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Tag: MLB Spring Training

  • 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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  • MLB wants Rays to play in the area if hurricane-damaged stadium is unfit

    MLB wants Rays to play in the area if hurricane-damaged stadium is unfit

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    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Major League Baseball hopes to find the Tampa Bay Rays a temporary home near their fanbase at least for the start of the 2025 season if the damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton cannot be repaired in time.

    The translucent fiberglass dome at the ballpark in St. Petersburg was shredded by Milton’s winds, leaving its immediate future in doubt. A number of spring training sites around the Tampa Bay area have been suggested as temporary homes, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league wants a location in the region if possible.

    “We’re hopeful that we can figure out something in (the Tampa Bay area) for them and that the repairs can be done in a way that allows them to resume playing,” Manfred said on a recent episode of The Varsity podcast.

    “The easiest thing is always to stay in the market where the clubs are anchored, if we can manage it,” he said.

    The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inaugural 1998 season, although the building was constructed in 1990. The hurricane damage comes a few months after the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved a new $1.3 billion ballpark in an adjacent location that would open in the 2028 season, part of a much larger downtown revitalization project.

    The city has hired the Hennessy/AECOM firm to do a complete analysis of the Tropicana Field damage and contracted with another company to remove the remaining roof material, said St. Petersburg spokeswoman Alizza Punzalan-Randle. The city has also filed a claim with its insurance carrier, she said.

    “We will have more information on next steps once the analyses have been completed and the remaining roof has been removed,” Punzalan-Randle said.

    City Council member Brandi Gabbard said she expected the analysis by the first week of November.

    “At that point we will have a better picture of the path forward,” Gabbard said.

    So, where would the Rays go if the Trop isn’t ready on opening day of 2025?

    Suggestions have included local-area spring training sites used by the Phillies, Blue Jays, Yankees, Pirates and Tigers. A bit further away is the Rays’ own spring training complex in Port Charlotte, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) south of St. Petersburg. Another option may be the ballpark at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando.

    Most of those ballpark options host minor league teams after spring training ends, which could prompt significant adjustments to minor league team schedules. One way around that would be to play at the Orioles’ spring training site in Sarasota, which does not have a minor league team.

    There has also been talk of the Rays sharing the Miami Marlins’ stadium, but that would be a major scheduling challenge and about a four-hour drive from St. Petersburg. A previous proposal to have the Rays play some home games in Montreal resurfaced, but the stadium there is undergoing renovation and would not be ready for next season.

    The Rays declined comment Tuesday and have had said only that it could take weeks “to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field.” Playing there without a roof is another idea, but the Trop doesn’t have the drainage systems necessary in such a rain-prone location.

    Another factor to consider is how much money should be spent to repair a facility that will be torn down for the new ballpark in a few years.

    The Rays’ opening “home” game against the Colorado Rockies is scheduled for March 27, 2025, and Manfred said MLB, the team and other entities will come up with a solution.

    “The one thing I can tell you for sure, they’re playing next year. We’re going to find them someplace to do it,” Manfred said on the podcast.

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  • Robot umpire challenge system could be tested next spring training, 2026 regular-season use possible

    Robot umpire challenge system could be tested next spring training, 2026 regular-season use possible

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    ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Major League Baseball could test robot umpires as part of a challenge system in spring training next year, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026.

    MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 but is still working on the shape of the strike zone.

    “I said at the owners meeting it is not likely that we would bring ABS to the big leagues without a spring training test. OK, so if it’s ’24 that leaves me ’25 as the year to do your spring training test if we can get these issues resolved, which would make ’26 a viable possibility,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday during a meeting with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. “But is that going to be the year? I’m not going to be flat-footed on that issue.

    “We have made material progress. I think that the technology is good to a 100th of an inch. The technology in terms of the path of the ball is pluperfect.”

    Triple-A ballparks have used ABS this year for the second straight season, but there is little desire to call the strike zone as the cube defined in the rule book and MLB has experimented with modifications during minor league testing.

