SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Police say a suspected drug trafficker offered to pay $30,000 for the shooting that wounded baseball slugger David Ortiz, who was sitting alongside the intended victim.

National Police spokesman Frank Felix Duran Mejia told a news conference on Sunday that the alleged mastermind of the attack had so far paid only $10,000 to people hired to arrange the killing of Sixto David Fernandez, his cousin.

Duran Mejia said Victor Hugo Gomez Vasquez feared Fernandez would tell police of his presence in the Dominican Republic and blamed the cousin for an earlier arrest. Duran Mejia has denied trying to kill either Fernandez or Ortiz, who remains hospitalized in Boston.

Police say they've arrested 14 people in the case and are searching for others.

MOST, Czech Republic – Loris Hezemans rebounded from from a blown engine on Saturday to win Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ELITE 1 event at Most Autodrom.

Starting second on the grid, the son of racing icon Toine Hezemans overtook polesitter Nicolp Rocca in the first corner and went on to lead all 17 laps of the race in his No. 50 Ford Mustang. The Dutchman brought home his first win of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season and also topped the Junior Trophy classification.

“It’s the best way to come back from the disaster we suffered yesterday,” said Hezemans. “We had a tough first part of the season but we were also there at the front of the pack. Sometimes I made mistakes on my own and sometimes we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It feels so good to be back in Victory Lane.”

Stienes Longin expanded his championship lead by securing his sixth second place finish the year. The PK Carsport driver once again impressed for his consistency and also took advantage of the setback his teammate Rocca suffered. While running less than one second behind Hezemans, the Italian went in the gravel on lap 14 and reported damages to slow his PK Carsport Chevrolet. Rocca salvaged an 11th-place finish.

“The good thing about all those second places is that we scored a lot of points,” said Longin. “It’s always good to be on the podium. And it’s a nice feeling to be leading the championship after another solid race weekend here at Most.”

His teammate Rocca explained the situation that cost him a podium finish.

“I made a mistake and picked up a lot of gravel,” Rocca said. “From then on, it was a fight to shove it away through every corner. In the end I was able to finish the race. It was a good weekend and I had a good car. Now we have to come back stronger next time out.”

Before Most, Romain Iannetta’s best season results were two sixth places at Brands Hatch but the Frenchman stepped on the last spot on the podium with a strong performance in his 60th ELITE 1 start. The Racing Engineering driver had an intense battle with Martin Doubek and Lucas Lasserre throughout the entire race.

Coming from eleventh on the grid, Thomas Ferrando ended up fourth and capped with another solid race his best weekend so far in 2019. The Frenchman was also second in the Junior Trophy classification, while ELITE 2 champion Ulysse Delsaux rounded out the top-five and the Junior Trophy podium after gaining five spots during the race.

Henri Tuomaala grabbed his second Challenger Trophy win at Most by ending up 12th ahead of Dario Caso and Mauro Trione, who joined the Finnish race driver on the podium for the silver-categorized drivers racing in the ELITE 1 Division.

ASSEN, Netherlands – Maverick Vinales earned his first MotoGP triumph of the year Sunday at TT Circuit Assen.

Team Suzuki Ecstar teammates Alex Rins and Joan Mir shot into the lead at the start as polesitter Fabio Quartararo struggled to get up to speed. Vinales briefly got around Quartararo, but Vinales got out of shape at the exit of turn one and Quartararo moved back into third a few turns later.

Rins was looking comfortable at the front, but his race ended on lap three in turn nine when he tucked the front of his bike and slid off the track and out of contention. That let his teammate Mir with the race lead for the first time in his MotoGP career.

Mir didn’t keep the lead long as he ran wide in turn 16, giving the lead to polesitter Quartararo. Marc Marquez and Vinales would soon follow, moving into second and third, respectively.

The lead trio stayed locked together, with Vinales looking eager to move to the front. He attempted to pass Marquez on lap 10 in turn one but ran wide, costing him half a second.

On lap 11 Marquez moved into the race lead, slipping by the struggling Quartararo. Vinales, meanwhile, was quickly reeling in the the lead duo from third. With 11 laps left Vinales moved into the lead, dispatching Marquez as Quartararo continued to struggle with his bike.

With nine laps left a mistake by Vinales opened the door for Marquez to take the lead in turn one, but Vinales didn’t stay down and drove back by Marquez to regain the lead.

Vinales then set consecutive fast laps, forcing Marquez to back off as he couldn’t keep the same pace as Vinales could on his Yamaha. That allowed Vinales to claim his first victory since last year’s Australian Grand Prix.

