WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017 SPORTS

Yankees Gregorius hurts shoulder, return uncertain NEW YORK: shortstop TEBOW TOWN TIGERS 5, METS 1 acquired from Washington for , has a bruised right shoulder, ending his time at the Tim Tebow’s next team on his baseball journey will Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez pitched four scoreless threw six shutout innings. World Baseball Classic and leaving his status for open- be the Columbia Fireflies. The former Heisman Trophy innings, allowing two hits and striking out five. Matt REDS 10, ROYALS 6 ing day in doubt. Yankees manager didn’t winner and NFL quarterback will start the regular sea- Harvey gave up three runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, Jason Hammel went 5 1/3 innings in the start for put on a timetable on a return, only saying, “He’s going son with the ’ club in South striking out four. Mets manager Terry Collins had Kansas City, scattering three hits and allowing one to be sidelined for a bit.” The Yankees start the regular Carolina. The 29-year-old Tebow is batting .235 with four expressed concerns about Harvey’s command, but the earned while striking out five. Looking to nail down a season April 2 at Tampa Bay. hits in 17 at-bats for the Mets this spring. The outfielder former ace walked none. James McCann homered off spot in the Reds’ rotation after injuring an ankle in his last It is not certain how or when Gregorius got hurt will wear his football number, No. 15, with the Fireflies. Harvey, and Nick Castellanos connected later. start, Rookie Davis worked four strong innings for while helping the Netherlands reach the semifinals of Cincinnati, giving up one earned run. Joey Votto doubled the WBC. He hit .348, driving in eight runs and scoring TWINS 8, BLUE JAYS 2 YANKEES 9, NATIONALS 3 in three at-bats and is hitting .164 this spring. five in the tournament. Without him, the Netherlands Toronto star Josh Donaldson made his spring train- Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer and Brett Gardner were eliminated when they lost to Puerto Rico 4-3 in 11 ing debut, going 0 for 2 with a walk in his first game had a two-run single for New York. Michael Pineda had INDIANS 14, DODGERS 5 innings Monday night. since injuring his right calf more than a month ago. The his first rough outing in four starts this spring, allowing Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer gave up seven hits, Gregorius had an MRI in Los Angeles on Sunday. He 2015 AL MVP was the , and is sched- three earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. Pineda entered the including two homers, in five innings. Dodgers starter was returning to the Yankees’ complex in uled to play third base today. day with a 1.80 ERA. Adam Eaton and Adam Lind had RBI Brandon McCarthy was touched up for six hits and five Tampa, Florida, and will be re-evaluated by team doc- Blue Jays starter Francisco Liriano struck out 10 in 4 hits for Washington. had two hits. runs, but only two of them were earned in 4 1/3 innings. tors. Gregorius is among a handful of major league play- 2/3 innings. Byung Ho Park and Miguel Sano homered Chase Utley and Joc Pederson homered. ers to leave their WBC team because of injuries. for Minnesota. Park is competing for a roster spot after PIRATES 5, RAYS 4 CARDINALS 12, ASTROS 6 Miami third baseman Martin Prado strained his ham- being designated for assignment on Feb. 3. Jordy Mercer and Jose Osuna each hit a two-run St. Louis starter Mike Leake allowed four runs in five string while playing for Venezuela and returned to the homer, and Adam Frazier had three hits for Pittsburgh. innings, and former closer Trevor Rosenthal threw three Marlins last weekend. All-Star catcher Salvador Perez of RED SOX 7, ORIOLES 4 Jameson Taillon pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed two scoreless innings with five . Jose Martinez and the Royals injured his knee in a home plate collision and Kyle Kendrick continued his bid for a spot in the earned runs. Kevin Kiermaier, who finalized his six-year, Greg Garcia homered for the Cardinals. Josh Reddick went also left the Venezuelan team. The Yankees have backup depleted Boston rotation by working five innings, allow- $53.5 million contract with Tampa Bay earlier in