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FILE – This is a 2025 photo of Sebastian Walcott of the Texas Rangers baseball team. This image reflects the Texas Rangers’ active roster as of Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, when this image was taken in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
The Associated Press
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REV Entertainment, the sports and entertainment company of the Texas Rangers, have purchased the Long Island Ducks baseball team.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Long Island Ducks have competed in the Atlantic League since 2000 and play their home games at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip. The Ducks, the all-time leader in wins and attendance in Atlantic League history, have led all MLB Partner Leagues in total attendance for five consecutive seasons, and have sold out a record 721 games all-time, according to a REV Entertainment statement.
The Ducks founding owner Frank Boulton will continue in an advisory role with REV Entertainment. In addition to founding the Ducks, Boulton also founded the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and served as its chairman from the league’s inaugural season through January 2026, when he transitioned to member-at-large.
“I have always viewed my ownership of the Long Island Ducks as a public trust, and any successor had to be in lockstep with that belief,” Boulton said in the statement. “REV Entertainment has that commitment and is the right organization to guide the Ducks into the future and keep QuackerJack dancing on the dugout tops for many years to come. I am grateful to the fans, friends, sponsors and entire Long Island community for their support for 25 incredible seasons of Ducks baseball and am confident it will only get better as we enter the next 25.”
Besides the Ducks, REV Entertainment, based in Arlington, Texas, now owns and operates other teams throughout MLB Partner Leagues, including the Cleburne Railroaders and Kane County Cougars of the American Association of Professional Baseball, and the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League.
“We’re proud to welcome the Long Island Ducks into the REV family,” Sean Decker, president of REV Entertainment, said in the statement. “Frank Boulton has built something truly special on Long Island. Our responsibility is to honor that legacy, build upon the foundation he established, and continue delivering an affordable, family-friendly experience while positioning the Ducks for long-term success.”
The Ducks’ front office will continue to be led by Michael Pfaff, president and chief business officer. REV Entertainment’s Sports Management division will oversee all business operations moving forward.
“This is an exciting time. While we have experienced unprecedented success in our first 25 years, we honor the past by safeguarding its legacy for generations to come,” Pfaff said in the statement. “In that spirit, I look forward to working with REV on continuing to provide Long Island with the cleanest, safest, most fan friendly and affordable way for people to spend their discretionary dollar.”
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David Winzelberg
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NEW YORK — Robot umpires are getting called up to the big leagues next season.
Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System in the major leagues in 2026.
Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher or batter — signaled by tapping their helmet or cap — and a team retains its challenge if successful. Reviews will be shown as digital graphics on outfield videoboards.
Adding the robot umps is likely to cut down on ejections. MLB said 61.5% of ejections among players, managers and coaches last year were related to balls and strikes, as were 60.3% this season through Sunday. The figures include ejections for derogatory comments, throwing equipment while protesting calls and inappropriate conduct.
Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards.
ABS, which utilizes Hawk-Eye cameras, has been tested in the minor leagues since 2019. The independent Atlantic League trialed the system at its 2019 All-Star Game and MLB installed the technology for that’s year Arizona Fall League of top prospects. The ABS was tried at eight of nine ballparks of the Low-A Southeast League in 2021, then moved up to Triple-A in 2022.
At Triple-A at the start of the 2023 season, half the games used the robots for ball/strike calls and half had a human making decisions subject to appeals by teams to the ABS.
MLB switched Triple-A to an all-challenge system on June 26, 2024, then used the challenge system this year at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams for a total of 288 exhibition games. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182) challenges.
At Triple-A this season, the average challenges per game increased to 4.2 from 3.9 through Sunday and the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses were successful in 53.7% of challenges this year and offenses in 45%.
In the first test at the big League All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful in July.
Teams in Triple-A do not get additional challenges in extra innings. The proposal approved Tuesday included a provision granting teams one additional challenge each inning if they don’t have challenges remaining.
MLB has experimented with different shapes and interpretations of the strike zone with ABS, including versions that were three-dimensional. Currently, it calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone is 53.5% of batter height and the bottom 27%.
This will be MLB’s first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, restrictions on defensive shifts, pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts and larger bases.
The challenge system introduces ABS without eliminating pitch framing, a subtle art where catchers use their body and glove to try making borderline pitches look like strikes. Framing has become a critical skill for big league catchers, and there was concern that full-blown ABS would make some strong defensive catchers obsolete. Not that everyone loves it.
“The idea that people get paid for cheating, for stealing strikes, for moving a pitch that’s not a strike into the zone to fool the official and make it a strike is beyond my comprehension,” former manager Bobby Valentine said.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy, a big league catcher from 1978-87, maintained old-school umpires such as Bruce Froemming and Billy Williams never would have accepted pitch framing. He said they would have told him: “’If you do that again, you’ll never get a strike.’ I’m cutting out some words.”
Management officials on the competition committee include Seattle chairman John Stanton, St. Louis CEO Bill DeWitt Jr., San Francisco chairman Greg Johnson, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort, Toronto CEO Mark Shapiro and Boston chairman Tom Werner.
Players include Arizona’s Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen, Detroit’s Casey Mize, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and the New York Yankees’ Austin Slater, with the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ at Detroit’s Casey Mize as alternates. The union representatives make their decisions based on input from players on the 30 teams.
Bill Miller is the umpire representative.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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John Thurman Field in Modesto will host a new Pioneer League baseball team starting in 2026, reviving the stadium with professional baseball and unique events.The empty seats and concession stands will soon be filled with fans. “It will be a game changer, right?” said Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen, expressing excitement for the return of baseball to Modesto.Dave Heller, owner of the new Modesto team, highlighted the unique opportunities the minor league team will bring, such as a candy drop. “The helicopter circles back and drops 1,000 pounds of giant marshmallows all over the children. Those are the sorts of things you can’t do in affiliated ball today. But we can do them here in Modesto,” Heller said.The arrival of the new team will also bring upgrades to the stadium. “You’re going to see more netting so nobody ever gets hit by a foul ball at the ballpark. You’re going to see new drink rails at the ballpark. The outfield walls are going to be padded so the players don’t hurt themselves,” Heller said.Mayor Zwahlen expressed optimism about the team’s impact on tourism. “We’re hoping to attract people from all over the region, as was mentioned, but not just the region. The state of California, from the Bay area, from the Southern California to Northern California. We’re looking forward to a really great fan experience so that everyone will want to come here to participate in it,” Zwahlen said.A contest will open in October for the public to help decide the name of the new team. The team is expected to start playing when the Pioneer League’s 87th season kicks off in May 2026.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
John Thurman Field in Modesto will host a new Pioneer League baseball team starting in 2026, reviving the stadium with professional baseball and unique events.
