Major League Baseball roundup

[April 20, 2016]  April 19 (The Sports Xchange) - Former major league pitcher Milt Pappas, who won 209 games and famously missed a perfect game by one pitch in 1972 before finishing with a no-hitter, died Tuesday morning in Beecher, Ill. He was 76.

Pappas' wife, Judi, confirmed that he died of natural causes in the northern Illinois town.

Pappas spent 17 years in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs.

The near-perfect game came near the end of his career in 1972 with the Cubs.

Pappas was one pitch from perfection with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when he walked San Diego Padres pinch-hitter Larry Stahl on a disputed call by umpire Bruce Froemming. The 6-foot-3 right-hander went on to finish the no-hitter and finish the season with a 17-7 record.

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Adam LaRoche revisited his departure from the Chicago White Sox and reiterated that he doesn't regret quitting the team after being told his 14-year-old son couldn't be in the clubhouse as often as the previous season.

LaRoche walked away from a $13 million salary after the dispute with executive vice president Kenny Williams, who requested that Drake LaRoche spend less time around the team.

"I haven't lost an ounce of sleep," LaRoche told ABC. "I mean, I have zero regrets."

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Jacob deGrom passed the test of a simulated game in Florida and is likely to rejoin the starting rotation of the New York Mets this weekend.

The Mets placed deGrom on Major League Baseball's family medical emergency list Saturday due to an issue regarding his baby.

The 27-year-old deGrom left the team to be with his wife Stacey in Florida during the birth of Jaxon Anthony deGrom on Monday night and remained with the family since the complications developed. The improvement in his son's health cleared deGrom to get back to baseball.

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Cincinnati Reds right-hander Alfredo Simon was scratched from Tuesday's start against the Colorado Rockies due to biceps tendinitis.

Simon is expected to miss only one start and then make his turn in the rotation.

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Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right intercostal strain, an injury he suffered in Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Minnesota made the move retroactive to April 18 and recalled infielder Jorge Polanco from Triple-A Rochester. Polanco has a career major league batting average of .313 (5-for-16) with a double, a triple, four RBI and three runs scored in nine games. (Editing by Frank Pingue)

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