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Tag: MLB baseball

  • MLB will use robot umpires in 2026

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

    New York Yankees outfielder Austin Slater, one of four players on the competition committee, said three voted in favor after getting support from 22 of the 30 teams. All six management reps voted in favor.

    “I think with any sort of technology, there’s not 100% certainty of the accurateness of the system,” Slater said. “I think the same can be said of umpires. So I think it’s just coming to grips with the impact that technology is going to have and whether or not we were willing to live with that error that was associated with the system, even if the error is very, very miniscule.”

    Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards.

    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.

    Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who leads the American League in ejections for the fifth straight year, called the adoption “inevitable.”

    “Throughout the year, I’ve been a little not totally on board with it or exactly how it’s going to be implemented but it’s going to be here and hopefully that’s a good thing,” he said. “A lot of the things that Major League Baseball has done I think have been really successful in the changes they’ve made and hopefully this is another one of them.”

    Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said players will have to adjust.

    “You can like it, dislike it, it doesn’t matter,” Vogt said as Cleveland prepared to open a critical three-game series with Detroit. “It’s coming. It’s going to change the game. It’s going to change the game forever.”

    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 year’s 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).

    “I love it. I loved it in spring training,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Not all of the players, but most of the players, if you ask them, they really liked it too. I think it keeps everybody accountable. It keeps everybody on their toes.”

    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%.

    “Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that’s acceptable to players,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “The strong preference from players for the challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today.”

    This will be MLB’s first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, larger bases, and restrictions on defensive shifts and pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts.

    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.

    “Unless you have a really good eye … only getting two (challenges), I think a lot of the borderline ones are going to stay the same,” Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “So it keeps some of the human element in in the game.”

    In addition to Slater, the other players on the competition committee are Arizona’s Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen and Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, 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. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association declined to comment Tuesday, saying its members “are focused on the 2025 season and postseason.”

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    AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, and AP freelance writers Larry Fleisher in New York, Anthony SanFilippo in Philadelphia and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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  • Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Here’s how they work

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are coming to the big leagues in 2026 after Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System.

    ABS will be introduced in the form of a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each call, which can be appealed to the computer. Robot umpires have been tested in the minor leagues since 2019, with recent testing done at Triple-A since 2022, MLB spring training this year and at this summer’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

    Here’s what to know about MLB’s robot umps.

    Stadiums are outfitted with cameras that track each pitch and judge whether it crossed home plate within the strike zone. In early testing, umpires wore ear buds and would hear “ball” or “strike,” then relay that to players and fans with traditional hand signals.

    The challenge system adds a wrinkle. Human umps call every pitch, but each team has the ability to challenge two calls per game. Teams that burn their challenges get one additional challenge in each extra inning. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for big league teams with video reviews, which were first used for home run calls in August 2008 and widely expanded to many calls for the 2014 season.

    Only a batter, pitcher or catcher may challenge a call, signaling with the tap of a helmet or cap; and assistance from the dugout is not allowed. A challenge must be made within 2 seconds, and the graphic of the pitch and strike zone is shown on the scoreboard and broadcast feed. The umpire then announces the updated count.

    MLB estimates the process averages 17 seconds.

    A Hawk-Eye pose-tracking system of cameras tracks pitches and whether they are within a strike zone based on the height of each batter, who is measured without shoes before a team’s first test game. MLB estimated the calibration process at less than one minute for each player.

    While the strike zone actually called by big league umpires tends to be oval in shape, the ABS strike zone is a rectangle, as in the rule book.

    Developing a consensus on what a computer strike zone should be has been an issue.

    MLB has changed the shape of the ABS strike zone several times.

    It started with a 19-inch width in 2022, then dropped it to 17 inches — matching the width of home plate. Narrowing the strike zone led to an increase in walks and only small changes in strikeout rates.

    The top of the strike zone was 51% of a batter’s height in 2022 and 2023, then raised to 53.5% in 2024 after pitchers complained. The bottom of the strike zone has been 27% since 2022 after initially being set at 28%. A batter’s stance is not taken into account.

    ABS makes the ball/strike decision at the midpoint of the plate, 8 1/2 inches from the front and 8 1/2 inches from the back. The contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, which says the zone is a cube and a strike is a pitch that crosses any part. 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 this year’s MLB All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful.

    Success rate have hovered around 50% in the minors. At Triple-A this season, the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses — usually catchers — have been more successful, winning 53.7% of challenges compared to 45% by batters. Challenges increased to 4.2 from 3.9 per game through Sunday.

    in 2024 at Triple-A, just 1.6% of first pitches were challenges, but the figure increased to 3.9% for two-strike pitches, 5.2% for three-ball pitches and 8.2% for full counts.

