By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Several major companies will be sponsoring an IndyCar race for the first time when the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, touted by President Donald Trump, takes place around Washington, D.C., on Sunday.

New backers include Boeing, SpaceX’s Starlink and Delta Air Lines, Bud Denker, the chair of the 250-mile (402-km) race and president of Penske Corp, said at a press conference on Thursday. Penske is running the event.

The event will cap off a series of celebrations of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

“I love the race,” Trump said when he signed the executive order calling for the race in January.

Trump will wave the green flag at the start of the race and take a lap around the course in the presidential limousine. Trump is expected to invite some executives to watch the race with him in a special suite, three sources said. Many of the companies will have corporate suites along the race course. 

The event has dozens of corporate sponsors, allowing executives to mingle with the many administration officials and lawmakers expected to be at the race.   

“This is also an opportunity for us to grow our sport and, by showcasing it to these companies that were never part of our sport,” Denker said.

IndyCar’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix will involve drivers hitting speeds of 170 miles per hour (274 kph) on historic Pennsylvania Avenue, around the National Archives and through some of the country’s cultural ‌institutions on Saturday and Sunday.

Denker said Delta CEO Ed Bastian will attend.

Other companies sponsoring the event include General Motors, Honda, United Airlines, Amazon.com’s AWS unit, Shell, Gulfstream, Altria, Verizon and Washington Gas. Many senior executives and members of Congress are expected to be on hand, the sources said. 

The White House referred questions about Trump’s plans for the race to Penske.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city expects 140,000 people to attend race events each day. A large swath of downtown will close to traffic.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Chris Sanders and Rod Nickel)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jacob Cowing let out a season’s worth of frustration with one electric play.

He returned a punt for an 83-yard touchdown in the San Francisco 49ers’ 41-17 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night.

Cowing showed off his speed and agility after the Chargers went 3-and-out with three minutes left in the second quarter. Chargers punter JK Scott kicked 52 yards to the 49ers’ 17-yard line, where Cowing fielded the ball. He dashed to the left and ran in for the score, giving San Francisco a 17-3 lead.

“It was a special moment,” Cowing said. “Huge shoutout to the guys that were on that field blocking for me and gave great effort. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been in the house.”

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan called it “a big-time play.”

“He’s always shown us his talent since he’s been here and he’s been able to string together a couple healthy weeks,” Shanahan said.

Cowing missed all of last season after injuring his hamstring during the preseason. Now he’s healthy and battling for a roster spot at wide receiver.

“It was a lot going on last year, and a lot of mental warfare going on, and you know things happening over and over and over again, injury-wise,” Cowing said. “I’m happy that I was able to come out of the game healthy and put my name out there again.”

Eddy Pineiro kicked a pair of field goals and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy saw his first preseason action, going 4 of 6 for 29 yards in the first quarter.

“I thought it was good, just in terms of breaking the huddle, calling plays, feeling the pocket, getting hit, like throwing the ball,” Purdy said.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert played the opening series in his first appearance of the preseason. He was 1 of 2, hitting Charlie Kolar with a 9-yard pass as the team went 3-and-out.

The 49ers (1-1) got field goals of 48 and 45 yards from Pineiro in the second quarter and led 20-3 at halftime. Their other TDs came on a 7-yard run by Sincere McCormick and a 1-yard plunge by fourth-string running back Khalil Herbert.

49ers running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t play although he was on the field for pregame warmups. Shanahan has downplayed what he described as “tightness” for McCaffrey, saying the veteran would be practicing if it was the regular season.

The Chargers were stuck in neutral most of the game. They had eight punts, seven penalties and eight first downs. They scored late in the game on Jerand Bradley’s 28-yard TD catch from DJ Uiagalelei and Evan Svoboda’s 2-point conversion.

“We got outplayed and we beat ourselves in all three phases,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We have a lot of things to work on.”