the day, 3 for 3 and doubled twice for Houston. Joe Ronald Torreyes and Ruben Tejada in camp, ing five hits and two earned runs while striking out four. went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Rays starter Blake Snell, compet- Musgrove gave up two runs in five innings. along with utilityman Tyler Wade and top prospect The Orioles have said they want to stretch out Vidal ing for a front-end rotation slot, went five innings and Gleyber Torres. The 27-year-old Gregorius hit .276 with Nuno as a starting , but the veteran just back allowed four earned runs. PADRES 3, RANGERS 2 20 home runs and 70 RBIs last season. from playing for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic did Christian Bethancourt hit a game-ending for not make it out of the second inning. He allowed three CUBS 9, ROCKIES 6 San Diego after starter Clayton Richard threw five innings, BRANTLEY’S BACK earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. Matt Szczur homered and had three hits for Chicago, allowing two runs and five hits. Elvis Andrus and Ryan Rua All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley got two hits in and Kyle Schwarber added an RBI single. Cubs starter Kyle each had two hits for Texas. Nick Martinez tossed 5 1/3 solid his return to the Cleveland lineup. Coming off a year MARLINS 9, BRAVES 3 Hendricks allowed two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He has innings, giving up one run and four hits. almost totally lost to shoulder trouble, he drove in a run Miami starter Stephen Fife worked four scoreless not walked anyone in 13 2/3 innings this spring and has 14 and scored once against the Dodgers. innings, giving up three hits and walking one while low- strikeouts. DJ LeMahieu doubled for Colorado. DIAMONDBACKS 10, ATHLETICS 6 The 29-year-old Brantley is cautiously optimistic ering his spring ERA to 1.50. Justin Nicolino gave up an Kevin Cron homered and drove in three runs for Arizona. about becoming a regular once again for the AL cham- earned run and two hits in four innings of relief. R.A. GIANTS 3, WHITE SOX 2 Taijuan Walker allowed four runs and six hits over 4 2/3 pions. Brantley injured his shoulder diving for a ball on Dickey went 5 2/3 innings in the start for Atlanta and San Francisco starter Johnny Cueto threw five innings in his fourth spring start. Oakland starter Sean Sept. 22, 2015. He played only 11 games last year and was touched for six runs. Marcell Ozuna homered off the innings, allowing just one earned run. Reynaldo Lopez, Manaea threw five innings, yielding one run and three hits has had two operations. knuckleballer. one of the top pitching prospects the White Sox with five strikeouts. Khris Davis had a two-run double. — AP

GOLF Johnson faces a major group in Match Play

AUSTIN: Dustin Johnson has a trio of major Reed and includes Brooks Koepka, Kevin champions in his way at the Dell Technologies Kisner and Jason Dufner. Match Play. Jordan Spieth at least won’t have to worry Johnson is the No. 1 seed for the first time about playing a close friend like he did a year in Match Play, which starts Wednesday at ago against Justin Thomas. Instead, he has Austin Country Club. The three players two Japanese players - Yuta Ikeda and Hideto assigned to his round-robin group are PGA Tanihara, and Ryder Cup teammate Ryan champion Jimmy Walker, two-time major Moore. “US Amateur champion and match- champion Martin Kaymer and former US play wizard - lovely,” Spieth said about Moore, Open champion Webb Simpson. whom he described as “top five of most diffi- Groups were determined by pulling one cult guys to play.” Moore won the US Amateur name from each of four 16-man segments and the US Public Links Amateur in 2004. He based on the world ranking. Defending was the final captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup champion Jason Day, the No. 3 seed, has Bay last year at Hazeltine and went 2-1, defeating Hill winner Marc Leishman in his group. They Lee Westwood in the match that clinched vic- were the only two Australians in the 64-man tory for the Americans. Spieth is the local field. Rounding out that group is Lee favorite, helping the Texas Longhorns to the Westwood and Pat Perez. NCAA title in 2012. None of his round-robin Rory McIlroy, the No. 2 seed who won two