    The ABS currently 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 was increased to 53.5% of batter height this year from 51%, and the bottom remained at 27%.

    “We do have technical issues surrounding the definition of the strike zone that still need to be worked out,” Manfred said.

    After splitting having the robot alone for the first three games of each series and a human with a challenge system in the final three during the first 2 1/2 months of the Triple-A season, MLB on June 25 switched to an all-challenge system in which a human umpire makes nearly all decisions.

    Each team currently has three challenges in the Pacific Coast League and two in the International League. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for big league teams with video reviews.

    “The challenge system is more likely or more supported, if you will, than the straight ABS system,” players’ association head Tony Clark said earlier Tuesday at a separate session with the BBWAA. “There are those that have no interest in it at all. There are those that have concerns even with the challenge system as to how the strike zone itself is going to be considered, what that looks like, how consistent it is going to be, what happens in a world where Wi-Fi goes down in the ballpark or the tech acts up on any given night.

    “We’re seeing those issues, albeit in minor league ballparks,” Clark added. “We do not want to end up in a world where in a major league ballpark we end up with more questions than answers as to the integrity of that night’s game or the calls associated with it.”

    Playing rules changes go before an 11-member competition committee that includes four players, an umpire and six team representatives. Ahead of the 2023 season, the committee adopted a pitch clock and restrictions on defensive shifts without support from players.

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

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  • $510 Dodgers jerseys and $150 caps. Behold the price of being an Ohtani fan in Japan

    $510 Dodgers jerseys and $150 caps. Behold the price of being an Ohtani fan in Japan

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    SEOUL, South Korea — Mai Fukuo was gift-shopping for a friend. Hideki Chiba was in the same sports store in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo looking for something for his father-in-law.

    They each picked up items in blue — Los Angeles Dodgers Blue, of course. This reflects the color revolution that’s evident all over Tokyo in the last few months since Shohei Ohtani moved from the Los Angeles Angels — base color, red — to sign a $700-million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers.

    Angels caps have almost vanished in Tokyo. A Dodgers lid is the fashion item — a bit like designer-label goods.

    “Ohtani just changed our store,” said Takuto Yamashita, a part-time worker at a shop called Selection, which boasts Japan‘s largest array of MLB gear for all 30 teams, and the 12 Japanese pro teams, too.

    But there’s one team that matters more than the rest in Japan. And only one player, which is why the Dodgers invested so heavily in Ohtani; not just for his pitching and hitting, but for his celebrity status to market the Dodgers as Japan’s team.

    “The place is completely different. It went from all red to to all blue,” Yamashita added. “Without Ohtani in these last few months, the sales in this store would be so different.”

    Fukuo eyed a traditional white jersey with “Dodgers” in script across the front. She lifted it off the rack — a quilt of Dodgers and Ohtani garb — and admired it for looks, size and texture.

    “I’m thinking of buy this t-shirt for my co-worker because Ohtani is very famous — of course in Japan — and also all over the world,” she explained. “He likes baseball and he likes Ohtani so I’m thinking of this.”

    In another shopping aisle, Chiba dropped a traditional Dodgers cap into his hand-held shopping basket.

    “He (Ohtani) is like a hero to us, at least to me as a baseball fan,” Chiba said. “Everybody knows him, even if they are not baseball fans. To me, he’s a Japanese icon. I think people expected him to be a good player, but he is more than anyone expected.”

    Store manager Hayato Daido estimated that 60% of the sales come from Dodgers gear, or Ohtani specific t-shirts, jerseys, key chains, etc. Assistant store manager Takato Suzuki suggested it might be as high as 70%. Daido said about 10% of sales were linked to local teams like the Tokyo Giants.

    Daido said Ohtani-related sales are “four or five times” more than they were prior to the Dodgers announcing in December they’d signed him. He said gear has yet to arrive for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers on a $325-million, 12-year contract — reported to be the highest in money and longest in duration for any pitcher.

    “There is no doubt there will be demand for it,” Daido said. “We’re just waiting.”

    Surprisingly, what’s still selling are Ohtani caps and jerseys from his six years with the Angels.

