Tuesday’s Sports In Brief

BASEBALL

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night, breaking Roger Maris’ American League record and setting what some fans consider baseball’s “clean” standard.

After slamming his helmet in a rare show of frustration when he went without a homer in the first game of the New York Yankees’ doubleheader at Texas, Judge hit the third pitch of the nightcap into the first row of seats in left field.

That trip around the bases after a long chase was certainly a mixture of pure joy and relief for No. 99, whose only homer in the previous 13 games had been when he tied Maris’ 61 last Wednesday in Toronto. Judge did it just in time, too, homering on the next-to-last day of the regular season.

Barry Bonds holds the major league record of 73 home runs, set with San Francisco in 2001.

Judge’s milestone ball was caught by Cory Youmans of Dallas, who was sitting in Section 31. When asked what he was going to do with the ball while being taken away with security to have the ball authenticated, Youmans responded, “Good question. I haven’t thought about it.”

Judge’s mother and father were in the stands to see the 30-year-old outfielder end a five-game homerless streak, including the earlier game Tuesday when he was 1 for 5 with a single.

The Maris family wasn’t in Texas after following Judge around for a while, but Roger Maris Jr. tweeted, “Congratulations to Aaron Judge and his family on Aaron’s historic home run number 62! It has definitely been a baseball season to remember. You are all class and someone who should be revered. For the MAJORITY of the fans, we can now celebrate a new CLEAN HOME RUN KING!!”

New York won the opener 5-4, and Texas took the nightcap 3-2.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Strasburg’s status for 2023 is up in the air after a series of injuries that limited the 2019 World Series MVP to one start this season, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said.

The 34-year-old right-hander has thrown a total of 31 1/3 innings across just eight starts over the past three seasons. He had carpal tunnel surgery in 2020, then needed an operation to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in 2021.

After his only start of 2022, he went back on the injured list with a stress reaction of the ribs. Strasburg is a three-time All-Star who signed a $245 million contract after helping Washington win a championship in 2019.

SOCCER

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson has removed himself from a decision-making role with the National Women’s Soccer League club until the findings are released from an ongoing investigation into numerous scandals around the league.

Paulson, also the owner of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers, announced his decision in a statement, a day after the release of the findings of a disturbing independent investigation into the NWSL’s abuse scandals commissioned by U.S. Soccer. A concurrent investigation is still being conducted jointly by the league and the players’ union, and Paulson plans to step away until its completion.

Gavin Wilkinson and Mike Golub, who have both served in executive roles with Paulson’s teams, also are stepping away from the Thorns. Paulson’s statement didn’t indicate whether the trio will also step away from the Timbers, and Paulson gave no indication he plans to sell the teams.

In the investigation report commissioned by U.S. Soccer, Paulson is accused of enabling and supporting former Thorns coach Paul Riley after Riley was accused of harassment and sexual coercion by players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim. The investigation also found that Paulson and Wilkinson made inappropriate workplace comments to women.

Golub is accused of making inappropriate sexual remarks in 2013 to former Thorns coach Cindy Parlow Cone, now the president of U.S. Soccer. Golub has previously faced criticism for his workplace behavior and his tolerance for others’ misbehavior.

In her investigative report, former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates also accused Thorns management of not being forthcoming with information around Riley’s departure from the team in 2015.

GENEVA (AP) — Ukraine is set to join Spain and Portugal in a combined bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

A person familiar with the project told The Associated Press that Ukraine is being added to the Spain-Portugal bid. The revitalized bid, which has been in the works for more than three years, was scheduled to be announced on Wednesday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made public.

Ukrainian soccer federation president Andriy Pavelko confirmed to the AP he will go to Switzerland for the announcement, but he declined to confirm details of the project. The addition of Ukraine to the European bid was first reported by British newspaper The Times of London.

F0OTBALL

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett is set to make his first start for the Pittsburgh Steelers visit Buffalo on Sunday.

Coach Mike Tomlin made the move with the Steelers 1-3 with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. Pickett, a former University of Pittsburgh star, was drafted 20th overall. Ben Roethlisberger retired after last season.

AUTO RACING

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Alex Bowman and Cody Shane Ware will miss the NASCAR Cup race Sunday because of injuries suffered in the new Next Gen car.

Bowman will miss a second consecutive race because of a concussion. Ware said he’s skipping the race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway because his broken right foot can’t handle the demands of a road course race. Kurt Busch has missed 11 consecutive races with a concussion.

Noah Gragson will again drive the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman’s absence means he’ll be eliminated from the playoffs. The field is cut from 12 to eight after Sunday’s race. J.J. Yeley will replace Ware in the No. 51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing.

GOLF

ROME (AP) — Whether Tiger Woods makes it to Italy or not for next year’s Ryder Cup, he’ll be an integral member of the U.S. team, captain Zach Johnson said at the year-to-go ceremonies.

Woods was a player on eight Ryder Cup teams and an assistant captain in 2018. But he broke bones in his right leg and ankle in a February 2021 car crash outside Los Angeles. Next year’s event will be held on the hilly Marco Simone course outside Rome.

HOCKEY

NEW YORK (AP) — Mathew Barzal has agreed to terms with the New York Islanders on an eight-year extension, a move that keeps the franchise’s top forward under contract for the balance of his prime.

The deal is worth $73.2 million with an annual salary cap hit of $9.15 million, according to a person with knowledge of the contract. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team did not announce terms.

TENNIS

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz’s first match as the No. 1-ranked player ended with a 7-5, 6-3 loss to David Goffin at the Astana Open.

Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-1.