What is rafael devers chewing

By JIMMY GOLEN , AP Sports Writer, Associated Press

2020/07/10 06:34

Boston Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo jokingly stretches for a foul ball by Rafael Devers in a seating area empty of fans during an intra-squad ba... Boston Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo jokingly stretches for a foul ball by Rafael Devers in a seating area empty of fans during an intra-squad baseball game at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox coach and homeplate umpire for the day, Jason Varitek, right, talks with manager Ron Roenicke, left foreground, in the dugout during ba... Boston Red Sox coach and homeplate umpire for the day, Jason Varitek, right, talks with manager Ron Roenicke, left foreground, in the dugout during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi delivers during a baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Char... Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi delivers during a baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox batter Mitch Moreland, right, jokes with Red Sox coach and home plate umpire for the day, Jason Varitek, during baseball practice at Fe... Boston Red Sox batter Mitch Moreland, right, jokes with Red Sox coach and home plate umpire for the day, Jason Varitek, during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers heads to the plate for an at-bat during an intra-squad game at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Ph... Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers heads to the plate for an at-bat during an intra-squad game at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox play an intra-squad baseball game at a Fenway Park empty of fans on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) Boston Red Sox play an intra-squad baseball game at a Fenway Park empty of fans on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts dashes down the first base line in front of empty stands on his ground out during an intra-squad baseball game at Fen... Boston Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts dashes down the first base line in front of empty stands on his ground out during an intra-squad baseball game at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. At right is catcher Christian Vazquez. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox grounds crew drags the infield between the innings of an intra-squad baseball game at a Fenway Park empty of fans on Thursday, July 9, ... Boston Red Sox grounds crew drags the infield between the innings of an intra-squad baseball game at a Fenway Park empty of fans on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers heads to the dugout after hitting a double during an intra-squad baseball game at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 20... Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers heads to the dugout after hitting a double during an intra-squad baseball game at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Mazza delivers during a baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Mazza delivers during a baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke calls towards home plate during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/C... Boston Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke calls towards home plate during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez pumps his arms as he walks through the empty stands during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, Jul... Boston Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez pumps his arms as he walks through the empty stands during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox baseball left fielder Andrew Benintendi, right, follows center fielder Kevin Pillar, center, as the head to batting practice at Fenway ... Boston Red Sox baseball left fielder Andrew Benintendi, right, follows center fielder Kevin Pillar, center, as the head to batting practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman catches a tin of chewing tobacco tossed from the player's lockerooms, which are now in the upper deck luxury bo... Boston Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman catches a tin of chewing tobacco tossed from the player's lockerooms, which are now in the upper deck luxury booths due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, during baseball practice at Fenway Park on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers lofted a fly ball to left, and John Andreoli took off in pursuit.

It’s a long sprint, because Andreoli was playing center -- the only outfielder in the game at the time. The ball fell just out of the reach of his outstretched glove as Devers coasted into second base.

And then a voice echoed off the empty Fenway seats: “Out!”

Welcome to the Boston Red Sox summer camp, a reboot of the spring training that was aborted in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. With its intrasquad scrimmages of 5½ innings and automatic outs to make up for the eight (and later down to seven) fielders, it looked more like the world’s fanciest sandlot on Thursday than a major league team getting ready for the season.

“It seems like everything is just a little bit off,” manager Ron Roenicke said in a video call from one area of Fenway Park to reporters sitting in another. “I thought it was pretty good for what it was.”

A week after reporting for training camp and just 15 days before the start of the reconfigured, 60-game season, the Red Sox split up into opposing dugouts and the home team notched a 4-0 victory over the visitors.

Andreoli, a non-roster invitee who had 61 at-bats with the Orioles and Mariners last season, curled a three-run homer into the empty seats beyond the Pesky Pole. Technopop music broke out during his home run trot, replacing the sounds of cheering fans; after crossing home plate, he knocked cleats with his teammates in celebration instead of the usual, unsanitary high five.

Potential opening day starter Nathan Eovaldi pitched four innings, allowing one hit, a walk and a hit batter while striking out four. He said the players and their surroundings were sprayed with disinfectant between innings, but otherwise he was too focused on his performance to notice much that was unusual.

“It’s just so quiet while you’re out there competing,” he said. “That’s just the biggest difference to me.”

Roenicke said he wanted the pitchers to have as close to a real experience as possible, which is why he went with a full infield while leaving the outfield incomplete. And that’s why Jason Varitek, the former Red Sox catcher who is now a special assistant to Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, was dressed in full umpire’s gear and calling the game.

