Update on the latest sports
APKENTUCKY DERBY
Derby Day underway at Churchill Downs with masked fans
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Derby Day is underway with near-perfect weather and masked spectators milling around Churchill Downs again after not being allowed for last year’s delayed race because of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 45,000 spectators are expected beneath the Twin Spires for the 147th Run for the Roses, about 100,000 fewer than usual. Masks are required. Food and drinks are all-inclusive to avoid long lines and separate payments for every transaction.
Last year’s Derby was moved from the first Saturday in May for the first time since 1945. It was run in September, in virtual silence and out of sequence as the Triple Crown’s second jewel.
Unbeaten Essential Quality was the 2-1 morning line favorite for the. Last year’s 2-year-old champion is trained by Louisville-born Brad Cox, who would make Derby history as the first native son to win. The other top contenders are Rock Your World at 5-1, Known Agenda at 6-1 and Hot Rod Charlie at 8-1.
Post time is set for 6:57 p.m. Eastern for the 12th of 14 races.
MLB-VANISHING OFFENSE
Season of the Slump: Baseball keeps swinging and missing
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball is swinging and missing.
Major league batters are hitting just .232 overall through April, down from .252 two years ago and under the record low of .237 set in the infamous 1968 season that resulted in a lower pitcher’s mound.
It’s the Season of the Slump, even for All-Stars like Marcell Ozuna (.202), Charlie Blackmon (.184) and Francisco Lindor (.189). Miguel Cabrera, the only Triple Crown winner in a half-century, is batting .140.
Strikeouts have averaged 9.06 per team per game, on pace to set a record for the 13th consecutive full season — up from 8.81 two years ago and nearly double the 4.77 in 1979. Strikeouts already are 1,092 ahead of hits, just three years after exceeding hits for the first time over a full season.
Hits are averaging a record-low 7.63 after fluctuating from 8 to 10 from 1937 through last year, excepting 1968′s dip to a then-alarming 7.91.
While it’s a bear market for batters, pitchers are on bull runs.
Joe Musgrove of San Diego and Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox became the second pair of pitchers in a half-century to throw April no-hitters, the first since Atlanta’s Kent Mercker and Minnesota’s Scott Erickson in 1994. Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner pitched another, but the shortened seven-inning gem in a doubleheader was not recognized by MLB.
INDYCAR-TEXAS
Kanaan to make IndyCar season debut at Texas doubleheader
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tony Kanaan (kuh-NAHN’) is making his IndyCar season debut this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, where the series will race a doubleheader. Kanaan was expected to retire after last season but was disappointed when the pandemic kept fans from his final races. He got an opportunity to split a car this year with Jimmie Johnson and will race the four ovals on the IndyCar schedule.
IndyCar is racing three consecutive weeks to open the season, including Saturday and Sunday at Texas. It is the first oval on the schedule.
Scott Dixon is the defending race winner.
F1-PORTUGUESE GP
Bottas takes pole for Portuguese GP, denies Hamilton 100th
PORTIMAO, Portugal (AP) — Valtteri Bottas has grabbed the pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix, denying Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton a record-extending 100th Formula One pole.
Bottas clinched the 17th of his career and a much-needed one after he crashed in the last race and scored no points. He was .007 seconds ahead of Hamilton and .34 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
He is the third different pole-sitter in three races. Hamilton is aiming for a 97th win on Sunday, Bottas his 17th victory, and Verstappen his 12th.
LPGA-SINGAPORE
China’s Lin Xiyu has 1-stroke 54-hole lead at LPGA Singapore
SINGAPORE (AP) — China’s Lin Xiyu has a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the LPGA Tour’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Lin tapped in on the 18th hole, her fourth birdie of the back nine, for a 5-under 67 and a 54-hole total of 14-under 202.
Hannah Green shot her second consecutive 66 to move into a share of second place with world No. 2-ranked Inbee Park. Park shot 70 with a birdie on the 18th after a double-bogey 7 on the 16th cost her the lead. Park led by one stroke after the first round and was tied for the lead after two.
TOKYO OLYMPICS
Olympic torch relay takes a detour; diving test event opens in Tokyo
TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics torch relay takes another detour this weekend when it enters the southern island of Okinawa. A leg of the relay on Okinawa’s resort island of Miyakojima has been called off as coronavirus cases surge in Japan. Other legs on Okinawa will take place.
A 17-day state of emergency went into effect on April 25 in some areas in Japan.
Meanwhile, a six-day, on-and-off diving event, has opened in Tokyo with 225 athletes from 46 countries — but no fans. The Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23.
