Newcomb loses no-hitter, apologizes
ATLANTA — Sean Newcomb thought his near no-hitter would be the story of the day. Then he picked up his phone. Newcomb said he had forgotten about racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, but was quickly reminded a few minutes after speaking with the media about the Atlanta Braves’ 4-1 win Sunday over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After seeing that he had been called out, the 25-year-old Newcomb said it was his idea to bring reporters back to the clubhouse so he could address the issue before
Rangers: Jurickson Profar’s go-ahead double helped the Rangers become the first team to sweep the Astros this season with a 4-3 win. As Profar slid into second, the Astros’ Yuli Gurriel accidentally spiked him in the face. The AL West leaders lost their fourth in a row despite their pitchers striking out the Rangers 19 times, a franchise record for a nine-inning game. Lance McCullers Jr. fanned 11 in 51⁄ innings.
Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi threw seven innings of four-hit ball in his first Red Sox start and J.D. Martinez drove in all three runs to shut out the Twins 3-0. Martinez raised his MLB-best RBI total to 89. The Red Sox won for the 18th time in 22 games. he went home.
The old tweets overshadowed his career-best moment.
“This is something obviously that can’t be happening,” he said. “I feel bad about it. I don’t mean to offend anybody. It was six, seven years ago. I didn’t mean anything by it and I definitely regret it, for sure.”
Newcomb came within one strike of pitching the first nohitter by the Braves since 1994, denied when Chris Taylor sharply singled with two outs in the ninth inning.
Kent Mercker was the last Atlanta pitcher to throw a nohitter, doing it 24 years ago at
Yankees: J.A. Happ pitched one-run ball over six innings to win his Yankees debut 6-3 over the Royals. Happ took a shutout into the fifth before Salvador Perez homered. Aaron Hicks hit a two-run homer, doubled, singled and walked. Aroldis Chapman struck out three straight in the ninth for his 28th save in 29 chances and his 20th in a row.
Rockies: German Marquez struck out eight in 72⁄ innings and the Rockies beat the A’s 3-1 to sweep the interleague series. The Rockies have won 11 of 13 to move 10 games above .500. Tom Murphy hit a two-run homer, and Ryan McMahon doubled in a run. ... The Rockies signed Matt Holliday, 38, to a minor-league deal. Dodger Stadium.
Less than an hour later, Newcomb was talking about his offensive tweets.
“I just wanted to apologize for any insensitive material,” he said. “It was a long time ago, six or seven years ago, saying some stupid stuff with friends.”
Major League Baseball dealt with a similar situation this month involving Brewers reliever Josh Hader (Old Mill) on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game.
“We are aware of this serious issue we will identify an appropriate course of diversity training for him in the Atlanta community,” MLB said in a statement.
Marlins: Jose Urena and three relievers combined on a twohitter in a 5-0 victory over the Nationals. The Nats, shut out for the 10th time since June 1, are 5-7 in their last 12 games and fell back under .500 (52-53).
Giants: Buster Posey had four hits, including a three-run double, as the Giants ended a fourgame slide by beating the Brewers 8-5. Pablo Sandoval added a two-run triple before leaving with a possible hamstring injury.
Mariners: Mike Zunino drove in three and the Mariners used a seven-run first inning to beat the Angels 8-5. Marco Gonzales gave up two runs in six innings, striking out seven. He’s 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his last five starts.