Update on the latest sports
APMLB-OHTANI
MLB home run leader Ohtani on mound at Oakland
UNDATED (AP) — Major league home run leader Shohei Ohtani is set to pitch for the Angels in his first outing since tossing a perfect first inning in the All-Star Game.
The two-way star hit his 34th home run Sunday in a 7-4 loss to Seattle.
Ohtani is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA. He is scheduled to start tonight when Los Angeles begins a six-game road trip in Oakland.
Here’s what else is happening in MLB:
— Some players have declined to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby over the years because they say the exertion can wear them out and wrecks their swing. Not so for Juan Soto. The Washington star has hit three home runs in three games since taking part in the Derby Tuesday night at Coors Field. Soto connected Sunday in an 8-7 win over the Padres. He hopes to keep up his power surge this evening when the Nationals open a series at home against Miami.
— AL ERA leader Lance Lynn makes his first start for the White Sox since signing a $38 million, two-year contract through 2023. The 34-year-old All-Star is 9-3 with a 1.99 ERA in 16 starts. He was acquired in a December trade with Texas for pitchers Dane Dunning and Avery Weems. Lynn and his Chicago teammates hold an eight-game lead in the AL Central going into a doubleheader at home later today against Minnesota. Lynn will start the opener.
— San Diego right-hander Yu Darvish (7-3, 3.09 ERA) is expected to come off the injured list to pitch at Atlanta this evening. He’s been out with left hip inflammation. Darvish is 0-3 with a 6.62 ERA in four starts against the Braves.
US GYMNAST POSITIVE
American gymnastics alternate tests positive at Olympics
TOKYO (AP) — The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee says an alternate on the United States women’s gymnastic team has tested tested positive for COVID-19 in a training camp in Japan.
The USOPC did not say if world champion Simone Biles or any of the other favorites to win gold were isolated because of contact tracing. The infected athlete has been transferred to a hotel to quarantine.
The positive test was the latest in growing line of daily reports of athletes and others testing positive at the pandemic-delayed Olympics. The unnamed gymnast was the first American. The U.S. alternates are Kara Eaker, Leanne Wong, Kayla DiCello and Emma Malabuyo.
In other Olympics news:
— The Czech Republic beach volleyball team says it will try to postpone its opening game after one men’s player tested positive for COVID-19 at the Olympic Village in Tokyo. Ondřej Perušič was taken to isolation at a hotel, seven days before his opening game. On Sunday, two men’s soccer players from South Africa were reported positive. Their team’s first game is Thursday against Japan.
— A Japanese composer working on the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has resigned after coming under fire for bullying classmates during his childhood. Keigo Oyamada says “I sincerely accept the opinions and advice I have received, express my gratitude, and will keep them in mind for my future actions and thoughts. I apologize from the bottom of my heart.” Reports of his past verbal abuse of a child with disabilities surfaced online recently, sparking a backlash on social media and demands for his resignation.
— South Korean President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, citing a failure to set up a summit with Japan’s prime minister that would produce meaningful results in improving relations. Moon’s office says officials from Seoul and Tokyo held talks over longstanding disputes about wartime history and a “future-oriented” development of their relations, but did not find enough common ground to support a summit between their leaders.
— Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus says the Olympic movement deserves to win the award. The Bangladeshi banker says the Olympics “has a very good case to establish itself as a candidate.” He cites North and South Korean athletes marching under one flag at the 2018 Winter Games. Yunus spoke ahead of receiving an Olympic award at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games on Friday. China will host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Activists have branded it the “Genocide Games” for its treatment of Muslim minority Uyghur (WEE’-gur) people.
F1-RACIST ABUSE
F1 condemns racist abuse of Hamilton following crash
LONDON (AP) — Mercedes, Formula One and its governing body the FIA have issued a joint statement condemning the online racist abuse aimed at Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton was targeted following his crash with rival Max Verstappen on the opening lap of Sunday’s British Grand Prix. He was handed a 10-second penalty for the incident but the seven-time world champion delivered a superb comeback drive to record his eighth win on home soil.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team has also issued a statement criticizing the attacks on Hamilton, who has a Black father and a white mother.
