Esperance of Tunisia retained their African Champions League crown amid bizarre scenes on Friday when Wydad Casablanca refused to play on after having a goal disallowed and then walked off the pitch when the decision was not referred to the Video Assistant Referee.

With Esperance leading 2-1 on aggregate, Wydad thought they had equalised in the 59th minute when Ismail El Haddad had the ball in the back of the net.

However, referee Bakary Gassama disallowed the goal due to an infringement in the build-up and opted not to consult the VAR to check the decision.

That led to a stoppage as the Moroccan club's players protested, with their reserves and coaching staff storming onto the pitch to harangue the referee, while Esperance supporters hurled objects at the Wydad bench.

Once tempers settled down, Wydad then refused to get the game back underway, continuing to argue with officials while the referee, from the Gambia, and the home side waited with the game suspended.

Confusion reigned as Confederation of African Football officials consulted with the referee with no one prepared to take a decision about whether to continue with the game.

Eventually CAF President Ahmad came down to the pitch with the respective club bosses but the debate continued without resolution and with the delay continuing past 30 minutes Ahmad went onto the pitch to talk to the referee.

Gassama then handed Wydad a warning to continue and a time limit to resume the game but the Moroccans refused, their players sitting on the bench or kicking a ball on the side of the field.

After a total delay of one hour and 25 minutes, Gassama blew his whistle to indicate the match had been abandoned and Esperance were declared champions.

The game kicked off at 10 p.m. local time to allow players and fans to break their fast during the Moslem holy month of Ramadan and the confusion continued early into Saturday morning.

At the time of the stoppage, Esperance were leading through Youcef Belaili's 41st minute goal.

The striker curled in a strike from the edge of the area after a defence-splitting pass from talented wide man Aymen Ben Mohamed, who was born in London to an Irish mother and Tunisian father.

Esperance had held a 10-man Wydad to a 1-1 draw away in the first leg last Friday, where there were several contentious VAR decisions,

They are only the fourth club in the more than 50-year history of the competition to retain the title. The victory is their fourth in the continent's top club competition after previous success in 1994, 2011 and last year.

Esperance celebrated the club's centenary with an undefeated Champions League campaign, winning eight games and drawing four en route to the winners' podium in a triumph for their 37-year-old coach Moine Chaabani.

ST. LOUIS -- Chicago Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. is hopeful the young girl who was struck by a foul ball off his bat on Wednesday night will make a "full recovery."

Speaking about the incident Friday before the Cubs played the St. Louis Cardinals, he joined in on a chorus of people calling for the MLB to do more to protect fans.

"I hope this never happens again. So whatever the league has to do to make that happen. ... I don't think any kid that goes to a baseball game with their parents or loved one should worry about making out unhealthy," Almora said. "I don't think that should ever cross their mind. So whatever the league needs to do to do that, that should be in place."

Almora was visibly shaken several different times during the game at Minute Maid Park in Houston on Wednesday, eventually letting his emotions come out in a huge hug with a security guard near where the fan was hit. By Friday, the 25-year-old was processing the moment much better.

"I've had a great support group around me, from my family back home and I can't speak enough about my teammates," he said. "This has been something I'll never forget in the way my support system is around me and how many people actually care.

"Everyone can be happy and jolly when things are going well but, excuse my language, when the s--- hits the fan, and people are around and show up, that's when it counts."

Asked how he was dealing with the whole incident, Almora responded: "I thought I was going to be a lot worse but this isn't about me. I'm not in the hospital."

On Wednesday, after the game, Almora committed to having a lifelong relationship with the fan. He's anxious to do that once the family feels it's time.

"Hopefully all is well and she's going to make a full recovery, God willing, but it's something I'll never forget for the rest of my life," Almora said. "When they're ready, I'll do whatever I can do to put a smile on that little girl's face."

Josh Bell finished off his historic May with two more hits, giving him 94 total bases in May, the most by any player in May since Willie Mays (102) in 1958.

Bell went 2-for-5 and drove in a run to help the Pittsburgh Pirates pounce on struggling Milwaukee starter Jhoulys Chacin in a 9-4 victory Friday night.