The empty seats and concession stands will soon be filled with fans.
“It will be a game changer, right?” said Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen, expressing excitement for the return of baseball to Modesto.
Dave Heller, owner of the new Modesto team, highlighted the unique opportunities the minor league team will bring, such as a candy drop.
“The helicopter circles back and drops 1,000 pounds of giant marshmallows all over the children. Those are the sorts of things you can’t do in affiliated ball today. But we can do them here in Modesto,” Heller said.
The arrival of the new team will also bring upgrades to the stadium.
“You’re going to see more netting so nobody ever gets hit by a foul ball at the ballpark. You’re going to see new drink rails at the ballpark. The outfield walls are going to be padded so the players don’t hurt themselves,” Heller said.
Mayor Zwahlen expressed optimism about the team’s impact on tourism. “We’re hoping to attract people from all over the region, as was mentioned, but not just the region. The state of California, from the Bay area, from the Southern California to Northern California. We’re looking forward to a really great fan experience so that everyone will want to come here to participate in it,” Zwahlen said.
A contest will open in October for the public to help decide the name of the new team. The team is expected to start playing when the Pioneer League’s 87th season kicks off in May 2026.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
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PITTSBURGH — Bubba Chandler didn’t disappoint major league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates
The hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander — considered the top pitching prospect in baseball — threw four scoreless innings in relief and picked up the save in a 9-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
Chandler, officially called up from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day, entered in the top of the sixth against Colorado after five innings of one-hit ball by Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft.
Chandler’s first pitch in the majors was a 99 mph fastball that Orlando Arcia fouled off. Arcia took a 97 mph heater for a ball, then laced a 98 mph four-seamer off the left-field wall for a double.
It was the lone mistake Chandler would make. He fanned Ryan Ritter on a 100 mph fastball that painted the outside corner, induced Tyler Freeman to ground out to second, and then struck out Mickey Moniak swinging on another triple-digit fastball.
Chandler needed just seven pitches to retire the Rockies in order in the seventh, helped a bit by a sliding catch by centerfielder Jack Suwinski. Colorado’s Braxton Fulford led off the eighth by getting hit by a pitch but Chandler induced Yanquiel Fernandez to hit into a double play and exacted a bit of revenge on Arcia by striking him out on a changeup well out of the zone.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly sent Chandler back out for the ninth. He worked around a single by Arcia to become just the fourth pitcher to record a four-inning save in his major-league debut since the save became an official statistic.
The Pirates plan to use Chandler in a relief role for now as a way of creating what manager Don Kelly called an “on ramp” to the majors, a strategy the club used earlier this season after calling up Ashcraft.
Chandler will have an opportunity to start at some point, though the club is keeping a careful eye on his workload. He threw 100 innings in the minors this season, not that far away from the 119 2/3 innings he pitched last year while splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.
A third-round pick in the 2021 draft, Chandler was a two-way player earlier in his minor league career before moving to pitching full-time in 2023.
Chandler joins a pitching staff led by 23-year-old reigning NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young contender Paul Skenes.
While Skenes’ debut in May 2024 was treated as a major event in Pittsburgh, Chandler made a decidedly quieter entrance. He eschewed any pregame interviews and was running in the outfield at PNC Park more than five hours before the first pitch.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers made an unusual bet on a player with no major league experience, agreeing Sunday to a six-year contract with 22-year-old Colt Keith that guarantees the infield prospect $28,642,500.
His deal includes three team options that could make it worth $64 million over nine seasons, and the Tigers said there are escalators that increase the value to $82 million over nine years.
Keith is ranked the No. 22 big league prospect by MLB.com.
A left-handed-hitting third baseman and second baseman, Keith is from Zanesville, Ohio, and was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 amateur draft out of Biloxi High School in Mississippi.
He hit .325 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs in 59 games last year for Double-A Erie, then was promoted to Triple-A Toledo on June 26 and batted .287 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs in 67 games.
Keith gets a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $2.5 million in 2024, $3.5 million in 2025, $4 million each in 2026 and ‘27 and $5 million apiece in 2028 and ’29. Detroit has a $10 million option for 2030 with a $2,642,500 buyout, a $13 million option for 2031 with a $1 million buyout and a $15 million option for 2032 with a $2 million buyout.
Atlanta agreed last month to an $82 million, eight-year contract with 19-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio, the largest contract for a prospect with no major league service.
Detroit has had losing records in seven straight seasons. The Tigers have not won a World Series since 1984 and have not won an AL pennant since 2012.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he’s excited to see what an influx of young players will bring to the major league team over the final weeks of a lost season and also hinted that changes could be coming to how the team utilizes analytics.
The Yankees plan to call up top prospects Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells on Friday when active major league rosters expand from 26 to 28, moves made as center fielder Harrison Bader was claimed off waivers by Cincinnati.
The pair could make their major league debuts Friday at Houston, when the Astros are scheduled to start Justin Verlander.
“We’ll learn a lot in September and we’ll learn a lot in the spring,” Steinbenner told The Associated Press as he left the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa on Thursday. “That’s why I didn’t want to trade these guys away at the trade deadline. We’ve traded away too many guys the last few years. So, I think it will be exciting.”
The Yankees (65-69) are in danger of having their streak of 30 consecutive winning seasons end this year, and Steinbrenner said every facet of the team will be looked in detail going forward.
“We’re going to take a very deep dive into everything we’re doing,” Steinbrenner said. “We’re looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do. Baseball operations in general. We’re going to have some very frank conversions with each other. This year was obviously unacceptable.”
General manager Brian Cashman called the season “a disaster” last week. Cashman, 56, has been general manager since 1998 and agreed last December to a four-year contract. Aaron Boone took over as manager before the 2018 season and has one more guaranteed season in a three-year deal that includes a team option for 2025.
“I think we’re all going to be evaluated, including myself,” Cashman said.
Domínguez and Wells will join 22-year-old shortstop Anthony Volpe, who has had a strong rookie season, and outfielder Everson Pereira and infielder Oswald Peraza, who were recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre on Aug. 22.
Volpe hit a three-run homer in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers and became the 15th MLB rookie to have a 20-homer, 20-steal season.
Domínguez, a 20-year-old outfielder, signed four years ago for a $5.1 million bonus, tying for the high given to an international player in that year’s international amateur class.
