The Major League Baseball Umpires Association is not happy with San Diego Padres star Manny Machado's punishment for making contact with an umpire.

Machado was suspended one game after arguing a called third strike with plate umpire Bill Welke during Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies

"One game..one single game. What kind of precedent is that setting? It is NOT okay to throw a temper tantrum and physically touch someone of authority, just because you don't agree. Violence in all workplaces is not tolerated. Period," the MLBUA said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

MLB said the punishment, imposed by chief baseball officer Joe Torre, was for "aggressively arguing and making contact'' with Welke. Machado denies that he made contact with the umpire and said he's appealing the one-game suspension and fine.

"We have our case and we're going to wait to see what the appeal comes back with. We always have the right to argue balls and strikes and give our opinion on it," Machado said.

In their Facebook post Tuesday, the MLBUA called the one-game suspension a "slap in the face" and said any physical contact with an umpire cannot be tolerated.

"Major League Baseball has to always lead by example in all cases of violent behavior, on and off the field. With that being said, the MLBUA is extraordinarily disappointed in Major League Baseball for its disciplinary 'inaction' handed down to Manny Machado."

The 26-year-old Machado is batting .261 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs for the Padres after signing a $300 million, 10-year contract in spring training.

It's June 18 and Ketel Marte has 20 home runs.

I don't know if that's the craziest statistic in a season full of insanity, but it's certainly one of those numbers that pops like a Jackson Pollock painting. Marte is on pace for 44 home runs -- after entering the year with 22 career home runs in 1,399 at-bats. That's one home run every 63.6 at-bats. In 2019, he's homering every 14.5 at-bats. That's the career rate for Sammy Sosa and is better than Manny Ramirez, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr.

Marte reached the majors in 2015 as a speed-first shortstop whom the Mariners envisioned as their future leadoff hitter. In his two seasons with Seattle, he hit three home runs in 656 at-bats, about a full season of playing time, and when his plate discipline deteriorated in his second season and he struggled on defense, the Mariners included him as the second piece alongside Taijuan Walker in the trade that brought Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger to Seattle.

That was Mike Hazen's first big trade as Arizona's general manager, and though Walker helped the Diamondbacks to a wild card in 2017 before he blew out his elbow last season, Marte's emergence is making the deal look much better for Hazen than it did the first couple of seasons.

The 25-year-old switch-hitter has filled out a once-skinny frame and has added strength. He showed signs of power potential with 14 home runs in 2018, but nobody could have forecast this kind of outburst.

"The results are matching the potential," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told the Arizona Republic. "Dynamic, exciting, those are single words that I can use. He's a mature baseball player today compared to when we first met him. ... He's matured in a way where he feels he's one of the top players, and you can tell by looking at him. But he's still humble and would never outwardly say that."

Working with new hitting coach Darnell Coles, Marte has tapped into his strength by -- yes -- changing his launch angle. His average angle has gone from 5.7 degrees to 11.2, meaning more fly balls and more home runs.

Marte's power comes from a good foundation of contact hitting, however. Last season he had the 19th-lowest strikeout rate among qualified batters. His strikeout and walk rates were basically identical to Anthony Rendon's. He has been more aggressive this year, and while that has led to a few more strikeouts and a little more chasing out of the zone, it has paid dividends in the power department.

Marte just hit six home runs during Arizona's 10-game road trip -- homering six times in the final eight games (and striking out just twice in 38 plate appearances). This is a player locked in right now. Earlier in June, he cracked this 482-foot home run:

Four hundred eighty-two feet. ? pic.twitter.com/kmj3dHFGE0

— MLB (@MLB) June 2, 2019

That home run also led to "The ball is more juiced than the 1975 Mr. Olympia competition" jokes. Indeed, we're on pace for about 1,150 home runs in June, the most ever in one month, breaking the previous high marks of 1,144 in April 2019 and 1,135 in May 2019.

