ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021 16

Los Angeles Angels’ Justin Upton (left), scores past To- ronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire on a fi elding error by Blue Jays fi rst baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. following a fl y ball hit by Jo Adell during the fi fth inning in the fi rst base- ball game of a doubleheader in Anaheim, Calif. (AP) Sports Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com Leo signs two-year deal with option for third season eyes Champions League trophy with PSG PARIS, Aug 11, (AP): said he’s “in the right “Obviously, one of the reasons (I came) was the locker Messi became the most high-profi le free agent in soccer his- Messi is set to earn around 35 million euros ($41 million) net place” to win another Champions League trophy and cited a room: , Dí María, Paredes, whom I know.” tory after his attempts to stay at were rejected last annually. The person said on condition of anonymity before reunion with Neymar as a key factor in his decision to sign Messi said he is “ready” to start playing with PSG, which week by the Spanish league because the salary would not com- the contract was signed. with Paris Saint-Germain. host Strasbourg on Saturday night. ply with fi nancial regulations, with the Catalan club burdened PSG will be hoping not only that Messi helps the team The 34-year-old star spoke at his introductory “When I feel it, when the staff thinks I’m ok, I’ll be ready. by debts of more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion). regain the French title they lost to Lille last season but fi nally news conference at stadium on Wednesday, I’m willing to play,” he said. PSG moved quickly to sign the Argentina star. The team, win the Champions League. the morning after signing a two-year deal with the option for Messi said, “positioned themselves and everything went re- Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi praised a third season after leaving Barcelona. ally fast and it was easy. It happened in little time. It was a “a historic day for the club, football world and it is a fantastic “My and dream is to raise another Champion’s diffi cult situation and they were effi cient.” moment for us.” (League Trophy) and I believe that I am in the right place to PSG coach quickly made contact “Everybody knows Leo... He makes the football magic, have the best chances to achieve that,” Messi said. with his fellow Argentine after Barcelona announced last beautiful and he’s a winner. It will be very exciting for our “When you see this squad, you really want to play with Thursday that Messi would be leaving the club he joined as supporters and the fans worldwide,” he added. ”We have big them because there are so many possibilities,” he added. “We a 13-year-old boy. ambition.” have the same goal. And Neymar of course did a lot and was Messi said it was “very hard” to leave Barcelona after so important for my choice.” many years but added “the moment I arrived here I felt very Qatari-backed PSG have been desperate to win the Cham- SOCCER happy.” pions League, falling just short when they lost the 2020 fi nal PSG supporters have seen their club transformed over the to Bayern Munich. Messi helped Barcelona win four Cham- Messi won every major honor with Barcelona and was last decade since the infl ux of Qatari sovereign wealth in- pions League trophies. granted a tearful exit news conference on Sunday to signal vestment linked to the emir. Once Messi’s Barcelona contract Messi’s arrival gives PSG formidable attacking options as he the end of an era. Only in the current era expired - and the Catalan club was unable to afford to keep links up with not only Neymar - his former teammate at Bar- challenges Messi’s status as an all-time great. him - PSG was one of the few clubs that could fi nance a deal celona - but also France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe. While PSG had to pay 222 million euros (then $261 mil- to sign the six-time world player of the year. “I’m going to play with best players, it’s very nice, it’s lion) to sign Neymar from Barcelona in 2017, there was no Messi will wear the No. 30 jersey - the same number he incredible to be able to experience this,” said Messi, who also Lionel Messi, (right), and PSG president Nasser Al- transfer fee for Messi. wore in his fi rst two seasons with Barcelona before switching cited Argentina teammates and PSG players Ángel di Maria Khelaifi hold Messi’s jersey at the Parc des Princes No salary details were given, but a person with knowledge to No. 19 and then the prized No. 10, which Neymar gets to and . stadium in Paris. (AP) of the negotiations earlier told The that keep at PSG. Dodgers end Phillies 8-game run Angels, Blue Jays split doubleheader

