After two laps in the Diamond League in France this week, British runner might tackle one lap at England U23 Champs

Keely Hodgkinson opens her season over 800m at the Diamond League in Paris on Friday (June 9) but the 21-year-old could follow this with an appearance over 400m at the England Athletics Under-23 Championships on June 17-18.

Earlier this year her coach, Trevor Painter, suggested that the 400m at the European Under-23 Championships in Finland in mid-July could act as a stepping stone ahead of racing 800m at the World Championships in Budapest in August.

Speaking at her press conference ahead of her race in Paris, Hodgkinson confirmed a 400m run-out at the England Champs is a possibility next week. The event looks almost certain to be in Chelmsford but could possibly move to Woodford due to organisers rushing to get the track ready following refurbishment.

Hodgkinson, the Olympic and world 800m silver medallist behind Athing Mu of the United States, has a 400m best of 52.41 which was set when finishing fifth at the British Championships in 2022. She also ran 52.42 last year when finishing runner-up to Jessie Knight at the British Indoor Champs.

It is not unheard of for 800m runners to drop down in distance at the European Under-23 Championships. Yuriy Borzakovskiy, for example, won 400m gold at these under-23 championships in 2001 before taking Olympic 800m gold in Athens three years later.

But first comes Hodgkinson’s 800m in Paris and she said: “I’m really looking for tomorrow and raring to go.”

As for her likely time? “I’ll let my legs do my talking but training has been going well and I’m looking forward to starting my season with a bang.”

“I’d be really happy if I could PB and also make the world podium, perhaps even become a world champion, who knows?” @keelyhodgkinson is in confident mood as she kicks off her outdoor season over 800m at @meetingparis ?

She had an amazing indoor season ?️

?️ @stuartweir pic.twitter.com/sgRfKhkKkl

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) June 8, 2023

In Paris she faces Ajee’ Wilson, Raevyn Rogers, Halima Nakaayi, Noelie Yarigo and Catriona Bisset, among others.

Earlier this year she set a world indoor 600m best of 83.41 in Manchester and said: “I forgot it was this year as it seems so long ago! I’ve worked very hard since then and am hoping to run really well this summer.”

Why is she opening her season relatively late in early June? Hodgkinson says she ended the indoor season feeling a little tired with some minor niggles. But training has gone well since and she is due to race in Lausanne on June 30 and also the London Diamond League on July 23.

Painter told AW: “We’ve definitely upped things in training. I’m hoping there will be some fast times and commanding races but we don’t want to see one-horse races. We want some challenges.”

The 400m aside, will Hodgkinson ever move up to 1500m? “She’s very reluctant and she is more of a 400m-800m runner right now. It’ll be a few years yet. Maybe LA (Olympics 2028) and onwards. Perhaps we can tempt her into it if she gets bored of the 800m and we can move her up.”

He added: “She definitely has the skills for it. If she ran one now she’d run about 4:04-05 but with more training maybe sub-4. Who knows. We have to persuade her to do it first.”

On coaching Hodgkinson, Painter describes her as a “gem to work with” and adds: “Whatever we say she never shirks it. She rolls her sleeve up and gets it done. She is also fantastic at being composed in races.”

Keep an eye out on the AW social media channels for video interviews with Hodgkinson and Painter by Stuart Weir in Paris

One year before French capital hosts the greatest show on earth, Friday’s Diamond League will act as a brilliant apéritif

The Diamond League in Paris on Friday (June 9) features line-ups that are every bit as strong as some of the Olympic finals we will see in the same French capital next year. Brits in action include Keely Hogkinson, Laura Muir and Dina Asher-Smith, while international stars include Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Faith Kipyegon, both of whom will be outside their comfort zone in events they don’t usually do.

“Running here is going to be amazing with one year to go before the Olympics,” said Asher-Smith at the pre-event press conferences on Thursday. “It’s an amazing opportunity. I know this might sound controversial but it’s only an hour from London it feels like a home Olympics. There are good vibes for next year and good vibes for tomorrow.”

Asher-Smith faces Abbey Steiner, Gabby Thomas, Marie-Josée Ta Lou and others in the 200m while Hodgkinson takes on Ajee’ Wilson, Raevyn Rogers, Halima Nakaayi, Noelie Yarigo, Catriona Bisset, to name a few, in her summer debut over 800m.

Muir, meanwhile, is in the most intriguing race of all as she tackles the 5000m for the first time in several years as she aims to smash her PB of 14:49.12, which was set indoors in 2017.

Also in the field is Kipyegon, fresh from her 3:49.11 world 1500m record in Florence. Like Muir she is making a rare step-up in distance, too, although she says it is part of a plan to eventually move to the marathon.

“It was a really beautiful night and smashing that record,” said Kipyegon, whose PB of 14:31.95 dates back to 2015. “I’m expecting a good race but I’m nervous as it’s really long and eight years since I ran it seriously. I want to graduate to 5000m first and upgrade slowly and slowly to the marathon in the future. I don’t know when or where but I have in my mind it will happen some day.”

