BOSTON -- Mookie Betts admits this regularly: He hasn't remotely lived up to his own expectations so far this season. At the depths of his struggles earlier in the year, when the reigning American League MVP's batting average dipped as low as .260 after reaching .346 in 2018, Betts struggled to find his swing, failing to turn on pitches. Fly balls popping out to right field became common sights during Betts' at-bats in the first half of the season, and Red Sox fans openly wondered what had happened to Boston's offensive catalyst.

As concerns around Betts permeated throughout the season's first half, the team struggled to put together consistent offensive production. Betts told ESPN.com earlier this season that he spent much of the 2018 season reinventing his swing with the input of teammate J.D. Martinez. This year, he'd found maintaining that swing to be much easier said than done.

"Last year, I feel like I was working towards something, building a new swing," Betts said in June.

A three-homer night might be enough to finally silence talk concerning whether Betts will come back around. He has found that swing again, as Betts' three shots off of New York Yankees left-hander James Paxton showed Friday, finishing the evening 4-for-5 with four runs, a double, 5 RBIs and a career-high 14 total bases in a 10-5 victory. It's only the eighth time a Red Sox hitter has recorded 14 total bases or more in a game. Betts extended the longest on-base streak in the majors to 23 games, during which he's hitting .383/.464/.670 with five homers and 10 doubles, raising his overall line to .289/.399/.507. On the season, Betts has struggled against lefties, hitting .236/.352/.330 after hitting .368/.471/.736 against southpaws last season, so breaking out in a Paxton start was a nice additional development.

"I don't necessarily know what was different tonight," Betts said after the game. "I just hadn't really been playing well this year. There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes. It's just a matter of showing it in the game."

Manager Alex Cora said Betts hasn't felt good at the plate all season.

"He's been fighting his mechanics," Cora said. "He's crushed balls to right-center, center field with nothing to show for it. Today, he was able to get some pitches that probably a few days ago or a week ago that were deep fly balls to center."

Boston's lineup has struggled with inconsistent performance all season. Despite the team ranking among the AL leaders in offensive production, Cora has routinely expressed his frustration with the Red Sox bats not coming through in timely situations. The top of the lineup has seen some reshuffling. Cora entered the season with left fielder Andrew Benintendi in the leadoff spot, followed by Betts in the 2-hole, in line with sabermetric trends in the game to have a team's best hitter hit second. Betts now finds himself back in the leadoff spot, where he spent all of last year.

"You just can't quit," Betts said. "It's a long season, and things can turn around fast. I was determined to get things rolling and try to be that catalyst at the top for [Rafael] Devers and Bogey [Xander Bogaerts], who've had amazing years. If I can score some runs, I know we can string together some wins."

Boston already ranked among the best offensive teams in baseball in the first half, hitting .272/.336/.497 over the course of the first half, tied for the most runs in baseball with the Minnesota Twins, but Betts' recent tear at the plate is having a clear impact on the bottom line. After Friday's win, the Red Sox have improved upon their status as the baseball's hottest offense in July, hitting .297/.357/.535 with an MLB-best 148 runs scored.

The climb out of the pits of his slump meant Betts has been spending time watching extra film, coming in early for batting practice and asking for advice from the coaching staff and teammates. Of course, a down year for Betts is a career year for most players, as he still rates among the top 20 position players in baseball in FanGraphs WAR at 3.5.

"Mookie's always been the same Mookie," Chris Sale told Boston media last week. "I couldn't imagine what it's like winning MVP and having to show up the next year and having to do it again. We all know what he's capable of. He's been unbelievable for us the entire year. I know he's not hitting .370 like he was last year, but I don't think we need him to."

Before watching his star outfielder hit three homers, Cora approached Betts during batting practice to check in. As his star has been heating up, he has been asking the team's right fielder for some predictions. Betts hasn't been able to come up with answers, which is always a good sign for Cora in regard to the reigning MVP.

"He keeps telling me, 'I don't know what happened,'" Cora said. "I'm glad that's his answer, because last year, he never really thought about anything. Just go out there and compete and perform, and today was a great one."

Ryan Crouser takes shot put title, while Allyson Felix qualifies for 400m final on her comeback

World leader Christian Coleman claimed his first national 100m title at the USA Championships, as did Teahna Daniels who sprang a surprise to take the women’s win on Friday.

Coleman, who claimed silver at the 2017 world championships behind team-mate Justin Gatlin, clocked 9.99 (1.0m/sec) after running 9.96 in the semi-finals as Michael Rodgers was second in the final and Christopher Belcher third as they both clocked 10.12.

Gatlin ran 10.16 in his semi-final but did not run in the final, with his place for the IAAF World Championships in Doha already secured as a defending champion.

