Cardinals sign Tejada
The St. Louis Cardinals filled their big hole at shortstop, signing Ruben Tejada on Saturday days after he was cut by the New York Mets.
The NL Central champion Cardinals needed help after starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta had surgery on his left thumb this month.
Tejada was released by the Mets on Wednesday.
Tejada hit .261 with 23 doubles, three homers and 28 RBIs with the Mets last year. His season ended in the NL Division Series when his right leg was broken by a takeout slide from Chase Utley at Dodger Stadium
Jacoby Ellsbury was hit on the right wrist by a
pitch from Atlanta’s Julio Teheran during the fifth inning of the Yankees’ game against the Braves and went to the hospital for X-rays. ... The Tigers scratched starting pitcher Daniel Norris from the game against the Marlins because of a stiff lower back. Also, Detroit center fielder Cameron Maybin is likely to miss Opening Day while with a fractured left wrist.
Motor sports: Austin Dillon passed Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez on the final lap and surged to an improbable victory in the Xfinity Series race at Fontana (San Bernardino County).
Busch got within two miles of his record-tying fourth consecutive Xfinity win after leading 133 of the 150 laps, but the defending Sprint Cup Series champ got a flat tire while attempting to save fuel. Suarez briefly went in front but ran out of gas, and Dillon roared to his
seventh career victory in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Swimming: Georgia won the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championship for the third time in four years, fending off Stanford and defending champion Cal in Atlanta.
Olivia Smoliga gave the Lady Bulldogs a big boost by winning the 100-yard freestyle in 46.70 seconds, holding off 2012 Olympian Lia Neal of Stanford. Georgia led after each session of the four-day meet and clinched the title in the final event, placing second in the 400 free relay to finish with 414 points. Stanford had 395, Cal 358.
Stanford gave itself a shot going into the last event, picking up 33 points in platform diving. Gracia Leydon-Mahoney won off the big tower, and teammate Lilly Hinrichs was sixth, slicing Georgia’s lead to 380-365.