Update on the latest sports
APHORSE RACING-KENTUCKY DERBY
Baffert gets record seventh Derby win with Media Spirit
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bob Baffert has become the winningest trainer in the 147-year history of the Kentucky Derby.
Baffert claimed his seventh victory in the Run For The Roses as Medina Spirit fought off three challengers in the stretch to win by a half-length.
Jockey John Velazquez earned his fourth Derby victory aboard the dark brown colt that was purchased as a yearling for $1,000 and cost current owner Amr Zedan $35,000. Going off at 12-1, Media Spirit paid $26.20, $12 and $7.60 after running the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:01.02.
Mandaloun finished second and returned $23.00 and 13.40. Hot Rod Charlie was another half-length back in third and paid $5.20 to show. Essential Quality finished fourth after going off as the 5-2 favorite.
NBA-SCHEDULE
UNDATED (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets received a big boost as they try to snare an NBA playoff berth.
Rookie standout LaMelo Ball returned from a 21-game absence with 11 points, leading the Hornets to a 107-94 victory over the Pistons. Ball had surgery to repair a broken wrist sustained on March 20. The point guard played 28 minutes and added eight rebounds and seven assists, including a nifty underhand pass from his own backcourt to Miles Bridges.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 29 points, including a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and help stave off Detroit’s final rally late in the fourth quarter.
Checking out Saturday’s other NBA action:
— Trae Young scored 33 points and the Hawks snapped a three-game slide by rallying for a 108-97 win against the Bulls. Clint Capela had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which trailed by double-digits early in the second half before embarking on a 13-0 run. John Collins delivered a 3-pointer that put the Hawks ahead for good.
— Kendrick Nunn scored 22 points and Duncan Robinson had 20 in the Heat’s 124-107 win over the Cavaliers, putting Miami in a tie for sixth in the East. Robinson made 6 of 9 3-pointers, making him the fastest NBA player to reach 500 threes in a career at 152 games. Trevor Ariza (ah-REE’-zah) scored 18 points and Bam Adebayo (ad-eh-BY’-oh) collected 13, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Heat, who are in a three-way battle with Atlanta and Boston for fifth, sixth and seventh in the conference.
— Domantas Sabonis (doh-MAHN’-tahs sah-BOH’-nihs) had a triple-double by halftime and the Pacers flirted with the largest margin of victory in league history before settling for a 152-95 laugher against the Thunder. Sabonis finished with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists in Indiana’s highest-scoring game since joining the NBA in 1976. The Pacers led by 67 points with 4:12 remaining one off the league mark.
— Cole Anthony buried a 27-foot, contested 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second remaining to send the Magic to a 112-111 win over the Grizzlies. Anthony scored a career-best 26 points and added eight rebounds and six assists for Orlando. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points and Ja (jah) Morant added 22 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies, who led by 20 in the second half.
— Stephen Curry bounced back from a rough first half with 23 of his 30 points in the third quarter of the Warriors’ 113-87 thrashing of the Rockets. Curry was just 2 for 12 in the first half, then didn’t even need to play in the fourth quarter after the Warriors outscored the Rockets 39-12 to take an 88-67 lead. Andrew Wiggins had 20 points for Golden State, and Mychal Mulder and Jordan Poole both added 17 off the bench.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Pens pass Caps, Isles clinch
UNDATED (AP) — There’s been another standings shakeup in the NHL’s East Division. The Penguins are back in first place, two points ahead of Washington and four in front of the New York Islanders. The Bruins are five back and on the verge of clinching a Stanley Cup playoff berth.
Bryan Rust scored two unassisted goals in the Penguins’ 3-0 win over the Capitals in Washington. Rust’s second goal of the game was the 100th of his career.
Tristan Jarry stopped 23 shots in his second shutout of the season.
The Islanders have wrapped up a playoff berth with a 3-0 shutout of the Rangers.
It’s the seventh shutout of the season by Semyon Varlamov, and his fourth versus the Blueshirts this season. Anthony Beauvillier (boh-VIH’-lee-ay) scored twice, Mat Barzal (bahr-ZAL’) had a breakaway goal and Josh Bailey assisted on all three tallies.
Craig Smith’s hat trick highlighted the Bruins’ 6-2 win over the Sabres, leaving Boston 7-1-0 against Buffalo this season. Nick Ritchie added a goal and an assist to back rookie goalie Jeremy Swayman, who made 17 saves in his eighth start. David Krejci (KRAY’-chee) had three assists, all on Smith’s goals as the B’s won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Dougie Hamilton scored on a breakaway with 52.1 seconds showing on the clock in overtime, lifting the Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory against the Blue Jackets. Alex Nedeljkovic (neh-DEHL’-koh-vihch) picked up the assist on the winning play and stopped 31 shots as the Central Division leaders extended their points streak to 10 games. Teuvo Teravainen (TAY’-voh tehr-ah-VY’-nehn) tied it for Carolina.
— Sam Gagner scored to end an eight-round shootout and give the Red Wings a 1-0 victory over the Lightning. Thomas Greiss (grys) handled 33 shots in his second shutout of the season and 15th of his career. Greiss appeared to allow a third-period goal by Ondrej Palat (AHN’-dray pah-LAHT’), but the score was negated by goaltender interference.
— Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 30 shots and the Devils claimed their third straight win since a 10-game skid by topping the Flyers, 4-1. Jesper Bratt, Janne Kuokkanen (YAH’-nee KWOH’-kah-nehn), Nico Hischier (HEE’-shee-ur) and Yegor Sharangovich (yeh-GOHR’ shar-an-GOH’-vihch) all scored for New Jersey.