Los Angeles (1-1) closed to 20-9 in the third. 49ers’ fourth-string QB Adrian Martinez’s pass for Cowing was intercepted by Junior Colson, who ran 16 yards for the score. Cameron Dicker’s extra point attempt went wide left. Dicker hit a 21-yard field goal for the Chargers’ first points of the game.

Martinez scored on a 9-yard keeper and then hit Jordan Watkins for a 17-yard TD in the fourth.

49ers backup QB Mac Jones took over on their second drive of the game. He was 6 of 13 for 89 yards.

Rookie De’Zhaun Stribling and KhaDarel Hodge led the 49ers’ receivers with four catches for 46 yards apiece. McCormick was their top rusher with 53 yards on six carries.

Chargers backup QB Trey Lance, a former top pick of the 49ers, was 10 of 16 for 73 yards.

Chargers left tackle Branson Taylor was hurt on a play in the second quarter and did not return.

49ers: At Las Vegas next Thursday in final preseason game.

Chargers: Host SoFi Stadium cotenant the Rams next Thursday to close preseason.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

By Chiranjit Ojha

Aug 21 (Reuters) – Jordan Burroughs thought he had stepped off the mat for the last time when he retired after the 2024 world championships, but the Olympic gold medallist never lost his desire to compete and when a new professional promotion came calling the American knew it was time to dust off the singlet.

The 38-year-old, who won gold at the 2012 London Olympics, will return to competition in Cleveland on Saturday with Real American Freestyle (RAF), which was launched last year with the aim of giving wrestlers the chance to earn money from the sport.

And for Burroughs, it also offers him the chance to get in shape for a tilt at making the U.S. team for a home Olympics at Los Angeles in 2028, a dream which he acknowledges is a long shot.

“There’s an element of national pride that comes alongside with competing at home,” the six-times world champion told Reuters in a video call.

“So yes, there is a part of me that would like to potentially try again. But I’d also be 40-years-old in 2028.

“I’m up against some Herculean odds. But if there’s anyone that can do it, I believe I’m capable of doing something that crazy.”

‘TRUE PROFESSIONALS’

Burroughs also hopes his competitive return will serve as an example for the students at his youth wrestling club in New Jersey, where he has been training daily for the last two months for two matches in successive RAF events.

“I feel like the best way to create a vision for someone is to show them,” he added.

After facing Sean Brady on Saturday, Burroughs will take on former world champion Magomed Kurbanaliev in Moscow on September 5 in the RAF’s second international event.

It made its international debut in Tbilisi last month in an event where Kyle Snyder pinned fellow former world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev in front of a sold-out crowd.

RAF co-founder and CEO Chad Bronstein said the promotion is also in talks to host events in India, the Middle East, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Japan.

“Wrestling is a very international sport,” Bronstein said.

“We plan on continuing to grow the sport and in order to grow it, that’s where you’ve got to be … we have to be able to bring in athletes from all over.”

Bronstein said the promotion, which has also launched youth tournaments called “RAF Next Gen” alongside its main events, aims to provide a lucrative outlet for wrestlers who were unable to earn compensation under the sport’s traditional amateur structure.

Burroughs said the RAF events had brought public attention to the sport, which has a limited following outside the Olympics and world championships.

“They’re pushing the culture forward,” he said.

“For years, we’ve been considered ‘amateur wrestling’… even at the Olympics and the world championships we’ve been considered amateur wrestlers and it’s just never really sat right with me. 

“And now we have an opportunity to call ourselves true professionals.”

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Las Vegas rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw a pick-6 in his second preseason game, but the Raiders rallied for a 22-20 win over the host Houston Texans on Thursday.

Aidan O’Connell drove the Raiders 96 yards in eight plays in the last two minutes, capping the march with a 1-yard touchdown run with 14 seconds remaining.

Mendoza, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, completed 8 of 15 passes for 86 yards and the one interception. He played the entire first half, which ended with Las Vegas trailing 20-3.

