Baseball

Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez has been diagnosed with a fractured hamate bone in his right hand and has been placed on the injured list, the team announced Sunday.

Ramirez, a two-time All-Star, had an MRI after he exited in the first inning of Saturday’s game against Kansas City after fouling off a pitch.

There is no immediate timetable for his return.

The injury could be a blow to the Indians’ playoff hopes as they try to catch the first-place Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.

Manager Terry Francona said Ramirez, 26, has been dealing with a sore wrist, but the injury occurred in a different area of the joint.

Ramirez is batting .254 with 20 homers and 75 RBIs in 126 games this season.

The injury is latest obstacle for the Indians. Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber has been out since May 1 with a broken arm, and starter Carlos Carrasco is being treated following a leukemia diagnosis.

Utilityman Mike Freeman replaced Ramirez in Saturday’s game and had two hits and an RBI.

The Indians called up infielder Yu Chang from Triple-A Columbus.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OAKLAND, Calif. — San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, ending his season, the team announced Saturday.

The procedure is likely Sept. 3 or 4 in Los Angeles and will be done by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who evaluated the 2012 World Series MVP on Wednesday and determined he needed the procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament.

The 33-year-old Sandoval made a comeback with the Giants in 2017 after his release by the Red Sox, and he has been used in various roles by manager Bruce Bochy. Sandoval, on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 11 with inflammation in the elbow, was batting .269 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs in 107 games.

“This was a tough blow for us with the job he’s been doing, both starting and coming off the bench,” Bochy said.

Sandoval grew teary Saturday at the thought he might never make another play for the retiring Bochy, a “father figure” who resurrected the third baseman’s career during a second stint in San Francisco.

But perhaps there’s still a chance of another swing or two — if both men have their way, and if Sandoval’s ailing arm can handle it.

“He’s like my dad, he always wants the best for me and he always cares about me. If he wants me to go out there and play I’ll take one more at-bat for him,” Sandoval said. “It’s hard. He’s one of the greatest managers I’ve ever played [for]. Not being around playing the last few weeks of his career, it’s tough, but thank God he gave me the opportunity to play nine years for him and do everything I can for him on the field and off the field. Being part of those three World Series is the most important thing we did together.”

The affection was mutual on Bochy’s part.

“I’d love to have some fun with him here the last five or six weeks. He’s just so much fun,” Bochy said. “I’ve said this so many times, I just love his love for the game, his enthusiasm. Every day, he’s got a smile on his face. We haven’t seen that because he’s been a little down because of the injury. Anyway, for Pablo long term, this is the best thing. I’m glad they have it figured out and will get it fixed.”

Although Tommy John surgery is more commonly associated with pitchers, a number of position players have also undergone the procedure in recent years, including Salvador Perez, Didi Gregorius, Corey Seager, Travis d’Arnaud and Gleyber Torres.

While Sandoval is set to become a free agent, San Francisco athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said the club’s longtime strong relationship with Sandoval makes it a case in which the Giants will monitor Sandoval’s progress and get him set up with physical therapists in the Miami area, where he spends the offseason.

CLEVELAND — Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was removed from the Indians‘ game against Kansas City with a right wrist injury.

Ramirez, a two-time All-Star, exited in the first inning Saturday after fouling off a pitch and underwent an MRI to determine the severity of his condition. The Indians initially termed it “discomfort” and are expected to update his status Sunday.

“We’re really sad because Jose is a happy guy and you guys know that we definitely need him,” said teammate Franmil Reyes after Cleveland’s 4-2 win.

“We need his defense, we need his offense, and he’s a great guy. It seemed like he was in a lot of pain. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I hope everything is good.”

Indians manager Terry Francona said Ramirez has been dealing with a sore wrist, but the injury occurred in a different area of the joint. The 26-year-old was not wearing a protective brace in the clubhouse and did not speak with the media.

“We took him over to get imaged and we want everybody to see [the results], just to make sure that we get the proper read on it,” Francona said. “We don’t know a ton yet.”

Ramirez is batting .254 with 20 homers and 75 RBIs in 126 games. Utilityman Mike Freeman replaced him and had two hits and an RBI, while infielder Yu Chang was pulled from the lineup at Triple-A Columbus in preparation for a call-up.