An incredible field also sees world 5000m, 10,000m and half-marathon record-holder Letesenbet Gidey take part in her first race since her dramatic collapse at the end of the World Cross Country Championships in February.

The line-up also includes world steeplechase record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech, world 5km record-holder Ejgayehu Taye, world indoor 3000m champion Lemlem Hailu of Ethiopia, 2019 world silver medallist Margaret Kipkemboi, world cross bronze medallist Agnes Ngetich and North American 10,000m record-holder Alicia Monson

An expected crowd of 18,000 at the Stade Charlety will also see Jakob Ingebrigtsen attack Daniel Komen’s world two miles record of 7:58.61, which was set in Hechtel in 1997. Failing that, the European best is held by Mo Farah with 8:07.85, set in Birmingham in 2014.

Can the Olympic 1500m champion run two consecutive sub-four-minute miles? His opposition includes world under-20 cross-country champion Ishmael Kipkirui and recent Night of the 10,000m PBs winner Paul Chelimo.

After missing recent races with small injury issues, Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs takes on world 200m champion Noah Lyles, plus Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, in the 100m. World 100m champion Fred Kerley is a notable absentee, though, with Jacobs saying on Thursday: “This thing ( recent trash talk) I have with Fred is a lot of fun as it gets people talking about a sport that needs more visibility. It’s good to have some hype.”

McLaughlin-Levrone, the world 400m hurdles record-holder from the United States, faces world No.1 Marileidy Paulino of Dominican Republic in her specialist event – the flat 400m. Watch out too for 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, who is improving with every race following a suspension due to missing drugs tests. US heptathlete Anna Hall and Britain’s Ama Pipi are also in the race.

McLaughlin-Levrone said: “Everyone is expecting crazy, amazing things but my goal is to open up my season healthily and strong and see where I’m at as we continue to progress through 2023.”

Hall is also in the women’s high jump along with Brit Morgan Lake, American Vashti Cunningham and Australian Nicola Olyslagers, while French decathlon star Kevin Mayer is in a ‘triathlon’ (long jump, sprint hurdles and shot put).

Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, who broke Komen’s world indoor 3000m record earlier this year, is looking for a fast time in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Maybe the world record of 7:53.63 could be under danger too.

As if all this isn’t entertaining enough, there will be breakdancing exhibitions in between the track and field action ahead of that sport’s Olympic debut in Paris in 2024.

Czech player Karolina Muchova became one of the lowest ranked players to reach the French Open women's final as she edged a thriller against Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Muchova, 26, will play either Polish top seed Iga Swiatek or Brazilian 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.

Defending champion Swiatek faces Haddad Maia in Thursday's second semi-final.

Sabalenka's exit means 22-year-old Swiatek will remain world number one, a position she has held for 62 consecutive weeks, if she beats Haddad Maia and reaches the final.

Sabalenka, 25, served for the match in the decider but was overcome with tension as Muchova kept her composure to win an epic in three hours 13 minutes.

"I don't really know what happened," Muchova said. "It is unbelievable. I tried to keep fighting and it worked. I'm so happy."

Muchova keeps nerve as Sabalenka loses hers

Before play started on women's semi-finals day, many expected Swiatek would be trying to set up another final against Sabalenka when she walked out on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The pair have been the two dominant players in the world this year, already contested the Stuttgart and Madrid finals on clay, and both moved serenely through the Roland Garros draw to the last four.

But, in an unexpected twist, Australian Open champion Sabalenka came unstuck against the unheralded Muchova, who fell down the rankings after being ravaged by injuries.

Muchova reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 2021 before the physical problems stalled her progress, but has reminded everyone at Roland Garros of her undoubted talent.

Playing with her usual variety, Muchova caused problems for Sabalenka throughout and also showed her resilience to hang in when it looked as though she was heading towards defeat.

Sabalenka had started stronger in the decider, Muchova fighting off four break points for 1-1 before the Czech lost serve to trail 4-2.

Knowing two holds of serve would be enough to see her through, Sabalenka moved 5-2 ahead but was unable to close out victory when Muchova saved a match point.

But, serving for the set, Sabalenka became tight - an old failing which resurfaced at the worst possible time as she aimed to reach back-to-back Grand Slam finals.

A poor game allowed Muchova to restore parity, more nerves creeping in for Sabalenka when she served for a 6-5 lead.

From a commanding position of 40-15, the Belarusian produced back-to-back double faults, hit a heavy backhand long and then made another error to hand momentum to her opponent.

Muchova, with the crowd now behind her, retained her composure and served out to love before taking the warm acclaim of the Chatrier crowd.

A South Florida judge has denied a request from attorneys representing Tiger Woods’ former girlfriend to rehear a residential dispute that challenged a non-disclosure and acknowledgement agreement between Woods and Erica Herman.