NHL-CANUCKS-VIRTANEN
Canucks’ Virtanen on leave amid sexual misconduct inquiry
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks have placed right wing Jake Virtanen (vur-TAN’-ehn) on leave following allegations of sexual misconduct.
The team said in a statement Saturday it “does not accept sexual misconduct of any kind and the claims as reported are being treated very seriously.” The Canucks add there will be an independent investigation.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Yanks stay hot
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Yankees continue to roll since a 7-13 start to the season.
Aaron Judge had three hits and three RBIs as the Yankees downed the sputtering Tigers, 6-4. Gleyber (GLAY’-bur) Torres also drove in three runs as the Yankees won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 13-14.
James Taillon (TY’-ahn) allowed one run, three hits and struck out eight over five innings for his first victory in exactly two years.
Detroit has the majors’ worst record at 8-20.
In other major league action:
— Tim Anderson launched a grand slam and Leury (lay-OOR’-ee) García drove in three runs from the No. 9 spot in the lineup, sending the White Sox past the Indians, 7-1. Lance Lynn allowed three runs over five innings in his return from the injured list for Chicago, which has won seven of nine.
— Andrew Benintendi (behn-ihn-TEHN’-dee) homered twice and Danny Duffy allowed a run over seven innings as the Royals hammered the Twins, 11-3. Salvador Perez homered and drove in three runs to help Kansas City improve to an AL-best 16-9.
— Matt Harvey won his third straight start and the Orioles took advantage of Oakland’s sloppy play to score six runs in the third inning of an 8-4 win. The Athletics made two errors and threw a pair of wild pitches to help Baltimore break loose before DJ Stewart added a two-run home run in the sixth.
— Jose Urquidy (ur-KEE’-dee) scattered four hits over seven shutout innings of the Astros’ 3-1 victory against the Rays. Houston scored three times in the first inning as Alex Bregman hit an RBI single and Yuli Gurriel had a two-run single in the Astros’ eighth win in 10 games since a 1-9 skid.
— Nick Hoerner poked a go-ahead single in the sixth inning and the Cubs’ bullpen shut down the Reds in a 3-2 win. Hoerner drove in Javier Báez with one of his three hits, a two-out single to center field off reliever Sean Doolittle to complete Chicago’s rally from a 2-0 deficit.
— Jack Flaherty improved to 5-0 and Paul DeJong (deh-YUHNG’) smacked a three-run homer in the first inning of the Cardinals’ 12-5 thumping of the Pirates. Flaherty (5-0) struck out nine allowing three runs on six hits, good enough to win his fifth straight start.
— The Mets coughed up a 4-0 lead before Michael Conforto hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning of a 5-4 triumph over the Phillies. Conforto also had a two-run double in a four-run first inning against former teammate Zack Wheeler, but the Phils tied it in Alex Bohm’s (bohmz) two-run blast.
— Patrick Corbin owned a 10.47 ERA before ending his 10-game losing streak that dated to last season, pitching seven solid innings in the Nationals’ 7-2 win over the Marlins. Josh Bell hit a bases-loaded double and drove in four runs, Yan Gomes (yahn gohmz) had a two-run homer and Josh Harrison had three hits as Washington won its third straight.
MLB-NEWS
Baseball keeps swinging and missing
UNDATED (AP) — 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.
Strikeouts have averaged 9.06 per team per game, on pace to set a record for the 13th consecutive full season
In other baseball news:
— The Dodgers will offer fully vaccinated-only sections for each game during their upcoming nine-game homestand against the Mariners and Diamondbacks starting May 11. Seats will be located on the right field side in the loge and reserve levels, and to encourage area residents to get vaccinated the Dodgers are offering a 20% discount.
NFL-PACKERS-RODGERS
Packers CEO acknowledges meeting Rodgers to discuss concerns
UNDATED (AP) — Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy says he is “very much aware” of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ concerns with the organization and acknowledges team officials have flown out to meet with the reigning MVP on multiple occasions.
Murphy added that the Packers want to keep Rodgers in Green Bay in 2021 and beyond. He discussed the Rodgers situation in a column posted on the Packers’ website on Saturday.
ESPN reported Thursday that Rodgers has indicated he doesn’t want to return to the Packers.
PGA-VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Burns, Bradley continue to share lead
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley continue to share the PGA’s Valspar Championship lead through three rounds.
Both fired 69s that leave them at 14 under, one shot ahead of Max Homa.
Burns had a three-shot lead with five holes to play but had to make an 8-foot bogey putt on the 18th hole just to keep a share of the lead.
LPGA-SINGAPORE
China’s Lin Xiyu leads 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.
GOLF-PINE VALLEY-FEMALE MEMBERS
Pine Valley to allow female members by end of the year
PINE VALLEY, N.J. (AP) — More than 100 years after Pine Valley Golf Club opened in southwestern New Jersey, the private club long considered among the best in the world has decided to allow women to join.
The websites of Golf Digest and Golf magazine, which both have employees who are members of Pine Valley, reported on the club’s vote to allow women.
Women previously could play only as guests on Sunday afternoon. There was a time when women were not even allowed on the property.
INDYCAR-TEXAS
Dixon conquers Texas again
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Scott Dixon had another dominating victory at Texas, winning Saturday night in the first of two races on consecutive days at the IndyCar Series’ first oval track this season.
Dixon passed Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and polesitter Alex Palou at the start of the third lap and went on to lead 206 of 212 laps for his 51st career victory, his fifth at the high-banked, 1 1/2-mile Texas Motor Speedway.
