ANGELS’ BUTTREY ABRUPTLY RETIRES

Angerls pitcher Ty Buttrey suddenly quits the sport.

Los Angeles Angels reliever Ty Buttrey has retired from baseball, saying he lost his affection for the game.

“I just wanted to prove everyone wrong,” the 28-yearold posted on social media Saturday. “As time went on baseball became more of a business and less of a game. I couldn’t help but notice my love and passion for this game started to diminish. I always thought baseball was a cool job. I also knew that same job paid extremely well. What young kid doesn’t want a cool job that pays well?”

The right-hander was one of the key pieces of the Angels’ bullpen the past three seasons, but he struggled with control problems during spring training and was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.

His 115 appearances from 2018-20 were fourth on the team among pitchers. He was 8-11 with a 4.30 ERA.

Buttrey said he informed the

Angels of his decision to leave baseball, and the organization asked him to take some more time to think about it. He did not outline his next steps in his statement.

Angels manager Joe Maddon said before Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox that he had been in contact with Buttrey since last weekend. He said the team would welcome him back if he decided to return to baseball.

“There’s a lot of times when you get that age you become confused by different things, and you choose different routes. Maybe something’s more important to him right now,” Maddon said. “It’s one of those things that’s up to the individual. I respect it. I respect him.”

All-star fallout

MLB and the Atlanta Braves are facing fallout from the league’s decision to yank the July 13 All-star Game from Atlanta’s Truist Park. The move was made because of Georgia’s new, controversial voting law.

Some fans across baseball applauded the move while others were upset. MLB has not decided on a new host city.

Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp vowed to defend the measure.

“I want to be clear: I will not be backing down from this fight. We will not be intimidated, and we will also not be silenced,” Kemp said.

“Major League Baseball, Coca-cola and Delta may be scared of Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden and the left, but I am not,” he said, referring to companies that have also criticized the new law.

Meanwhile, The All-star Game patch that appeared on the right sleeve of the Braves’ jerseys during opening day was sewn over Saturday against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. The same logo was gone from their hats, too.

Notable

The Twins placed 3Bjosh Donaldson on the 10-day injured list with a mild right hamstring strain.

The move comes two days after Donaldson appeared to hurt himself running the bases on a double in the first inning of the Twins’ season-opening 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Donaldson stayed on the bases for the remainder of that half inning but didn’t join the Twins on the field for the bottom of the inning.

Donaldson, 35, played just 28 games last season because of a calf injury.

• Pittsburgh rookie 3B Ke’bryan Hayes left Saturday’s game against the Cubs because of discomfort in his left wrist. He jammed his hand diving back to first on a pickoff attempt after walking in the first inning. Also, Pirates reliever Kyle Crick was going through the intake process after being away from the team for the birth of his child. Manager Derek Shelton said he could be cleared as soon as today.

Ty Buttrey