Last month, a Martin Country (Fla.) judge upheld the NDA between Woods and Herman and in a three-paragraph ruling issued Monday, judge Elizabeth Metzger denied Herman’s request for a rehearing.

Herman’s attorney had argued that “the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that a party cannot be forced to arbitrate without a finding that she agreed to do so, which means that in this case – with no evidence in the record – arbitration should not be compelled, or, at a minimum, an evidentiary hearing should be held.”

Her attorneys also argued that she never conceded “the existence of an agreement to arbitrate,” but in Metzger’s 11-page ruling last month she held that Herman’s claims of authenticity of the NDA were not enough to force an evidentiary hearing.

Herman sued Woods and the trust that owns his South Florida mansion for $30 million, the amount of rent she said she would have to pay for a similar piece of beachfront property for six years.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk went one step further than simply calling Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final a must-win for his team, indicating that the series hinges on what happens on Thursday night.

"You can't make it a series unless you win this game tonight," said the Panthers star, as the action shifts to South Florida after the Vegas Golden Knights won the series' first two games at home.

"Coming back home, I think it's a breath of fresh air for everyone. To take care of home ice, like we have all playoffs, and make this a series," said Tkachuk.

Florida is only 4-3 on home ice in the playoffs, but they've had some big moments in Sunrise: Avoiding elimination in Game 6 against Boston, putting a stake in the Toronto Maple Leafs with a Game 3 overtime win and then closing an Eastern Conference Final sweep against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"It's a must-win. We know the situation," said forward Anthony Duclair. "I think even going back to the Boston series, it's just not a position you want to be in, but at the same time, it brings the best out of us. We're just looking forward to the challenge, especially coming in at home."

One of the biggest challenges for the Panthers against the Golden Knights has been navigating the physicality of this series. Florida came out hitting in both games. Vegas withstood that barrage and handed out a number of big hits of its own.

Florida coach Paul Maurice said he felt his Panthers were expending too much energy chasing checks against Vegas.

"I think the Boston series was more physical than this series. I think we've made this series more physical than it needs to be," he said. "We had 22 hits in the first period of Game 2. Prorate that out and you don't need 66 hits in a game. There's an energy cost to that. We have hitters. You need to finish checks at times. But I don't necessarily need [winger] Carter Verhaeghe having five [hits]."

Tkachuk said the Panthers will seek to impose their will from the opening faceoff.

"This is by far the biggest game of our season. We know what has made us successful to this point. We're definitely not going to shy away from that," he said.

The Panthers have also struggled with their discipline. Florida has taken 25 penalties for 130 penalty minutes in the first two games of the series. Vegas as taken 17 penalties for 82 minutes. Tkachuk alone has amassed three 10-minute misconduct penalties in the series.

"I think physicality and discipline are two different things. This one is a touchy subject right now for us, and we'll just leave it," said Maurice.

Assuming he's not serving penalties, Tkachuk could see better defensive matchups in Game 3 as Florida gets the last line change. His line saw a lot of the Vegas checking line -- William Carrier, Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar -- in Game 1 and less of them in Game 2. The constant for the Golden Knights against Tkachuk's line in both games was the defensive pairing of Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud, who matched up well against them in the attacking zone.

Maurice downplayed the notion that it was a line-matching series, saying that his concern for Game 3 is more focused on faceoff battles than line vs. line. Tkachuk was more focused on the ways he needs to improve in Game 3, as he's been limited to one point -- a Game 2 goal scored after Vegas had the game in hand -- this series.

"I've got to try to have the puck more and take more pucks to the net. Normally when you're around the net, good things happen," he said. "Their 'D' do a good job of protecting the front of the net, but I think there's more room around it just because they're so close to it. So find those holes."

The Panthers will need Tkachuk and the rest of their top end players to be difference makers soon in this series. As Maurice said, time is running out.

"There's only five possible games left. We've got to win four of 'em. So this one's a big one tonight," said the coach.

Racing at Belmont Park was canceled and the Washington Nationals' home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was postponed Thursday due to poor air quality from wildfires in Canada.

It's the second straight day the continuing fires north of the border have impacted sports in the Northeastern United States. The New York Giants also called off a practice Thursday scheduled to be held in East Rutherford, N.J.

The New York Racing Association canceled live racing at Belmont Park two days before the facility is scheduled to host the final leg of the Triple Crown with the Belmont Stakes.

As previously announced, morning training was canceled Thursday at both Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. The conditions that necessitated the cancelation of training are likely to persist this afternoon and into the evening, according to the NYRA, and a twilight racing program that would kick off the 2023 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival has been cancelled.

"Based on current forecast models and consultation with our external weather services, we remain optimistic that we will see an improvement in air quality on Friday," NYRA President & CEO David O'Rourke said in a statement.

The Diamondbacks-Nationals contest, which was rescheduled for June 22 at Nationals Park, was the third game postponed by Major League Baseball over the last two days. The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies had their home games postponed Wednesday.