That means Marte isn't the only surprise performer on the home run leaderboard. In honor of Marte's booming start, let's select the 2019 Ketel Marte All-Star team, focusing on this year's surprise power hitters who have never made a real All-Star team.

C -- Mitch Garver, Twins (11 home runs)

Only 11 home runs? Well, Garver's production has come in just 116 at-bats, as he has shared time behind the plate with Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo and also had an IL stint. He's hitting .310/.394/.664 after hitting .268 with seven home runs in 302 at-bats in 2018.

1B -- Josh Bell, Pirates (19 home runs)

Bell came up as a consensus top-40 overall prospect and slugged 26 home runs as a rookie in 2017. He hit just 12 homers in 2018, however, and everyone kind of forgot about him. He's leading the National League in total bases, doubles and RBIs while hitting .321/.388/.653. His big key: being more aggressive in the right counts. He's swinging about 7 percent more often, 11 percent more often at pitches in the zone and 11 percent more often on first pitches.

2B -- Brandon Lowe, Rays (15 home runs)

Lowe -- rhymes with "ow," which is the hurt he's putting on the baseball -- hit 28 home runs last year between Double-A, Triple-A and the majors, so maybe this output isn't a complete surprise. Still, he wasn't guaranteed a regular gig coming out of spring training, but Joey Wendle's injury opened up some playing time. Lowe is not very big (listed at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, which is generous), but Lowe takes a mighty hack at the ball with a big hip turn. That approach results in whiffs (33.5 percent strikeout rate), but he has still managed to hit .289 thanks to a .393 BABIP.

SS -- Dansby Swanson, Braves (13 home runs)

Swanson is just one home run away from matching his 2018 total. His Statcast numbers are up across the board: exit velocity (86.8 mph to 90.5), launch angle (12.9 degrees to 13.9) and hard-hit rate (34.0 percent to 42.7). This could simply be a young player who has added strength and matured (he's chasing fewer pitches out of the zone). Or it could be the ball. Or both.

3B -- Tommy La Stella, Angels (15 home runs)

As a rookie in 2014, La Stella hit one home run in 319 at-bats. That was his game, and he has been a solid bench guy/pinch hitter ever since, entering 2018 with 10 home runs in 828 career at-bats. So, of course, he has 15 bombs. La Stella's average exit velocity is actually right in line with his career average and his ground ball rate remains unchanged. He has barreled up a few more balls and doesn't strike out much, but this looks like a prime example of somebody who has clearly benefited from the rabbit ball.

OF -- Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (20 home runs)

One of the annoying things about the launch angle revolution is the implied suggestion that hitters are doing something they've never done before -- changing their swings to generate more fly balls. Nonsense. Take Kirby Puckett, off the top of my head. He hit four home runs his first two seasons and then broke out with 31 in 1986. What do you think he did to do that? Are more guys doing it now? Sure. In part because the juiced ball rewards that approach. But players are also bigger and stronger. If Marte had played in the 1980s, he probably would have remained a skinny shortstop who slapped the ball around and tried to hit .275. Now he's a bulked-up power hitter.

OF -- Hunter Renfroe, Padres (23 home runs)

Renfroe hit 26 home runs in each of the previous two seasons and is a former first-round pick, so his raw power has never been at issue. But are you kidding? He's on pace for 52 home runs in just 466 at-bats! He's slugging .647! He leads the majors in at-bats per home run (9.00), just ahead of Christian Yelich and Gary Sanchez. He's still the same hitter he has been -- low OBP, high strikeout rate -- but after a three-homer game and two-homer game in Colorado over the weekend, he has moved into a tie with Cody Bellinger and Peter Alonso, behind only Yelich in home runs.

