Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco was ejected following a foreign substance check before Victor Caratini singled home a run in the bottom of the 10th inning in a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.

Blanco was tossed by third base umpire Laz Diaz after a check of his glove before the start of the fourth inning. The umpires, Blanco and Astros manager Joe Espada stood at the mound for a couple of minutes discussing the issue before the right-hander was thrown out.

Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut, allowed four hits over three scoreless innings.

Blanco denied using an illegal substance.

“Just probably rosin I put on my left arm,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “Maybe because of the sweat, it got into the glove and that’s maybe what they found.”

MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021, and Blanco will likely face a 10-game suspension.

Houston’s Alex Bregman homered after he went deep twice on Monday. He also doubled in the fourth to become the first player in franchise history with an extra-base hit in five straight at-bats.

Nola goes distance for surging Phillies

Aaron Nola pitched a four-hitter for his fourth major league shutout and the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies beat the slumping New York Mets, 4-0.

Nola struck out eight without a walk and threw 73 of his 109 pitches for strikes. He notched his sixth career complete game and first since a two-hit shutout against Cincinnati in August 2022.

Philadelphia improved the majors’ best record to 30-13 and earned its first sweep at Citi Field since a three-game series in April 2013. The Phillies have won or tied all 12 of their series since April 5, their best such streak since August 1994 to June 1995 (13 series).

The Mets completed a 1-4 homestand against two NL East rivals and dropped to 10-14 at home.

The Phillies scored twice in the third inning off Jose Butto on a bases-loaded hit by pitch and Brandon Marsh’s bases-loaded walk.

Bryson Stott had a run-scoring single in the ninth and Alec Bohm doubled home a run.          

Butto needed 97 pitches to get through five innings – including 41 in the third. He gave up just one hit but walked four.

Sale sharp again as Braves roll

Chris Sale pitched two-hit ball over seven stellar innings to win his fifth straight start and Matt Olson hit a three-run homer to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs for their second straight shutout.

Sale (6-1) struck out nine and did not issue a walk to match his win total from all last season. The veteran left-hander is 5-0 with a 1.41 ERA over his last five starts with 41 strikeouts in 32 innings.

Starter Jameson Taillon’s error on Orlando Arcia’s grounder helped set up Atlanta’s six-run fourth inning, including Olson’s blast that made it 7-0. Michael Harris homered to lead off that inning.

The Braves, who have won six of seven, have outscored the Cubs 9-0 in the first two games of the series.

Coco Gauff will have the chance to down world number one Iga Swiatek after progressing to the Italian Open semi-finals with Tuesday's victory over Qinwen Zheng.

The 20-year-old breezed into the last-four draw in Rome after her straight-sets victory over Zheng, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.

Gauff faced just one break point throughout the match, failing to hold her serve at 5-3 up as seven-seed Zhen battled back in the first set.

Yet Gauff eased through the tie-break and never looked back from there on, teeing up a meeting with Swiatek, who overcame Madison Keys in straight sets in her quarter-final clash.

Data Debrief: Young Gauff powers on

No player has won more matches than Gauff (61) in WTA-1000 events before turning 21, since the introduction of the format in 2009, as the American moved past Caroline Wozniacki (60) with victory here.

Wozniacki (eight) is also the only player to manage more WTA-1000 semi-final appearances before her 21th birthday, with Gauff's last-four qualification here taking her onto six – one ahead of Swiatek.

Tommy Paul stunned defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open on Tuesday.

Paul needed just one hour and 13 minutes to down Medvedev 6-1 6-4 to secure his first victory over a top-20 opponent and reach the quarter-finals.

Medvedev could not get going from the start, and was broken in all three of his service games in the opening set as Paul cruised into the lead.

And even after a brief resurgence at the start of the second set, Medvedev could not prevent his opponent from reeling off four successive games to pave the way for a memorable win.

Paul, who is into his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on clay, will face Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the last four.

Data Debrief: Zverev brings up 10th Masters QF

While Medvedev crashed out, Alexander Zverev had no such trouble, as he claimed a straight sets win over Nuno Borges.

Zverev has now equalled Michael Chang in 10th place for the most quarter-finals made (28) in ATP Masters 1000 events since the format's introduction in 1990.

