Archives for March 2021

In the matchup of baseball’s most prominent two-way players, Shohei Ohtani had it all his way against Michael Lorenzen.

Ohtani hit two home runs off Lorenzen on Monday, earning plenty of praise from the Cincinnati Reds pitcher/outfielder.

“If I have to pick a favorite player, it’s him,” Lorenzen said.

Off to a sizzling spring start at the plate for the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani lofted an opposite-field drive to left in the first inning. The next time up, Ohtani went way deeper to left-center.

“I think made up for the first one because it went about twice as far,” Lorenzen said. “Man, he’s impressive. I’ve always said he’s the real deal, I’ve always said it from Day One. I love what he’s doing.”

Ohtani is 9 for 16 with three homers. The 2018 AL Rookie of the Year has made two starts this spring — one strong, the other shaky — while showing excellent velocity.

Ohtani hit .286 with 18 homers in 2019 but didn’t pitch while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He struggled during the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, batting .190 as a designated hitter and making two brief appearances on the mound.

Lorenzen has pitched over 444 innings in the majors. He’s played more than 30 times in the outfield, including six starts in center, and is a career .235 hitter with seven home runs.

SEE YOU SOON

Rays shortstop Wander Franco, regarded as the top prospect in the majors, was reassigned to minor league camp. The 20-year-old hasn’t played above Class A in the regular season. He hit .294 with one homer and two RBIs while appearing in seven exhibition games for Tampa Bay this spring.

CARDINALS 4, NATIONALS 2

Washington ace Max Scherzer struck out seven over four scoreless innings, allowing two hits without a walk. Ryan Zimmerman, who sat out the 2020 season over COVID-19 concerns, hit his third home run this spring.

St. Louis starter John Gant pitched into the fifth inning, giving up two runs and four hits. Andrew Miller struck out two of the three batters he faced and Alex Reyes retired the side in order in the ninth. Nolan Arenado had two hits and drove in a run.

DODGERS 12, ROCKIES 5

World Series MVP Corey Seager hit his fifth home run of the spring. Los Angeles starter Dustin May pitched three innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. Justin Turner hit an RBI triple and drew a bases-loaded walk.

José Mujica had a five-out start for Colorado, yielding four runs and five hits.

YANKEES 4, PHILLIES 2

Domingo Germán struck out six and scattered three hits over four scoreless innings in his bid for a spot in the New York rotation. Germán, coming off an 81-game suspension that began in 2019 for violating the Major League Baseball domestic violence policy, has yet to allow a run in three starts spanning nine innings, striking out 13.

Philadelphia starter Chase Anderson gave up two hits and two walks over three scoreless innings. Rhys Hoskins homered and Didi Gregorius and Roman Quinn both doubled.

ORIOLES 12, PIRATES 3

Baltimore starter Matt Harvey worked four innings, giving up two runs and five hits, striking out four. Austin Hays and Freddy Galvis hit back-to-back home runs.

Pittsburgh leadoff man Adam Frazier got two hits, making him 10 for 15. Ke’Bryan Hayes connected for his first homer — six of his 10 spring hits have gone for extra bases. Gregory Polanco tripled in his first at-bat since his son was born March 7. Starter Tyler Anderson struck out seven in four innings.

INDIANS 7, ATHLETICS 3

Cleveland starter Logan Allen worked four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three. Cal Quantrill gave up three hits and a pair of walks over two innings of relief.

Chris Bassitt pitched 3 2/3 innings, striking out five for Oakland. Adam Kolarek was tagged for four runs on three hits and a walk in the sixth.

ROYALS 6, GIANTS 1

Danny Duffy pitched four perfect innings for Kansas City, fanning four. Huner Dozier doubled twice, Salvador Pérez got two hits and drove in two runs and Bubba Starling homered.

San Francisco starter Anthony Banda struggled in the first inning, allowing two runs on five hits.

CUBS 4, WHITE SOX 4

Cubs starter Alec Mills gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. Shelby Miller worked two innings in relief, allowing a hit and striking out three. David Bote doubled twice.

Dylan Cease allowed one hit over three innings for the White Sox. Adam Eaton doubled and José Abreu singled and doubled. Eloy Jiménez drove in three runs with two hits.

REDS 7, ANGELS 3

Los Angeles starter Alex Cobb gave up one run and two hits in 3 2/3 innings. Reliever Félix Peña left with a right hamstring injury. Jo Adell homered for the Angels.

Jesse Winker and Mark Payton each hit a two-run double for Cincinnati.

PADRES 13, BREWERS 3 (8 INNINGS)

San Diego newcomer Blake Snell pitched three scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Brian O’Grady homered twice and C.J. Abrams hit a grand slam.

Milwaukee starter Brett Anderson went 2 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs and five hits.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, MARINERS 2

Arizona starter Taylor Widener struck out five and gave up two hits and a walk over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Christian Walker homered.

Seattle starter Ljay Newsome gave up a run on two hits and a walk before exiting with two outs in the fourth inning.

RAYS 3, RED SOX 2

Kevin Kiermaier doubled twice and Randy Arozarena doubled for Tampa Bay.

Michael Chavis hit his fourth spring home run for Boston. Nick Pivetta worked four innings, allowing a run and four hits. Hirokazu Sawamura walked three, one with the bases loaded, in the fifth.

BLUE JAYS 4, TIGERS 0

Hyun Jin Ryu pitched two-hit ball for four innings, striking out four, for Toronto. Jonathan Davis led off the game with a home run against Matthew Boyd, who went four innings. Nomar Mazara had two singles for Detroit.

BRAVES 5, TWINS 1

Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his third home run. Atlanta starter Bryse Wilson scattered five hits over four scoreless innings. Carl Edwards Jr. and Tyler Matzek each worked a clean inning in relief and Chris Martin struck out two of the three batters he faced in the sixth.

J.A. Happ worked two innings in the start for the Twins, allowing a hit and walking two. Kyle Garlick hit his third homer.

MARLINS 6, ASTROS 5

Sixto Sánchez allowed two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings in the start for Miami. Jorge Alfaro doubled in two runs and Sandy Leon doubled, singled and drove in two runs.

Jose Urquidy pitched into the fourth inning for Houston, giving up two runs on three hits. Brandon Bielak gave up two runs on four hits, struck out two and picked Lewis Brinson off first base.

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Tom Brady doesn’t merely lead teams to Super Bowl wins on the field. He also helps keep together championship teams that have salary cap issues.

So sackmaster Shaq Barrett, fellow standout linebacker Lavonte David and old buddy Rob Gronkowski will remain in Tampa Bay.

Just as he had done several times in New England, Brady reworked his big-ticket contract last week to free up money in free agency. The Buccaneers used it to keep David, and on Monday, the first day of “legal tampering” before the NFL’s business year begins on Wednesday, the 28-year-old Barrett agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract with $36 million guaranteed, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed.

Later in the day, Gronk agreed to return for his 11th season with Brady on a one-year, $10 million deal — up from the $9.25 million he earned in 2020.

Meanwhile, back in Brady’s former stomping grounds, the Patriots were spending wildly in an attempt to recapture the glory he produced before heading south last season.

New England opened its vaults wider than any other team on Monday, something unusual for a club that normally avoids chasing the most expensive free agents. Of course, the Patriots went 7-9 without Brady in 2020.

Joining them are linebacker/edge rusher Matthew Judon from Baltimore; tight end Jonnu Smith from Tennessee; nose tackle Davon Godchaux from Miami; and defensive back Jalen Mills from Philadelphia.

Judon, 28, will get a four-year, $56 million pact with $32 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press. Smith, 25, will be paid $50 million over four years to try to fill the void created when Gronkowski retired after the 2018 season — only to return last year to reunite with Brady in Tampa Bay.

