LITTLE ROCK — Saving ball goes wrong for Bauer
Arizona Diamondbacks right hander Trevor Bauer will always remember his major-league debut - for a different reason than most rookies.
After throwing his first pitch to Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Bourn, Bauer got the ball back from catcher Miguel Montero.
Bauer was instructed by Arizona’s bench to toss the ball out of play so it could be saved for him.
However, Bauer tossed the ball into Atlanta’s dugout.
Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez threw the ball back to the Arizona dugout after Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson waved to him.
Bauer, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2011 from UCLA, left after four innings because of a groin strain. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, struck out 3 and walked 3.
Starting over
Going into his third season in the NFL, Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said he’ll have to run more routes.
In his first two seasons, Thomas’ quarterbacks were Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow. Denver won the AFC West title last season and upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in a wild-card game when Tebow threw a game-winning 80-yard touchdown pass to Thomas.
Now Thomas will get the opportunities to catch passes from Peyton Manning.
“To get to play with a future Hall of Famer, I knew I had to step my game up and get in my book more, run routes more, because I never really ran routes much,” Thomas told WQXI-AM in Atlanta. “So I thought it was gonna be a challenge, and it has been so far. But it’s been good, too.
“You’re gonna have to run the whole route tree now. The comebacks, the slants, the posts, the ins. And I didn’t have to do that much when I was my first couple of years in the league.” No suits
Who knew that violating a dress code means wearing too many suits?
Daron Sutton found that out the hard way.
The Arizona Diamondbacks television play-by-play broadcaster was suspended by the team for “insubordination” stemming from a series of on-air dress code violations.
Sutton prefers to wear a suit and tie while on the air for Fox Sports Arizona. But the Diamondbacks prefer him and the crew to wear polo shirts featuring the team’s logo.
Guess the Diamondbacks don’t go crazy about a sharp-dressed man.
Jump on it!
Helena (Mont.) Brewers outfielder Raul Mondesi Jr., son of the former Los Angeles Dodger, had a tying two-run home run wiped out in the bottom of the 10th inning because he missed home plate at the end of his home run trot. Missoula catcher Michael Perez alertly appealed the play, and Mondesi was called out.
So instead of a 2-2 tie, Helena became a 2-1 loser as Mondesi’s two-out blast was reduced to an RBI triple.
“It’s a terrible way to lose a ballgame, but the guys learned a good lesson,” Brewers Manager Jeff Isom told the Helena Independent Record. “From now on, make sure you jump on the plate on a homer.”
“Turns out he didn’t touch ’em all,” wrote Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times.
Quote of the day
“It was so hot, it became so hot I was like baked.” Shanshan Feng on the 100-plus-degree afternoon at the NW Arkansas Championship on Friday
Sports, Pages 23 on 06/30/2012