O’Connell, a four-year veteran with Las Vegas, wound up 15 of 24 for 166 yards as the Raiders (1-1) outscored the Texans 19-0 after the break.

Las Vegas’ presumptive starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, did not play.

Houston (0-2) drove 69 yards on the game’s first possession and jumped on top with a 20-yard touchdown run from Woody Marks.

On the ensuing drive, Wade Woodaz picked off a Mendoza pass intended for Mike Washington Jr. over the middle and returned it 80 yards for a 14-0 lead. Woodaz is a rookie fourth-round pick from Clemson.

Texans starting quarterback C.J. Stroud got his first action of the preseason, leading the opening TD drive. He connected on 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards. Marks finished with 37 yards on four carries.

Washington ran nine times for 56 yards to lead the Las Vegas ground game.

The Raiders outgained the Texans 400-219.

49ers 41, Chargers 17

Jacob Cowing returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown as San Francisco cruised to a victory over Los Angeles in Inglewood, Calif.

Sincere McCormick paced the 49ers’ rushing attack with six carries for 53 yards. He scored the game’s first touchdown on a 7-yard run in the second quarter. In all, San Francisco (1-1) rolled up 146 yards on 36 carries.

Trey Lance, the second of three quarterbacks who saw action for the Chargers (1-1), connected on 10 of 16 passes for 73 yards. He also was the host’s top ground-gainer, running for 42 yards on two carries.

Los Angeles’ Junior Colson returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown.

The teams’ starting quarterbacks played one series apiece. San Francisco’s Brock Purdy went 4-for-6 for 29 yards, while Los Angeles’ Justin Herbert completed 1 of 2 passes for 9 yards.

–Field Level Media

HOUSTON (AP) — Top pick Fernando Mendoza is finding out quickly that he has a lot of work to do as he begins his NFL career.

Mendoza struggled in his second preseason game, throwing an interception that Houston returned for a touchdown before the Las Vegas Raiders rallied late for a 22-20 victory over the Texans on Thursday night.

Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to a national title, played the first half and went 8 of 15 for 86 yards. The performance came after he threw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut last week against Arizona playing behind Kirk Cousins.

“I came away with there’s a lot more learning to do, and although that maybe you may have had a lot of success at another level, this level is a whole step further and that the margins are so small, and that one tiny mistake can lead to catastrophe,” Mendoza said.

On Thursday, Mendoza’s third pass was overthrown and intercepted by Wade Woodaz, who returned it 80 yards for a touchdown that made it 14-0. Mendoza chased him down, but Woodaz shoved him aside near the 15 and continued to the end zone.

“That’s what we are built for is attacking the football, so when we do that it puts us in a really good position,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said.

Mendoza was sacked once and took several other hits playing against Houston’s second-string defense. He played five series and led his team to just one field goal.

“I think there’s plenty to clean up, plenty to get better at,” Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak said. “Plenty that we can do better for him as coaches. Plenty that he can learn from.”

Though Cousins is expected to start in Week 1, Kubiak wouldn’t say that after the game.

“We got another week of playing. I don’t want anyone to be comfortable in their job,” he said. “It should always be that way from all positions, so let’s keep going forward.”

C.J. Stroud led the Texans (0-2) to a touchdown on his only series in his first action of the preseason. Stroud and the offensive line were among the few Texans starters who played.

Stroud was 4 of 6 for 27 yards, and a 20-yard scoring run by Woody Marks on the drive he led made it 7-0.

“C.J. made some really good decisions,” Ryans said. “Didn’t throw it around a ton but when he did throw it, it was good decisions with the football.”

The Raiders (1-1) also rested most of their starters, including Cousins, defensive end Maxx Crosby, running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers.

A 4-yard run by Dylan Laube with about five minutes left in the third got the Raiders within 20-10.

Former Texan Dare Ogunbowale scored on a 19-yard run with less than eight minutes to go. Kansei Matsuzawa’s extra point failed to make it 20-16.

