SEATTLE -- Seattle Mariners starter Felix Hernandez is expected to miss four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a grade 1 lat strain in his right side.

Seattle manager Scott Servais said Tuesday that an MRI revealed the extent of the injury. Hernandez was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday and was originally diagnosed as having a shoulder strain. Servais said the injury is similar to the lat strain suffered by Hunter Strickland early in the season, just not as severe.

Hernandez landed on the injured list a day after he pitched 2 1/3 innings against Boston, giving up six hits and seven earned runs in his second-shortest start of the season. Hernandez lasted only one inning in April against Kansas City, but left that game because of an illness.

Hernandez said he's hopeful he will be out only a couple of weeks.

LOS ANGELES -- Major League Baseball has placed Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias on administrative leave in the wake of his Monday arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.

Urias was arrested and charged with domestic battery after an alleged physical altercation with a woman in the parking lot of the Beverly Center, an upscale shopping mall in L.A., at 7:30 p.m. PT, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was released at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after posting $20,000 bail and did not join his teammates later in the afternoon.

MLB said it was conducting an investigation into the matter and is "in the process of gathering facts" while Urias is on administrative leave.

In a statement Tuesday morning, the Dodgers said the team also was gathering information and would have no further comment. Manager Dave Roberts met with the media before the Dodgers' home game against the San Diego Padres and said he was "choosing my words wisely," adding, "I don't know the facts."

"Obviously, it's not ideal in any sense of the word," Roberts said. "But until we know more, it just doesn't behoove me to make any comments. Fortunately, Major League Baseball is kind of digging into this, as it well should. We'll know more later."

In the meantime, the Dodgers, who should soon benefit from the return of lefties Tony Cingrani and Caleb Ferguson, added right-handed reliever JT Chargois to the active roster.

Urias' leave expires after seven days, but the league can extend it until its investigation is complete. Urias can also technically come off leave before the seven-day mark, but in prior circumstances, this process has dragged out for several weeks and even months.

Eleven players have been investigated and nine have been suspended since 2016, the first full season of MLB's current domestic violence policy. Suspensions ranged from 15 games (Steven Wright and Jeurys Familia) to 100 (Jose Torres). In between were cases involving household names such as Jose Reyes (51-game suspension), Aroldis Chapman (30 games), Addison Russell (40) and Roberto Osuna (75).

The Astros caught flak for acquiring Osuna in the wake of his domestic violence suspension, as did the Cubs for activating Russell last week.

"Every allegation of domestic violence must be taken seriously and addressed promptly," the Dodgers said in their statement, "and we will cooperate fully with the authorities and Major League Baseball to ensure that that happens in this case."

Urias is considered one of the most promising young pitchers in the league. He was beginning to build a special connection with the Dodgers' fan base in L.A. largely because of his Mexican heritage, drawing comparisons to Fernando Valenzuela.

Urias was in the big leagues at 19 in 2016, then spent most of the next two seasons recovering from shoulder surgery. He returned for the Dodgers' playoff run last October, pitching effectively out of the bullpen, then made his first Opening Day roster in 2019. Urias, now 22, began this season in the rotation, then moved to the bullpen -- gradually pitching in higher-leverage situations -- partly so that the Dodgers could monitor his innings.

The Dodgers were open to the possibility of Urias helping out as a starting pitcher once again during the stretch run.

Now they don't know when, if ever, they will get him back.

"Major League Baseball is going through their process and trying to get all the facts, getting as much information as they can," Roberts said. "Right now, we're going to kind of stand pat, let the process run its course."

BOSTON -- Red Sox ace Chris Sale struck out a career-high 17 in just seven innings against Colorado, then was pulled after 108 pitches on a chilly Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Sale became the first pitcher in major league history to fan 17 in a start of no more than seven innings.

The big league record for strikeouts in nine innings is 20, done five times. Roger Clemens did it twice for Boston, Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson also accomplished the feat and Max Scherzer was the last to do it, in 2016.

When Boston manager Alex Cora told Sale he was coming out, the lefty used his fingers to form the number 20.

Sale surpassed his previous best of 15 strikeouts, dominating the Rockies with a firm fastball and a sharp slider. A seven-time All-Star, Sale struck out the first six batters and fanned eight through three innings. He didn't allow a runner until Mark Reynolds doubled to begin the fifth.

Sale gave up three hits, including a two-run homer to Nolan Arenado, didn't walk anyone and left with a 3-2 lead. Brandon Workman relieved to begin the eighth and gave up a two-run homer to Charlie Blackmon.

The 17 strikeouts are the most by any pitcher in a game since Scherzer struck out 20 on May 11, 2016, against Detroit, and the most by a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez had 17 in 2000.

In his last outing Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, Sale had 14 strikeouts in eight innings. He is the first pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts in consecutive starts since Clayton Kershaw in 2015 (Aug. 28-Sept. 2).