Daniels just missed out on a podium place at the NCAA Championships but at the national trials in Des Moines, Iowa, she was on top, powering to victory in a time of 11.20 against a -1.7m/sec headwind.

What a win! Congratulations to @_teahnad on clinching the @MichelobULTRA Women’s 100m! #ToyotaUSATFoutdoors pic.twitter.com/6c378cysfp

— USATF (@usatf) July 27, 2019

As well as her fourth place at the NCAA Champs, the 22-year-old has won the under-23 NACAC title this summer and finished third at the Prefontaine Classic and fourth in the Monaco 200m, with her 100m PB of 10.99 having been set in Sacramento in May.

Olympic silver medallist English Gardner was second in 11.25 and Morolake Akinosun third in 11.28 as world under-20 record-holder Sha’Carri Richardson, who is third on this summer’s world rankings with 10.75 behind Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, placed eighth and last in 11.72 to miss a place for the global event in Doha. Reigning world champion Tori Bowie did not enter the 100m, already having her world championships place confirmed.

World shot put leader and reigning Olympic champion Ryan Crouser threw 22.62m to win his third US title ahead of Joe Kovacs (22.31m) and Darrell Hill (22.11m), while Conor McCullough won the hammer with a PB of 78.14m.

Donald Scott won the triple jump with a wind-assisted leap of 17.74m (+2.7m/sec) ahead of Will Claye (17.70m) and Omar Craddock (17.55m). Reigning world champion Christian Taylor has a bye through to Doha.

After day two wins in the 110m hurdles (13.78) and discus (49.47m) plus PBs in the pole vault (5.00m) and javelin (60.74m), Devon Williams won the decathlon with a score of 8295 points. Solomon Simmons scored 8225 in second and Harrison Williams 8188 in third.

Making her comeback just eight months after having her baby, 11-time world gold medallist Allyson Felix secured her place in the 400m final after running 51.45 to place third in her semi-final, won by Shakima Wimbley in 50.20.

today i’ll step on the starting line for the first time in over a year. it might sound cliche, but making it there is a huge victory.
•
8 months ago this was my world. it’s been a tough road. i’m far from my best, but grateful for this opportunity & most importantly our health. pic.twitter.com/g1seQSp169

— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) July 25, 2019

World leader Michael Norman ran 44.04 to go quickest in the men’s semi-finals as Paralympic medallist and double amputee Blake Leeper clocked 44.38.

The first day of USA Championships action had seen Lopez Lomong and Molly Huddle clock respective times of 27:30.06 and 31:58.47 to retain their 10,000m titles.

Keturah Orji won a fourth successive triple jump title with a leap of 14.56m, while Sam Matthis won the discus with a throw of 66.69m and Ariana Ince the javelin with a throw of 61.06m.

Over at the Canadian Championships, Aaron Brown retained his men’s 100m title in a close finish ahead of Andre De Grasse – 10.021 to 10.024. Crystal Emmanuel won the women’s title in 11.17. Brittany Crew won the shot put with a throw of 18.65m.

USA Championships results can be found here.

Britain's Andy Lapthorne reached his fifth quad singles final in six years at the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships after a superb fightback to beat Dutchman Sam Schroder.

Trailing by a set and 4-0, Lapthorne turned the match around to earn a 2-6 7-5 6-2 victory in Nottingham.

Gordon Reid's bid to reach the singles final ended with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 defeat by world number one Gustavo Fernandez.

Jordanne Whiley reached the women's doubles final with Japan's Yui Kamiji.

Whiley and Kamiji won 6-3 6-1 against another British and Japanese pairing in Lucy Shuker and Momoko Ohtani.

Whiley and Kamiji will meet Dutch top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot - who they lost to in the Wimbledon semi-finals - for the trophy on Saturday.

World number three Lapthorne plays Niels Vink of the Netherlands in his final on Sunday after his extraordinary comeback in Friday's semi-final.

"Heart and desire is what it's all about this week," Lapthorne said.

"As long as I compete well, that's all I can do. I love winning, I love competing, I love playing those kind of matches.

"Playing matches like that, against a guy that pushes me to my limit and pushes me to dig deep within myself is the reason I play the game."

Despite his singles disappointment, Reid has another chance to win silverware when he partners compatriot Alfie Hewett in the men's doubles final on Saturday.

World number five Alexander Zverev says he was surprised Ivan Lendl decided to announce midway through the Hamburg Open that their partnership has ended.

The announcement came a few days after Zverev claimed eight-time Grand Slam winner Lendl talked more about "golf and his dog" than tennis.

The pair teamed up last year, with the 22-year-old German going on to win the season-ending ATP Finals in November.

"We both felt like we were going different directions," Zverev said.

"I have nothing but respect for him. We worked well for 10 months and it's been very nice having him by my side, winning London.

"It's also about personalities and maybe we didn't fit yet. Maybe it will change but for now it's over."