He began this season at Double-A Somerset and hit .254 with 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 37 stolen bases in 109 games, then was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 22. Domínguez had three hits and three RBIs in his RailRiders debut and is batting .419 with 10 RBIs and three steals in nine games.
“He’s got power, bat speed and strike zone discipline — he’s had that really from a young age, the ability to understand the strike zone,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday. “We even saw that in spring training. You just saw a lot of real quality at-bats, so he has all the physical and raw tools you need, coupled with I think the DNA to control the strike zone. And now it’s a matter of can you take that to the highest level in the land and do it consistently there?”
Wells, a 24-year-old catcher, was selected by the Yankees with the 28th overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft. He began the season at Class A Tampa and hit .177 in five games, then was moved up to Somerset, where he batted .237 with 11 homers and and 50 RBIs in 58 games.
Wells moved up to Scranton on July 21 and is batting .254 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 33 games.
“These are guys I’ve played with my whole career,” Volpe said. “For these guys to be able to do this and get a taste of everything, I’m super happy for them.”
A Gold Glove winner with St. Louis in 2021, Bader hit .240 with seven homers, 37 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts over 84 games. Bader strained his left oblique in spring training and didn’t make his season debut until May 2. He was sidelined between May 29 and June 20 with a strained right hamstring.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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LOS ANGELES — Jorge Soler hit two of the Marlins’ season-high five homers off Tony Gonsolin, and Miami snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 11-game winning streak with an 11-3 victory Friday night.
Jake Burger hit a three-run homer and Jacob Stallings added a two-run shot while the Marlins scored six runs on three homers in the third.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s three-run shot in the fourth finally chased Gonsolin (8-5), who gave up a career-worst 10 runs while getting only 10 outs.
“An 11-game winning streak can be broken any day,” Chisholm said. “We had an 11-game winning streak, and it got broken. We just came in with the mentality we were going to bust their stuff.”
Mookie Betts set a franchise record with his 11th leadoff homer of the season for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who lost for only the second time in 17 games in August. Max Muncy and James Outman also homered in a two-team power surge that surprised Miami manager Skip Schumaker, a Southern California native who got to know the park even better while playing for the Dodgers in 2013.
“We were hitting the ball hard, and they were hitting the ball hard,” Schumaker said. “Tonight from both sides, the ball was carrying. It was a different night (at Dodger Stadium).”
Los Angeles couldn’t overcome a calamitous start by its 2022 All-Star right-hander. Gonsolin tied Don Sutton’s 1973 record for homers allowed in a start during the Dodgers’ Los Angeles era.
Gonsolin had never given up more than two homers in a start, but he flopped when the Dodgers desperately needed him to eat innings in the first of three games between these clubs in just over 24 hours.
With Hurricane Hilary expected to reach Southern California in some form Sunday, MLB moved both weekend games to Saturday for a split doubleheader. Gonsolin’s struggles forced the Dodgers to get deep into their bullpen — even to infielder Miguel Rojas, who pitched a perfect ninth.
“I thought the ball was coming out pretty good today,” Gonsolin said. “I thought I threw some excellent pitches. Thought I executed some pitches that got hit really hard. Overall, just a tough day.”
After the game, Gonsolin finally acknowledged he has been pitching through some sort of elbow injury that might require him to take a break from the rotation. Manager Dave Roberts has hinted for weeks about a problem for Gonsolin, who missed 40 games late last season with forearm tightness.
“I can’t explain it right now,” Gonsolin said. “I don’t know what it is exactly, so I try not to.”
Sandy Alcántara (6-4) yielded three solo homers while pitching six innings of seven-hit ball for the Marlins, who opened a six-game West Coast trip with their first five-homer game since 2012.
“I got a surprise today from my offense,” Alcántara said. “That was really good.”
Soler drove Gonsolin’s second pitch of the night into the right field stands. He added a 441-foot shot leading off the third inning, giving him 32 homers in his most prolific power season since he hit 48 for Kansas City in 2019.
Three batters later, Burger crushed a bad slider from Gonsolin for his 27th homer of the season and his second since joining Miami.
The Dodgers pulled Betts and Freddie Freeman from the game before the fifth inning, resting their top two hitters for the long Saturday ahead.
Joey Wendle got an RBI triple in the fifth when Chris Taylor badly misread his long drive to left.
MOUND MIGUEL
Rojas spent the previous eight seasons in Miami, and he gleefully retired all three Marlins he faced while throwing eight of his 12 pitches under 50 mph in the ninth. Rojas jokingly tried to bypass the post-inning umpire check for sticky stuff on his hands.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: Reliever JT Chargois threw one inning for Single-A Jupiter on a rehab assignment. He has been out since Aug. 2 with a ribcage strain. … RHP Tommy Nance (sprained right shoulder) will throw two innings in the minors this weekend. He hasn’t pitched for Miami this season.
Dodgers: J.D. Martinez went 1 for 3 in the Miami native’s return to the lineup after playing in just two of the previous 10 games due to a nagging groin injury.
UP NEXT
Eury Perez (5-4, 3.19 ERA) will start the first game of the doubleheader for Miami, while the Dodgers will throw a bullpen game likely to include the season debut of Ryan Pepiot, who won a rotation spot in spring training before an oblique injury sidelined him for 3 1/2 months. Julio Urías (10-6, 4.35) will start the nightcap for Los Angeles against Miami’s Braxton Garrett (7-3, 3.91).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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WASHINGTON — CJ Abrams’ two-run single capped a four-run ninth inning and the Washington Nationals rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 on Wednesday.
A day after coming back from a 5-2 deficit with a four-run eighth to beat the Rockies in the second game of the three-game series, Lane Thomas and Jeimer Candelario opened the ninth with walks against Daniel Bard (4-2) in the finale. Joey Meneses, whose three-run homer was the difference in Tuesday night’s win, singled to load the bases.
Keibert Ruiz was out on an infield fly, but Bard hit Dominic Smith with a pitch to walk in a run and make it 4-2. Stone Garrett was out on a slow roller before Candelario scored Washington’s third run. Luis Garcia was intentionally walked and Ildemaro Vargas drew a four-pitch walk to tie the game.
Matt Koch came on to face Abrams, who grounded a single between first and second to score pinch runner Michael Chavis for the winning run.
Andres Machado (1-0) pitched one inning for the win.
Ryan McMahon, Elehuris Montero and Michael Toglia also homered for Colorado.
Rockies starter Peter Lambert allowed an unearned run on three hits, all singles. In two starts since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on July 21, Lambert is 2-0 and has allowed one run in 11 innings.
Nationals starter Jake Irvin went six innings and allowed four runs on six hits, three of them home runs. He struck out seven and walked two.
