With hits now scarce, no-hitters on the rise in MLBVideo
Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the valid one: The number of hits per game in the major leagues has plummeted, so no-hitters are on the rise. Even so, this season has been a bit extreme. Spencer Turnbull’s gem Tuesday night was the year’s fifth no-hitter, and 2021 is on pace...
Tigers’ Spencer Turnbull twirls 5th no-hitter of MLB season
SEATTLE — Spencer Turnbull walked out of the bullpen Tuesday night feeling terrible, hoping a shaky pregame warmup would dissipate once he stepped on the mound. A few hours later, Turnbull was being slammed in the face with a shaving cream pie and doused in water, beer and baby powder...
Tim Dahlberg: First rule of baseball is first basemen don’t pitch
Yermin Mercedes is hitting .346 with six home runs in his breakout rookie season, numbers that should win him praise from manager and everyone else rooting for the Chicago White Sox to make a run deep into October. And, no, he’s never read the unwritten rules of baseball. He can’t,...
First Call: Free agent idea for Steelers; John Harbaugh praises Al Villanueva; Marc-Andre Fleury, McCutchen flash in defeat
Monday’s “First Call” has an idea for the Pittsburgh Steelers to investigate when it comes to bolstering its offensive line. The Ravens are excited about adding a former Steeler. Marc-Andre Fleury and Andrew McCutchen flash in defeat. OK with Okung? Free-agent tackle Russell Okung is still without an NFL team....
AP: Albert Pujols signing with Los Angeles DodgersVideo
LOS ANGELES — A person with knowledge of the deal says the Los Angeles Dodgers are signing veteran first baseman Albert Pujols to a major league deal. The source spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the deal isn’t expected to be finalized until Monday. The...
Yankees’ Gleyber Torres positive for covid despite being vaccinated
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres tested positive for covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated and having previously contracted the coronavirus during the offseason. Torres is among eight so-called breakthrough positives among the Yankees — people who tested positive despite being fully vaccinated. “Certainly unexpected,” Yankees manager...
ESPN, MLB agree to 7-year rights extension through 2028
ESPN could be rewarded with additional playoff games under its new deal with Major League Baseball. Walt Disney Company and MLB announced a seven-year extension of their rights agreement Thursday. ESPN has aired games since 1990 and the new deal means that will continue until at least 2028. “This agreement...
Braves’ Ronald Acuña jams left ankle, avoids serious injury
ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will avoid the injured list after leaving Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays with a left ankle injury. X-rays on Acuña’s ankle were negative. Manager Brian Snitker said Acuña is day to day. Acuña, who led off the game with his...
Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. tests positive for covid-19, goes on ILVideo
DENVER — San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. tested positive for covid-19 and was placed on the 10-day injured list, manager Jayce Tingler said Tuesday Tatis was among three players the Padres added to the injured list because of health and safety protocols. Joining Tatis on the list were utility...
MLB tells Athletics to explore relocation if no new ballparkVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — MLB instructed the Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure a new ballpark it hopes will keep the club in Oakland long-term. MLB released a statement Tuesday expressing its longtime determination that the current Coliseum site is “not a viable option for the...
2-time All-Star right-hander Jordan Zimmermann retires
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jordan Zimmermann retired Tuesday two appearances into his 13th season in the major leagues, ending a career in which the two-time All-Star pitched the Washington Nationals’ first no-hitter. Zimmermann went 95-91 with a 4.07 ERA. He was an NL All-Star in 2013 and ‘14 while...
Hard-throwing Mets ace Jacob deGrom heads to injured listVideo
NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom will be placed on the injured list by the New York Mets with tightness in his right side, a move that will keep the ace from taking the mound until May 20 at the earliest. The Mets said an MRI on Sunday night was “clean...
Reds’ Wade Miley pitches 4th official no-hitter of MLB season
CLEVELAND — Wade Miley pitched baseball’s second no-hitter in three days — and fourth already this season — leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 win Friday night over the Cleveland Indians, who were no-hit for the second time in a month. Miley (4-2) relied on breaking pitches and his...
Astros’ Justin Verlander making progress after Tommy John surgery
HOUSTON — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander is doing well in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and says he still has unbridled passion for the game at 38. However, the two-time Cy Young Award winner can’t deny that he’s loved the extra time at home with his supermodel wife...
Former MLB manager Bobby Valentine running for mayor of hometown
STAMFORD, Conn. — Former Major League Baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine is taking a swing at politics, announcing Friday that he’s running for mayor of his Connecticut hometown. Valentine, 70, who currently serves as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University, posted a video on social media and said...
Orioles’ John Means throws 1st career no-hitter in win over MarinersVideo
SEATTLE — John Means threw the third no-hitter in the majors this season and came within a wild pitch on a third strike of a perfect game, pitching the Baltimore Orioles over the Seattle Mariners, 6-0, on Wednesday. Means (4-0) struck out 12 and walked none. Seattle’s runner was Sam...
Minor league baseball draws 103,483 for 47 games in return
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Minor league baseball drew 103,483 fans for 47 games on its opening day after missing the 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The largest crowd Tuesday was 5,004 for the Tulsa Drillers’ 4-3 loss to Amarillo in the Double-A Central. All four Double-A South games...
Robot umps and dogs, minor league ball back after lost year
TAMPA, Fla. — It took just four batters at George Steinbrenner Field before a fan yelled “C’mon, blue!” toward home plate umpire Kaleb Devier after two consecutive close pitches were called balls. Never mind that a computer was making the calls. Didn’t matter Tuesday night as the Tampa Tarpons took...
Pete Alonso cites fictional coach, unhappy with Mets change
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor learned from phones messages that the New York Mets had fired hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant Tom Slater, a move that left players unhappy. New York made the announcement late Monday night, two days after Alonso started to publicly mention the...
Minors primer: What’s new as minor league returns in 2021?Video
NEW YORK — They have waited for the Wahoos, stood by for the Sod Poodles, bided their time for the Biscuits or Trash Pandas. After more than a year of uncertainty and empty ballparks, fans in minor league cities finally are getting baseball back. “Small town baseball, it’s the fabric...
Mt. Lebanon grad, Cubs OF Ian Happ carted off field after collision with teammate Nico HoernerVideo
Chicago Cubs center fielder Ian Happ was forced to leave Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds after a collision in the outfield with second baseman Nico Hoerner. Happ, a Mt. Lebanon graduate, collided with Hoerner in the bottom of the eighth inning while chasing down a looping fly ball off...
Season of the slump: Baseball keeps swinging and missing
NEW YORK — Don Mattingly starred in the action-packed 1980s. Now the Miami Marlins manager, Donnie Baseball worries about a record lack of hits — and not just from his team’s bats. “I don’t think it’s cyclical at this point,” he said. “There’s so much swing and miss, it’s kind...
Plum’s Alex Kirilloff launches first 2 big league homers in Twins win
MINNEAPOLIS — Alex Kirilloff hit the first two home runs of his major league career, including a three-run drive that broke open the game in the third inning and led the Minnesota Twins over the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals 9-1 on Friday night. Kirilloff, a Plum native who debuted...
MLB: 9 teams reach 85% vaccination rate
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball says nine teams have had 85% of players, coaches and others with Tier 1 access receive their final dose of the coronavirus vaccine, allowing those clubs to ease some health and safety protocols. Four of those teams have already begun relaxing some protocols after...
Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar fired by MLB over sexual misconduct
NEW YORK — Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar has been fired as a consultant by Major League Baseball and placed on the league’s ineligible list after an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the firing Friday, saying in a statement that a baseball...
