St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright to open the season on the disabled list.
BASEBALL Wainwright on DL
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam
Wainwright will start the season on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. The Cardinals made the announcement Sunday. With the longtime ace out, rookie Jack Flaherty will begin the year in the rotation as the fifth starter. Wainwright recently hurt his hamstring in a conditioning drill. Closer Luke Gregerson also injured a hamstring during a drill and will be on the DL. Wainwright, 36, had pitched well this spring and was set to start the second game of the season on Saturday in New York against the Mets. That slot also would’ve lined him up to pitch the home opener on April 5 against Arizona. Wainwright was 12-5 with a 5.11 ERA last year. Flaherty, 22, made his major league debut last season and went 0-2 with a 6.33 ERA in six games. No surgery for Johnson Texas Rangers minor league coach Howard Johnson has been released from an Arizona hospital with several fractures in his cheekbone after being hit by a line drive while in the dugout. The Rangers said Sunday that Johnson’s eye function was good and that it didn’t appear he would need surgery. The former big league slugger will rest for a week in Arizona and then be re-examined. Johnson, 57, was injured Saturday during the spring training game between Texas and Cleveland. The liner by Erik Gonzalez of the Indians hit Johnson below the left eye, and play was stopped for about 10 minutes while medical personnel treated him. Johnson is the hitting coach at Class AAA Round Rock.
GOLF Garnett wins by 2
Brice Garnett completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship for his first PGA Tour title. Two strokes ahead after three late wind-blown bogeys Saturday in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Garnett closed with a 2-under 70 in windy and rainy conditions for a four-stroke victory over Keith Mitchell. Garnett, 34, a two-time winner last year on the Web.com Tour, finished at 18-under 270. He opened with a 63 and added rounds of 69 and 70. Mitchell followed a third-round 75 with a 67. Kelly Kraft was third at 13 under after a 67, and Denny McCarthy (70) was 12 under. Harris English (70) and K.J. Choi (66) topped the group at 11 under. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) was 8 under after a 72. Ethan Tracy (Arkansas Razorbacks) was 2 under after a 72. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) was even after a 73.
Stricker successful Steve Stricker pulled away on the back nine Sunday at Fallen Oak to win the Rapiscan Systems Classic at Biloxi, Miss., for his second consecutive PGA Tour Champions victory. Stricker, 51, closed with a 4-under 68, birdieing all four par-5 holes on the Tom Fazio-designed layout with big and fast greens. He finished at 11-under 205 for a threestroke victory over Billy Andrade. Stricker won the Cologuard Classic three weeks ago in Tucson, Ariz., for his first victory on the 50-andover tour. Andrade closed with a 69. Gene Sauers (66), Scott Parel (67), Jesper Parnevik (68) and David McKenzie (69) tied for third at 7 under. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot a 7-under 65 and was tied for 9th place with Bernhard Langer at 5 under. Etulain prevails
Julian Etulain finished with a 19-under 265 on Sunday and a twostroke victory over former Arkansas Razorback Taylor Moore at the Louisiana Open in Broussard, La. Etulain shot a 4-under 67 in his final round. Moore was 17 under after an 8-under 63. Justin Lower (64) was two strokes back. Michael Johnson (66) and Mark Anderson (66) were tied for fourth at 13 under. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) had a 67 and was 7 under for the tournament.
TENNIS
Venus rallies to win Venus Williams squandered an early lead, fell behind late and then overcame three match points Sunday to rally past Kiki Bertens in the third round of the Miami Open, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. Williams blew a 5-0 lead in the first set and was down 5-3 in the third set. But she swept the final four games, holding serve at love for the victory. When Williams slammed a forehand winner on the last point, she spun with a grin in celebration, her fist leading the way. Williams, a three-time champion seeded No. 8, will next face No. 11 Johanna Konta, the defending champ. Konta advanced with much less drama, beating No. 22 Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-1. In men’s play, No. 2 Marin Cilic swept Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 7-6 (4).
MOTOR SPORTS
Weather postpones race The NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway was postponed until today because of inclement weather. Rain and light snow started falling Saturday afternoon and continued into the night, creating dangerous driving conditions on nearby roads and leaving little chance of getting the track cleared and dry enough to race Sunday. Cup Series driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. tweeted a picture of the track late Saturday and later thanked fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for clearing snow off the satellite dish atop his motorhome. There was no qualifying session for the Cup Series because of a wintry mix that moved through the Virginia area and halted the Truck Series race after just 23 laps Saturday. The Truck Series race will resume at 10 a.m. Central today, followed by the Cup Series race at 1 p.m.
Vettel wins in Australia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel captured the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off his hardcharging Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in a dramatic start to the new Formula One season. It was the 100th podium of Vettel’s career and it came in his 200th Formula One race. The German becomes the fourth driver to claim 100 podium finishes, joining Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. Vettel finished the race a full 5 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who had made several late attempts to catch the Ferrari, but fell just short of the victory. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished third, denying Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo a chance to become the first Australian driver to stand on the podium at the Australian GP. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso made a surprisingly strong run to finish in fifth place, holding off a spirited challenge by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was sixth.
FOOTBALL
Jets sign WR Pryor
The New York Jets have signed former Washington Redskins wide receiver Terrelle Pryor. Pryor, who turns 29 in June, gives the Jets depth at wide receiver, where they also have Jermaine Kearse, Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, newly signed Andre Roberts, and second-year pros Chad Hansen and ArDarius Stewart. The Jets announced the signing Sunday. Terms of the deal, which were agreed to on Thursday night, were not immediately known. Pryor spent one disappointing season in Washington while hobbled by an ankle injury after signing a oneyear, $6 million deal. He finished the year on injured reserve and had ankle surgery, ending the season with just 20 catches for 240 yards and 1 touchdown. The former Ohio State quarterback had a breakout season as a receiver with Cleveland in 2016, when he had 77 catches for 1,007 yards and 4 touchdowns.
SKIING
Ford wins giant slalom Olympian Tommy Ford wrapped up a solid season by winning the giant slalom at the U.S. Alpine championships at Sun Valley, Idaho. On a tough course, Ford finished in a combined time of 2 minutes, 11.60 seconds on Sunday to hold off Brian McLaughlin by 0.36 seconds. David Ketterer of Germany wound up third. Ford, 29, had his best season on the World Cup circuit with three top-10 finishes in the giant slalom. He also finished 20th in the discipline at the Pyeongchang Olympics last month. McLaughlin had quite a year by winning three races on the NorAm level. On Saturday, Nina O’Brien won the women’s slalom and Hig Roberts captured the men’s event. The U.S. championships wrap up today with a women’s giant slalom race.