Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: AL Nabs Homefield
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Game 1 of the World Series will be played in an American League park. Again.
The AL defeated the National League 4-2 in the 2016 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Petco Park. Two players from the defending champion Royals came up big, as Eric Hosmer belted a solo homer and Salvador Perez smacked a two-run shot off of former teammate Johnny Cueto in the second inning. Hosmer also had an RBI single and captured MVP honors for the night. Kris Bryant went deep for the NL in a losing effort.
The NL out-hit the AL 10-8 and had its chances in the game, particularly when they loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning. Will Harris struck out Aledmys Diaz looking on a 3-2 pitch to thwart the threat.
The victory was the fourth straight for the AL and their 11th in 14 tries since the winner of the game determined homefield advantage in the World Series. The team with homefield advantage has captured six out of the last seven World Series.
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Kershaw to Throw off Mound Again
The Dodgers aren’t going to get Clayton Kershaw back from his back injury at the start of the second half, but the stud left-hander is making some nice progress.
Kershaw threw a light bullpen session Sunday, which was his first time throwing off the bump since he went down with a mild disc herniation in his lower back. He played catch Tuesday and will throw off a mound again on Wednesday.
Kershaw said Tuesday that he had a timetable in mind for his return to the Dodgers’ rotation, but he declined to reveal what that date was. Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times has previously speculated that it’s “possible” the southpaw could be ready for his second turn in the rotation after the All-Star break. A late July or perhaps early August return appears likely.
In a statement that surprised no one, National League manager Terry Collins said that Kershaw would have started for the NL had he been healthy. Kershaw put up an absurd 1.79 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 145/9 K/BB ratio over 121 innings in the first half. He still has never started the Midsummer Classic.
Manfred: Wait-and-See with Kang
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred made a statement Tuesday on the sexual assault allegations involving Jung Ho Kang. The gist is that he’s still waiting for the legal process to play out before he makes any decision about a potential suspension.
“We are aware of the situation and are working with law enforcement,” Manfred said. “We will make a decision when we have sufficient facts as to whether application of, for example, the administrative leave provisions in the new policy are applicable. There is a certain amount of work that has to be done by law enforcement — and can only be done by law enforcement — before we can wade into those waters.”
The details of the allegations against Kang are ugly. His accuser says that she blacked out quickly after the 29-year-old served her an alcoholic drink at the Westin Hotel in Chicago last month and woke up to find Kang assaulting her. Kang has not been charged, with Chicago police saying only at this point that he’s a “potential suspect.”
MLB took a while to decide on Jose Reyes’ domestic violence suspension. He was placed on administrative leave on February 23 but wasn’t officially suspended until May 13 even though the case against him was dismissed over a month prior. The slow decision-making process isn’t necessarily applicable to Kang’s case, but it’s certainly possible that it will remain in limbo for a while.
Kang will continue to play while everything plays out. He’s batting .248/.326/.509 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI over 187 plate appearances for the Pirates this season.
Quick Hits: FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Rangers are interested in Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz … Tyler Flowers will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks after being diagnosed with a fractured left hand. Anthony Recker will be called up to take his roster spot and will back up A.J. Pierzynski … Cole Hamels needed stiches on his chin after a fall in his hotel room early Tuesday morning, but he was able to make an appearance in the All-Star Game … Kevin Siegrist (mononucleosis) is expected to rejoin the Cardinals’ bullpen on Friday for the start of the second half … Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News has reported that Ryan Howard is unlikely to face discipline for the Al Jazeera report linking him to PEDs … The Brewers have claimed Rob Scahill off waivers from the Pirates …
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