Sports

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Rachel Balkovec signed some autographs, drew a nice ovation when she as introduced and posed for a picture at home plate. Then it was time to get to work. The manager of a New York Yankees minor league team had a game to run. The 34-year-old

By The Associated Press Justin Verlander will pitch for Houston for the first time since having Tommy John surgery late in 2020. The 39-year-old will face Noah Syndergaard and the Angels. Verlander, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, returned to the Astros on a $25 million, one-year deal that includes a $25 million player option

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods has made it to the weekend at the Masters in his first official start in 508 days. Now it’s a matter of chasing down Scottie Scheffler. That might be even tougher than dealing with the wind at Augusta National. Scheffler is making his

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns added another quarterback as they try to figure out what to do with Baker Mayfield. The team agreed to a one-year contract with backup QB Josh Dobbs, a deal that was tweeted by his agent and confirmed by a person familiar with the

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Austin Slater doubled with two outs in the 10th inning for his first career walkoff RBI, sending the San Francisco Giants past the Miami Marlins 6-5 in an opening-day nail-biter. Thairo Estrada hit a tying home run to start the bottom of the ninth off

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Golf’s hottest rivalry not so long ago has cooled off considerably. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka both missed the cut at the Masters after struggling through two rounds at Augusta National. Koepka shot back-to-back 75s to finish at 6-over 150, while DeChambeau and his ailing

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods’ second round at the Masters on Friday seemed like a constant ride from one end of the success spectrum to the other. Not his best, not his worst, but plenty good enough, especially considering what he’s been through in the 15 or so

NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie Evan Mobley is back in the starting lineup for the Cleveland Cavaliers for a key game Friday against the Brooklyn Nets. Mobley missed the previous five games with a sprained left ankle and the Cavaliers lost four of them without their big man. Mobley is a leading contender for Rookie

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Freddie Freeman reached base three times and scored a run in his Dodgers debut, helping Walker Buehler and Los Angeles beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 in a season opener. Freeman struck out in his first at-bat. He was then hit by a pitch, walked and lined

By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chase Elliott won the pole Friday for the Saturday night race at Martinsville Speedway.The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and current co-leader turned a fast lap at 96.151 mph in the new Next Gen cars to end co-leader Ryan Blaney’s string of three consecutive

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Andretti Autosport arrived at the Long Beach Grand Prix seeking a fourth consecutive victory in the prestigious street race. Team owner Michael Andretti said his four car organization has been riddled with errors through the first two races of this season and needs

By BRIAN HALL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray tossed seven impressive innings in his Seattle debut, Mitch Haniger homered and the Mariners opened with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Ray surrendered just three hits, walked four and struck out five. He made the opening day

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with linebacker Josh Bynes. The Ravens announced the deal but did not release terms. The 32-year-old Bynes started 12 games for Baltimore last season and had two sacks. That was the start of a third stint with the Ravens for Bynes. He played

By CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant could return to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night against the New Orleans Pelicans after missing just more than two weeks with a sore right knee. Morant’s status against New Orleans was upgraded to questionable on the injury report Friday afternoon. If the All-Star

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Columnist AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The only color Harold Varner III has been focused on at the Masters is red. And maybe, if he lets his mind wander, there’s a thought of green. As in a green jacket. With two straight below-par rounds at Augusta National, Varner has pushed himself

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber homered in his first at-bat with the Phillies, reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper knocked in a run and Aaron Nola struck out seven to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-5 win over the Oakland Athletics. Chad Pinder hit a solo homer in the

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Denver is going for a record-tying ninth NCAA hockey championship. Minnesota State is hoping for its first. It will be the bluebloods vs. the new blood in the Frozen Four final Saturday night. Denver forward Bobby Brink says the Pioneers have high standards and the only

By The Associated Press Gio Reyna is hurt again and left the field in tears shortly after kickoff of Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Reyna came off in the second minute and teammates gave him hugs after he appeared to injure a hamstring. He was replaced by Julian Brandt in the

By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — NASCAR’s top drivers expect some beating and banging to be on the menu when they race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night. The track is the smallest in NASCAR’s top series at 0.526 miles and has a history of offering physical racing. That might