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NEW YORK (AP) — The most-heard sound at major league ballparks this year was “Strike three!”A whiff of offense would be nice rather than all those nights filled with nonstop whiffs.Strikeouts will exceed hits over a full season for the first time in major league history. The overall batting average has dropped to its lowest level since 1972 Matt Holliday Jersey , the year before the designated hitter. Lefty hitters — facing smothering defensive shifts — have fared even worse, with their lowest average since 1968, before the pitcher’s mound was lowered.Starters throw fewer pitches and hard-throwing relievers are changed more frequently. The game has transformed at a dizzying pace.“We need to thoughtfully review the trends,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday.Manfred looks ahead to a postseason featuring 20-year-old Atlanta star Ronald Acuna Jr., Boston, the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs and possibly Los Angeles Dodgers, too.But much of the offseason will be spent analyzing historic changes.There were 40,196 strikeouts and 40,098 hits through Wednesday, and Ks exceeded hits over a full month for the first time in April, then again in June and September. Before this year, the previous low differential for a full month was in April 2017, when there were 138 more hits than strikeouts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Strikeouts have set a record for the 11th consecutive season, surpassing last year’s 40,104.The .248 big league batting average is down seven percentage points from last year and a Steroids Era high of .271 in 1999, part of an all-or-nothing approach at the plate. And the .244 average for left-handed hitters is the lowest since .242 in 1968, according to Elias, diminished by defensive shifts placing three infielders on the right side.No wonder batters swing for the fences.“Years ago, if a player had more strikeouts than hits, they didn’t get out of Class A ball,” said Dan Duquette, the Baltimore Orioles‘ executive vice president of baseball operations, who went on to suggest his solution.“Ted Williams had some good ideas: three balls and you go to first base; make home plate smaller so you don’t have to defend as much territory,” Duquette said.“It’s something to consider, because http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-austin-romine-jersey , really, it’s an entertainment business, right? That’s what the fans want to see. It’s a good place to start the discussion. Who am I to argue with the greatest hitter that ever lived?”The analytics revolution has metamorphosed this most traditional of sports. Innings per starting pitcher dropped from 5.89 in 2012 to 5.38 this year and pitches per start from 95 to 88 over the same period, according to Sports Info Solutions.Pitchers per game for both teams rose from 7.68 to 8.34 over that span, according to Major League Baseball, with average fastball velocity increasing from 91.6 mph to 92.8 mph over the past six years, according to Sports Info.“The players have been forced to adapt a lot over the last few years based on the changes that are being recommended to them, that are being guided by those not on the field. So the game has changed quite a bit,” said players’ association head Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman. “The question that I believe we all need to ask is based on where the game is, where the game appears to be going, if the current baseball fans find it appealing, if they are interested in the way the game is being played.”No big league team had fewer than 50 sacrifice bunts in 1972 and no club dropped below double digits until Texas had nine in 2005. This year, Toronto has five, Oakland six, and Boston and the Los Angeles Angels seven each.No pitcher has thrown more than two complete games. The previous low for a leader was four.James Shields with 11 in 2011 has been the only pitcher to reach double digits since Randy Johnson in 1999. The game was far different when Fernando Valenzuela had 20 in 1986; this year’s major league total is 41.“You see the bullpen earlier,” said Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez, the 2010 NL batting champion. “Back in the day, the biggest thing for a pitcher was going the distance. You don’t see a lot of complete games anymore. I feel like as a hitter, you have a better chance if you face a guy more than two or three times. Nowadays, you might face a starter twice and then get a lot of matchups: lefties on lefties, righties on righties.”Scoring at 4.45 runs per team per game is down only slightly from last year’s 4.65 and up from its recent low of 4.07 in 2014, with home runs averaging 1.15 per club per game, a decrease from last year’s 1.26 record.The “Three True Outcomes” have become the talk of dugouts, front offices and fans: walks, strikeouts and home runs.“People get locked into one type of swing Reggie Jackson Jersey , and they’re going to stick with it no matter what you do on the defensive side,” said Minnesota manager Paul Molitor, a Hall of Famer. “I think that’s why the effectiveness continues on the shift.”Manfred says changes are understandable.