Haatem held off the late lunge of Iberian to win the Nicholson Gin Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.

Second to 2000 Guineas favourite City Of Troy in the Superlative Stakes last time out, albeit beaten six and a half lengths, Haatem was finally enjoying his moment in the sun after several respectable efforts this season.

Sean Levey rode him with confidence and was never too far from the pace, but the same could not be said of Charlie Hills’ Iberian, who was slowly away.

That left William Buick with no choice but to drop in at the rear and when push came to shove, that allowed Haatem (9-4 favourite) to get first run.

Haatem quickened up stylishly away from Witness Stand and Golden Mind, and while Aidan O’Brien’s Mountain Bear briefly looked a threat, it was Iberian who threw down the last challenge.

He could never quite get on terms, however, and went down by a length.

It was a first win in the race for Hannon, a Group Two his father won five times.

He said: “I’m very pleased, he’s a lovely horse and he ran so well in the Coventry and the Superlative. He was very unlucky in the Woodcote, he didn’t get any luck on the inside. That was our day and I thought it was all going wrong, but on days like today you realise you get your luck back.

“I thought this was his day, it was almost his Derby but he will get better as the year goes on. He’s a horse that’s big enough for next year, it’s not about being a two-year-old.

“He ran here first time and he’s improved all year. He’s a Group Two winner now so obviously we have to aim high, but he’s getting better.

“Something like the Dewhurst (will be the aim), he’s got to improve to take on the big guns but he’s doing that with every run.

“This horse has won a very good race, (Ascot winner) Rosallion might be the best we’ve had for years. This fella is a quiet achiever, he gets better every day.

“This lad is your mate, he tries every time and he’s just getting better.”

Hills will also look towards the Dewhurst with Iberian.

He said: “William was very impressed with him. He was drawn nine and has run a great race. It’s nice to know you have a horse you can target the top races with, and we will look at the Champagne Stakes and if that goes to plan the Dewhurst.

“I think the softer surface just blunted the speed out of him and he floundered in the going.

“But he’s a good horse for the future and could be a Guineas horse.”

Ancient Rome shone on his first start for new connections when pouncing late to land the Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap on the opening day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

The Charlie Hills-trained War Front colt was previously trained by Andre Fabre for Coolmore, but changed hands earlier in the season and then moved yards after three more runs for Fabre.

Last seen coming home third in the Group Three Prix Messidor at Chantilly, the four-year-old was a 33-1 chance under Jamie Spencer and had most of the field to pass approaching the two-furlong pole.

Spencer is a jockey who thrives in such situations, however, and the pair picked off their rivals to lunge over the line and win by a length in the end.

Hills said: “I haven’t had him very long, he’s only been with us a couple of weeks, but he’s a very laid-back individual.

“Jim and Fitri Hay are big supporters of this meeting, so we thought we’d give him a go and it’s paid off.

“When we saw the draw (stall 16) I thought it didn’t look good, but there was only one way to do it, which was to give him a chance and try to keep down the middle.

“He’s got some very good form from last year, he was fourth in the French Guineas, and while he’s obviously come down the handicap we’ll probably aim a little bit higher with him.

“That should have given him some confidence now.”

John Quinn’s Lord Riddiford flew to a third success in the Coral Handicap in the hands of Andrea Atzeni.

The eight-year-old landed the contest in both 2021 and 2022, but had been well beaten in two efforts this season.

Back over his favoured course and distance, the 8-1 winner cruised down the inside rail to cross the line a convincing three and a quarter lengths ahead of Stuart Williams’ Existent.

“He really, really likes this track, he ran quite well in the Dash (at Epsom), but the ground was a little bit quick for him,” Quinn said.

“We thought as he’s an old horse we’ll freshen him up for here and hope that he gets a bit of cut in the ground.

“We were more than hopeful. With these older horses, they need conditions to be ideal.

“Two-year-olds will probably go on ground a bit quicker than is ideal, but older horses need it ideal.

