Piastri claims pole at Spanish GP

Max Verstappen has his work cut out to keep his Spanish Grand Prix streak going after Oscar Piastri claimed pole position ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris on Saturday. The McLaren lockout of the front row gives the papaya-colored cars a big advantage over Verstappen, whose Red Bull will start Sunday’s race from third on the grid. New rules for stiffer front wings in the race appeared to have zero impact on McLaren’s speed over a single lap. Verstappen was never at the top of the time charts in the final session of qualifying, which turned into another duel between the McLarens. Points leader Piastri was behind Norris until he peeled off a blistering final effort and grabbed the edge on the starting grid. The race promises to be an equally scintillating fight between the teammates who have won six of the first eight races of the season and put Verstappen’s grip on F1 in jeopardy. Piastri leads Norris by three points in the standings through the first third of the season. “It is going to be tough tomorrow,” Verstappen said. “That doesn’t mean we are not going to try.”

Ohtani, Judge have historic inning

Reigning MVPs Aaron Judge, pictured, and Shohei Ohtani blasted historic home runs in the first inning as the Yankees and Dodgers met Friday night in a rematch of last year’s World Series. Judge got the fireworks going with a 446-foot solo shot to dead center on a 1-1 pitch from Tony Gonsolin. The Yankees slugger’s 19th homer of the season tied him with Kyle Schwarber for third in the majors. Ohtani matched him in the bottom of the frame with a 417-foot homer to center on the first pitch from Max Fried in front of a sellout crowd of 53,276. “I felt like he was copying me,” a smiling Judge said. It’s the first time reigning MVPs homered in the first inning of a game in major league history. The Giants’ Barry Bonds and the Athletics’ Miguel Tejada were the first reigning MVPs to homer in the same game, including the World Series, on June 30, 2002. “I really thought it was important to be able to score another run in that situation, knowing that momentum is really important,” Ohtani said through a translator. Judge downplayed the tit-for-tat with Ohtani. “Try not to think about it,” he said.

Thousands honor Gaudreaus in 5K

A few days after brothers John and Matthew Gaudreau died when they were struck by a driver while riding bicycles on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding, family friends were visiting parents Guy, pictured, and Jane at their home during a rainstorm. Looking outside after the skies cleared, they saw a double rainbow that brought them some momentary peace. Since then, Jane Gaudreau had not gotten any signs she attributed to her sons, so she sat in their room Friday and asked them for some divine intervention to clear out bad weather in time for an event to honor their legacies. After a brief scare of a tornado watch the night before, a rainbow appeared Saturday morning about an hour before the sun came out for the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run and Family Day. “I was so relieved,” Jane said. “I was like, ‘Well, there’s my sign.’” Thousands attended the event at Washington Lake Park in southern New Jersey, a place John and Matthew went hundreds of times as kids and around the corner from Hollydell Ice Arena, where they started playing hockey. —Associated Press