Aidan O’Connell relieved Mendoza in the second half. He scored a 1-yard touchdown on a tush push with 14 seconds to go to put the Raiders ahead 22-20. Matsuzawa missed that extra point, too.

Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn made field goals of 51 and 57 yards in his first preseason action after sitting out last week. Matt Gay kicked a 52-yarder in the second quarter for the Raiders.

Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, played the entire first half after sitting out last week. He rejoined the Texans on a one-year contract earlier this month after spending his first five seasons in Houston.

He had a tackle and a quarterback hurry Thursday night. Clowney spent last season with the Cowboys and had 8 1/2 sacks.

Las Vegas linebacker Buddy Johnson left early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury but returned in the fourth. … Las Vegas CB Chigozie Anusiem was carted off the field in the third quarter with a knee injury.

Raiders: Host San Francisco next Thursday night in their final preseason game.

Texans: End the preseason with a visit to Carolina on Aug. 28.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Aug 21 (Reuters) – The Global Alliance for Female Athletes (GAFA) has expanded from four to nine members with Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland joining the initiative, the Australian Sports Commission said on Friday.

Aimed at improving health and performance outcomes for women in sport, GAFA was launched last year by organisations from Australia, the U.S., Britain and New Zealand.

Ireland and Belgium have also joined the initiative as supporting partners.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which helped establish the alliance, said the new members would strengthen international collaboration in addressing research gaps and enhance support for female athletes, coaches and sports medicine practitioners.

“The growth of GAFA to nine nations shows there is enormous appetite around the world to work together, share knowledge and create lasting change for female athletes,” AIS Female Performance Health Initiative lead Rachel Harris said in a statement.

“By working together across borders, we’re able to accelerate research, share lessons faster and ensure more female athletes benefit from the latest evidence and insights.”

Harris said a key priority for the alliance was ensuring that female-focused research reaches athletes, coaches and health professionals around the world.

The expansion comes amid growing efforts to address female-specific health issues in sport, including anterior cruciate ligament injuries, with studies showing female athletes are two to six times more likely to sustain the injury than men.

(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

The St. Louis Cardinals overcame a grand slam with help from a crucial error in the top of the ninth inning, holding on for a 10-9 win over the host Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.

With St. Louis trailing 5-4 and down to its final out, JJ Wetherholt’s routine fly ball to left-center field hit off the glove of Reds center fielder Dane Myers, allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score. The Cardinals then teed off on Reds reliever Brock Burke, who had trouble with command after the Myers gaffe. Burke (5-5) was charged with six unearned runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.

The Reds rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth to cut the Cardinals’ lead to one, but left the bases loaded when reliever Riley O’Brien got Matt McLain to line out to right field to end the game.

Jordan Walker homered for the Cardinals, who won the rubber match of the rare five-game series. McLain provided Cincinnati’s go-ahead grand slam in a five-run sixth, but the Reds have lost five of their last seven games.

Angels 18, Astros 3

Zach Neto paired a five-hit game with a career-best seven RBIs to pace visiting Los Angeles to a dismantling of Houston in the rubber match of a three-game intradivision series.

The Angels recorded 18 hits en route to a season-high run total. Neto finished 5-for-6, while Vaughn Grissom went 3-for-6 with three RBIs. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (4-5) allowed two unearned runs in the bottom of the first but cruised the rest of his outing, allowing five hits over seven innings.

Astros right-hander Peter Lambert (8-7) was saddled with nine runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. He surrendered season highs in runs and hits while retiring a season-low 11 batters. The Astros have dropped consecutive series at home to opponents with losing records.

Guardians 5, Giants 2

Gavin Williams fired 11 strikeouts and Patrick Bailey had two hits and an RBI against his former team, sparking host Cleveland past San Francisco.

Williams (12-7) went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits. It was the Guardians’ first home series victory since June 26-28 against the Seattle Mariners. Cade Smith walked two in the ninth before retiring Rafael Devers on a fly to center for the final out, earning his 32nd save.