“When I was driving down yesterday there was rain all the way to London, which was lovely! It stopped a bit further on, and then when we got to Goodwood it was raining again and I thought, ‘lovely’. It’s great to see an eight-year-old bounce back and I’m delighted.”

Diego Dias’ first runner in Britain was a winning one as Mansa Musa claimed a hard-fought triumph in the British EBF 40th Anniversary Maiden Stakes.

The former jockey, who hails from Brazil, has been heavily involved in the bloodstock industry for some time and only recently switched to training.

Based on the Curragh, Dias has held his licence for four months but had a good deal of well-placed confidence in his runner, who started at 20-1 under Rossa Ryan, standing in for sidelined Hong Kong ace Vincent Ho.

Array, the 4-6 favourite, battled Mansa Musa all the way to the line but it was the latter who prevailed by a short head.

“We always liked this horse at home. We know he improved from the run and there’s a lot more to come from this horse.

“He’s a really nice horse, we always did like him even when he went to the breeze-up sales in Dubai.

“We didn’t sell him and had to bring him back, he’s just proven for us now how good he is.”

Of his background and journey into training Dias added: “I’m from Brazil, rode back home in Brazil in Rio and rode in Ireland as well.

“The past few years I’ve been doing breeze-ups, I just took out my licence this year and that’s my second winner. It’s great.

“I’m based at the Curragh, best place to be – the gallops are the best in the world!

“It’s going better than I imagined, but I came here very confident that he was going to put on a good show.”

Paddington has been the breakout star of the Flat season to date, in a campaign starting to bear very close resemblance to a Ballydoyle great of the past, Giant’s Causeway.

And like the ‘Iron Horse’, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt will need to show all his versatility in his latest assignment, the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Having emerged from winning a handicap first time out this season, the son of Siyouni is now chasing a fourth successive Group One victory.

He took the Irish 2,000 Guineas in style, before readily accounting for English Guineas winner Chaldean in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and then stepping up to 10 furlongs to beat Emily Upjohn in the Eclipse last time out.

Now he is dropping back to a mile, taking on the classy Inspiral with substantial rain forecast on Tuesday evening into Wednesday, although O’Brien is not unduly concerned.

He said: “He’s got winning form on very soft ground, so I wouldn’t be as concerned for him as I might have been for other horses. He’s got form on all types of ground.

“I hold Paddington in very high regard. He is very natural, very quick and very straightforward. He is a little bit different, we think, and the way he has progressed from run to run is very unusual.

“Ryan (Moore) always thought he had lots of pace and coming back to a mile won’t be a problem. We were delighted with him in the Eclipse and we always had the Sussex Stakes as part of his programme.

“He has been putting on weight after every run. He was much heavier heading into the Eclipse than he was before Ascot, which is quite unusual. He thrives on work and everyone involved with him is very happy.

“He has gone from strength to strength and Ryan is very impressed with him all the time. He is standing up to a lot of scrutiny and it is the ease with which he is doing it. He looks a serious horse at the moment.”

Giant’s Causeway was runner-up in the Irish Guineas, but did win the St James’s Palace, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes, and then added the Juddmonte International and Irish Champion Stakes, races that could easily feature on Paddington’s radar.

For now it is Goodwood, with O’Brien adding: “The Sussex Stakes is a very prestigious race that has stood the test of time. For a horse going to stud, it is very important with it being the first time the three-year-olds can take on the older milers.”

Just as in the Eclipse, Paddington’s biggest market rival is a filly trained by John and Thady Gosden.

Winner of six of her nine races, including three Group Ones, the Cheveley Park Stud-owned four-year-old Inspiral should certainly give Paddington something to think about – but whether she would want very soft ground is debateable.

“At this point in tine, all being well, we’ll run. The ground is changing, but this has been the plan and she is on course to go to Goodwood,” said Chris Richardson, racing manager for the owners.

“Obviously she has a weight for age difference, but it is a logical step really. We wanted to give her plenty of time after Royal Ascot.

“It was a good performance on her first run. She proved last year she runs well fresh and she followed it up.

