Giants-Rockies gets postponed
A Giants team that’s lost several key players due to injury during the first month of the season and has a handful of others battling nagging soreness received an unexpected day off on Monday.
More than three hours before the scheduled first pitch of a series opener against Colorado at Coors Field, the Rockies announced their Monday matchup with the Giants would be postponed due to inclement weather and made up as part of a doubleheader today.
Major League Baseball’s new doubleheader format will cut down the number of innings originally scheduled to be played in this week’s three-game series as both matchups scheduled for Tuesday will be seven innings.
“I was talking to Ron Wotus about this who is as traditional as they come and we both kind of smiled and said it’s really nice that we’re going to try to cover 14 innings as opposed to two nine-inning games tomorrow,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “You don’t want to blow through your entire bullpen over the course of two games and at least with seven innings you have the possibility that one or even both of your starters gives you five or six innings.”
DODGERS PITCHER DUSTIN
MAY TO HAVE TOMMY JOHN SURGERY >> Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May will have Tommy John surgery next week, sidelining one of baseball’s top young pitchers for the rest of the season.
The 23-year-old May was put on the 10-day injured list Sunday, a day after he winced in pain on the mound and was forced to leave a start at Milwaukee.
The World Series champion Dodgers, already beset by several injuries to their pitching staff, said May will have ligament reconstruction surgery on May 11 in Los Angeles.
NFL
AMAZON TO TAKE OVER “THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” PACKAGE IN ‘22 >> Amazon Prime Video will become the exclusive home of the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” package a year earlier than originally anticipated.
Amazon and the league announced that Prime Video will take over the entire package in 2022, which will make it an 11-season deal through 2032. It was originally supposed to begin in 2023 when the league’s new media rights deals kick in.
This is the first time a streaming service has had the full rights to an NFL package.
Prime Video will carry 15 regular-season games on Thursday night along with one preseason game. Games will be available on stations in the markets of the participating teams, which is the same practice when they are on ESPN and NFL Network.
Horse racing
DERBY WAGERING REBOUNDS 96 PERCENT >> Back to being run on its traditional date on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby regained its place in American sports gambling over the weekend as wagering bounced back to nearrecord levels.
According to figures reported by Churchill Downs Inc., all-sources wagering on Saturday’s 2021 Kentucky Derby was $155.4 million, up 96 percent from last year, and second-most all time to the $165.5 million of 2019.
Last year’s race was postponed until September and held without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tennis
KENIN BECOMES FIRST AMERICAN TO QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS >> Sofia Kenin clinched a spot on the U.S. tennis team for the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first American to do so. She is ranked fourth in the world in singles and is guaranteed to be one of the top four American women in the rankings after the French Open, when the teams will be set.
Currently trailing her are Serena Williams, Jennifer Brady and Alison Riske. While Williams and Brady appear to be strong contenders to clinch a Tokyo berth, the fourth spot is up for grabs, with Riske, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff all in contention.
Kenin, a 22-year-old, is a five-time winner on the WTA Tour, including the 2020 Australian Open.
WNBA
GOOGLE SIGNS DEAL WITH WNBA TO HELP CHAMPION WOMEN’S SPORTS >> The WNBA signed a multiyear deal with Google on Monday to be the presenting partner for the league’s playoffs, part of the technology giant’s efforts to help champion women’s sports.
Twenty-five WNBA games will be televised on ABC and ESPN in celebration of the league’s 25th season, with Google as the presenting sponsor.