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem will have to fight for his place at the French Open after missing out on Tuesday's wild-card invitations.

Thiem will retire later this year due to a persistent wrist injury that has derailed his career but will likely need to battle through the qualifying rounds to appear at Roland Garros for a final time.

The two-time French Open semi-finalist is currently six places away from a main-draw spot for the upcoming major, with Richard Gasquet among the eight male players to secure a wild-card invitation.

Frenchman Gasquet will equal Feliciano Lopez's 21 tournaments at Roland Garros, the joint-most appearances of any player in the Open Era.

In the women's tournament, world number 99 Alize Cornet was also invited on a wild-card pick and will appear in a women's singles grand slam main draw for the 72nd time in her career.

That is the third most in the Open Era for major appearances, behind only Venus Williams (93) and Serena Williams (81).

Tiger Woods will hope to roll back the clock as the four-time PGA Championship winner aims to repeat the trick at Valhalla Golf Club.

The former world number one has won four of his 15 major titles at this event, including triumphing in the 2000 edition at Valhalla.

Woods managed to make a record-breaking 24th consecutive cut at The Masters last month, though tailed off in the last two rounds to finish 60th – finishing last of players to reach the weekend.

Despite those latter-round struggles, the 48-year-old believes the potential is still there for a 16th major title, with his last coming at Augusta back in 2019.

"I still feel that I can win golf tournaments," Woods said at Tuesday's press conference. "I still feel I can hit the shots and still feel like I still have my hand around the greens and I can putt.

"I just need to do it for all four days, not like I did at Augusta for only two.

"It's getting around that is more of the difficulty that I face day-to-day and the recovery of pushing myself either in practice or in competition days.

"You saw it at Augusta – I was there after two days and didn't do very well on the weekend."

The 2024 Masters was just the fourth time since November 2020 that Woods has completed all four rounds of a tournament, owing to repeated injury struggles.

He remains confident his body will hold up this time around, though, as Woods attempts to recreate his Valhalla-winning heroics from 2000.

"My body's okay," said Woods, who joins Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley for the first round at the PGA Championship on Thursday. "It is what it is. I wish my game was a little bit sharper.

"Again, I don't have a lot of competitive reps, so I am having to rely on my practice sessions and getting stuff done either at home or here on-site.

"At the end of the day, I need to be ready mentally and physically come Thursday.

"One of the reasons I came up here on Sunday was to knock off some of the work that I have to do in charting greens, get all that stuff done early, so I can focus on literally playing and plotting my way around.

"I wouldn't say the walk is that difficult. I know it's a long walk, it's a big piece of property. This is a big golf course and if you get in the rough here, things could get a little bit sore, but if I drive it well and do the things I need to do – what I did 24 years ago – hopefully it works."

Aside from his major plans, speculation continues over Woods captaining Team USA for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York.

The 15-time major champion says his focus remains on personal performance, with time limited to also fulfil that role.

"We're still talking," Woods added. "There's nothing that has been confirmed yet. We're still working on what that might look like. Also whether or not I have the time to do it."

Iga Swiatek soared through to the Italian Open semi-finals following a dominant straight-sets victory over Madison Keys.

The world number one took just 76 minutes to wrap up a commanding 6-1 6-3 win - matching the scoreline which saw her overcome the American in the Madrid Open last four a fortnight ago.

Swiatek broke her opponent four times and saved all 10 break points she faced on the way to setting up a semi-final showdown with either Coco Gauff or Qinwen Zheng.

Yet to drop a set this week, the Pole remains on course to complete a hat-trick of titles in Rome and land her fourth silverware of 2024, in which she now boasts a 36-4 record.

Data debrief

Reaching her 16th WTA 1000 semi-final from 30 main draws entered, Swiatek (53.3 per cent) surpasses Serena Williams (53.1 per cent, 26 from 49) for the highest rate of last-four appearances in such tournaments since the format's introduction in 2009.

The Pole also took her tally of WTA match wins on clay to 75 from 85, with only Monica Seles, Nancy Richey (both 80), Chris Evert (81) and Margaret Court (82) reaching that figure on surface in fewer matches during the Open Era.