“I am not one to wail about the use of analytics,” he said. “You can’t stop really competitive, smart people.”MLB and the union already have been talking. Their challenge is to decide whether narrowly tailored rules changes will counter changes, such as the use of minor league options and the disabled list to expand pitching staffs from 12-13 to what in effect is 17-18 for many clubs. The sides had an agreement in the last round of bargaining to expand the active roster from 25 to 26 from the start of the season through Aug. 31 and to lower it from 40 to 28 from Sept. 1 on, but the players backed out. Most teams would have carried another reliever.“I think it would have solved an even bigger problem, which is playing games differently in the month of September,” Manfred said. “It was a trade that I was prepared to make at the time I was doing the Basic Agreement. It was a trade I’m prepared to make now.”One trend players and management like: the average time of a nine-inning game has dropped to 3:00:35 from a record 3:05:11 last year, helped by new restrictions on mound visits. Trips to the mound without a pitching change have dropped from 7.41 to 4.00.“I don’t know if that’s necessarily the criteria as much as has it adversely affected the guys on the mound?” Clark said. “And the commentary that we’ve heard is no.”__AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley and AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report. MIAMI — He was born and raised 45 minutes away from Boston’s Fenway Park. His first collegiate win was a no-hitter over Yale. And, at age 25, he has already been a first-round pick and a trade chip.He’s Sean Newcomb, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound left-hander and a key member of the Atlanta Braves rotation.On Thursday, Newcomb (10-6, 3.73 ERA) will open a four-game series at the host Miami Marlins.Article continues below ...The Braves are 13-11 when Newcomb starts this year, but his two most recent outings have been bombs, allowing 21 hits, five walks and 12 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings.Newcomb, whose average fastball is middle of the road in the majors at 93 mph, believes the key to getting back on track are his changeup and curve.“The changeup being good has been a big help,” Newcomb told The Atlanta Journal Constitution earlier this year. “It’s starting to be something to keep guys off my fastball.”Since making his major league debut last year, Newcomb is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts against the Marlins. So, perhaps pitching against Miami can revive Newcomb, who was brilliant in May (5-0, 1.54 ERA). He was also strong in June (2-1 http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-bernie-williams-jersey , 2.67 ERA) before posting a 2-4 record since. He had a 5.06 ERA in July and owns a 7.63 ERA so far in three August starts.Newcomb on Thursday will face Marlins rookie right-hander Elieser Hernandez (2-6, 5.08 ERA).Hernandez has a 1.13 ERA in four relief appearances against the Braves, covering eight innings.But, as a starter, Hernandez is 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA.Hernandez, a 23-year-old from Venezuela, doesn’t throw as hard as Newcomb, averaging just 90.5 mph. He is much better at home (2-4, 2.43 ERA) than on the road (0-2, 10.07).August has been Hernandez’s best month so far as he has a 2.00 ERA in six relief appearances, covering nine innings.As for the lineups on Thursday, the Braves are hoping to get back catcher Kurt Suzuki, who took a pitch off his elbow on Tuesday in a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.Tyler Flowers has been starting while Suzuki is out, and the Braves have also recalled 38-year-old veteran catcher Chris Stewart from Triple-A Gwinnett.Atlanta also is without its closer, Arodys Vizcaino, who has 29 saves over the past two years but is on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. He is expected to return next month.Miami has injury issues of its own. Center fielder Lewis Brinson (hip), third baseman Martin Prado (quadriceps), first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper (right wrist), starting pitcher Caleb Smith (lat strain) and reliever Kyle Barraclough (back) are all out.And starting pitcher Jose Urena is on the suspension list after hitting Braves star rookie Ronald Acuna with a pitch the last time these two teams played.The Marlins are coming off a 9-3 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday. Miami infielder Miguel Rojas smashed a three-run homer as part of a five-run sixth inning.Rojas delivered his shot — which was his 10th homer of the season — on the night that his mother and other family members flew in from Venezuela.“I don’t know what it is, but it’s something coming from upstairs (God) that always give me the chance to make something special for them,” Rojas said.Pinch-hitter JT Riddle slugged a two-run homer in the eighth to pad Miami’s lead.Meanwhile, the Braves beat the host Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Wednesday night as Jonny Venters earned just his second save of the season. A.J. Minter, who has taken over as Atlanta’s closer, was given the night off as he deals with an ailing back.In addition, Acuna — a player the Marlins know well — hit his 20th homer of the season and his sixth while leading off a game. He has also hit 13 homers since the All-Star break.