MARINERS
Seattle lands 2023 All-Star Game
SEATTLE -- When the Seattle Mariners started down the path of bidding for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the target was 2024 or later to host for a third time.
When MLB came back to the club earlier this year asking if 2023 was a possibility, the Mariners quickly kicked into gear.
"I think with some of the shuffling that went on, (2023) became the more viable alternative," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday. "And I have to say, the Mariners did a fantastic job in terms of the up-tempo, the preparation. It takes a lot to pull off an All-Star Game, a lot of preparation and planning and (Mariners Chairman) John (Stanton) and his people did a fantastic job getting ready sooner."
Seattle was formally unveiled as the host of the 2023 midsummer classic Thursday, making the announcement inside the Space Needle with Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez looking on.
Seattle's first All-Star Game was in 1979 at the Kingdome, and it hosted again 22 years later in 2001 at Safeco Field.
Twenty-two years later, the game will be back at what's now T-Mobile Park.
The 2022 game will be held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It was originally scheduled to be there in 2020 before being canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic.
ANGELS
Arm soreness sidelines Ohtani
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani won't pitch today for the Los Angeles Angels because of a sore right arm that could sideline him as a pitcher for the rest of the season.
"If there's any kind of lingering soreness, you may not see him pitch," Angels Manager Joe Maddon said prior to Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox.
Ohtani (9-2, 3.36 ERA) felt soreness while playing catch Wednesday. Maddon said he raised the possibility of the likely AL MVP being shut down on the mound for the rest of the season during a meeting.
Maddon said there are currently no plans for Ohtani to be examined by a doctor, nor has it been determined when he would try to resume playing catch.
Ohtani, 27, hasn't pitched since Sept. 10, when he was tagged for six runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings in a loss at Houston.
Maddon said Ohtani would like to continue pitching in an attempt to get his 10th victory.
"(Ten wins) always looks better than nine," Maddon said. "But you can't let that be the driving factor."
The arm discomfort won't prevent Ohtani from continuing to serve as a designated hitter. Ohtani entered Thursday's game against the White Sox ranked second in the major leagues with 44 home runs and 74 extra-base hits and fourth with a .599 slugging percentage.
ASTROS
Lefty scratched from start
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Houston left-hander Framber Valdez was scratched from his start against Texas on Thursday night, a day after cutting the index finger on his pitching hand.
Manager Dusty Baker said Valdez sustained the cut after putting his hand on the outfield wall during batting practice at the year-old home of the Rangers.
Baker said the club still hoped he could make the start against Rangers rookie Glenn Otto in the finale of a four-game series.
Houston has openings in the rotation today and Sunday for a weekend series at home against Arizona, and Valdez could fill one of those spots. Righty Lance McCullers is set for Saturday.
Valdez cut the same finger that he broke early in spring training when he was hit on the hand by a line drive from Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets. The 27-year-old missed the first two months. Valdez is 10-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 19 starts.
ORIOLES
Grounds crew told to leave
Even for baseball fans who've seen everything, this was a bizarre sight: The entire Baltimore Orioles' grounds crew, perched behind the tarp and poised to spring into action as a storm approached, suddenly got told by an umpire to scram.
That's how it looked Wednesday night at Camden Yards as the Orioles clung to a one-run lead in the ninth inning over the New York Yankees.
Ready to roll out the tarp from beyond first base, nearly 20 members of the grounds crew were standing in foul territory in front of the first row of seats, waiting for a signal. What they saw was acting umpire crew chief Tim Timmons cutting across the diamond from his spot at third base, emphatically waving several times for them to completely clear the field.
Quickly, the crew scrambled down the right field line, into the corner and out of sight.
Were they chirping too much? Were they trying too hard to get busy and protect Baltimore's edge? Were they tossed?
No, no and no, Timmons said.
"I didn't 'eject' the grounds crew," Timmons said in a text to The Associated Press. "I just didn't want all of them behind the tarp, especially with the infield in."
This scene unfolded with the Orioles ahead 3-2, runners on second and third, and Brett Gardner batting with one out. After the crew scurried away, Gardner fouled off three pitches before blooping a two-run single that gave the Yankees a 4-3 win.
It began to rain about five minutes later. The field was never covered and the game finished without incident.