The 26-year-old Godchaux gets $16 million for two years, with $9 million guaranteed. Mills, soon to turn 27, comes in at four years for $29 million, also guaranteed $9 million.

Clearly, the salary cap that decreased by about $16 million this year due to lost revenues because of the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t prevented New England from diving headfirst into the free agency waters.

But they let perhaps the best offensive lineman in this crop get away, as 28-year-old guard Joe Thuney agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract with Kansas City. It might seem a stretch to think the Chiefs have problems on offense, but anyone who saw their line fall apart in the Super Bowl recognizes the value of adding Thuney.

The other three AFC West teams were busy as well.

The Raiders, who have suffered defensively since trading Khalil Mack in 2018, agreed to a two-year contract with edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue. They are last in the NFL with 66 sacks and 357 pressures, according to SportRadar, since the trade.

Ngakoue has the 12th-most sacks (45 1/2), third-most strip sacks (15), sixth-most quarterback pressures (190) and second-most forced fumbles (18) in his five pro seasons, though he has slumped the last two years.

The Chargers went with an offensive line upgrade, center Corey Linsley, an All-Pro with Green Bay last season. Linsley allowed a league-low four pressures last season among centers who played 13 or more games, while LA’s Dan Feeney was tied for the most at 33. Linsley, 29, spent seven seasons with the Packers.

Los Angeles has also agreed to re-sign cornerback Michael Davis for three years.

Denver defensive end Shelby Harris agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal. The 29-year-old Harris played on a one-year deal last year after finding no suitors in free agency despite setting personal highs with 49 tackles, six sacks and nine passes defensed in 2019.

Elsewhere:

— The Rams agreed with pass rusher Leonard Floyd on a four-year deal. Floyd, who is coming off the best season of his five-year NFL career, signed last April after the Bears released him. The outside linebacker finished 10th in the league with 10 1/2 sacks while racking up 55 tackles and 19 quarterback hits. He also excelled against the run while starting all 16 games.

— Cleveland might have found a gem in Rams safety John Johnson III. The 25-year-old playmaker is a strong run defender who had four interceptions in 2018 and has eight over a career spanning 48 starts. His three-year deal with the Browns reportedly is valued at $33.75 million, with $24 million guaranteed.

— San Francisco re-signed 29-year-old cornerback Jason Verrett for one year. He has been plagued by injuries throughout his career but stayed healthy in 2020 and excelled for the 49ers. Verrett started 13 games with two interceptions and seven passes defensed and was one of the top-graded cornerbacks in coverage.

— Detroit brought back 25-year-old Romeo Okwara, who had a career-high 10 sacks last season in his third year with the Lions and fifth in the NFL. He has been a rare steady performer on a weak defense in Detroit and got a three-year deal.

— Arizona re-signed linebacker Markus Golden for two-years. The 30-year-old Golden has spent most of his career with the Cardinals after being selected in the second round of the 2015 draft. He played with Arizona from 2015-18 before signing with the New York Giants and was traded back to the Cardinals midway through the 2020 season and played well in Arizona.

— Baltimore agreed with guard Kevin Zeitler, 31, on a three-year, $22 million contract. The Ravens have needed help at the position since perennial All-Pro Marshal Yanda retired after the 2019 season. Zeitler, a nine-year veteran, was released by the New York Giants last week.

— Jacksonville added Bears defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris with a three-year, $24.4 million deal that includes $14 million guaranteed. The Jaguars also grabbed safety Rudy Ford and receiver Jamal Agnew, both special teamers, as well as receiver Phillip Dorsett and running back Carlos Hyde. Defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot was retained.

—The Jets, with as much money to spend as almost any team, went for Bengals defensive end Carl Lawson, Titans wide receiver Corey Davis and linebacker Jarrad Davis.

