Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
Brawl in Baltimore
The Orioles defeated the Royals on Tuesday, 9–1. The bigger storyline, though, wasn’t the win but the fracas that took place in the fifth inning. Kansas City pitcher Yordano Ventura hit Baltimore shortstop Manny Machado with a 99 mph fastball, and Machado immediately charged the mound and punched the starter. Both were swiftly ejected.
“I don’t regret anything,” Machado said afterwards. “It’s part of the game. Reactions fly. When somebody’s throwing 99 at you, it’s going to hurt. You can ruin someone’s career. You don’t think in that situation. You just react to it.”
Home debut
Julio Urias made his home debut on Tuesday for the Dodgers, lasting only four innings and allowing one run on three hits and a walk. The Dodgers were victorious over the Rockies, 4–3, thanks to a Trayce Thompson walk-off home run.
Urias, just 19, is scheduled to make another major-league start next week when he’ll face the Diamondbacks.
“I think if you look at our roster and what we envisioned for 2016, yeah, he wouldn’t be here right now,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But you have to adjust. The game calls for it. With injuries, his time is now.”
Mad Bum vs. Price
The Giants lost to the Red Sox in extra innings on Tuesday, 5–3. Boston was lifted to victory thanks to a two-run bloop single from Xander Bogaerts in the 10th inning.
San Francisco lefty Madison Bumgarner and Boston lefty David Price will face off on Wednesday in a marquee matchup at AT&T Park. Here’s a fun read by Jonah Keri, sizing up Bumgarner’s performance at the plate against historical pitchers with hot bats.
Getting better
Michael Pineda had a good outing on Tuesday, earning a W as the Yankees defeated the Angels, 6–3. The 27-year-old right-hander has struggled of late, but he went seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks.
“Michael can be dominant,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “When Michael is on, he can be really dominant. I’m hoping this continues a roll for him.”
Three-hitter
Zack Greinke put up a complete-game performance on Tuesday, allowing just three hits and zero runs in the Diamondbacks’ 5–0 victory over the Rays.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash had nothing but praise for Greinke, who was just too good for his lineup on the day.
“I like the way the guys came up and continued to attack,” Cash said. “I don’t think we had very many punchouts. We competed well. He was on and you tip your cap a little bit.”