PHILADELPHIA (AP) ¡ª David Robertson got himself a new deal in
a new pair of pinstripes.The 33-year-old right-handed reliever and the
Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a $23
million
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two-year contact on Thursday. Robertson gets $10 million this year and $11
million in 2020, and the Phillies have a $12 million option for 2021 with a $2
million buyout.¡°The Phillies are a great organization, and they have that hunger
to get back in the postseason and they¡¯re going in the right direction,¡±
Robertson said. ¡°It¡¯s a place where I¡¯ll get a lot of opportunities to pitch in
the back end of the bullpen and I don¡¯t see any reason why we can¡¯t get in the
postseason.¡±Robertson went 8-3 with a 3.23 ERA and five saves in 69 games last
season for the New York Yankees. He left the Yankees after the 2014 season to
sign a $46 million, four-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, who traded
him to New York in July 2017.An 11-year veteran and a 2011 All-Star, Robertson
has appeared in at least 60 games in nine straight seasons. He could get
opportunities to close in Philadelphia, which hasn¡¯t made the playoffs since
2011. Seranthony Dominguez led the Phillies with 16 saves last season, and
manager Gabe Kapler likes versatility in his bullpen.¡°He¡¯s going to pitch
high-leverage innings for us,¡± Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said of
Robertson. ¡°That¡¯s what he¡¯s done very effectively and consistently for a long
time. The fact he has experience pitching the ninth inning is very appealing for
us.¡±Hector Neris led the Phillies with 26 saves in 2017 and had 11 last year.
He¡¯s also in the mix to pitch the ninth. It¡¯ll likely be determined by
matchups.Robertson has even better numbers against lefties than righties during
his career. He has held lefties to a .188 batting average and .268 on-base
percentage vs. .222 and .302 for righties.¡°I want to pitch whenever I can to
help the team win games,¡± Robertson said. ¡°If I have to pitch in the sixth,
seventh, eighth or even the
ninth
Brad Hand
Jersey , it doesn¡¯t matter to me. I just want to be in the back end of the
bullpen when the big outs need to get made.¡±Robertson represented himself in
contract negotiations for the first time. Klentak said he was impressed and
called it a ¡°unique¡± experience talking money directly with the player.¡°He was
very well prepared, he knew the market very well, he knew what was important to
him and he was able to articulate it well and that helped us get to a deal,¡±
Klentak said.Robertson spent parts of nine seasons in the majors with the
Yankees, who selected him in the 17th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He made a
pair of relief appearances against the Phillies in the 2009 World Series,
allowing a two-run single to Raul Ibanez in the eighth inning of the opener and
an RBI groundout to Carlos Ruiz in the third inning of Game 5.Robertson replaced
Mariano Rivera after he retired following the 2013 season and had 39 saves in
2014.He¡¯s 53-32 with a 2.88 ERA and 137 saves in 654 career appearances, all in
relief.¡°I had a great time playing in New York. They are an excellent
organization,¡± Robertson said, adding he spoke to Yankees general manager Brian
Cashman about returning. ¡°New York will always hold a special place in my heart.