Hunter Renfroe is the first #Padres hitter since Adrian Gonzalez in 2009 to hit 20 first-half home runs.#VoteFroe ✅ https://t.co/BRCteYQ0oq pic.twitter.com/8TWQl0F6vO

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 15, 2019

OF -- Jorge Soler, Royals (19 home runs)

Once a touted prospect out of Cuba, Soler has never hit enough or remained healthy enough to get 400 at-bats in a season. He hit 11 home runs the past two seasons, but he has remained in the lineup and could challenge Mike Moustakas' club record of 38 homers.

DH -- Dan Vogelbach, Mariners (17 home runs)

Out of options, the Mariners had to keep Vogelbach on the roster, but he started only one of the team's first seven games. Then he homered in four straight games, and now he could end up as the Mariners' All-Star rep. Vogelbach's career high in the minors was 23 home runs, so despite his Chris Farley body he has really been more of an all-around hitter than a pure power guy. Now he's both. How much fun would he be in the Home Run Derby?

UT -- Derek Dietrich, Reds (17 home runs)

He hasn't homered since May 28 (when he hit three in one game), he sits against lefties ... and he's still on pace for 39 home runs. Ted Williams reached 39 home runs once in his career. (Just to be clear, I am not comparing Derek Dietrich to Ted Williams.)

World number one Naomi Osaka came through a tricky test against Greece's Maria Sakkari to reach round two at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.

Osaka, who before the tournament said she was "not really that comfortable" on grass, had looked in early control before battling to a 6-1 4-6 6-4 win.

The Japanese 21-year-old will face Yulia Putintseva next after the Kazakh beat British wildcard Harriet Dart.

"I was kind of screaming on the inside during that entire match," Osaka said.

"I got lucky a little bit I guess. I knew she was going to be a very difficult opponent."

US and Australian Open champion Osaka found herself 0-40 on her serve at 2-2 in the final set but, after saving six break points in a near 10-minute game, finally held.

It proved pivotal as she went on to break the Greek world number 33 in the following game before holding to love and then going on to seal victory on her first match point as the clock ticked past two hours.

Britain's Dart was well beaten by Putintseva, who is ranked 114 places above the British world number 157, losing 6-1 6-4.

The 22-year-old Briton had a glimmer of hope when she broke early in the second set but could not match Putintseva's consistency.

Eighth seed Julia Gorges is also through to the second round after coming from behind to beat Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 3-6 6-4 6-3.

British number one Johanna Konta, who beat Anett Kontaveit on Monday, found out her second-round opponent will be former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko after the Latvian took just 52 minutes to beat Polish qualifier Iga Swiatek 6-0 6-2.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams is in action later on Tuesday against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, although play was suspended at the Edgbaston Priory Club soon after Osaka's win.

The weather has also disrupted Tuesday's schedule at the men's grass-court event at Queen's, where no tennis had been played by 16:15 BST.

Busy day as Pilley and Cuskelly power through 
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad International Correspondent

The tournament’s top seeds flexed their muscle on day two of the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships at Carrara Squash Centre on the Gold Coast in Australia, with the top-seeded pairs in both the men’s and women’s draws remaining undefeated.

Men’s top seeds, Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly and Cameron Pilley, won both matches to sit undefeated (3-0) at the top of Pool A.

The duo from New South Wales, defeated the Canadian pair of Madison Eggert and Thomas King 11-5, 11-5 in the morning session before backing up with an 11-5, 11-5 win against Robert Garcia and David Pelino of the Philippines.

“The guy on the left (Garcia) was actually pretty skilful, he was a really good player,” said Cuskelly after the match.

The defending world champions will face Queensland brothers Tom and Nick Calvert next, with the debutants looking to lock up a semi-final spot alongside their higher ranked compatriots.

The fourth-seeded Calverts also defeated Canada 11-6, 11-8 but face a do-or-die match against South Africa’s Jean-Pierre Brits and Christo Potgieter on day three, with the winners of that match expected to finish second in Pool A.

The South African pair continued a strong tournament, surviving a tough match against Garcia and Pelino (11-5, 8-11, 11-9) to move to a 2-1 record for the tournament (after a loss against Cuskelly/Pilley).