    Challenge percentages were higher later in the game. While 1.9% of pitches were challenged in the first three innings, 2.5% were challenged from the fourth through the sixth, 2.8% in the seventh and eighth and 3.6% in the ninth.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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  • Shohei Ohtani has 3rd straight dominant outing on mound with 6 scoreless innings

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    PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani is looking like a formidable force on the mound as October baseball approaches.

    The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star had his third straight scoreless outing on Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, throwing a season-high six innings and striking out eight.

    The right-hander’s fastball was consistently in the 98-100 mph range, hitting 101.2 on one delivery and often overpowering the D-backs hitters. He gave up five hits, all singles. He also started an athletic double play to end the fifth, darting off the mound to field a soft grounder from James McCann and firing to Tommy Edman at second, who threw to first.

    The 31-year-old Ohtani has slowly built up his pitch count as he returns from elbow surgery that kept him off the mound for the entire 2024 season. He threw a season-high 91 pitches in his 100th career big league mound start.

    The Dodgers led 4-0 when Ohtani left the game, but the D-backs rallied against the bullpen for a 5-4 victory. Ohtani, who has 53 homers this season, batted leadoff and went 0 for 3 with a walk in his first four plate appearances.

    Ohtani worked five hitless innings in his last start, on Sept. 16 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

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  • Robot umpires approved for MLB in 2026 as part of challenge system

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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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  • The Padres earn a playoff spot for the 4th time in 6 seasons

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    SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres are headed back to the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.

    The Padres clinched a playoff berth with a 5-4, 11-inning win against the three-time NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

    Freddy Fermin, acquired from Kansas City at the trade deadline on July 31, singled in automatic runner Bryce Johnson with one out in the 11th to set off a wild celebration in front of a sellout crowd of 42,371 at Petco Park.

    The Padres pulled within 2 1/2 games of the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race and 2 1/2 games behind the idle Chicago Cubs in the race for the National League’s first of three wild card spots.

    Manny Machado, shirtless, wearing sunglasses and drenched with beer and Champagne, says he feels good about the team’s chances in the playoffs.

    “Everything is different. But we’ve got heart,” Machado said. “Everybody wants it. It’s always a challenge. Baseball’s a challenge. It’s hard.”

    Fermin was being interviewed when Machado stopped by and poured a shot of tequila into his mouth.

    “I believe with this staff we have, we are going to the World Series,” said Fermin, the catcher. “It is very special, this moment. I don’t have words for this moment. Very special. First step, we’ve got to keep rolling this.”

    The Padres’ road appears to be tougher than last year, when they swept the Atlanta Braves in a home wild-card series to earn a shot at the rival Dodgers. San Diego led 2-1 before their bats went so cold that they didn’t score in the last 24 innings as they lost the series in five games. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series.

    “What this group has done this year, and even last year, to put this into place, and for us to go to the postseason two years in a row for the first time since 2005-06, is truly special,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said.

    If the current standings hold, the Padres would visit the Cubs for a best-of-3 wild-card series. The winner would move into the division series against the Brewers, who clinched their third straight division title on Sunday and are in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.

    It’s been an interesting season for the Padres, who led the division for much of April before slipping back as they played .500 ball in May and sub-.500 ball in June. The Dodgers never could open a big lead, but the Padres never could regain the lead, except for brief stretches in August.

    General manager A.J. Preller pulled off a major overhaul at the trade deadline on July 31, acquiring reliever Mason Miller from the Athletics, catcher Freddy Fermin from Kansas City and outfielders Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano from the Orioles.

    The Padres became the first big league team to send three relievers to the All-Star Game when Jason Adam, closer Robert Suarez and left-hander Adrián Morejón were selected for the Midsummer Classic. Adam went down with a season-ending quadriceps injury on Sept. 1.

    The Padres were prone to offensive slumps, particularly on the road.

    But there were some defensive highlights, including several home run robberies by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.

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  • Fermin’s 11th-inning single sends the Padres into the playoffs with 5-4 win over the Brewers

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    SAN DIEGO — Freddy Fermin singled in automatic runner Bryce Johnson with one out in the 11th inning and the San Diego Padres beat the three-time NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 Monday night to clinch their fourth playoff berth in six seasons.

    Fermin, acquired from Kansas City at the trade deadline on July 31, drove the first pitch he saw from Grant Anderson to center field. He tossed his bat aside and then tossed his helmet as he approached first base, setting off a wild celebration in front of a sellout crowd of 42,371 at Petco Park.

    The Padres pulled within 2 1/2 games of the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race and 2 1/2 games behind the idle Chicago Cubs in the race for the National League’s first of three wild card spots.

    The Brewers (95-62) clinched their third straight division title on Sunday and are headed to the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons. They are trying to clinch the NL’s No. 1 seed.

    Jose Iglesias bunted Johnson to third before Fermin delivered the winning hit.

    Each team scored a run in the 10th. The Padres left the bases loaded in their half of the inning.

    Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez singled in the tying run with two outs in the seventh and emphatically pumped his fists toward the dugout on his bobblehead night.

    The Padres had fallen behind 3-1 in the second before Iglesias started the comeback with a leadoff homer in the fifth off ace Freddy Peralta.

    Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth had a hand in all three outs in the 11th. He started a rundown that erased automatic runner Andruw Monasterio at third base and then with the bases loaded fielded Jackson Chourio’s grounder to start a 4-3 double play.

    Arraez has driven in at least one run in four of the last five games with runners in scoring position.

    Brewers LHP Bruce Zimmermann, selected Saturday from Triple-A Nashville, is expected to start against Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (5-7, 3.94).

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  • Lowe hits 30th homer as Rays beat Red Sox 7-3 to finish 41-40 at Steinbrenner Field

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    TAMPA, Fla. — Brandon Lowe hit his 30th home run of the season and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 Sunday night to avoid a series sweep.

    The Rays (76-80) snapped an eight-game losing streak against Boston.

    Despite the loss, the Red Sox (85-71) maintained their one-game lead in the race for the AL’s second wild card as Cleveland and Houston also lost Sunday.

    The Rays finished with a 41-40 home record at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees, after Tropicana Field was damaged by Hurricane Milton in October. Tampa Bay, which closes the season with six road games, secured its ninth straight winning record at home.

    Tampa Bay capitalized on rookie Connelly Early’s rough first inning. Chandler Simpson led off with a single, Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero walked and Christopher Morel followed with a two-run double. The Rays added a third run in the inning on a Boston error.

    Lowe added insurance in the seventh with a homer off Steven Matz, reaching 30 or more homers for the second time in his career. The Rays then broke it open with four runs off Boston rookie Payton Tolle in the eighth.

    Boston’s aggressive baserunning, which fueled rallies earlier in the series, backfired in this game. Romy Gonzalez was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on Nathaniel Lowe’s grounder through shortstop. In the fifth, Jarren Duran was picked off first after a walk.

    The Red Sox went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position and struck out 14 times. Lowe struck out three times with men on, stranding eight.

    Garrett Cleavinger (2-6) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Early (1-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

    In his second relief appearance, Tolle entered with Boston trailing by a run and allowed four runs in the eighth.

    The Rays announced a sellout crowd of 10,046, their 61st sellout, giving them a total season attendance of 786,750.

    Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (11-11) starts Tuesday at Baltimore.

    Red Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (10-4, 3.46 ERA) faces the Blue Jays in Toronto on Tuesday.

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  • Turang has RBI single in 10th as Brewers beat Cardinals 3-2, cut magic number for division to 1

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    ST. LOUIS — Brice Turang singled home Jackson Chourio in the 10th inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Saturday night.

    Turang was 0 for 4 before lacing a two-out single to left off Jo Jo Romero (4-6), who pitched 1 2/3 innings.

    Jared Koenig (6-1) pitched the final two innings to pick up the win.

    Coupled with the Reds’ 6-3 win over the Cubs 6-3, the Brewers’ magic number to clinch the NL Central Division is one.

    Milwaukee’s Andrew Vaughn hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Caleb Durbin and tie the score 2-2 in the sixth inning.

    Joey Ortiz had an RBI single with two outs in the second to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

    Nolan Arenado’s RBI single in the fourth tied it, and Pedro Pagés scored on Brendan Donovan’s single to right field off reliever Aaron Ashby in the fifth to put the Cardinals up 2-1.

    Miles Mikolas, 37, was lifted in the sixth after giving up a leadoff double. He allowed two runs and seven hits, including five doubles. As he walked off the field, Mikolas — a free agent at the end of this season — doffed his cap to the crowd.

    In the 10th inning, Donovan hit a grounder back to Koenig. He looked back before throwing to first. First baseman Vaughn then threw to third to double up Lars Noobaar for a 1-3-5 double play.

    The Brewers improved to 7-4 in extra-inning games, while the Cardinals fell to 4-8.

    Cardinals will start LHP Matthew Liberatore (7-12, 4.30 ERA) on Sunday. The Brewers have not announced a starter.

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  • Marlins beat slumping Rangers 6-4 in 12 innings for fourth straight win

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    ARLINGTON, Texas — Jakob Marsee and Brian Navaretto hit RBI doubles in a three-run 12th inning that lifted the Miami Marlins to their fourth straight win, 6-4 over the slumping Texas Rangers on Friday night.

    Texas lost its fifth game in a row and is five games behind Houston for the American League’s final wild card with eight games left. The Astros swept three games against the Rangers this week and own the tiebreaker for winning the season series. Houston is a game behind Seattle for the AL West lead after losing 4-0 to the Mariners at home Friday.

    The Marlins have won nine of their last 12 games. Javier Sanoja hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the seventh, Miami’s second game in a row with a pinch-hit homer and ninth overall.