Harold Castro doubled with one out in the second and Montero, recalled from Albuquerque on Tuesday, lined a homer to left to make it 2-0.
McMahon’s 16th homer of the season, a shot into the second deck in right center, increased the lead to 3-0 in the third.
Washington picked up a run in the third when Abrams walked and later scored on Candelario’s groundout.
Toglia’s solo homer into the Rockies’ bullpen made it 4-1 in the sixth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: 1B CJ Cron (back muscle spasms) missed his fifth game and remains day to day.
ROSTER MOVES
Nationals: Selected RHP Andres Machado from Triple-A Rochester and optioned RHP Amos Willingham to Triple-A Rochester. To make room for Machado on the 40-man roster, OF Victor Robles (lumbar spine back spasms) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
UP NEXT
Rockies: Starter TBD for the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Athletics on Friday.
Nationals: RHP Josiah Gray (7-8, 3.45) pitches the opener of a four-game series at the Mets on Thursday. Gray tossed six scoreless innings and struck out nine in a win against New York on April 25.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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SEATTLE — The education of robot umpires has been complicated by an open secret in baseball for the past 150 years: The strike zone called on the field doesn’t match the one mapped out in the rule book.
Before the Automated Ball-Strike System is ready for the major leagues, there has to be agreement on what a strike is.
“You go in a rabbit hole where it might not be fair for some hitters,” Minnesota Twins star Carlos Correa said. “A pitcher has big curveballs that cross the zone and end up a ball, but the zone has it as a strike. I prefer the human element of things, but who knows, maybe they can perfect it at some point.”
MLB started experimenting with robots calling balls and strikes in the independent Atlantic League in 2019 and used the computer at Low-A in 2021. A challenge system was tried last season at some minor league ballparks, in which a pitcher, batter or catcher had the right to appeal a human umpire’s decision to the computer. This year, ABS is being used at all Triple-A parks, the robot alone for the first three games of each series and a human with a challenge system in the final three.
The Official Baseball Rules define the strike zone as “that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap.”
In practice, big league umpires usually don’t call strikes on pitches that clip the bottom of the three-dimensional zone’s front or the top of the back, making the actual strike zone more of an oval than a cube.
“If you looked good at the average zone that’s called in the major leagues and has been called forever, it’s not a rectangle the way that the system calls it,” MLB executive vice president of operations Morgan Sword said.
At first, the robots were programmed to call a two-dimensional zone at the front of the plate, and MLB also experimented with a three-dimensional zone. This year, the ABS calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back.
MLB reduced the top of the zone to 51% of a batter’s height from 56%.
“The two-dimensional zone has minimized the number of pitches that feel wrong to people, particularly when it’s at the middle of the plate because you’re not catching quite as many of those breaking balls down and also those balls that clip the back of the plate,” Sword said. “We like the two-dimensional nature of it.
“It also allows whatever zone we use on the field to match the representations of the zone that we provide to fans and players and coaches and everybody else. But the specifics of what two-dimensional shape you use and what the dimensions of that shape are, I think are still in flux.”
MLB reduced the width of the computer strike zone from 19 inches to 17 this year, matching the width of the plate. Any part of the ball crossing that zone results in a strike.
“Last year in the Florida State League, the 19 inches, I was getting some calls I wasn’t even getting in the (Atlantic Coast Conference). It gets a little funky,” said Mike Vasil, a 23-year-old New York Mets pitching prospect who played at the University of Virginia.
According to MLB data, strikeouts at Triple-A dropped from 23.3% of batters with human umpires last year to 22.2% this year with automated umpires and 22% when humans were used with the challenge system. Walks climbed from 10.2% last year to 12.7% with robots and 11.5% with the challenge system.
Batting average rose from .252 last season to .266 in full ABS games and .273 in challenge games. Home runs runs increased from 2.9% to 3.2% in full ABS and 3.3% in challenge.
Each team gets three challenges, which can be made by a pitcher, batter or catcher. A team retains a successful challenge.
“I enjoyed it because it was consistent,” said Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader, who played five games at Triple-A this year. “ You want to know what the zone is at all times, even if it’s a little funkier, a little different.”
Texas manager Bruce Bochy, a veteran of nearly a half-century of pro ball, favors a three-dimensional zone.
“It has to cover all four quadrants,” he said. “You want that strike called if you’re hitting the inside lower box or quadrant or the top quadrant,” he said.
Rich Garcia, a major league umpire from 1975-99 and ump supervisor from 2002-09, faults the ABS system for not being as accurate at matching human calls as the strike zone usually is applied. And critically to umpires’ reputations, he says television graphics overlaying the strike zone frequently mislead fans.
“Could be one of the dumbest things baseball could do,” he said. “Why don’t they tell the fans that the box on the screen is not the same box that the umpires get graded on and that the box on the screen is supposed to be used for entertainment only?”
Using a two-dimensional zone rather than a rectangle could hurt sinkerball pitchers, such as the Yankees’ Clay Holmes.
“You’re shrinking the zone a little bit, the depth of it,” he said. “Maybe they need to redefine the strike zone.”
Mike Tauchman, a Chicago Cubs outfielder who played 24 games at Triple-A Iowa, said the robot umpires could cause unintended consequences. He recalled when ABS measured strikes at the front of the plate.
“I struck out on two pitches at my ankle, so I think it’s a good idea that they moved it back,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of the game becoming something where people are trying to outsmart a computer. I still like there is a human element of the umpire because there are nuances of the game that I don’t think a computer can fully understand.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts hit a pair of solo homers and drove in four runs, fellow All-Star Freddie Freeman went deep, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Angels 11-4 on Friday night.
J.D. Martinez and Will Smith also homered as the Dodgers pounded out 11 hits.
Angels All-Star Shohei Ohtani was 1 for 3 with a run scored, a walk and a strikeout as the designated hitter.
The Angels lost their ninth in a row in the Freeway Series, their longest skid in the rivalry. They dropped back to .500 for the 12th time this season at 45-45, with All-Star slugger Mike Trout relegated to spectator while wearing a cast on his broken left wrist.
Tony Gonsolin (5-3) retired his first nine batters of the game before Ohtani ripped a single down the right-field line leading off the fourth. Taylor Ward followed by reaching on an infield single before Mickey Moniak’s three-run homer pulled the Angels to 4-3.
Gonsolin allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Betts homered leading off the fifth against reliever Tyler Anderson, reaching 25 homers for the fifth time in his career. The ball ricocheted off the first row of the lower left-field seats and into the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Betts’ two-run double into the left-field corner with two outs in the sixth extended the Dodgers’ lead to 7-3.
