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SAN FRANCISCO — It all felt pretty strange for Blake Snell.

No spring training with his new team to work out the kinks. Finally facing major league hitters for the first time in April. He couldn’t wait to get back out there.

But Lane Thomas drove in three runs, and the Washington Nationals spoiled Snell’s San Francisco debut, beating the Giants 8-1 on Monday night in the opener of the Nats’ weeklong stay in the Bay Area.

“Honestly, it was just weird. I’m facing big league hitters, I was aware of that,” Snell said. “I was being more careful than I usually would. Usually, I would just throw it over the plate.

“Then I was really amped up too. I was really excited to pitch. Bad combination I guess.”

Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who claimed the National League honor last season with the San Diego Padres, agreed to a two-year, $62 million contract with San Francisco on March 18. He had been throwing at extended spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona, to build up his arm strength.

Still, he likes how the ball is leaving his hand and looks forward to facing another former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, on Sunday in Florida.

“There’s a lot going through my head right now, but I would just say I was pretty amped up, and I was trying to nitpick the zone too much,” Snell said. “I made the bullpen have to cover a lot of innings that they shouldn’t have had to cover.”

Staked to a 1-0 lead on LaMonte Wade Jr.‘s RBI double in the first, Snell (0-1) issued consecutive one-out walks in the second. Trey Lipscomb and Luis Garcia Jr. then hit back-to-back RBI singles, and Lipscomb scored as part of a double steal.

Snell was on a pitch count and finished at 72. He gave way to Erik Miller after the third, having allowed three runs and three hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks.

The left-handed Snell received a warm ovation when he emerged from the dugout and walked out to the center-field bullpen to begin his warmup throws.

“When we signed him, it was a big deal,” said San Francisco manager Bob Melvin, who also was Snell’s skipper last year with the Padres. “It really kind of energized our clubhouse at spring training. Now the buildup, not ideal, and it’s not perfect, but it is what it is. But I think in general, yes, everybody’s excited about having him.”

Snell had been 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 36 strikeouts over five previous starts against the Nationals, who follow this three-game set with a weekend interleague series across the bay versus the Oakland Athletics.

“At least he’s off and running,” Melvin said of Snell. “Not a great game for us all the way around.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Coach: Canes must be smarter about retaliation

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Coach: Canes must be smarter about retaliation

RALEIGH — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said his players have to be smarter about retaliating against the Florida Panthers‘ trademark agitation.

“We know that’s how they do things,” he said on Wednesday, after Florida took a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-2 win. “Find a way not to let that get to you. Stick to what is going to win us games.”

At issue for the Hurricanes in Game 1 was center Sebastian Aho‘s roughing penalty against Florida’s Anton Lundell at 6:59 of the first period, which negated a Carolina power play and led to Carter Verhaeghe scoring the first goal of the game on a Panthers’ power play. Aho took a swing at Lundell after the Panthers center cross-checked him. The referees whistled the retaliation but not the initial stickwork that provoked it.

“I mean, the first penalty is bad call, right? You’re going to have those. But that’s my thing: Retaliation penalties are not going to get it done,” Brind’Amour said. “We did a pretty good job with [retaliation], but it just takes one. That’s my point. You can’t have that one, because that really puts you behind the game and now it’s different.”

The Hurricanes are 5-0 when scoring first in the playoffs and 3-3 when they don’t. Carolina’s penalty kill had stopped 14 of 15 power plays at home and 28 of 30 overall in the playoffs until Game 1, when Florida went 2-for-3 with the man advantage.

“They made us pay. It’s a good team that knows how to score goals and finds way to win games when you make mistakes,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. “We’ve got to limit those mistakes.”

Another example of the Hurricanes’ retaliation, though a less costly one for Carolina, came in the third period when defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere deliberately shot a puck at Florida forward Brad Marchand. In this case, the Panthers got the worst of it, as Marchand was given a double minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.

“Just heated. I was pretty pissed off. He tried to take a run at me. I shot the puck at him. We had a little [tussle],” Gostisbehere said.