“We obviously bypassed Newmarket (Falmouth) in preference for Goodwood. France was in the mix, but those races are too close together now and they have had plenty of rain over there.”

The ground, though, is a cause for concern.

Richardson went on: “Heavy ground wouldn’t suit her. We have taken the chance and more rain would suit Paddington probably more perhaps than us.

“She handles soft ground. She won the Marois on soft ground, and it was easy in the Falmouth when she was second as well. If you are not in, you can’t win.

“Paddington is a serious horse. He is a bit of a superstar, but we’re fresh and he’s had a few more races than us. The weight allowance might make a difference and she’s in good form.”

The feature Qipco British Champions Series event on day two also features the William Haggas-trained Aldaary, who has not quite hit the heights after missing last season but is one who will appreciate the rain.

“We left Aldaary in the Sussex in the hope that we get the sort of ground we had when Here Comes When won in 2017,” said Haggas, successful 12 months ago with the mighty Baaeed.

“He’s probably not good enough to win, but he likes the soft, so who knows. It wasn’t as soft as ideal at Ascot last time and it was a funny race. He was still a bit rusty there, but he’s better now.”

Richard Hannon does not think conditions will suit Chindit, however.

“If the word soft appears in the ground, he won’t run,” said Hannon.

“He has to have fast ground. If he doesn’t go there, he’s got the Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury, he’s got a race at York, there’s a Group Two somewhere else – there are a good few, but he can’t function on soft ground.”

Aidan O’Brien is still at a loss to explain the performance of dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin in Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Having finished only 12th of 14 when favourite for the 2000 Guineas, O’Brien never lost faith and produced a terrific training performance to get him back in top shape to win the Derby.

The son of Japanese stallion Deep Impact then followed up in the Irish Derby at the Curragh, making him the first since Harzand in 2016 to win both Classics.

Sent off the 9-4 favourite in a stellar field at Ascot, Ryan Moore was sending out distress signals very early and ultimately allowed the colt to come home in his own time.

Several theories have been raised since the race as to his disappointing display, including the fact that the only other time he took a plane to England he ran no race in the Guineas. But as of yet, nothing untoward has come to light.

Speaking on Tuesday, O’Brien said: “He was a little bit stiff, but that’s it.

“As of now, there’s been nothing strange that has shown up.

“We’ll just continue to monitor him and see how he is over the next week.”

Hull KR coach Willie Peters will spare his star men the prospect of facing a potentially-vengeful Wigan on Friday night with their Wembley Challenge Cup final date fast approaching.

Peters plans to field a virtually-unrecognisable line-up for their Betfred Super League clash at the DW Stadium, including three players he has brought in this week on short-term loan deals plus three academy graduates who will make their first-team debuts.

Rovers edged Matt Peet’s men in a semi-final thriller at Headingley less than two weeks ago and despite their desire to cement a play-off spot, Peters is making no apologies for refusing to take risks with his already injury-hit squad.

“Obviously it’s a very important game this week but it’s a very important game next week too,” said Peters. “We will be going there with a team that is going to compete but we’ve got to be smart as well.

“If we have a team that goes out and competes from one minute to 80, I’ll be a proud coach. I think this is a game that we can hopefully go and make our fans proud of us, that a young team has gone over to Wigan and given their all.”

Rovers face Leigh at Wembley on August 12 where they will hunt their first Challenge Cup victory since their only previous triumph over city rivals Hull FC in 1980.

Peters confirmed the respective signings of Catalans half-back Cesar Rouge, Wakefield prop Isaac Shaw and Warrington forward Luke Thomas, all on two-week loan deals.

In addition, academy players Leo Tennison, Louix Gorman and Lennie Ellis will make the first team for the first time.

Peters is still hopeful that Tom Opacic, Eliot Minchella and Ethan Ryan will all recover from their current injuries in time for the Challenge Cup final a week on Saturday, but Jordan Abdull will definitely miss the Wembley date.

Ground conditions are the chief concern for trainer Shark Hanlon ahead of Hewick’s bid for back-to-back wins in the Tote Galway Plate.