Luka Doncic paid tribute to "unbelievable" Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, conceding the Oklahoma City Thunder guard was "just too good" in their 100-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Gilgeous-Alexander inspired the Thunder to a second-half fightback in Game 4 as they overturned a 14-point deficit to level their Western Conference semi-final series at 2-2.

The 25-year-old, who described it as "probably the most meaningful game I've played in my career", top-scored for his side for the eighth successive match in this postseason with 34, while he finished with eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals.

And Doncic, who registered a triple-double for Dallas with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, could only watch and admire.

"He was unbelievable," the five-time NBA All-Star said. "He kept making shots and maybe at some point, we've got to send double teams. He's just too good."

Gilgeous-Alexander went 12-of-16 on mid-range shots - the most by any player in a single game over the past two seasons - while matching LaMarcus Aldridge for the most buckets made from that distance in a playoff game in the last decade.

Teammate Chet Holmgren added: "There are some points in the game I'm doing the same thing you guys are doing - just kind of being a fan of what he's doing and when some of those shots go in, just kind of making a face like, 'That's crazy.'

"But he's been doing it all year. I've seen him do it since I got here, that's just who he is."

Jayson Tatum credited the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fight they showed in Donovan Mitchell's absence after helping the Boston Celtics take a 3-1 lead in the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

Tatum had 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics moved within a game of reaching the conference finals for a third straight year with Monday's 109-102 road win.

Cleveland, who were already without starting center Jarrett Allen due to a rib contusion, were also deprived of their leading scorer after Mitchell suffered a calf strain in Game 3.

However, the Cavs stayed in the game until Jaylen Brown sank a clutch 3-pointer with 69 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, with Derrick White and Tatum then making a couple of free throws each to add some gloss to the scoreline.

Darius Garland had 30 points and seven assists for the Cavs while Caris LeVert had 19 points, leaving Tatum impressed. 

"It's to be expected, right? When the best player goes out, everybody has more freedom, more opportunity," Tatum said of Boston's opponents.

"Obviously, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. It's the playoffs, they don't want to go home. 

"Give them credit, they played hard from beginning to end and made big plays on both ends. They hit big shots, so it was a battle, and it was fun out there."

Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff also heaped praise on his players, saying: "I mean, they laid it all out there. They gave us everything that they had. 

"They competed at a high level. They played the game properly. I'm proud of the guys, the way they went out and scrapped and competed and gave ourselves a chance."

Boston now have a chance to wrap up the series in Game 5 at TD Garden on Wednesday, an opportunity Brown is keen to ensure they take.

"There's nothing better than winning a playoff game on the road," Brown said. "It's like everybody's against you guys. It's a tough environment, the crowd was great, but as a competitor, it's really fun to be in an environment like that, to win on the road.

"Now it's time to go back and play well in front of our fans and give them something to cheer for and try to get a win."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to a four-year, $84.1million contract extension, Winfield’s agent announced Monday.

The contract makes Winfield the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back and the first safety to ever hold that distinction.

Winfield’s contract includes $45m in guaranteed money. He had been scheduled to make about $17m next season under the franchise tag.

Winfield’s agent David Mulugheta posted the news on social media with a screen capture of the moment he informed Winfield that the deal was done.

"Couldn't be happier to make this call and let Antoine know he just made HISTORY! The first time that a safety is the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL," Mulugheta wrote.

"In a year where the value of safeties has been questioned, the Buccaneer Organization, the Glazer Family and GM Jason Licht have stepped up and taken care of one of their most valuable family members.

"Congratulations Antoine, you have accomplished something that has never been done before. You will forever be etched in history as the first. I appreciate your trust and cannot wait to see you back on the field."

Winfield, 25, is the son of retired defensive back Antoine Winfield Sr. and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round in 2020.

The 2023 All-Pro has become one of the best and most versatile defensive backs in the league and is coming off his best season.

In 17 games last season, Winfield set career bests with six sacks, three interceptions, 12 pass deflections, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Winfield is the latest key contributor to be signed to an extension by the Buccaneers this offseason. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receiver Mike Evans and linebacker Lavonte David all signed deals this spring to remain with Tampa Bay.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half to rally the Oklahoma City Thunder from a 14-point deficit and earn a crucial 100-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Monday's Game 4 of a Western Conference semifinal series.

