The Los Angeles Angels are pushing back Shohei Ohtani's next outing on the mound and Mike Trout may be running out of time for a return to the field this MLB season.
Ohtani had been scheduled to pitch against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, but Angels manager Joe Maddon said his two-way star's hand is still sore after being hit by a pitch on Saturday.
X-rays came back negative and Ohtani was in Monday's line-up as the designated hitter, however, the Angels will keep him off the pitching mound for the time being and give Jaime Barria the start against the Yankees.
"Pitching is problematic, so we'll just have him hit until he's ready to pitch," Maddon told reporters.
Maddon compared the issue to when Ohtani was hit in the thumb by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout last month, which led to the team moving his next pitching start back a few days.
The Angels have no plans to shut Ohtani down from either pitching or hitting, Maddon said as the likely MVP is "in the running for some pretty big personal awards right now and I don't ever want to get in the way of anybody’s greatness."
Ohtani entered Monday's game with an MLB-leading 41 home runs and an American League (AL)-best .623 slugging percentage at the plate – not to mention 20 stolen bases – and is 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 19 starts on the mound, striking out 127 in 105 innings.
Trout – a three-time AL MVP himself – appeared to be nearing a return from a calf injury that has sidelined him since May 17 after running the bases at full speed before Saturday's outing.
While he felt fine at the time, Trout has experienced soreness since then and Maddon said the time is approaching that the Angels (64-67) might need to talk to him about shutting it down for the season.
The Angels are fourth in the AL West and 10 games adrift in the Wild Card race.
"It's a possibility, and probably getting closer to having to say something like that," Maddon said. "But he still wants to continue the fight and we're going to honour his wishes. However Mike sees this, we're going to go that way."
The 30-year-old is hitting .333 with a 1.090 OPS and eight home runs in 36 games this season.
Duvall blasts walk-off homer as Red Sox down O's, Angels erupt with 11-run inning
Adam Duvall starred before blasting a walk-off two-run homer over the Green Monster as the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-8 on Saturday.
Duvall, who joined the Red Sox from the Atlanta Braves in the offseason, had four hits, three runs and five RBIs for the game in a glittering display at Fenway Park.
But his crowning moment came with the Red Sox two out with a runner on first at the bottom of the ninth, hammering a Felix Bautista fastball just above the Green Monster for the walk-off blast.
The Red Sox capitalised on Ryan McKenna's fielding error at deep left field that allowed Masataka Yoshida to get on first base after hitting a routine fly ball.
Duvall's subsequent blast just cleared the Monster, caroming into a tabletop and back on to the field, but the lights flickered, signalling the walk-off homer.
The 34-year-old outfielder homered in the third inning as part of a four-run salvo after the Red Sox trailed 7-1.
Baltimore had raced ahead with Ryan Mountcastle's two-run first-inning homer along with Cedric Mullins three-run blast in the third. The Orioles tagged Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale for seven runs across three innings.
The Red Sox cut it to 8-7 in the seventh after Enrique Hernandez's homer and Duvall's ground rule double for Rafael Devers to score. Austin Hays went five-for-five with two runs for the O's.
Flaherty's mixed day as Cardinals register first win
St Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty threw five no-hit innings along with giving up a career-high seven walks as his side claimed their first win of the season, 4-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Flaherty fanned four, tossing down 49 of 95 pitches for strikes, but only had one clean inning, albeit his final one, on a mixed day on the mound.
The Cardinals opened up a 3-0 lead in the third inning, capitalising on a two-out throwing error by Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, before Nolan Gorman's two-run single.
Angels pile on the runs in Fujinami's A's debut
The Los Angeles Angels scored 11 runs in the third inning as they spoiled Shintaro Fujinami's debut for the Oakland Athletics, winning 13-1.
Fujinami, who joined the A's on a one-year free-agent deal, fell apart in the third after a positive start, with his game ending after 55 pitches with the Angels leading 6-0. The Japanese pitcher allowed eight earned runs with three walks and four Ks.
Taylor Ward blasted a three-run homer off reliever Adam Oller, while Shohei Ohtani had two hits and two RBIs.
Trayce Thompson produced a three-homer, eight-RBI game as the Los Angeles Dodgers won 10-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Padres, Cronenworth agree seven-year, $80m extension
All-Star infielder Jake Cronenworth has agreed to a seven-year extension worth $80million with the San Diego Padres, according to multiple reports.
Cronenworth's new contract is scheduled to begin in 2024 and serves as a reward for his impressive consistency for the Padres.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the deal buys out five free agent seasons and marks the biggest ever for a 29-year-old with under four years of service in the majors.
Cronenworth did not make his MLB debut until 26 but has emerged as a key contributor for San Diego.
Last season, he had a batting average of .239, an on-base percentage of .332 and a slugging percentage of .390, hitting 17 home runs and 88 RBI as he was named to the NL All-Star team for the second successive campaign.
The Padres have made an 0-2 start to the season following successive defeats to the Colorado Rockies.
Yordan Alvarez clears the bases in Astros comeback, Chisholm goes deep against the Mets
World Series hero Yordan Alvarez came to the Houston Astros' rescue again on Friday with a bases-clearing double to ignite a 6-3 comeback win against the Chicago White Sox.
Alvarez, who hit the go-ahead home run in the clinching Game 6 of the World Series in November, was 0-2 with a walk when he stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning with two outs and the bases loaded.
He got on a hanging sinker and drove it to deep left-centre, cannoning off the wall for a three-run double to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
It comes after Alvarez connected on an Opening Day home run in Thursday's loss, as he continues to make his case as arguably the best left-handed hitter in the sport.
While Alvarez got the Astros over the line, it was Kyle Tucker initially sparking the comeback, finally getting Houston on the board with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
White Sox third-baseman Yoan Moncada was the only player to record three hits in the game – including a ground-rule double to bring in Chicago's third run – but the road team could not get anything going after Astros starter Cristian Javier was taken out of the game.
The Astros bullpen – with an inning each from Phil Maton, Seth Martinez, Bryan Abreu and Rafael Montero – combined for four scoreless frames, with five strikeouts, three hits and no walks.
Soler, Chisholm and Luzardo get the Marlins back on track
After dropping their home opener with reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara on the mound, the Miami Marlins rode a strong start from Jesus Luzardo to a 2-1 triumph against the New York Mets.
Luzardo pitched five-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless action, striking out five while walking four and allowing just two hits.
He was given an early lead to work with after Jorge Soler's second-inning solo home run, and rising star Jazz Chisholm Jr doubled the advantage with another solo shot in the eighth.
New York's top hitter Pete Alonso made it a contest again with his first home run of the year off Marlins closer A.J. Puk in the ninth, but Puk was able to finish off the save.
Padres fall to surprise 0-2 start
The Colorado Rockies have handed the San Diego Padres a rocky start to their season after sealing at least a road series split with a 4-1 victory.
The Rockies came into San Diego and upset the Padres on Opening Day with a 7-2 result, and despite being one of the World Series favourites, the home side's offense failed to fire yet again in a poor display.
Kim Ha-seong finished with three of the Padres' five total hits, while Yonathan Daza, Elehuris Montero and Charlie Blackmon all collected multiple hits for the Rockies, highlighted by Blackmon's two-run homer in the fifth inning.
The Padres will hope to right the ship in the third of their four-game series on Saturday.
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