    Marlins starter Janson Junk allowed three hits and struck out five in seven innings. His one run allowed was the fewest he’s surrendered since July 12, when he gave up no runs in seven innings.

    George Soriano (2-0) threw two relief innings with no hits and one run allowed, and Miami held the Rangers to four hits.

    Patrick Corbin (7-10) took the loss in his first relief appearance since Sept. 29, 2017, when he was with Arizona. He allowed three hits and three runs in one inning.

    Rangers starter Tyler Mahle threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts in his first start since returning from the 60-day injured list. He missed the Rangers’ last 85 games due to right shoulder fatigue, last making a start on June 10.

    Rowdy Tellez hit a two-run homer for Texas.

    After Marsee’s go-ahead double, the Marlins brought two more across as Navaretto hit an RBI double and Dane Myers added an RBI single.

    The Marlins improved to 25-60 when their opponent scores first, 9-4 in extra innings, and 12-64 when trailing after six innings.

    RHP Adam Mazur (0-4, 4.85 ERA) starts for the Marlins as the three-game series continues Saturday. The Rangers have yet to announce their starter.

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  • Max Scherzer allows 7 runs while getting 2 outs, raising concerns for Blue Jays as playoffs near

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Max Scherzer has struggled to escape the first inning unscathed. On Friday night, he didn’t get out of the first at all.

    The veteran Blue Jays right-hander was pulled after two-thirds of an inning, the shortest start without an injury of his 18-year career. Scherzer allowed seven runs on seven hits while getting two outs, and Toronto went on to lose 20-1 to the Kansas City Royals.

    Scherzer said he wasn’t overly concerned.

    “We’ll deep dive and figure out what was going on, look at more advanced things,” he said. “But when I went back and looked at the location of some of the pitches, I’m actually OK with it. In that regard, you kind of flush it and move on.”

    Blue Jays manager John Schneider called it “a weird outing” from a player who’s likely bound for the Hall of Fame.

    “Over the course of his career you don’t see that very often from Max, barring an injury,” Schneider said. “They came out swinging and he kind of just left things in the middle.”

    Toronto leads the AL East, and the club would love to have an effective Scherzer in the playoffs. The 41-year-old is a two-time World Series champion, winning titles with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023.

    But this has been an outlier of a season for Scherzer.

    He has a 5.06 ERA — by far the worst of his career — in 16 starts. And the beginning of games has been a particular issue. Scherzer has allowed multiple runs in the first inning in each of his last four starts, and his ERA over that span is 10.93.

    He does not have a scoreless outing and has completed seven innings just twice.

    On Friday, Scherzer allowed the first six batters to reach, yielding a three-run homer to Salvador Perez and giving up five runs before recording an out. Michael Massey hit a one-out, two-run homer to make it 7-1, and after Carter Jensen hit a ground-rule double — his second two-bagger of the inning — Scherzer was pulled.

    “You never expect Max to not get through the first inning. But I think you want to see a little bit better location, you want to see a little bit more stuff on the breaking ball,” Schneider said. “They kind of came out hot. It comes down to executing pitches and putting them where he wants to.”

    Scherzer believes his location wasn’t off by much.

    “There’s only one pitch that’s in the middle of the plate,” he said. “Outside of that, it’s not like I’m hanging sliders, hanging curveballs right in the middle of the plate. They got to some pitches that were in a good area that they put a better swing on. Made a good pitch, they made a better swing.”

    Schneider doesn’t expect Friday’s outing to change anything about Scherzer’s future in the rotation.

    “It’s a weird outing to go two-thirds of an inning and throw a lot of pitches,” he said. “But I don’t think that will affect him going forward. It won’t make his pitch count any lower. Going forward he’ll be on a normal workload and kind of normal pitch count.”

    What does Scherzer look to do going forward?

    “Play well and win,” he said.

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  • Mariners’ rare challenge helps secure 2-0 win over Royals, tie Astros for first place in AL West

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Luis Castillo pitched six innings of three-hit ball, Jorge Polanco and J.P. Crawford drove in runs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Thursday to climb back into a first-place tie with the Houston Astros in the AL West.

    The Mariners are headed to Houston for a three-game series beginning Friday night.

    Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier tossed an inning apiece for Seattle. Andres Muñoz stranded two in the ninth by striking out Adam Frazier on three pitches for his 36th save.

    Castillo (10-8) dueled with Kansas City counterpart Stephen Kolek, who allowed two runs — one earned — while pitching into the eighth inning. One run came on Polanco’s double and the other after an astute move by manager Dan Wilson in the eighth.

    Kolek appeared to have retired the first two batters of the inning when Wilson challenged that second baseman Michael Massey set up on the grass ahead of Polanco’s groundout. The challenge was successful and Polanco was awarded first base, and reliever Daniel Lynch IV eventually gave up Crawford’s run-scoring double to make it 2-0.

