CJ Abrams went deep on the first two pitches he saw from Zach Eflin, and the Washington Nationals hit five homers in a 10-4 victory over the free-falling Baltimore Orioles for a three-game sweep. Luis Garcia Jr. and Dylan Crews also connected against Eflin during a six-run second inning that helped Washington complete its first sweep of the season. Josh Bell’s solo shot off Brian Baker completed Washington’s first five-homer game since Sept. 29, 2023. Baltimore has lost six straight and 12 of 14, the final two of those following the firing of manager Brandon Hyde.

Philadelphia Phillies closer José Alvarado has been suspended for 80 games following a positive test for external testosterone under Major League Baseball’s drug-testing program. Alvarado became the second player suspended this year under the big league testing program after Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the positive test was caused by a weight loss drug Alvarado took during the offseason. Barring rainouts that push games into later this season, Alvarado would be eligible to return on Aug. 19 against Seattle. Because of the suspension, he would be ineligible for the postseason.

Over the past three months, a number of U.S. colleges have added or dropped entire sports programs on the eve of dramatic changes coming to college athletics under the $2.8 billion NCAA settlement. UTEP dropped women’s tennis, Cal Poly discontinued swimming and diving, Marquette added women’s swimming and Grand Canyon shuttered a historically dominant men’s volleyball program. It was a dizzying set of decisions that appears to offer no pattern except one: Every school is facing a choice on which programs to carry forward once the money really starts flowing.

Umberto Rispoli became the first jockey from Italy to win a Triple Crown race when he squeezed between horses around the top of the stretch and then rode Journalism to a tremendous rally in the stretch run of the Preakness. Rispoli’s colt was the even-money favorite, but this was no easy trip. He kept Journalism near the rail. That saved ground but forced him to slip between Goal Oriented and Clever Again before he could even begin making a run at 15-1 shot Gosger.