MIAMI -- Twelve years later, Carlos Gomez is back in the New York Mets' lineup.

New York selected Gomez's contract from Triple-A Syracuse and had him batting sixth and in right field Friday night at Miami.

The Mets placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the seven-day injured list due to a concussion, and designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. They recalled right-hander Paul Sewald from Syracuse.

Gomez, an All-Star for Milwaukee in 2013-14, last played for the Mets when he was a rookie in 2007. They signed the 33-year-old outfielder to a minor league contract in March, and he batted .270 with 22 RBIs in 35 games for Syracuse.

"He obviously has been swinging the ball really well," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "The defense has been outstanding, the leadership, the baserunning. From top to bottom the reports have been excellent. That's why he's up here getting a chance to help us win some games."

Broxton is batting.143 in 34 games. The Mets hope to keep him in their system.

"It just wasn't happening for him," Callaway said. "We have confidence this kid can play. We are very hopeful he is going to be back in the organization and help us at some point this year."

Conforto was hurt Thursday in Washington when he collided with a teammate while chasing a popup. On Friday he saw a neurologist, who prescribed no baseball activities for the next couple of days, and a re-evaluation is expected Monday.

The flurry of roster moves came with the Mets third in the NL East at 20-22.

"We have high expectations that we were very vocal about when the season started," general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said. "We have not lowered our expectations. We want to hold ourselves accountable to win games. We anticipate getting on a roll here and trying to make a run at this thing."

NEW YORK -- Since April 1, one team has stood alone atop the American League East standings.

It might not after this weekend.

Many around baseball thought the switch might have happened last weekend, when the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays played host to the hobbled but surprisingly surging New York Yankees in a pivotal early-season series at Tropicana Field.

But the Rays managed to scratch out one win in those three games -- and still led the AL East on Monday.

Now, five days later, the teams meet again for another three-game set, this time at Yankee Stadium. The Rays enter this series with a half-game lead threatened by a Bronx Bombers club that has battled through a bevy of injuries and bludgeoned its way up the standings.

In looking ahead to the weekend, it's worthwhile to look back at the last time these teams faced off. Here are four things the Yankees have learned about the Rays.

1. Tampa Bay's pitching staff is tough, but ...

The Rays' rotation primarily hinges on two of the arms the Yankees will face this weekend: those of Charlie Morton and defending Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.

The Yankees have gotten to both of them in the past. In Sunday's 7-1 series finale win, the Bombers ultimately cruised to the lopsided victory thanks to timely post-power-outage pop against Tampa Bay's bullpen after the unexpected 43-minute delay. Although Snell was handed his fourth loss of the season, he allowed just two earned runs and four hits. With his breaking pitches working, he also struck out 12.

Still, his stuff against the Yankees hasn't always been so sharp: Snell is 3-5 with a 4.25 ERA and eight home runs allowed in 12 career starts versus the team he's faced more than any other.

Morton has squared off with the Yankees just four times in his 12-year career. While he has a 2-1 record against them, his ERA in those starts is 4.10. In his latest outing against the Yankees, late last May in the Bronx, Morton -- pitching for Houston at the time -- gave up eight hits and two home runs in an eventual Yankees win.

Before their collapse Sunday, the Rays' bullpen lost last Friday's series opener. Specifically, that game was decided in the sixth when reliever Emilio Pagan gave up a two-strike RBI single to Gio Urshela. The go-ahead drive effectively negated the nine-strikeout performance Tyler Glasnow had delivered before a forearm injury took him out of the game and ultimately landed him on the injured list.

As for Urshela, the third baseman who has replaced Miguel Andujar (lost for the year with a torn labrum), his month-plus tenure in the big leagues this season has been stellar. Key two-strike hits and run-producing drives are becoming as much a part of his game as the slick barehanded grabs he's had charging in from third.

As formidable as parts of this Rays staff might be, the Yankees learned last weekend they can navigate it.