    “That’s because they are not being produced any more and have become collector’s items,” Suzuki, the assistant manager, said.

    The store resembles a museum to Ohtani, filled with posters, memorabilia and “Sho-time” emblazoned on myriad items. A few Ichiro Suzuki shirts hang for sale, reminders of the certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.

    Shirts with Ohtani’s dog are a big item — Dekopin in Japanese, but known as Decoy in English. The next big seller could be anything related to his surprise marriage.

    Being an Ohtani fan comes with a price — and it can be steep. The ordinary Dodgers cap, like other MLB caps, sells for about 6,300 yen — about $42.

    However, Ohtani-specific items are much higher. A traditional blue Dodgers cap with the interlocking LA on the front, which also features No. 17 on the side and a replica of Ohtani’s signature goes for 22,400 yen — about $150.

    If you want a baseball that Ohtani threw in a game on April 27, 2023 — brace yourself. The price tag is a whopping 3.3 millon yen — about $22,000. An Ohtani-used glove sells for almost 2 million yen — $13,400.

    Taiwanese Torben Lin offered a contrarian view. In town shopping, his interest was in buying a Masataka Yoshida jersey, the Japanese outfielder who wears No. 7 for the Boston Red Sox. He bypassed the Ohtani gear — intentionally.

    “Ohtani is a good player. He’s really good,” Lin said. “He has two or three skills. But to be honest, I think he’s not perfect. You know, it’s not like we all need to buy his stuff. His souvenirs. His shirts. I think we need to support other players.”

    That perspective didn’t deter Hina Kishi. She works as a waitress in a Japanese restaruant, admired a blue Dodgers jersey on the rack and said she intended to buy it. Even after she looked at the price of 77,000 yen — about $510.

    “Very expenisve,” she said, muttering about how she’d work the spending around her payday. She said she works wearing a kimono, a wrap-around garment and Japan’s traditional dress. She said the jersey would offer a “different look.”

    “I saw baseball in person for the first time at the World Baseball Classic last year at the Tokyo Dome,” she said. “I respect Ohtani so much for being the best and also such a good person.”

    She said she was so taken that she flew to Los Angeles shortly thereafter to see Ohtani play with Angels.

    Fans seem willing to pay to be outfitted like Ohtani with demand soaring and profits to divvy up. A store employee said a blue Dodgers cap with a script “D” above the bill — being worn frequently in spring training — nearly sold out in a few days.

    “They talk about Ohtani on Japanese news every day,” Suzuki, the assistant manager, said. “We can’t think of what business would be like without him.”

    Ditto for MLB and the Dodgers.

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

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  • Shōta Imanaga is looking forward to transition to the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs

    Shōta Imanaga is looking forward to transition to the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs

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    CHICAGO — On a snowy afternoon in downtown Chicago, Shōta Imanaga pulled on a Cubs cap and a crisp, pinstriped No. 18 jersey in the middle of a hotel ballroom.

    Then the Japanese left-hander quickly made a bunch of new friends.

    “Hey Chicago, what do you say? Cubs are going to win today,” Imanaga said in English, reciting a couple of lines from the song “Go Cubs Go” much to the delight of a group of fans on hand for his first press conference with his new team.

    Imanaga was formally introduced by the Cubs on Friday, a day after he finalized a $53 million, four-year contract that could become an $80 million, five-year deal. Nicknamed “The Throwing Philosopher,” he went 7-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 22 starts last season with the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Central League, finishing with 174 strikeouts and 24 walks in 148 innings.

    The 30-year-old Imanaga steps into Chicago’s rotation in place of Marcus Stroman, who opted out of his contract and has a pending $37 million, two-year deal with the New York Yankees. Chicago also has lefty Justin Steele and right-handers Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon projected for its rotation.

    “We’re very excited to bring Shōta on board,” said Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations for the Cubs. “He’s been a great teammate. He’s very curious. He has a reputation of being an exceptionally cerebral pitcher. … He wants to continue to get better, and that sounds like a perfect match for the Cubs.”