In Men’s Pool B, Australians Zac Alexander and Rex Hedrick look set to top the pool after defeating the spirited Sri Lankan pairing of Ravindu Laksiri and Shamil Wakeel 11-5, 11-6.

The highlight of the women’s draw was an all-Australian clash between tournament top seeds Donna Lobban and Christine Nunn and debutants Taylor Flavell and Selena Shaikh. The more fancied Australians took the match 11-3, 11-6.

“I’m really pleased with how we played today actually,” Lobban said. “We maybe struggled a little bit yesterday to get going after playing all weekend at the Aussie Open Doubles and I thought we were maybe a bit flat and not switched on yesterday so we made sure today that we were really up for it.”

Despite the scoreline, Flavell says there was plenty to like for the Victorian pair on debut.

“It was a bit nerve-wracking to start with for sure and it took us a while to get into the match but we got there in the end and started to hit where we wanted to.”

Colombia looks set to challenge the Australians in the race for medals, with sisters Laura and Maria Tovar impressive on day two. The third-seeded Colombian pairing defeated Jemyca Aribado and Aysah Dalida of the Philippines 11-4, 11-7 to move to third in the women’s standings.

In the mixed doubles competition, 17-year-old Australian Ethan Eyles made his senior international debut, pairing with Christine Nunn to defeat Aribado and Garcia (Philippines) 11-4, 11-10.

Colombian pair Catalina Pelaez and Matias Knudsen continue to look impressive as a mixed doubles duo, remaining undefeated after an 11-9, 11-4 win over Australian’s Zac Alexander and Alex Haydon.

The event’s first upset took place in the Mixed battle between Aysah Dalida and Reymark Begornia of the Philippines and Malta’s Colette and Kijan Sultana, the No.7 seeds from the Philippines getting the better of the sixth-seeded Maltese pair 11-8, 11-10.

 
WSF World Doubles Squash Championships, Gold Coast, Australia.

SECOND POOL ROUND
Men’s Pool A:
[1] Ryan Cuskelly & Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [8] Madison Eggert & Thomas King (CAN) 11-1, 11-5 (14m)
[5] Jean-Pierre Brits & Christo Potgieter (RSA) bt [9] Robert Garcia & David Pelino (PHI) 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 (32m)
[1] Ryan Cuskelly & Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [9] Robert Garcia & David Pelino (PHI) 11-5, 11-5 (18m)
[4] Nicholas Calvert & Thomas Calvert (AUS) bt [8] Madison Eggert & Thomas King (CAN) 11-6, 11-8 (22m)
Pool B
[2] Zac Alexander & Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [7] Bradley Hindle & Kijan Sultana (MLT) 11-2, 11-2 (15m)
[6] Darren Chan & Bryan Lim Tze Kang (MAS) bt [10] Ravindu Laksiri & Shamil Wakeel (SRI) 11-7, 4-11, 11-9 (33m)
[3] Andrés Herrera & Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt [7] Bradley Hindle & Kijan Sultana (MLT) 11-4, 11-6 (14m)
[2] Zac Alexander & Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [10] Ravindu Laksiri & Shamil Wakeel (SRI) 11-5, 11-6 (15m)

Women’s Pool:
[1] Donna Lobban & Christine Nunn (AUS) bt [4] Taylor Flavell & Selena Shaikh (AUS) 11-3, 11-6 (19m)
[3] Laura Tovar & Maria Tovar (COL) bt [5] Jemyca Aribado & Aysah Dalida (PHI) 11-4, 11-7 (18m)

Mixed Pool A:
[4] Christine Nunn & Ethan Eyles (AUS) bt [5] Jemyca Aribado & Robert Garcia (PHI) 11-4, 11-10 (23m)
Pool B:
[2] Catalina Pelaez & Matias Knudsen (COL) bt [3] Alex Haydon & Zac Alexander (AUS) 11-9, 11-4 (16m)
[7] Aysah Dalida & Reymark Begornia (PHI) bt [6] Colette Sultana & Kijan Sultana (MLT) 11-8, 11-10 (18m) 

Pictures courtesy of CRAIG STEWART, Brisbane Sports Photography

Wasps have brought in Martin Gleeson from rugby league side Salford to bolster head coach Dai Young's backroom staff as assistant attack coach.