PHILADELPHIA, Aug 11, (AP): Max Scherzer and MLB Results/Standings Aaron Nola had a pitch- ers’ duel ruined by rain, , Aug 11, (AP): Results and Corey Seager and Max and standings from the MLB games on Tuesday. Muncy homered as the Los LA Angels 6 Toronto (7 Inns 1st) 3 Detroit 9 Baltimore 4 Angeles Dodgers ended Tampa Bay 8 Boston 4 Philadelphia’s eight-game Oakland 4 Cleveland (10 Inns) 3 Minnesota 4 Chicago White Sox 3 winning streak, beating Kansas City 8 NY Yankees 4 Toronto 4 LA Angels (7 innings 2nd the Phillies 5-0 on Tuesday game) 0 night. Texas 5 Seattle (10 Inns) 4 Milwaukee 4 Chi. Cubs (7 Inns 1st) 2 Scherzer and Nola combined for St Louis 4 Pittsburgh 1 13 strikeouts over a combined 7 Atlanta 3 Cincinnati 2 1/3 innings in a scoreless match- LA Dodgers 5 Philadelphia 0 Milwaukee 6 Chic. Cubs (7 Inns 2nd) 3 up before heavy rain delayed the Houston 5 Colorado 0 game in the bottom of the fourth San Francisco 8 Arizona 7 inning for 1 hour, 44 minutes. Nei- San Diego 6 Miami 5 American League ther star pitcher returned when the East Division game resumed. W L Pct GB The gripping performances ended Tampa Bay 69 44 .611 _ in a whimper and Phillies fans booed Boston 65 50 .565 5 New York 62 51 .549 7 when reliever J.D. Hammer (1-1) Toronto 61 51 .545 7-1/2 headed to the bullpen to warm up at Baltimore 38 73 .342 30 the end of the delay. Central Division W L Pct GB Seager hit a solo shot off J.D. Ham- Chicago 67 47 .588 _ mer (1-1) in the fi fth inning for his Cleveland 55 56 .495 10-1/2 fi fth homer of the year. Muncy added Detroit 55 60 .478 12-1/2 his 23rd homer of the year in the ninth. Kansas City 49 63 .438 17 Minnesota 49 65 .430 18 Alex Vesia (2-1) got the win. West Division Nola fi nished with seven strikeouts. W L Pct GB Scherzer struck out six in 3 1/3 in- Houston 67 46 .593 _ nings. Oakland 65 48 .575 2 Seattle 59 55 .518 8-1/2 Giants 8, Diamondbacks 7 Los Angeles 57 57 .500 10-1/2 In San Francisco, LaMonte Wade Jr. Texas 40 73 .354 27 scored the winning run with two outs National League in the ninth inning when fi rst base- East Division Young Boys’ Meschack Elia, (left), fi ghts for the ball with CFR’s Ciprian Deac during the UEFA Champions League 2nd leg third qualifying round soccer match man Christian Walker failed to handle W L Pct GB Kris Bryant’s sharp grounder, and San Philadelphia 59 54 .522 _ between BSC Young Boys and CFR Cluj of Romania, at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland. Young Boys won 3-1. (AP) — See Page 14 Atlanta 58 55 .513 1 Francisco beat Arizona. New York 56 55 .505 2 The Giants won their third straight Washington 50 62 .446 8-1/2 Mejía singled with the bases loaded in and fi fth in six games, doing it the hard Miami 47 67 .412 12-1/2 ‘If we deliver on our potential, we’ll be champions again’ Central Division the ninth and Boston’s Hunter Renfroe way after going up 5-0 in the fi fth. W L Pct GB made a costly error on the play, help- Milwaukee 68 46 .596 _ ing the Rays extend their lead in the BASEBALL Cincinnati 61 53 .535 7 AL East to fi ve games. St Louis 56 56 .500 11 Mejía delivered a single to right. Chicago 52 63 .452 16-1/2 Bavarians seek to ‘complete’ Pittsburgh 41 72 .363 26-1/2 The ball skipped past Renfroe for an Brandon Crawford hit a go-ahead West Division error and that allowed all three runners double in the eighth and Buster Posey W L Pct GB to score, giving Tampa Bay a 7-4 lead. homered. San Francisco 72 41 .637 _ The Rays added another run on Bran- Braves 3, Reds 2 Los Angeles 68 45 .602 4 San Diego 66 49 .574 7 don Lowe’s single. decade of league domination In Atlanta, Adam Duvall hit a two- Colorado 51 62 .451 21 Cardinals 4, Pirates 1 run homer, Stephen Vogt’s bases-load- Arizona 35 79 .307 37-1/2 In Pittsburgh: J.A. Happ combined ed walk in the sixth forced in the go- BERLIN, Aug 11, (AP): Fans are back tinues. with a trio of relievers on a one-hit- but the fundamental question remains Cologne have already tightened their ahead run and Atlanta beat Cincinnati hit an early RBI single and Toronto ter, Tommy Edman and Paul DeJong in a matchup of second-place teams. the same as the season be- rules. Fans with at least a negative test earned a doubleheader split against homered early and St. Louis beat skid- gins Friday. result can attend their season-opening Drew Smyly (8-3) recovered after al- Los Angeles. ding Pittsburgh. lowing a two-run home run to Aristides Who can stop Bayern Munich? game against Hertha Berlin on Sunday, Justin Upton and Phil Gosselin each Happ (6-6) retired the fi rst nine bat- The Bavarian powerhouse have won but for future games only fully vacci- Aquino in the second inning to win his had two hits and two RBIs to help the ters, then gave up rookie Hoy Park’s sixth straight decision. Smyly allowed an unprecedented nine consecutive nated fans or those who have recovered Angels win the opener. fi rst career home run to lead off the German league titles and look likely to two runs on only two