Giants starter Landen Roupp (7-13) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He was charged with his final run when Sam Hentges gave up an RBI single to Steven Kwan.

Blue Jays 5, Rays 1

Kazuma Okamoto led a three-home-run attack, Shane Bieber topped Tampa Bay for the second time this season and visiting Toronto claimed a series win as the Blue Jays improved to 9-4 in their past 13 contests.

Okamoto went 2-for-5 with a double and his second homer of the series. Daz Cameron and Nathan Lukes added solo shots for the Blue Jays. Bieber (5-2) went seven innings and allowed a run on four hits.

Yandy Diaz was 2-for-4 and Chandler Simpson singled to extend their hitting streaks to 11 games apiece, but the American League’s top club managed just five hits and finished their seven-game homestand with a 2-5 record.

Braves 2, White Sox 0

Austin Riley had two hits and two RBIs and Grant Holmes pitched six-plus innings to spark a combined one-hitter as visiting Atlanta defeated Chicago in a makeup game from June.

Holmes (8-5) took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before Andrew Benintendi lined an opposite-field single to left after a leadoff walk. Didier Fuentes entered and kept the Braves’ shutout intact with three straight strikeouts. Raisel Iglesias struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his 26th save.

White Sox starter Anthony Kay (9-6) yielded two runs and five hits in six innings.

Royals 6, Athletics 2

Bobby Witt Jr. homered among his two hits and scored three times, while Salvador Perez and Michael Massey each had three hits to propel Kansas City to a four-game sweep of the visiting Athletics — the first time that’s happened since 1994.

Nick Loftin added an RBI triple in the Royals’ 12-hit attack. Starting pitcher Randy Dobnak scattered six hits across four scoreless innings. Left-hander Connor Thomas (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Carlos Cortes and Lawrence Butler had two hits for the A’s. Starting pitcher Gage Jump (5-8) allowed five runs on eight hits in four innings.

Brewers 7, Mariners 4

Garrett Mitchell had two doubles, a home run and three RBIs for host Milwaukee against Seattle in the rubber game of their three-game series.

Gary Sanchez drove in two runs and David Hamilton had two hits and an RBI for the Brewers, who have won four of five and own the best record in MLB at 79-49. Chad Patrick (7-4) and Aaron Ashby combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief before Trevor Megill pitched the ninth for his 23rd save of the season.

Mariners starter George Kirby (8-10) was roughed up for six runs, all in the first inning, and nine hits in 3 1/3 frames. Brendan Donovan had two hits and two RBIs for Seattle, which had won three of four.

Yankees 6, Orioles 1

Gerrit Cole pitched six strong innings, Luis Garcia Jr. and Spencer Jones homered and New York completed a three-game sweep of host Baltimore and won its fourth straight contest — all on the road.

Cole (7-6) held the Orioles to one run on four hits while striking out eight. Reliever Ryan Yarbrough matched his longest outing of the season with three hitless innings to pick up his third save out of the Yankees’ bullpen. Garcia and Jones each posted three hits and two runs.

Dylan Beavers homered for the second game in a row, but Baltimore’s losing streak reached four games. Teammate Pete Alonso had two hits. Kyle Bradish (7-12) went 5 2/3 innings as the Orioles’ starter, with only three of the five runs charged as earned. He gave up eight hits.

Rangers 2, Nationals 0

Jacob deGrom recorded his 2,000th career strikeout while pitching six one-hit innings as Texas beat Washington in Arlington, Texas.

deGrom (9-8), who allowed just a one-out single by Brady House in the second inning, tied his season high with 10 strikeouts. Three relievers finished the combined one-hitter, with Jacob Latz pitching the ninth for his 25th save. deGrom reached 2,000 K’s by fanning the first two batters of the game, hitting the mark when Abimelec Ortiz went down swinging.

Washington starter Andrew Alvarez (2-5) gave up a run on four hits over five innings. House also walked twice for the Nationals, who have lost five of six. The Rangers have alternated losses and wins for six games.

