AROUND THE HORN
■ Blue Jays: OF George Springer will play in an intrasquad game Friday, the next step on his return from two strained muscles that have delayed his Blue Jays debut. Springer signed a team-record six-year, $150 million deal with the Blue Jays this offseason but missed time in spring training, first because of a strained oblique and later because of a right quadriceps strain. The World Series MVP when the Astros won their first title in 2017, Springer could return in this weekend’s road series against the Rays, according to GM Ross Atkins. “He’s excited, we’re exceptionally excited,” Atkins said Thursday. “Tomorrow is a great day for George. He’s doing all baseball activity, he’s extremely confident and strong. Now it’s just a matter of recovery and putting him in a position to play nine innings and feel like he can face major league pitching. Tomorrow will be a very important day to determine what that next step is and what’s best for him.”
■ Pirates: Phillip Evans kept Akil Baddoo’s drive to left in the park in the seventh to help the Pirates escape a jam, and they scored twice in the eighth to beat the host Tigers 4-2. Colin Moran and Erik González hit RBI singles with two outs in the eighth. With the score tied at 2, Baddoo nearly put the Tigers ahead, but Evans reached above the fence, and the ball bounced off his glove and back into the field of play. Baddoo wound up with a double, and he didn’t end up scoring. The Tigers have lost six of seven . ... Pirates 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes aggravated his left wrist injury while taking batting practice, delaying his return. Hayes, 24, initially injured the wrist while taking a swing in a loss to the Cubs on April 3. Manager Derek Shelton declined to put a timetable on how much longer Hayes could be out. The Pirates promoted two-time All-Star Todd Frazier, 35, from the team’s alternate site to provide depth at both corner infield spots.
■ Diamondbacks, Reds: David Peralta hit a threerun triple in a six-run 10th to finish with five hits and a career-best seven RBIs, and the Diamondbacks overcame six Reds home runs to claim a 14-11 road win. Carson Kelly followed Peralta with a two-run HR as the D’backs opened a 14-8 lead. The D’backs hung on in the bottom half to complete a three-game sweep that extended their winning streak to four. The Reds lost their fourth straight. Peralta tied his career high with his third five-hit game. He hit a two-run HR in the fifth, had three singles and finished a double short of the cycle. The Reds’ Jesse Winker had his third career two-HR game, Nick Castellanos hit his sixth HR of the season as he returned from a two-game suspension and Eugenio Suárez, Joey Votto and Jonathan India also went deep.
■ Mets: All-Star slugger Pete Alonso committed to this year’s Home Run Derby at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Alonso won the contest the last time it wa held, in 2019, edging then-fellow rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at Progressive Field in Cleveland for his first derby title. “I’m all-in,” Alonso said Thursday. “I’m ready. If I get invited, I’d love to do it. I’d love to defend my title.” Last year’s Home Run Derby was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 edition will take place July 12 at Coors Field in Denver after MLB moved the All-Star Game and related festivities from Atlanta due to the state’s new voting restrictions.