Victory in the €270,000 contest 12 months ago was the middle leg of a huge treble in 2022 for the eight-year-old, as he also landed the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and the American Grand National.

He subsequently fell two fences from home when still in with a shout in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and has since returned to Sandown to win the Oaksey Chase and finished fourth in the French Champion Hurdle.

Hanlon is thrilled with his stable star’s condition ahead of his planned return to Ballybrit, but admits the prospect of carrying top-weight in testing terrain is a worry.

He said: “Hopefully the ground will dry up a bit – we need to get the ground a bit drier.

“He’s in great form and everything, but he doesn’t want very soft ground. There’s nothing we can do about it, only wait and see.

“In fairness the two-mile-six might be on the short side for the horse and a bit of cut in the ground might be a help to us, but you’re always afraid when it gets very soft.

“I couldn’t have the horse any better, but if they end up with heavy in the ground I couldn’t run him. Hopefully it won’t get to that.”

With his first-choice pilot Jordan Gainford sidelined by injury, Hanlon turned to Rachael Blackmore to partner Hewick in his last two races.

However, Blackmore rides Gabbys Cross for Henry de Bromhead, leading Hanlon to book Britain’s champion jockey Brian Hughes.

He added: “Brian is a great jockey and he looks after me when I go to England. I’m delighted to have him on board.”

Gavin Cromwell is looking forward to saddling Final Orders, who won five successive races over fences last season before finishing fifth in the Grand Annual at Cheltenham.

The seven-year-old fell in the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree on his next start, but recently proved his well being with a Flat victory at Bellewstown.

Cromwell said: “He’s in great shape and I’m delighted with him. I would love if the ground was a little bit better, hopefully it won’t be too bad.

“We’re happy he’s in great nick and if he can get a bit of luck in running, hopefully he’ll be involved.”

Another high-class chaser who warmed up for Galway’s midweek feature with a victory on the level is the Barry Connell-trained Enniskerry, having bolted up by six lengths at Leopardstown in June.

However, his participation is also dependent on conditions.

“The big problem is the ground – if it comes up soft he won’t run,” said Connell.

“It’s unfortunate because he’s in the form of his life, he has a lovely racing weight (10st 7lb) and if it was good ground we’d be very optimistic about his chances.

“We have him in another race on Friday, so that’s an alternative if we don’t get to run on Wednesday.

“He won his beginners’ chase there last year, so we know he likes the track and he’s a second-season novice who is unexposed, so he ticks a lot of boxes.”

Mick Appleby is “pretty confident” Big Evs can lower the colours of Kylian in a good renewal of the Jaeger-Lecoultre Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday.

Winner of the 23-runner Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot on his last run, the son of Blue Point will be tackling easy ground for the first time and Jason Hart’s mount is drawn on the wing in stall eight.

“He’s in good order. I think we have got a decent enough draw and we should be going there with a very good chance,” said Appleby.

“I think he will be OK on the ground, as long as it doesn’t go heavy. You’d think he’d be OK on good to soft ground and the dam won on soft ground, so hopefully he should be all right.”

Big Evs and the Karl Burke-trained Kylian dominate the market for the five-furlong Group Two contest.

The latter is more experienced with four runs under his belt and was a scintillating six-length winner of the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown on his last run.

“Obviously we have Kylian to beat,” admitted Appleby. “It is a great race, but we’d go there pretty confident and he should have a good chance.

“Should all go well, we’ll probably go for the Gimcrack (at York) next – that’s most obvious one for him, I should have thought.”

Ryan Moore maintains his partnership with Kylian, who is bidding for a hat-trick, having previously won on the all-weather at Newcastle.

“I sat on him for the first time at Sandown last month and you had to be very impressed by the manner in which he picked up after I switched him to the outside after a rail run clearly didn’t materialise,” Moore reported on his Betfair blog.

“Big Evs is probably the one to beat, but this horse isn’t far behind him form-wise after what he did at Sandown, though both horses are unproven on soft ground and that is the question mark.”