Chet Holmgren had 11 of his 18 points after halftime and added nine rebounds to help the top-seeded Thunder even the best-of-seven series at 2-2 as they head back to Oklahoma City for Wednesday's all-important Game 5.

The fifth-seeded Mavericks squandered an opportunity to put the Thunder on the brink of elimination despite setting a franchise playoff record with 13 blocks, including four each from Derrick Jones Jr. and rookie Dereck Lively II.

Jones finished with 17 points in the loss, while Luka Doncic registered a triple-double for Dallas with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. 

The Mavericks led the majority of the game and owned an 86-80 advantage just past the midway point of the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City began their late surge. The Thunder seized momentum with a 12-2 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Holmgren and Luguentz Dort, to go up 92-88 with 2:14 remaining.

Dallas answered on Tim Hardaway Jr.'s 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but back-to-back baskets by the Thunder's Jalen Williams gave Oklahoma City a 96-91 lead entering the final minute.

The Mavericks again responded and had a chance to tie it when Doncic was fouled with 10.1 seconds left with Dallas trailing 96-94. The MVP finalist made just one of his two shots, however, and the Thunder sealed the outcome by going 4 for 4 from the foul line in the waning moments.

Free-throw shooting played a part in the result, as Oklahoma City finished 23 of 24 from the line compared to 12 of 23 for Dallas.

The Mavericks held a 54-43 lead at half-time after limiting the Thunder to under 35 per cent shooting for the first two quarters, and they stretched the margin to 14 when P.J. Washington hit a 3-pointer to begin the third.

Oklahoma City closed the gap before the end of the period, though, as they ended the third quarter on a 9-2 run to pull within 69-65 entering the fourth.

Celtics handle injury-plagued Cavaliers to take 3-1 lead

In the East, the top-seeded Boston Celtics moved within a game of reaching the conference finals for a third straight year after posting a 109-102 Game 4 win over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers behind Jayson Tatum's 33 points and 11 rebounds. 

Jaylen Brown added 27 points to help Boston take a 3-1 series lead over a fourth-seeded Cavaliers team playing without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell. The All-Star guard was unavailable due to a strained left calf he sustained in Cleveland's 106-93 loss in Saturday's Game 3.

The Cavaliers also remained without starting center Jarrett Allen, who hasn't played since Game 4 of their opening-round series against Orlando due to a rib contusion.

Darius Garland kept Cleveland competitive by producing 30 points and seven assists, while Caris LeVert had 19 points starting in place of Mitchell.

Boston can close out the series at home in Wednesday's Game 5.

Tatum set the tone right from the outset, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first quarter to stake the Celtics to a 37-30 lead after one period.

The All-Star forward closed out the first half with a 3-pointer that sent Boston into the break with a 62-57 advantage, though Cleveland opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to move ahead by a 65–64 score three minutes into the second half.

Boston reasserted control from there, however, as they outscored the Cavs by a 14-4 margin over the next four and a half minutes. Brown had seven points during the spurt, which Derrick White capped with a 3-pointer for a 78-69 Celtics' lead with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

The Celtics stretched the lead to 98-83 with under eight minutes left, though Cleveland kept battling and put together a 12-2 run to close the gap to 100-95 with three minutes left to play.

Brown hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:09 to go, however, to put Boston up 105-97, and the Celtics kept Cleveland at bay the rest of the way as White and Tatum each made two free throws in the closing stages.

Zack Short broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning, and Reynaldo Lopez and three Atlanta relievers combined on a five-hitter as the Braves opened a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs with Monday's 2-0 win.

Ronald Acuna Jr. plated Short with a single as the Braves scored both of the game's lone runs against reliever Hayden Wesneski, who replaced Shota Imanaga after the Japanese lefty tossed five scoreless innings to deliver another effective start in his debut MLB season.

Imanaga scattered seven hits and struck out eight to lower his MLB-leading ERA to 0.96. The offseason addition extended his team record with an eighth consecutive start of allowing two earned runs or fewer to begin his major league career.

Lopez was just as good while also not factoring in the decision, as the right-hander yielded just two hits and a pair of walks over five innings. Ray Kerr (2-0) received the win with two scoreless innings in relief of Lopez.

