BASEBALL

Phillip Sikes hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and five Portland pitchers combined for one-hitters as the Sea Dogs earned a 2-1 victory over the Somerset Patriots in an Eastern League game Friday night at Hadlock Field.

Allan Castro’s first Double-A home run gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Wikelman Gonzalez, meanwhile, went five innings without a hit, but Somerset got his only hit in the sixth inning and then tied the game against rehabbed Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Justin Slaten. Rafael Flores broke the no-hit attempt with a single after rehabbed New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo drew a leadoff walk. Rizzo finally scored on a wild pitch.

A leadoff double by Nathan Hickey in the ninth inning set up the decisive run. Pinch runner Elih Marrero got to third base on a single by Alex Binelas and scored on Sikes’ fly ball to center field.

Gonzalez had six strikeouts and three walks. Christopher Troye, Alex Hoppe and Zach Bryant (4-1) completed the win, and the Sea Dogs extended their lead in the Northeast Division to 5 1/2 games over Somerset.

• Boston Red Sox minor league pitcher Anthony Felix was suspended for 56 games on Friday after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance stanozolol as part of baseball’s doping program for players who play outside the United States and Canada.

Felix, a 20-year-old right-hander, signed with Boston in June for a $10,000 signing bonus and had a 2-0 record with a 3.55 ERA and two saves in 14 Dominican Summer League games.

CAR RACING

NASCAR: Michael McDowell took the pole for the Cup Series 400-mile race at Daytona Interna on Saturday night, beating his Front Row Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland in qualifying.

Joey Logano finished third for Team Penske, followed by Ryan Preece, Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing.

For McDowell it was the fourth pole this season.

Universities

BIG12: Big 12 presidents are scheduled to discuss a possible invitation for UConn to join the conference next week after university officials personally made an offer to the league that included a hefty investment in the Huskies’ struggling football program, two people familiar with the talks told the Associated Press.

The people said a plan to admit UConn, which has won the last two national championships in men’s college basketball, would include the school’s football team remaining independent through 2031 and that current members would not take a cut of their currently expected share of conference revenue.

ICE HOCKEY

AHL: The American Hockey League has announced that starting this season, all players and officials on all 32 teams will be required to wear cut-resistant neck protection.

AHL President and CEO Scott Howson said the league’s board of directors unanimously approved the measure, which applies to all skaters and officials, regardless of age and experience.

The International Ice Hockey Federation announced in December that it would require neck braces at all tournaments it hosts. The NHL has no requirement and this would be subject to negotiations between the league and the players’ union.

NHL: The San Jose Sharks have signed promising young goalie Yaroslav Askarov from Nashville. The deal secures the Predators a first-round pick for 2025.

The 22-year-old Askarov reportedly asked for a transfer because Juuse Saros blocked his path to the starting position in Nashville.

FOOTBALL

ITALY: US midfielder Weston McKennie has signed a contract extension to stay at Juventus until June 2026, the Italian club announced.

McKennie had 10 assists across all competitions for Juventus last season – the most of any team.

GERMANY: In the 11th minute of injury time, Florian Wirtz’s penalty was saved, but he converted the rebound and secured a 3-2 victory for reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen in their season opener against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

RIDE A BIKE

SPANISH VUELTA: Wout van Aert secured his second stage win in this edition of the Spanish Vuelta, while Ben O’Connor maintained his commanding overall lead.

Van Aert built on his victory on stage three with another dominant performance and won stage seven – a 180.5 kilometer ride from Archidona to Cordoba in 4 hours and 15 minutes. Mathias Vacek came second.

O’Connor maintained his lead of 4 minutes and 45 seconds over three-time overall winner Primoz Roglic, his closest rival.