17th before completing a 65 with a birdie on the last.

Lowry birdied the 17th and 18th to complete a second successive 68 and lie five shots off the pace, while McIlroy holed out from 116 yards for an eagle on the 16th but immediately gave both shots back with a double bogey on 17.

“I’m trying to think of the last time I made a double bogey, it’s been a few months and I’ve prided myself on really limiting my mistakes,” McIlroy said after a 70 left him eight shots off the lead.

“That was one that obviously got away from me and I need a good one tomorrow to get myself back into it. There’s low scores to be had on this golf course especially with how the conditions are.”

A birdie at the 16th sparked McIlroy’s victory surge the last time the Irish Open was staged at The K Club in 2016 and he added: “There’s something about that hole that brings out the best in me.

“It was a lovely pin for a wedge shot with that back stop and using the slope to bring the ball back. It’s always a bonus and a bit of luck when they go in the hole but it was a lovely shot.”

Lowry, who won the 2009 Irish Open when he was still an amateur, said: “I’ve a huge weekend ahead of me.

“I’ve obviously been very fortunate to win this tournament before but I’d love nothing more than the opportunity to do that again this weekend.

“Expectations are a tough thing in sport and we’re going to see that over the next two months with the rugby team (at World Cup), but I think you just have to get out of your own way and let yourself do what you do best.

“I’ve done that very well over the last two days and I just need to do that again over the weekend.”

The start of play had been delayed by 30 minutes due to fog, but Sharma quickly made up for lost time as he birdied seven of the first nine holes.

“I had nine single putts which was amazing, I don’t think I’ve done that before,” he said. “Everything was just flowing nicely, I was hitting it in the right spots and was really good inside 10 feet so it all came together.”

The 27-year-old won his first DP World Tour title in December 2017 and his second just two months later, but has not tasted victory since and has recorded only two top-10 finishes this season, although the most recent was in the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

“I took a four-week break after the Open and was sick last week so spent most of the weekend sleeping on my couch, but I still have good memories from the Open so I am just trying to continue that form,” he added.

“I’m obviously very keen on getting back into the winner’s circle but it’ll happen when it happens.

“I can only control the controllables, have a good positive mindset on the weekend and I’m sure it will happen soon rather than later.”

Sharma and Smith ended the day with a one-shot lead over England’s Ross Fisher, who carded a second consecutive 66, with Germany’s Hurly Long on 11 under and Scotland’s Calum Hill another stroke back after a remarkable 65.

Hill carded three eagles in the space of seven holes, holing from nine feet on the fourth, from 124 yards on the ninth and 35 feet on the 10th.

Britain’s Joe Salisbury made US Open history alongside American partner Rajeev Ram with victory in the men’s doubles final.

Salisbury, 31, and 39-year-old Ram became the first team to win the Flushing Meadows title three years in a row in the Open era by beating India’s Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia 2-6 6-3 6-4.

It was a fourth grand slam crown for the duo and denied Bopanna a first major title at the age of 43.

“I think this partnership is really special. It’s been five years and we’ve got pretty close, we know we are going to give it our all until the very end,” said Salisbury.

“We’re just really proud of the effort we put in today.”

Ram dropped serve in the very first game and Salisbury was also broken as Bopanna and Ebden eased to the first set.

With New York still sweltering in 35C temperatures, tournament referee Jake Garner arrived on court to tell the players that the shutters around Arthur Ashe, and then the roof, would have to be closed.

The delay seemed to knock Bopanna and Ebden out of their stride, with Salisbury and Ram securing an immediate break and going on to level the match.

After Ram indulged in his now traditional mid-match sushi snack, they saved three break points for 2-2 in the third and then broke in the next game when Bopanna’s cross-court forehand flew just wide.

Bopanna sportingly gave Salisbury and Ram the point after the umpire missed an Ebden winner brushing his arm on the way through to leave them 0-30 down.

Fittingly, Bopanna hit the winner as he and Ebden came back to hold, but Ram delighted the American crowd by serving out for the title.

Ram paid tribute to Bopanna, saying: “That act of sportsmanship on the court, we’ve been playing the better part of 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like that, especially at a time like that we’d have had no idea. Bops you’re an inspiration.

He added: “Just to be out here, it’s something I could never have thought of in my wildest dreams. I can’t believe we’re here.”