Major League Baseball has postponed this weekend’s scheduled series between Toronto and Philadelphia because of concerns about the coronavirus after two Phillies staffers tested positive.
“Major League Baseball will coordinate with health experts and the Major League Baseball Players Association in planning for the Phillies’ resumption of play, and will provide further scheduling updates as necessary,” the league said in a statement Thursday.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo revealed news of the postponed series Thursday, saying his club was “not going to Philadelphia,” where the series was scheduled to take place.
“Our plans right now are to stay put and let MLB work through whatever they’re working through,” Montoyo said before his club played the last of four games in Washington.
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It’s the latest in a series of scheduling changes as MLB attempts to play a 60-game season amid a pandemic that is surging in parts of the United States.
2:25 Ottawa rejects bid to allow Blue Jays to play in Toronto
Ottawa rejects bid to allow Blue Jays to play in Toronto
Earlier Thursday, word emerged that another player with the Miami Marlins — who recently played at Philadelphia — tested positive for COVID-19, bringing their total outbreak to 17 players, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Phillies said there were no positive results among players from Wednesday’s testing of their team. But there were two positives: One from a member of the coaching staff and one from a member of the home clubhouse staff.
All activity at Citizens Bank Park was canceled Thursday until further notice.
The Blue Jays are stuck on the road because the Canadian government wouldn’t let them use their stadium in Toronto this season because of fears about teams traveling back and forth to the United States. Eventually, the Blue Jays are supposed to play home games at a minor league ballpark in Buffalo, but it isn’t ready. So Montoyo’s team played its “home opener” at Washington on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays were then supposed to start a three-game series at the Phillies on Friday. First, MLB shifted Friday’s game to part of a doubleheader Saturday, with the series finale Sunday — and now all three games are scrapped, leaving Toronto in limbo.
“We’re going to talk to the Nationals, see if we can work out here,” Montoyo said. “If they say yes, we’ll stay and work out until MLB tells us where to go next.”
2:07 Coronavirus: Toronto Maple Leafs training camp begins, Blue Jays practices in limbo
Coronavirus: Toronto Maple Leafs training camp begins, Blue Jays practices in limbo
Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano says the long break shouldn’t pose much of a problem.
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“I consider it a smaller challenge,” he said. “I think we can still hopefully practice, pitchers throw bullpens. I think we would still be ready to roll after this four-day break, if that’s what they’re going to do.”
Miami’s team remains quarantined in Philadelphia, where the Marlins’ outbreak was discovered during a weekend series against the Phillies.
Two Marlins staff members have also tested positive.
The person who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday about the Marlins did so on condition of anonymity because test results were not announced.
Miami’s season has been suspended through at least Sunday, and it appears the schedule will be altered next week, too.
Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns said it’s crucial for the league to understand what is taking place in Miami.
“The volume of positives we’ve seen on one team now is alarming,” he said. “And I think everyone feels that way. We have a very robust set of protocols in place for the explicit reason of preventing something like this happening.”
After Thursday’s game, the Nationals will be stuck in Washington because their three-game series at Miami scheduled for Friday through Sunday was postponed because of the Marlins’ outbreak.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez joked that his team’s upcoming four-day layoff — Monday already was a scheduled off day, so the World Series champions don’t play next until Tuesday against the visiting New York Mets — is like a “mini All-Star break.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