The Dodgers tacked on four runs in the eighth off Tyler Loup. Miguel Rojas had a RBI double, Freeman grounded into a fielder’s choice and Rojas scored on shortstop Andrew Velazquez’s throwing error. Smith added a two-run shot with two outs.
Mike Moustakas homered for the Angels leading off the seventh.
The Dodgers raced to a 3-0 lead. Freeman hit his 16th homer on his first pitch in the first, Martinez slugged his 21st homer leading off the second, and Betts went deep on his first pitch in the third. Martinez’s RBI double with two outs in the third made it 4-0.
Angels starter Griffin Canning (6-4) gave up four runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings. The right-hander had one walk and no strikeouts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: 3B Anthony Rendon won’t go on the IL as he recovers from fouling a ball off his left shin this week. “He’s still pretty sore,” manager Phil Nevin said. “There’s some things he can and can’t do.” … INF Brandon Drury (left shoulder contusion) will have more tests due to ongoing soreness.
Dodgers: RHP Noah Syndergaard (finger) pitched a three-inning simulated game. He’ll go on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City at some point.
FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR
Carlos Estévez is the first Angels reliever to be named to the All-Star team since Jordan Walden in 2011. He is replacing Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase.
Nevin surprised Estévez in front of the team with the announcement. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 42 strikeouts. He’s converted all 21 save opportunities, fourth-best in the AL.
“You just try to make those moments special,” Nevin said. “It’s cool to see the reaction of the guys their first time.”
UP NEXT
LHP Reid Detmers (2-5, 3.72) starts for the Angels on Saturday. The Dodgers plan to either start RHP Michael Grove (0-2, 7.02) or use an opener before bringing Grove in.
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Justin Verlander pitched seven steady innings for his first victory in nearly six weeks and slumping rookie Francisco Álvarez hit the first of three quick homers that powered the New York Mets past the San Francisco Giants 4-1
ByMIKE FITZPATRICK AP Baseball Writer
New York Mets starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) throws in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, July 1, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Justin Verlander pitched seven steady innings for his first victory in nearly six weeks and slumping rookie Francisco Álvarez hit the first of three quick homers that powered the New York Mets past the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Saturday.
Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor launched back-to-back shots as the Mets went deep three times in a span of four batters against Anthony DeSclafani (4-8) in the third.
Tommy Pham added an RBI double off Sean Manaea in the fourth, and New York (37-46) opened July with a much-needed win after going 6-19 in its previous 25 games.
“I’m glad June’s over,” manager Buck Showalter said before the game.
The 40-year-old Verlander (3-4) gave up five hits, struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run for his 248th victory and first since May 21 against Cleveland. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was 0-2 in his previous six starts.
The only run the Giants scored came on Thairo Estrada’s double-play grounder in the seventh following a throwing error by first baseman Pete Alonso — his second in two days.
San Francisco put two runners on after that but Verlander fanned Brandon Crawford on a full-count breaking ball with his 29th pitch of the inning.
Drew Smith tossed a perfect eighth and Adam Ottavino worked a hitless ninth for his sixth save, getting Estrada to ground into a game-ending double play that was upheld following a replay review.
DeSclafani, who grew up in nearby New Jersey, went three innings and dropped to 0-6 in nine starts and one relief appearance against the Mets, including a loss at home on April 21.
San Francisco (46-37) fell to 14-5 in its last 19 games dating to June 11.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: Ex-Mets OF Michael Conforto (tight left hamstring) missed a second consecutive game in his return to Citi Field. Conforto was injured making a catch in the first inning Thursday night at Toronto. … 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. sat out with a balky back that’s been bothering him for a while. He hoped to be available to pinch hit.
Mets: The team wasn’t sure yet if LHP José Quintana (rib surgery) will join the rotation next week or make another minor league rehab start before the All-Star break, manager Buck Showalter said. Quintana threw 64 pitches Friday in his fourth rehab outing but lasted only 2 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse.
UP NEXT
Giants: Had not announced a starter for the series finale Sunday night.
Mets: LHP David Peterson (2-6, 7.00 ERA) makes his second start for New York since a six-week demotion to the minors. Peterson pitched six shutout innings Tuesday to beat Milwaukee in his return from Triple-A Syracuse.
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Ronald Acuña Jr. drove in three runs with four hits, including a two-run single in Atlanta’s seven-run first inning, and the Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 on Sunday night to split the four-game series.
Matt Olson hit a pair of two-run homers for Atlanta, and Spencer Strider became the fastest pitcher in modern history to reach 100 strikeouts in a season.
Acuña hit a run-scoring triple in the fifth before Olson’s second homer to center. Acuña had two singles in the first when the Braves sent 11 batters to the plate, collected seven hits and opened a 7-0 lead. Led by Acuña and Olson, who had three hits, the Braves set a season high with 20 hits.
Strider (5-2) struck out nine while pitching six innings of two-run ball. The right-hander fired a called third strike past Nick Castellanos for the first out of the fourth, giving him 100 strikeouts in 61 innings and topping Jacob deGrom’s 61 2/3 innings in 2021 as the fastest to 100 in the modern era.
Olson followed Acuña’s leadoff single with a 464-foot homer to right-center. Austin Riley added another homer before Ozzie Albies and Acuña had two-run singles in the long first inning.
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and left fielder Kyle Schwarber each committed an error on a grounder by Orlando Arcia, setting up two unearned runs in the inning.
Michael Harris II celebrated the one-year anniversary of his major league debut by robbing Schwarber of a homer with a leaping catch at the center-field wall in the second. As Harris shook his head to say “No!” after coming down with the ball on the warning track, Strider pumped his fist in approval on the mound.
Strider walked Kody Clemens to open the third. Brandon Marsh followed with a two-run homer for the Phillies’ first hit. Schwarber hit a two-run homer off Collin McHugh in the seventh.
Phillies right-hander Dylan Covey (0-1), claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 20, didn’t make it through the first inning. Covey allowed seven runs, five earned, and six hits, including the homers by Olson and Riley.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: 3B Alex Bohm was held out with hamstring tightness. … LHP José Alvarado (left elbow inflammation) threw the bullpen session originally scheduled for Saturday. Manager Rob Thomson said there was no report that Alvarado, who was placed on the injured list on May 10, had any difficulty.
SOROKA RETURN EXPECTED
Right-hander Michael Soroka was scratched from his scheduled start at Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, raising expectations he will be recalled to start Atlanta’s game at Oakland on Monday night. Manager Brian Snitker said he expected to announce rotation plans for the series following Sunday night’s game.