It's the second time in Sale's career that he has recorded at least 14 strikeouts in consecutive starts (also done in 2015). He's the third Red Sox pitcher in the live ball era (since 1920) to do so, joining Pedro Martinez, who did it three times, and Roger Clemens, who did it twice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Scottish hammer thrower charged with “tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control”

Scottish hammer thrower Mark Dry has been provisionally suspended from athletics after being charged with “tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control”.

UK Athletics announced that Dry’s alleged anti-doping rule violation was contrary to IAAF Anti-Doping Rule Article 2.5, which is listed as “conduct which subverts the doping control process but which would not otherwise be included in the definition of prohibited methods”.

The IAAF rule adds: “Tampering shall include, without limitation, intentionally interfering or attempting to interfere with a doping control official, providing fraudulent information to an anti-doping organization, or intimidating or attempting to intimidate a potential witness.”

In a statement, UK Athletics said: “The provisional suspension was issued by UK Anti-Doping and is in accordance with IAAF Anti-Doping Rules.

“The individual now has the opportunity to respond to the charge against him including the right to a full hearing of the case.”

Dry, who won bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and 2018 and is ranked fifth on the UK all-time list with his PB of 76.93m from 2015, had been working towards a comeback after hip surgery last year.

“I am surprised at UKA’s stance given that the investigation is still ongoing,” said Dry. “I am currently taking legal advice and will respond in due course.”

In a statement, Scottish Athletics said: “We are aware of the case involving a Scottish athlete. There is a process to be followed and we have to await the outcome of that process (which involves UK Athletics and UK Anti-Doping).

“We have a duty of care for all our athletes and that’s very much in our thoughts at this stage, too.”

Scottish Athletics understands that Dry will seek a hearing and appeal the decision.

SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.

So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!

10 Years Ago (May 13, 2009): After being acquitted of tax evasion charges in a federal court in Miami on April 17, Helio Castroneves returned to Team Penske’s Indy car program and captured the Indianapolis 500 pole for the third time in his career. His speed of 224.864 mph was enough to bump his teammate, Ryan Briscoe, from the pole during Pole Day.

Other Happenings: Mark Martin, driving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5, survived a caution-plagued Southern 500 to earn the 37th victory of his Cup Series career; Brian Birkhofer pocketed $30,000 for his victory in the SuperClean Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Missouri; Stevie Smith earned a pair of All Star Circuit of Champions victories at Port Royal Speedway while Todd Shaffer collected a win at Williams Grove Speedway; Donny Schatz took the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series points lead with a win at Eldora Speedway.

25 Years Ago (May 11, 1994): Following a diatribe in the May 4 issue of the Washington Post where sportswriter Thomas Boswell called for the banning of motorsports following the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, readers of The Post responded in overwhelming fashion. Readers responded to The Post’s “Point/Counterpoint,” in which editors asked readers to pick a side, pro racing responses outranked anti-racing replies by a 145-1 count.

Other Happenings: Ayrton Senna was laid to rest in his native Brazil in one of the largest funerals in the country’s history after his fatal crash in the Grand Prix of San Marino; Dave Blaney bagged $25,000 after winning a World of Outlaws feature at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway; Scott Brayton topped the charts with a 227.658 mph lap during Indianapolis 500 practice; Derrike Cope took Zook Racing, the former Davey Allison Racing team, to victory lane in Busch Grand National action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

50 Years Ago (May 14, 1969): Lee Roy Yarbrough survived a collision with race leader Bobby Allison with four laps left to win the Rebel 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The contact between Yarbrough and Allison caused the race to end under the caution flag, allowing Yarbrough’s damaged Ford Talladega to take the checkered flag first. Allison said post-race that Yarbrough’s teammate, Cale Yarborough, triggered the crash by forcing Allison into the first turn wall.

Other Happenings: Parnelli Jones was declared the winner of a confusing SCCA Trans-Am race at Michigan Int’l Speedway. He was originally scored fourth at the flag, with Mark Donohue named winner before a scoring recheck found Jones was the actual winner; In the same Trans-Am race, a spectator was killed when Horst Kwech careened off track in the first corner and into an area occupied by fans; Mario Andretti was the clear-cut favorite to win the Indianapolis 500 pole after topping the practice charts; Andy Hampton won the 200-lap ARCA event at the Nashville Fairgrounds in a 1969 Dodge Charger.

INDIANAPOLIS– Oriol Servia became the latest, and probably final driver officially named to the Indianapolis 500 entry field late Monday as Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced its third entry.

Chicago-based Team Stange Racing LLC has partnered with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to field a car for Servia. Servia’s No. 77 Team Stange Racing with Arrow SPM Honda will be sponsored by MotoGator and Lucas Oil.

