Johnson offers quick apology

NOTES

Randy Johnson apologized and said he was wrong, a day after being ejected in the second inning for arguing with plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth.

“I’m deeply regretful. I put my ballclub in a bind,” the New York Yankees pitcher said Saturday from Toronto. “I pitch with emotion, but I let it get the best of me.”

Johnson had his shortest start in more than a decade in Friday’s 11-10 victory over Toronto. The Yankees bounced back to take an eight-run lead, but barely held on.

After watching the game on the clubhouse TV, Johnson congratulated his teammates and “left to think about what I would say today,” he said.

Johnson said he might address his teammates.

“I was wrong,” he said. “I was wrong for letting my emotions get away from me.”

Slugger Clendenon dies

Donn Clendenon, the power-hitting first baseman who was the Most Valuable Player in the New York Mets’ 1969 World Series victory, died at Sioux Falls, S.D., after a long fight with leukemia. He was 70.

Clendenon hit three home runs and had four RBIs in the Mets’ five-game victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He hit .274 with 159 home runs and 682 RBIs in 12 seasons in the major leagues with Pittsburgh, Montreal, the Mets and St. Louis.

After retiring from baseball in 1972, Clendenon earned a law degree and moved to Sioux Falls in 1987.

Clearing the bases

Cleveland minor league pitcher Jason Stanford was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, Cleveland police said. The Indians released a statement that said the arrest took place downtown early Saturday. … The Florida Marlins find themselves short-handed at shortstop heading into the last two weeks of the playoff chase. Damion Easley is likely to miss the rest of the regular season with a severe sprain in his right ankle suffered Friday. He was filling in for Alex Gonzalez, sidelined two weeks ago by a bone bruise (throwing elbow) that will likely leave him unavailable down the stretch.