NEW YORK -- Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, the odds-on favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year, reached another milestone Tuesday night, setting the single-season franchise record by hitting his 42nd home run.
Alonso, 24, took an outside fastball from Chicago Cubs starter Yu Darvish deep to right field to lead off the fourth inning. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Alonso is the first rookie to set the franchise mark for his team since Johnny Rizzo did it for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938.
"As soon as that ball came off my bat, I knew right away," Alonso said after the game. "I mean it's become a dream come true so far this year and I just feel really blessed."
Alonso received a curtain call for his record-setting blast, which gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.
The previous franchise mark of 41 home runs was set by Todd Hundley in 1996 and matched by Carlos Beltran in 2006.
"It's a pleasure to have a fine young player like Pete Alonso break my record," Beltran said in a statement. "I have not met Pete personally, but people have told me he plays the game with passion and doesn't give up on any at-bat. He has had great success in his first year. Again, my congrats, Pete."
Hundley also praised Alonso.
"To me, he's more than a power hitter, he's a pure hitter," Hundley said in a statement. "I have seen five or six of his games and he keeps getting better and better. He has just had a tremendous year. Congrats, Pete, you deserve all the records you have broken."
Alonso's homer was his lone hit in four at-bats, and the Cubs rallied to win 5-2.
Earlier this month, Alonso set the National League rookie record for homers in a season, previously set by Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees holds the major league record for home runs in a season by a rookie with 52 in 2017.
"It's crazy to think the small selection of people that get to actually play in the big leagues and the even smaller selection of people that get to those milestones and it's mind-boggling," Alonso said. "I just wanna keep being Pete Alonso and just stay true to who I am and stay true to who I am not just as a person but as a player."
With one out and the Astros leading 9-0, Verlander yelled at home plate umpire Pat Hoberg after a 2-2 pitch to Tommy Pham was called a ball. Pham doubled to center field on Verlander's next pitch.
After the hit, Verlander yelled at Hoberg at least three times before he was ejected as Pham reached second base.
Verlander continued to jaw at Hoberg while he walked off the field and after he reached the dugout. Manager A.J. Hinch came on the field and talked to Hoberg for a couple of minutes before Brad Peacock took over for Verlander and play resumed.
"I didn't really think it was warranted," Verlander said after the game. "I think as an umpire, Pat needs to understand this is an emotional game. Sometimes when things don't go your way, you kinda let the umpire know it. I thought I did it about as respectful a way [as] I could with where my emotions were at. As the play was developing, I told him I thought it was a strike. He told me he thought it was ball. Went back a forth a little bit. Turned my back and expressed one more time I didn't think it was outside. Probably could have better language when I said that.
"In my history with umpires, I'm turning my back to the situation. I'm trying to just kinda vent at this point. I never called him a name. I never said anything egregious to him. Just expressed my displeasure with the call on the field."
Verlander allowed four hits and struck out four in 5⅓ innings. He is 16-5 with a 2.69 ERA and leads the majors in innings (184.0) and strikeouts (243).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Kansas City Royals owner David Glass is negotiating to sell the team to local businessman John Sherman for more than $1 billion, sources familiar with the discussions told ESPN.
The potential deal, which multiple sources believe will be finalized, would transfer ownership to a group led by Sherman, who is currently a minority owner of the Cleveland Indians. Sherman would divest himself of his share of the Indians to buy the Royals from Glass, who purchased the team in 2000 for $96 million.
In a statement, the Royals organization said it is "not in a position to make any comments on the published speculation regarding any potential sale of the ball club," adding that no further statements would be made at this time.
The valuations of baseball franchises have skyrocketed in recent years, though the price of the Royals is expected to fall short of the most recent sale, when Bruce Sherman (no relation to John) bought the Miami Marlins for $1.2 billion.
Glass, 84, is the former CEO of Wal-Mart whose son Dan serves as team president. David Glass bore the brunt of criticism locally for his lack of spending until the Royals' ascent five years ago. They reached the World Series in 2014, and won a championship in 2015, the second in franchise history.
The sale could happen around the same time the franchise locks into a new local TV deal with Fox Sports that could pay the team around $50 million a year for a decade-plus, according to a source. That would more than double its current local TV rights fee.
John Sherman, an energy entrepreneur, bought a piece of the Indians from owner Paul Dolan in August 2016. He has increased his investment since but would need to sell it were the deal for the Royals consummated.
The possibility of a sale was first reported by The Athletic.
The best teams in St. Louis Cardinals history -- a history that includes 11 World Series titles, second only to the New York Yankees -- were built around stars: Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Albert Pujols. When the Cardinals missed the playoffs last season for a third year in a row, the first time that had happened since 1999, a primary reason was the team didn't have a big star. Matt Carpenter led the team with 4.9 WAR, the first season the Cardinals didn't have at least one 5.0 WAR player since 1994, and the first time in a non-strike season since 1990.
So the front office went out and got the team the star it needed: Paul Goldschmidt, who finished sixth in the 2018 MVP voting and had averaged 6.1 WAR over the previous six seasons.
Except ... the best player on the first-place Cardinals has arguably been ... not Goldschmidt, not Carpenter, not Marcell Ozuna, but second baseman Kolten Wong, who led the team with 3.9 WAR heading into Tuesday's game in Milwaukee. In other words, the 2019 Cardinals are much like the 2018 Cardinals, only this team is trending upward at the right time, as their 6-3 win over the Brewers was their sixth victory in a row, ninth in 10 games and 15th in 18 games. After a painful sweep in Los Angeles in early August when they scored two runs in three games, the Cardinals were 58-55 and 3½ games out of first. Now they're 73-58 and three games up on the Cubs in the NL Central.
Wong didn't start on Tuesday, but came off the bench and delivered two clutch hits. In the seventh inning he pinch-hit and delivered an RBI double to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead. In the ninth, his RBI single extended the lead to 6-3. The two other biggest hits came from Yadier Molina: a home run in the fifth and then a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh. The Brewers tried to make it interesting in the bottom of the ninth as an infield single and a walk brought the tying run to the plate against Carlos Martinez, but Dexter Fowler made a leaping grab at the fence to end the game in heart-stopping fashion:
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Fowler's leaping catch saves day for Cardinals
Hernan Perez appears to have a game-tying three-run home run, but Dexter Fowler jumps up and makes the catch to seal a 6-3 win for the Cardinals.
Has Wong really been the Cardinals best player? His offensive stat line certainly doesn't pop, with a .276/.359/.401 line and 31 extra-base hits. Heck, 18 players have already hit 31 home runs. Wong does all those things that don't necessarily show up in the box score. He has that respectable .359 on-base percentage, so he's not chewing up outs the plate. He has played a terrific second base, leading all major league second basemen with plus-14 defensive runs saved (nobody else is above plus-6) and should be a lock to win his first Gold Glove. He has also been superb on the bases, swiping 17 bases in 19 attempts.
Of course, the big point here isn't that Wong is some sort of MVP candidate or something. He's not. The point is the Cardinals have surged past the Cubs because of solid depth throughout the roster. The Cubs may have Javier Baez and Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, but they're staring up at the Cardinals right now despite their edge in star power.
Two big keys for the Cardinals of late have been starter Jack Flaherty, who is pitching like the Cy Young candidate I thought he might be back in spring training. He's 4-1 over his past nine starts with a 0.80 ERA -- that's five runs allowed in 56 ⅓ innings, as batters have hit just .144/.221/.222 against him. This is looking a lot like that run Jake Arrieta had in the second half of 2015 when he carried the Cubs into the playoffs. Flaherty probably got going too late to have a chance at getting into the NL Cy Young race (his season ERA is 3.32), but he's the hottest starter in baseball right now.
Then there's bullpen, really the team's secret ingredient. The Cards are second in the majors with a 3.64 bullpen ERA (only Cleveland is better) and the relief crew hasn't missed a beat since Jordan Hicks went down with Tommy John surgery. Martinez is 16 for 17 in save chances as closer (he has two other blown saves from earlier in the season as a setup guy) and while he's been bend-but-don't-break at times, he's mostly getting the job done. Manager Mike Shildt even used him like an old-fashioned fireman on Tuesday for a five-out save. Given Martinez's history as a starter, Shildt should consider doing that more often.
The guy nobody talks about is Giovanny Gallegos, acquired last year in the Luke Voit trade -- the one everyone keeps mentioning as some sort of monumental steal for the Yankees. Gallegos did give up a run on Tuesday, but he has a 2.07 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 61 innings. He owns a wipeout slider: Hitters are batting an anemic .133 against it with a 43 percent strikeouts rate.
Anyway, the playoff math has changed very quickly. Before this 15-of-18 stretch, the Cardinals' playoffs odds on FanGraphs were 29 percent overall and 10.5 percent chance to win the division. Now they're at 86 percent overall and 59.7 percent to win the division. Oh, and Flaherty starts Wednesday as the Cardinals go for the sweep of the Brewers.
In other words: Maybe the Cardinals don't need a star to win the NL Central.
Cubs take opener at Citi Field: Buster Olney and I discussed this series briefly on the Baseball Tonight podcast earlier in the day, with Buster suggesting this series has a little "do or die" feeling to it if one of the teams gets swept. I pointed out that the Mets had played really well at home all season until the Braves swept them over the weekend, while the Cubs' road woes have been well documented.
"No way the Mets will get swept in this series," I said. When Pete Alonso rocked Citi Field in the bottom of the fourth with his franchise-record 42nd home run, to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, it certainly seemed like it would be the Mets' night. Instead, Addison Russell and Baez clubbed two-run homers off Marcus Stroman in the fifth and sixth innings. Baez also added an RBI double and made a leaping grab in the field. Yu Darvish settled down after the Alonso home run and pitched eight fantastic innings. By the way, Darvish over his past nine starts: 55 ⅓ IP, 41 H, 3 BB, 72 SO, 11 HR, 2.93 ERA.
Anyway, that's four losses in a row for the Mets, with the offense scoring one, one and two runs in three of those games. The good news: Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom start the next two games. I'll stick to my comment that the Mets won't get swept.
Verlander cruises in Cy Young contender showdown ... until he gets ejected: Maybe Justin Verlander just wanted to go watch some US Open. With the Astros up 9-0 in the sixth inning after routing Charlie Morton, Verlander was cruising along with a four-hit shutout when he voiced displeasure with home-plate umpire Pat Hoberg. Verlander thought he had struck out Tommy Pham looking on a 2-2 fastball on the outsider corner and Pham doubled on the next pitch.
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Verlander ejected for arguing with the umpire
Justin Verlander voices his displeasure about calls made by the home plate umpire and gets ejected for the outburst.
Verlander had just four strikeouts at the time, so his streak of seven consecutive double-digit strikeout games was likely to end anyway. Verlander also may have inched ahead of teammate Gerrit Cole in the Cy Young race, at least until Cole pitches Wednesday:
(This is where we point out that Mike Minor actually leads Verlander in Baseball-Reference WAR and Lance Lynn leads in FanGraphs WAR. Maybe it's more than two-pitcher race. Closer examination may be warranted.)
Don't forget Lucas Giolito in that discussion: The Twins beat Giolito and the White Sox 3-1, but the young right-hander and another superb game, allowed two runs in six innings with nine K's -- this being the Twins, both runs were via solo home runs, from Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop, both in the second inning:
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0:45
Twins use long ball to top White Sox
Marvin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop each hit solo home run as the Twins pick up their third straight win.
A good note here on Giolito's high volume of swing and misses of late:
Lucas Giolito last 4 starts
Aug 11 - 13 K, 20 swinging strikes Aug 16 - 11 K, 23 swinging strikes Aug 21 - 12 K, 24 swinging strikes Aug 27 - 9 K, 18 swinging strikes
Giolito is 14-7 with a 3.20 ERA, but began the day fourth among AL starters in Baseball-Reference WAR (behind Minor, Verlander and Lance Lynn) and fourth in FanGraphs WAR (behind Lynn, Morton and Cole). Giolito had two bad outings in July and I was worried that maybe his first half was a fluke, but he has now had a string of six straight quality starts and eight in his last nine outings. Those concerns have been put to rest.
Matchup of the day: We'll get to Bryce Harper versus Felipe Vazquez in a moment. The Pirates scored the go-ahead in the top off the ninth to take a 5-4 lead. Rather, the Phillies gave them the go-ahead run. Hector Neris walked two batters, but appeared to get out of the inning with a double play -- except Rhys Hoskins dropped the throw from Jean Segura, the ball bounded away towards home plate and Adam Frazier scored from second base. An ugly, ugly run given up by the Phillies.
