PITTSBURGH — The San Francisco Giants put third baseman Pablo Sandoval on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of a strained left foot.
Giants put 3B Sandoval
on DL with foot problem
PITTSBURGH — The San Francisco Giants put third baseman Pablo Sandoval on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of a strained left foot.
Sandoval will wear a walking boot for one week then be reevaluated. San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy was hopeful Sandoval will be ready to play when he is eligible to come off the DL on June 25.
Giants head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner disputed reports that the injury was a hairline fracture. He said that was an old injury that had showed up on the X-ray.
Sandoval is hitting .289 with eight home runs in 57 games this season. He helped the Giants sweep the Detroit Tigers last October to win their second World Series in three years by hitting three home runs in Game 1.
Infielder Nick Noonan was recalled from Triple-A Fresno to take the World Series MVP’s roster spot before the Giants played Pittsburgh. Noonan was optioned to Fresno on Saturday after spending the entire season with the Giants.
Pirates LHP Wandy
Rodriguez put on 15-day DL
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have put left-hander Wandy Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list because of tightness in his forearm, clearing the way for prized pitcher Gerrit Cole to make his major league debut.
Rodriguez left his previous start in the first inning last Wednesday at Atlanta with the injury. He was scheduled to throw off a mound Monday, but that session was canceled after he still felt discomfort from playing catch a day earlier.
Rodriguez is 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 12 starts this season.
Cole was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft from UCLA. He was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts for Indianapolis.
FB Leach cut by
Ravens in salary-cap move
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Vonta Leach was released Tuesday by the Baltimore Ravens, who failed to agree on a restructured contract with the three-time All-Pro fullback.
Leach was an integral part of a running game that helped the Ravens become champions last season. Paving the way for standout halfback Ray Rice, Leach made the Pro Bowl in each of his two seasons with Baltimore and was a key figure in the locker room.
“He played a significant role in helping us get to the AFC Championship game in 2011 and win the Super Bowl last season,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “He added to our toughness and will to win. Plus, he provided leadership.”
After negotiations between Newsome, Leach and the player’s agent reached a standstill, both sides agreed it would be best to terminate Leach’s contract. But Newsome left open the possibility that Leach could return if he fails to find an adequate suitor in the free agent market.
Baltimore began a three-day mandatory minicamp Tuesday without Leach, who ran 21 times for 67 yards and one touchdown while with the Ravens. He also had 36 catches for 212 yards.
Bengals’ Jones pleads
not guilty to assault charge
CINCINNATI — Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones pleaded not guilty Tuesday to an assault charge after police say he hit a woman at a nightclub last week, the latest in a string of legal troubles he’s had.
An attorney for Jones, 29, entered the plea a day after he was arrested and then released on his own recognizance. He attended the start of the Bengals’ training camp Tuesday and worked out with the team in the afternoon, but declined to comment.
Jones is accused of hitting a 34-year-old woman at a downtown Cincinnati nightclub Wednesday shortly before midnight. A police report lists the injury as apparently minor. Jones’ attorney, Edward Perry, declined to comment.
Surveillance video of altercation, obtained by a local radio station and verified as authentic by Cincinnati police, appears to show Jones approaching two seated women outside the club. Then, a third woman approaches Jones and appears to confront him. The grainy video shows the woman reach toward Jones’ face, but it’s unclear what she does or whether she’s holding anything in her hand.
Source: Ewing new Bobcats associate head coach
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is giving old friend Patrick Ewing another shot to continue his NBA coaching career.
The Bobcats have reached an agreement in principle with the Hall of Famer to become their new associate head coach, said a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the hire has not yet been made official.
The 50-year-old Ewing and Jordan were teammates on the 1992 USA Olympic “Dream Team” that won gold at the Barcelona Games.
Ewing was out of coaching last year after the Magic decided to let go of Stan Van Gundy and overhaul their roster while embarking on a major rebuilding project following the 2011-12 season.
Chad Johnson lawyer
seeks cut in 30-day jail term
MIAMI — The backside pat former NFL star Chad Johnson gave his lawyer in court was not meant as disrespect to a judge and certainly wasn’t something that warrants a 30-day jail sentence, the attorney said Tuesday in a motion seeking another chance.
Adam Swickle asked Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh to reconsider the sentence she imposed Monday. Johnson had reached a deal with prosecutors for community service and counseling to resolve a probation violation from his no-contest plea last year to battery on his then-wife, TV star Evelyn Lozada.
McHugh, just elected last August to her first term on the bench, seemed poised to approve the plea deal until Johnson’s backside pat of Swickle triggered a wave of laughter in the court. The judge then angrily said she wouldn’t sign off and tossed the six-time Pro Bowler formerly known as Chad Ochocinco in jail.
Cubs suspend Triple-A
INF Stewart after tweets
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs suspended Triple-A infielder Ian Stewart on Tuesday without pay for an indefinite period following his critical comments about the organization.
Stewart took to Twitter early Tuesday morning to vent his frustrations. He has played the entire season for Iowa, the Cubs’ top minor league affiliate. He is due to make $2 million this year.
He tweeted: “there (sic) going to let me Rott (sic) in AAA all season then non tender me after.”
Stewart also put the blame on Cubs manager Dale Sveum, writing: “I think dale Doesn’t like me and He’s running the show.”
Stewart has spent parts of the last seven years in the majors and is a career .232 hitter. He is hitting .164 with four home runs in 39 games with Iowa, and has committed six errors at third base.
Monfils beats Raonic
on grass in Germany
HALLE, Germany — Gael Monfils defeated fifth-seeded Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open.
Mirza Basic, a lucky loser playing his first main-draw match on the ATP Tour, stunned seventh-seeded Jerzy Janowicz 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (5).
The 21-year-old Bosnian reached a match point with a drop volley. He won the match when Janowicz reached another drop shot but sent it back long. Basic played because Philipp Petzschner withdrew with a shoulder injury.
In other first-round matches, sixth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber cruised past Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-1, Ernests Gulbis beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, Leonardo Mayer defeated wild card Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (4), 6-4 and Jurgen Melzer outlasted qualifier Riccardo Ghedin 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4.
Barthel advances to
third round at Aegon Classic
BIRMINGHAM, England — Sixth-seeded Mona Barthel of Germany advanced to the third round of the Aegon Classic on Tuesday with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Serbia’s Vesna Dolonc.
In other second-round matches, fourth-seeded Tamira Paszek of Austria lost to American Alison Riske, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, and eight-seeded Urszula Radwanska of Poland fell to Croatia’s Donna Vekic, 6-3, 6-2.
Also, 15th-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy got past Georgia’s Anna Tatishvili, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), and Madison Keys defeated fellow American Jamie Hampton, 2-6, 6-3 , 7-6 (3).
Ninth-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, 12th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France, American Maria Sanchez, Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, and Britain’s Johanna Konta and Heather Watson won their first-round matches.
Querrey earns 200th
victory at Queen’s Club
LONDON — American Sam Querrey earned his 200th career singles victory by edging Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (11), 5-7, 7-6 (5) in a rain-interrupted match at the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament Tuesday.
The sixth-seeded Querrey saved a match point in the third set before winning the second-round contest, which had four rain delays and took more than five hours to complete.
Bedene fell hard while hitting a cross-court forehand winner to take the second-set tiebreaker. He received medical attention but was not injured.
With no breaks of serve in the final set, Querrey saved a match point at 6-5 before winning the tiebreaker.
From wire sources