Digest

SOCCER

Messi fires five goals to move past Puskas mark

Lionel Messi scored five goals for Argentina for the first time in a 5-0 rout of Estonia in a friendly match in Spain on Sunday, becoming the fourth-highest scorer for a national team in men's soccer.

Messi scored twice in the first half, including from a penalty, and three times after the interval to reach 86 international goals. He moved past the 84 goals of late Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 117 goals－including two on Sunday as Portugal routed Switzerland 4-0 in the Nations League－followed by Iran's Ali Daei with 109 and Mokhtar Dahari of Malaysia with 89.

Messi had never scored five times before for Argentina at senior level. He scored five goals with Barcelona in a 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 of the 2011-12 Champions League.

The 34-year-old Messi had two assists last week when Argentina defeated Italy 3-0 in the first Finalissima meeting of the South American and European champions. He last year helped Argentina win the Copa America for his first major title with the national team.

Argentina is unbeaten in its last 33 matches.

Bale helps Wales end 64-year World Cup wait

Weeks of back spasms were not going to stop Gareth Bale's mission to lead Wales back to the World Cup.

Try stopping the captain taking to the field when there is a 64-year drought to end.

Try stopping a freekick from a forward who was once the world's costliest soccer player. Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko could only divert it into his own net with a header.

The 1-0 win over Ukraine on Sunday, secured in the 34th minute in the Cardiff rain, was enough to send Wales back to the World Cup as the country with the longest gap between qualifications for the FIFA showpiece.

"It's the greatest result in the history of Welsh football," Bale said. "I'm just delighted we are going to a World Cup. It means everything, it's what dreams are made of. I'm speechless. I'm so glad we've done it for these amazing fans."

Bale was one of those spectators for the remaining 10 minutes or so after being substituted when his body could offer no more.

ICE HOCKEY

Palat's late Lightning strike reels in Rangers

Ondrej Palat scored with 42 seconds left and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference finals to 2-1.

Palat's goal, off a nifty pass from Nikita Kucherov, capped a comeback that began after Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in a span of just over two minutes in the second period to put the Rangers up 2-0.

Facing the prospect of falling behind 3-0 in a series that began with a pair of losses on the road, the Lightning rallied with Kucherov scoring on the power play in the second period and Steven Stamkos blistering a shot past goalie Igor Shesterkin from the left circle early in the third.

Game 4 is Tuesday night, with New York still in a position to move within one victory of its first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 2014.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for the Lightning.

BASEBALL

Yanks surge to best MLB start since 2001

Josh Donaldson hit a 10th-inning sacrifice fly, and the New York Yankees came from behind twice to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Sunday to reach the one-third mark of the season at 39-15, the best in the major leagues in 21 years.

Joey Gallo's two-run homer overcame an early deficit and the Yankees won for the 10th time in 12 games, completing a three-game sweep of the Tigers and extending their winning streak to six.

Their 39-15 record is the winningest after the season's first third since the 2001 Seattle Mariners were 42-12.

"Just a lot of guys with a hand in the victory again," manager Aaron Boone said.

Anthony Rizzo tied the score 4-4 in the eighth inning after he was hit near the left knee by a bounced pitch, stole second and continued to third when second baseman Jonathan Schoop allowed the ball to bounce off his glove for an error. Rizzo slid home when third Harold Castro's high throw on Gleyber Torres' RBI grounder glanced off Eric Haase's mitt for another error.

GOLF

Horschel drains long eagle to win Memorial

Billy Horschel made an eagle putt from nearly 53 feet (16 meters) away en route to a four-shot victory at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday in Dublin, Ohio.

After sleeping on a five-stroke lead through three rounds, Horschel stayed ahead of the pack with relative ease at Muirfield Village Golf Club to win the tournament founded by Jack Nicklaus.

"I've watched Tiger (Woods) and how he closes out events. And I wasn't born yet in Jack's heyday when he was winning, but I watched old footage," Horschel said, seated next to the 82-year-old golfing legend. "You watched how he plotted his way around the golf course. You took a lead and you made sure he was never giving up shots back to the guys."

Horschel shot an even-par 72 on a day when only four players broke 70 and nobody shot lower than 69. At 13-under 275 for the week, he fended off Aaron Wise (9 under), while Patrick Cantlay and Chile's Joaquin Niemann tied for third at 7 under.

Agencies