Bottom of the ninth, two outs, nobody on, Harper swinging with all his ferocity to tie the game. Vazquez goes 99 (swing and miss), 101 (swing and miss), 100 (outside), slider (outside), 101 (foul), 100 (foul) ... and then drops in a curveball:
I mean, that's just not fair. What a duel. Tough loss for the Phillies. (Oh, and Harper is hitting .179/.319/.354 with the bases empty and .341/.433/.668 with runners on.)
Euan Crumley visits a stunning Algarve location which will provide the stage for a new running festival in November
Picture a typical November day in Britain. Now picture the thought of heading out for your usual run as those dark, damp and cold conditions settle in.
It can be a drudge to train through those winter months. It’s at that very point in the year when summer feels like a distant memory and when most of us crave a little sun on our faces, to escape to warmer climes and find ourselves in an environment which is tailor made for activity and training. Quinta do Lago is just that place.
Just a short flight away from the UK and a mere 20-minute taxi ride from Faro airport, this stunningly beautiful resort in the Algarve will play host to an ambitious new premium running festival, Run Quinta, which will cater for all abilities and allow participants to challenge themselves in truly spectacular, top-class surroundings.
The festival weekend of November 8-10 will see the staging of a road half-marathon (on November 9), followed by 5km and 10km events a day later which travel along the beachside trails of the Ria Formosa Natural Park.
It promises to be a truly immersive experience and an opportunity to sample the kind of facilities to which professional athletes are accustomed.
Run Quinta event HQ will be The Campus, a state of the art multi-sports training hub which is regularly used by elite sportspeople. The Ireland rugby team will be fine-tuning their World Cup preparations there while a number of English Premier League outfits, not to mention Paris St Germain, have taken advantage of the remarkable facilities on offer.
Olympic triathletes Jonny and Alistair Brownlee are no strangers to The Campus either and, as you wander through the impressive grounds which are a hive of sporting activity, it’s not hard to see why.
All manner of sports are catered for – from tennis, to swimming to cycling, while the high performance gyms, exercise classes, sauna and ice baths add a different dimension to training.
The 650m fitness trail which surrounds The Campus will represent the finishing lap to the Run Quinta half-marathon, run on the resort’s wide and welcoming roads which are bordered by some truly breathtaking properties.
Once across the finish line the runners can relax, unwind and celebrate their achievements at Dano’s Sports Bar – a bustling, substantial venue serving excellent food which will host a post-race party that features live entertainment.
The Run Quinta weekend is about so much more than running. Entrants to the festival will have access to many of the facilities
at The Campus, thus making the exclusive feel much more inclusive and adding to the enveloping nature of the experience.
There is the option of attending a charity dinner on the Saturday evening, while the party atmosphere is intended to move on to the Sunday, too, as the running focus moves down towards the immaculate trails surrounding the Ria Formosa – you can see them spreading out beneath you from the plane window as you come in to land – for the 5km and 10km events.
These start and finish at The Shack, another lively, high-quality bar and restaurant which will provide a vibrant and spectacular backdrop to an area which is just crying out to be explored and run on.
During my visit I stayed at the Magnolia Hotel, which is just a short warm-up away from the start lines for the weekend events.
Runners who opt to book one of the inclusive three-day packages on offer (starting from the great value price of £299 per person) will also stay at what is an immaculate, welcoming venue which houses a restaurant, heated outdoor swimming pool, gym, spa and even a cinema which can be booked for groups on request.
As well as the 74 rooms there are also seven cottages available to book on the property.
Every base has been covered for Run Quinta participants and it looks set to be the ideal opportunity for athletics club groups to get away, provide members with an autumn target to aim for and to celebrate all that is great about running.
Temperatures are still expected to hit around 20 degrees centigrade for race weekend and there really can be few better places for some warm weather training. Virgin Radio’s Chris Evans, who recently interviewed AW publisher and event ambassador Wendy Sly, is intending to take part and there are plenty of reasons to join in. This is a festival which really could run and run.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka battled from behind to beat Russian 20-year-old Anna Blinkova 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 in the first round of the US Open.
The world number one was 4-1 down in the opening set before she won five games in a row to take the lead.
In a second set riddled with errors, she saw off three sets points and held match point before losing a tie-break.