Soroka would be making his first start in the majors since Aug. 3, 2020, against the New York Mets when he suffered a torn right Achilles tendon. Following a setback which required a follow-up surgery, he suffered another tear of the same Achilles tendon midway through the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
Phillies: Following an off day, LHP Ranger Suárez (0-1, 9.82 ERA) is scheduled to face Mets RHP Kodai Senga (4-3, 3.94 ERA) in Tuesday night’s opener of a three-game series in New York.
Braves: Soroka is 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA in eight games with Triple-A Gwinnett. He allowed a combined four hits and two runs over 10 2/3 innings in his last two starts. RHP Paul Blackburn (7-6, 4.28 ERA in 2022) is scheduled to make his 2023 debut for Oakland as he returns from a finger injury.
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SEATTLE — Luis Castillo struck out 10 in six crisp innings, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 on Saturday.
Castillo allowed one hit — Tucupita Marcano’s double on the game’s first pitch — and walked two. The right-hander earned his second straight win since dropping consecutive starts.
Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, Trevor Gott and Justin Topa then combined for three innings of one-hit ball for Seattle.
It was a sharp contrast from Friday night, when Pittsburgh slugged seven homers in a series-opening win.
“I saw they came out aggressive,” Castillo said. “So in my mind, I said, ‘OK, I just gotta throw a variety of different pitches.’ And that’s what I did.”
Castillo’s 10 strikeouts matched his most since he was acquired in a trade with Cincinnati in July.
“I can’t say enough about what he means to our pitching staff and what he’s done since he’s been here,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
The Mariners backed Castillo (4-2) with three runs in the first and one in the second. Ty France hit an RBI double and scored on Eugenio Suárez’s check-swing bloop single. Julio Rodríguez added a run-scoring double in the second.
Pittsburgh right-hander Vince Velasquez (4-4) departed after two innings due to discomfort in his pitching elbow. He allowed seven hits and walked one.
The 30-year-old Velasquez also exited with elbow discomfort in his previous start on May 4, when he lasted just three innings against Tampa Bay. He was on the 15-day injured list prior to being activated for Saturday’s start.
“Just watching him at the end of the second, he just didn’t look like he was comfortable,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.
“Having a conversation with him, it just didn’t feel like he was in the best spot, so we decided to take him out.”
J.P. Crawford, France and Rodríguez each had two hits for Seattle. It was Rodríguez’s fifth multihit performance in the past six games.
“Julio is starting to heat up as the weather is heating up, which is really good sign,” Servais said.
ROSTER MOVE
Pittsburgh designated right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. for assignment to make room for Velasquez. Underwood posted a 5.18 ERA in 24 1/3 innings across 20 relief appearances this season. He had a strong April, but struggled to an 8.44 ERA in May.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Luis Ortiz (1-2, 4.02 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season on Sunday after opening the year in Triple-A Indianapolis. He pitched 7 2/3 strong innings against Texas in his last outing, allowing just two runs and five hits.
Mariners: LHP Marco Gonzales (4-1, 5.68 ERA) takes the mound. He tossed six innings of two-run ball against Oakland in his last start, rebounding from a May 17 outing in Boston that was among the worst of his career.
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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joey Gallo homered for the fourth time in seven games, Trevor Larnach hit an RBI triple that turned into a Little League home run and the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 on Saturday night.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 11th home run of the season for the Angels, a night before he takes a 5-1 record to the mound for the rubber game. Minnesota will be trying to win its second road series in eight tries this season.
Kyle Farmer, Kyle Garlick and Willi Castro drove in runs in a three-run first. Farmer went 3 for 5 and is batting .395 (15 for 38) since becoming Minnesota’s starting third baseman on May 10.
“Kyle Farmer’s a heck of a baseball player,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I like relying on him, and he handles a lot of what comes with this job very, very well. And he’s here to play. He’s here to do whatever we’re asking him to do, and right now what we’re asking him to do is basically play every day, and right now it’s at third base.”
Gallo boosted the lead to 4-1 with a leadoff homer in the sixth, his 11th home run this season.
Larnach tripled into the right-field corner in the seventh against Andrew Wantz, scoring Farmer from first, then came home when second baseman Brandon Drury took the throw from right fielder Hunter Renfroe and heaved the ball past third for an error.
“Tacking on some runs later on in the game, I mean, that’s vital,” Baldelli said. “It changes the game mightily when you’re able to put another couple of runs on the board. And the way we did it, that was fun.”
Louie Varland (2-0) gave up two runs and six hits in five innings. He liked being able to pitch with a three-run lead from the start, allowing him to be more aggressive against the Angels’ star tandem of Ohtani and Mike Trout.
“Having the lead, it makes every everything, like, a lot easier, smoother,” Varland said. “It’s not like you have to be perfect.”
Jared Walsh of the Angels went 0 for 4 with a fourth-inning RBI groundout in his season debut. Walsh had been on the injured list because of headaches and insomnia.
Patrick Sandoval (3-3) allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. He needed 55 pitches to get through the first two innings, lucky to escape further trouble after loading the bases in the second.
“He just had a rough start,” Angels manager Phil Nevil said. “It was a lot of pitches in the first two innings, and to get us through the point where he did was gutsy.”
The Angels have not won consecutive home games this month.
GOOD RESPONSE
It had been a frustrating road trip for the Twins, with blown leads carrying over from losing two of three against the Dodgers into a 5-4 loss Friday. With that in mind, Baldelli was pleased to see his team shake it off immediately.
“It was a great way to start a ball game after having some opportunities where we weren’t able to capitalize this week, we did capitalize against their guy in the first inning,” he said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Byron Buxton, who had a a run and two walks as the designated hitter, came out of the game in the sixth inning because of tightness in his right knee. He will not start Sunday. … 2B Jorge Polanco (strained hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, INF Edouard Julien was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul.
Angels: OF Brett Phillips was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Pablo López (2-2) will look to bounce back after allowing a season-high three homers in 4 2/3 innings against the Dodgers.
Angels: Ohtani (5-1) has allowed five runs in two of his past four starts but won both of them, against Oakland and Baltimore.
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SAN DIEGO — Salvador Perez hit a two-run double in Kansas City’s five-run second, Brady Singer pitched six solid innings and the Royals beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Tuesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Royals jumped on starter Seth Lugo (3-3) in the second, with Bobby Witt Jr., Nate Eaton and Matt Duffy also driving in runs. Lugo gave up five runs on four hits in his two innings. The Padres have lost eight of 10.