    Castillo and Kolek (5-6) were so stingy that each allowed just a pair of runners over the first four innings, and both times they were on back-to-back hits. The difference was the Royals paired together singles and stranded both runners while the Mariners got Josh Naylor’s single and an RBI double by Polanco for a 1-0 lead.

    Castillo only allowed one other runner, a single by Royals rookie Carter Jensen in the fifth. Kolek similarly breezed through the Seattle lineup until a two-out walk to Naylor in the seventh; he promptly struck out Polanco to end the inning.

    The Mariners were leading 1-0 when Wilson made a rare but successful challenge. They wound up doubling their lead.

    Castillo has allowed two earned runs total over his last three starts.

    The Mariners begin their pivotal series in Houston with RHP Bryan Woo (14-7, 3.02 ERA) on the mound Friday night. Kansas City has RHP Michael Lorenzen (5-11, 4.91) up against Toronto on Friday night in their final home series of the regular season.

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  • Brent Rooker’s 30th home run powers the A’s to a 5-3 win over the slumping Red Sox

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    BOSTON — Brent Rooker homered in a three-run first inning and J.T. Ginn limited Boston to five hits over six innings on Thursday to lead the Athletics to a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox.

    The A’s started the game with four straight hits, including Rooker’s two-run shot — his 30th of the season. Ginn (4-6) allowed two runs while walking one and striking out three.

    Hogan Harris pitched two innings for his fourth save.

    David Hamilton and Trevor Story each hit a solo homer for Boston, which lost for the fifth time in seven games. The Red Sox entered the day tied with Seattle for the third and final AL wild-card spot; Cleveland, which beat Detroit on Thursday, was 1 1/2 games back.

    Brayan Bello (11-8) allowed four runs — three earned — on five hits and two walks while striking out three in four innings.

    The A’s started things off with Lawrence Butler’s double off the Green Monster, Rooker’s home run, Nick Kurtz’s double and a run-scoring single from Tyler Soderstrom. Bello recorded his first out when Jacob Wilson grounded into a fielder’s choice, then JJ Bleday hit into a double play.

    Rooker’s homer gave the A’s three players with at least 30; he joined Kurtz (32) and Shea Langeliers (30). That ties a franchise record achieved four times, the last in 2019.

    The A’s head to Pittsburgh, with RHP Luis Severino (6-11) scheduled to face RHP Mitch Keller (6-14) in the opener on Friday night.

    The Red Sox begin a three-game series at Tampa Bay on Friday, with Garrett Crochet, Kyle Harrison and Connelly Early scheduled to pitch.

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  • Jonah Tong bounces back as Mets take series from Padres with 6-1 victory in finale

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    Jonah Tong threw five encouraging innings and earned the win for the New York Mets, who lengthened their lead in the race for the final National League playoff spot with a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres

    NEW YORK — Jonah Tong threw five encouraging innings and earned the win Thursday afternoon for the New York Mets, who lengthened their lead in the race for the final National League playoff spot with a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres.

    Pete Alonso homered for the fourth straight game, Brandon Nimmo also went deep and Juan Soto collected his 100th RBI for the Mets, who won a series for the first time since taking two of three from the Detroit Tigers from Sept. 1-3.

    The Mets lead the idle Arizona Diamondbacks by two games for the third wild card and moved within four games of the Padres, the second wild card.

    Tong (2-2), who allowed six runs while recording only two outs last Friday, gave up an unearned run on four hits Thursday while racking up eight strikeouts. Beginning with Luis Arráez’s third-inning sacrifice fly, the 22-year-old Tong retired the final eight batters he faced, five by strikeout.

    Soto reached 100 RBIs for the third straight season with a tie-breaking groundout in the third against Randy Vásquez (5-7). Alonso, who homered in the first, then walked before Nimmo greeted Wandy Peralta with a 389-foot homer to right.

    Alonso added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

    Vásquez surrendered four runs in 2 1/3 innings.

    Nimmo’s homer was his 24th, tying his career-high set in 2023.

    Tong is the first Mets pitcher 22 years or younger to strike out at least eight batters in a game since 22-year-old Noah Syndergaard whiffed nine on Aug. 25, 2015.

    RHP Dylan Cease (8-11, 4.59 ERA) takes on his former team Friday when the Padres visit RHP Davis Martin (6-10, 4.01 ERA) and the Chicago White Sox. The Mets begin their final home series when RHP Brandon Sproat (0-1, 2.25 ERA) opposes Washington Nationals LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 1.15 ERA).

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  • Dylan Beavers hits a 2-run homer as the Orioles beat the White Sox 3-1

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    CHICAGO — Dylan Beavers homered, Tyler Wells pitched six effective innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Wednesday.

    Beavers, one of Baltimore’s top prospects, connected for a two-run shot in the fourth against Martín Pérez (1-6). He celebrated his third career homer by donning a Baltimore Ravens helmet in the dugout.

