Yankees-Red Sox postponed after New York positive covid tests
NEW YORK — The Yankees’ post-All-Star break opener against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night was postponed because of positive covid-19 tests within New York’s organization. Major League Baseball said the postponement was to allow for more testing and contact tracing. New York was among the first major league...
AP source: Jays won’t learn if they’ll play at home soonVideo
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays won’t find out by this weekend if they will get permission from the federal government to play in Canada soon, a government official familiar with the talks told the Associated Press on Wednesday. A team spokeswoman said the club continues to work with the...
On deck for MLB’s 2nd half: Trades, playoff races and prizesVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. MLBl likely loves the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels’ two-way star and the spotlight he’s brought to the sport. Can Ohtani stage an encore to a sensational first half? He leads the...
Like father, like son: Vlad Guerrero Jr. shines as All-Star
DENVER — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. admired his 468-foot screamer for a moment before bouncing into his triumphant home run trot. Quick out of the park, slow out of the box, Guerrero became the youngest All-Star Game MVP after driving in a pair of runs in the American League’s 5-2 win...
Sho-case: Shohei Ohtani gets All-Star win for AL, bats, too
DENVER — A Sho-case for Shohei Ohtani became a grand stage for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., too. Ohtani unleashed his 100 mph heat while pitching a perfect inning for the win in becoming baseball’s first two-way All-Star, Guerrero rocked Coors Field with a 468-foot home run and the American League breezed...
Gerrit Cole out of MLB All-Star Game; Andfrew Kittredge, Taylor Rogers in
DENVER — There were a pair of late additions to the American League All-Star team: Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge and Minnesota Twins left-hander Taylor Rogers. They replaced New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole and Seattle Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. Cole said the Yankees did not want him to...
Rob Manfred: Banning defensive shifts would be restoring MLB
DENVER — Banning or limiting defensive shifts would be an effort to restore MLB to how it was played before offense was suffocated by analytics, according to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. Speaking to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America before Tuesday’s All-Star Game, Manfred said seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra...
Vincentian, UConn standout Kyler Fedko drafted by Twins
Vincentian graduate Kyler Fedko, who found a power stroke this season at the University of Connecticut after hitting .412 in 13 games in 2020, was chosen by the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday in the 12th round of the MLB Draft. He was the 369th overall selection. Fedko, 21, was the...
7-inning twinbills, extra-inning runners likely gone in 2022
DENVER — Seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second are likely to be dropped by Major League Baseball after this season. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking Tuesday to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, said he views both innovations as specific to the coronavirus pandemic. They were...
Mets’ Pete Alonso repeats as Home Run Derby champion
DENVER — Pete Alonso of the New York Mets became the third back-to-back Home Run Derby champion, beating No. 6 seed Trey Mancini in the final. Alonso and his blue-and-orange bat went 6 for 6 in a 28-second stretch to give him 23 homers in the final round after Mancini...
Latrobe alumnus Zach Kokoska taken in 10th round of MLB draft by Rockies
Four years after leading Latrobe to its first WPIAL and PIAA baseball championships, Zach Kokoska took the first step toward a professional career Monday when he was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round of the MLB draft. The 290th overall pick, Kokoska was second-team all-Big 12 and...
Marlins draft former Fox Chapel, Seton Hill left-hander Patrick Monteverde
Patrick Monteverde’s left arm has carried him to several far-flung places — from Fox Chapel to Virginia Beach, Va., to Greensburg and, eventually, to Lubbock, Texas. But he hopes to settle in Miami after the Marlins drafted him 239th overall Monday in the eighth round of the MLB Draft. Monteverde...
Angels’ Shohei Ohtani a 2-way starter in All-Star Game; Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds, Adam Frazier in NL lineupVideo
DENVER — Shohei Ohtani will be the American League’s starting pitcher in Tuesday’s night’s All-Star Game and will bat leadoff, too, as the designated hitter in another landmark for the two-way Japanese sensation. A 27-year-old in his fourth major league season with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is the first...
