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Tag: MLB

Hernandez vs Wainwright in All-Star Game

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MLB All-Star Game 2015 Minnesota Twins Target FieldMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Seattle’s Felix Hernandez will start Tuesday night’s All-Star game for the American League and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals will open for the National League.

Hernandez, the first Venezuela pitcher to start for the All-Stars, is 11-2 with a 2.12 ERA. He is just the second Seattle pitcher to start an All-Star game following Randy Johnson in 1995 and 1997.

NL manager Mike Matheny of the Cardinals chose the ace of his own staff. Wainwright is 12-4 with a 1.83 ERA and three complete games in 19 starts. It will be the 11th All-Star start by a Cardinals pitcher.

Ex-Minor Leaguers Sue MLB over Low Salaries

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Minor League BaseballST. LOUIS (AP) — Like many young baseball players, Aaron Senne dreamed of fame and fortune when he signed his first contract as a Miami Marlins draft choice after a record-breaking college career at Missouri.

Reality as a low-level minor leaguer was far different: vending machine dinners, bug-infested apartments and a salary with an equivalent hourly wage less than what fast-food workers make

Senne and former minor-league players in each of the 30 big-league organizations are suing Major League Baseball, alleging violations of federal wage and overtime laws in a case some legal observers suggest has significant merit.

The lawsuit’s driving force is Garrett Broshuis, another former minor-leaguer from Mizzou who went to law school after six seasons in the San Francisco Giants’ organization. Major League Baseball says the claims lack merit.

Bautista, Tulowitzki Add to HR Derby Lineups

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MLB All-Star Game 2015 Minnesota Twins Target FieldNEW YORK (AP) — Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki have announced three members of their respective teams for Monday night’s Home Run Derby at Target Field.

Joining Bautista on the American League team are Oakland’s Yoenis Cespedes, who was last year’s Derby winner, Baltimore’s Adam Jones and Brian Dozier of the host Twins.

Tulowitzki will have Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, who entered Tuesday leading the National League in homers, the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig and Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier on his side.

The final competitor in each league will be announced on Thursday.

Blue Jays Challenge, Get Own Runner Called Out

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mlb bigOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays used a replay challenge to have their own runner called out in order to score a run.

Toronto loaded the bases with one out in the second inning against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night. Anthony Gose then hit a grounder to first baseman Nate Freiman. Freiman appeared to tag Munenori Kawasaki as he ran for second base, but umpire Vic Carapazza ruled Freiman missed the tag and Kawasaki was safe.

Freiman threw to catcher Stephen Vogt, who stepped on home plate for a forceout with Edwin Encarnacion, the runner on third, approaching.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons argued that Kawasaki was out and that Encarnacion should be allowed to score because there would have been no force play at the plate.

After a delay of 4 minutes, 27 seconds, the call was overturned and the Blue Jays were given a run.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin immediately came out to argue. The A’s were playing the remainder of the game under protest.

MLB Adjusts Plate-Blocking Rule on Force Plays

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mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has adjusted the new rule regarding catchers blocking the plate, saying it won’t be called on force plays at home.

The tweak came Tuesday, a week after a disputed play in Pittsburgh. Upon review, a call was overturned and a Cincinnati runner was ruled safe when it was determined that Pirates catcher Russell Martin obstructed the path to the plate.

MLB put in rule 7.13 this year trying to cut down on collisions at home. The rule provided runners a clear lane home, but the change came after Martin was called for obstruction with his foot on the plate on a force play.

Force plays at the plate can still be reviewed by video replay. But an umpire’s judgment on whether there was interference or obstruction on those plays cannot be challenged.

Four Huskers Sign MLB Contracts

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husker baseballLincoln – Since being drafted in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft, three members of the 2014 Nebraska baseball team have signed professional contracts. Senior Zach Hirsch signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, while juniors Pat Kelly (Minnesota Twins) and Aaron Bummer (Chicago White Sox) each decided to forego their senior seasons and sign with their respective teams. Michael Pritchard was the fourth player from the 2014 squad to sign a contract, as he was picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals after not being drafted and signed with the Cardinals on Wednesday morning.

2014 marks the second time in Darin Erstad’s three-year tenure as head coach that the Huskers have lost a pair of juniors to the draft. Following the 2012 season, both Travis Huber and Richard Stock passed on their senior seasons.

“We are very excited for Zach, Michael, Pat and Aaron, to purse their dreams of being a Major League Baseball player,” Erstad said. “I can’t thank each of them enough for helping put Nebraska baseball back on the map and for helping cement our culture at Nebraska for years to come.”

Kelly was the first member of the 2014 team to get picked in the draft, going in the 12th round to the Twins. He was a three-time All-Big Ten performer and two-time first-team selection during his three seasons at Nebraska.

Kelly led the Huskers in hits each of the past two seasons and ended his career ranked 20th in school history with 212 career hits. Defensively, Kelly posted a .990 fielding percentage in 2014, as he committed just three errors, and he leaves Nebraska ranked seventh in school history with 468 assists.

Selected in the 19th round by the White Sox, Bummer worked as a reliever during his freshman season in 2012 and started in the bullpen as a sophomore before joining NU’s weekend rotation during Big Ten play in 2013. The 6-2 lefty worked exclusively as a starter in 2014, throwing 89.0 innings over 15 starts. He led the Huskers in 2014 in strikeouts with 56, including a team-best 16 strikeouts looking.

During his three years in Lincoln, Bummer posted an 11-6 record with a 3.06 ERA. He also tossed his first career complete game during the 2014 season, as he capped a series sweep of Ohio State at Hawks Field. The 2014 Draft marked the second time Bummer has been selected, as he was a 31st-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2011 out of high school, but instead chose to come to Nebraska.

After working as a starter during his sophomore season in 2012, Hirsch made the move to the bullpen in 2013 and was one of the top relief arms in the country in 2014. A third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2014, Hirsch was also one of 50 relievers nationally to be named to the Midseason Stopper-of-the-Year List. For his work in 2014, Hirsch was picked in the 19th round by Milwaukee.

Hirsch led the Huskers with a 1.72 ERA in 2014 and held opposing batters to a .193 average. The 6-4 lefty’s ERA is the second-lowest single-season ERA in school history, topped only by Bill McGuire’s 1.29 ERA in 1984. Hirsch’s 31 appearances in 2014 were the most by a Husker since Brett Jensen made 33 appearances in 2005.

A three-time All-Big Ten performer and 2012 All-American, Pritchard ended his four-year Husker career ranked fifth in school history with 251 career hits. A career .339 hitter, Pritchard’s 45 career doubles are tied for 10th in NU history.

A native of Omaha, Pritchard was selected to the 2014 NCAA Stillwater Regional All-Tournament team and was a first-team All-Big Ten pick for the second time in his career in 2014 after being a first-team selection in 2012. Pritchard earned second-team honors in 2013.

One of the most prolific hitters in Husker history, Pritchard strung together a 25-game hitting streak in 2012 to tie for the third-longest streak in school history. He added a 20-game hitting streak in 2013 to become the first player in school history with a pair of 20+ game hitting streaks. He also put together a 57-game on base streak that spanned the final 42 games of the 2013 season to the first 15 games of the 2014 season.

All-Star Managers Choose Their Coaches

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MLB All-Star Game 2015 Minnesota Twins Target FieldNEW YORK (AP) — Ron Gardenhire will be in the dugout with the AL All-Stars at his home stadium.

The Minnesota manager was chosen along with Cleveland’s Terry Francona as coaches to join AL manager John Farrell of Boston in the July 15 All-Star game at Target Field.

For the NL, manager Mike Matheny of St. Louis chose Clint Hurdle of Pittsburgh and Fredi Gonzalez of Atlanta as his coaching staff.

Francona has himself managed the AL team before — in 2005 and 2008. In that second one, Farrell served as his pitching coach for the game. Gardenhire, who has managed the Twins since 2002, has been an AL coach in 2003 and 2007.

Pair of Free-Agent Pitchers Banned 50 Games Each, Former Rocky

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mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Free-agent pitchers Manuel Montilla and Euris Quezada have been suspended 50 games each following positive tests under baseball’s minor league drug program.

Both players tested positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, the commissioner’s office said Thursday.

Monilla, 22, had been in the Colorado farm system and Quezada, 25, in the Houston system. The suspension of each right-hander will start when he signs with a big league organization.

Twenty-five players have been suspended this year under the minor league drug program. Under that program, the penalty for an initial performance-enhancing drugs testing violation increases to 80 games for samples collected after April 1.

Baseball Will Look at Pine Tar Rule After Season

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mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig says the sport will wait until after the season to study whether the rule preventing pitchers from using pine tar should be changed.

New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games Thursday, a day after umpires found pine tar on his neck during a game against Boston. Pineda said he was trying to get a better grip on balls on a cool night, and pitchers say they suspect pine tar use may be routine — although usually discreet.

Baseball rules prohibit pitchers from using foreign substances.

“When the year is over, we ought to look at all this,” Selig told the Associated Press Sports Editors on Friday.

MLB Clarifies Possession on DP Forceouts

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mlb bigNEW YORK (AP) — Baseball clarified the meaning of possession for infielders trying to turn double plays on forceouts, saying they must have complete control of the ball but may drop it after intentionally opening their gloves for transfers to their throwing hands.

In the first season of expanded instant replay, when infielders have possession while trying to turn double plays has become controversial.

Major League Baseball said the interpretation of the Playing Rules Committee was agreed to by MLB, the players’ association and the umpires’ union.

MLB said Friday the committee, chaired by New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, determined “a legal catch has occurred … if the fielder had complete control over the ball in his glove, but drops the ball after intentionally opening his glove to make the transfer to his throwing hand.”

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