CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman committed Major League Baseball’s first pitch clock violation in the third inning of Thursday’s opening game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
With no outs, rookie Brice Turang at second base and Christian Yelich at plate, plate umpire Ron Kulpa called out Stroman’s injury at Wrigley Field. Kulpa pointed to his wrist when announcing the call and the automatic ball counted 2-2 against Yelich.
Several more violations followed on the first day of regular-season games since MLB introduced a slew of rule changes this season — including a clock for a sport known to have existed without a timer for decades.
JD Davis of the San Francisco Giants became the first hitter called for a pitch clock violation in the ninth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. Davis took too long to get into the box to start an at-bat on Ron Marinaccio, resulting in Plate Ump Laz Diaz punishing him with an auto bat. Davis continued to cross out.
A few minutes later, Atlanta Braves substitute Collin McHugh stretched his arms wide after being called out for injury by umpire Dan Bellino in the eighth inning against Washington. That gave batter Jeimer Candelario a 1-0 lead, and McHugh followed with three more balls — essentially a three-pitch walk.
“Honestly, I didn’t even realize it happened,” said Atlanta coach Brian Snitker. “It will happen.”
New York Mets All-Star Jeff McNeil was upset with an injury referee by plate umpire Larry Vanover in the sixth inning against Miami. McNeil was waiting for baserunner Pete Alonso to retire in first place after a foul ball when Vanover tagged him for an automatic hit. This led to a falling out with McNeil and Mets manager Buck Showalter, who seemed irritated when the pitch clock started before Alonso returned to first.
It worked out for McNeil — he grounded an RBI single a few pitches later.
MLB introduced the pitch clock this season to speed up the pace of play. Players have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds without an on and 20 seconds if there is a baserunner. Batters must be in the box and alert the pitcher with at least eight seconds on the clock.
If a pitcher fails to pitch a pitch on time, the penalty is an automatic ball. If a batter fails to throw a pitch on time, it is an automatic strike.
San Diego Padres star Manny Machado committed the first pitch clock violation during spring training. The introduction of the new rules during the pre-season gave overwhelming encouragement to players as the average playing time fell from 26 minutes to 2 hours and 35 minutes in the first three weeks.
Other changes this year include larger bases to improve player safety, as well as restrictions on infield moves and pitcher disables to encourage more action.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports