Blaney wins Martinsville; Byron gets final spot
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David Purdum
Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz will remain on nondisciplinary paid leave “until further notice” while a gambling investigation continues, Major League Baseball announced Sunday.
MLB said in a statement Sunday that the league and players’ association had agreed to extend the leaves of Clase and Ortiz, adding, “We will not comment further until the investigation has been completed.”
The investigation stems from unusual betting interest in individual pitches by Ortiz in two Guardians games in June. A sportsbook reported “suspicious betting” on the first pitch thrown by Ortiz to be a ball or hit batsman to begin the second inning of a June 15 game against the Seattle Mariners and again in the third inning of a June 27 game against the St. Louis Cardinals. In both instances, Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that was well outside the strike zone.
Integrity firm IC360, which works with sportsbooks, sports leagues and state regulators to monitor the betting market, sent out an alert to clients regarding the unusual activity involving Ortiz’s pitches on June 27. Ortiz was placed on nondisciplinary paid leave July 3.
Clase, the Guardians’ closer, was put on nondisciplinary paid leave weeks later, on July 28.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission, which oversees the state’s sports betting market, has said it is investigating the situation alongside and independently of MLB.
Betting on the result of pitches is a niche market, offered by only a select few U.S. sportsbooks. New Jersey and Ohio have taken steps to prohibit state-licensed sportsbooks from offering such markets, commonly referred to as microbetting, but for now, some sportsbooks continue to offer betting on the result of individual pitches.
Clase, the American League leader in saves in 2024, had 24 saves and was 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA this season. Ortiz, meanwhile, was 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA in 16 starts.
Entering Sunday, the Guardians are three games back in the American League wild-card race.
BOSTON — Jarren Duran was running to third base when he realized he needed to pick up the pace again and head for home.
Duran’s inside-the-park homer Sunday, a three-run shot, gave Boston the lead in the fifth inning and helped the Red Sox avert a three-game sweep with a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park.
With Carlos Narvaez on third and Alex Bregman on first, Duran lined the first pitch from starter Mitch Keller into the right-center gap.
The ball got past right fielder Alexander Canario, who tried to cut it off, and rolled into the Fenway triangle. Then it caromed off the side wall of Boston’s bullpen and briefly got past center fielder Oneil Cruz near the 420-foot sign in right-center.
As the crowd roared, the speedy Duran raced around third and easily beat a wide relay throw to the plate standing up.
“When I was starting to round second, I was like, OK, I’ve got to make sure I get to three,” Duran said. “I thought I was going to be standing up [at third]. I found myself kind of lay back a little bit, then [third base coach Kyle Hudson] came back to me waving and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get going again.'”
It was the second inside-the-park homer by the Red Sox at Fenway Park this season. Wilyer Abreu hit one on June 30 and became the sixth player in major league history with a grand slam and an inside-the-park homer in the same game.
“I was just happy I didn’t have to slide after all,” Duran said. “I was like, this is going to be more of a fall than a slide.”
Duran’s inside-the-park shot was the first of his career.
“Everybody’s doing the same thing in the dugout,” Boston manager Alex Cora said, comparing his players and coaches to the cheering crowd.
“We become fans. Everybody’s loud, everybody’s sending him.”
HOUSTON — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was carted off the field after crashing face-first into the metal scoreboard in left field trying to make a catch in the eighth inning Sunday against the Houston Astros.
Ward was sprinting to try to make the catch on a double hit by Ramon Urias before running into the wall and being knocked to the ground. He quickly got up but immediately signaled for help. Someone came out of the bullpen and handed him a towel, which he pressed to his face.
Angels personnel quickly ran to him and he stood in the outfield as they and paramedics tended to him.
He was bleeding and appeared to have a cut above his right eye. He held a smaller cloth to his head as he was slowly carted off the field while resting his head on the shoulder of a team employee who rode the cart with him.
Ward was taken to a hospital by ambulance where interim manager Ray Montgomery said he would receive stitches to close the cut and be evaluated.
“Obviously he hit the wall pretty good,” Montgomery said. “He’s got a cut above his eye.”
Montgomery said he didn’t know if Ward had been evaluated for a concussion.
Fellow Angels outfielder Jo Adell said the team was shaken up by Ward’s injury and that a wall like that is a danger to players.
“The bottom line, and I’ve talked about this before, but there should be no out-of-town metal scoreboard anywhere on the baseball field,” Adell said. “It’s the big leagues. Like this is ridiculous. A guy goes back to make a play, and he’s got to worry about a metal fence. That’s crazy.”
Christian Moore entered the game to play second base after Ward left, while Luis Rengifo moved from second base to left field.
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