AROUND THE HORN
Red Sox, Twins:
Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Red Sox beat the Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday afternoon in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb of Minneapolis. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo HR and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as the Red Sox won their seventh in a row after losing the first three games of the season. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018. The Twins have lost three in a row. Monday’s postponement will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader Wednesday.
Mariners: LHP James Paxton will undergo season-ending surgery on his left elbow. Paxton left his April 6 start — his first since returning to the Mariners on a 1-year, $8.5 million deal — with discomfort. Paxton received a second opinion Monday, when the need for surgery was confirmed. “It’s a blow,” manager Scott Servais said. Paxton, 32, pitched for Mariners from 2013 to 2018, going 41-26 with a 3.42 ERA. He spent the last two seasons with the Yankees, but was limited to five starts in 2020 because of a left flexor strain.
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled start against Brewers after the Cubs ace indicated he wasn’t feeling well. The team didn’t provide specifics about Hendricks’ health, saying only the move was made from “an abundance of caution.” Four Cubs were added to the COVID19 injured list over the last two days. Manager David Ross said before the game that none of his players have tested positive for the coronavirus. Though, bullpen coach Chris Young and 1B coach Craig Driver have tested positive.
Extra innings: Blue Jays OF Teoscar Hernández has tested positive for the coronavirus. He has been away from the team since Thursday and began experiencing symptoms Monday. Two other Jays missed time due to vaccination-related symptoms . ... Umpire Joe West was awarded $500,000 in damages plus interest dating to July 8 in a defamation suit against former All-Star C Paul Lo Duca. New York Supreme Court Justice John J. Kelley issued his decision Monday in a lawsuit West filed in October 2019 against Lo Duca and The Action Network. The network was dismissed from the suit last July, when Kelley granted a motion by West for a default judgment against Lo Duca. West contended that Lo Duca said during an April 2019 podcast on The Action Network that he had been ejected 15 times during his career and eight or nine had been by West. The suit claimed Lo Duca said during the podcast that when he was catching Billy Wagner during a Mets game against Phillies in 2006 or 2007, West called three straight batters out on strikes. The ump adds that Lo Duca claimed Wagner told him the reason he got the calls was the pitcher had allowed West to drive his 1957 Chevy. The suit said Lo Duca was ejected only once by West. West, 66, is MLB’s senior ump.