2. The Rays aren't afraid to pitch aggressively -- just ask Luke Voit

Voit, the Yankees' hulking first baseman who has been a rather unexpected offensive godsend, has gotten a ton of pitches inside this season.

He's gotten so many that he's started taking exception to them. If you were hit five times in 42 games, you probably wouldn't be too happy either. "It's frustrating," Voit said after getting plunked last Saturday at Tampa Bay.

A preview to Sunday’s race walk action in Alytus, Lithuania

Tom Bosworth, the Olympic sixth placer, Commonwealth silver medallist and multiple world record-holder at shorter distances, will again spearhead the British challenge when the European Race Walking Cup takes place in Alytus, Lithuania, on Sunday, writes Ian Richards.

At the last edition of the event in 2017 the Great Britain & NI team came away with a pair of fourth places.

Bosworth was fourth in the men’s 20km and he led the team to a fourth place finish just missing out to Ireland on a team bronze. These results represented Britain’s highest ever finishes in the European Cup.

So far in 2019, Bosworth has won the British Indoor Championships over 5000m before taking victory in the England 10km Championships in Coventry in 41:26 and the USATF 20km Championships in California in 83:34 in March. He followed this up with an 11th place at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Rio Maior at the beginning of April (83:34).

Bosworth will need to be close to his British record of 79:38, set on the Gold Coast, to challenge for the medals in Lithuania. He was seventh in last summer’s European Championships in 81:31 and has been consistently among Europe’s best for the last four years.

His major challengers will be Spain’s Diego García, who was the runner-up in Berlin and was second in both Rio Maior and the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Mexico last month.

The winner in Mexico was Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom who was the bronze medallist in Podebrady in 2017.

On the same day as the IAAF Challenge in Rio Maior, Mizinov Vasiliy (ANA) took victory in the European Athletics Permit Meeting in Podebrady in 80:14 ahead of reigning European Cup champion Christian Linke of Germany, who was third in 80:23.

Also in contention for the medals will be Spain’s European champion Alvaro Martin, Italian Massimo Stano who was third in last year’s IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships and fourth in Berlin and 2015 world champion and former European Cup champion Miguel Angel Lopez, who was only sixth in Berlin but can never be discounted.

Former world junior champion Callum Wilkinson was a brilliant sixth in Podebrady last month in a PB of 81:34 which was a British under-23 record and moved him to second on the UK all-time list. He will be looking to improve on his 10th at the last European Cup.

Cameron Corbishley made a sensational 50km debut in Dudince in March, clocking the second fastest ever British time of 3:53:20 to secure his place on the plane to Doha. This form suggests that he will be able to seriously revise his 20km PB of 86:00 set back in 2016.

Dominic King clocked his second fastest ever 50km of 3:56:35 behind Corbishley in Dudince. This quartet finished fourth in 2017 and although Spain will start as favourites, Great Britain will be in the mix with France, Italy, Ukraine and Poland for the medals in the team event.

British No.1 in 2019, Heather Lewis, has twice improved her personal best over 20km already this season with a 95:04 clocking in Podebrady last month moving her to fifth on the UK all-time list.

Welsh compatriot and Commonwealth bronze medallist Bethan Davies has a PB of 91:53 set in Lugano in 2018, but has made a quiet start to 2019 clocking 99:43 at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Rio Major in April and finishing runner-up to Lewis in the Molly Barnett 10km in Coventry in March in 46:59.

Both will be targeting the British qualifying time of 93:30 for the World Championships and looking to better Gemma Bridge’s highest ever British placing of 14th in the 2017 edition.

This trio finished sixth in the team competition in 2017. Joining the Welsh duo in the team is the Isle of Man’s Erika Kelly, making her Great Britain debut. She was just outside her PB (99:36) in clocking 99:45 in finishing behind Lewis in Lugano in March.