It was just time for me to go someplace else.¡±The Phillies have been active this
offseason, acquiring shortstop Jean Segura and signing outfielder Andrew
McCutchen. They finished 80-82 last year after leading the NL East in
August.Klentak said the team had a ¡°productive¡± meeting with Manny Machado last
month.¡°I expect that the dialogue there will continue,¡± Klentak said.The team
also is scheduled to meet with Bryce Harper.____ CHICAGO (AP) ¡ª A hooking line
drive late in the Tigers-White Sox game Tuesday night suddenly turned everyone¡¯s
attention to the stands.A fan was hit in the face by a foul ball, bled profusely
before walking to the first aid station and was taken to a hospital, briefly
delaying Detroit¡¯s 8-3 win.A White Sox spokesperson said the middle-aged male
fan was transported to Rush University Medical Center for treatment.The man was
sitting in the first row on the first base side at Guaranteed Rate Field ¡ª well
beyond where the netting extends to the end of the camera box past the dugout ¡ª
when he was struck by Jeimer Candelario¡¯s foul leading off the Tigers ninth.The
game was held up for a couple minutes while he was treated at his seat. He
eventually walked away under his own
power
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escorted by stadium personnel.¡°I was scared and I hope everything is good for
him,¡± Candelario said. ¡°I think he tried to turn away from and it just moved
back and the ball hit him.¡±¡°I don¡¯t know what part of the face it hit. It¡¯s
sad,¡± he said.Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire didn¡¯t see the impact, but said he
saw Candelario¡¯s foul ball ¡°hook and then I heard everybody yell.¡±¡°That¡¯s the
scary part of the game,¡± Gardenhire said. ¡°This is very fast game and they hit
the ball very hard. That¡¯s the worst feeling in the world when you¡¯re sitting in
that dugout and see a line drive go into the stands.¡±¡°I think it hit a gentleman
and hopefully he¡¯s OK. I know it got him pretty good from what they said,¡± he
said.Mikie Mahtook hit a two-run homer and rookie Grayson Greiner drove in three
runs as Francisco Liriano won for the first time in over four months.Greiner had
a two-run double during a five-run second inning. Dawel Lugo also had a two-run
double during the burst.After being staked to an early lead, Liriano (4-9)
allowed two earned runs in five innings to earn his first victory since April
28. The 34-year-old left-hander ended his 0-8 drought that covered 16 starts and
one relief appearance. During his slide, Liriano had a 5.56 ERA.¡°I just tried to
focus and work on the things I needed to work on,¡± Liriano said. ¡°I¡¯ve been
struggling the last couple of months, but you have to put that behind you and
just come ready to pitch every five days.¡±Sandy Baez, Joe Jimenez and Alex
Wilson followed Liriano with four scoreless innings of relief.Yoan Moncada and
Ryan Cordell drove in runs for the White Sox.Lucas Giolito (10-10) entered with
a 3-0 record and 2.84 ERA in his previous four outings. He lasted just 1 1/3
innings and was charged with four earned on four hits and two walks.¡°They had
some really good at-bats and I just let the game speed up on me,¡± Giolito said.
¡°Instead of kind of being within myself, slowing it
down
Tyson Ross
Jersey , I just kind of let it speed up.¡±¡°You do that at this level and
you¡¯re going to have the kind of inning I had in the second,¡± he said.Greiner¡¯s
double to the right-center warning track with the bases loaded and none out
drove in Detroit¡¯s first two runs. Lugo¡¯s double to the left-center gap made it
4-0 and he advanced to third when center fielder Adam Engel didn¡¯t field the
ball cleanly.Lugo scored when the White Sox couldn¡¯t complete a double play on
Jim Adduci¡¯s grounder.Greiner drove in another unearned run with a single in the
third to make it 6-0 after catcher Kevan Smith dropped his popup behind the
plate.Mahtook hit his sixth homer in the eighth off Ryan Burr to make it
8-3.TRAINER¡¯S ROOMTigers: Gardenhire said RH starter Michael Fulmer, who
suffered a right shin contusion on Monday when he was hit by Daniel Palka¡¯s hard
comebacker, shouldn¡¯t miss a turn in the rotation. Fulmer left the game in the
sixth inning after being struck, but played catch on Tuesday as usual and said
he felt fine.White Sox: OF Ryan LaMarre started in left after exiting Sunday¡¯s
game with right hip soreness.UP NEXTDetroit RHP Jordan Zimmermann (6-6, 4.22)
faces White Sox rookie RHP Michael Kopech (1-0, 0.82) in the series finale on
Wednesday night. The 22-year-old Kopech, Chicago¡¯s top pitching prospect, will
make his fourth start since being recalled from Triple-A on Aug. 21.