Richard Hannon is equally hopeful that Baheer, an easy winner of a Newbury novice over six furlongs, can handle the ground and a drop back in trip.

He said: “He is in great form. He’s very quick and has easily got the speed for five (furlongs) no problem.

“The ground is an unknown quantity, but Mehmas liked it. I think he’d have a great chance as well.”

The other Group Two contest on the card is the seven-furlong Whispering Angel Oak Tree Stakes, which has attracted a field of 16 fillies.

John Quinn saddles Breege, who was pitched into Group One company in the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh on her seasonal debut, where she finished seventh to Tahiyra.

She then was beaten a length by Coppice in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot, so drops back in trip to a course and distance she handled well when a narrow runner-up in a Group Three last August.

“We’re happy with her,” said Quinn. “She ran very well at Ascot and we tried to run her at Sandown (in the Coral Distaff), but we just couldn’t run her – it wasn’t a lot, I just couldn’t run her.

“We have been thinking about this race because we thought the conditions might suit her. She ran here as a two-year-old over seven furlongs and she handled the track well.

“She is a big, strong mare and, with a bit of ease in the ground, she’ll go on that.

“She is not slow. She won over five and a half (furlongs) as a two-year-old and was placed in the Princess Margaret. She is a quality filly, so let’s hope she runs well in a tough race.

“She is drawn in stall three, which is grand. I’d rather be three than 13. I’m glad she got drawn there, because over seven furlongs, if you are drawn out a long way, it is difficult.”

White Moonlight is the sole last-time-out winner in the field and she bids for a hat-trick for Saeed bin Suroor, following a pair of Listed successes at Musselburgh and on the all-weather at Chelmsford, both over the same seven-furlong trip.

“She won well at Chelmsford, “ said the Godolphin handler. “She came back from that well and worked nicely. Definitely she is in good form.

“She won at Musselburgh on good to firm ground, but maybe the ground conditions will be good for her. It will be nearer soft ground.

“We’ll see, we’ll have a look, but she has won on easier ground in the past as a two-year-old.”

Nashwa will face a very stern challenger for her Qatar Nassau Stakes crown at Goodwood on Thursday in the shape of Blue Rose Cen.

John and Thady Gosden’s filly was a stunning winner of the Group One feature last season, backing up her victory in the French Oaks.

She had been some way below that level of form in her early runs this season, but back down to a mile in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket’s July meeting she returned to her brilliant best.

Nashwa will need to bring that level of form to the table again, though, as Blue Rose Cen has looked every inch a superstar.

Trained by Christopher Head, she won the Prix Marcel Boussac last term and the French 1000 Guineas and Oaks, all in impressive fashion.

Nashwa also clashes with Joseph O’Brien’s Above The Curve, who beat her in the Prix Corrida in France, and Al Husn, her conqueror in the Hoppings Stakes at Newcastle.

Jack Channon’s Caernarfon and Aidan O’Brien’s Never Ending Story make up the six-runner field.

The John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes sees William Haggas’ historic Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero reappear, having caused great scenes when winning for the King and Queen.

He is one of six in the Group Three, with Artistic Star, Burdett Road, Canberra Legend, Chesspiece and Espionage.

Clive Cox’s Jasour must defy a penalty to follow up his July Stakes success in the Markel Richmond Stakes.

Asadna and Hala Emaraaty represent Alice Haynes, Unquestionable is the Ballydoyle runner while the once-raced Sketch will aim to follow up an impressive debut win for Martyn and Freddie Meade.

Barry Connell is leaning towards heading over fences in the autumn with Marine Nationale ahead of his return to training later this week.

Yet to taste defeat in five starts, the six-year-old was last seen running out a brilliant winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

With his summer break coming to an end, his owner-trainer is beginning to consider plans for the upcoming campaign – and while he would be fully entitled to head down the Champion Hurdle route, he is currently favouring a switch to the larger obstacles.

“He’s coming in at the end of the week and he’s done very well. He got a good, long break because last year he was on the go all summer,” said Connell.

“I’d say we’re more likely to go chasing with him than we are to stay hurdling, so the Arkle looks the obvious target for him.