"This postponement was determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and the two impacted Clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in Washington, D.C.," MLB said in a statement.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez, speaking to reporters before the postponement was announced, said he hoped MLB would make the right decision for both players and fans while adding that he walked his dogs Thursday morning and it "wasn't good."

The game in New York between the White Sox and Yankees was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Thursday, and the Phillies' game against the Tigers also was reset for Thursday, originally a day off for both teams.

MLB was continuing to monitor the air quality in both cities, but as of Thursday morning, the doubleheader in the Bronx at 4:05 p.m. ET and the contest in Philadelphia at 6:05 ET both were still scheduled to be played.

A National Women's Soccer League game in New Jersey and an indoor WNBA game set for Brooklyn were also called off Wednesday amid hazy conditions that have raised alarms from health authorities.

The Giants' practice Friday also is likely to be canceled, according to coach Brian Daboll. The New York Jets still planned to practice Thursday and Friday at their indoor facility in Florham Park, N.J., some 30 miles west of East Rutherford.

"It is [wild times]," New York offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said minutes after practice was called off. "Have not [seen anything like it] -- have not. Wednesday it was orange [outside]."

The air quality index outdoors in East Rutherford was 198 at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday -- a number that is considered unhealthy. An AQI of 200 and above is very unhealthy.

ESPN's Jordan Raanan, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

The Rangers have continued their climb up our weekly power rankings and have now usurped the Dodgers for the No. 2 spot, with the Rays holding steadfast at No. 1. But, with the roll Texas has been on as of late and its historic run differential, does it deserve to have the top spot?

Meanwhile, at the other end of our rankings, the Athletics are on a historic pace of their own -- albeit a bad one. Will they challenge the 1962 Mets' modern record of 120 losses? Or will the Royals catch Oakland at the bottom of our list?

Our expert panel has combined to rank every team in baseball based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez and Joon Lee to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 9 | Preseason rankings

1. Tampa Bay Rays

Record: 45-19

Previous ranking: 1

It looked as if Tampa Bay's streak of no more than two consecutive losses on the season might be broken after the Rays dropped two games against the Cubs, but they stormed back by taking three of four against the Red Sox. Teams rarely go an entire season without dropping into a slump at some point, but we are more than two months into the season and the Rays continue to look like one of the most formidable teams in the sport without skipping a beat. -- Lee

2. Texas Rangers

Record: 40-21

Previous ranking: 3

The Rangers had the proverbial good news/bad news kind of week as they increased their lead in the American League West with a sweep of division rival Seattle. Texas outscored the Mariners 30-9 in three games over the weekend, and Marcus Semien has remained hot, with a hit in 25 straight games (ending Wednesday, as he went hitless in the 1-0 loss to the Cardinals) and 31 of 33. The team's +155 run differential through its first 60 games is the best to start a season by any MLB team since the 1939 Yankees. The bad news? Texas lost Jacob deGrom to elbow surgery. It's a major blow, but Bruce Bochy, already the heavy favorite for AL Manager of the Year, has the team depth to keep rolling. -- Rogers

3. Atlanta Braves

Record: 37-24

Previous ranking: 4

Not that the Braves-Mets rivalry needs more juice, but it will be interesting to see what happens moving forward after Pete Alonso bashed a 448-foot home run off a Bryce Elder hanging slider and yelled, "Throw it again! Throw it again, please!" as he rounded the bases. Elder claimed not to hear it and said he didn't view it as an insult. Plus, the Braves got the last laugh as they won the game 6-4 after rallying from a 4-1 deficit. Elder continues to make a strong push for the All-Star Game as he picked up the win to improve to 4-0 with a NL-leading 2.26 ERA. While Alonso hit the home run off a slider, it's been an effective pitch for Elder, as batters are hitting just .152 against it. -- Schoenfield

4. Houston Astros

Record: 36-26

Previous ranking: 7

Astros stalwart Alex Bregman is as unflappable as any player in the game, so if there was some consternation about his slow start, you can be sure none of it was coming from him. A month ago, Bregman was hitting .190/.322/.320 with four homers and 15 RBIs over 34 games. We've seen this act before from the often slow-starting third baseman, whose career slugging percentage in games before May is just .398. Anyway, since that season nadir, Bregman has mashed to the tune of .306/.372/.463 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 28 games. His numbers aren't yet back to career norms, but they appear to be headed that way. As always, third base doesn't look like a problem spot for the Astros as they look to gather momentum for their pursuit of the front-running Rangers in the AL West. -- Doolittle

5. Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 35-27

Previous ranking: 2

The Dodgers dropped their weekend series against the Yankees, but there are plenty of bright spots for this team between the star-studded lineup continuing to hit and the call-up of top prospect Bobby Miller. Through three starts, the 24-year-old righty has a 1.06 ERA and 0.76 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. Additionally, Mookie Betts has been on fire the past week, hitting four homers in five games while slashing .350/.458/.950. -- Lee