    Wells (2-0) allowed one run and four hits in his third start of the season. The right-hander returned this month after he had elbow surgery in June 2024.

    Mike Tauchman homered for the last-place White Sox in their sixth consecutive loss. Pérez permitted three runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings before departing with left shoulder soreness.

    The Orioles jumped in front in the first. Gunnar Henderson hit a two-out single and advanced to second when left fielder Will Robertson let the ball go under his glove. Henderson swiped third as part of a double steal and scored on Jeremiah Jackson’s infield single to third.

    Tauchman hit a leadoff drive in the fourth for his ninth homer.

    Yaramil Hiraldo and Rico Garcia each pitched an inning for Baltimore before Keegan Akin handled the ninth for his seventh save.

    Akin retired three in a row after Chase Meidroth hit a leadoff single in the ninth. Curtis Mead lined to center, and Miguel Vargas flied to left. Colson Montgomery also flied to left for the final out.

    The Orioles stole seven bases, tying a franchise record for a single game.

    Orioles: LHP Cade Povich (3-7, 5.05 ERA) starts on Thursday night against the New York Yankees.

    White Sox: RHP Davis Martin (6-10, 4.01 ERA) takes the mound on Friday against the San Diego Padres.

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  • Happ homers as the Cubs clinch first postseason berth since 2020 with an 8-4 win over the Pirates

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    Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ, left, is greeted by Nico Hoerner, right, after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

    The Associated Press

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  • After Ohtani pitches 5 hitless innings, Marchon’s 3-run homer rallies Phillies past Dodgers 9-6

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    LOS ANGELES — After Shohei Ohtani pitched five hitless innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Rafael Marchon hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Blake Treinen with two outs in the ninth inning for a 9-6 win on Tuesday night.

    Brandon Marsh had a two-run homer and Max Kepler added a solo shot in a six-run sixth for Philadelphia. Ohtani’s 50th homer leading off the eighth helped the Dodgers tie the game 6-6.

    The Phillies erased a 4-0 deficit against Justin Wrobleski in another stunning collapse by the Dodgers bullpen. Philadelphia rallied for four runs in the seventh and eighth innings and another in the 10th on Monday to clinch its second straight NL East title with a wild 6-5 victory.

    After Ohtani’s homer, the Dodgers loaded the bases on a double, a walk and a single before Alex Call’s sacrifice fly scored Teoscar Hernández with the tying run.

    Ohtani struck out five and walked one, throwing 42 of 68 pitches for strikes in his 13th mound start of the season and 99th of his major league career. He retired his final 13 batters.

    The Dodger Stadium crowd of 44,063 groaned at the sight of Wrobleski coming out of the bullpen, knowing Ohtani was done. The team has carefully managed Ohtani’s workload on the mound in his first season pitching for them after two elbow surgeries.

    The groans turned to boos when the left-hander loaded the bases with three consecutive one-out singles before Bryce Harper doubled to center on the first pitch, scoring two runs. Marsh followed with a three-run homer to right and the boos intensified as manager Dave Roberts came to take the ball from Wrobleski with the Phillies leading 5-4. Wrobleski’s ERA ballooned to 4.52.

    Edgardo Henriquez promptly gave up a solo shot to Kepler for a 6-4 lead.

    The bottom half of the Dodgers order jumped on Cristopher Sánchez in the second, taking a 3-0 lead. With one out, Alex Call hit a 408-foot solo shot, then Andy Pages singled and scored on Kiké Hernández’s two-strike, 415-foot homer. Those were just the 11th and 12th homers allowed by Sánchez in 30 starts.

    Sánchez allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings with six strikeouts.

    Ohtani twice retired Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in a matchup of the man chasing the National League home run title pitching to the man who leads the league in homers. Schwarber has 53 to Ohtani’s 50.

    It was the Dodgers’ 18th blown-lead loss since July 4. … Their bullpen has given up 14 runs in 8 1/3 innings of the series.

    Phillies LHP Jesús Luzardo (14-6, 4.03 ERA) starts Wednesday against Dodgers LHP Blake Snell (4-4, 2.79) in the series finale.

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  • Phillies clinch 2nd straight NL East title with 6-5 win over Dodgers in 10 innings

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    LOS ANGELES — A barechested Bryce Harper poured a bottle of Champagne over his head, soaking in the Philadelphia Phillies’ second consecutive NL East title.

    Kyle Schwarber celebrated by chugging beer out of a hose as his teammates fed the contraption in the middle of a darkened visitors’ clubhouse after the Phillies rallied for a wild 6-5 victory in 10 innings over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.

    “You’ve got to enjoy this,” Schwarber said later, puffing on a fat cigar. “This doesn’t happen all the time.”

    The Phillies hope it keeps happening all the way through October as they chase the franchise’s third World Series crown and first since 2008.