Wigan-born Gleeson, 39, has been with Salford for the past six and a half years, first a player and then as the Super League side's assistant coach.

"We have operated with a smaller coaching team than most Premiership clubs for a while now," said Young.

"I'm pleased to have found Martin, who is an exciting young coach."

Young continued: "He has forged a very strong reputation as a quality coach within rugby league, having made a big impact with Salford."

Former Huddersfield, St Helens, Warrington, Wigan, Hull, Salford, Great Britain and England centre Gleeson is added to a coaching group which already includes attack and backs coach Lee Blackett, defence coach Ian Costello and forwards coach Andy Titterrell.

"Our current coaches have done an excellent job," said Young. "I'm really pleased with how they have developed in their first Premiership coaching roles.

Attack 'more than a one-man job'

"But I now feel that attack is more than a one-man job. Our attack has been a strong part of our game. We have been one of the top try-scoring teams in the Premiership for a number of seasons. But we took a step back last season from where we would have liked to have been.

"Between the two of them, I believe they will complement each other and get our attack back to where we want it to be."

Former dual Wales international Young also has experience of the 13-man code, having spent six seasons as a forward in league, first with Leeds, then mostly at Salford, before returning to union at the start of the professional era.

Gleeson made his international debut in July 2002 for Great Britain against Australia in Sydney, going on to win 20 caps, as well as six for England.

He was signed by Salford after being banned for three years, half of which was suspended following an inadvertent breach of anti-doping rules.

His move to rugby union follows that last week of his old rugby league team-mate Sean Long to Harlequins.

Sacked Australia full-back Israel Folau says "the devil" is trying to influence the debate over transgender rights.

Folau, 30, is taking legal action after having his Rugby Australia contract terminated over a social media post saying "hell awaits" gay people.

In a church sermon on Sunday, he again criticised homosexuality.

Folau also said "kids in primary school" were being allowed to "change their gender" because the government was taking away input from parents.

In April, Tasmania became the first state in Australia to make it legally optional to list gender on birth certificates.

The legislation allows people aged 16 or older to apply to change their listed gender without the approval of their parents.

Legislation changes have also been discussed in the state of Western Australia.

In his sermon on Sunday, which was broadcast on Facebook, Folau - a devout Christian - said: "They are allowing young kids in primary school to be able to have the permission to change their gender if they want by taking away the permission of the parents.

"They are trying to take control, as a government, to make those decisions for young kids who are basically 16 years old, or young.

"They don't even know what they are doing.

"This is what the devil is trying to do. To instil into this government, into this world, into society. And it is slowly happening."

He added: "They say that a man and a man should be able to be married and there is nothing wrong with it.

"This buys into the theme of pleasing man rather than pleasing God and standing up for the truth."

Folau earned 73 rugby union caps for his country, and also represented Australia at rugby league and Australian rules football.

He had a contract with Rugby Australia until 2022 and had been expected to play at this year's World Cup. As well as being sacked, he lost sponsorship deals, including with car manufacturer Land Rover and sportswear brand Asics.

When it was announced earlier in June that he is claiming his employment was unlawfully terminated, Folau said: "No Australian of any faith should be fired for practising their religion."

Mathieu Bastareaud and Morgan Parra have been left out of France's 37-man squad for the Rugby World Cup.

Centre Bastareaud, 30, previously captained Les Bleus in the absence of regular skipper Guilhem Guirado.

Scrum-half Parra, also 30, is ruled out with an ankle injury sustained playing for Clermont last month.