The 25-year-old Lawson got a three-year contract. He has 20 sacks in four seasons with weak Cincinnati and joins a promising defensive line in New York that includes defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

Corey Davis, 26, could become the Jets’ No. 1 wideout. His deal is worth $37.5 million over three years, $27.5 million guaranteed. Jarrad David had fallen out of favor in Detroit. The price tag reportedly is $7 million for one year.

—Carolina addressed offensive line issues by agreeing to terms with Pat Elflein and Cameron Erving. Elflein received a three-year, $13.5 million deal with $6 million guaranteed, while Erving agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with $8 million guaranteed.

—The Cowboys are set to bring back defensive tackle Antwaun Woods and a pair of receivers lower on the depth chart in Cedrick Wilson and Noah Brown. The team reported on its website that Woods and Wilson were expected to be offered tenders as restricted free agents while Brown had agreed to a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent.

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STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss at least the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Hall of Famer is isolating at home after receiving a positive result from a COVID-19 test taken on Sunday, but his team will play on without him, the school said.

He said he is not experiencing any symptoms and has no idea how he contracted the virus.

“I didn’t all the sudden go on spring break, I didn’t go to Florida,” he told reporters in a conference call on Monday. “I didn’t all of the sudden go on a motorcycle retreat to Montana or something. I didn’t do anything.”

The top-seeded Huskies are scheduled to leave for the tournament in San Antonio on Tuesday. According to federal and state health guidelines, Auriemma must remain in isolation for 10 days and may rejoin the team on March 24.

The team’s head physician said contact tracing protocols indicated Auriemma did not have close contact with any other team member since Friday. All other Tier 1 members of the team and staff tested negative for the virus on Sunday and Monday, the school said.

Auriemma said he and the other coaches keep a safe social distance from players, even at practice, and he was told his viral load was so low there is very little chance he passed the disease on to anyone else.

“Only household close contacts were identified,” Dr. Deena Casiero said. “Given the fact that we have been doing daily testing for the past seven days, we feel confident that we were able to catch this very early on in the disease process.”

The Huskies are scheduled to take on High Point next Sunday. If they advance, they would face the winner of the game between Syracuse and South Dakota State on March 23, the day before Auriemma’s isolation could end.

“I just need them to win two games so I can get down there and help out on any games after that,” he said.

Auriemma said he will be talking to his assistant coaches while they are in Texas, but won’t be trying to coach from Connecticut.

Associate head coach Chris Dailey, who has been with Auriemma throughout his 36 seasons in Storrs, is 10-0 while filling in as coach, including leading the team to its first Big East Tournament title in 1989 while Auriemma was serving a suspension.

“I’m an innocent bystander right now,” Auriemma said. “I’m going to sit back and watch them do their thing.”

Center Olivia Nelson-Ododa said the team doesn’t expect that much will change.

“We don’t really rely on one person,” she said. “I think that’s what makes this program special is that even if coach is out or say if the roles were reversed and CD was out, we wouldn’t have to just rely on just one person to have our speeches or have different things to say and coach us.”

Other coaches reacted to the news with concern and took it as a cautionary tale of how contagious the virus is.

“It is a definite reminder to everyone,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “You know it’s just like, ‘Stay away.’”

Baylor’s Kim Mulkey, who recovered from a bout with the virus early in the season that forced a cancelation of their scheduled game with UConn, worried that others in the UConn program may now end up getting COVID-19.

“When I had it, we had a lot (of others) in quarantine,” she said. “And that was my third thought is like, I wonder if anybody else on the team, it’s going to be a trickle-down effect the next week to 10 days.”

Auriemma, who turns 67 on March 23, received a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. He said he was warned that the full effect of the vaccine does not occur until 14 days after the last inoculation.

He said he also feels that if he had not been vaccinated, he might be much sicker now.

The Huskies (24-1) were forced to postpone the start of their season until Dec. 12 because of another positive test within the program and like most teams had several games canceled or postponed because of coronavirus-related issues.

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Associated Press sports writers Janie McCauley and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.

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