DENVER (AP) — Ryan Ritter's major league debut Friday night was cause for a family gathering. Mom, dad and all six of his younger siblings arrived at Coors Field for the special occasion.
They were treated to quite a show, too, as the newest Colorado Rockies shortstop lined a triple in the fifth inning for his first big league hit. He looked in his family's direction after sliding into third.
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Colorado Rockies' Ryan Ritter reacts after reaching third base with a triple off New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga in the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies shortstop Ryan Ritter warms up before making his Major League debut in baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies shortstop Ryan Ritter warms up before making his Major League debut in a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies' Ezequiel Tovar, right, can't beat the throw to New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“They traveled a long way so I've got to show them some love,” Ritter said after a 4-2 loss to the New York Mets. “I was so excited get this game, not over with, but play my first game and then be able to relax after.”
Ritter was brought up to fill in for banged-up shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who was placed on the 10-day injured list — retroactive to Tuesday — with a strained left oblique. The 24-year-old Ritter had his contract selected from Triple-A Albuquerque just before Colorado began a three-game series with the NL East-leading Mets.
It was part of a series of moves made by the last-place Rockies. They also released catcher Jacob Stallings and recalled catcher Braxton Fulford from Triple-A. Reliever Zach Agnos was reinstated from the bereavement list. Agnos took the loss Friday after surrendering a two-run double to pinch-hitter Francisco Lindor in the ninth.
Ritter was picked by Colorado in the fourth round of the 2022 amateur draft out of the University of Kentucky. He has batted .284 with 48 homers, 166 RBIs and 42 stolen bases over parts of four minor league seasons.
“Hitting is something that takes time. I’ve always wanted to be really great at hitting,” said Ritter, who had approximately 20 family and friends in attendance. “I always want to get better. Just like wine, the longer it (stays) in the cabinet, the better it tastes. That’s the mindset. Just as I get older, the better I’m going to get.”
Ritter was recently named the Pacific Coast League player of the month for May after hitting .381 for the Isotopes with 12 homers and 31 RBIs. That provided the perfect backdrop to deliver the news he was going to the majors.
He read aloud a letter he thought was in recognition of his award from the league.
“It ended up being congrats going to the big leagues,” said Ritter, who grew up in Illinois. “It was cool. It was a good way to do it.”
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Ritter primarily played shortstop this season for Albuquerque.
“Ryan Ritter is fantastic. It's good to see him up here,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He earned it. I'm happy for him to get his shot in the big leagues.”
Tovar, a Gold Glove winner last season, is hitting .258 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 32 games. He spent time on the injured list earlier this season with a bruised left hip.
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Colorado Rockies' Ryan Ritter reacts after reaching third base with a triple off New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga in the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies shortstop Ryan Ritter warms up before making his Major League debut in baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies shortstop Ryan Ritter warms up before making his Major League debut in a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies' Ezequiel Tovar, right, can't beat the throw to New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