Italian Antonella Palmisano will be seeking to retain her title. Palmisano won by nearly two minutes at the 2017 edition, but Spain’s Maria Perez will be keen to add this title to her European title from Berlin.

The Lithuanian duo of Brigita Virbalyte-Dimsiene and Zivile Vaiciukeviciute will be looking to take a medal in front of the home crowd. Portugal’s Ana Cabecinha is a regular top eight finisher at major championships.

In the junior men’s 10km Chris Snook is ranked fourth on season’s bests and sixth on personal bests of those entered with his 43:37 when finishing on the podium in the EAA Permit meeting in Podebrady last month. He will be looking to target the British Athletics qualifying time of 43:00 for the European U20 Championships. Poland’s Lukas Niedzialek has Europe’s fastest time with 40:23 and will start as favourite.

World champion and world record-holder Yohann Diniz of France will start as the overwhelming favourite in the men’s 50km. The field features Ukraine’s Ivan Banzeruk but his compatriot, Berlin 2018 European champion Maryan Zakalnytskyy, is missing from the line-up.

Spain’s evergreen 49-year-old Jesus Garcia has competed in every edition of the European Cup since the first edition in 1996 at which he was the champion over 50km and he was the world champion 26 years ago in Stuttgart in 1993, before 15 of the 48 competitors were even born!

The first ever women’s 50km features reigning world and European champion and former world record-holder Ines Henriques from Portugal. Making her debut will be Italy’s Eleonora Giorgi who won over 20km in Podebrady where she set a European-leading time of 1:27:46.

Timetable (UK time in brackets)

08:00  (06:00)           50km men and women
09:00  (07:00)           10km U20 women
10:30   (08:30)           10km U20 men
14:30   (12:30)            20km men
16:30   (14:30)            20km women

Watch the action live via the below or on YouTube.

Follow @leedswalk for updates on British athletes.

As SPEED SPORT celebrates its 85th Anniversary, we’re excited to celebrate our legacy by offering this unique collection showcasing racing’s history! Check out The Vault Collection, available now from the SPEED SPORT Store!

WAUSAU, Wis. – The ARCA Midwest Tour Cabin Fever 100, scheduled for Saturday at State Park Speedway, has been cancelled because of a poor weather forecast.

Multiple weather experts have stated that unseasonably cool temperatures will blanket the area coupled with rain showers throughout the day and into Sunday.  Track officials are working with ARCA Midwest Tour to find a suitable raindate which will be announced at a later date.

The ARCA Midwest Tour will return to action with a doubleheader over the Memorial Day Weekend. The series will visit Jefferson Speedway on May 25, followed by an event on May 27 at Wisconsin Int’l Raceway.

It remains to be determined if Robert Wickens will ever race again, but that remains his goal. What is important, however, is the tremendous progress the injured driver has made in order to take a step on his own.

Wickens suffered a serious spinal injury in a horrifying crash on Aug. 19, 2018, at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway.

Wickens’ car went over the nose of Ryan Hunter-Reay’s machine and flew into the catch fence. The car ripped  into the fencing and poles, sending it spinning wildly in the air. His injuries included a bruised spine and fractures to his legs, pelvis and arms.

Wickens doesn’t know if he will ever drive an Indy car again, but he knows he will return to the cockpit of a race car someday, even if it’s using hand controls.

“The goal is to get back into an Indy car,” Wickens said. “We won’t know until I try it to see if it’s a reality. Apart from that, there’s been so many remarkable drivers that have succeeded with hand controls in motorsports that it makes me believe that regardless of how my progression goes, I will be in a race car again. It’s just a matter of which car. The dream is an Indy car.

“I know the team has been very outspoken that they’ll always have a car for me when I can race. I think there are also rules and regulations that we have to abide to. I don’t know how many modifications we can make, etc. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there.”

Wickens also doesn’t know if he is going to walk again, but he’s damned sure going to try.

The bruised spinal cord has left him fighting to regain use of his legs. He has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo.

