Altuve booed, nicked by pitch in spring debut for Astros
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — José Altuve was loudly booed, called a cheater and even plunked by a pitch in his spring training debut for the Houston Astros. Altuve and some of his high-profile teammates played on the road for the first time in the exhibition season, beating the Detroit Tigers 11-1 in Lakeland, Florida. The fans heckled the Astros who were implicated in the sign-stealing scandal that has rocked baseball. Elsewhere in spring training, Gerrit Cole struck out two in a hitless inning during his debut for the New York Yankees and Mookie Betts got two hits for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alonso returns to McLaren for another shot at Indy 500
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
Fernando Alonso will again attempt to complete motorsports’ version of the Triple Crown with a return to the Indianapolis 500 in May. The McLaren team will field a third Indy 500 entry for Alonso. He will attempt to qualify driving the No. 66 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren with sponsorship from Ruoff Mortgage. Alonso ran Indy in 2017 but his engine failed. He failed to make the race last year driving for McLaren. Alonso has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix for the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Creators of original Phanatic call redesign ‘an affront’
NEW YORK (AP) — The creators of the original Phillie Phanatic accused the Philadelphia Phillies of “an affront to our intellectual property rights and to Phillies fans everywhere” with the team’s redesign of the 42-year-old mascot. The Phillies unveiled the redesign of the green mascot before Sunday’s exhibition game against Pittsburgh. Philadelphia sued Harrison/Erickson, the New York company that created the Phanatic, last August in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The team alleged Harrison/Erickson threatened to terminate the Phillies’ rights to the Phanatic as of June 15 and “make the Phanatic a free agent” unless the team renegotiated its 1984 rights deals.

Pirates’ Archer scratched from start due to neck tightness
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Chris Archer was scratched from his scheduled against the New York Yankees and Gerrit Cole due to neck tightness Pittsburgh said the move was precautionary and that Archer is day to day. Archer went 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA in 23 starts last season. Cole was scheduled to make his first start with the Yankees after signing a $324 million nine year contract as a free agent.

Zamboni driver, 42, gets win as emergency goalie for ‘Canes
TORONTO (AP) — Emergency backup goalie Dave Ayres made eight saves in relief of Carolina’s two injured netminders in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 42-year-old Ayres works as a Zamboni driver for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. He has been a practice goalie with the Leafs and as the emergency goalie for Saturday night’s game, he was available to either team if needed. He was forced into action for the Hurricanes midway through the second period after Carolina’s James Reimer and Petr Mrazek were injured. The Hurricanes were leading 3-1 when the Ayres took over. He became the oldest goalie in NHL history to win his regular-season debut.

Newman suffered head injury, no internal injuries in crash
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ryan Newman says he suffered a head injury in his crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 but didn’t disclose details. Roush team president Steve Newmark opened a news conference before Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by reading a lengthy statement from Newman. The 42-year-old driver from Indiana apologized for not being at the track. He says he avoided internal organ damage and broken bones in the crash and is being treated for the head injury. There is no timetable for his return to racing. Ross Chastain will drive the No. 6 Ford on Sunday as Newman’s streak of 649 consecutive starts comes to an end.