“That was really good for us tonight. That is a great win, you know, against a team like the Padres. They are a really good team,” Perez said. “We scored five runs, and we got the game.”
Singer (3-4) lasted six innings, giving up seven hits and four runs, two of which were earned. Scott Barlow got his fifth save with a scoreless ninth.
“The fastball had really good late movement on it. I was able to move that around the zone. The slider helped me a lot tonight,” Singer said. “I think I attacked the zone pretty well tonight.”
San Diego had a defensive highlight in the seventh when Fernando Tatis Jr. threw-out Vinnie Pasquantino trying to go from first to third on a single. After the play Tatis acted like he was putting a pistol back in a holster.
“I wasn’t a big fan,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of the attempt by Pasquantino to take third base. “We know he (Tatis) is super talented in every aspect of the game and throwing is certainly nothing he is lacking.”
The Padres scored two unearned runs in the fifth after consecutive errors by Kansas City’s MJ Melendez and Matt Duffy.
“Those things are going to happen. You just have to make pitches and pick them up,” Singer said of the errors. “That is just part of baseball. … You have got to be able to overcome that.”
Kansas City reliever Ardolis Chapman pitched the seventh and threw a 104-mph fastball to Jake Cronenworth, which ties the fastest pitch of the 2023 season.
“That’s amazing,” Perez said of Champan’s feat.
San Diego continues to struggle offensively and had two runners picked off first base in the game.
“It’s just a little bit the way we’ve been playing,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said of his team’s losing skid. “It’s just not in sync all the way around. You don’t expect base-running to cost you.”
KC MAKES A MOVE
Royals RHP Max Castillo was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, and RHP Jackson Kowar was called up from Omaha. Kowar had a 7.84 ERA over 20-2/3 innings coming out of the Omaha bullpen this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
A day after Padres 3B Manny Machado was hit by a pitch on the left hand, he was out of the starting lineup Tuesday. Machado is experiencing soreness and swelling, but X-rays came back negative. It seems likely the Padres will sit Machado as a precaution on Wednesday for the series finale ahead of an off-day Thursday.
UP NEXT
Padres RHP Yu Darvis (2-2, 3.16) gets the start to close the three-game series.
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PITTSBURGH — After 13 years in the minor leagues, Drew Maggi was greeted with a standing ovation when he made his major league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
The 33-year-old, who played 1,154 games in the minors, pinch hit for five-time All-Star McCutchen in the eighth inning with the Pirates ahead by seven runs. Maggi saw four pitches from Alex Vesia, striking out on a slider, in an at-bat that included a pitch-clock violation by the rookie batter.
“It’s the best strikeout I ever had,” Maggi said with a smile after the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1.
After making 4,494 plate appearances in the minors,Maggio was called up from Double-A Altoona on Sunday when outfielder Bryan Reynolds was placed on the bereavement list. Manager Derek Shelton didn’t find a spot to use Maggi during his first two games in Pittsburgh and Maggi was fearful of a repeat of 2019, when he was called up by Minnesota for a few days but didn not appear in a game.
Shelton, who was Twins’ bench coach then, was thrilled that he was able to get Maggi in.
“That was cool. That was really cool,” Shelton said. “I mean to be able to, as long as I’ve known him, to be able to be the person that was telling him (to pinch-hit) was just really cool.”
“This is it. This is the moment,’” Maggio remembered thinking.
He fouled a fastball deep down the left-field line and fell behind 0-2 on the clock violation as the crowd of 12,152 booed plate umpire Jeff Nelson.
After fouling another fastball to the right side, Maggi took a high-and-outside fastball before swinging over a pitch in the dirt. He ran to first, where catcher Austin Wynn’s throw to Freddie Freeman easily beat him for the out.
Maggi said he never had any regrets for spending more than a decade in the minors. However, he admitted Wednesday’s at-bat made all those years of chasing his dream worth it.
“I love baseball,” Maggi said. “I was grinding for 13 years but I was doing what I loved. The ultimate goal is the big leagues. Just kind of getting here, my name is in history. I put on a big league uniform, and I shared the field with the world’s greatest players.”
Maggi spent a few moments after the game visiting with family along the box seat railing. The magnitude of the moment hit him once he saw his parents, who had made the trip from Phoenix, and other family members.
“There were a lot of `I love you. We’re proud of you. You did it,!” Maggi said. “I saw my dad crying. I don’t think I ever saw him cry before. All those years, I wondered what I would say to my parents if that moment ever were to come. They’ve been right there with me. Hearing those words made it all worthwhile. I know the last 13 years have not been wasted.”
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SAN FRANCISCO — Joc Pederson scored from first base on Mike Yastrzemski’s one-out double in the eighth inning, sending the San Francisco Giants to a 5-4 win over the New York Mets on Sunday.
Activated off the injured list before the game, Pederson drove in the Giants’ first run with a single in the first and then started the winning rally with a walk against Drew Smith (1-1).
Yastrzemski followed with a line drive into right-center, and a sliding Pederson beat the relay to the plate.
Thairo Estrada hit his fourth home run for the Giants. San Francisco, which entered with the third-lowest winning percentage in the National League, won its second straight against New York to split the four-game series.
Touted rookie Francisco Álvarez hit his second major league home run and first this year, which marked the first extra-base hit by a Mets catcher this season.
Scott Alexander (2-0) worked a perfect eighth and Camilo Doval struck out his first two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.
The Giants led 4-3 following rookie Brett Wisely’s first career RBI in the fourth, a one-out grounder against New York starter Tylor Megill.
Megill, winless in his last two starts after beginning the season 3-0, allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.
Álvarez’s home run off Tyler Rogers with two outs in the sixth tied it at 4.
New York scored twice in the fourth on consecutive sacrifice flies. Giants right fielder Michael Conforto dropped the first one for an error, sending Daniel Vogelbach to third base. He came home on Brandon Nimmo’s sac fly.
Ross Stripling was uneven in his return to San Francisco’s rotation after making three appearances out of the bullpen. The right-hander, signed as a free agent in the offseason, lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed three runs and six hits.
Francisco Lindor had an RBI double for the Mets in the third.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: RHP Justin Verlander (low grade teres major strain in his upper back) threw 43 pitches over three innings of live batting practice with good results, manager Buck Showalter said. Verlander is scheduled to make a minor league rehab start Friday. … C Omar Narváez (left calf strain) is making slow progress and has been squatting and catching balls off a machine in recent days.
Giants: Pederson was reinstated from the 10-day IL after missing nine games with right wrist inflammation. OF Heliot Ramos was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to make room.