His 94 total bases in May is the most by any player in any month in the Pirates' 138-year history. The most recent player with that many total bases in a calendar month was Giancarlo Stanton, with 98 in August 2017.

"I feel like I'm just riding the wave,'' Bell said.

Bell hit a scorching .389 in May with 12 home runs -- two of which ended up in the Allegheny River, making the 26-year-old first baseman the first player to land two in the drink since PNC Park opened in 2001.

He also joined Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Hank Aaron as the only players in National League history to have 12 doubles and 12 home runs in the same month.

"He pushes himself,'' Pittsburgh pitcher Chris Archer (2-5) said of Bell after picking up his first victory since April 7. "If he gets out, he's mad. He's hitting .340 and he's angry that he got out, which continues to keep him motivated. He's not content. We've got four months left in the season and I expect to see big things from him going forward.''

Bell didn't provide any big blasts Friday night, but contributed to a flood of small ones as the Pirates won for just the fourth time in 11 games. Starling Marte had three hits and scored three times and Kevin Newman went 2-for-5 with two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games.

SHAKY CHACIN

Chacin (3-7) fell to 1-7 in his past 10 starts when his command abandoned him in the third inning. The 11-year-veteran walked four batters in the frame, three of them with the bases loaded, including a five-pitch walk to Archer that pushed Pittsburgh's lead to 5-1. Freddy Peralta replaced Chacin and Newman delivered a liner to left field that allowed Colin Moran and Adam Frazier to score and push Pittsburgh's advantage to 7-1.

Chacin -- a 15-game winner last season for a team that reached the National League Championship Series -- saw his ERA balloon to 5.74 after being charged with seven runs in 2⅔ innings, with two strikeouts. His four walks marked a season high and he threw just 40 of his 76 pitches for strikes.

"I just lost my focus in that inning,'' Chacin said. "That never happened to me before, walking guys with the bases loaded like that. I need to start to do a better job if I want to keep pitching.''

Something that might not be guaranteed. Asked if Chacin might need a break, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said only: "We've got to figure out how to get him pitching the way he's capable of.''

ARCHER REBOUNDS

Archer came in winless since early April, a stretch that's watched the centerpiece of a deal that sent Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to Tampa Bay search for answers. He seemed to find some in a bullpen session in Cincinnati while throwing to Jacob Stallings. Stallings encouraged Archer to rely more on his fastball, and Archer responded by striking out seven with two walks in seven innings. He gave up a solo home run to Jesus Aguilar in the third and a three-run shot to Keston Hiura in the fourth but settled down afterward.

"I'm going to stay relentless,'' Archer said. "I've been doing this a long time. I'm not going to let [a slump] define me.''

TRAINER'S ROOM

Brewers: C Manny Pina (right hamstring discomfort) is expected to rejoin Milwaukee over the weekend.

Pirates: RHP Jordan Lyles (left hamstring discomfort) will start Sunday's series finale. ... RHP Keone Kela will be shut down for 10 days after the right shoulder discomfort that sent him to the injured list popped back up during a rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Brewers: Brandon Woodruff (7-1, 3.22 ERA) will look for his seventh straight win on Saturday. Woodruff limited the Phillies to one run in eight innings last Sunday.

Pirates: Nick Kingham (1-1, 8.28) hasn't won a game as a starter since last July, but will get the nod Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More home runs were hit this May than in any other month in Major League Baseball history.

Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went deep in the eighth inning at Colorado on Friday, the final day of the month, to set the record with the 1,120th homer in May.

That broke the previous mark for the most long balls, which had stood since August 2017.

Pittsburgh's Josh Bell, Houston's Alex Bregman and Cincinnati's Derek Dietrich led the way with 12 home runs each in May.

Four of Bell's homers traveled 450 feet or more, tied for the second-most in any month in the past 10 seasons behind Trevor Story's five in September 2018. Bell had never hit any home run that far in his major league career before this season.