“He’s a brilliant jumper and he’s nearly a better jumper of fences than he is of hurdles, so that’s the current thinking and we’ll work towards that.

“The campaign kind of maps itself out. You’d be looking at a beginners chase in early November, then Leopardstown at Christmas, the Dublin Racing Festival and Cheltenham.”

Another horse for whom Connell holds high hopes is Good Land, who won a Grade One novice hurdle at last season’s Dublin Racing Festival before finishing fourth in the Ballymore at Cheltenham.

Connell feels he was not at his best in the Cotswolds and is hoping he can scale even greater heights over fences.

He added: “He is in (training) already and he definitely goes chasing. We’d be looking at a beginners chase possibly in October and he can go for the Drinmore at Fairyhouse then.

“He’s an exciting horse. He ran okay in Cheltenham, but when we got him home he was very flat and his bloods weren’t right.

“He was there an extra day and I don’t know if that was the issue because he seemed to be fine, but when Michael (O’Sullivan) got on him and cantered down to the start he just felt he was a little bit dead.

“I’d be hoping that wasn’t his true running and we’re looking forward to going down the two-and-a-half-mile route with him and the two-mile route with the other guy.”

Teed Up dug deep to cling on to victory in the Connacht Hotel (QR) Handicap, the feature event on day one of the Galway Festival.

Trained by Emmet Mullins and ridden by Raymond Barron, the six-year-old was sent off the 7-2 favourite for the two-mile-one-furlong affair after finishing second at Tramore on his most recent outing.

HMS Seahorse and Whisky Sour were to the fore turning for home, but Teed Up grabbed control with a couple of furlongs to run and had to keep finding for pressure as The Very Man produced a finishing burst.

However, Teed Up was not for passing, coming home half a length in front with Shajak a further half-length back in third and HMS Seahorse taking fourth.

Barron said: “It’s my first ride in this race. I’d no ride in it all week and Emmet rang me on Friday. It was like Christmas getting the call.

“He broke well and travelled very smoothly throughout the race. I was nearly there too soon turning in but he was going so well that I kind of had to kick on. He got to the front too soon but he was tough and was very game all the way to the line.

“Around Galway, riding for Emmet and the Mee family, you always have a chance and it’s nice that I could deliver for them today.

“I’m based with Charles Byrnes. I’m getting plenty of rides off Charles and am in a very privileged position and, I suppose as a result of that, I’m getting plenty of outside rides as well.”

Earlier on the card, Mystical Power (6-4 favourite) made a perfect start over obstacles in the Galwaybayhotel.com & TheGalmont.com Novice Hurdle.

Willie Mullins’ charge is bred to be a champion as a son of Galileo and the first foal of multiple Grade One winner Annie Power and he triumphed on his bumper debut at Ballinrobe in May.

Connections made a swift switch to hurdling with the four-year-old and he duly justified that confidence when cruising home by seven lengths in the hands of Mark Walsh.

Paddy Power make Mystical Power a 16-1 shot for both the Supreme and Ballymore Novices’ Hurdles at next year’s Cheltenham Festival and Mullins was certainly impressed.

He said: “That was a huge performance compared to his bumper performance. He likes jumping but there is a lot of improvement to come as he made at least three mistakes.

“Like his mother (who won on debut at Galway), he’s won here on his second run and hopefully he’ll be half as good as her.

“I’ll continue hurdling with him now. I don’t want to go back to the flat – I may do that next year with him. He looks like a horse that we might aim at the Royal Bond or something like that.”

Shohei Ohtani just missed another home run, but his Los Angeles Angels teammates still provided plenty of power.

The surging Angels hit three solo homers to back a solid start from Chase Silseth en route to a 4-1 win over the major league-leading Atlanta Braves in Monday's opener of a three-game series. 

Luis Rengifo homered to lead off the game, while newly acquired Randal Grichuk and Chad Wallach went deep later to help the Angels to their 10th win in 13 games. That hot stretch has moved the Angels within three games of the American League's final wild card spot.