    Imanaga gets a $1 million signing bonus payable within 30 days of the deal’s approval by Major League Baseball and salaries of $9 million this year and $13 million in 2025.

    Chicago can exercise an option for salaries of $20 million in 2026, $20 million in 2027 and $17 million in 2028. If the Cubs decline, Imanaga would have a $15 million player option for 2026.

    If the pitcher exercises his option, Chicago would have an option for salaries of $24 million in 2027 and $18 million in 2028.

    If the Cubs decline their first option, Imanaga exercises his first option and the team declines its second option, the pitcher would have a $15 million option for 2027.

    His salaries in all future seasons of the contract would escalate by $1 million for winning a Cy Young Award, $500,000 for finishing second or third and $500,000 for fourth through 10th. If he wins this year’s Rookie of the Year award, his 2025 salary only would increase by $250,000.

    Imanaga will become a free agent when the contract ends.

    Recognizable for throwback-style high socks, Imanaga was 64-50 with a 3.18 ERA in eight seasons with Yokohama, striking out 1,021 and walking 280 in 1,002 2/3 innings. He also got the win for Japan in last year’s World Baseball Classic final against the United States.

    “The experience of the World Baseball Classic made me think that there is more to baseball, more that I can improve on,” Imanaga said through an interpreter.

    “And also, facing the hitters, they’re players of unimaginable talent over here and it made me want to apply myself and face them, face the challenge here.”

    With Imanaga’s first major league contract, Chicago can exercise a 2028 option after 2025 or ’26. If the team declines the option in either instance, the pitcher would have the right to opt out of the remainder of the contract to become a free agent.

    Chicago must pay a release fee of $9,825,000 to Yokohama under the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. The amount of the fee would increase if the option is exercised.

    The addition of Imanaga was the first big player acquisition for Chicago since it hired Craig Counsell as manager in November, replacing David Ross in a surprise move. The Cubs were in position for an NL wild card last year before stumbling in September, fading to an 83-79 record after finishing under .500 in the previous two seasons.

    Chicago acquired power-hitting infielder Michael Busch in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, and it is still shopping for help ahead of spring training. Cody Bellinger is a free agent after a resurgent season, and the Cubs are hoping to re-sign the slugger.

    As Imanaga weighed his options, he did his homework on Chicago and his new team. He said he picked No. 18 in honor of Ben Zobrist, a three-time All-Star who was the World Series MVP when the Cubs won the title in 2016. He also spoke with former Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish about his transition to the majors.

    “I asked him about what are the things that he placed emphasis on when picking the team, and I also talked to other players who played in (the) U.S. as well,” Imanaga said. “But they all said in unison that Chicago is a wonderful city.”

    One of the biggest challenges for Imanaga is the usual schedule for a big league rotation. The norm for starting pitchers is four days of rest, compared to five or more in Japan.

    “It’s a novel experience for me, so I want to keep an open mind and seek advice from a lot of people,” he said. “Luckily I have the time in spring training so I can talk to the manager and coaching staff, my teammates, and figure out what works for me.”

    Counsell, who drew praise for how he handled his pitching staff during his nine seasons as Milwaukee’s manager, is keeping his options open when it comes to Imanaga’s adjustment to the majors.

    “I think we have to be cognizant of how he has pitched in the past and the rest he has gotten in the past,” Counsell said, “and that’s going to inform our decisions. But at the same time, there’s going to be times when he’s going to pitch on four days and we know that.”

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

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  • Bryce Miller continues spectacular start, Mariners top A’s 6-1

    Bryce Miller continues spectacular start, Mariners top A’s 6-1

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    SEATTLE — Watching him during spring training, Seattle manager Scott Servais saw the potential in young righty Bryce Miller even if he was starting off in the minors.

    Thrust into duty with the Mariners due to injury, Miller is blowing away even the most lofty expectations that came with his arrival.

    Miller limited Oakland to two hits over six shutout innings to continue his spectacular early success, and the Mariners used a big inning to beat the Athletics 6-1 on Wednesday night.

