AROUND THE HORN
Astros: Zack Greinke threw six innings, Abraham Toro homered and the Astros sent the Rangers to their 12th straight loss, beating the Rangers 3-1 Sunday. The Rangers’ skid is tied for second-longest in team history and the first time they’ve dropped a dozen in a row since 1982. The Texas record is 15 straight losses in September 1972, under manager Ted Williams in the team’s first season after moving from Washington.
Angels: Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 35th home run and the Angels beat the Twins 6-2 Sunday. Ohtani, who had two hits, lasered a line drive into the right-field seats for a solo homer in the sixth inning that broke a 2-all tie. The Angels overcame an early two-run deficit to take three of four games in the series. “He just always responds. He likes the spotlight. He likes the big moments,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. Ohtani had four hits in his previous 17 at bats. Max Stassi had three hits and drove in three runs for the Angels. Max Kepler and Brent Rooker led off with back-to-back home runs for the Twins, now a season-worst 16 games under .500. Rooker’s 436-foot drive went to the third deck in left field for a 2-0 lead.
Royals: Jorge Soler hit two home runs, Salvador Perez added a three-run blast and Daniel Lynch pitched eight scoreless innings for his first major league win as the Royals beat the Tigers 6-1 Sunday. The Royals grabbed a 4-0 first-inning lead as Perez hit his team-leading 23rd home run and Soler followed with his 11th for the Royals, who have won fifth straight games. It was the second straight game Perez has hit a three-run homer. Soler hit his second home run of the day in the third inning, his fourth blast in five games. Jarrod Dyson collected an
RBI single in the seventh. The Royals finished the afternoon with eight hits and only two left on base in sweeping the three-game series.
Indians: Indians manager Terry Francona missed his second straight game Sunday with a head cold. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Francona is “still under the weather” and the team’s medical staff felt he would benefit from another day resting at home. He will get more time to recover with the Indians off Monday. “More than anything we want to make sure it doesn’t continue to get worse, and we’re trying to minimize the chance that it spreads,” Antonetti said. “He’s still not feeling great, but hopefully he turns the corner soon.” Antonetti said Francona, who is in his ninth season with Cleveland, had a negative COVID-19 test. Several of the Indians players were dealing with congestion and other cold symptoms when they returned from a recent road trip. The 62-yearold Francona also missed Saturday’s 8-2 loss to the Rays.
Dodgers: Dodgers placed All-star right fielder Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list Sunday with right hip inflammation. Betts’ IL move is retroactive to Thursday and was made just before the start of Sunday’s game against the Rockies. He last started on July 17 at Colorado and last appeared in a game Monday when he made a pinch-hit appearance against the Giants. The Dodgers had been avoiding an IL move for Betts, initially projecting him to return on Tuesday for the start of a three-game road series against the Giants.
Giants: Lamonte Wade Jr. homered twice and Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada also went deep and the Giants avoided a threegame sweep, beating the Pirates 6-1 on Sunday.