DETROIT – Zacharie Robichon celebrated his 27th birthday Friday at Detroit Belle Isle the best way possible – with his first pole in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class.

The Canadian driver, who is substituting this weekend for Park Place Motorsports team owner Patrick Lindsey in the No. 73 Porsche 911 GT3 R, originally qualified second on Friday afternoon, but initial Motul Pole Award winner Robby Foley’s No. 96 entry failed post-qualifying inspection.

The No. 96 was found to have out of compliance camber settings was and moved to the back of the 12-car GTD grid. As a result, Robichon’s Porsche inherited the GTD top spot for Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.

RELATED: Montoya Powers To Belle Isle IMSA Pole

“It’s not the way you want to do it,” said Robichon. “It’s too bad for the Turner guys, they had a great car and obviously had the pace. But we were really close and I’m really proud to get this for the Park Place team because they kind of threw me in the car this weekend. It’s going to be a different kind of beast for me to tame on the start, but really looking forward to it.”

Robichon’s time was only .031 of a second behind Foley’s at one minute, 29.735 (94.277 mph) at the conclusion of the 15-minute qualifying session.

“Everybody’s been telling me here that’s next to impossible to pass and I can definitely see it from being on track,” said Robichon. “It’s my first time here, my first time in a race environment in this setting. I’ve done some street races before and have seen that you can really control a race from the start.”

Robichon currently drives full time in GTD in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, which is not competing this weekend in Detroit. Instead, he will be co-driving with Patrick Long, who coincidentally drove to the most recent pole position by a Porsche 911 GT3 R before this weekend at Road America in 2018.

With the new starting grid, the No. 57 Heinricher Racing w/ Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 of Christina Nielsen and Katherine Legge will start on the outside of the front row following Nielsen’s qualifying time of 1:30.126. Meyer Shank’s second entry, the No. 86 Acura of Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher will start third.

The pair of AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3’s will follow suit with the No. 14 of Richard Heistand and Jack Hawksworth – the most recent round winners at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course four weeks ago – in fourth and the No. 12 of Frankie Montecalvo and Townsend Bell in fifth.

DETROIT – Juan Pablo Montoya put his No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi on the pole for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park on Friday.

Montoya posted a best lap of 1 minute, 19.373 seconds (106.585 mph) to lead a 1-2 qualifying sweep for Acura Team Penske ahead of Helio Castroneves in the No. 7 Acura DPi.

Montoya shattered Pipo Derani’s year-old WeatherTech Championship track record of 1:22.273 by nearly three seconds. It was his second IMSA pole and first since the 2018 BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach. Nine of the 11 DPi cars qualified faster than Derani’s 2018 track record time.

RELATED: Robichon Awarded Belle Isle GTD Pole

“It’s great,” Montoya said. “Everybody at Acura Team Penske did an amazing job. We struggled a little bit in the morning with the car with balance, but it’s good. I had a bit of an understeer but at I kept turning laps it kept getting better. It was fun. It was a hell of a push.”

The 15-minute session saw Montoya, Castroneves and Derani in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R swap the top spot, with Montoya finally taking it for good with 40 seconds remaining. Castroneves will roll off the grid second in the No. 7 machine he shares with Ricky Taylor after a best qualifying lap of 1:19.580 (106.308 mph).

Jonathan Bomarito took third on the grid with a best lap of 1:19.960 (105.802 mph) in the No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P DPi. He and co-driver Harry Tincknell will look to score Mazda’s first WeatherTech Championship victory in Saturday’s race.

Derani wound up fourth on the grid with a lap of 1:19.991 (105.761 mph). The No. 31 Cadillac and Derani’s co-driver, Felipe Nasr, is the defending winner of the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic as he earned the win last year with Eric Curran. Derani and Nasr also head into the race as co-leaders of the WeatherTech Championship DPi point standings by four, 120-116, over Castroneves and Taylor.

Joao Barbosa made it two Action Express Racing Cadillac DPis in the top five with a best lap of 1:20.239 (105.434 mph) in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry he shares with Filipe Albuquerque.

Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic begins shortly after 12:30 p.m. EST.