Update on the latest sports
APMLB SCHEDULE
Red Sox ace Sale returns following TJ surgery
UNDATED (AP) — Boston left-hander Chris Sale is scheduled to make his first big league appearance in just over two years when he faces the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
The seven-time All-Star underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and missed last year’s pandemic-shortened season.
In five combined rehab outings this year between the Red Sox rookie-level affiliate, Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, Sale pitched 20 innings, striking out 35 and allowing three runs.
The 32-year-old ace will pitch in a major league game for the first time since he started Aug. 13, 2019.
Elsewhere in the American League, the Yankees and White Sox move from Iowa to Chicago for the resumption of their three-game series. The teams were off Friday after Tim Anderson’s game-ending homer lifted the White Sox to a wild 9-8 victory Thursday night in baseball’s Field of Dreams game next to the filming site of the beloved 1989 movie. New York sends right-hander Jameson Taillon (7-4, 3.82 ERA) to the mound looking to improve its playoff positioning. Chicago counters with right-hander Dylan Cease (9-6, 3.99), who is going for his third consecutive win.
It will be a special night in Arlington, Texas, with Adrian Beltre being inducted into the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame. The multiple All-Star and Gold Glove-winning third baseman retired in 2018 after 21 big league seasons, the last eight with the Rangers. He went to his only World Series in 2011, his first season in Texas, and joined MLB’s 3,000-hit club in a Rangers home game in 2017. The Oakland Athletics will be the Rangers opponent tonight.
And in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera will take a few more cuts at home run number 500 for his career. He’ll do it in front of the home crowd, as the Tigers again host Cleveland.
The rest of the AL schedule has the Tampa Bay Rays in Minnesota to play the Twins, the Astros playing the Angels in Anaheim and the Blue Jays visiting the Mariners in Seattle.
Over in the National League, the day’s action is getting started in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates and Brewers are scheduled to play two. The teams were rained out last night. The Reds continue their push for a wild card in Philadelphia. The Phillies are trying to hold onto at least a share of the lead in the NL East. They are tied with the Braves after falling to the Reds while Atlanta was beating the Nationals. Washington hosts Atlanta again this evening.
And just a half-game behind Atlanta and Philadelphia to start the day, the Mets try again to beat the visiting Dodgers. L.A. took last night’s game, 6-5. Meanwhile, the Padres play the Diamondbacks in Arizona, the Giants host the Colorado Rockies and the Cubs and Marlins play in Miami.
Finally, there’s one interleague matchup, with the Cardinals in Kansas City playing the Royals.
NFL NEWS
Bills owners committed to sharing costs on proposed stadium
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula are committed to paying a portion of the projected $1.4 billion in their proposal to build a stadium. A company vice president released a statement to The Associated Press saying the owners have all along known the project would take on some form of a public/private partnership.
The comments were the team’s first public statement since discussions with state and county officials on the Bills’ future home opened two months ago. The statement’s release is timed to clear up speculation suggesting the Bills were asking taxpayers to pay the entire cost of the project.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEW
Notre Dame has its quarterback: Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan is Notre Dame’s starting quarterback.
Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly announced the choice Saturday in a Twitter post after suggesting for the last week that a decision would be coming soon.
Coan started for Wisconsin in 2019, leading the Badgers to the Big Ten title game. He completed 70% of his passes and threw for 18 touchdowns.
Coan broke his foot before last season’s abbreviated Big Ten schedule began in late October and did not play. He transferred in the offseason to Notre Dame, where the Irish were looking to replace long-time starter Ian Book.
NASCAR-INDIANAPOLIS
Indy’s road course opens to mixed reviews from Cup drivers
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NASCAR drivers got their first laps on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course in practice — and it opened to mixed reviews.
Previous race winners Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch made it clear they’d rather be racing on the traditional oval. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson didn’t seem to mind the switch.
But on a tripleheader weekend featuring three races from three different series on the same course, the biggest question is whether the road course makeS the Brickyard 200 more exciting.