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated second baseman Ketel Marte from the restricted list and transferred the three-time All-Star to the 10-day injured list due to left knee inflammation on Thursday.

Marte and his agent, Charisse Espinosa-Dash, met with Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo on Thursday afternoon in Scottsdale, Ariz., to discuss what transpired in the wake of Marte not showing up for the team’s Monday game in Boston.

According to Hazen, Marte received an injection in the knee to help with the inflammation that was found by an MRI.

“I’m not gonna get into specifics,” Hazen said of his talks with Marte and Espinosa-Dash. “I feel like the conversation and meeting was productive. We discussed the last week. That, obviously, I’m not going to get into. He’ll talk to his teammates at some point and we’ll go from there.”

Lovullo had texted with Marte but the two had not spoken since the Monday no-show, and teammates also struggled to track down the 32-year-old veteran. Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said he did hear from his double-play partner on Tuesday and confirmed the MRI.

Marte exited the Diamondbacks’ Aug. 14 game against the Atlanta Braves with knee soreness and sat out the next day. He returned to play second base on Sunday and traveled with the team for the series against the Red Sox.

The drama began when he did not report to the ballpark on Monday, leaving Lovullo in the dark about his lineup until 20 minutes before game time. The team subsequently put Marte on the restricted list.

Due to the fact that Marte was on the restricted list, his IL stint cannot be backdated to Sunday. He will need to miss 10 days, starting with Thursday.

On Wednesday, Arizona snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-6, 10-inning win in Boston. The Diamondbacks, who were idle on Thursday, will host the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series that begins on Friday.

The Diamondbacks are one game behind the San Diego Padres for the final wild-card spot in the National League.

–Field Level Media

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte will be transferred to the 10-day injured list from the restricted list, three days after he failed to show up for a game in Boston.

General manager Mike Hazen confirmed Thursday that Marte is headed to the injured list and will return once he’s healthy, which The Arizona Republic and MLB.com first reported.

The three-time All-Star traveled back to Phoenix for tests on his left knee Tuesday. Manager Torey Lovullo said he has struggled to get information from the veteran slugger throughout the process.

Marte’s absence and apparent injury come at a difficult time for the D-backs, who are fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since a run to the World Series in 2023. Arizona has a 67-61 record and is one game behind the San Diego Padres for the final National League wild-card spot.

Marte is hitting .249 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs so far this season.

This wasn’t the first time Marte had a strange disappearance.

Last season, he went on the restricted list when his home in Arizona was broken into during the All-Star break. He missed three games after flying back to his native Dominican Republic and later apologized for his absence.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom reached a strikeout milestone on Thursday in a hurry, appropriately.

By fanning the first two Washington Nationals batters in Arlington, Texas, deGrom became the second-fastest pitcher to record 2,000 career strikeouts.

deGrom reached the mark in his 272nd game, leaving him behind only Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who got there in 262 games. deGrom notched strikeout No. 2,000 after 1,661 innings, trailing only Chris Sale’s 1,626 innings.

On Thursday, deGrom struck out Daylen Lile swinging to open the game, then got Abimelec Ortiz to swing through a 1-2 slider for the whiff No. 2,000.

The Rangers’ dugout stood and applauded as the scoreboard flashed a message showing deGrom’s accomplishment. deGrom, 38, doffed his cap to acknowledge the fans’ response.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner and five-time All-Star is the 95th major league pitcher to strike out 2,000 batters, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Earlier this season, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (May 11), Boston Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray (June 28) and Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (Aug. 8) added their names to the list.

deGrom left the Thursday game after six shutout innings, having struck out 10 while permitting only one hit (a second-inning single) and one walk. He lowered his ERA to 3.77 through 23 starts this year.

deGrom is in his fourth season with Texas after pitching for the New York Mets from 2014-22. For his career before Thursday, deGrom had a 104-73 record with a 2.67 ERA that was the best among qualified active starting pitchers.

–Field Level Media