Stroman commits MLB’s first pitch-clock violation

Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman was the first man to break the new rule for pitch-clock in the third innings in Thursday’s opening game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

With no outs, rookie Brice Turang on second base and Christian Yelich at the plate, plate umpire Ron Kulpa called the violation on Stroman at Wrigley Field. Kulpa pointed to his wrist in announcing the call, and the automatic ball made it a 2-2 count against Yelich.

Several more violations followed on the first day of regular season games since MLB introduced a new set of rules for this season, including a timer against time-wasting.

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J.D. Davis from San Francisco Giants became the first hitter penalized for a timer violation in the ninth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. Davis took too long getting into the box to begin an at-bat against Ron Marinaccio, prompting plate umpire Laz Diaz to penalize him with an automatic strike. Davis went on to strike out.

A few minutes later, Atlanta Braves reliever Collin McHugh put his arms out wide after being called for a violation by umpire Dan Bellino in the eighth inning against Washington. That put batter Jeimer Candelario ahead 1-0, and McHugh followed up with three more balls.

MLB introduced the pitch clock this season to speed the pace of play. Players have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds when they are alone and 20 seconds if there is a baserunner. Batters must be in the box and aware of the pitcher with at least eight seconds on the clock.