Wesneski (2-2) took over in the sixth and struck out the first two Atlanta batters before giving up a double to Travis d'Arnaud. Short, starting at third base with Austin Riley dealing with left-side tightness, then laced a double into the right field corner to put the Braves ahead.

Acuna followed with a single to left to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Cubs threatened in the ninth by putting their first two runners on, but A.J. Minter worked out of the jam to notch his first save of the season and close out the Braves' fifth win in six games.

Stott the hero as Phillies rally past Mets in 10 innings

Bryson Stott ignited a ninth-inning rally with a solo homer, then drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 5-4 win over the rival New York Mets.

The Phillies trailed 4-2 entering the ninth before scoring twice off Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who forced in the tying run by hitting Alec Bohm with a pitch with the bases loaded.

Stott started the comeback with a lead-off homer and pinch-hitter Kody Clemens followed with a single before Diaz issued a pair of walks to load the bases with two out. The two-time All-Star then hit Bohm in the forearm on an 0-2 count to bring in Clemens and force extra innings.

In the 10th, designated runner Bryce Harper advanced from second to third on a wild pitch from Sean Reid-Foley before crossing the plate on Stott's sacrifice fly.

Jose Alvarado then kept the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the 10th to record his eighth save and give the National League-leading Phillies a victory to start this four-game, home-and-home series.

Stott scored the game's first run after reaching on a single in the top of the second inning and later coming home on Garrett Stubbs' infield hit.

The Mets answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, as Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez had back-to-back doubles off Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez to tie the game before Tomas Nido brought in Martinez with a single.

Starling Marte doubled off Sanchez in the third and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Martinez to increase the Mets' lead to 3-1. It remained that way until the top of the seventh, when the Phillies put two aboard on singles by Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh in front of Johan Rojas' run-producing groundout.

New York restored a two-run advantage in its half of the seventh when Alonso scored on Bohm's error on a grounder hit to third off the bat of Tyrone Taylor.

Martinez finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs in the Mets' sixth loss in nine games. Philadelphia has now won 10 of its last 12.

Ramirez's four RBIs helps Guardians extend Rangers' skid

Jose Ramirez went 2 for 3 and drove in four runs as the Cleveland Guardians extended the Texas Rangers' losing streak to a season-high four games with Monday's 7-0 victory.

Ramirez knocked in two of Cleveland's four runs in the eighth inning that broke a scoreless tie as the American League Central leaders took the opener of this three-game series.

The game featured a pitching duel between Cleveland's Tanner Bibee and Texas' Michael Lorenzen, who held the Guardians to one hit through seven innings before the visitors broke through against the Rangers' bullpen in the eighth.

Jose Leclerc (3-3) relieved Lorenzen and was greeted by a double from Estevan Florial, who scored on Brayan Rocchio's single two batters later for a 1-0 Cleveland lead.

The Guardians then loaded the bases on a walk and a single before Ramirez drove in two with a base hit to extend the margin. Texas reliever Jacob Latz later forced in another run with a wild pitch that allowed Andres Gimenez to score from third.

Cleveland tacked on three more runs in the ninth on Gimenez's RBI double and another two-run single from Ramirez.

Bibee allowed just three hits and two walks before being removed with one out in the sixth. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without star guard Donovan Mitchell for Game 4 of their second-round play-off series against the Boston Celtics on Monday.

The Cavs ruled Mitchell out about an hour before tip-off due to a left calf strain.

Cleveland also ruled out center Jarrett Allen, who will miss his seventh straight game with a rib injury.

The Cavaliers are facing a 2-1 series deficit to the NBA-best Celtics. In Cleveland’s Game 2 win, Mitchell contributed 29 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Mitchell, who sustained his calf injury late in Saturday’s Game 3 loss, is averaging 29.6 points this post-season, including a combined 89 points in Games 6 and 7 of the Cavs’ first-round series against the Orlando Magic.

Earlier in the day, backcourt mate Darius Garland told reporters that it would be important for others to attack if Mitchell were sidelined.

“Just be aggressive,” Garland said. “Play as a team, keep the ball moving and trust each other. We have a lot of guys that are super confident in themselves, so we'll need them to be super confident tonight and make the extra pass and play as a team and pull us together.”