UP NEXT
Mets: Following an off day Monday, New York opens a seven-game homestand against the Nationals and Braves. Showalter had not announced a starter for Tuesday’s game.
Giants: RHP Alex Cobb (0-1, 2.79 ERA) starts the opener of a four-game home series with St. Louis on Monday. Cobb has made it past the fifth inning just once in four starts this season.
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BOSTON — Hunter Renfroe hit a three-run, first-inning homer and Los Angeles held off the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Monday in the annual Patriots’ Day game that had Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s pitching start shortened by a long rain delay.
Renfroe drove in four runs, helping the Angels avoid a four-game series sweep.
Ohtani gave up a run in two hitless innings, walking the leadoff hitter and throwing two wild pitches before Rob Refsnyder’s run-scoring ground out.
He’s given up only two runs in 21 innings over four starts this season.
“I felt like I could go back out there but we just didn’t know exactly how long the delay was going to be,” he said through a translator. “It was a really early game, that was probably the hardest part.”
Renfroe, who hit 31 homers with the Red Sox in 2021, hit a 95.6 mph sinker from Brayan Bello (0-1) into the last row of the Green Monster seats during a four-run first. Brandon Drury added a sacrifice fly in the inning.
Rafael Devers’ RBI single off Carlos Estévez sliced the score to 5-4 in the ninth. But Estévez struck out Refsnyder and got Masataka Yoshida to pop out with two runners on for the final out and his second save.
Unlike most years when the Boston Marathon’s lead runners go through nearby Kenmore Square while the game’s going on, men’s defending champion Evans Chebet crossed the finish line about 25 minutes before the first pitch.
Heavy rain fell briefly before Ohtani took the mound in the second inning, but the grounds crew spread rapid dry around the infield causing a brief delay.
The second “official” delay came in the top of the third after the start was pushed back 56 minutes by rain, and that was it on the mound for the Angels’ star.
“As much I know he keeps himself ready to pitch, once we got past that 35, 40-minute mark I wasn’t going to send him back out,” Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin said.
Asked if his next start could get moved, Nevin said: “We’re going to talk about it.”
Ohtani struck out three, throwing 31 pitches, 20 strikes, but went 2 for 5 at the plate with two singles.
Tucker Davidson (1-1) worked 3 1/3 innings for the victory.
“We had a really good start going on and Tucker came in after the rain delay and did a really good job,” Renfroe said.
Zach Neto, the Angels’ 22-year-old shortstop who was promoted from Double-A on Saturday, singled to left for his first major-league hit after starting his career 0 for 9.
Ohtani struck out former World Baseball Classic teammate Yoshida swinging with a 98.4 mph fastball in their only matchup in the first inning.
Bello allowed five runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings.
“It seems like they were hunting hard down and they put some good at-bats,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora of the hitters’ approach against Bello.
TRADITION
The Red Sox wore home white jerseys that read “Boston” in red letters across the front instead of “Red Sox.”
It’s the jersey they wore in their first game back in Fenway Park after the finish line bombings that killed three people and wounded hundreds more in the 2013 Boston Marathon.
FORGET IT
After struggling and not getting his warmup jacket zippered until the third pitch following his first-inning single, Ohtani just handed it back to first base coach Damon Mashore after his second-inning single.
STILL NO ANSWER
When asked before the game about his team facing Ohtani, Cora said: “Hopefully, he’s not a morning person.”
The scheduled start was pushed from 11:10 to just after noon.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: Catcher Logan O’Hoppe dropped his bat and grabbed his left shoulder following a swing in the first inning but stayed in after chatting with a trainer and singled to left. … Center fielder Mike Trout had the day off.
Red Sox: Cora said left-hander James Paxton (strained right hamstring) was expected to throw a bullpen session Monday.
UP NEXT
Angels: Open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. LHP José Suarez (0-1, 10.80 ERA) is set to face New York RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-0, 8.44).
Red Sox: Begin a three-game series Tuesday in Fenway against the Twins when Boston lefty Chris Sale (1-1, 11.25) is scheduled to go against RHP Sonny Gray (2-0, 0.53).
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PHOENIX (AP) — Thanks to the pitch clock, the action is moving much faster at Major League Baseball games.
It also means a little less time for fans to enjoy a frosty adult beverage.
To combat that time crunch, at least four teams — the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers — have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning this season. Others, like the Miami Marlins and New York Mets, still have seventh-inning cutoffs, but haven’t ruled out changes.
“Totally makes sense to me,” said Tom Lienhardt, who was sipping on a beer Tuesday night before the Brewers-Diamondbacks game at Chase Field. “Since the games are shorter, you’ve got to adjust.”
Teams historically have stopped selling alcohol after the seventh.
At least one team, the Baltimore Orioles, already sold alcohol through the eighth inning, or until 3 1/2 hours after first pitch, whichever came first.
MLB games have been considerably shorter this season, largely thanks to a series of rule changes, particularly the new pitch clock. Through the first 1 1/2 weeks of the season, the average game time was down 31 minutes, on track to be the sport’s lowest since 1984.
The minor leagues played with the pitch clock last season. At least one minor league general manager — Kevin Mahoney of the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones — said there was no dropoff in concession sales even with shorter games.
Still, some big league teams have felt the need to make adjustments.
The Rangers allowed some alcohol sales in the eighth inning last season, but have made that option more widely available in 2023. The team said the move to offer in-seat service to everyone — fans can order on their phones — was done partly in reaction to the pitch clock and the potential of shorter game times so fans would not have to miss extended action waiting in lines at concession stands.
Brewers President of business operations Rick Schlesinger confirmed to MLB.com that their team’s move to extend alcohol sales through the eighth was an experiment.
“If it turns out that this is causing an issue or we feel that it might cause an issue, then we’ll revert to what we have done previously,” Schlesinger said.
MLB says it does not regulate when teams sell alcohol. Most franchises have used the seventh inning as a cutoff, at least partly to avoid overserving customers who could then get in their cars and drive home.
But in reality, most teams already had areas around the ballpark where fans could get alcohol after the seventh, even if the concession stands stopped serving. Many parks are connected to restaurants or have VIP areas where the booze still flows.
“If it cuts off sales in the seventh inning, the eighth inning or the ninth inning, that really doesn’t affect our stance because regardless, we just don’t want people to drink alcohol and then drive home from the game,” said Erin Payton, Regional Executive Director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
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AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum, Noah Trister and Stephen Hawkins, and AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell, Alanis Thames and Ryan Kryska contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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