Angels lose no-no in 9th
Patrick Sandoval had his no-hit bid broken up with one out in the ninth inning on a soft double by rookie Brent Rooker, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Saturday night.
Sandoval, a 24-year-old lefty who began the game with a 3-13 career record, struck out a career-high 13.
There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season. The big league record of eight was set in 1884, the first year overhand pitching was permitted.
The Twins hadn’t come close to a hit until Rooker, who fanned his first three times up, flared an opposite-field fly that fell just inside the line in right.
Sandoval (3-4) smiled after the ball fell, retired the next batter and then was pulled after 108 pitches. He walked one and hit two.
Closer Raisel Iglesias allowed an RBI double to Josh Donaldson before getting his 21st save in 25 chances.
Jose Berrios (7-5) allowed two unearned runs in seven innings in perhaps his final start for Minnesota. Berrios, a potential trade candidate after being unable to come to terms on a contract extension, allowed three hits and struck out four.
But, in somewhat unexpected fashion, this was Sandoval’s night
He had made just 26 career starts in the majors. Acquired from the Houston Astros in 2018 in a trade for catcher Martin Maldonado, Sandoval has shown an ability to get swings and misses, but he displayed the knack for shutting a team down on Saturday.
Sandoval kept the struggling Twins at bay with a combination of his sinker, changeup and slow curveball.
Minnesota, who traded Nelson Cruz to Tampa Bay this week in the first of a likely sell-off situation, hardly challenged for a hit against Sandoval.
No Minnesota runner reached second until Rooker.
SCHERZER SCRATCHED
Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer was scratched from his start at Baltimore on Saturday night with what the team described as mild right triceps discomfort.
Manager Dave Martinez said before the game that Scherzer had an MRI and it was “extremely clean” — he’s expected to make his next start. Jon Lester is starting Saturday in his place.
Scherzer is 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 18 starts this season.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner, who turns 37 on Tuesday, has been the subject of trade speculation as the Nationals continue to struggle. His absence now is another issue for the Washington rotation, which has been without Stephen Strasburg since early June because of lingering neck problems.
On Friday, Martinez said Strasburg was still having neck discomfort, and the team was trying to figure out what the best course of action was for him going forward.
CATCH THIS
The age-old practice of stealing signs put down by catchers might become history if testing of an experimental electronic device is successful.
Major League Baseball is giving catchers in the Low A West league the option starting Aug. 3 to use a 12-button transmitter that can be strapped around their wristband with Velcro. Receivers fit inside the sweatband of a pitcher’s cap and the padding of the catcher’s helmet. A tiny speaker is included, with the volume designed so only the player, and not nearby opponents, can hear.
Developed by a company called PitchCom, the device is programmed for signals in English and Spanish. Clubs can add languages on their own, such as Japanese and Korean. MLB hopes the devices will cut down on time spent by pitchers stepping off the rubber and changing signals.
In a major scandal in 2017, the Houston Astros were found to have stolen catchers’ signs using a video camera in the outfield and relayed those signals to batters.
TRINGALE LEADS 3M
The third round of the 3M Open was filled with shots into the rough and the water around the 18th green, and sometimes both.
Cameron Tringale stayed out of trouble that so many others didn’t Saturday — and took the lead into the final round.
Tringale made a short par putt on the treacherous par-5 18th hole for a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke advantage over Gary Woodland and Maverick McNealy.
“I drove it pretty well and gave myself some looks that I capitalized on,” said Tringale, who is winless on the PGA Tour. “I really just saved my tail quite a few times with the putter,”
Tringale, who tied for third last year at the TPC Twin Cities, eagled the par-5 12th and had three birdies in a bogey-free round. The 33-year-old topped the crowded leaderboard at 12-under 201. In an interview with reporters afterward, he quickly recalled that he birdied the 18th in the final round of the 2020 edition of the 3M Open, without fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woodland overcame a double bogey on No. 1 with birdies on five of his next six holes in a 67. McNealy had a bogey-free 68.
“There’s going to be birdies tomorrow. You’re still going to have to go low. You’re just going to have to play a good round in the wind,” Woodland said.
Pat Perez shot a 66 to join an eight-way tie for fourth, two shots off the lead. Four players were three strokes back. Louis Oosthuizen, the highest-ranked player remaining at No. 9 in the world and in the FedEx Cup standings, was in a six-way tie for 16th place at only four shots behind.
During yet another unseasonable day of 90-plus-degree heat, the scores crept up throughout the afternoon with the thermometer as drier and breezier air affected the play.
Keith Mitchell had a record-tying seven straight birdies to start his round on his way to a 29 on the back nine. The front nine? He posted a 37 for a 66 that left him four strokes behind Tringale. Rickie Fowler birdied six of his first 10 holes, before a triple bogey on the unrelenting 18th left him with a 70 and a tie for 29th in a six-stroke deficit.
The mini-lake in front of the 18th hole sure swallowed up a lot of balls. It’s currently ranked as the hardest par 5 on the PGA Tour. There were nine bogeys and 12 scores worse than that Saturday, for a cumulative score of 35-over. The rest of the course was 85-under.
Tringale safely hit his first two shots along the edges of the fairway before landing his third attempt at the cusp of the green. His 52-foot shot put himself in perfect position for par.