    “We’re playing really good baseball right now and just got to keep going and keep understanding we’ve got a bigger picture,” Harper said. “We’ve got things on our mind that we want to win.”

    Philadelphia was already assured its fourth straight National League playoff berth on Sunday, when the San Francisco Giants lost to the Dodgers.

    And with the second-place New York Mets idle Monday, the Phillies needed a win to become the first division champion in the majors this season. They blew three one-run leads before finally getting past the NL West-leading Dodgers for their ninth victory in 11 games, opening a 12 1/2-game lead over the Mets in the NL East with 11 to play.

    Philadelphia had just one hit — Schwarber’s 53rd homer — until the seventh inning. But then Weston Wilson and Harper homered as Philly rallied against the defending World Series champions.

    “They’re just tough and they’re resilient,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said about his team. “They just keep fighting and I’m proud of them. This is a really special group.”

    After the Dodgers’ Max Muncy grounded out to end it, the Phillies gathered near the mound to celebrate. They posed for a photo on the field as red-clad fans cheered behind their dugout at Dodger Stadium.

    Then the party was on.

    It was the earliest division clinch in Phillies history, two days sooner than the 2011 team that won the NL East on Sept. 17. This squad got it done in Game 151, second-fastest behind those 2011 Phillies who did it in Game 150.

    Philadelphia (90-61) has three straight 90-win seasons for the third time in franchise history.

    “I feel like we’ve done such a great job this year,” Schwarber said. “We’ve had a lot of really big injuries happen to us and we just have that next-man-up mentality. I felt like guys came up, they stepped up right away and they got the job done. That’s how you win big baseball games.”

    Since the July 31 trade deadline, the Phillies are 29-14.

    They lost ace right-hander Zack Wheeler when he went on the injured list a month ago with a blood clot in his right shoulder. Wheeler was 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 24 starts when he was sidelined, but Philadelphia’s pitching depth has allowed the team to absorb such a huge loss.

    It certainly helped that the Phillies acquired closer Jhoan Duran and center fielder Harrison Bader from Minnesota at the trade deadline.

    “We’re a little bit different than we have been in the past,” Thomson said. “We can do some things. We’re going to slug but we also can play some small ball to win games, too. It’s a good balance.”

    All-Star shortstop Trea Turner (right hamstring strain) and third baseman Alec Bohm (left shoulder inflammation) are both on the IL. Thomson said Bohm could return later this week at Arizona, while Turner could be back in time for the final homestand of the regular season.

    The victory made Thomson the third manager in franchise history to win consecutive division titles, joining Charlie Manuel (2007-11) and Danny Ozark (1976-78). Thomson is the fourth manager in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason in each of his first four full seasons. Among the other three is Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.

    “I don’t feel 62 right now,” Thomson said. “The last four years has been the most fun I’ve had in baseball. It’s because of the guys. They have a lot of fun.” ___

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  • Carlos Narváez’s solo HR caps 6-run 1st, Garrett Crochet fans 12 and Red Sox hold off Yanks 6-4

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    Carlos Narváez’s solo homer capped a six-run first inning against Will Warren, Garrett Crochet matched his season high with 12 strikeouts and the Boston Red Sox held off the New York Yankees for a 6-4 victory to avoid a three-game sweep

    BOSTON — Carlos Narváez’s solo homer capped a six-run first inning against Will Warren, Garrett Crochet matched his season high with 12 strikeouts and the Boston Red Sox held off the New York Yankees for a 6-4 victory on Sunday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

    Boston stopped a three-game losing streak and moved within 1 1/2 games behind New York for the AL’s top wild card. The second-place Yankees dropped four games behind AL East-leading Toronto.

    Romy Gonzalez hit an RBI double, and Alex Bregman and Nathaniel Lowe each had a run-scoring single in the big inning when the initial five Boston batters had hits.

    Aaron Judge hit his 48th homer for the Yankees, who had won 14 of their previous 19 games. Amed Rosario had a two-run homer and José Caballero added a solo shot.

    Crochet (16-5) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, walking one. Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 30th save in 32 chances as Boston finished with a 9-4 advantage in the season series.

    Judge hit Crochet’s 97.6 mph fastball over Boston’s bullpen, slicing it to 6-3 in the fifth. In the series opener, the Yankees slugger hit his 362nd career homer, passing Joe DiMaggio for fourth place on the club’s list.

    Warren (8-7) lasted five innings, giving up 10 hits.

    Garrett Whitlock gave up Judge’s single off the Green Monster leading off the eighth but struck out the next three batters.

    The Red Sox were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position in the first two games before going 3 for 3 in their first three at-bats.

    Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-8, 3.11 ERA) is set to start Monday night in Minnesota against Twins RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (6-4, 4.58).