6. Baltimore Orioles

Record: 37-24

Previous ranking: 6

Baltimore suffered a major blow by losing Cedric Mullins to the injured list due to a groin strain, moving Adam Frazier into the leadoff spot in the batting order. To replace Mullins in the lineup, Baltimore signed former Yankee Aaron Hicks, who has looked rejuvenated in his early days in Baltimore. Through five games with the Orioles so far, Hicks has six hits in 15 at-bats, including one homer. If Hicks can return to form, he could provide another offensive threat in what has been a top-10 offense in baseball this season. -- Lee

7. New York Yankees

Record: 36-26

Previous ranking: 5

As the Yankees sit in third place in the American League East, they keep getting hit with the injury bug. Aaron Judge is out after slamming his toe into the wall at Dodger Stadium, and All-Star starter Nestor Cortes is on the IL with a left shoulder strain. New York did, however, see Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson and Tommy Kahnle all come off the IL in the past week, and Carlos Rodon is progressing toward making his Yankees debut at some point in the near future. -- Lee

8. Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 37-25

Previous ranking: 8

With every passing week, Arizona continues to show staying power in the NL West, no small task with perennial division winner Los Angeles playing well. Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen continue to lead the way on the mound, allowing just five earned runs in 25 1/3 innings over their past four starts combined. Arizona will have to lean on them, as the rest of the rotation has been shaky. Improved performance by Ryne Nelson could help -- three of his past four outings have been OK but not nearly good enough for a division contender. Same goes for Tommy Henry, who gave up five runs in 4.1 innings against Washington on Tuesday. -- Rogers

9. Toronto Blue Jays

Record: 35-28

Previous ranking: 9

Alek Manoah's continued struggles have landed him in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, where the Blue Jays hope he'll find his stuff again. It's a big blow to Toronto's viability as a World Series contender, given his former All-Star pedigree. Picking up the slack has been Jose Berrios, who has a 3.66 ERA in 12 starts this season and looks again like the starter Toronto hoped to receive when it traded for him. -- Lee

10. Minnesota Twins

Record: 31-31

Previous ranking: 12

The Twins' offense had been headed in the wrong direction for about three weeks, and now, they will have to try to reverse this trend without their leader in runs created, Byron Buxton, who landed on the IL with a rib contusion. A major issue with the roster is a preponderance of pull-heavy, high-strikeout sluggers. Minnesota leads the majors in strikeout rate and swing-and-miss rate, and only the Braves have pulled a higher percentage of their balls in play. As the season nears the trade deadline, perhaps the Twins might try to balance the lineup by targeting a first baseman-DH type with bat-to-ball skills, or perhaps another outfielder, as Minnesota's collective left field OPS is the worst in the majors. -- Doolittle

11. Boston Red Sox

Record: 31-31

Previous ranking: 11

The Red Sox keep wavering back and forth between streaks of success, like their eight-game winning streak in late April through early May, and coming back down to earth. Boston is getting a bunch of injured players back, such as Christian Arroyo and Adam Duvall -- and Trevor Story is inching his way back toward a return to the lineup -- but it still faces trouble in its rotation, with Chris Sale on the IL due to shoulder inflammation. -- Lee

12. Milwaukee Brewers

Record: 34-28

Previous ranking: 14

Winning three of four against the Reds over the weekend righted the ship for Milwaukee, as what the Brewers lack in power they've made up for in speed, at least over the past week. They hit only .205 as a team but swiped 11 bases, including four from Christian Yelich, who had a good seven days overall at the plate. Yelich is on pace to set a career high in steals with 16 so far, after swiping 19 bases all of last year. The Brewers' offense has been just good enough this season, and Milwaukee is the favorite in the division now. -- Rogers

13. New York Mets

Record: 30-32

Previous ranking: 13

In recent seasons, the Mets' offense has been driven more by batting average than power, but that hasn't been the case in 2023. In 2020, the Mets led the majors with a .272 average and ranked third in OPS (although just 13th in runs as they hit poorly with runners in scoring position). Last year, the Mets were second in batting average and tied for fifth in runs. But this year seems to be following the path of 2021, when the Mets hit just .239 and ranked 13th in the NL in runs. They're hitting .238, which ranks 21st in the majors. Francisco Lindor is down to .216 with a sub-.300 OBP. Jeff McNeil is down nearly 50 points from last year's league-leading .326 average. Alonso, Starling Marte, Mark Canha ... all down. A reason to be optimistic: The Mets are near last in BABIP, so maybe that will start climbing up. -- Schoenfield

