Wieters has 19-pitch at-bat as Cardinals split DH with Twins
ST. LOUIS » Matt Wieters hit 14 foul balls during a 19-pitch at-bat that finished with a flyout during a wild rally that sent the St. Louis Cardinals over the Minnesota Twins 6-4 Tuesday night for a doubleheader split.
Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sanó all homered, leading the Twins to a 7-3 victory over the Cardinals in the first game. Cruz also homered in the second game to tie him for the MLB lead with 15.
The Twins led 2-0 in the third inning of the nightcap before the Cards combined two singles, three walks and two hitters to score five runs.
Wieters, hit by a pitch from Randy Dobnak (6-3) earlier in the inning, came up with two outs and the bases loaded against reliever Caleb Thielbar.
Wieters quickly fell behind 0-2 before eventually working the count full. He then fouled off nine straight pitches before flying out to center.
ATHLETICS 4, ASTROS 2 » Khris Davis homered and hit an RBI double against previously unbeaten Zack Greinke, and Oakland sent Houston to its sixth straight loss in the first game of a doubleheader.
Ash from nearby wildfires fell inside the Coliseum as the A’s stretched their AL West lead over second-place Houston to 5½ games.
ROYALS 8, INDIANS 6 » Maikel Franco drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and had an RBI single in the ninth as Kansas City beat Cleveland to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer and Cam Gallagher had an RBI double for Kansas City.
NATIONALS 5, RAYS 3 » Juan Soto drove in a run in his return to the lineup and Washington used strong relief pitching to beat Tampa Bay and sweep the two-game series.
After missing five games with left elbow soreness, Juan Soto was back in the lineup as the designated hitter. He drove in a run in his first at-bat with a groundout to third in the first. Soto finished 1 for 2 with two walks and a run.
The AL East-leading Rays had won or split their past 10 series before dropping both games against the Nationals.
Padres put Hosmer on IL
SAN DIEGO » The San Diego Padres placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a broken left index finger suffered while bunting with two strikes the night before.
Manager Jayce Tingler said Hosmer won’t require surgery and his finger is in a splint.
Tingler said the recovery time could be two to three weeks, and after that it would be a “pain tolerance deal. We’ve got a lot of confidence in Hos being able to take a high level of pain.”
Budig, academic who ran AL, dies
NEW YORK » Gene Budig, the self-effacing educator and baseball fan from small-town Nebraska who became the head of three major universities and the last president of the American League, died Tuesday. He was 81.
His death was announced by the commissioner’s office and the Charleston RiverDogs, a minor league team he co-owned. No cause was given. He had been in hospice in South Carolina.
Budig succeeded Bobby Brown as AL president in 1994 and augmented his staff with Larry Doby, the first Black player in the AL. Budig held the job until baseball owners abolished league presidents under a reorganization urged by Selig in 2000.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was among those skeptical of Budig’s credentials. Incensed by a suspension imposed on pitcher Mike Stanton following a brawl between the Yankees and Orioles in 1998, Steinbrenner thundered about Budig: “I’m not sure when the last time he wore a jockstrap was.”
Brewers release Smoak
DETROIT » The Milwaukee Brewers released first baseman Justin Smoak on Tuesday after designating him for assignment last week.
Smoak hit .186 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in 33 games for the Brewers. Milwaukee claimed first baseman Daniel Vogelbach off waivers last week. The Brewers entered Tuesday’s game at Detroit trailing the final playoff spot in the National League by 1½ games.