“To be honest, I was a little panicked when it happened,” Freeman said. “You certainly never want to see a guy like Jose get hurt under any circumstances.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Max Muncy plays in Hollywood, so of course he’d bring a dramatic performance to the diamond.

Muncy was at the center of a bizarre ninth-inning play that turned Saturday’s contest into a win for his Los Angeles Dodgers. With one out in the ninth, the Yankees‘ Brett Gardner barreled over Muncy at second base, and the All-Star appeared to be seriously hurt for a moment. While that happened, Gleyber Torres rounded third to score the tying run.

However, home plate umpire Gabe Morales sent Torres back to third, with the ump saying time had been called before the runner started toward home.

Both the Yankees and Dodgers challenged different aspects of the controversial play. Ultimately, Gardner was ruled safe, and Torres remained at third where he was stranded, and the Dodgers won 2-1.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Muncy was able to finish the game after the collision. During the postgame scrum, he admitted to slightly embellishing his injury with a little “soccer” move, an action he took to ensure the umpire would call time and prevent Torres from tying the game.

“He still got me good, it still hurt, so it wasn’t entirely fake, but there might have been a little acting class in there,” Muncy said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen played an accidental role in the charade too, throwing up his hands after seeing Muncy on the ground. That action led to Morales signaling the play dead.

“Once I saw Muncy went down, I called timeout right away,” Jansen told ESPN’s Marly Rivera. “The home plate umpire gave me time. I didn’t see when Torres took off.”

But as Muncy’s acting exploits and Jansen’s arms saved the day for L.A., the Yankees were left steaming in the visitor’s clubhouse. Manager Aaron Boone understood Jansen signaled for time, but he maintains that Torres’ run should have counted.

“Gabe said he killed (the play),” Boone said, according to YES Network. “And just looking back, Kenley … held his hands up. It looked to me like Gleyber had already started down the line with a guy down on the field.”

“As far as I know, if they call time, they called time,” he added.

“I didn’t see an umpire call time,” Torres said, according to Rivera. “I’m a little bit surprised I had to come back to third base. I don’t know what’s wrong with the umpires today.”

Boone hinted that the Yankees have already considered trying to protest the game. However, it’s unlikely they’ll be allowed to file a protest, as a timeout is considered an umpire’s judgment call, according to Rivera.

“We’ll certainly inquire with everyone and try to get a good explanation,” Boone said.

The Yankees and Dodgers, baseball’s best teams, will complete their three-game series on Sunday night at Chavez Ravine.

LOS ANGELES — With the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium hanging on his every pitch, Kenley Jansen found himself in a jam. Bases loaded, one out, and Los Angeles clinging to a one-run lead over the Yankees in the ninth.

All that right after a bizarre twist that had both managers on the field, trying to figure out what happened during a potential game-ending double play that got reviewed.

Jansen stayed cool in the heat of the moment on a scorching day and struck out Mike Tauchman and pinch-hitter Gary Sanchez to give the Dodgers a 2-1 victory over New York on Saturday in a matchup between the teams with the best records in baseball.

“Stressful? No,” Jansen said. “Just got to trust yourself in that situation. I don’t lose confidence in myself.”

Still, Jansen has faltered at times this season, including earlier in the week when fans booed during his sixth blown save. His 27th save was his first since Aug. 6.

“Kenley showed right there that he can still command the baseball in a big spot and make pitches,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I definitely don’t think that was stress; that was fun.”

But it was the play right before that to load the bases that left most everyone in the ballpark wondering what was going on.

There were runners at first and second with one out when Gio Urshela hit a grounder to third baseman Justin Turner, who looked to start a game-ending double play. Second baseman Max Muncy caught Turner’s flip, but then got wiped out by Brett Gardner‘s hard slide for an apparent forceout.

“I felt like I made it, but it was so close,” Gardner said. “I’m glad I was safe, but we just came up short.”

Gleyber Torres, who had started the play on second base, rounded third and then headed home with Muncy down on the ground, trying to score the tying run. Instead, Torres was stopped by the umpires because time had been called.

“Ninth innings are stressful enough as they are,” Muncy said, “and you add that in there and it was kind of like, `whew.”

The strange sequence set off a nearly 2-minute replay review. The call at second was reversed and Gardner was ruled safe, beating the throw with a physical but legal slide.

