Machado called for automatic strike in MLB's 1st clock violation

It took less than an inning for Major League Baseball to witness its first pitch clock transgression.

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado made history as the first violator: Umpires called an automatic strike on the All-Star when he failed to fully step into the box before the pitch clock reached eight seconds during his first-inning at-bat against Seattle Mariners ace Robbie Ray.

Starting with an 0-1 count didn't seem to rattle Machado, who recovered to lace a single later in the at-bat.

"I'm gonna have to make a big adjustment. I might be (down) 0-1 a lot this year," Machado quipped to Padres broadcaster Bob Scanlan after his day ended. "It's super fast."

The new pitch clock rules give pitchers 15 seconds to throw a pitch (20 seconds with runners on base), but it also forces hitters to be in the box and fully engaged with the pitcher by the eight-second mark. Machado was digging in the box but still got called because he wasn't ready to go as the countdown hit eight.

"I was looking up, so (the umpire) told me, 'Hey, you got two seconds, you got two seconds,'" the six-time All-Star said. "So I stepped in, and as soon as I looked at him, bang."

Ray, who threw two innings for Seattle in his Cactus League debut, ultimately gave the pitch clock a positive review.

"I could actually hear the umpire being like, 'Hey, you need to hurry up, hurry up,'" the southpaw told Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. "So it's pretty interesting. ... I feel like (the clock) kind of actually helped me like really gauge how much time you really do have."

Padres starter Nick Martinez called his first try at pitching with the clock "fun." However, he added that he missed being able to slow the game down a bit at times.

Texas Rangers pitcher John King was assessed the first automatic ball after taking too long to throw a pitch to Kansas City's Vinnie Pasquantino, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. King then threw three straight balls to walk Pasquantino.