Grichuk was obtained Sunday from the Colorado Rockies along with first baseman C.J. Cron, who had an RBI single in his first game following the trade.

Ohtani finished 2 for 3 and nearly had his 40th home run of the season in the ninth inning, when his drive to deep center field was snared by a leaping Michael Harris II to rob the 2021 AL MVP.

Silseth yielded just three hits, including a solo homer from Matt Olson, over five innings to win his second straight start. Olson's blast was his National League-leading 36th of the season and 200th of the campaign for Atlanta, which tops the majors in that category.

The Braves entered the series having scored 29 runs in a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. Olson had two of Atlanta's four hits on the night.

Orioles hold off Blue Jays to maintain lead atop AL East

Ryan Mountcastle drove in three runs and Austin Hays made a game-saving catch in the ninth inning as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hays' diving grab of Whit Merrifield's line drive into the left-center field gap with two on and one out in the ninth helped the Orioles take the opener of this four-game series and maintain their 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays recorded a 5-1 win over the New York Yankees on Monday.

Mountcastle gave Baltimore an early lead with a two-run double off Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in the first inning, then later extended the margin to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Kyle Gibson made the lead stand by holding the Blue Jays to one run on four hits over six innings to earn his 10th win of the season. 

Gunnar Henderson had a solo homer earlier in the third to help the Orioles to their sixth win in nine games. The Orioles are now 6-1 against the Blue Jays this season and 4-0 in Toronto. 

Bo Bichette, the AL's leading hitter at .321, went 2 for 2 for Toronto before exiting the game in the third inning with right knee soreness.

Bassitt had a streak of eight consecutive starts without a loss end after he was charged with four runs over six innings. 

Phillies' Walker beats Marlins for MLB-best 12th win

Taijuan Walker threw 6 2/3 effective innings to become the first 12-game winner in the major leagues this season in the Philadelphia Phillies' 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Walker allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four to help the Phillies win the opener of this key four-game series between NL playoff contenders. Philadelphia moved a half-game ahead of the Marlins, Milwaukee and Arizona for the league's second of three wild-card spots.

The Phillies also closed within a half-game of San Francisco for the NL's top wild card after the Giants lost to the Diamondbacks, 4-3, in 11 innings.

Miami had taken a quick 2-0 lead on Jorge Soler's two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, but the Phillies tied it in the fourth on Johan Rojas' two-run double before moving ahead in the seventh.

Kyle Schwarber drew a leadoff walk against reliever Tanner Scott in the seventh, took third on Alec Bohm's double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bryson Stott. 

Bohm extended the lead in the eighth with a single that plated Rojas.

Soler had two hits and Luis Arraez went 3 for 4 with a run scored for slumping Miami, which fell to 4-14 since the All-Star break. Arraez is now batting an MLB-leading .381 on the season. 

Elena Svitolina repeated her Wimbledon victory over Victoria Azarenka in the first round of the DC Open with supporters given a warning the players would not shake hands at the end of the match.

The message, shown on the scoreboard after the first set of Svitolina’s 7-6 6-4 win in Washington, was designed to prevent the boos which marred their clash at the All England Club.

Ukrainian Svitolina has not shaken hands with opponents from Russia or Azarenka’s native Belarus during the current conflict.

Wimbledon semi-finalist Svitolina, playing her first hardcourt match since March last year after giving birth to her daughter Skai, said: “It’s the right thing. I asked for the WTA to respect the decision of Ukrainians. And they did.”

Both players headed straight to the sidelines and the match umpire after the tight one hour, 47 minute clash.

Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka, on her 34th birthday, said the warning to fans had arrived “about… 18 months too late” and asked whether it was a big story.

On the court, Svitolina rattled off 11 straight points to open a 3-0 lead, only for Azarenka to win five games in a row before she failed to serve for the first set and Svitolina won another three straight games.

The Ukrainian also failed to serve out for the set but eased to a 7-2 win in the tie break.

Breaks of serve continued to dominate in the second set with just one hold as Svitolina sealed victory.