Osuna, back from ban, gets W in Astros debut
Roberto Osuna, fresh off a 75- game suspension and making his Astros debut, earned the win on Monday night as Houston rallied on the road to beat the San Francisco Giants 3- 1.
Osuna, 23, was punished for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic- violence policy. The right- handed reliever was arrested May 8 and charged with assaulting his girlfriend in Toronto. Osuna is next due in court on September 5.
On Monday, a few boos were heard when Osuna entered the game at AT& T Park with Houston trailing 1- 0 in the eighth inning. Osuna ( 1- 0) set down the side in order, then wound up with the victory when Marwin Gonzalez hit a three- run homer in top of the ninth inning.
Hector Rondon pitched the bottom of the ninth for his 12th save.
Osuna said, according to ESPN, “It was really special coming back and feeling the mound again... the most important thing is that we won.”
Osuna began his suspension when he was on the Blue Jays’ roster. The Astros traded Ken Giles and two minor- leaguers to Toronto on July 30 to acquire Osuna, who was added to Houston’s active roster Sunday after his 75- game ban expired.
His arrival in Houston received a muted reception, with teammates such as Justin Verlander, an outspoken critic of domestic violence, saying they would wait to pass judgment. The players held a closed- door meeting with Osuna when he joined the club Sunday.
In 15 appearances for Toronto earlier this year, Osuna had no decisions and nine saves while compiling a 2.93 ERA. In four major league seasons, all with the Blue Jays until Monday, Osuna is 9- 13 with 104 saves in 124 chances plus a 2.85 ERA.
Osuna will be eligible for the postseason, as players suspended for domestic violence are eligible to play in the playoffs, unlike those banned under MLB’s policy prohibiting performance- enhancing drugs.
Yankees 7, White Sox 0
Lance Lynn pitched two- hit ball for 71/ masterful innings, and New York halted its season- high, five- game losing streak with a victory at Chicago.
Inserted into the rotation to replace a struggling Sonny Gray, Lynn ( 8- 8) produced a gem in his first start for the Yankees and first start since July 27 for Minnesota at Boston. He tied a season high with nine strikeouts and walked one.
Gleyber Torres and Neil Walker homered for the Yankees. The White Sox saw their seasonhigh, four- game winning streak stopped while getting blanked for the 10th time.
Indians 10, Twins 0
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Trevor Bauer struck out 11 and gave up just three hits over six innings, and Edwin Encarncion gave him plenty of support with a home run and four RBIs as host Cleveland cruised past Minnesota.
Yonder Alonso, Brandon Guyer and Jason Kipnis also homered for Cleveland, which won its third straight game and improved to 33- 15 against AL Central competition. Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley and Kipnis each finished with two hits.
It was the 10th double- digit strikeout game of the season for Bauer ( 11- 6), tying Boston’s Chris Sale for the American League lead in that category.
The 11 strikeouts also gave Bauer 206 for the season, making him the 11th pitcher in Cleveland history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season – and the second fastest to do it behind only 2017 AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.
Cubs 3, Royals 1
Javier Baez hit a go- ahead home run in the sixth inning, and Cole Hamels gave up one run in six frames as Chicago won at Kansas City.
Baez’s 25th home run of the season was his sixth in his past 10 games. He added an RBI double in the eighth inning for an insurance run. Baez already has a careerbest homer total, and he increased his National League- leading RBI total to 88.
Hamels ( 7- 9) outlasted a 22- minute rain delay to win for the second time in two starts with the Cubs. He gave up seven hits and a walk while striking out two. Pedro Strop pitched the ninth inning for his eighth save.
Wilmer Flores celebrated his birthday with three hits, including a pair of RBI singles, to lead host New York to a victory over Cincinnati.
The Mets won for just the third time in 10 games. The Reds have lost six of seven.
Flores, 27, is the first Mets player to have at least three hits on his birthday since Jeromy Burnitz did so on April 15, 2003. Austin Jackson and Jeff McNeil each added three hits for New York, and McNeil homered.
Mariners 4, Rangers 3 ( 12)
Ryon Healy singled home the go- ahead run with two outs in the 12th inning as Seattle defeated host Texas.
Mike Zunino went 3- for- 5 with a home run for the Mariners, who improved to 9- 1 in extra- inning games.
Sam Tuivailala ( 4- 3) got the victory with a scoreless inning of relief, and Edwin Diaz earned his major- league- leading 42nd save of the season. ( Reuters)