    Red Sox: Athletics LHP Jeffrey Springs (10-11, 4.28) starts Tuesday night’s series opener at Fenway Park

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  • Aaron Judge hits 362nd career homer, passing DiMaggio for 4th in Yankees history

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    BOSTON — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 362nd career home run on Friday night, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio and taking sole possession of fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list.

    One game after Judge homered twice to tie DiMaggio with President Donald Trump at Yankee Stadium to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Yankees captain hit the second pitch he saw from Boston’s Lucas Giolito in the first inning over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street.

    The 468-foot shot gave New York a 1-0 lead over Boston as the longtime rivals battle for playoff position. The Yankees entered the night with a one-half game edge over the Red Sox in the AL East, behind division leader Toronto, with both in position for a wild-card berth.

    It was the longest home run at Fenway Park this season, according to Sportradar, and the longest since Judge hit a 470-footer last July.

    Judge reached 362 homers in his 1,130th game. DiMaggio played 1,736 games and hit his last homer on Sept. 28, 1951, at the end of a 13-year career that was interrupted for three seasons because he served in World War II.

    Judge’s 47th homer of the season raised his major league-best batting average to .324.

    Judge broke a tie with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth on New York’s career list Tuesday night. Babe Ruth hit 659 of his 714 homers with the Yankees. Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) are the other Yankees ahead of Judge.

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  • Trump marking 9/11 by attending a New York Yankees game

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    NEW YORK — President Donald Trump was attending the New York Yankees game on Thursday night to mark the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, after honoring the memories of the victims at the Pentagon earlier in the day.

    Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Trump was even expected to stop by the locker room as his team hosts the Detroit Tigers.

    “The fact that he’s gonna be here, it’s something that I’m excited to be a part of,” said Boone, who added that he hoped he and the president would have the chance to “interact for a few minutes.”

    A presidential visit always prompts extra security at sporting events, but things were heightened after conservative activist and close Trump ally Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah on Wednesday. When Trump attended the Sept. 11 observance ceremony at the Pentagon earlier Thursday, authorities moved the ceremony inside as an added precaution.

    Trump’s attendance at the Yankees game on Sept. 11 recalled President George W. Bush’s ceremonial first pitch 24 years earlier as the Yankees played the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series — a moment that came to symbolize national resilience after the attacks mere weeks earlier.

    Since the attacks, the Yankees and their fans have marked Sept. 11 during the seventh-inning stretch by singing “God Bless America” in addition to the traditional “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and they were doing so again Thursday.

    Even before Trump left the White House, security at the stadium was tight. Every entrance featured metal detectors and Secret Service agents, some with sniffer dogs, while New York Police Department helicopters thundered overhead.

    Stadium authorities opened the gates three hours before the first pitch, and long lines began forming even before that, though most of the crowd appeared to be moving into the stadium smoothly. The Yankees said ticketholders were “strongly urged to arrive as early as possible.”

    The Secret Service also posted a statement saying extra time would be necessary and asking fans to “consider leaving your bags at home to help speed up the security screening process.”

    Trump’s attendance at the U.S. Open men’s final in Queens last weekend sparked security lines long enough that some fans didn’t make it to their seats until more than an hour into the match, despite organizers delaying its start by 30 minutes.

    Yankee Stadium authorities installed security glass outside an upper level suite on the third base side, over the Tigers dugout. The service level was also closed at 5:30 p.m. for additional security sweeps.

    The game is Trump’s eighth major sporting event since returning to the White House in January. He attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Daytona 500, UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia, the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and last weekend’s U.S. Open match.

    His appearance marks the third time a sitting president has visited Yankee Stadium for a game, following Bush in 2001 and Warren G. Harding, who came in 1923, the same year the original Yankee Stadium opened.

    The president planned to spend the night at Trump Tower after the game, a rarity for him in recent years since changing his primary residence to Florida in 2019. The Yankee Stadium scoreboard featured a large MLB logo over an American flag and a red, white and blue ribbon under the inscription “September 11, 2001, We Shall Not Forget.”

    The large American flag behind the left field bleachers and the smaller flags for each of baseball’s 30 teams that ring the stadium’s upper level were lowered to half-staff after Trump issued an executive order honoring Kirk. Before Wednesday’s game, the Yankees held a moment of silence for Kirk and flashed his picture on their stadium’s big screen.

    Trump was born in the New York borough of Queens, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he “remains a New Yorker at heart.” Still, Trump’s appearances at baseball games haven’t always been welcomed by fans.

    During his first term in 2019, Trump tried to make a low-profile appearance as the Washington Nationals hosted the Houston Astros in the World Series, entering a lower-tier box to the left of home plate with first lady Melania Trump as the game got underway and without prior announcement.

    At the end of the third inning, the ballpark video screens carried a salute to U.S. service members that drew cheers throughout the stadium. But when the shot cut to Trump, it sparked a torrent of boos and heckling and even chants of “Lock him up!”

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