Bethel Park’s Mason Miller taken in 3rd round of MLB draft by Athletics
It can seem like a long road from Bethel Park to the majors. For Mason Miller, the path there has taken a circuitous route. But a big step in that direction came Monday when he was drafted in the third round by the Oakland Athletics. A 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher, Miller...
Hopewell graduate, Ohio U. lefty Joe Rock goes to Rockies at 68th overall
Hopewell graduate Joe Rock turned a productive junior season at Ohio University — highlighted by a no-hitter against Morehead State in February — into a reputation the Colorado Rockies couldn’t ignore. Rock, 6-foot-6, 200-pound left-hander, was chosen 68th overall by the Rockies in Compensatory Round B of the MLB Draft...
Sal Frelick, son of ex-Greensburg Central star, picked 15th overall by Brewers in 1st round of MLB Draft
Sal Frelick, whose grandfather, Henry, was a quarterback at Greensburg Salem and father, Jeff, was a star football and baseball player at Greensburg Central Catholic, passed up both of them Sunday night. Sal, a center fielder at Boston College, was selected 15th overall in the first round of the MLB...
Giants select Mars’ Will Bednar 14th overall in 1st round
Will Bednar will give his older brother, David, this much: When asked which of the two former Mars pitchers will be the first to reach 100 mph on the radar gun, Will said, “Probably him. He’s been closer.” Indeed, David has thrown a 99.6 mph fastball this season as a...
Cubs prospect Brennen Davis hits 2 homers as National League wins Futures GameVideo
DENVER — Brennen Davis saw hitting in Coors Field’s thin air as a fat opportunity, far different from his usual ballparks. “I’m currently playing in Knoxville, Tennessee,” the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A outfielder said. “It’s noticeable.” The 21-year-old homered twice and earned MVP of the National League’s 8-3 victory over the...
Braves star Ronald Acuna out for season after tearing ACL
MIAMI — Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. will undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a complete tear of the ACL in his right knee during Atlanta’s 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. An MRI showed the severity of the injury and the Braves made the announcement shortly before midnight,...
Sportsbooks at Heinz Field, PNC Park and PPG Paints Arena? Bet on it, analysts say
Like grabbing a drink and a bag of peanuts before the game, stopping by a betting window to place money on the Penguins, Pirates or Steelers soon could become part of the ritual of going to a game. Such is the reality at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., which...
Father of Nationals pitcher Joe Ross saves fan in stands from choking
SAN FRANCISCO — Father to a pair of big league starting pitchers, Willie Ross made a crucial save at a ballgame in San Francisco on Saturday. Ross, dad of veteran pitchers Joe and Tyson Ross, performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking fan during a game between the Giants and...
For MLB All-Star Game, right/left divide goes beyond field
DENVER — Debates about right and left at the All-Star Game used to deal with pitchers or perhaps batting orders. This year it extends to the political divide in the United States. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred shifted Tuesday’s game to Denver’s Coors Field from Atlanta’s Truist Park because of a...
Todd Frazier brings passion, power to U.S. Olympic baseball
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — Sitting in the dugout at tiny Yogi Berra Stadium as he prepared to play for the Frontier League’s Sussex County Miners, Todd Frazier recalled reading a quote from former Yankees teammate Masahiro Tanaka vowing Japan’s baseball team will win an Olympic gold medal. “I didn’t know...
MLB extends paid leave for Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer as abuse investigation continuesVideo
NEW YORK — Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave was extended by seven days through July 15 by Major League Baseball and the players’ association on Thursday while the sport’s investigators check into allegations of sexual misconduct against the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. Bauer was placed on seven days’ paid leave on...
Dodgers yank Trevor Bauer bobblehead from promotional schedule
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have removed a Trevor Bauer bobblehead night from their promotional schedule this season. Bauer is under investigation by Pasadena police after a woman accused him of choking her to the point of losing consciousness during two sexual encounters and injuring her during the second. Bauer,...