Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano on Monday said that Houston Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron made a crude remark about his mother that prompted a benches-clearing incident on Sunday and Athletics manager Bob Melvin said he wants Cintron punished by Major League Baseball.
Laureano said that he regrets charging toward Houston’s dugout to fight Cintron after the two exchanged words during the seventh inning of their game in Oakland, California.
Speaking before a game against the Los Angeles Angels, Laureano said that Cintron began jawing at him when Laureano reacted angrily after being hit by a pitch from Houston rookie Humberto Castellanos.
Photo: AP
“I should have kept my cool because I wasted my time with that guy,” Laureano said. “Right now, I don’t look like a smart guy, but when you are emotional and someone says something about your mother, I don’t think anyone would take that lightly.”
“Whatever decision comes about a suspension, hopefully it is not as many games as people think,” he said.
Laureano and Cintron are expected to be suspended by MLB, but no announcement was made on Monday regarding punishment.
Houston manager Dusty Baker said he had a short meeting with his coaches to discuss the incident, but he declined to go into details about what he said to Cintron.
“He was remorseful, I’ll say that, that the whole thing happened,” said Baker, who was ejected earlier in the game and was not on the bench for the fracas. “And we hope it won’t happen again.”
Laureano was hit three times by Houston pitchers during the weekend series, including twice by Castellanos on breaking pitches. Laureano sarcastically motioned to Castellanos on how to properly throw his slider after Sunday’s plunking.
Laureano said he was not going to charge the mound and was trying to move on until he heard Cintron as he approached first base.
They exchanged words in Spanish, and Cintron emerged from the dugout and appeared to challenge Laureano to fight. Laureano threw off his helmet and sprinted toward Cintron, but was tackled by Astros catcher Dustin Garneau en route.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
‘HELLA ENERGY’: Minnesota’s 42-point victory set a club record for points in a playoff game, but the team have to keep up their momentum to stay in the series, Edwards said Anthony Edwards on Saturday night scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series. Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists. while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. However, moments after the 42-point win, Minnesota were determined to forget all about it. Such is life in the NBA playoffs. “You’ve got to erase this one,” Edwards said. “This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS