Category: Sports News

With the contest still scoreless, Game 1 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers came to a stunning halt in the fourth inning Monday, as Max Muncy's fly to deep center with the bases loaded and one out led to mayhem on the field and several minutes of figuring out what had just happened.

As was correctly ruled, Brewers center fielder Sal Frelick missed out on a jumping catch, with the ball bouncing off the wall and back into his glove. None of the men on base seemed to notice that, though, and with only the left-field umpire making any sort of ruling, the Dodgers' runners were just left to guess where to go next.

Still, while it's understandable that the players on first and second weren't sure what was going on, the runner who really shouldn't have had much of an issue was Teoscar Hernández at third base. Hernández ought to have been standing on third base and ready to score whether the ball was caught or not. However, in the confusion, he left initially and then went back to tag, giving the Brewers enough time to retire him on a force out at home plate. Brewers catcher William Contreras then ran the ball to third for an extremely unlikely double play.

To reiterate, if Frelick had simply caught the ball, the Dodgers would have taken a 1-0 lead on a sac fly. If Hernández had done his job, it also would have been 1-0, with the Brewers probably still getting an out at third base. If there had been two outs when Muncy hit, rather than one, the Dodgers would have scored two or three runs, since the runners would have been off with the ball in play. Instead, it's 0-0, and poor Muncy, an extreme fly-ball hitter who very rarely hits into double plays, gets tagged with the GIDP on a 404-foot fly that should have been a double.

TORONTO — Julio Rodríguez and Jorge Polanco hit three-run homers, Josh Naylor added a two-run drive and the Seattle Mariners took a 2-0 AL Championship Series lead by routing the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 on Monday.

Seattle, the only big league team never to host a World Series game, headed home for Wednesday’s Game 3 needing two more wins in the best-of-seven series to end that drought.

Toronto had just six hits, only one after the second inning, and had eight hits in the first two games. Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 0 for 3 with a walk and is hitless in the series.

Rodríguez homered for a 3-0 lead three batters in against rookie Trey Yesavage, a 22-year-old making just his fifth big league start.

Nathan Lukes and Alejandro Kirk had RBI singles in the bottom half off Logan Gilbert, and Lukes’ run-scoring single tied the score in the second.

Polanco’s three-run homer off Louis Varland put Seattle back ahead 6-3 in the fifth. J.P Crawford added an RBI single in the sixth and Naylor had a two-run homer in the seventh against Braydon Fisher.

Six of Polanco’s first seven hits this postseason drove in runs. He had the game-ending single in the 15th inning of Friday’s Division Series clincher against Detroit and went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in Seattle’s 3-1 opening ALCS win, Polanco’s two previous home runs this October both came off Detroit's Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.

The roof was open on a breezy 62-degree day on the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, but the sellout crowd of 44,814 had little to celebrate.

Seattle's bullpen has combined for nine scoreless innings in the series, allowing just one hit. Winner Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas and Emerson Hancock each pitched two innings.

Naylor, born in Mississauga, Ontario, fouled a ball his right foot in the first inning and looked uncomfortable in the batter’s box in the fifth, prompting manager Dan Wilson to come out and check on him. With Miles Mastrobuoni getting ready to come into the game if needed, Naylor convinced Wilson to leave him in and homered in the seventh.

Yesavage, who took the loss, gave up three runs and four hits in four-plus innings. He set a Blue Jays postseason record by striking out 11 Yankees in 5 1/3 hitless innings in ALDS Game 2 but had two swings and misses on his splitter, down from 11 against New York.

Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander was scratched from the lineup because of a sore lower back. Davis Schneider replaced him and went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Mariners RHP George Kirby is expected to start against Blue Jays RHP Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner, in Game 3. Kirby struck out six and allowed one run and three hits in five innings Game 5 of the Division Series . He doesn’t have a decision in two postseason starts. Bieber gave up three runs, two earned, and five hits in 2 2/3 innings in Game 3 against the Yankees.

Sandy Alomar Sr., an All-Star infielder during his playing days in the 1960s and '70s who went on to coach in the majors and manage in his native Puerto Rico, has died. He was 81.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Guardians said Monday that the team was informed by Alomar's family about his death. Sandy Alomar Jr., who along with Hall of Fame brother Roberto played for their father in winter ball and in the minors, is on the Guardians' staff.

"Our thoughts are with the Alomar family today as the baseball community mourns his passing," the Guardians said on social media.

Alomar broke into the big leagues in 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves, one of six teams he played for. He also spent time with the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers before calling it a career in 1978.

Known more for his speed and fielding than his hitting, Alomar batted .245 with 13 home runs and 282 RBIs in 1,481 regular-season games.

He was named an All-Star in 1970. He stole 227 bases, including a career-high 39 in 1971, when he led the American League with 689 at-bats and 739 plate appearances, and took part in one playoff series with the Yankees in '76.

Alomar went into coaching in San Diego's system in the ‘80s and was the Padres third-base coach from 1986-90. He coached for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies and the Mets in the 2000s.

Mike Shildt is retiring after two seasons as the San Diego Padres’ manager.

The Padres confirmed the 57-year-old Shildt’s decision Monday. In a letter to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Shildt said he is retiring because “the grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically and emotionally.”

Shildt went 183-141 and led San Diego to two postseason appearances during his brief tenure. The Padres won 90 games this season and finished second in the NL West before being eliminated by the Chicago Cubs this month in a tense three-game wild-card playoff series.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller issued a statement praising Shildt.

“His dedication and passion for the game of baseball will leave an impact on our organization, and we wish him the best in his next chapter,” Preller said.

Preller will begin looking immediately for his fifth full-time manager since taking over the Padres' front office in 2014.

Before joining the Padres organization in early 2022 as a player development coach, Shildt was the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018-21, posting a winning record in each of his three full seasons. He was the NL Manager of the Year in 2019 after leading the Cards to 91 wins, the NL Central title and an NLCS appearance.

Shildt won at least 90 games in each of his four 162-game seasons with St. Louis and San Diego, and his teams made the playoffs in every one of his five full seasons in charge.

But Shildt said he began to contemplate retirement during the current season, and he finalized his decision after the Padres' painful elimination at Wrigley Field. San Diego's high-priced roster scored just five total runs in its three games in Chicago.

“While it has always been about serving others, it’s time I take care of myself and exit on my terms,” Shildt wrote.

Shildt, who never played professional baseball, took over in San Diego in November 2023 after Bob Melvin left the Padres to manage the San Francisco Giants, who fired him last month.

Melvin, Shildt and Jayce Tingler - who managed the Padres from 2020-21 - have presided over the longest stretch of sustained contention in team history despite the turnover in the dugout. The Padres have made four playoff appearances in the last six seasons and won four playoff series, reaching the NLCS in 2022.

The Padres have also persevered after the death of popular owner Peter Seidler, whose aggressive spending and charisma energized the San Diego fan base and powered Preller's ability to build a long-struggling team into a consistent winner. John Seidler became the Padres' chairman after his brother's death in November 2023.

The Padres’ new manager will be the eighth person to lead the dugout since Preller fired Bud Black in June 2015. Their chief rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been managed by San Diego County product Dave Roberts since November 2015.

San Diego becomes the eighth MLB team with a managerial opening and the ninth to change managers in this offseason. Texas has already hired Skip Schumaker, but there are openings with the Padres, Angels, Braves, Orioles, Twins, Giants, Nationals and Rockies.