Japan's Osaka, who made 50 unforced errors in the match, fought off three more break points in the decider.
The top seed will now face Polish world number 53 Magda Linette in round two.
'It's just a game - I have to remember that'
Osaka, 21, announced herself to the tennis world when she won back-to-back Grand Slams in New York a year ago and Melbourne in January.
That propelled her up the world rankings but Osaka said in June her French Open third-round exit was "probably the best thing that could have happened" because she was suffering headaches from the "stress" of being the top seed.
She was then dumped out of Wimbledon in the first round before retiring with a knee injury in the quarter-finals at Cincinnati this month - the same knee was heavily strapped here at Flushing Meadows.
"I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my life," Osaka told the crowd on Arthur Ashe court. "I came off really slow and never really found my rhythm. I fought as hard as I could and managed to win.
"You want to do well after you did well last year. I didn't smile much playing this match so hopefully I can change that in the next match. It's kind of just a game so I have to remember that."
Osaka avoided becoming only the seventh player to lose in the opening round of a women's singles title defence at a Grand Slam, while defeat would have cost her the number one ranking.
Muguruza out but Kvitova through
There was, however, a first-round exit for former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, who lost 2-6 6-1 6-3 to Alison Riske.
American Riske, ranked 11 places below the Spaniard at 36th, sealed her first win at Flushing Meadows since 2013.
Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Petra Kvitova advanced by beating fellow Czech Denisa Allertova 6-2 6-4.
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Swiss 13th seed Belinda Bencic and Dutch seventh seed Kiki Bertens are also through.
Latvia's Ostapenko overcame Serb Aleksandra Krunic 6-3 7-6 (7-9), while Bencic beat Luxembourg's Mandy Minella 6-3 6-2. Bertens won 6-4 6-2 against Spaniard Paula Badosa.
On the men’s singles standings, Lin Yin-Ju appears at no.5 (741 points), one place behind Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (764 points) who experienced a first round exit in Olomouc. They trail the Chinese trio comprising Xu Xin (1,713 points), Ma Long (1,425 points) and Lin Gaoyuan (764 points).
Notably, all four men’s singles semi-finalists in Olomouc are very much in contention for places in the Grand Finals. Brazil’s Hugo Calderano is at no.10 (369 points), Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov one place lower (356 points), colleague Timo Boll at no.15 (244 points). Olomouc was a fourth appearance for Timo Boll on this year’s ITTF World Tour, he needs one more; no doubt in October he will compete on home soil in Germany.
Likewise, quarter-finalists in the Czech Republic, Germany’s Patrick Franziska and Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu are very much in contention for Grand Finals places. Patrick Franziska is listed at no.12 (355 points), Lee Sangsu just below the line at no.18 (205 points). Also for those who suffered earlier exits in Olomouc the door is open. In addition to Tomokazu Harimoto, compatriot Jun Mizutani, twice a Grand Finals winner, is named at no.13 (311 points), Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting on the brink at no.17 (222 points).
Fighting on three fronts
A place in the men’s singles event at the Grand Finals for Lin Yu-Ju; it is also a men’s doubles option. Despite defeat in the final in Olomouc in harness with Liao Cheng-Ting at the hands of Korea Republic’s Cho Daeseong and Lee Sangsu, on the standings the duo occupies the no.7 spot (251 points). The list is led by Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu (750 points). Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting, who experienced a quarter-final exit in Olomouc, occupy third place (451 points).
Two possibilities at the Grand Finals for Lin Yun-Ju, there could well be a third. In the mixed doubles standings partnering Cheng I-Ching, the duo occupies the no.2 spot (763 points). Wong Chun Ting and Hong Kong colleague, Doo Hoi Kem retain top place (770 points).
Neither pair competed in Olomouc; significantly Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito were present and now reserve the no.4 position (500 points), like the leading pairs having completed the four appearance criteria as a partnership. Runners up, they were beaten in the final by the Korea Republic’s Cho Daeseong and Shin Yubin; they are now listed in the no.6 spot (263 points) but need one more appearance to meet the minimum criteria.
China in ascendancy
Meanwhile, on the women’s singles standings, Chen Xingtong is named at no.7 (739 points), one step behind Japan’s Mima Ito (760 points), the player she beat in the second round in Olomouc. China’s Sun Yingsha (1,319 points) continues to head the list followed by compatriots Chen Meng (1,300 points), Wang Manyu (1,051 points), Liu Shiwen (779 points) and Ding Ning (775 points).