“It feels like I’m dreaming. These have been difficult times for me, because I’ve been out of the three tracks where I thought I had the most potential with the bike,” said Vinales. “My season has been difficult, but I’ve tried to keep the momentum from Catalunya, because I felt really good on the bike. I’m so grateful to the team, because they did a great job this weekend and prepared well for the last laps of the race. I was strong, even one-to-one on the brakes, I knew I could make the overtakes. It was very important to relieve some of the pressure by taking a victory. I think the team will be more relaxed now. Being back on the top step of the podium again feels really good and bringing Yamaha back to its winning ways is the most important to me. We knew we had the potential but hadn’t been able to show it. It’s always a combination between the team’s, the rider’s, and the bike’s efforts. Sachsenring is a track I’m usually fast at, so we’ll try our best.”

Marquez settled for second, while Quartararo finished third. Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso finished 14 seconds back in fourth, followed by Franco Morbidelli in fifth.

SPIELBERG, Austria – Max Verstappen overcame a poor start to storm back through the field and win Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

Starting second in his Honda-powered Red Bull, Verstappen struggled to get going as the lights went out to start the race. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rocketed away from the pole as Valtteri Bottas settled into second, with Lewis Hamilton going from fifth to third.

Verstappen, meanwhile, faded from second to seventh in the first few corners. He made up several of those positions quickly and he was back in the top-five within a few laps.

At the front it was all Leclerc, who continued to lead through the pit stops. Verstappen, on the other hand, began to make up ground. On lap 50 he dispatched Sebastian Vettel to take third.

Verstappen quickly set his sights on chasing down Bottas in second. Despite a brief scare caused by an exhaust sensor, Verstappen was able to hunt down and pass Bottas entering turn one on lap 56.

That left only Leclerc in front of Verstappen, who began clicking off fast lap after fast lap to close the gap. With nine-lap fresher tires, Verstappen closed the five-second gap to Leclerc in short order.

By lap 68 Verstappen was there and challenged Leclerc for the lead in the third turn. Verstappen briefly had the position, but Leclerc fought back on the outside and regain the lead in the next corner.

One lap later Verstappen tried again in turn three and this time the two made contact, banging wheels as Verstappen raced clear of Leclerc, who was forced into the run-off area in the process.

Verstappen led the final three laps to earn his second-straight Austrian Grand Prix victory, but stewards announced they would be reviewing the pass for the lead. As of 1 p.m. EST no decision has been announced regarding the review.

The victory, should it stand, is the first this season for a team besides Mercedes. It is also the first victory for the Honda marquee in Formula One since Jenson Button won for the brand in 2006.

Bottas finished third to complete the podium. Vettel took fourth, with Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth after an uneventful race for the championship leader.

Lando Norris matched his career-best with a sixth-place effort for McLaren, followed by Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz Jr., Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.

Amy Jones was cruising. In and about the England team, playing the odd game, carrying drinks mostly, but she was just happy to be there. Then, before the 2017 Women's World Cup, she was dropped.

The realisation that potential was only going to take her so far was pivotal in moulding Jones into the in-form opener who is now poised to take her country into an Ashes series against Australia, starting with the first of three ODIs on Tuesday in Leicester.

"Getting dropped for that World Cup was huge for me because I kind of expected to be a part of it so when I wasn't it was a bit of a shock and a bit of a wake-up call," Jones said.

"I was 24, 25 and as a youngster, I always had people telling me how much potential I had and I think when you get told that from such a young age you just kind of expect it to happen. You're like, 'oh well, surely I'm going to get a game and I'm going to score runs and it's just going to snowball from there.'

"But it just didn't really at that point and missing out on the World Cup at home it was really gutting."

Interestingly, it was via Australia that that realisation came. During a successful stint with Perth-based WNCL side Western Fury, Jones "just worked it out for myself" with the help of her coaches there and a fresh environment. She has since returned to Western Australia to play for Perth Scorchers in the 2018-19 WBBL season.

"That was the moment when I realised I could do it and that it wasn't just potential" Amy Jones

The stop-start nature of Jones' early career was not all down to her. Being a wicketkeeper she had to play second fiddle to the brilliant Sarah Taylor. But when Taylor took time off in early 2018 to deal with anxiety issues that had sidelined her two years earlier, Jones broke back into the England side. Touring India, Jones took the gloves but also had the chance to showcase her batting at No.3 in a three-match ODI series.

"In the first two I got ducks so going into the last one I was like 'oh Christ,'" Jones said. "This was my first opportunity back and I'd got two ducks so it was a very scary moment and I had a lot of doubts at that point. But I'd say it was that third ODI that was the big turning point for me.

"I got 94 and that's my highest score and I think that's just the moment when I knew. That was the moment when I realised I could do it and that it wasn't just potential. I actually had the ability to go out and score big runs, and under a lot of pressure at that point as well."

