Off the wire

BASEBALL Royals hire Matheny

The Kansas City Royals have hired former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny as a special adviser for player development, the club announced Friday. Matheny had a winning record every year as the Cardinals manager, finishing with a 591-474 mark for a .555 winning percentage. Matheny spent 13 seasons as a catcher, playing for the Brewers, Blue Jays, Cardinals and Giants. He was working in the Cardinals front office when he was named manager after the 2011 season. He became the first manager to reach the postseason in each of his first four years as a manager and in 2013 won the National League pennant before falling to the Red Sox in the World Series. Matheny was fired in July along with two hitting coaches after the Cardinals fell to 47-46.

GOLF Rai sets record, in lead

Aaron Rai shot a course-record 61 to take a four-stroke lead after the second round at the Hong Kong Open on Friday, as his fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood moved into contention in the first European Tour event of the 2019 season. Starting at No. 10, Rai birdied five of his first six holes and picked up four more shots in a 9-under round. He hasn’t made a bogey in his first 36 holes and was at 14-under 126. On a day of low scoring at Hong Kong Golf Club, Hyo-won Park shot 62 to move into second place and Matthew Fitzpatrick posted the same score for third place, six strokes off the lead. Fleetwood, who missed out on a second consecutive Race to Dubai title at last week’s season-ending World Tour Championship, followed up an opening round of 69 with a 65 and was tied for fifth place at 6 under.

TENNIS Tsonga injures groin

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is doubtful for the remainder of the Davis Cup final at Lille, France, after apparently injuring his groin during his loss to Marin Cilic on Friday. The Frenchman was hurt in the third set of his 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Croatia’s top player. Croatia leads 2-0 after the opening singles and could win its second Davis Cup crown today in the doubles. Tsonga said he will undergo exams this morning that will determine whether he is capable of playing Sunday in case France extends the tie to the reverse singles. He said he was advised by team doctors to consider retiring against Cilic after taking a break in the third set to receive a medical treatment. The injury-prone Tsonga has already missed seven months of this season because of a knee injury. He was selected for the Davis Cup by France captain Yannick Noah despite playing just four tournaments and winning only one match since September.

BASKETBALL Curry OK after crash

The Golden State Warriors said star Stephen Curry wasn’t injured after two drivers hit his car on a rain-slicked freeway Friday. Curry was driving a black Porsche on California 24 in Oakland when the driver of a Lexus lost control and struck his car, the California Highway Patrol said. Curry stopped in the center median, and as he waited for officers to arrive, another sedan lost control and rear-ended his Porsche, Officer Herman Baza said. Baza said no one was injured or arrested and that rain was a factor in the crash.