“I am so pleased to announce this great partnership with Arrow SPM today as Team Stange Racing makes its entry into IndyCar racing,” stated John Stange Jr., co-owner, Team Stange Racing. “We are so blessed to partner with a company like MotoGator who is committed to building a winning IndyCar program with TSR. Once we developed our plan, we knew that we wanted to launch at the world’s greatest race with so much history and it being so special to me personally. The second thing to do was to partner with a quality team that we could align and grow with as we build our team to compete in the NTT IndyCar Series eventually full time in 2021/22.”

Servia, a Spaniard with 10 Indianapolis 500 starts under his belt, has been competing in IndyCar for more than 15 years. The 1999 Indy Lights champion has a best Indianapolis 500 start of third (2011) and a best finish of fourth (2012).

“I work and prepare all year for this race, so it’s kind of ironic that we are actually announcing a program this late,” Servia said. “I am proud to represent Lucas Oil again, and couldn’t be more excited to introduce the world to MotoGator and Team Stange, which you will hear a lot more very soon. At last year’s 500, I did perhaps the best driving I’ve ever done and came really close. I’m here to finish that job, and I know for a fact that everyone on this program has worked really hard preparing this event with the same aim. It may look like we are arriving almost late to the game, but we are arriving ready.”

Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports President Jon Flack echoed Stange’s sentiments.

“We couldn’t be more excited about adding a pilot of Oriol’s caliber to our driver lineup for the Indy 500, and it is equally satisfying to partner with TSR and welcome MotoGator to the program,” said Flack. “This is a really big step for Team Stange Racing and MotoGator, and Arrow SPM will give it everything it has to make them proud and leave a lasting impression on the motorsport community.”

Opening day of practice for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 is Tuesday, May 14.

CLERMONT, Ind. – Racers from the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires gained oval experience Monday during a test at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The Canadian-owned Exclusive Autosport team enjoyed an especially productive day with Danial Frost and Russian Nikita Lastochkin leading the way in Indy Pro 2000 and Mexico’s Manuel Cabrera emerging with the fastest time in USF2000.

Monday began in the classroom with the traditional Oval Clinic hosted by Road to Indy veteran and Lucas Oil School of Racing Director of Operations Gerardo Bonilla. Also on hand to pass along a wealth of knowledge and experience to an enraptured audience were popular Brazilian Tony Kanaan, whose long list of accomplishments includes winning the 1997 Indy Lights championship, the 2004 IndyCar title and the 2013 Indianapolis 500, plus Indy Pro 2000 Race Director and five-time Indianapolis 500 starter Johnny Unser and IndyCar Race Director Kyle Novak.

“It’s good have someone who is successful to talk to the kids,” said Kanaan. “It was a pleasure to come talk to them – if I put one thing into their heads that will help them drive today and in the race next week, then that’s a good thing. I came to America and went straight into Indy Lights, and I was lucky to have a mentor like (former Tasman Motorsports Team Principal) Steve Horne, and I repeated much of what he told me to the drivers today.

“This is the beauty of being part of the Road to Indy. The ladder series is part of IndyCar and all the drivers support it. This is the future – in a few years, I’ll be watching the races and I’ll see drivers in the Indy 500 and I can say ‘I remember talking to those kids!’ I think that is why the ladder series has been so strong: everyone puts a lot of effort into making this work. I don’t see anything like this anywhere in the world so to me, this is the best place to be.”

Frost was clearly the class of the field in Indy Pro 2000, heading all three sessions which totaled more than two hours of track time. His best time was a full half-second clear of his nearest challenger in the first 45-minutes of running this morning and he continued a similar dominance throughout the day to post a best lap of 20.2860 (121.739 mph) this afternoon and lay down a firm marker in advance of next week’s Cooper Tires Freedom 90 at the fast and challenging LOR oval.

Lastochkin’s time of 20.7516 seconds, also set Monday afternoon, remained good enough for second on the day to ensure a clean sweep for Exclusive Autosport, although Moises de la Vara jumped to third fastest at 20.7641 moments before the final checkered flag for DEForce Racing.

Last year’s USF2000 champion, Kyle Kirkwood, also improved to 20.8025 in the final period to edge out Jacob Abel and series points leader Rasmus Lindh.

Three different drivers took a turn in the spotlight during Monday’s trio of USF2000 test sessions, although once again it was Exclusive Autosport which led the way as  Cabrera’s time from the opening session, 22.1141 seconds, an average speed of 111.675 mph on the .686-mile oval, remained as the fastest lap of the day in preparation for the Cooper Tires Freedom 75.

Cabrera, 18, also displayed good pace on the IMS road course last weekend, although his results were compromised by an incident in the first race and a mechanical problem in the second. The youngster will no doubt gain a welcome boost of confidence from Monday’s performance, even though his day was curtailed by an incident moments before the end of the opening 45-minute session.

Rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy set the pace in the second session for Pabst Racing, just over one-tenth quicker than teammate and Mazda Scholarship winner Hunter McElrea.

Colin Kaminsky ended the day third fastest with a time .0115 of a second slower than Cabrera.

The final session saw yet another rookie, 14-year-old Jak Crawford narrowly on top for DEForce Racing. Jack William Miller, Darren Keane, another 14-year-old, Nolan Siegel, Alex Baron, Eduardo Barrichello and McElrea also were within one tenth of a second of Crawford’s benchmark in the final session.

SAN JOSE -- Robert Bortuzzo wasn't the only hero for the St. Louis Blues in their 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

He's just the only one they wanted to talk about.

Oh, they mentioned goalie Jordan Binnington (24 saves), who improved to 10-2-0 in games after a loss this season, with a .934 save percentage and a 1.80 goals-against average. They acknowledged the clutch opening goal by Jaden Schwartz, who continued his postseason renaissance after a disappointing regular season.

But they really just wanted to talk about Bortuzzo's goal at 16:34 of the second period, as a defenseman who has never been known for his offensive flourish roofed a shot past Martin Jones that ended up being the game-winning tally.

"That was unbelievable. He gets it on his stick and he's so calm, and then he makes that shot ... it's one of the hardest backhands I've seen. We were all very impressed," center Ryan O'Reilly said.

"Picked the corner, too," said center Brayden Schenn, before quipping, "I'm sure Bortuzzo has a few like that. Check the highlight reel."

Schwartz joked that Bortuzzo scores those kind of goals "all the time" in practice. Binnington said, "That was really smooth. Nice play by him. He's got that in his arsenal."

Having Binnington and Schwartz make plays in a critical game of the Western Conference Final isn't exactly surprising. Bortuzzo making them is quite surprising. Not only because he had just two assists in 30 previous postseason games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Blues, but because he's been in and out of the lineup this postseason with St. Louis, playing just eight of their 15 playoff games. He only played two of seven games against the Dallas Stars in the previous round, before appearing in the first two games against the Sharks.

"It's never fun coming out [of the lineup]. But it's how you handle it. It's using the time off to get better," he said.

How the 30-year-old Bortuzzo handles it is indicative of his character, according to Schenn. "He's a glue guy in our locker room. Whether he's in the lineup or out of the lineup, his attitude doesn't change. He's a team-first guy. You need those guys," he said.

The Blues needed him in Game 2. The score was tied at 2-2 late in the third period, the Sharks having rallied from a 2-0 deficit on two more Logan Couture goals, giving him 13 in the playoffs. Bortuzzo was out with new defensive partner Joel Edmundson and the Blues' best line in the first two games of the playoffs: Pat Maroon, Robert Thomas and Tyler Bozak.

The Blues do their best work deep inside the offensive zone, and their defensemen were encouraged to join the play a bit more in order to facilitate that. Maroon got the play started on the forecheck, the puck finding its way to Bortuzzo. He passed to Bozak, who passed to Edmundson, who saw Bortuzzo sprint to the goal after catching Sharks veteran center Joe Thornton flat-footed at the blueline. Edmundson fed him, and Bortuzzo did the rest.

"I found a way to sneak in behind Thornton and put it home," he said.

Again, one does not expect Robert Bortuzzo to score a critical goal. He has 14 of them in 335 regular-season games since the 2011-12 season. He didn't have one in the Stanley Cup Playoffs until Monday.

Does he remember his last playoff goal, in general?

"In all of hockey?" he asked.

It was actually in 2007, while Bortuzzo was with the Kitchener Rangers. Remember that goal?

"I don't," he said, with a laugh. "I don't know if you have people that can dig that stuff up, but it's been a while."

Later in the game, Bortuzzo made a play that was much more in keeping with his reputation in the NHL, dropping to the ice to block a rocket off the stick of Kevin Labanc of the Sharks in front of Binnington. "[Brent] Burns had it down low, found a high guy and it was a huge block by Bortuzzo. Key moment in the game. I think we fed off that," said the Blues rookie goalie.

He also played 1:47 on the penalty kill for the Blues, on a night when the Sharks were 0-for-2 on the power play.

"It felt good to contribute in any way," he said.

But, truth be told, it especially feels good to contribute offensively, if his teammates' reaction is any indication. "He usually has great breakout passes, but I've never seen him that far up the ice," joked Oskar Sundqvist. "Awesome goal, awesome celly."

That celebration, where Bortuzzo just seemed to bellow like a beast after the goal, was something he promised Schwartz before the postseason.

"[Goal-scoring] isn't really my game. It goes in the back of your mind," Bortuzzo said. "But I told Jaden that if I do score a playoff goal, you're going to like the celebration."

Did he like the celebration?

Schwartz smiled.

"I loved his celebration," he said.