Also read: 'You are good enough' - simple words that saved Tammy Beaumont's career

Promoted to opener for the subsequent home series against South Africa and New Zealand, Jones has held her place as a batsman ever since while Taylor has also made a comeback as first-choice keeper. In that time, Jones has formed a formidable opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont.

"As a youngster I always opened and it was more in the past almost trying to reinvent myself in different positions to try and get a game because that spot was never really open," Jones said. "Having been able to nail that down now is where I'm comfortable batting so it's brilliant that I can just go out and do what's natural to me and that I've taken the opportunity really."

Jones is the more "chilled" character yet she is the more expressive batsman. She likes to score runs quickly and is not afraid to go for the boundary early. Bubbly fellow right-hander Beaumont oozes class and is generally prepared to dig in for the long haul.

"I love batting with Tam, she's good fun and we've had quite a lot of success recently together with some good opening partnerships and I think we complement each other pretty well," Jones said.

Beaumont agreed: "She's good to bat with because she always scores quickly so it takes the pressure off me and it's exciting to play with someone who complements my game. We hit the ball in different areas, she's a lot taller than me and we hopefully make it quite difficult for the opening bowlers to bowl at us as a partnership."

Beaumont posted scores of 32, 61 and 46 in the recent one-day series with West Indies, while Jones twice threatened to overhaul her career best with 91, 18 and 80. Jones seems to be withstanding the inevitable pressure to convert 80s and 90s to a maiden century but she admitted to do it in an Ashes series "would be incredible".

Switzerland women's national team forward Florijana Ismaili has been declared missing after a swimming accident at Lake Como in Italy, her club said on Sunday.

Ismaili, 24, has played for the BSC Young Boys women's team since 2011 and is the club's captain.

"BSC Young Boys have been informed that our player Florijana Ismaili has been missing since Saturday afternoon on Lake Como after a swimming accident," a statement on the club website said.

"Searches by the police continue. We are very concerned and have not given up the hope that everything will turn out well."

The club said they were in touch with Ismaili's family and would not provide any further information until they had received an update.

EuroLeague forward/center Nicolo Melli is finalizing a two-year free-agent deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN.

Melli, 28, was the EuroLeague Finals' top scorer for Fenerbahce in Turkey last season. He has turned down NBA offers in the past, but he decided to make the leap from Europe after two seasons in the Turkish League.

Melli, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, joins a Pelicans roster that offers the opportunity for frontcourt minutes.

After turning professional in 2007, the Italian big man has played in Italy, Germany and Turkey.

The Dallas Mavericks expect to agree to a three-year, $33 million contract extension with center Dwight Powell in the opening stages of free agency Sunday evening, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Powell recently exercised his $10.3 million player option for next season with the plan to work out an extension to stay in Dallas long term.

The Mavs consider Powell, 27, a key member of the supporting cast for their pair of young stars, Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, who is expected to formally agree Sunday to the five-year, $158 million maximum contract that has been planned since Dallas traded for him midseason.

Powell, acquired by the Mavs as a throw-in in the otherwise ill-fated Rajon Rondo trade, fits well with Porzingis because he has the ability to defend power forwards but play the center role on offense. Powell has developed into an elite finisher on pick-and-rolls, averaging 1.33 points per possession in those situations last season according to NBA.com statistics, ranking second in the league among 31 players with at least 150 such possessions.

Powell, who averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.6 minutes last season, could become a full-time starter for the first time next season depending on how the Mavs address the center position in free agency.

Dallas, which enters free agency with $28.8 million in cap space, is prioritizing perimeter defenders who are good 3-point shooters as well as seeking quality depth at center.

The New York Times first reported the expected terms of Powell's extension.

CINCINNATI -- Chicago Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks will be activated on Tuesday to start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, manager Joe Maddon announced Sunday.

Hendricks, 29, has been out two weeks with shoulder soreness after lasting just 4.1 innings in his last outing on June 15.

"I haven't set a number but it's probably between 60-70, 75 (pitches) at most," Maddon said of Tuesday's start. "You don't want to get greedy on the first time back."

Hendricks threw a full, 45-pitch bullpen session on Saturday as the final test for his return. He's 7-5 with a 3.36 ERA this season.

"My bullpen went great," he said on Sunday. "It was awesome. Everything went great."

Hendricks will essentially replace lefty Cole Hamels in the rotation after he left his last start on Friday with a left oblique strain. He'll receive an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.

Hendricks will be preceded in the rotation by rookie Adbert Alzolay while Yu Darvish and Jose Quintana round out the Pirates series. Hendricks could get another first half start in the final game before the All-Star break, next Sunday against the White Sox.

"I feel 100 percent," Hendricks said. "It's good to be back."