Miami: A pair of Major League Baseball games scheduled to be played in Puerto Rico later this month will be relocated to Miami due to growing concerns among players over the Zika virus in the area.
The games between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins originally scheduled to be held in San Juan on May 30-31 have been relocated to Marlins Park, MLB and the Players Association said in a joint statement on Friday.
MLB and the Players Association did everything possible to address the concerns and keep the games in Puerto Rico, but despite extensive efforts they were unable to develop a workable solution, according to the statement.
Players and staff of both clubs received briefings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the risks associated with the Zika virus, and Manfred decided that nobody should be forced to travel to Puerto Rico.
Zika, a virus known to cause the birth defect microcephaly, first began spreading in Puerto Rico in December and there are now nearly 700 confirmed cases of Zika on the Caribbean island.
David Ortiz went wild and got ejected after being called out on strikes with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, then Yankees closer Andrew Miller fanned Hanley Ramirez to preserve New York’s 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
Aaron Hicks hit a tiebreaking home run off Rick Porcello (5-1) leading off the seventh inning.
The game turned tense and testy in the ninth. The Red Sox loaded the bases with three singles off Miller, bringing up Ortiz, who had homered earlier.
Ortiz took a 3-1 breaking ball that catcher Brian McCann awkwardly gloved, and plate umpire Ron Kulpa called it a strike. Big Papi argued and manager John Farrell quickly came from the dugout to protect his slugger and got tossed.