Somewhat significantly, Chen Xingtong is one place ahead of Japan’s Miu Hirano (570 points), the player she overcame in the Czech Republic final; likewise Miu Hirano is one ahead of colleague Kasumi Ishikawa (466 points), the player she ousted in the penultimate round.
Increasing their chances of a Grand Finals places; in the Czech Republic China’s He Zhuojia and Gu Yuting alongside Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Austria’s Sofia Polcanova did their cause no harm. He Zhuojia is named at no.12 (338 points), Jeon Jihee at n.16 (234 points). Just below the line, Gu Yuting is at no.17 (183 points), Sofia Polcanova at no.20 (153 points).
Needing appearances
Possibilities for Gu Yuting in the women’s singles event, in partnership with Mu Zi it is the same in the women’s doubles. The winners in both Bulgaria and the Czech Republic they are named at no.3 (400 points) on the women’s doubles standings but like compatriots, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, who head the list (500 points), have only made two appearances as a partnership this year.
Japan’s Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki who have competed six times together, suffering a first round defeat in Olomouc when facing Gu Yuting and Mu Zi, lead the order of those eligible. They are in the no.7 spot (276 points).
Eyes now turn to Stockholm; the 2019 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open commences on Tuesday 1st October.
Monday 26th August: Latest Standings after 2019 ITTF World Tour Czech Open
In the men’s team events, in class 1-2, not seeded, Luis Bustamente and Vicente Leiva recorded a 2-0 penultimate round win against the no.2 seeds, the Argentine pairing of Fernando Eberhardt and Guillermo Bustamente. In the final they now meet Brazil; the top seeds, Guilherme Marcio de Costa and Iranildo Espindola duly reserving their place in the final courtesy of a 2-0 win in opposition to Venezuela’s Gregory Moreno and Luis Rojas.
Likewise in class 3-5, Cristian Gonzalez and Maximiliano Rodriguez emerged surprise finalists; they recorded a 2-1 win against Venezuela’s Roberto Quijada and Noel Sandoval to claim their place in the title decider. Notably the previous day, the Venezuelans had gained first place in their group, accounting for the top seeded Argentine partnership of Mauro Depergola and Elias Romero. An impressive 2-0 win was the order of affairs.
Second place in the group meant a semi-final clash for Mauro Depergola and Elias Romero against the top seeded Brazilian outfit comprising David Andrade de Freitas, Eziquiel Babes and Welder Knaf. A 2-1 win in favour of Brazil was the outcome.
Similarly in class 9-10, Chile in the guise of Manuel Echaveguren and Gustavo Castro upset the order of merit; they gained a 2-0 semi-final win when facing the no.2 seeds the United States combination of Tahl Leibovitz and Jerry Vasquez. The win to note being that of Manuel Echaveguren; he accounted for Tahl Leibovitz (11-9, 5-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-5), gold medallist in the individual event, to seal the victory.
In the final, the Chileans meet the top seeded Brazilian combination of Carlos Carbinatti, Claudio Massad and Diego Moreira; they booked their place in the final by securing a 2-1 win in opposition to Colombia’s Alvaro Puerto and Diego Jimenez.
Success for Chile but there was a result in the opposite direction, a reversal of the class 9-10 outcome. In class 6-8, the no.2 seeds, Cristian Dettoni and Matias Pino Lorca experienced a 2-0 penultimate round defeat in opposition to the United States partnership formed by Marco Makkar and Ian Seidenfeld. In the title decider, Brazil awaits. In the counterpart semi-final, the top seeds, Paulo Salmin and Luiz Guarnieri Manara clinched a 2-1 win in opposition to Colombia’s José Vargas and Diego Henao.
Brazil in the driving seat, it is the same in the one women’s team event being contested; represented by Joyce de Oliveira, Thais Fraga Severo and Marliane Amaral, a 2-0 win in opposition to Colombia’s Manuela Guapi and Nelly Sanchez reserved the place in the class 2-5 final. In the gold medal contest they meet the no.2 seeds, Mexico’s Edith Sigala and Martha Verdin; they posted a 2-1 semi-final win in opposition to the Argentine formation of Veronica Blanco, Maria Garrone and Nayla Kuell.