Racing 92 wing Teddy Thomas and La Rochelle prop Uini Atonio also miss out on selection for the tournament, which begins in Japan on 20 September.

France start their campaign against Argentina on 21 September before facing the United States, Tonga and Eddie Jones' England in Pool C.

Bastareaud, capped 54 times by his country, and Parra, who has 71 caps, both played in the France team beaten by New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup, while Parra also featured in the 2011 tournament.

But outgoing head coach Jacques Brunel, who will be succeeded by Fabien Galthie after the World Cup, has not included either on his list of 31 plus six standby players.

Brunel has named three uncapped players in Clermont wing Alivereti Raka, Toulouse hooker Peato Mauvaka and Toulon prop Emerick Setiano.

Toulouse's Top 14-winning side dominate the list with seven players, including a place for centre Sofiane Guitoune, whose last cap came during in 2015.

Brunel revealed Guitoune's form had been one of the reasons for Bastareaud's omission.

"He [Bastareaud] is in a position full of competition with players in form. I'm thinking of Sofiane Guitoune who has been very good," Brunel said.

"I wasn't sure if Guitoune could keep up his form during the whole season but he did."

France squad

Forwards

Poirot (Bordeaux-Begles), Priso (La Rochelle), Guirado (Toulon, capt), Chat (Racing 92), Mauvaka (Toulouse), Setiano (Toulon), Slimani (Clermont), Bamba (Brive), Vahaamahina (Clermont), Lambey (Lyon), B Le Roux (Racing 92), Gabrillagues (Stade Francais), Iturria (Clermont), Y Camara (Montpellier), Lauret (Racing 92), Alldritt (La Rochelle), Picamoles (Montpellier)

Backs

A Dupont (Toulouse), Serin (Bordeaux-Begles), Machenaud (Racing 92), Ntamack (Toulouse), Lopez (Clermont), Fofana (Clermont), Fickou (Stade Francais), Doumayrou (La Rochelle), Guitoune (Toulouse), Huget (Toulouse), Penaud (Clermont), Raka (Clermont), Ramos (Toulouse), Medard (Toulouse)

Reserves

Falgoux (Clermont), Ollivon (Toulon), F Cros (Toulouse), Willemse (Montpellier), Belleau (Toulon), Rattez (La Rochelle)

International rugby chiefs have until Friday to decide whether to back the Nations Championship planned for 2022.

World Rugby needs unanimous support from the 10 unions that make up Europe's Six Nations and the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship.

While there are concerns about relegation and promotion, the Rugby Football Union broadly backs the idea.

"We support the concept and think it makes sense," RFU boss Bill Sweeney said.

In April, Six Nations unions agreed to a period of due diligence while weighing up offers from private equity.

"It's coming to the sharp end of that," added Sweeney. "It is well known publicly that June is a key month for where that is going.

"It's good for the global growth of the game. From a financial point of view, the numbers are good to enable us to reinvest back into the game.

"It is such a complex proposal. There are a number of issues around governance, around competition structure, and player welfare that we need to see a bit more detail on before we sign on the dotted line and I think that is the same with some of the other nations, so we are right in the middle of that process right now."

Scheduled to launch in 2022, the Nations Championship would see a top division of 12 teams from both hemispheres play each other once in a calendar year, either through traditional competitions like the Six Nations or the Rugby Championship, or in summer or autumn Test windows.

The top two teams would then meet in an end-of-year showpiece final.

A major sticking point is the concept of promotion and relegation, with Six Nations unions such as Scotland and Ireland yet to be convinced on the sustainability and vibrancy of the second division.

The proposals would also see November international schedules redrawn, with second-tier campaigners fearing the shake-up would reduce opportunities for smaller nations.

However, a 12-team first division would see regular exposure against the top nations for the likes of Fiji and Japan, who would each benefit from as many as 11 matches each year against top-tier nations.