Major League Baseball Roundup
The Baltimore Orioles decided to start right-hander Bud Norris for Game Three of the American League Divisional Series on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers instead of righty Miguel Gonzalez.
Baltimore planned to start Gonzalez, but announced Saturday that it will instead go with Norris. It is not clear why the club made the change.
Norris, 29, was 15-8 with a 3.65 earned run average in 165 1/3 innings this regular season. He had a 2.08 ERA in five September starts. Sunday will mark Norris' first career postseason start.
Gonzalez, 30, was 10-9 with a 3.23 ERA in 159 innings this season. That includes a 2.09 ERA in his last 13 starts. However, he allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings in his only start against the Tigers. He allowed just one run over seven innings in his only career postseason start in 2012.
The Orioles lead the best-of-five series 2-0 as it shifts to Detroit.
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The scheduled starters for Game Three on Monday in San Francisco are Washington Nationals right-handerDoug Fister (16-6, 2.41 in the regular season) against Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner (18-10, 2.98), who shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates in the wild-card game on Wednesday.
The Giants set a MLB record with their ninth postseason win in a row with a 3-2 win over the Nationals in Game One on Friday.
"It has been a group of different guys that found a way to get it done. The streak is great. There is so much baseball ahead of us," said manager Bruce Bochy.
The Giants outscored their opponents 47-9 in that stretch with five shutouts.
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Wally Backman will not join the New York Mets' coaching staff next season, according to the Bergen Record.
Backman, a former Met and current manager of the club's Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, has been speculated to be promoted. Despite the Mets reassigning hitting coach Lamar Johnson and assistant hitting coach Luis Natera earlier this week, Backman reportedly will not join the coaching staff in 2015.
Instead, the club offered Backman the chance to manage the Las Vegas 51s next season. However, it is not clear if he will return.