Update on the latest sports

MLB-SCHEDULE

Boston set to host postponed opener against Baltimore

UNDATED (AP) — Boston and Baltimore try again Friday to start the 2021 season at Fenway Park, after Thursday’s scheduled opener was postponed by bad weather. Nathan Eovaldi (ee-VAHL’-dee) is still scheduled to pitch against Baltimore’s John Means.

The Nationals and Mets are waiting until at least Saturday to start their season as Washington deals with a COVID-19 outbreak. Three Nats players have tested positive and a fourth is considered a “likely positive,” according to GM Mike Rizzo.

Blake Snell is set to make his first start with the Padres Friday night against Arizona. Snell’s last official outing was Game 6 of the World Series, when he pitched 5 1/3 overpowering innings before Rays manager Kevin Cash’s stunning — and ill-fated — early hook. The Dodgers went on to win Game 6 and clinch the Series, and now Snell is in the NL West playing for LA’s top rival following an offseason trade. The left-hander will try to start on the right foot against the Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly.

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer will make his first start in Dodger Blue, facing Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR

South Carolina plays Stanford, UConn meets Arizona

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Adia Barnes will be part of a couple of firsts Friday in the women’s NCAA Final Four. She has taken her alma mater Arizona there for the first time in program history. And this will be first Final Four with two teams coached by Black women, with Barnes and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.

Arizona plays its first national semifinal game against 11-time national champion UConn. The Huskies are making their 13th consecutive Final Four appearance and record 21st overall. The game features two of the most dynamic scorers in the country in UConn’s Paige Bueckers (BEH’-kurz) and Arizona’s Aari McDonald. Bueckers this week became the first freshman to win The Associated Press national player of the year award.

The Gamecocks, the 2017 national champions, play No. 1 overall seed Stanford in the other semifinal game Friday night in the Alamodome in San Antonio. That game matches two coaches who are longtime friends, South Carolina’s Staley and Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer. It’s not the first meeting between the two on the big stage. They played in the 2017 Final Four when South Carolina rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to win en route to the NCAA championship.

OLYMPICS-TORCH RELAY

Tokyo Games organizers: No decision yet on Osaka torch relay

TOKYO (AP) — The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee says no decision has been made about rerouting the torch relay later this month around the city of Osaka. The mayor of Osaka and the governor of the prefecture want relay legs on April 14 through the city of Osaka to be canceled because of rising cases of COVID-19.

The relay started from northeastern Japan a week ago and is crisscrossing the country with 10,000 runners.

The relay is a test to see if organizers can pull off a large-scale event during the pandemic. Any failures will prompt more questions about the risks of holding the Olympics and Paralympics with 15,400 athletes entering Japan, accompanied by tens of thousands of officials, judges, coaches and media.

Organizers said last month that fans from abroad would be barred from attending the Olympics and Paralympics.

OLYMPICS-WORLD GAMES POSTPONED

World University Games in China postponed until 2022

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The World University Games that were due to open in China in just over four months have been postponed until next year.

The Switzerland-based FISU governing body said COVID-19 and travel restrictions prompted the postponement.

The event was to have opened in Chengdu in western China on Aug. 18 just days after the closing of the Tokyo Olympics. A new date wasn’t announced.