“For me in terms of playing the game, I thought it was perfectly clean,” Muncy said. “In terms of the rule they’ve created, I thought the only thing that was questionable was his hand reaching out and grabbing me. Other than that, it was a good play by him.”

Muncy said he wasn’t injured, but Gardner “got me pretty good.”

Roberts challenged the slide, believing Gardner was out, while Yankees manager Aaron Boone came out, too, seemingly to seek clarification on why Torres wasn’t allowed to score.

“It was a good baseball play,” Roberts said of Gardner’s slide.

Boone said plate umpire Gabe Morales told him Jansen had already raised his hands to call time.

“He had definitely started down the line, it didn’t seem like halfway to me,” Boone said of Torres. “You can see Kenley asking for time maybe about as he’s getting ready to start down the line.”

A day after the Yankees routed the Dodgers 10-2, the clubs played a tight game that have some fans predicting will be an October preview.

“Like I told the guys when I was on second base in the last inning, `Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully we’ll see you again,” Gardner said.

Roberts described the atmosphere as “two great, iconic, storied franchises. You could feel the emotion from both dugouts and the stadium.”

Turner hit a two-run homer in the third. After two games without a homer, the Dodgers got their National League-leading 226th.

Aaron Judge homered for the second straight day, connecting in the fourth.

Making just his fourth career start, rookie Tony Gonsolin outlasted six-time All-Star CC Sabathia in 89-degree heat.

Gonsolin (2-1) allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Joe Kelly and Pedro Baez kept the Yankees scoreless over the sixth, seventh and eighth.

Sabathia (5-8) gave up two runs and five hits in four innings, striking out seven. It was his second start since coming off the injured list with right knee inflammation.

“Just felt way more comfortable out there and hopefully just continue to build off that,” Sabathia said.

Turner’s 23rd homer of the season landed in the left-field pavilion and scored Gonsolin, who had reached on an infield single off Sabathia’s leg for his second career hit.

“I’ve always been a lifelong Yankees fan,” said Gonsolin, who met Sabathia in high school. “It was pretty great to throw against all those guys.”

Judge’s drive was New York’s 58th homer in August, tying the major league record for most in a month shared by Baltimore in 1987 and Seattle in 1999.

TRAINER’S ROOM

San Francisco Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team announced Saturday.

The Giants placed Sandoval on the injured list with right elbow inflammation Aug. 11. Although the team initially believed that his UCL wasn’t damaged, Sandoval flew to Los Angeles this week to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who recommended that he undergo the surgery. It’ll be performed during the first week of September.

Given the timing, it’s quite possible that Sandoval – a pending free agent – could miss the entire 2020 season. However, Giants trainer Dave Groeschner said he believes Sandoval will be able to come back at some point next year, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group.

Groeschner added that the Giants will help him rehab even after he becomes a free agent.

Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters he’d “love to” give Sandoval one more home at-bat at Oracle Park before the surgery, depending on the condition of his elbow, according to Crowley.

The news provides a bitter end to what was Sandoval’s best season in years. He’d emerged as an important bench piece for Bochy this season, slashing .269/.314/.509 with 14 homers, 23 doubles, and 41 RBIs in 107 games as both a third and first baseman.

Sandoval also suffered a season-ending injury in 2018 after he tore his hamstring last August.

The 33-year-old is beloved in San Francisco for his role on the Giants’ three championship clubs this decade, including his World Series MVP-winning performance in 2012. He left the team in 2015 to sign a five-year, $95-million deal with the Boston Red Sox but returned to San Francisco barely two years later after being released.

Sandoval expressed disappointment that he won’t get to suit up during the final games of Bochy’s managerial career and added that, if possible, he’d like to make his post-surgery comeback with the Giants.

“This is not the end of my career,” he said, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers have designated Opening Day starter Jhoulys Chacin for assignment.

The Brewers announced the move on Saturday before playing Arizona.

Chacin is 3-10 with a 5.79 ERA this season. The 31-year-old right-hander had been on the injured list since late July due to a strained lat and was not expected to return to the active roster until mid-September.

Brewers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager David Stearns says the move was made to clear room on the roster as the club enters the final month of the regular season and pushes for a playoff slot. Milwaukee began the day three games behind Chicago for the second NL wild-card spot.

The Brewers called up utilityman Cory Spangenberg from Triple-A San Antonio.