Wickens has made remarkable progress and is able to stand up on his own, but still requires assistance to get his legs to move.

Wickens was determined to attend the season-opening race for the NTT IndyCar Series March 8-10 in St. Petersburg, Fla. He spent months at the rehabilitation facility and a chance to visit with his fellow drivers in the NTT IndyCar Series was something he eagerly anticipated.

“It’s nice to be back in a world that I’m familiar with,” Wickens said. “I’m doing well. Really, I am. There’s obviously good days and bad days. Being back at a race track makes everything feel a whole lot better, although we just finished practice one, it’s a little bit strange to be on the far side of the pit wall.”

When Wickens watched the race from the Arrow Schmidt Peterson pit area, he found it to be a strange vantage point.

“When you’re driving, you know the engineers are talking and figuring out how to make the car better,” Wickens said. “When you actually listen on a race weekend to the communication that goes on, it’s intense.

“I thought, ‘I’ll put a headset on, chime in, give some insight every now and then.’ I struggled to find my space to make my blurb. It’s all a work in progress, work in progress.

“From my front, I’m getting some stuff back, getting better each day. A long road. You feel like you’re on that road trip. It’s the 100-mile road that’s a straight line the entire time without any scenery and you’re just working as hard as you can to get to the end.

“We’re getting there. One step at a time. It’s basically all I can say, we’re making progress. The thing with a spinal injury is you never know when that day comes where you won’t progress any more. I think right now we’re trying to utilize every day we can to get as healthy as I can.”

SALISBURY, N.C. – Daniel Whitley came to Millbridge Speedway one year ago for the track’s two marquee races hoping to gain respect and earn his place among the contenders.

This year, he’s returning to the sixth-mile dirt oval with a different goal in mind: winning the sixth-annual QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport and carrying the banner for the West Coast.

Whitley is one of the “out-of-towners” coming east to North Carolina this week, hoping to spoil the party for the track regulars and claim the $5,151 top prize on offer in Wednesday night’s 51-lap feature.

Unlike last year, however – when the 15-year-old was driving his family-owned, silver No. 57 – this year Whitley will have a full-fledged Factory QRC machine at his disposal when he takes to the track.

The deal for Whitley to drive directly for Jimmy Elledge and Factory QRC came together as part of a package that puts the California teenager on Elledge’s team for the full season at California’s Cycleland Speedway, as well as other big races such as the QRC Open which fit into his schedule.

He’ll be one of several Factory QRC entries at the QRC Open, alongside teammates Karsyn Elledge, Tanner Holmes and dirt open-wheel star Logan Seavey.

It’s an opportunity that Whitley is relishing, calling it “a turning point” for his racing journey.

“The ride with Factory QRC is a big deal for me and for my career,” said Whitley, who turns 16 on May 17. “I’ve known jimmy for a while and I have a huge amount of respect for him and his whole family. I’ve always viewed his program as one of the best out there and what he has done for so many people in the industry is awesome. I am very thankful for the opportunity he has given me to represent his company and get to drive, in my opinion, the fastest race cars in outlaw kart racing.

“Jimmy has been a great mentor throughout my professional development and I’m grateful that this opportunity is coming to a head at such a prestigious event as the Open at Millbridge. It’s really special.”

Whitley made the A-Feature at last year’s Open, but ran into trouble late in the race and was relegated to 13th in the final rundown, retiring with seven laps to go.

He came back to Millbridge in the fall for the KKM Giveback Classic and was running inside the top 10 when he broke a sprocket and had to visit the work area for repairs. After rallying all the way back through the field, Whitley then broke a needle clip in the final laps and ended up finishing 15th.

While he’s endured more than his share of bad luck over the past year, Whitley noted he’s still learned plenty about how to drive the sixth-mile dirt oval and adds that it suits his driving style pretty well.

“Millbridge is such a tricky place to try and master, but it’s so much fun,” Whitley noted. “I would say the only track out west that compares to it is Cycleland; the track is big and at the end of the night when it gets slick is when the racing gets really good.

