Bobby Valentine sat in the visiting manager’s office at Yankee Stadium on Friday raising his eyebrows and shaking his head as he prepared to manage in New York for the first time since Sept. 29, 2002, two days before the Mets fired him. He chuckled at the symmetry Friday’s game presented, with his first game back coming on the night of the home debut of Ichiro...

Alex Rodriguez is wearing a cast on his left hand and is expected to miss at least a month after being struck by a pitch from Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. So when his replacement at third base Friday, Eric Chavez, was hit in the right leg and collapsed on the dirt in front of home plate, it was an uneasy feeling for the Yankees. Chavez was...

Rasmus, Edwin Encarnacion and Yunel Escobar all homered off Detroit newcomer Anibal Sanchez, leading the Toronto Blue Jays over the Tigers 5-1 Saturday. Rasmus went 2 for 3 with three RBIs in his first game this season as Toronto’s DH, adjusting quickly to not playing the outfield. “It definitely was weird in the beginning,”...

Kelly wound up on the losing end again Saturday after pinch hitter Reed Johnson drove in the go-ahead with a bunt single in the seventh inning, giving the Chicago Cubs a 3-2 victory and ending the Cardinals’ four-game winning streak. Despite the loss, Kelly (1-4) recorded his seventh straight quality start. After giving up a two-run triple to...

The score was 3-3 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Martin was fully aware that in Tyler Moore, the Nationals had a fast threat on first base. Adam LaRoche was also making his way to the plate to pinch-hit, another puzzle to solve on the fly. A single to the outfield would probably mean a loss and a long, hot wasted afternoon. Martin had...

“The fact that I have a name and I’m not just ‘Baseball Pitcher,’ I guess that’s a big deal for actors, to get that,” said Nitkowski, a former major league reliever. “It’s not my profession, so I didn’t get too worked up about it, but people go to battle to get those roles.” Nitkowski can relate to that. Since he last pitched in the...

Tim Cahill, the third designated player signed by the Red Bulls, is also the first signed by General Manager Erik Soler to cost the club a transfer fee. “Yes, the first transfer fee in my time,” Soler said Friday in a telephone interview from Reykjavik, Iceland, where he was on a scouting trip. “Look, I’m five years into the M.L.S. picture and I...

Cancellara hit the deck with about 15 km to go in the race, leaving him with a bloodied arm and ruining his chances of claiming a medal. A Swiss cycling team spokeswoman said Cancellara was bruised but had not suffered any broken bones and a decision on whether the 31-year-old would ride in Wednesday’s time trial would be made in the coming days. ...