Guardians ready for home opener

CLEVELAND — The 32nd home opener at Progressive Field is scheduled for this afternoon as the Cleveland Guardians host the Chicago White Sox.

Pregame ceremonies will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the game scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer from the national champion Buckeyes will throw the ceremonial first pitch. The Pickerington native will throw to Steve Colavito, honoring his father, Cleveland great Rocky Colavito.

Frank Robinson’s wife, Barbara Robinson, and daughter, Nichelle Robinson, will deliver the line-up card to honor the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s managerial debut on April 8, 1975.

To recognize the legacy of Guardians owner Larry Dolan who died in February, his grandson and namesake Lawrence John “Jack” Dolan, will deliver the official game ball to the pitcher’s mound.

Members of the string section from the Cleveland Orchestra will perform the national anthem. The Color Guard will feature the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marines and Coast Guard with a flyover from the 910th Airlift Wing out of Youngstown Air Reserve Station, flying the C130H Hercules. During the anthem, an American Flag will be held on the field by Cleveland Guardians employees and their family members.

Gates will open at 2 p.m. All fans will receive a 2025 magnet schedule.

First loss for Warriors

BOARDMAN — The West Branch tennis team suffered its first loss of the season, 3-2 to Boardman on Monday.

The Warriors (3-1) will host Youngstown Mooney on Wednesday.

Boardman 3, West Branch 2

FIRST SINGLES: Gabe Hammerton (B) def. Caden Zion, 6-2, 6-3.

SECOND SINGLES: Matt Amendol (B) def. Evan Hancock, 6-2, 6-0.

THIRD SINGLES: Marcello Jacobson (B) def. Camden Lane, 6-1, 6-1.

FIRST DOUBLES: Zak Karlen-Damon Edwards (WB) def. Cooper Mraz-Jackson-Lewis, 6-3, 6-3.

SECOND DOUBLES: Trey Thomas-Xander Culbertson (WB) def. Jimmy Hunt-Derek Lewis, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

Weather hits the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Practice at the Masters was suspended late Monday morning and spectators were pulled off the golf course because of worsening rain and the threat of thunderstorms.

Augusta National had planned to close the course to fans earlier in the morning, but with only light rain falling, spectators were allowed onto the grounds for about 3 1/2 hours.

Forecasts called for storms throughout the afternoon, with the potential for severe weather, and 1 to 2 inches of rain. However, the forecast for the rest of the week looked promising, with mostly sunshine and high temperatures in the 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius).

Few players ventured out for morning practice rounds, and those who did — Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon and Thomas Detry, among them — played alone.

Shortly before 3 p.m., Augusta National announced that the course would not reopen to spectators until Tuesday out of safety considerations, and that ticket holders for Monday’s practice session would get refunds.

One in a quintillion

(AP) — One person came one first-round women’s NCAA Tournament game away from perfection in the CBS Sports Bracket Challenge.

The one miss occurred when 10th-seeded South Dakota State defeated No. 7 Oklahoma State 74-68 on March 22. The outcome didn’t make much news, especially considering the following opponent was eventual national champion UConn.

Coming that close to a perfect bracket is nearly impossible.

The NCAA computed the chances of getting every game correct at one in 9.2 quintillion. It didn’t compute the chances of finishing with just one loss.

Bart homers in Pirates victory

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joey Bart, Andrew McCutchen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa each drove in two runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates handed St. Louis its fourth consecutive loss with an 8-4 victory over the Cardinals on Monday night.

Bart connected in the first inning for his first homer of the season. He also hit an RBI triple during Pittsburgh’s four-run seventh.

Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (1-1) pitched five innings of one-run ball in his first win as a starting pitcher. He was converted from a reliever to a starter during spring training.

Rookie Thomas Harrington pitched four innings for his first save in his second career game, helping the Pirates win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run single in the second, and McCutchen added a two-run double in the seventh.

Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore (0-1) struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. He was charged with five runs and eight hits.

Masyn Winn and Yohel Pozo homered for St. Louis, and Brendan Donovan had three hits.

Burrito supreme

PITTSBURGH (AP) — What’s for breakfast? It’s burritos for New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

In fact, Wells enjoys breakfast burritos so much that he started an Instagram account about them on Friday. He is ranking the burritos in each visiting clubhouse.

The account had more than 53,000 followers by early Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees are playing their first road series this weekend, finishing a three-game set with the Pirates on Sunday. Wells gave a good review to Pirates visiting clubhouse manager Kevin Conrad and his staff.

Wells is grading the burritos on a scale of 1-100. The Pirates got a 73.

“I feel like everyone uses one out of 10, but I didn’t want to be like anybody else,” Wells said with a smile before Sunday’s game. “I wanted to be different.”

So, what does Wells look for in a breakfast burrito?

“I really love a chorizo burrito,” he said. “A little crisp on the tortilla and just a lot of eggs. So, kind of simple with a good flavor.”