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MILWAUKEE — Bob Uecker will be back behind the microphone when the Milwaukee Brewers play their home opener Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins.

How heavy a broadcasting workload the 90-year-old Uecker will have for the rest of the season remains uncertain.

“Bob Uecker calling the first pitch of the Brewers home opener is the official start of summer in Milwaukee,” Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said Wednesday in a statement the team released on social media. “Bob expects to be back at the mic on April 2 to call the game on WTMJ and the network, and he’ll take it one day at a time after that.”

Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century. Uecker became the voice of the Brewers in 1971 and has been part of their broadcast team ever since, though he has limited himself to home radio assignments for the past several years.

Last season, Uecker maintained a regular pregame presence on the field and in the locker room. He even participated in the Brewers’ champagne-soaked, locker-room celebration after they clinched their National League Central title.

The Brewers have honored him with two statues, one that’s outside American Family Field and another in the back row of the terrace level, a nod to the old Miller Lite commercial in which he said, “I must be in the front row!” as he was escorted to the back of a stadium.

Uecker had his 50th season of broadcasting baseball during that 2020 campaign.

Uecker played in the majors from 1962 to 1967 with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, but he became much more famous during his post-playing career.

He worked as a national color commentator for ABC and NBC baseball telecasts and earned fame beyond that of the usual broadcaster following his appearances in late-night talk shows, beer commercials and the movie “Major League.” He also starred in “Mr. Belvedere,” an ABC sitcom that aired over 100 episodes from 1985 to 1990.

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Cards’ Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

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Cards' Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

ST. LOUIS — Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies a day after he was hit in the foot by a pitch and broke his bat in frustration.

Contreras, listed as day-to-day with a right foot contusion, was hit by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland‘s sweeper in the fourth inning. He then slammed his bat into the dirt and snapped it over his knee.

As he walked toward first base, the 33-year-old threw the two pieces of the broken bat toward the Cardinals’ dugout.

He remained in the game until the sixth inning, when he was replaced by Nolan Gorman.

The Cardinals said X-rays did not reveal any structural damage in Contreras’ foot.

Contreras has been hit by a National League-leading 18 pitches this season, trailing only Randy Arozarena and Ty France.

Contreras leads the Cardinals with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.

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Rangers’ struggling García to IL with ankle injury

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Rangers' struggling García to IL with ankle injury

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put struggling slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle and activated outfielder Evan Carter.

Texas, which is chasing an American League wild-card berth, made the moves their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness, but manager Bruce Bochy said he could be available to pinch-hit.

García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 116 games. He hit .176 (6 for 34) during the nine-game homestand that ended with Wednesday’s game.

Carter, who turns 23 later this month, missed 10 games because of back spasms. He was in a 4-for-34 slump when he was placed on the IL on Aug. 2. He hit .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 55 games before then.

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D-backs’ DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

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D-backs' DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arizona Diamondbacks placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of right thumb inflammation after he made three starts.

DeSclafani (1-2, 4.36 ERA) has been primarily a reliever for the Diamondbacks but made the starts this month after Merrill Kelly was traded to the Texas Rangers at the deadline on July 31.

Arizona made the move with DeSclafani before the series finale at Texas, when Kelly was starting for the Rangers. The Diamondbacks recalled right-hander Casey Kelly from Triple-A Reno.

“We’re hoping for the minimal time. He’s going to get some imaging just to make sure that everything’s OK,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “This is something that popped up a couple days ago. We all felt that he was going to be able to take the baseball and go out there and compete, which he did. We saw the stuff in the first couple of innings, and we decided it was time to take him off the field.”

In the three starts this month, DeSclafani is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA, allowing six runs in 9⅔ innings. He threw three innings Tuesday night, allowing two runs in a game Arizona won 3-2 on a homer by Ketel Marte in the ninth.

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