Gardenhire abruptly retires
With just over a week to go in the regular season, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire announced his retirement Saturday.
“It’s been wonderful here, but I also know I have to take care of myself,” said Gardenhire, 62, who was nearing the end of his third season with the Tigers. “When you come to the ballpark, and you’re stressed out all day, and your hands are shaking, that’s not fun. I’ve got grandbabies, I’ve got kids that I need to take care of, and my wife.”
Gardenhire, who has battled cancer and diabetes, recently missed a couple games because of stomach issues.
Bench coach Lloyd McClendon is taking over as manager for the rest of the season.
Gardenhire is most well-known for his time managing the Twins. He took over for longtime manager Tom Kelly and managed from 2002-14, going 1,068-1,039. The Twins won the division six times in his first nine seasons at the helm, and he was American League Manager of the Year in 2010.
Astros ace Justin Verlander will undergo Tommy John surgery and is expected to be out through the 2021 season, ending his bid to make a late return for a playoff push.
The 37-year-old right-hander threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time since he was injured in the team’s opener on July 24. He threw 50 pitches in the bullpen before throwing about 25 pitches to hitters in two simulated innings.
“In my simulated game a couple days ago, I felt something in my elbow, and after looking at my MRI and conversing with some of the best doctors in the world, we’ve determined that Tommy John surgery is my best option,” said Verlander will be a free agent after the 2021 season.
Verlander is 226-129 with a 3.33 ERA in 16 seasons. He has won two AL Cy Young awards, the 2011 AL MVP and was the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year. He has struck out 3,013 in his career.
The Brewers had two players and a staff member test positive for coronavirus at their alternate training site in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Harvick wins at Bristol
Kevin Harvick steamrolled his way into the second round of the playoffs by holding off Kyle Busch at Bristol Motor Speedway for his series-best ninth victory of the season.
Harvick denied the reigning Cup Series champion his first win of the season when he took the lead a little more than 100 laps from the finish and held off every challenge from Busch the rest of the way. Only six cars finished on the lead lap.
Track officials sold all 30,000 tickets allowed, making Bristol one of the largest sporting events since the pandemic.
The first elimination race of the playoffs knocked William Byron, Cole Custer, Ryan
Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto from title contention.
Rafael Nadal lost to Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open in Rome, his first tournament back from a seven-month layoff. Nadal is tuning up for the French Open, which starts Sept. 21. He is aiming to win a record-extending 13th title on the clay at Roland Garris.
Tadej Pogacar won the 20th stage of the Tour de France, ensuring his victory ahead of the largely ceremonial final stage Sunday. Riding in his first Tour, Pogacar, 21, becomes the youngest post-World War II winner and is the first-ever champion from Slovenia. Fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who had a 57-second lead heading into the 20th stage — a 22-mile uphill time trail — is poised to finish second.