Play in Lima concludes on Tuesday 27th August.
Lima 2019 Para Pan American Games: Draws and Latest Results
Lima 2019 Para Pan American Games: Official Website
The winner of men’s singles class 4 on the third day of play, as the curtain closed in the Peruvian capital city, alongside colleague Maximiliano Rodriguez, he prevented a Brazilian team clean sweep.
Not listed amongst the seeded teams, competing in men’s team class 3-5, the duo overcame Brazil’s David Andrade de Freitas and Welder Knaf, the no.2 seeds, to seal the title. A hard earned 2-0 margin of victory was the order of the day. The doubles was secured by the very narrowest of margins (5-11, 14-12, 0-11, 11-5, 11-9) before Cristian Gonzalez returned to the table to cement the victory; in an equally tense contest he accounted for David Andrade de Freitas (11-4, 8-11, 2-11, 11-8, 11-6).
Silver for Brazil, in the remaining categories it was gold. In the men’s team events, in class 1-2 Guilherme Marcio da Costa and Iranildo Espindola justified their top seeded position to claim the top prize; at the final hurdle they recorded a 2-0 win against Chile’s Luis Bustamente and Vicente Leiva.
Likewise, in class 6-8, Paulo Salmin and Francisco de Melo asserted their authority on proceedings; also the top seeds, they posted a 2-0 win against the United States combination of Ian Seidenfeld and Marko Makkar.
Imposing, in class 9-10, it was the very same from Carlos Carbinatti and Diego Moreira; also the top seeds, they recorded a 2-0 margin of victory in opposition to Chile’s Manuel Echaveguren and Gustav Castro.
Titles for the men; it was the same for their female counterparts. In the one women’s team event staged, the combination of Joyce de Oliveira, Thais Fraga Severo and Marliane Amaral Santos struck gold in class 2-5; at the final hurdle the top seeds, the secured a 2-0 win against Mexico’s Edith Sigala and Martha Verdin, the no.2 seeds.
Success on the concluding day of play; Brazil duly ended proceedings as the leading nation in the table tennis events. The final tally read: nine gold, six silver and nine bronze. Next in line came Chile with four gold, three silver and six bronze, ahead of Mexico three gold and three silver.
Lima 2019 Para Pan American Games: Draws and Latest Results
Lima 2019 Para Pan American Games: Official Website
Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips has defended Wales' schedule of four World Cup warm-up internationals.
Wales have already faced England home and away and have another double-header against Ireland on 31 August and 7 September.
Phillips insists the decision to play four World Cup games was not financially motivated.
"To my knowledge all other teams are playing four games," said Phillips.
"The choice was made to play four and even when I look at it today it feels like the right decision."
'No substitute for playing'
Legendary full-back JPR Williams and fly-half James Hook were among those who have voiced concerns that players could suffer injuries before the tournament.
Gareth Anscombe was ruled out of the World Cup in the opening warm-up games against England but Taulupe Faletau suffered his tournament-ending injury in training.
"The analogy I would use is that it is a bit like the British and Irish Lions in that how many games you have before the first Test is critical," said Phillips.
"If you talk to the players after the Twickenham game against England, they had not played for 10 or 12 weeks and really felt it after the game.
"There is no substitute for playing and injuries can be picked up in training."
Phillips said that the plan was always to have two home warm-up matches - and that as long as they did that, they made no further money by playing four games in total, rather than three.
"Those decisions are made in conjunction with the coaches," said Phillips.
"We looked at the review after the 2015 World Cup and you are always going to play three or four warm-up games.
"It would not matter if we played three or four financially because if we played three, we would still play two home games. We are not making any more money with four matches.
"I was very relaxed about it with Warren to ask if he wanted to play three or four because I knew I was going to be playing two of those at home.
"That agreement has been made a while ago. What has brought it into focus in Wales is the way the World Cup draw panned out was that we were able to play Ireland and England home and away which are four tough games.
"If we'd had England in the same pool as us, we wouldn't have been playing them at all. We might have been playing Ireland home and away, along with Scotland and Italy."
Wales begin their World Cup campaign in Japan against Georgia on Monday, 23 September before further pool matches against Australia, Fiji and Uruguay.
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