AROUND THE HORN
■ Cardinals: ESPN first reported that the Cardinals, who haven’t played since July 30 and had another Cardinals staffer test positive for COVID-19, will return to action Saturday with a doubleheader against the White Sox in Chicago. As a precaution, the team is asking all players to drive rental cars individually from St. Louis to Chicago. Before the most recent positive test, the Cardinals had two straight days of negative test results. The Cardinals have now had 10 players and eight staff members test positive for the coronavirus.
■ Cubs: Yu Darvish took a no-hitter into the seventh, and the major league-leading Cubs beat the visiting Brewers 4-2. Darvish allowed just one hit — Justin Smoak’s towering solo HR to right with one out in the seventh on his 98th pitch — before being relieved by Casey Sadler to start the eighth. The 33-year-old right-hander from Japan struck out 11 and threw 104 pitches. Kyle Schwarber hit a solo HR in the second as the Cubs improved to 13-3 for the first time since 1907. Javier Baez, Ian Happ and David Bote each had an RBI. Kris Bryant sat out the victory with a sore left wrist and ring finger. Manager David Ross said he made the move out of “an abundance of caution.”
■ Rays: Hunter Renfroe hit two HRs and drove in three runs, Mike Zunino belted a three-run shot over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park and the surging Rays beat the Red Sox 17-5 to complete a fourgame series sweep. It was the sixth straight win for the Rays (12-8), who posted their eighth consecutive win in Boston. The Red Sox lost their fourth straight.
■ Mets, Nationals: Tomas Nido had his first two-HR game, hitting a two-run shot in the fourth and a grand slam in the fifth to lead the Mets to an 8-2 win over the visiting Nationals and a split of the four-game series. Nido, who entered Thursday with five HRs and 26 RBIs over 93 games in parts of four big league seasons, is just the fifth catcher in Mets history to hit at least two HRs and collect at least six RBIs in a game. Mets OF Jeff McNeil was carted off after crashing into the wall while robbing Asdrubal Cabrera of a two-run extra-base hit to end the first. Juan Soto capped a sensational series for the Nats by homering in the sixth. He was 7-for-15 with four HRs and eight RBIs in the four-game set. Nats RHP Stephen Strasburg was ejected from the stands for arguing balls and strikes.
■ MLB: All major league players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear a patch Sunday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues. The logo on the patch will be a derivative of the official logo created by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The logo also will be featured on base jewels and lineup cards. Many MLB clubs have also planned ballpark and digital activities throughout the season, including Negro Leagues tribute games with throwback uniforms, educational panels and documentary film screenings, and auctions to support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum or related organizations.