matches made it to the 18th hole last year, years ago at Harding Park, has Emiliano Grillo, but he lost in the first knockout match and 2015 runner-up Gary Woodland and Soren spent the rest of the weekend on the lake. Kjeldsen. Hideki Matsuyama is the No. 4 seed Day and McIlroy are among just three past and has last year’s runner-up Louis champions of this event. The other is Matt Oosthuizen, Ross Fisher and Jim Furyk. Fisher Kuchar, who won in Arizona when it was sin- might be able to wrap up a spot in the gle-elimination. Sergio Garcia and PGA Tour Masters if the Englishman can advance out of rookie Jon Rahm give Spain two players in his group. “I’m happy with that draw,” McIlroy one group. said. “I feel like I’m playing well enough. I feel “The first time I played this event, it was 64 TORONTO: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Connor Brown (12) dives for the puck as Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug (47), goalie Tuukka like I can advance from that group and get guys, win or go home,” Spieth said. “Now it’s Rask (40) and defenseman Adam McQuaid (54) watch during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, in Toronto. — AP myself into the weekend.” an opportunity to play more rounds, and fans After round-robin play for three days, 16 and the viewing audience get to see the play- NHL players advance to single-elimination, two ers they want to see play multiple rounds. The matches on Saturday and Sunday. draw is the draw. You’ve got to play well to The All-American group starts with Patrick advance no matter what.” — AP Bozak scores go-ahead goal in Toronto’s win over Bruins

TORONTO: Tyler Bozak scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with less than two minutes left and the NHL results/standings Toronto Maple Leafs earned a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night. The win pulled the Maple Leafs (81 points) within one point of the Bruins Edmonton 2, Los Angeles 0; Dallas 1, San Jose 0; Nashville 3, Arizona 1; Toronto 4, Boston 2; for third place in the Atlantic Division. Toronto, hold- Buffalo 2, Detroit 1. ing the final wild-card position in the Eastern Conference, also has a game in hand. Morgan Rielly, Western Conference Eastern Conference William Nylander and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Central Division Atlantic Division WL OTLGFGAPTS Montreal 41 23 8 199 180 90 Maple Leafs, who swept the season series. Frederik Ottawa 39 24 8 188 185 86 Andersen was sharp with 32 saves, and James van Chicago 47 20 5 218 178 99 Boston 38 28 6 207 192 82 Riemsdyk added two assists. David Backes and Minnesota 43 22 6 232 178 92 Toronto 33 23 15 216 210 81 Dominic Moore scored for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask Nashville 36 25 11 212 202 83 Tampa Bay 34 28 9 194 197 77 allowed two goals on 27 shots. St. Louis 38 28 5 197 193 81 Florida 31 29 11 180 204 73 Winnipeg 32 33 7 217 230 71 Buffalo 30 31 12 182 211 72 PREDATORS 3, COYOTES 1 Dallas 29 33 10 196 233 68 Detroit 28 32 11 178 212 67 Ryan Ellis scored twice and Pekka Rinne made 25 Colorado 20 48 3 138 234 43 saves in Nashville’s victory over Arizona. Viktor Arvidsson Metropolitan Division Washington 46 17 8 228 159 100 AUSTIN: Dustin Johnson of the USA warms up on the driving range ahead of a practise also scored for the Predators, who have won four of five. Pacific Division Craig Smith added two assists. Oliver Ekman-Larsson Columbus 47 18 6 228 164 100 round for the WGC Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club yesterday in Austin, Texas. — AFP San Jose 42 23 7 196 166 91 Pittsburgh 45 17 9 249 198 99 had the lone goal and Mike Smith stopped 28 shots for NY Rangers 45 24 3 231 189 93 the Coyotes, who have lost three straight. Edmonton 39 24 9 209 186 87 Anaheim 38 23 11 186 178 87 NY Islanders 33 26 12 210 218 78 Spieth looking forward to Philadelphia 33 30 8 186 213 74 SABRES 2, RED WINGS 1 Calgary 41 27 4 201 193 86 Carolina 30 27 13 182 203 73 Jack Eichel and Matt Moulson each scored a pow- Los Angeles 34 31 7 175 181 75 New Jersey 26 33 12 164 209 64 get through this Masters er-play goal in the first two periods to help Buffalo Vancouver 28 34 9 161 207 65 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the Arizona 26 37 9 173 230 61 AUSTIN: Two weeks before the Masters one will hurt.” Spieth won the Colonial a beat Detroit. Robin Lehner made 34 saves for the standings and are not included in the loss column (L) begins, Jordan Spieth is looking forward to it month after the Masters, and he already has Sabres. Tomas Tatar scored in his third straight game, being over. Spieth was on the verge of won this year with a dominating performance pulling the Red Wings within one midway through the second. They had power plays early and late in the becoming only the fourth player to win at Pebble Beach. The Las Vegas Westgate third period but failed to take advantage, falling to 0 back-to-back at Augusta National when he SuperBook lists him as the 6-1 favorite, slightly for 4 with an extra skater. Petr Mrazek stopped 28 took a five-shot lead to the back nine. He ahead of world No. 1 Dustin Johnson. “It shots for Detroit. Buffalo has won two straight for the dropped six shots over the next three holes, would be best if I could reclaim the jacket,” first time in more than a month. including two balls in Rae’s Creek on the 12th Spieth said. “But I believe that I’ll be back up hole for a quadruple bogey, and wound up there sooner or later, just the way that we play STARS 1, SHARKS 0 three shots behind Danny Willet. the golf course, the success we’ve had and the Kari Lehtonen made 30 saves for his 36th career As the Masters looms, Spieth has been comfort level I have there. Whether it happens shutout and second this season as Dallas edged San Jose. fielding more questions about that collapse this year or not, but it will just be nice because Curtis McKenzie scored his fifth goal on a tip-in from the on the back nine. “No matter what happens that tournament, it’s a 365-day thing. There’s slot that beat Sharks goalie Aaron Dell in the second peri- at this year’s Masters, whether I can grab the no other Masters.” Spieth said the Masters did od. Adam Cracknell took the shot from the left point. Jiri jacket or I miss the cut or I finish 30th, it will not affect him while he was on the golf Hudler also assisted on the goal. Pacific Division leader be nice having the Masters go by,” Spieth course, and that he answered those questions San Jose (42-23-7) lost a third straight game for only the said Monday night during the draw for the with victories at Colonial, the Australian Open second time this season. Dallas (29-33-10) is barely alive Dell Technologies Match Play. and Pebble Beach. in the playoff race with 10 games remaining. “The Masters lives on for a year. It brings a “But as far as just having all the questions non-golf audience into golf. And it will be done, I’m pretty sure they will be,” he said. OILERS 2, KINGS 0 nice once this year’s finished from my point Rory McIlroy isn’t so sure. McIlroy had a four- Cam Talbot made 35 saves for his second consecu- of view, to be brutally honest with you.” shot lead going into the final round in 2011 tive shutout and seventh this season as Edmonton Spieth has never finished worse than second at the Masters and shot 80. McIlroy bounced ended an eight-game homestand with a victory over in the Masters in his three appearances. He back to win the US Open two months later, Los Angeles. Patrick Maroon and Milan Lucic scored was runner-up to Bubba Watson in 2014 and he since has added three more majors. for the Oilers, who won their fourth in a row to move after having a two-shot lead with 11 holes to “It’s not as if it’s going to be the last year he one point ahead of Calgary and into a tie for second play in 2014, and then he won the green gets questions about it,” McIlroy said. “That place in the Pacific Division with Anaheim. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each had a pair of jacket in 2015 by tying the 72-hole scoring might be the way he’s approaching it. But if he assists. McDavid leads the NHL with 82 points. record held by Tiger Woods. doesn’t banish those demons or win this year, Jonathan Quick stopped 29 shots for the fading Kings, He had said after last year’s Masters, “This the questions will always still be there. — AP AUSTIN: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot during a practise round for the WGC Dell who have lost four of five. — AP Match Play at Austin Country Club yesterday in Austin, Texas. — AFP