Season of the slump: Baseball keeps swinging and missing
NEW YORK — Don Mattingly starred in the action-packed 1980s. Now the Miami Marlins manager, Donnie Baseball worries about a record lack of hits — and not just from his team’s bats. “I don’t think it’s cyclical at this point,” he said. “There’s so much swing and miss, it’s kind...
Plum’s Alex Kirilloff launches first 2 big league homers in Twins win
MINNEAPOLIS — Alex Kirilloff hit the first two home runs of his major league career, including a three-run drive that broke open the game in the third inning and led the Minnesota Twins over the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals 9-1 on Friday night. Kirilloff, a Plum native who debuted...
MLB: 9 teams reach 85% vaccination rate
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball says nine teams have had 85% of players, coaches and others with Tier 1 access receive their final dose of the coronavirus vaccine, allowing those clubs to ease some health and safety protocols. Four of those teams have already begun relaxing some protocols after...
Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar fired by MLB over sexual misconduct
NEW YORK — Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar has been fired as a consultant by Major League Baseball and placed on the league’s ineligible list after an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the firing Friday, saying in a statement that a baseball...
Phillies’ Bryce Harper says he’s fine after taking fastball to face
ST. LOUIS — Phillies star Bryce Harper said he feels fine after being hit in the face by a 96.9 mph fastball Wednesday night, forcing him from Philadelphia’s game against St. Louis. “Everything feels good,” Harper said in a video he posted to Instagram. He said he got a CT...
First Call: A team that may draft Najee Harris before Steelers pick; Alex Ovechkin sidelined; Josh Bell struggles
Wednesday’s “First Call” clues us in on a team that may steal Najee Harris in the first round of the NFL Draft before the Pittsburgh Steelers get a chance to pick him. Steelers Hall of Famer Alan Faneca throws his support behind a potential top-5 draft choice for a very...
Rob Manfred: MLB expansion fee could be in $2.2 billion range
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball would consider expansion fees in the range of $2.2 billion for new franchises, though there are no current plans to add teams. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke Tuesday during SporticoLive’s online discussion of its estimates to baseball franchise valuations. The company estimated the average...
Tim Dahlberg: Drop in payroll adds fuel to MLB labor talks
The annual survey of Opening Day baseball salaries by the Associated Press usually reveals something interesting about the state of the game, and this year’s version was even more interesting than most. Here’s a tidbit from it that borders on surprising: Despite all you hear and read about the game’s...
Marlins CF Starling Marte sidelined with broken left rib
MIAMI — Miami Marlins center fielder Starling Marte will be sidelined for at least a few games with a broken left rib. An MRI on Monday revealed a non-displaced fracture, meaning the rib maintained its proper alignment, the Marlins said. Marte will refrain from activity for five to seven days...
5-10 start has Yankees restless; GM Brian Cashman vows to stay course
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees’ players and staff are restlessness. So are fans. A 5-10 start, the franchise’s worst in 24 years, has shaken a team that expects to contend for a World Series title. “Right now we would be a team that an opponent would want to...
Red Sox top White Sox on Patriots’ Day with no Boston Marathon
BOSTON — Kiké Hernández led off with a replay-aided home run and Bobby Dalbec worked a 14-pitch walk in a six-run first inning, helping the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-4, on Monday in the first Patriots’ Day game played apart from the Boston Marathon. The Marathon was...
Braves’ Sean Kazmar makes it back to majors after 13-year absenceVideo
CHICAGO — Sean Kazmar Jr. grounded into a double play — and sounded overjoyed. “Definitely everything and then some,” he said. “What an amazing feeling.” While Kazmar and the Atlanta Braves lost to the Chicago Cubs ,13-4, his pinch-hit appearance in the fifth inning marked the 36-year-old infielder’s first major...
Phillies great Jimmy Rollins reflects on decline of Black players in MLBVideo
PHILADELPHIA — When Jimmy Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13. It’s down to 7.6% this year. As the Phillies celebrated Jackie Robinson Day along with the rest of baseball on...
Change in course: Pirates move pierogies race from PNC Park to Clemente BridgeVideo
Alana and Jimmy Maxey came from Austin, Texas, to PNC Park Thursday to catch a Pirates afternoon game. They had heard about the racing pierogies as well. “Friends and family told me about the pierogies race, so I was excited to see that,” said Alana Maxey, a huge Pittsburgh sports...
First Call: Could Steelers draft the NFL Rookie of the Year? Strange night in NHL’s East Division
Friday’s “First Call” gives us a medical update on a potential Steelers first-round pick. Odds are out on who might be the NFL Rookie of the Year. We saw a strange night in the NHL’s East Division. And we look at the Pirates weekend tilt in Milwaukee. Weird night The...
MLB will have minor league experiment with moving back mound
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball wants to see if moving back the pitcher’s mound will increase offense. MLB will experiment with a 12-inch greater distance between the mound and home plate during a portion of the Atlantic League season in an effort to decrease strikeouts and increase offense. The...
Cubs’ Hendricks feeling ill, scratched amid team covid scareVideo
MILWAUKEE — With the team facing a covid-19 scare, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday night after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well. The Cubs didn’t provide specifics about Hendricks’ health, saying only the move was made from “an abundance of caution.” Four...
Indians 1B Chang receives racist tweets after making error
CLEVELAND — Indians first baseman Yu Chang shared some racist tweets he received after making a costly error in Monday night’s game in Chicago. Chang, who is Taiwanese, posted some of the anti-Asian tweets on his Twitter account Tuesday while asking for tolerance. One of the messages referred to the...
Red Sox-Twins game postponed following fatal police shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins postponed their game against the Boston Red Sox on Monday because of safety concerns following the fatal police shooting of a Black man and the potential for unrest in the area. The Red Sox and Twins were scheduled to begin a four-game series Monday afternoon...
Former Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove throws 1st no-hitter in Padres historyVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter in the history of his hometown team, allowing only one baserunner in a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. The Padres were the only active MLB franchise without a no-hitter, and it came in...
Stats pioneer Bill James: Don’t blame us for boring baseballVideo
BOSTON — The analytics crowd isn’t accepting blame for baseball’s big slowdown. “I plead not guilty,” statistics pioneer Bill James said Friday. “I don’t have nothin’ to do with this.” As baseball games get longer and less action-packed, the sport has been looking for ways to reverse the fan-unfriendly trend....
Dodgers manager believes pitcher Trevor Bauer being singled out by umpsVideo
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believes right-hander Trevor Bauer is being “singled out” by Major League Baseball after umpires in Oakland collected several baseballs he threw in his last start, apparently to examine for foreign substances. Roberts also acknowledged Friday he has noticed umpires collecting sample...
Pirates fans return to PNC Park for home openerVideo
There are plenty of indications that spring has arrived in Pittsburgh, including the recent warm temperatures. But let’s face it, spring is really just a rumor until the Pirates return to PNC Park and the fans with them. It’s bad enough having to wait through one winter to get back...
North Shore businesses thrilled to welcome fans back for Pirates home opener
The first Pirates home game usually brings a sense of excitement and renewal for players and fans. But not many are more excited about fans being allowed back into PNC Park than Kyle Martin, a server at the North Shore Tavern on Federal Street across from the ballpark. Restaurants and...
‘Your 2021 Washington Nationals!’ finally playing, sort ofVideo
WASHINGTON — As the Washington Nationals and their opponents, the Atlanta Braves, lined up for pregame introductions Tuesday, they stood near “OPENING WEEK” stencils in white paint beside the green-as-can-be grass along the baselines. Who could have known it would take nearly a full week into the 2021 regular season...