Lendl, who previously coached Britain's former world number one Andy Murray, said he still has a "lot of belief" that Zverev can fulfil his potential.

"I think that one day he may become a great player, but currently he has some off-court issues that make it difficult to work in a way that is consistent with my philosophy," Lendl said.

Despite the timing of the news, second seed Zverev has still reached the semi-finals of the Hamburg Open - his home tournament - after a gutsy comeback win against Serbia's Filip Krajinovic in the quarter-finals.

Zverev trailed by a set and a break before fighting back to win 2-6 7-5 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes.

The world number five will play defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili, who won 6-2 6-3 against France's Jeremy Chardy, in the last four.

Austrian top seed Dominic Thiem lost 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) to Russian Andrey Rublev, while another upset saw Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta beat Italian third seed Fabio Fognini 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4).

British number two Cameron Norrie reached the Atlanta Open semi-finals after compatriot Dan Evans missed out on a spot in the last four.

Norrie, 23, reached his third semi-final of 2019 with a 7-5 6-4 win over Australian Alexei Popyrin.

Norrie will face either American second seed Taylor Fritz or Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic as he bids to reach the second ATP final of his career.

Evans, 29, suffered a straight-set loss to big-serving American Reilly Opelka.

Opelka, 21, hit 23 aces on his way to a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 victory.

After edging the first set, Opelka fought back from 15-40 to break world number 55 Evans's serve for a 6-5 lead in the second and served out the match to love.

Opelka, ranked 57th, meets Australian Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals.

De Minaur, 20, progressed after compatriot Bernard Tomic retired as he trailed 6-2 3-0 after just 39 minutes.

Tomic, 26, called for the trainer at the end of the first set - seemingly indicating he felt pain in his torso when serving - and eventually decided he could not continue any more.

Earlier this month, Tomic was fined his full Wimbledon prize money of £45,000 for not meeting the "required professional standard" during his 58-minute first-round defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Exeter aces tee up four titles
By ALAN THATCHER, MARK FULLER and JENNI ASHFORD

Mike Harris clinched a hat-trick of National Racketball titles when he beat Tim Vail in the final at Edgbaston Priory.

Harris’s victory followed his now customary marathon encounter with Nick Mulvey in the semi-finals, a 95-minute battle that left him just three hours to prepare for his final against Vail. Earlier, Harris triumphed in an entertaining quarter-final clash with former world number three squash star Simon Parke.

The Edgbaston Priory Club was packed for the sport’s 36th National Championships, bracketed with Squash 57.

The Men’s Open saw several crowd favourites make early exits. Joseph Blackmur ,the East of England Champion and ¾ seed, was defeated by professional squash player Harry Falconer.

In what was one of the most entertaining matches of the weekend, nine-times Nationals runner-up Ted Jeal was defeated by Chris Bently. The third game was critical going Bentley’s way 14-12.

Squash legend Parke always draws a crowd. This was Parke’s first Racketball Nationals and he was great to watch. A tough draw gave him the #2 seed Mike Harris in the quarter finals and Parke was beaten by the better man on the day. Never one to give up, I’m sure that we will see Parke back and looking for revenge against the man almost 20 years his junior.

This was the biggest Racketball/Squash57 Nationals ever. It was a fantastic weekend and a great advert for a sport that has a new energy behind it and what is increasingly looking like a very bright future.

The weekend saw 240 players competing in 318 matches across 23 grades ranging from Under 13’s through to Over 80’s. This was the sport’s biggest tournament ever in terms of entries, categories and matches played. Squash57 is the only sport ever to host a National Championships for such a wide range of ages over just one weekend. It was great to see such a diverse group of players all coming together to play the game.

The Over 50’s took centre stage over the weekend as the most popular category, filling the full 32 draw and reflecting the successes of the age category in the domestic series throughout the year. This is the most popular grade of the UK-Racketball Series with big Over 50’s competitions taking place right across the UK every month.

The matches did not disappoint with some fantastic encounters and upsets right from the start. The two on form Series players, Dan Fernandez and Marc Thornley, were the event’s #1 and #2 seeds and both lost in early rounds which immediately opened the event up. In the end it was Mark Francis (Huddersfield) who capitalised, defeating Rob Hambrook (East Anglia) in the semi-finals and then Mervyn Davies (Shrewsbury) in the final.

Five grades ran in the Junior Racketball Nationals. The youngest competitors on the day took part in the Boys Under 13s, with Dylan Kalar crowned champion after his victory over Anthony West. The boys Under 19 event was won by Marcus Tranter with a victory over Ollie Cartwright in the final. Marcus’s sister, Jasmine Tranter, completed the family double by taking the Girls Championship with victories over Anya and Meha Shah.

