Major League Baseball's Players Association (MLBPA) announced on Friday it will set up a $1million fund to help employees affected by the labour dispute that has delayed the start of the 2022 season.
The support program, which will be overseen by the MLBPA in conjunction with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), is designed to provide financial assistance for stadium workers and other employees who may endure hardship by owners' lockout and cancellation of games.
"There are a lot of people who make our game great. Many aren't seen or heard, but they are vital to the entertainment experience of our games," MLBPA executive board leaders Andrew Miller and Max Scherzer said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, they will also be among those affected by the owner-imposed lockout and the cancellation of games. Through this fund, we want to let them know that they have our support."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Tuesday that the league has cancelled all games scheduled for the first week of the upcoming season due to the current impasse in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. It's the first work stoppage since the players' strike in 1994-95 that wiped out the 1994 World Series.
The MLPA added that it will work with the AFL-CIO in the coming weeks to determine which areas will be most impacted by the stoppage and outline a plan to distribute its resources to where they will be most needed.
"Whether you're a worker on the baseball field, or a worker behind the scenes, we all deserve respect and dignity on the job," AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said. "The labour movement will do everything in our power to support these and all workers."
The owners imposed the current lockout on Dec. 2 following the expiration of the previous CBA, and Manfred announced an agreement would need to be reached by Tuesday in order to prevent a delay to the season's start. The two sides met extensively in Florida earlier this week, but remain at odds on key economic elements to prevent a deal from being reached.
Talks broke off between the two parties following Tuesday's deadline, and no decision has yet been made as to when negotiations will resume.
MLB: Pirates' Skenes strikes out 11 in 6 no-hit innings for first major league win
Paul Skenes struck out the first seven batters and finished with 11 as part of six no-hit innings in his second major league start, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 9-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Skenes allowed just one baserunner – Michael Busch’s full-count walk in the fifth – in a dominant performance to earn his first victory. He struck out the side in the first and fanned Mike Tauchman on a 100-mph fastball on his 100th and final pitch – his 12th to reach triple digits.
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft became the third rookie with seven strikeouts to start a game, joining Jacob deGrom on Sept. 15, 2014, and Jim Deshaies on Sept. 23, 1986. He also became the first rookie with an outing of at least six no-hit innings and 10-plus strikeouts since Chris Heston threw a no-hitter for San Francisco against the Mets on June 9, 2015.
The Cubs didn’t get their first hit until Christopher Morel singled against Carmen Mlodzinski with two outs in the seventh.
Andrew McCutchen and Jared Triolo homered for the Pirates, who have won the first two games of this series after losing seven of nine.
Kyle Hendricks allowed season highs of eight runs and 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings in his second start since returning from a lower back strain.
Rays’ Alexander flirts with perfection
Tyler Alexander took a perfect game into the 8th inning before Danny Jansen blooped an opposite-field, one-out single and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Alexander retired his first 22 batters, but Jansen dropped a 1-0 changeup between right fielder Josh Lowe and second baseman Richie Palacios.
Davis Schneider homered two pitches later to draw the Blue Jays within 4-2.
Alexander allowed three runs on three hits without a walk and struck out four. He threw 105 pitches, three more than his previous career high.
Pete Fairbanks pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five chances.
Palacios hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning off Chris Bassitt as Tampa Bay won for the 10th time in 14 games.
Streaking Astros edge Brewers
Jake Meyers hit a two-run homer and Jeremy Pena added a three-run shot to lift the Houston Astros to their sixth consecutive win, 5-4 over the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was the eighth win in nine games for the Astros, who moved into third place in the AL West.
Jake Bauers homered and Joey Ortiz added three hits, including a three-run home run for the Brewers, who went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
Schmidt shuts down Twins as red-hot Yankees complete sweep
New York Yankees lead-off hitter Anthony Volpe started off Thursday's game against the Minnesota Twins with a home run.
That was all the run support Clarke Schmidt would need.
Schmidt pitched a career-high eight innings and the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Twins with a 5-0 win.
Schmidt permitted three hits without a walk while striking out eight as New York won for the 10th time in 12 games to become the first AL club to 30 wins.
