Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. MLB roundup: Walker sharp in Blue Jays debut

Taijuan Walker pitched six scoreless innings in his Toronto Blue Jays debut and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio each had two RBIs in a 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night at Buffalo. Walker (3-2), who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, allowed four hits and three walks and struck out four in his first outing in 10 days. It was his 100th career major league start. Pinot says ‘nothing broken’ but worried by back injury

Home favourite Thibaut Pinot said he was concerned by a back injury ahead of Sunday’s second stage of the Tour de France after suffering a heavy crash in the opening stage. The Frenchman woke up battered and bruised after he hit the deck hard near the finish. Messi contract is valid, says La Liga, after he fails to attend medical

La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi’s Barcelona contract was still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical. Messi’s failure to show for his medical underlined the 33-year-old’s determination to leave the club he has been with throughout his career. NBA roundup: Lakers defeat Trail Blazers, advance to semis

Anthony Davis scored 43 points and LeBron James added 36 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-122 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night near Orlando to win the Western Conference first-round series in five games. Davis was 14-of-18 shooting and collected nine rebounds, while James made 14 of 19 shots and recorded 10 rebounds and 10 assists to increase his NBA playoffs 30-point, triple-doubles record to 13. Murray wants ATP management to be given more time

Former world number one Andy Murray says he is not in favour of a breakaway players’ group led by Novak Djokovic and has urged fellow athletes to give the governing body more time to tackle their concerns. Top-ranked Djokovic, Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American John Isner resigned from the players’ council of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) after other members formally asked them to step down. Paire tests positive for COVID-19 before U.S. Open: report

France’s Benoit Paire has tested positive for COVID-19 and will have to pull out of the U.S. Open starting on Monday, French sports daily L’Equipe https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/Coronavirus-benoit-paire-teste-positif-et-forfait-pour-l-us-open/1166240 reported on Sunday. Paire, seeded 17th at the Grand Slam event, was scheduled to play Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. Former Trail Blazers star Robinson dies at 53

Former NBA All-Star and Sixth Man of the Year Clifford Robinson has died at the age of 53. Known for his trademark headband, Robinson played the first eight seasons of his 19-year NBA career (1989-2007) with the Portland Trail Blazers. NHL roundup: Lightning put Bruins on verge of elimination

Ondrej Palat scored two goals to lead Tampa Bay to a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon in Toronto, putting the Lightning on the cusp of reaching the next round in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Nikita Kucherov collected a pair of assists and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for the Lightning, who lead 3-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal. Alaphilippe claims Tour de France stage two win and yellow jersey

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe won the second stage of the Tour de France, a 186-km mountain ride around Nice, and took the overall leader’s yellow jersey on Sunday. Swiss Marc Hirschi took second place with Briton Adam Yates coming home third. Quiet please! U.S. Open players bemoan the sound of silence

As chatty spectators so often learn the hard way, silence is golden in the sport of tennis. Yet facing the prospect of empty stands at the first fanless Grand Slam since the coronavirus outbreak, even top contenders at this year’s U.S. Open admit that the unprecedented new hush will take some getting used to.