“I actually had to do a double take,” Roenicke said. “He was saying it’s important to get this as close as we can to a real game.”

Devers had been semi-isolating at the team’s auxiliary field at Boston College because of a possible COVID-19 exposure, but he joined his teammates at Fenway on Wednesday after testing negative three times. He had three at-bats on Thursday and did not get a hit.

“Everything is strange," Devers said, adding that he usually chews on gum and sunflower seeds during games but is trying to get used to the new ban on spitting. “That’s something that we’re not supposed to be doing, as well. Everything is really strange but obviously we have to adapt.”

Roenicke said the team will play six innings on Friday, starting at noon instead of 2 p.m. to try to beat some bad weather. The Red Sox will also be piping in noise as an experiment, like leagues in Taiwan and Korea have done, with an eye toward the fan-free regular season.

“So hopefully it won’t be quite as quiet. It is quiet today," said the 63-year-old manager, who didn’t sit in the manager’s usual spot in the dugout “because there’s too many people there.”

“I think we’re just constantly adjusting to things and trying to figure it out,” he said.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilization in Russia as the war in Ukraine reaches nearly seven months and Moscow loses ground on the battlefield. Putin also warned the West that “it's not a bluff” that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory.

The total number of reservists drafted in the partial mobilization is 300,000, officials said.

The Russian leader's televised address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia. The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes.

The referendums, which have been expected to take place since the first months of the war that began on Feb. 24, will start Friday in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

Putin accused the West in engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and noted “statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia.”

“To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of NATO countries and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal,” Putin said.

He added: “It’s not a bluff.”

Putin said he has signed a decree on the partial mobilization, which is due to start on Wednesday.

“We are talking about partial mobilization, that is, only citizens who are currently in the reserve will be subject to conscription, and above all, those who served in the armed forces have a certain military specialty and relevant experience,” Putin said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised interview Wednesday that conscripts and students won't be mobilized — only those with relevant combat and service experience will be.

He said that 5,937 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine so far. Western estimates of Russian military losses stand at tens of thousands.

Shoigu’s update on Russian losses is the third time the Russian military offered death toll numbers to the public. The last update came in late March, when the Defense Ministry claimed 1,351 Russian soldiers were killed in Ukraine.

Putin said the decision to partially mobilize was “fully adequate to the threats we face, namely to protect our homeland, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories.”

Earlier Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russian plans to stage referendums in occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine as a “noise” and thanked Ukraine’s allies for condemning the votes scheduled to start Friday.

Four Russian-controlled regions announced plans Tuesday to start voting this week to become integral parts of Russia, which could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes on the battlefield.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by Putin, said referendums that fold regions into Russia itself would make redrawn frontiers “irreversible” and enable Moscow to use “any means” to defend them.

In his nightly address Zelenskyy said there were lots of questions surrounding the announcements but stressed that they would not change Ukraine’s commitment to retake areas occupied by Russian forces.

“The situation on the front line clearly indicates that the initiative belongs to Ukraine,” he said. “Our positions do not change because of the noise or any announcements somewhere. And we enjoy the full support of our partners in this.”

The upcoming votes, in the Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions are all but certain to go Moscow’s way. But they were quickly dismissed as illegitimate by Western leaders who are backing Kyiv with military and other support that has helped its forces seize momentum on battlefields in the east and south.

“I thank all friends and partners of Ukraine for today’s mass principled firm condemnation of Russia’s attempts to stage new sham referenda,” Zelenskyy said.

In another signal that Russia is digging in for a protracted and possibly ramped-up conflict, the Kremlin-controlled lower of house of parliament voted Tuesday to toughen laws against desertion, surrender and looting by Russian troops. Lawmakers also voted to introduce possible 10-year prison terms for soldiers refusing to fight.

If approved, as expected, by the upper house and then signed by Putin, the legislation would strengthen commanders’ hands against failing morale reported among soldiers.

In the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar, shelling continued around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Ukrainian energy operator Energoatom said Russian shelling again damaged infrastructure at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and briefly forced workers to start two diesel generators for emergency power to the cooling pumps for one of the reactors.

Such pumps are essential for avoiding a meltdown at a nuclear facility even though all six of the plant’s reactors have been shut down. Energoatom said the generators were later switched off as main power weas restored.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a focus for concern for months because of fears that shelling could lead to a radiation leak. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shelling.