14. Miami Marlins

Record: 35-28

Previous ranking: 20

In a four-game stretch from Saturday through Tuesday, Luis Arraez went 5-for-5, 2-for-4, 3-for-4 and 2-for-4 to raise his average from .374 to .401. It's the first time a player has been hitting .400 through his team's first 62 games since Chipper Jones in 2008 (who was at .421 but remained above .400 for just nine more games). It will be interesting to see what kind of support Arraez gets in the fan voting for the All-Star Game. It's not unprecedented for the fans to vote in a Marlins player: Marcell Ozuna was voted in as a starter in 2017 (Giancarlo Stanton, who would go on to hit 59 home runs that year, also started, but as an injury replacement). Meanwhile, Tuesday's win put the Marlins at 34-28, the first time they've been six games over .500 since August 2016. -- Schoenfield

15. Pittsburgh Pirates

Record: 32-29

Previous ranking: 21

Every time you count the Pirates out, they rebound with a good stretch of baseball. The latest came in a weekend sweep of the Cardinals in Pittsburgh, declaring to the baseball world which team is better in 2023. Ke'Bryan Hayes had a huge week, going 9-for-19 with two home runs and a 1.316 OPS. He torched Cardinals pitching, going 7-for-11 in the Pirates' three wins. -- Rogers

16. Seattle Mariners

Record: 30-31

Previous ranking: 10

Well, that was ugly. The Mariners went into Arlington looking to make up ground on the Rangers and lost all three games, by scores of 2-0, 16-6 and 12-3. They managed just three hits in 13 innings against Rangers starters Jon Gray and Nathan Eovaldi. With Marco Gonzales placed on the IL, Bryan Woo made his MLB debut on Saturday and allowed seven hits and six runs in two innings. Bryce Miller allowed seven runs on Sunday, and after posting a 1.15 ERA through his first five starts has now allowed 15 runs over his past two. Manager Scott Servais summed it up: "We're not playing winning baseball against top-flight teams." Yep. The Mariners are 7-0 against the A's and well under .500 against everybody else. -- Schoenfield

17. Los Angeles Angels

Record: 33-30

Previous ranking: 15

The Angels had a chance to make a statement against the Astros but dropped three of four over the weekend. Reid Detmers fell to 0-5 with a 5.15 ERA in the first game, Shohei Ohtani had his worst start of the season as the Astros tallied nine hits and five runs off him in Game 2, and then Patrick Sandoval got knocked out in the fourth inning on Saturday. The Angels did win the finale 2-1 as Griffin Canning allowed just one run in six innings on Sunday.

While Ohtani has been good, the rest of the rotation continues to scuffle, as the Angels are 21st in the majors in rotation ERA. Some of the markers do point to improvement: They have a 4.79 ERA but a 4.52 FIP and 4.53 xFIP. With hard-throwing Ben Joyce (his fastball has averaged 101.7 mph in his three outings) and former first-round pick Sam Bachman now up and in the bullpen, let's see if Phil Nevin goes to even quicker hooks on his starters. -- Schoenfield

18. San Diego Padres

Record: 29-33

Previous ranking: 17

The Padres have not won two consecutive games since having a three-game winning streak snapped on May 2. They are getting some surprising offense from Gary Sanchez, who is hitting .310/.375/.793 with four homers in nine games since joining the Padres. Blake Snell also had two strong starts in the past week, going 12 total innings without allowing a run on five hits while striking out 15 and walking six. Joe Musgrove is also showing signs of a turnaround, allowing just one run in 11 innings over two starts. If Musgrove and Snell can truly turn things around, San Diego will likely see some massive improvement in its record. -- Lee

19. Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 29-32

Previous ranking: 18

Kyle Schwarber hit his first leadoff home run of 2023 on Tuesday -- and it proved to be the only run in a 1-0 victory, just the third time in Phillies history a leadoff home run held up as the winning run (Jimmy Rollins on Aug. 14, 2012, and John Briggs on June 12, 1969). Schwarber now has 16 home runs through Tuesday while hitting .173/.322/.425.

Some fun numbers for Schwarber to chase: (1) Joey Gallo hit 38 HRs in 2021, the most for a player who hit under .200; (2) Schwarber's 105 OPS+ would be the second highest for a player who hit under .200 (Gallo had a 121 OPS+ in 2021, but only two others have finished above 100); (3) Del Young hit .194 in 1937, the lowest batting average by a qualified player in Phillies history (although back then the qualification was 100 games played; the lowest with 502 plate appearances is Pat Burrell's .209 mark in 2003). -- Schoenfield

20. San Francisco Giants

Record: 31-30

Previous ranking: 16

The middle-of-the-pack Giants have a middle-of-the-pack offense, one devoid of stars and long on interchangeability. That doesn't mean Frisco can't win, but it does mean that the real MVP of the organization might be whoever writes marketing copy that effectively makes this team look sexy. Harsh? Yeah, probably.