hits and two walks from COVID-19 can attend. Toronto batted last and was the fourth inning. He struck out fi ve and complete a decade of domination. and seven strikeouts in six innings. Bayern start their record-extending “home” team at Angel Stadium in the walked two. “The chase is on. The team know title bid at Mönchengladbach on Fri- Angels 6, Blue Jays 3, 1st game fi rst game, a makeup from an April 11 Royals 8, Yankees 4 Blue Jays 4, Angels 0, 2nd game that the others have no great interest in day. The defending champions have rainout at the Blue Jays’ temporary In Kansas City: Salvador Perez seeing us at the top for the 10th time In Anaheim, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a new coach in Julian Nagelsmann, home fi eld early this season in Duned- homered twice to set a career high with in a row. They’ll do all they can to get poached from Leipzig to replace Hansi in, Florida. In the regularly scheduled 29 this season, and Kansas City rallied us down,” said Bayern chairman Oliver Flick, who cut short his tenure to take nightcap, the Angels were the home to beat New York. Kahn, who does not expect the chal- over the Germany national team. team. Perez put the Royals ahead with a lengers to be successful. Guerrero, who has 35 home runs, two-run blast in the first inning and “If we deliver on our potential, we’ll gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the fi rst he tied the game at 4 leading off the be champions again,” Kahn said. “The SOCCER with an RBI single and then scored sixth. It was the fourth multi-homer team have shown than they are always on Teoscar Hernandez’s bloop single. game this season and 10th of his ca- capable of surpassing themselves.” In this Saturday, May 22, 2021 fi le The 34-year-old Nagelsmann en- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added a two-run reer for Perez, who marked the 10th Last season’s closest rival, Leip- photo Bayern’s goalkeeper Manuel joyed great success with Hoffenheim single with the bases loaded in the sixth. anniversary of his major league de- zig, fi nished 13 points behind Bayern Neuer holds the trophy after win- before confi rming his credentials at Twins 4, White Sox 3 but. last season, while ning the Bundesliga title after the Leipzig, which he led to the Cham- In Minnesota, Willians Astudillo hit Brewers 6, Cubs 3, 2nd game was 13 points adrift the season before German Bundesliga soccer match pions League semifi nals in his fi rst a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth In Chicago: Luis Urías had two hits that. It’s hard to see either team main- between Bayern Munich and FC season, then a German Cup fi nal and inning off Dallas Keuchel, and Min- during a six-run fi fth-inning rally as taining a season-long challenge again, Augsburg at the sta- second place in the Bundesliga is his nesota stopped Chicago’s win streak at Milwaukee completed a doubleheader while the likes of Borussia Möncheng- dium in Munich, Germany. (AP) next. four games. sweep of Chicago. ladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht French defender Dayot Upamecano Rookie starter Griffi n Jax (3-1) gave The nightcap was delayed for an Frankfurt and Wolfsburg will have to rus pandemic. The opening weekend also moved from Leipzig to Bayern af- the Twins a career-high six innings, hour, 29 minutes because of rain with address their own inconsistencies be- will be uncharacteristically loud as up ter the team met the 22-year-old’s buy- after falling behind 3-2 on consecu- one out in the top of the third, which fore they can break into the top three. to 25,000 spectators are permitted in out clause of 42.5 million euros ($50 tive homers by Adam Engel and José limited starter Aaron Ashby to two All the teams have new coaches in some stadiums. Smaller stadiums can million). Los Angeles Dodgers’ AJ Pollock Abreu in the third. Jax struck out a scoreless innings. The Brewers then charge. have up to 50% capacity. Bayern also signed English defender hits a two-run single off Philadelphia career-best 10 batters with only one used six pitchers to complete the fi nal Supporters are also a novelty as lim- Germany’s rate of new COVID-19 Omar Richards on a free transfer from Phillies relief pitcher Enyel De Los walk. fi ve innings. Miguel Sanchez (1-0) ited numbers are allowed back in stadi- infections - which has been picking up second-division Reading, but other- Santos during the sixth inning of a Rays 8, Red Sox 4 threw one pitch to get the fi nal out in ums after a season in which they were again in recent weeks - will determine wise it’s been a quiet summer of activ- baseball game in Philadelphia. (AP) In Boston: Tampa Bay’s Francisco the fourth inning for the win. largely excluded due to the coronavi- spectator numbers as the season con- ity for the league’s richest club.

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