Padres slugger Machado draws first pitch clock violation

Tick, tock, Manny Machado. Better watch that pitch clock.

Baseball’s new timing device made its big league debut Friday during a limited schedule of spring training openers and wouldn’t you know it, it was Machado, the San Diego Padres’ AllStar slugger, not a pitcher, who was called for the first violation.

Machado found out the hard way that the pitch clock works both ways. He wasn’t fully in the batter’s box and facing Seattle Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray as the 15-second clock wound under 8 seconds in the bottom of the first inning. Umpire Ryan Blakney called time and signaled strike one against Machado, who finished second in last season’s NL MVP race.

Machado was hardly fazed. He singled on a 2-1 pitch and then collected another single his second time up.

Machado, who batted between fellow superstars Xander Bogaerts and Juan Soto, laughed about it afterward.

“Going into the record books, at least. That’s a good one. Not bad,” Machado said. “I might just be 0-1 if I can get two hits every game.”

If Major League Baseball was looking for immediate results from the new rules designed to improve pace of play, including the pitch clock, it got them. The Mariners won 3-2 in 2 hours, 29 minutes, which is fast for any game, spring or regular season.

Padres manager Bob Melvin said he walked over to MLB officials Morgan Sword and Mike Hill afterward and said: “If this is going to be the pace of these games, I’m OK with it.”

The game “felt really fast at the beginning. Guys were looking at the clock, Manny makes history with the first infraction in major league history, another feather in his cap,” Melvin quipped. “During the course of this game we acclimated a little bit. So far, so good.”

With the pitch clock, players will have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 seconds if there is a baserunner. The pitcher must start his delivery before the clock expires. After a pitch, the clock starts again when the pitcher has the ball back, the catcher and batter are in the circle around home plate, and play is otherwise ready to resume.

Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher with at least 8 seconds on the clock. Batters can call time once per plate appearance.

When a pitcher doesn’t throw a pitch in time, the penalty is an automatic ball. When a batter isn’t ready in time, it’s an automatic strike.

“That time came by quick,” Machado said. “It’s definitely something we’re going to have to get used to. It kind of takes away your routine, being up there and zoning in before the pitch. The umpire gave me a little warning — ‘Hey, you got two seconds’ — but I was already late when I got in there.”