Update on the latest sports
APMLB-SCHEDULE
Promising rookies face off in Arizona
UNDATED (AP) — Padres lefty Ryan Weathers starts against Arizona righty Taylor Widener Wednesday night in a matchup of promising rookies in Phoenix.
The 21-year-old Weathers is 1-0 with an 0.59 ERA in five games, two of them starts, this season. He made his major league debut last year for San Diego in the NL Division Series, pitching once against the Dodgers.
The 26-year-old Widener is 1-0 with a 2.82 ERA in four starts this season. He debuted last year with 12 games in relief for the Diamondbacks.
In other highlights of Wednesday’s schedule:
— Mets ace Jacob deGrom is set to face Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta in the finale of a two-game series in New York. The right-handed deGrom struck out a career-high 15 without a walk in a two-hit shutout against Washington last time out. Brandon Nimmo is hoping to get back in the lineup for the Mets, a day after not starting because of a right hip impingement. Nimmo got an injection in the hip during a day off Monday and struck out as a pinch-hitter last night.
— Steven Matz has provided a huge boost to the Blue Jays, winning all four of his starts with a 2.31 ERA. The lefty, acquired from the Mets in the offseason, has struck out 25 in 23 1/3 innings. Matz faces a familiar foe when Toronto hosts the Nationals at its temporary home in Dunedin (duhn-EE’-dihn), Florida. He saw Ryan Zimmerman, Trea (tray) Turner and Washington a lot during his time in the NL East, going just 1-7 against them. Matz was 0-2 in three games with a 13.94 ERA vs. the Nats last year.
NWHL-SALARY CAP DOUBLES
NWHL doubles salary cap to $300K, delays Montreal expansion
UNDATED (AP) — The National Women’s Hockey League is doubling its salary cap to $300,000 for each of its six teams. At the same time, Boston Pride chairman Miles Arnone says the league is putting off adding an expansion franchise in Montreal until the 2022-23 season because of continuing uncertainties due to the coronavirus pandemic. Arnone has a stake in the BTM ownership group behind the Montreal expansion bid and operates the Toronto Six. The dramatic increase of the salary cap is based on league projections indicating that the NWHL is making strides in achieving financial stability entering its seventh season. The move comes after a year in which the league was restricted to playing a two-week season, which was disrupted further by an outbreak of COVID-19.
KENTUCKY DERBY-BLACK JOCKEYS
Carmouche to be 1st Black jockey in Kentucky Derby since ’13
UNDATED (AP) — Kendrick Carmouche will be the first Black jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby since 2013 and one of just a handful in the past century.
His presence in horse racing’s biggest event is a reminder of how Black jockeys have all but disappeared from the sport since the early 20th century.
Black jockeys were aboard 13 of the 15 horses in the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 and won 15 of the first 28 editions of the race. A combination of Jim Crow laws and segregation in the U.S., intimidation by white riders and decisions by racing officials, owners and trainers led to the decline of Black jockeys that has never recovered.