“Both tracks are places where there’s little room for air and you have to think fast, and for me, I feel like those types of situations are when I’m at the top of my game.”

After cutting his teeth last year at Cycleland and improving on his Open division skillset during the winter months with the Red Bluff Outlaws, Whitley is hoping to cap off back-to-back rookie-of-the-year runs with the biggest victory of his career.

“I’ve won out west, but this race … when you turn on the MAVTV cameras and put big money on the line, the atmosphere jumps up to another level and it becomes something really big for everyone involved,” Whitley said. “It means a lot to race here and to win here would be huge for me.”

In fact, Whitley already knows the way to victory lane at Millbridge. He won the 2015 Box Stock feature during QRC Open week, but would love nothing more than to add another trophy to his collection.

“Winning the Open would be the ultimate, at least so far,” he smiled. “I’m ready to represent the West Coast and hopefully we can bring the trophy back to California with us.”

Practice for the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport at Millbridge Speedway begins on Monday, May 20.

Feature racing takes place on both Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22.

INDIANAPOLIS – Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the 2019 Corvette Grand Sport Official Pace Car for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, leading 33 drivers to the green flag May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt will perform a dual role during the 103rd Indianapolis 500, which starts at 12:30 p.m. (ET). Along with driving the pace car, Earnhardt will serve as an NBC Sports commentator for the network’s first live telecast of the Indianapolis 500.

“I was already excited to attend my first Indianapolis 500 with NBC Sports, but driving the Pace Car just takes it to another level,” Earnhardt said. “The Corvette Grand Sport is an awesome car, and it’s an honor to be asked to lead the field to the green flag.

“I’m proud to be a part of such a prestigious event at a place that means so much to racing history. This will be an experience that I’ll cherish forever.”

This will be the second time Earnhardt has led the field to the green flag of a major race at IMS. He also drove the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Pace Car at the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line NASCAR Cup Series race last September.

Earnhardt recorded five top-10 finishes in Cup Series races at the Brickyard during his full-time driving career. His father, Dale Earnhardt, won the second Brickyard 400 in 1995.

“It is exciting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to lead the Indy 500 field to the green flag,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “With Dale joining the Indy 500 broadcast crew for the first time, pacing the field in the 2019 Corvette Grand Sport will give him a unique perspective to share with the viewers. We are honored that Dale will add Indy 500 Pace Car driver to his long legacy with Chevrolet.”

Earnhardt retired as a full-time Cup Series driver after the 2017 season and joined NBC Sports’ NASCAR broadcast team in 2018. He recorded 26 NASCAR victories during his storied career, including two Daytona 500 wins.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most popular and respected drivers in American motorsports in recent decades, and he knows all about speed, passion and tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “We knew he would enjoy his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge with the NBC Sports team, but driving the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car will create an even more indelible memory for a lifetime.”

This year marks the 16th time a Corvette has served as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, starting in 1978, and the 30th time a Chevrolet has led the field dating back to 1948, when a 1948 Fleetmaster Six convertible paced the race. No other brand or vehicle has served as the Indianapolis 500 pace car more than Chevrolet and the Corvette, respectively.

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan O'Reilly said it happens frequently on the St. Louis Blues' bench. There will be a line change. Forwards Patrick Maroon, Tyler Bozak and Robert Thomas will hit the ice. One of their teammates will acknowledge their energetic forecheck in the opposition zone.

"You can kind of hear guys saying, 'Here they go again,'" O'Reilly said. "It's great to watch them do it, how they wear teams down. They just seem to always be in the right area. It's a line that knows their game."

It's a line that generated a plus-3.78 expected goals plus/minus in 34 regular-season games, second-best on the Blues. It's a line that's generated more even-strength goals (seven) in the playoffs than any other grouping on the team. It's a line that didn't exist last season, because Bozak was a Maple Leaf, Thomas was in the OHL and Maroon was splitting time between the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. But it's a line that can provide a heartbeat for the Blues when they're flatlining.

