MLB..
UNDATED (AP) — It was a typical start to a major league game Thursday at Citi Field as players from the New York Mets and Miami Marlins stood in their dugouts for the national anthem.
Players took their positions, then reserves and coaches filed out of both dugouts and stood silently for 42 seconds to honor Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in modern major league history. Both teams then returned to their clubhouses, leaving only a Black Lives Matter T-shirt at home plate.
It was yet another MLB game to be boycotted following the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last weekend.
Oakland’s game at Texas was among six other major league contests that were postponed Thursday as teams boycott over racial injustice. Also postponed were Philadelphia at Washington, Tampa Bay at Baltimore, Minnesota at Detroit, Colorado at Arizona and Boston at the Blue Jays in Buffalo, New York. Without much apparent guidance from MLB, teams were left to make decisions for themselves.
The only games being played Thursday are doubleheaders, three of which were makeup games following Wednesday boycotts:
— Clayton Kershaw struck out four and didn’t walk a batter over six scoreless innings Thursday, leading the Dodgers past the Giants, 7-0 in the opener. AJ Pollock belted a two-run homer and Dodgers star Mookie Betts reached 1,000 hits in his 824th game with his sixth-inning single. Austin Barnes doubled in two runs to highlight the Dodgers’ four-run fourth, when they also got RBI singles from Joc Pederson and Corey Seager.
— Joc Pederson was the hitting star in the Dodgers’ 2-0, Game 2 victory, hitting a solo homer and scoring an insurance run on Will Smith’s double. Seven pitchers combined on a two-hitter as Los Angeles completed the sweep. The Dodgers won the nightcap despite collecting just three hits.
— Cole Tucker singled home in the go-ahead run in extra innings and the Pirates beat the Cardinals, 4-3 in Game 1. The seven-inning game went to extras tied at one before the Bucs scored three times in the eighth, including an RBI single by Bryan Reynolds and an error by third baseman Brad Miller. Chad Kuhl delivered six innings of one-run ball for Pittsburgh.
— The Pirates came away with a sweep as Erik Gonzalez and Adam Frazier provided RBI singles in a 2-0 decision over the Redbirds. Cody Ponce earned his first big league victory by pitching into the sixth inning of his first start, limiting St. Louis to five hits.
— There was a thrilling end to San Diego’s 10-7, Game 1 win over the Mariners. Wil Myers hit a game-ending three-run homer with two outs in the Padres’ seven-run seventh. Manny Machado homered twice and had four RBIs, and Fernando Tatis (tah-TEES’) Jr. hit his big league-leading 13th homer an estimated at 448 feet onto the roof of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.
— Rookie José Marmolejos hit his first grand slam and Shed Long Jr. also connected in a six-run first that carried the Mariners to an 8-3 victory and a split of their twinbill with San Diego. Manny Machado also went deep for his third home run of the doubleheader.
— The Reds knocked off the Brewers, 6-1 in Game 1 as Jesse Winker homered twice and prized prospect Jose Garcia singled in his first big league at-bat. Cincinnati starter Sonny Gray allowed four singles over five scoreless innings, striking out four and walking two. Omar Narvaez (nahr-VY’-ehz) accounted for Milwaukee’s run with a sixth-inning homer.
— Eugenio (AY’-oo-HEH’-nee-oh) Suarez slammed a two-run homer and Wade Miley combined with two relievers on a one-hitter as Cincinnati blanked Milwaukee, 6-0 to complete a sweep. Winker and Kyle Farmer produced two hits and an RBI in the nightcap. Luis Urias singled off Miley in the third inning for the Brewers’ lone hit.
UNDATED (AP) — An unprecedented walkout over racial injustice has postponed a second day of the NBA playoffs.
The NBA decided to postpone three more games Thursday to join the three that weren’t played Wednesday, when players from six NBA teams decided not to play postseason games in a boycott that quickly reverberated across other professional leagues. The Milwaukee Bucks initiated the action in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league hoped to resume Friday or Saturday.
President Donald Trump criticized the NBA’s action, telling reporters that the NBA has become like “a political organization.”
The WNBA also called off its three games for a second night.
In related developments:
— The NHL postponed its Stanley Cup playoff games scheduled for Thursday and Friday in response to the Blake shooting. The decision was reached by the league and the NHL Players’ Association, and was made after members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance asked the NHL to postpone the playing of games. San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane says the HDA strongly feels this sends a clear message that human rights take priority over sports.
— Several NFL teams canceled practices. The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Washington Football Team all decided to not take the field Thursday.
— The tennis tours paused play Thursday at the Western & Southern Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
— Football practices were canceled at Boston College, Kentucky and South Florida in joint decisions made by coaches and players.