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Duffield’s Lesley Sturgess maintained her amazing run of National Titles which she started in 2007 in the Women’s Over 45’s. Since then she had won 13 titles and added two more this weekend with victories in the Over 55s against Siobhan Garland (Falmouth) and the Over 60s against Jo Robinson (Ebbisham). Bett Dryhust (Barnt Green) was once again victorious in the Women’s Over 70s, taking her to title #31, a run that started back in 1985 when the tournament was into its second year.

It was the strongest field yet in the Women’s Open category. Three times National Champion Natalie Lawrence (Devon and Exeter) was defeated by up and coming Amber Marshall (Broxbourne) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4 in the first of the semi-finals.

Local hero and last year’s Squash57 Champion Deon Saffery came through her semi-final against a determined Roxy Keshavarz (Brighton) in a long three-love encounter.

Amber Marshall has had a great couple of years on the UK-Racketball Series, winning first the National Doubles title in 2018 and then the East of England singles at the start of this year.

This was her first final on the sport’s big stage and up against experienced and two times winner Saffery this was always going to be tough. Marshall got progressively better and almost took the third but eventually lost 11-9 in one of the highest quality games across any grade over the weekend. Saffery claimed her third title on home soil at Edgbaston without dropping a single game throughout the competition.

The men’s final was a match that had been anticipated since before the first ball had been struck. Tim Vail, 10 times National Racketball Champion, was taking on two-times National Squash57 Champion Harris. This was the first competitive meeting of the two champions and it was Vail who made the strong early start, taking the first game 11-8.

The start of the second was tight but at 5-5 some uncharacteristic errors from Vail allowed Harris to pull away and take the game 11-7. The third was tight and proved to be the tournament decider, it could have gone either way but Harris hung on to take it 11-9.

Vail had thrown everything he had at the third and Harris was in no mood to let the 10-times champion back in. A positive start from Harris in the fourth and it was too much for Vail to recover. It finished 11-2 to Harris and a very well-deserved National Title to a fantastic ambassador for the game.

Harris’s victory made it four titles for Exeter Golf and Country Club players. Jo Perriam (playing in her first Nationals) was runner-up in the Women’s Over-45 category, after converting from squash to racketball around 18 months ago.

Teenager Ioan Sharpe took the lead in his own age category of Boys U15, in what was his first Racketball Championship, having found success in squash playing for Wales. Ioan went on to play in the next age group up, and won first place in the U17s as well.

Mike Gregory was playing across two age groups as well, the Men’s Over-40s and Over-45s. He ended up having seven matches across the weekend in two strongly contested draws. He lost out in the semi-finals of the Over-40s to the top seed and eventual winner, Richard Davies from Staffordshire, but managed to regain his Over-45s title. In the semi-finals he took out Jon Gallacher, the number one seed and his Devon team-mate, before then beating second seed James Powley 3-1 in a tough final.

Mike Harris said: “All in all, it was a great weekend for Exeter Golf and Country Club racketball players. It is also worth remembering that Mike Gregory, Jo Perriam, Caroline Wright, Tim Gillingham and myself also played for our very successful Devon senior sides this year, and also the Men’s Racketball team came second in the UK National Club Championships.”

2019 National Racketball Championships (incorporating Squash 57), Edgbaston Priory, (July 5-7).

Open – Mike Harris
Women’s – Deon Saffery
Over 35’s – Craig Chapell
Women’s Over 35’s – Natalie Lawrence
Over 40’s – Richard Davies
Over 45’s – Mike Gregory
Women’s Over 45’s – Larna West
Over 50’s – Mark Francis
Women’s Over 50’s – Sue Gotham
​Over 55’s – Neil Baldwin
Women’s Over 55’s – Lesley Sturgess
Over 60’s – Mike Phillips
Women’s Over 60’s – Lesley Sturgess
Over 65’s – Ian Graham
Women’s Over 65’s – Rosemary Connell
Over 70’s – Rob Welton
Women’s Over 70’s – Bett Dryhurst
Over 75’s – Adrian Groves
Over 80’s – John Bennett
Under 13’s – Dylan Kalar
Under 15’s – Ioan Sharpe
Under 17’s – Ioan Sharpe
Under 19’s Marcus Tranter
Girls – Jasmine Tranter

Pictures courtesy of  UK Racketball. Facebook gallery here

Yorkshire Carnegie will remain in the Championship for 2019-20, the Rugby Football Union have said, provided they meet conditions after entering into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

However, Carnegie could be handed a 28-point deduction unless all creditors agree to the CVA's terms by 9 August.

Former Bath and Wasps player Martyn Wood was named as the Yorkshire side's new director of rugby on Wednesday.

The financially-troubled side had their CVA approved by creditors in June.

An RFU statement added: "If the club stays up despite the points deduction, or would have been relegated anyway even without the points deduction, then there is a further deduction in the following season.

"The case remains subject to review."