After Game 1, neither Panthers players nor coach Paul Maurice would discuss the incident in detail.

“It happens. It’s what it is. I mean, we block shots all the time, so what’s the difference?” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said.

That attitude extends to the Panthers’ composure on the ice. While the Panthers have earned their reputation as an irritating, physical opponent — attributes that helped them win the Stanley Cup for the first time last season — they can dish it out and take it.

Look no further than the Florida crease in Game 1, where the Hurricanes crashed the net of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with frequency. At one point, forward Andrei Svechnikov‘s hip collided with Bobrovsky’s head. But the goalie wasn’t knocked off his game and his team didn’t retaliate.

“It’s OK. It’s the playoffs. They try to get under the skin. I just focus on my things and try not to think about that,” Bobrovsky said after his Game 1 win.

Maurice praised his netminder’s composure.

“Sergei’s not a kid. He’s been through it. He’s been bumped. He’s just developed a skill set that it just doesn’t bother him,” the coach said. “No one likes getting elbowed in the head, but it won’t be the first time or the last time.”

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals is Thursday night in Raleigh. The Hurricanes have now lost 13 straight games in that round of the playoffs, including five straight to the Panthers.

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Ex-MLB All-Star Segura retires after 12 seasons

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Ex-MLB All-Star Segura retires after 12 seasons

PHILADELPHIA — Jean Segura, a two-time All-Star infielder who hit .281 in a 12-year major league career with six teams, announced his retirement.

Segura’s announcement was made on social media Wednesday by his agent, CAA Sports, and the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he played from 2019-22.

The 35-year-old Segura last played in the major leagues in 2023, with the Miami Marlins.

He was an All-Star in 2013 with the Milwaukee Brewers and 2018 with the Seattle Mariners. Segura led the National League with 203 hits in 2016, while with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He also played for the Los Angeles Angels. He lone postseason appearance was in 2022, with the Phillies.

He finished his career with 1,545 hits, 513 RBI, 110 home runs and 211 stolen bases in 1,413 games.

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Giants to place Verlander (pec) on 15-day IL

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Giants to place Verlander (pec) on 15-day IL

San Francisco Giants right-hander Justin Verlander will be placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right pectoral injury, manager Bob Melvin said after Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

The decision was reached after Verlander threw on the side Wednesday. During the session, it became apparent to Verlander that he wouldn’t be able to make his scheduled start against the host Washington Nationals on Saturday and might not make his following turn.

“They’re saying, ‘give yourself a blow. Take the 15 days and let’s get this behind you and be ready to go,'” Verlander said of the Giants.

San Francisco is hopeful Verlander will only be sidelined for a short time.

“He’ll end up missing two starts and then I think everything will be good,” Melvin said. “He’s obviously not happy about it because he wants to make every start but it was the prudent thing to do.”

The tricky part of forecasting is that Verlander is experiencing nerve irritation in the pectoral muscle. The 42-year-old insisted it’s not related to the neck injury he sustained in June of last season with the Houston Astros that led to him missing more than two months.

Verlander is winless in 10 starts with the Giants and struggled in Sunday’s outing against the visiting Athletics.

Verlander had velocity and command issues in four innings against the Athletics and issued a season-worst five walks. He allowed two runs, three hits and struck out one.

“There are always things you’re pushing through,” Verlander said while referring to the Sunday outing. “It’s always difficult to be 100 percent in this game. It was one of those things where I thought I was going to be just fine. Then I go out there and start throwing, look up (at the scoreboard) after the first pitch and see 90-91, and I thought, ‘Oh, boy. Gonna be a tough day.'”

Verlander is 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA in his first campaign with San Francisco. He has struck out 41 and walked 21 in 52 innings.

The three-time American League Cy Young Award winner and 2011 AL MVP is in his 20th big league season. A nine-time All-Star, Verlander is 262-150 with a 3.31 ERA in 536 career starts.

Melvin said it was too soon to make a decision on who will start Saturday’s game.

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