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MLB Draws over 1.5 Million Fans for April Weekend

mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball games drew over 1.5 million fans during a crowded early weekend.

MLB said Monday the 45 dates over the weekend averaged nearly 34,000. The total attendance of 1,524,508 was the highest this early in April for any weekend that didn’t include a home opener.

Through the first two full weekends, MLB has drawn over 2.9 million fans. That is the second-highest in history, trailing only the total in 2005.

Giants Beat Rockies 5-4 in 10 Innings

colorado-rockiesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brandon Crawford led off the 10th inning with a splash homer to give the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

Pablo Sandoval homered and Angel Pagan drove in two runs for the Giants, who bounced back from a 1-0 loss on Saturday to take two of three in the series.

Wilin Rosario and Justin Morneau homered for the Rockies, who have lost 15 of their last 18 games in San Francisco and have not won a series here since 2010.

Crawford turned on the second pitch thrown by Rex Brothers (1-1) and drove it into McCovey Cove for his first career walkoff homer and first splash homer.

Sergio Romo (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for the win.

Davis’ Throwing Error Sends Twins over Royals

kc-royalsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pitcher Wade Davis made a wild flip home on a comebacker in the eighth inning and the Minnesota Twins rallied past the Kansas City Royals 4-3 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

After the Royals scored three times in the eighth for a 3-2 lead, reliever Aaron Crow (0-1) walked two Minnesota batters to start the bottom half.

Davis struck out Joe Mauer, but Trevor Plouffe walked to load the bases. Chris Hermann then hit a tapper back to the mound and Davis, hoping to begin an easy double play, hesitated briefly after getting the ball out of his glove.

Davis’ toss sailed past catcher Salvador Perez. Pedro Florimon scored the tying run and Brian Dozier slid home under Perez’s return throw to Davis covering the plate.

Casey Fien (1-0) got one out and Glen Perkins posted his third save.

Rockies Activate Chatwood from DL

Tyler Chatwood Colorado RockiesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Colorado Rockies have activated right-hander Tyler Chatwood from the 15-day disabled list and optioned infielder Charlie Culberson to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Chatwood was activated in time to start Sunday’s series finale against San Francisco.

Chatwood went 8-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 20 starts last season for Colorado. He began this year on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

The Rockies might need to make another roster move this week. Lefty Brett Anderson had X-rays on the injured index finger on his throwing hand after the injury appeared more serious than originally feared when he hurt it Saturday.

Anderson Injured in Rockies’ Win over Giants

colorado-rockiesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tommy Kahnle and four relievers combined for two-hit ball over six innings after Brett Anderson was injured, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 1-0 victory over Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.

Troy Tulowitzki had a sacrifice fly in the third inning for Colorado. Kahnle (2-0) allowed one baserunner in two innings. Matt Belisle, Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers and LaTroy Hawkins pitched an inning apiece to complete the three-hitter with Hawkins finishing for his second save.

Rockies relievers extended their scoreless streak to 9 2-3 innings in this series.

Anderson left the game with a bruised left index finger after allowing a hit in three innings.

Colorado won for just the second time in six road games this season. It’s also just the Rockies’ third win in their last 17 games at San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark.

Mauer Homers, Nolasco Pitches Twins past Royals

kc-royalsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joe Mauer hit his first home run of the season and free-agent acquisition Ricky Nolasco earned his first win for the Minnesota Twins in a 7-1 victory Saturday over the Kansas City Royals.

A day after getting his first RBI of the year, Mauer drove in three more runs against Kansas City starter James Shields. Brian Dozier had a leadoff homer for Minnesota, which has scored the second-most runs in the American League.

Nolasco (1-1) showed why the Twins signed him to a $49 million, four-year contract to steady their rotation. The right-hander gave up five runs in each of his first two outings for his new team, but was on top of his game Saturday in his first home start for Minnesota. Nolasco went eight innings and allowed five hits with four strikeouts.

Shields (0-2) yielded seven runs — one earned — in 5 2-3 innings. He gave up six hits and walked three while striking out five.

Bumgarner Hits Grand Slam, Giants Edge Rockies 6-5

colorado-rockiesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs to overcome a shaky outing on the mound, sending the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

Bumgarner hit a sacrifice fly off starter Jorge De La Rosa in the third inning, then connected for a towering home run in the fourth. It was Bumgarner’s third career homer and only the second grand slam by a Giants pitcher since the team relocated from New York to San Francisco in 1958.

Brandon Crawford added two hits and scored twice for the Giants.

Carlos Gonzalez homered for Colorado, which played short-handed after injuries sidelined two of its top hitters.

Players Know Pitchers Try for Better Grip on Ball

mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Using a suspicious substance for a better hold of the baseball on cool days is not such a sticky situation.

Whether it’s the Yankees’ Michael Pineda with a mysterious brown goo on his hand, Boston’s Jon Lester with a green smudge in his glove or Houston’s Josh Zeid spraying something on his forearm before entering a recent game, most major leaguers don’t care whether pitchers get a little help — even though it’s against the Official Baseball Rules.

To some, it’s preferable.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino says “it’s an unwritten rule in the game. I’m sure a lot of pitchers do it.”

Expanded Replay Might Make for Better Manners

mlb bigOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Baseball’s new expanded replay rules this season might mean most managers start minding their manners.

That seems to be the case so far, with managers calmly leaving the top dugout step to chat with an umpire to either challenge a play or request that the umpire take a second look via review.

Through Wednesday’s games, in a count by baseball and STATS, there were 64 replays with 21 of those overturned. Nineteen of 48 were on manager challenges, and two were among 16 umpire-initiated reviews.

There could be a missing element for the baseball purists so accustomed to those screaming matches between manager and umpire made famous by by the late Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, retired Braves skipper Bobby Cox or cap-kicking Lou Piniella.

Morneau Settles in at 1st Base for Rockies

Justin Morneau Colorado Rockies BaseballDENVER (AP) — Justin Morneau laces up his cleats right next to the locker once belonging to Todd Helton, the first baseman whose shoes he’s now trying to fill.

Merely a coincidence, though. The Colorado Rockies slugger selected that space in the clubhouse only because good friend Michael Cuddyer resides on the other side.

Morneau insists he’s not trying to replace the retired Helton, only “do the things I’m capable of doing.”

He’s certainly off to a solid start, hitting .387 and scooping up just about everything thrown in his vicinity at first — just like Helton used to do.

Cuddyer says of Morneau, his longtime teammate in Minnesota: “Justin’s a relentless worker and continues to get better, to make our team better.”

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