    “There’s going to be some adjustments he’s going to need to make along the way, the more teams get to see him and the book gets on him a little bit more,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “But, you know, if it ain’t broke, you don’t fix it. And the results are outstanding.”

    Seattle scored five times and sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, providing more than enough offense for Miller and a trio of relievers.

    Miller (3-1) has pitched at least six innings in each of his five starts. He’s allowed just two hits in three of the five outings and has allowed four earned runs in 31 1/3 innings. He’s the first pitcher since at least 1901 to throw at least six innings and allow four or fewer hits in each of his first five appearances.

    Miller made his debut May 2 against the Athletics with 10 strikeouts, two hits and one run allowed. And three weeks later, Oakland still couldn’t solve the young right-hander.

    Of his 90 pitches Wednesday, 73 were fastballs.

    “The plan is the same, go out and attack with the fastball and get ahead, and until it’s proven that I need to stray away from it then I’m going to keep riding with it,” Miller said.

    The A’s (10-41) lost their seventh straight game and 15th in 17 games. They are the third team since 1901 to have a winning percentage below .200 after 51 games, joining Boston (.196) in 1932 and Washington (.188) in 1904.

    Miller added to the misery, allowing only four baserunners to go with six strikeouts. Aledmys Díaz’s single in the third inning was Oakland’s first hit and Ryan Noda’s check swing blooper in the sixth parachuted into the outfield for a single. Miller also walked one and hit a batter.

    But for the most part the Athletics couldn’t touch Miller. He capped his night striking out Shea Langeliers on a 95 mph fastball to end the sixth inning.

    “When you lose a guy like Robbie Ray, and then you have a young guy come in like that and take the opportunity and run with it’s fantastic. Great to see,” Servais said.

    Díaz’s double in the seventh off reliever Matt Brash scored JJ Bleday with Oakland’s only run.

    Seattle’s offense came alive in the fourth inning, batting around against Ken Waldichuk. The Mariners had five hits and three walks in the inning off Waldichuk (1-4), including Sam Haggerty’s two-run double and RBI singles from J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodríguez.

    “He just started pitching behind in the count in that inning,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “He wasn’t getting ahead of hitters and that’s going to hurt you when your behind in the count against these guys.”

    Teoscar Hernández hit his ninth homer of the season leading off the seventh inning.

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Mariners: 1B Ty France was out of the lineup after getting hit by a pitch on the outside of his left hand late in Tuesday’s win. France’s hand was slightly swollen but the Mariners felt fortunate to avoid a significant injury. France said the pitch hit the outside of his palm and avoided both his wrist and pinkie finger.

    UP NEXT

    Athletics: LHP JP Sears (0-3, 4.99) has a 3.57 ERA in four starts in the month of May. Sears threw six innings and allowed two runs in his last start against Houston.

    Mariners: RHP Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.81) looks for his second straight win after throwing six innings and allowing two runs in a win over Atlanta in his last outing.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Judge’s 4th hit puts Yanks ahead in 7-4 win over Reds after Hicks cut

    Judge’s 4th hit puts Yanks ahead in 7-4 win over Reds after Hicks cut

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    CINCINNATI — Aaron Judge had a go-ahead single in the 10th inning for his fourth hit of the game, and the New York Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Saturday after cutting Aaron Hicks with $27.6 million on the outfielder’s contract.

    New York overcame a 4-1 deficit in a three-run fifth inning against Luke Weaver on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s homer, Judge’s RBI double off the left-field wall and Anthony Rizzo’s run-scoring single.

    Judge also had a run-scoring single against the left-field fence in the third as part of a 4-for-4 afternoon with three RBIs. He is hitting .378 with seven homers, 18 RBIs and a 1.402 OPS in 11 games since returning from the injured list on May 9.

    Greg Allen, reacquired by the Yankees on Friday night, opened the 10th as the automatic runner on second. He advanced on Gleyber Torres’ flyout and scored on Judge’s single off Ian Gibaut (3-1).

    Anthony Rizzo followed with a two-run homer, his second in two nights and 24th at Great American Ball Park.

