Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal in Rio, this time by helping rally the Americans to victory in the 4×200 relay. Ledecky joined U.S. teammates Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith and Maya Dirado to finish ahead of the field in 7 minutes, 43.03 seconds. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte advanced to the final of the 200 meter individual medley to be held Thursday. Phelps will be seeking his fourth straight 200 IM title.
After winning its first two games in Rio by a combined 101 points, the U.S. men’s basketball team faced its first test against
Australia and trailed early in the fourth quarter before pulling out a 98-88 victory to advance to the medal round. Carmelo Anthony had 31 points to move past LeBron James as the top scorer in U.S. men’s Olympic history. The women’s team pulled away for another big win, routing Serbia 110-84 behind a career game by Diana Taurasi. The U.S. trailed 17-16 before Taurasi took over, as she scored 22 of her Olympic-best 25 points in the first half. Next up for the Americans is Canada on Friday.
Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross completed the preliminary round of women’s beach volleyball undefeated, but received a stiff test before taking down the Swiss team of Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre 21-13, 22-24, 15-12. On the men’s side, the American team of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson was eliminated, the first time a U.S men’s team failed to advance out of pool play since the 2004 Games.
The Argentina soccer team, a two-time Olympic champion, has been eliminated following a 1-1 draw to Honduras, which advanced to the quarterfinals along with Portugal. Mexico, which upset Brazil in the 2012 final, also failed to advance after falling 1-0 to South Korea. Brazil did reach the quarters with a 4-0 victory over Denmark, avoiding another embarrassment in front of the home fans after it was held to scoreless draws in its first two group matches.
>>Cubs Cut Down Angels For Ninth Straight Win
(Chicago, IL) — The Cubs extended their win streak to nine games with a 3-1 victory over the Angels. Jason Hammel fired seven innings of four-hit, shutout ball to improve to 12-and-5. Aroldis Chapman closed it out for his fourth save. Addison Russell drilled a solo homer for Chicago, which is a season-high 30 games over .500.
>>Cards Take Rubber Match From Reds
(St. Louis, MO) — Matt Carpenter and Jhonny Peralta each hit solo shots to lift the Cardinals to a 3-2 win against the Reds in the rubber match of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Jaime Garcia improved to 9-and-8, dealing eight innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. St. Louis handed Anthony DeSclafani first loss of the season. The Cardinals begin a nine-game, three-city road trip tonight in Chicago. They take on the Cubs in the first of a four-game series at Wrigley Field. Carlos Martinez will oppose Chicago’s Jon Lester at 7:05 p.m.
>>Royals Edge White Sox In 14
(Kansas City, MO) — Lorenzo Cain’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 14th sent the Royals to a 3-2 win over the White Sox. The marathon was extended when both teams scored in their half of the 11th. J.B. Shuck launched a solo homer for Chicago. Matt Albers suffered his fifth loss. The White Sox and Royals meet in the rubber match of their three-game set tonight in Kansas City. The White Sox are 54-and-59. Miguel Gonzalez will be on the bump for Chicago. Kansas City will send out Danny Duffy.
>>Bears Open Preseason Play Tonight
(Chicago, IL) — The Bears raise the curtain on preseason play tonight. Chicago kicks off the exhibition schedule against the Broncos at Soldier Field. It’s the first of four preseason games for the Bears, who will visit the Patriots next week.
>>Colts Open Preseason Saturday
(Indianapolis, IN) — The Colts kick-off the preseason on Saturday at home against the Buffalo Bills. This game serves as the opener after the Hall of Fame Game was cancelled last Sunday. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.