K.C.’s Cain busted by too much videotape
Lorenzo Cain was hoping that nobody saw him throw the punch.
Then the Royals outfielder learned just how many video cameras there are in big league ballparks these days.
After seeing footage that Major League Baseball has of him throwing the haymaker in a brawl with the White Sox last month, Cain dropped his appeal of a two-game suspension Sunday. Along with missing the series finale against Detroit, he will miss Tuesday’s game against Cleveland.
“I had a hearing tomorrow. Then people I spoke to said I had zero chance of winning, so get it knocked out and get back to playing baseball,” Cain said.
When asked why, he replied with a smile: “They had some really good angles.”
The Royals have played a handful of testy series, but Cain – who has been hit by pitches four times already – finally had enough in Chicago. The usually mild-mannered outfielder said even his friends and family were surprised by the way he lashed out.
“They’d never seen that side of me,” he said. “They thought I was crazy or something.”
Brewers fire Roenicke
The Milwaukee Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke.
President and general manager Doug Melvin announced the move hours after the team’s 5-3 victory over the Cubs in Chicago. A replacement will be named today.
The Brewers are a major league-worst 7-18 after a 2-13 start.
Said Melvin: “This has been a difficult start to the season, something that we certainly didn’t anticipate. Over roughly the last 100 games, we have not performed at the level that we should. It’s all about wins and losses, and after the first month of play this year we didn’t see the progress and improvement we had hoped for.”
In four-plus seasons, Roenicke was 342-331.
Close connection
Jhonatan Solano drove in his younger brother Donovan with a double in the fifth but it wasn’t enough for Miami in a 6-2 loss to the Phillies. The Solanos, both reserves, played together in a big league game for the first time, and batted back to back for the first time since they were youngsters growing up in Colombia.
“I live in a dream playing with my brother,” Jhonatan said. “But we lost the game, and that’s all that matters.”
Clearing the bases
Tampa Bay placed center fielder Desmond Jennings on the 15-day disabled list with left knee soreness. He is the 14th Tampa Bay player to go on the DL. … Oakland has recalled right-handed reliever Chad Smith from Triple-A Nashville and demoted righty Ryan Cook. … St. Louis setup man Jordan Walden has been placed on the 15-day disabled list because of an inflamed right biceps. Reliever Sam Tuivailala was recalled from Triple-A Memphis.