But right now, the Giants' top three in runs created are LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada and J.D. Davis. Certainly, this speaks to the organization's ability to help externally acquired players become the best version of themselves. Wade has exemplified this. He entered the season having struck out more than twice as often as he's walked in his career. This season, his walks and strikeouts are about even and he has become a plus-.400 OBP standout. Nevertheless, somehow, the franchise that has featured Mel Ott, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and so many other generational star hitters needs to locate its next one. -- Doolittle

21. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 28-33

Previous ranking: 22

Both good and surprising news marked the Guardians' week. The good news was really good: Triston McKenzie returned from the IL after being out since spring training with a shoulder issue. He allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a win over the division-leading Twins. The surprising news was that Cleveland created space on the roster by designating righty Zach Plesac for assignment. Plesac looked like a rotation fixture after a strong showing during the abbreviated 2020 season, but it's been all downhill since then. He posted a 7.59 ERA over five starts for the Guardians early in the season, earning a demotion to Triple-A, where he put up the same numbers -- a 7.56 ERA over five outings. -- Doolittle

22. Chicago Cubs

Record: 26-35

Previous ranking: 23

The Cubs' offense has tanked without Cody Bellinger, who remains out of the lineup with a knee injury. They rank in the bottom five teams in OPS since he went down in mid-May. But the bullpen remains the biggest problem and continues to make manager David Ross look bad. Twice in the past week, Ross pulled young starter Hayden Wesneski mid-inning only to see the bullpen blow it moments later. The latest came on Tuesday, when lefty Brandon Hughes walked Shohei Ohtani to load the bases only to see Mike Trout single home two runs. The Cubs might not be underachieving, a word used often to describe them; this could be who they are. -- Rogers

23. Cincinnati Reds

Record: 29-33

Previous ranking: 25

Cincinnati is becoming the "it" team for prospect promotions as Elly De La Cruz was the latest on Tuesday. He scorched a double against the Dodgers for his first major league hit. The Reds' youth has been on display in both good ways and bad recently, as a sweep of the Cubs was followed by losing three of four to the Brewers -- but a ninth-inning comeback over the Dodgers on Tuesday might have been their best win of the season. The Reds' offense ranked second in walks last week, showing plate discipline from a young team. Cincinnati probably isn't going anywhere in October, but the proverbial "future is bright" tag applies here. -- Rogers

24. St. Louis Cardinals

Record: 26-37

Previous ranking: 19

Any positive May vibes have disappeared as St. Louis opened June in losing fashion. A sweep by the Pirates followed by a series loss to the Rangers dropped the Cardinals' record against plus-.500 teams to 17-28. In fact, their record in all areas is bad: They have a losing record against every other division and in interleague play. A once-feared pitching staff is anything but this year: Last week, opposing hitters had a .308 batting average against St. Louis pitching. -- Rogers

25. Chicago White Sox

Record: 27-35

Previous ranking: 26

The White Sox are more or less at full health for the first time all season. Perhaps not coincidentally, they are enjoying their most prolonged stretch of winning baseball in 2023. In part thanks to the inclusive nature of AL Central competition, Chicago has closed in on the Twins, Guardians and Tigers in the division race. Run prevention has been the key, with the pitching staff posting an MLB-best 2.97 ERA since May 13.

Leading that charge has been resurgent righty Michael Kopech, who has a 2.72 ERA over seven starts since the beginning of May, with 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a K-BB ratio of 3.25-1. The White Sox have a ways to go before they can even reach .500, much less first place, but things haven't looked this sunny on the South Side for some time. -- Doolittle

26. Detroit Tigers

Record: 26-33

Previous ranking: 24

The Tigers have a 17-10 record in games decided by one or two runs, a big reason Detroit has out-won its run differential-based expectation by more games than any other AL team except for Baltimore. Some of this is good fortune, some of it is the work of manager A.J. Hinch aligning his player usage with leverage situations, and more than some of it is because the Tigers have a pretty good bullpen.

The latter could present a quandary for the Scott Harris-led front office as the trade deadline approaches. Relievers such as Jason Foley, Alex Lange, Will Vest and Tyler Holton will surely come up in trade calls. But what happens if the Tigers continue to hover around the division lead despite underlying metrics that suggest their level of contention won't last? For now, this is only a potential drama, since the Tigers have been a pleasant surprise. -- Doolittle

27. Washington Nationals

Record: 25-36

Previous ranking: 27

The Nationals have received just one home run from their first basemen (mostly Dominic Smith). OK, let's try to put that lack of power in perspective. The fewest home runs from first base in the wild-card era (since 1995 and not including 2020): the 2011 A's with seven. Since the divisional era began in 1969: the 1981 Phillies (Pete Rose) with zero. The Phillies also hit just one in 1980 (Rose again) -- although they nonetheless managed to win the World Series that season. And then there's DH (mostly Joey Meneses), where the Nationals have received just four home runs. So the Nationals have just five home runs from 1B/DH, fewest in the majors ... remarkably, however, they're middle of the pack in OPS from 1B/DH. -- Schoenfield

28. Colorado Rockies

Record: 26-37

Previous ranking: 28

Colorado is doing what Colorado does: hit at Coors Field but not away from it. The Rockies rank in the top 10 teams in the majors in OPS at home but near last on the road. Their run differential is the worst in the NL, but they could catch the Padres for fourth place in the West if they go on a mini run. It's not likely to happen with a team ERA over 5.00. Bud Black will likely join a long list of Rockies managers unable to figure out how to get consistent pitching in Colorado. -- Rogers

29. Kansas City Royals

Record: 18-44

Previous ranking: 29

For most of the past month, currently rostered Royals have ranked dead last in the majors by win probability added in both hitting (Bobby Witt Jr.) and pitching (Jordan Lyles). Lyles has had a dreadful season to be sure, but the 32-year-old isn't exactly a foundation piece for K.C. Witt, on the other hand, very much is. He continues to dazzle observers with his raw tools -- top-end speed, tremendous raw power, etc. But he also has a maddening tendency to try to hit a five-run homer in every situation -- even in the field, as if that were possible.

This hyperaggression contributes to his bottom-basement showing in WPA, which contextualizes a player's situational performance. Entering Wednesday, Witt had a .266/.311/.487 line with the bases empty. But with runners on base, he was at .190/.204/.316 with just two walks in 98 plate appearances. The next big step for Witt is to learn how to channel that aggression more productively. -- Doolittle

30. Oakland Athletics

Record: 14-50

Previous ranking: 30

The Athletics recently reached a hurdle in their move to Las Vegas, as ownership has hit a snag in its plans to build a $1.5 billion stadium. Opposition to passing the public funding for part of the stadium has been growing in the city. If the franchise does not receive enough votes for the construction of the ballpark in Vegas, it could renew its lease for another year in Oakland, as the sentiment that funding stadiums with taxpayer dollars ends up being a bad deal for the public increases in Las Vegas. -- Lee

Britain's Alfie Hewett is on course for a fourth French Open men's wheelchair singles title after reaching the final with a 6-2 6-2 win over Argentine third seed Gustavo Fernandez.

Hewett and his partner Gordon Reid are also in the men's doubles semi-finals and are aiming for a fourth successive Roland Garros title.

The pair are 16-time doubles champions at the four majors.

They will face Dutch pair Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren or Belgian Joachim Gerard and Oda on Friday.

Japan's Miyu Kato won the French Open mixed doubles title four days after what she called an "unjust" disqualification for hitting a ball girl with a ball in the women's event.

On Sunday, Kato and Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified from the women's doubles tournament.

"I hope this is redemption for you after what happened," Puetz said.

Reading from a prepared statement, an emotional Kato said: "It has been really challenging mentally for me in the past few days due to the unjust disqualification from the women's doubles.

"To my coach, I thank [you] for always being with me when I was having a hard time. To Tim, I'm so glad to have you as a partner, I thank you for always supporting me and cheering me up.

"I want to thank also the players, coaches and everyone for the heartfelt messages of support. I was able to use that positivity so I could be here."

In the women's doubles last-16 match on Sunday, Kato and Sutjiadi were losing 7-6 (7-1) 1-3 against the pairing of Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic and Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo when the incident happened.

Kato sent a ball cross-court towards the ball girl, hitting her shoulder and leaving her visibly distressed.

The 28-year-old player was initially given a warning by the umpire but after protests from their opponents, Kato and Sutjiadi were disqualified. Kato, who apologised to the ball girl, was penalised by losing her prize money and ranking points.

After winning the mixed doubles final - her first Grand Slam title - Kato added: "It was unfortunate we were disqualified but I'm doing my best so we can return one day and claim the women's doubles final. Hopefully, the ball girl is OK.

"To Sara and Marie, my opponents in the women's doubles, I hope we can play each other again somewhere and have a great match.

"Lastly, to Roland Garros, it's unfortunate about the disqualification decision but I'm looking for a positive outcome of my appeal so I can receive my points and prize money."

Britain's Jack Draper will miss the grass-court season, including Wimbledon, with a shoulder injury.

"It's clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be," Draper wrote on Instagram.

"My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass-court season this year."

He added: "I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take.

"The only thing for sure is that I will keep persevering. Thank you for all the support, it means a lot."

Draper was losing 6-4 1-0 to Etcheverry when he had to withdraw after having to serve underarm at times in the opening set.

"It's difficult. It's extremely tough, tougher than playing and losing. I feel a bit mentally destroyed," he said afterwards.

"It's really frustrating. But I will get there. It's just a brutal sport. I hate being the guy who is injured a lot."

Ranked 55th in the world, Draper has suffered a number of physical problems in his young career. This was the third successive Grand Slam match where his performance had been affected by injury.

After retiring from his US Open third-round match against Karen Khachanov last September with a hamstring problem, the British men's number four was compromised by cramping in his Australian Open defeat by Rafael Nadal in January.

He also retired from his meeting with Spain's world number one Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells in March.

Draper reached the second round of Wimbledon in 2022, and then beat sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to round three of the US Open.