"It's been fun. We're a line that has to go out there and compete as hard as we can," Bozak said. "Try to wear other teams down, try and set the tempo as best as we can. And get on the score sheet. That's our job."

Coach Craig Berube put the trio together during the Blues' surge up the standings after Jan. 1. "They just have such great chemistry together," Berube said. "Thomas does a great job of transporting the puck up the ice. Patty's really good along the walls. Bozak and Maroon have done a great job bringing Thomas along as a player, and helped him become a better player."

Bozak is 32. Maroon is 30. Thomas is a 19-year-old rookie. They work on the ice because of their particular skill sets. They work off the ice because they're two kids at heart and one actual kid.

"We're goofy. We're funny. We're like little kids that never want to grow up," Maroon said. "And then you get the young 19-year-old to throw in the mix, and it makes us feel young again."

Thomas has been a revelation in the playoffs for the Blues after a regular season that saw him improve throughout. "I'd say I had a [crisis of confidence] a little bit at the start. I don't think I started the way I wanted to," said Thomas, who had just one goal in 19 games at the start of the season. "But as the season went on, I got more comfortable."

Not coincidentally, that comfort arrived as soon as Maroon and Bozak arrived on his line.

Bozak was signed as a free agent from Toronto last summer, inking a three-year, $15-million contract to help solidify the Blues at center. He spent part of the season on a line with Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Steen, and skated with Maroon and Steen for another part of the season. But when he partnered with Maroon and Thomas, he got a sense of déjà vu.

"Patty's a veteran guy that knows how to score," Bozak said. "I personally do love guys that can protect the puck like that and get around the net. I played with [James van Riemsdyk] for a long time in Toronto, and he's a guy that's good below the goal line and around the net. There are a lot of similarities there. When I played with James, I also played with Mitch Marner, so it's kind of the same element with Thomas. Something I got used to over time."

Patrick Maroon isn't JVR, and Robert Thomas, as of yet, isn't Mitch Marner. But this Blues trio follows that same template, which Thomas appreciated.

"Bozak's been great. He's one of those guys that takes young players under his wing and really helps them out. You look at Mitch [Marner] in Toronto. He's been unbelievable for me, always making sure I'm hanging on to pucks and making the right plays," he said.

Maroon, a St. Louis native, had a well-chronicled path to the Blues last summer, as he took less money and signed a one-year, $1.75 million "show me" contract in order to live closer to his son, Anthony. He ended up with 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games, but has three goals and three assists in 16 playoff games, including two game winners.

He said he's proud to carry on the tradition of players who go to the greasy areas of the ice for their offense.

"That's my game. Below the top of the circles. Getting to the net. Using my hands. That's how I'm going to score goals and how I'm going to stay in this league," he said.

O'Reilly said he and the Blues have watched this team come together in the past few months, as the rookie and the veterans found their chemistry.

"I think it's perfect. Thommer coming in, building his game since the beginning of the year, making plays that are beyond his years ... it's impressive to see. And then you have two guys that have been around in so many situations. It clicks. They're great to be around for him. And he's great for them, too," he said.

It's the kind of line that typically earns a cult following for its energy and impact. And with that cult following, there's usually a nickname: your Grind Lines, your 3M Lines, your Crash Lines.

"Yeah, we don't really have one. We haven't talked about it too much. But it'd be funny if somebody came up with one," Thomas said.

"I don't know what you'd call it. But we should think of one," Maroon said.

Of course, there's no telling how long they'll remain a line. Game 3 was perhaps their most ineffective game of the playoffs. Thomas saw time on other lines. As the Blues battle on in their series against the Sharks, a line scramble for Berube isn't out of the question. It's happened before.

"I might mix 'em up a little bit here or there," the coach said, "but they've always come back together. They just have such great chemistry together."

No matter what you call them.