    Clay Holmes (2-2) allowed a walk in a scoreless ninth, and Ryan Weber pitched the 10th to give the Yankees seven pitchers with saves, the most of any big league team.

    After the final out, Yankees manager Aaron Boone exchanged a handshake with banned Reds great Pete Rose, who watched the game from a first-row seat.

    New York (28-20) has won five of six and 10 of 13, improving to a season-high eight games over .500.

    Hicks was designated for assignment to make room for Allen, acquired in a trade with Boston on Friday. The 33-year-old Hicks was batting .188 with a homer and five RBIs in 28 games this season. His $70 million, seven-year contract is guaranteed through 2025.

    Luke Maile homered for the Reds (19-26), who have lost five of six.

    The game drew 41,374 fans, Cincinnati’s second-largest home crowd and the team’s second sellout this season. Many of them raucously cheered for the Yankees.

    Run-scoring singles by Jake Fraley in the first and Spencer Steer in the third and Luke Maile’s two-run homer in the fourth built a 4-1 lead against rookie Jhony Brito.

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Yankees: LHP Carlos Rondón (left elbow strain, back stiffness) played catch at up to 120 feet before Saturday’s game before catching a flight to New York, where he’ll rejoin the team after it returns from the currenttrip.

    Reds: OF Henry Ramos was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hip strain. OF Will Benson was recalled from Triple-A Louisville … A magnetic resonance imaging test revealed that RHP Derek Law has a flexor mass strain in his right elbow, manager David Bell said.

    UP NEXT

    Yankees RHP Luis Severino is scheduled to make his 2023 debut against Reds RHP Hunter Greene (0-3) on Sunday morning after recovering from a strained right lat muscle that had sidelined him since spring training.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • AP source: Minor leaguers reach 5-year labor deal with MLB

    AP source: Minor leaguers reach 5-year labor deal with MLB

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Minor league players reached a historic initial collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball on Wednesday that will more than double player salaries, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

    The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details were not announced.

    As part of the five-year deal, MLB agreed during the contract not to reduce minor league affiliates from the current 120.

    The sides reached the agreement two days before the start of the minor league season and hours after a federal judge gave final approval to a $185 million settlementreached with MLB last May of a lawsuit filed in 2014 alleging violations of federal minimum wage laws.

    Union staff recommended approval, and about 5,500 minor leaguers were eligible to cast ballots in a vote expected Thursday. MLB teams must also vote to approve and were likely to do so over the next week.

    Minimum salaries will rise from $4,800 to $19,800 at rookie ball, $11,000 to $26,200 at Low Class A, $11,000 to $27,300 at High Class A, $13,800 to $27,300 at Double A and $17,500 to $35,800 at Triple-A. Players will be paid in the offseason for the first time.

    Most players will be guaranteed housing, and players at Double-A and Triple-A will be given a single room. Players at Low A and High A will have the option of exchanging club housing for a stipend. The domestic violence and drug policies will be covered by the union agreement. Players who sign for the first time at 19 or older can become minor league free agents after six seasons instead of seven.

    Minor leaguers players will receive four weeks of retroactive spring training pay for this year. They will get $625 weekly for spring training and offseason training camp and $250 weekly for offseason workouts at home.

    Beginning in 2024, teams can have a maximum of 165 players under contract during the season and 175 during the offseason, down from the current 190 and 180.

    The union will take over group licensing rights for players.

    Major leaguers have been covered by a labor contract since 1968 and the average salary has soared from $17,000 in 1967 to an average of $4.22 million last season.

    MLB raised minor league minimum salaries in 2021 and last year began requiring housing for some minor leaguers.

    The Major League Baseball Players Association took over as the bargaining representative of the roughly 5,500 players with minor league contracts last September after a lightning 17-day organization drive.MLB agreed to accept the union rather than force players to ask the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election.

    Negotiating for players was led by Tony Clark, Bruce Meyer, Harry Marino, Ian Penny and Matt Nussbaum. MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem headed management’s bargainers.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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