The Yankees (30-15) posted back-to-back shutouts at Minnesota and extended their scoreless streak to 26 innings dating to the first inning of Tuesday's series opener.
Volpe's homer sparked a three-run first inning for New York, which outscored Minnesota 14-1 in the three games.
Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres each hit two doubles, while Anthony Rizzo, Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo all drove in one run.
The Twins (24-19) entered this series with only three losses in their previous 20 games before promptly being swept for the first time since April 15-17, at Baltimore.
Mets score two in 11th to edge Phillies
J.D. Martinez hit a go-ahead single in the 11th and later scored on a wild pitch to provide the final margin as the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies to avoid a four-game sweep in the home-and-home series.
The Phillies sent the game into extras after Bryson Stott tied the game with a single off Mets closer Edwin Díaz in the 9th.
It marked the second straight blown save for Díaz and his third in four opportunities since May 5.
Pete Alonso opened the scoring with a first-inning homer for the Mets (20-23), who had lost to the Phillies at home on Monday and Tuesday and then lost the opener of the two-game series in Phildelphia on Wednesday.
In a scheduling quirk, these teams played four consecutive games split between New York and Philadelphia, as part of the arrangement with the teams playing a two-game set in London on June 8-9.
Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm each had run-scoring doubles for the NL East-leading Phillies (31-14), who lost for only the fourth time in 20 games.
De La Cruz runs wild as Reds blank Dodgers
Elly De La Cruz had four hits, three runs and four stolen bases as the visiting Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 in their series opener.
De La Cruz now has a major league-leading 30 steals - 13 more than the next-closest player (Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jose Caballero).
Playing in Cincinnati's 44th game, he is the fastest player to 30 steals since 1996, when Kenny Lofton reached 30 steals in Cleveland's 41st game.
De La Cruz had has many hits as the Dodgers (29-17), who have now totalled one run in their last two games to lose consecutive games for the first time since April 19-20.
The Reds (19-25), who ended up using seven pitchers during a bullpen day, won for the second time in three games after going just 1-11 in their previous 12.
MLB: Phillies' Suarez beats Mets to become first in majors to 8 wins
Ranger Suarez became the first eight-game winner in the majors and Bryce Harper homered, doubled and drove in three runs to lead the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-5 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Suarez limited New York to two unearned runs and four hits in five innings with three strikeouts and two walks. He lowered his ERA to 1.37.
Cristian Pache added two RBIs for the major league-leading Phillies, who have won three straight against the Mets and 16 of 19 overall.
Harper returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game with a migraine. He hit a solo homer in the first inning and added a two-run double to cap a four-run fifth.
The Mets have lost eight of 11 to fall four games under .500 (19-23) for the first time since they were 2-6 in early April.
Gomber leads streaking Rockies
Austin Gomber pitched two-hit ball over six innings and rookie Jordan Beck homered and drove in a career-high five runs as the Colorado Rockies won their seventh straight game, 8-0 over the San Diego Padres.
Gomber struck out five and walked two before a trio of relievers finished a four-hitter.
The Rockies, who hadn’t won seven straight since an eight-game run in 2019, swept a three-game series in San Diego for the first time since 2013.
Beck entered with just one extra-base hit in 14 games but had a two-run double in the second inning, his first career homer in the sixth and an RBI single in the eighth.
Michael King was tagged for six runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. He surrendered Brenton Doyle’s solo homer in the second – his major league-high 11th allowed this season.
The Padres were shut out for the third time this season and second time on their six-game homestand.
Rutschman gives Orioles walk-off win
Adley Rutschman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
With a split of the rain-shortened two-game set, the Orioles have gone 105 straight regular-season series of at least two decisions without being swept. That is tied for the third-longest run in major league history.
They were swept by Texas in last year’s AL Division Series but haven’t been swept in the regular season since May 13-15, 2022, at Detroit.
The streak was in danger of ending almost exactly two years later, but Jordan Westburg, who homered in the first inning, led off the ninth with an infield single before Rutschman’s high drive off Jordan Romano just barely cleared the wall in right field.
The Orioles also extended their streak of 17 consecutive non-losing series against AL East opponents, and they remained one of three teams without a three-game skid this season (Cubs and Phillies).
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