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  • MLB: Reports: Giants, Cardinals to play Field of Dreams Game in Alabama

    MLB: Reports: Giants, Cardinals to play Field of Dreams Game in Alabama


    The oldest professional ballpark in the country will host the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2024 Field of Dreams Game, the San Francisco Chronicle and The Athletic reported Tuesday.

    Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., which opened in 1910, will be the site of the annual game, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. MLB has not made any comment about the game as of Tuesday. The Athletic reported that an official announcement would be coming within the next few days.

    “I would love (wearing throwbacks), that would be really cool,” Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’ll definitely give you the full effect of the game. I hope it is us who wears the jerseys for sure. That would be something to remember forever.”

    Hall of Famer Willie Mays, a Giants legend in New York and San Francisco, played at Rickwood Field when he was in the Negro Leagues as a member of the Birmingham Black Barons.

    The first two Field of Dreams games were played in Dyersville, Iowa, on the site of the popular movie with the same name, complete with the cornfield beyond the outfield. The Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees played in the inaugural game in 2021, and the Chicago Cubs faced the Cincinnati Reds last year. Both games were on the second Thursday of August of each year.

    The Iowa site is currently under construction and no game is slated for this season.

    Rickwood Field also has served as a location for films such as “Cobb” (1994), “Soul of the Game” (1996) and “42” (2013). It is one of two Negro League ballparks still standing along with Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, N.J.

    Rickwood Field is the home field for Miles College, a Historically Black College and University in Fairfield, Ala.

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Blue Jays place 1B Brandon Belt (hamstring) on 10-day IL

    MLB: Blue Jays place 1B Brandon Belt (hamstring) on 10-day IL


    The Toronto Blue Jays placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday due to left hamstring inflammation.

    The move is retroactive to Sunday.

    Toronto also placed right-hander Adam Cimber on the paternity list and reinstated catcher Danny Jansen from the 10-day IL. Jansen is active for the Blue Jays’ game against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

    Belt, 35, is hitting .263 with four homers and 16 RBIs through 48 games this season. Cimber, 32, has gone 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA through 20 relief appearances spanning 18 2/3 innings.

    In a pair of additional moves, second baseman Ernie Clement and right-hander Bowden Francis were both recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, while catcher Tyler Heineman was optioned to Triple-A.

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Hal Steinbrenner stands by Anthony Volpe as Yankees’ starting SS

    MLB: Hal Steinbrenner stands by Anthony Volpe as Yankees’ starting SS


    New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said Tuesday that struggling rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe is not in danger of being sent down to the minor leagues.

    Steinbrenner spoke to reporters ahead of Major League Baseball owners meetings and said the Yankees have had “zero conversations” about sending Volpe, 22, to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

    New York named Volpe its starting shortstop at the conclusion of spring training.

    “I told Anthony at the end of spring training, ‘I said you were starting shortstop of the New York Yankees,’ ” Steinbrenner said. “‘This isn’t a three-week trial. So you’re going to be that through the ups and through the potential downs, and there probably will be downs.’”

    Ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the rival New York Mets, Volpe has played in all 67 of the Yankees’ games this season, which leads the majors. But he’s batting just .186 and has seen his spot in the batting order drop from leadoff to ninth.

    Volpe has nine home runs, five doubles, two triples and 26 RBIs, along with 14 stolen bases. But he’s in the midst of a 3-for-29 slump dating to May 31. He has struck out 77 times with 22 walks in 250 plate appearances.

    He has also committed seven errors.

    “My belief in Anthony is that the cream is going to rise to the top,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday’s game. “I believe in his ability and the person, that he’s going to be an outstanding player in this game.”

    Steinbrenner also said the Yankees would be buyers at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, but declined to hint at what positions they would target.

    The owner stressed that the team has not been fully healthy for most of the season. Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is on the injured list for the second time and left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon, a free agent signing expected to upgrade the starting rotation, has yet to make his team debut while working back from forearm and back injuries.

    “We’ve got to get healthy,” Steinbrenner said. “I know everybody has injuries, but it’s been pretty bad this year from Day One. Unlike last year where we were doing very, very well and then we got hit with injuries in July-ish, this has just been a constant thing.”

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Phillies recall RHP Luis F. Ortiz, send down Yunior Marte

    MLB: Phillies recall RHP Luis F. Ortiz, send down Yunior Marte


    The Philadelphia Phillies recalled right-handed pitcher Luis F. Ortiz from Lehigh Valley on Tuesday and optioned fellow right-hander Yunior Marte to the Triple-A club.

    Ortiz, 27, was 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA in eight relief appearances covering 10 innings for the Phillies from April 16 to May 6. He struck out 10 and walked three.

    Marte, 28, had no decisions and a 7.71 ERA in 15 relief appearances for Philadelphia this season. He pitched 14 innings, with 13 strikeouts and eight walks.

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Joe Torre appointed to Hall of Fame’s board of directors

    MLB: Joe Torre appointed to Hall of Fame’s board of directors


    Joe Torre, whose baseball career spans seven decades — highlighted by his election to the Hall of Fame in 2014 as a manager — was appointed to the Hall’s board of directors on Tuesday.

    Torre, 82, has been special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred since February 2020. He becomes the 17th member of the Hall of Fame board.

    “Joe Torre’s seven-decade career in baseball — as an All-Star player, Hall of Fame manager and revered member of baseball’s leadership team — has made him a singularly respected voice of our National Pastime, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Museum’s Board of Directors,” Jane Forbes Clark, the Hall’s chairman of the board, said in a news release. “Since his induction in 2014, Joe’s passion and dedication to the Hall of Fame has been steadfast, and his knowledge and insight will help guide the Museum into its future.”

    Torre signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1959 and played in two games in his first season in 1960. He finished an 18-year playing career with the New York Mets in 1977. He was a nine-time All-Star and won the 1971 National League MVP Award with the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished his career with a .297 batting average, 252 home runs and 2,342 hits.

    Torre managed the Mets for five seasons starting in 1977 and later led the Atlanta Braves and Cardinals. He managed the New York Yankees from 1996 to 2007, winning four World Series titles. He finished his managerial career by leading the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2008 to 2010.

    Torre’s win total of 2,326 as a manager ranks fifth all-time.

    “It is a great privilege to join the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors,” Torre said in a release. “Baseball has been my life, and I know well what Cooperstown means to our game and its loyal fans. I am honored to support the mission of the Hall of Fame and all the ways it can lift up the best game in the world.”

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Angels’ Brandon Drury suspended for contact with ump

    MLB: Angels’ Brandon Drury suspended for contact with ump


    Los Angeles Angels infielder Brandon Drury was suspended Tuesday for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for making contact with an umpire Monday night.

    Drury is appealing the suspension.

    The incident happened in the top of the 10th inning against the Texas Rangers. Drury was called out on strikes and proceeded to argue with home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus, making contact in the process, according to MLB.

    Drury was ejected. He went 0-for-5 before departing the game, won by the Angels in 12 innings.

    Drury, 30, is batting .252 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. He’s played in 61 games (58 starts) this season, his first with the Angels.

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Report: Brewers sign OF Raimel Tapia

    MLB: Report: Brewers sign OF Raimel Tapia


    The Milwaukee Brewers signed outfielder Raimel Tapia to a contract, The Athletic reported on Tuesday.

    The reported deal comes two days after Tapia was released by the Boston Red Sox.

    Tapia, 29, has appeared in 39 games for the Red Sox this season, batting .264 to go along with one home run and 10 RBIs.

    He originally signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox before being named to the team’s Opening Day roster.

    Tapia is a career .276 hitter with 27 homers and 198 RBIs in 606 games with the Colorado Rockies (2016-21), Toronto Blue Jays (2022) and Red Sox (2023).

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Cubs OF Cody Bellinger expects to start rehab at Triple-A

    MLB: Cubs OF Cody Bellinger expects to start rehab at Triple-A


    Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger is expected to start a minor league rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday in Des Moines.

    Bellinger has not played for the Cubs since suffering a left knee contusion while making a catch at the outfield fence May 15 in a loss to the Houston Astros. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 19, retroactive to May 16.

    Cubs manager David Ross told Chicago radio station AM 670 The Score’s Bernstein & Holmes Show that Bellinger should play Tuesday.

    “Cody is one of those guys, his mentality in the dugout, the way he carries himself, his presence in the locker room, there’s just so much to like about him,” Ross said on the radio program. “Yeah, we miss him, but hopefully we get him back real soon.”

    Bellinger was batting .271 with seven home runs, 20 RBIs, a .337 on-base percentage and a .493 slugging percentage in 37 games for the Cubs.

    The 27-year-old was National League MVP for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 before struggling the following three seasons. He bottomed out with a .165 average in 2021 and hit .210 last season.

    A two-time All-Star and the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year, Bellinger played six seasons with the Dodgers before joining the Cubs on a one-year, $17.5 million deal in the offseason.

    –Field Level Media

  • F1: Mercedes: New contract for Lewis Hamilton ‘days’ away

    F1: Mercedes: New contract for Lewis Hamilton ‘days’ away


    After months of discussions with Formula One star driver Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes expects to sign him to a contract extension in matter of “days, not weeks,” its team boss said.

    Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team CEO Toto Wolff told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” program on Monday that a new deal will happen soon with six months remaining on the current contract.

    “We are still talking, we get this question basically every race weekend,” Wolff said. “We’ve got such a good relationship we dread the moment we have to talk about money.

    “It is going to happen soon.”

    Wolff said he would like to get an agreement before the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.

    “I think we’re talking more days than weeks but if I commit to a date now then everyone is going to ask me over the weekend what happened to the days,” Wolff said about the time frame for a potential deal.

    Hamilton, 38, is a seven-time F1 champion from Great Britain who joined Mercedes in 2013, as did Wolff.

    Hamilton has said recently that he hopes an announcement will be made in the coming weeks while also dealing with rumors that the rival Ferrari racing team was putting together a $48 million contract offer. Ferrari team’s principal Frederic Vasseur also denied the report as “rubbish” in May.

    –Field Level Media

  • ATP: ATP roundup: Nick Kyrgios loses in return from surgery

    ATP: ATP roundup: Nick Kyrgios loses in return from surgery


    Yibing Wu put his best foot forward in the Boss Open on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-3 first-round victory over Nick Kyrgios, who was playing in his first match since undergoing knee surgery in January.

    Wu, of China, withstood 15 aces from Kyrgios, who was struggling physically and told his team he was unable to “walk without pain.” Wu advanced to the second round of the tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.

    Also, Aslan Karatsev of Russia needed three hours and 12 minutes to dispatch Frenchman Corentin Moutet, 7-6 (0), 6-7 (8), 7-5.

    Other first-round winners included Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, Gregoire Barrere of France, Christopher O’Connell of Australia, Marton Fucsovics of Hungary and Tommy Paul.

    Libema Open

    Sixth-seeded Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands defeated Sweden’s Mikael Ymer 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.

    Aussies Jordan Thompson and Alexei Popyrin also advanced with wins.

    Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan’s advanced with a straight-sets win over Belgium’s David Goffin, and Mackenzie McDonald also moved on in straight sets.

    Other winners included Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland, Adrian Mannarino of France and Laslo Djere of Serbia.

    –Field Level Media