AROUND THE HORN

■ Phillies: Bryce Harper was the DH for the Phillies’ game Monday game against the Nationals, a day after leaving a game with lower back stiffness. Harper exited Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays after he struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh. The Phillies OF took a slow walk in the dugout toward the clubhouse and signaled to manager Joe Girardi he was done for the day. Phillies manager Joe Girardi said he could also use Harper as the DH in one of the two games of Tuesday’s doubleheader. “Hopefully this will kind of refresh him,” Girardi said before Monday’s game. “We’re just in a brutal part of the schedule and he just had some back tightness.” Harper, the 2015 NL MVP while with the Nationals, is in the second year of a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies. He entered the game with 11 HRs and 28 RBIs and is batting .260 in 51 games. He leads the league with 41 walks.

■ Blue Jays: Closer Ken Giles will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, likely causing him to miss all of 2021 and impacting the deal he will receive as a free agent this offseason. Giles, who turned 30 on Sunday, is 0-0 with a 9.82 ERA and one save in four appearances this season. He left a July 26 game at the Rays because of right forearm soreness and was placed on the IL the next day. He returned with one inning against the Mets on Sept. 11, pitched one inning against the Yankees on Sept. 15, then went back on the IL the following day. Giles earned $3,555,556 as a prorated share of his $9.6 million salary this season. He was 2-3 with a 1.87 ERA in 53 games last season, saving 23 games in 24 chances.

■ Cubs: LHP Jose Quintana will be activated from the IL on Tuesday and start against the Pirates, Cubs manager David Ross announced. Quintana, 31, has been out with a lat injury after missing time to start the season with a cut on his hand. He has only thrown six innings this season between the two injuries.

■ MLB: MLB and the players’ association announced in a statement that they committed $10 million to fund programs of the new Players Alliance to improve representation of Black Americans in baseball. The Players Alliance will fund joint grants and scholarships through 2024, school and youth programs, player-led mentors, youth and young adult leagues and equipment, clinics and tournaments, Black cultural education, Black business partnerships and employment in baseball. “As the stark racial minority in all aspects of our game, The Players Alliance has given a voice and platform to our Black players, unified in our stance against systemic racism,” said former outfielder Curtis Granderson, The Players Alliance president. “We stand together for what is right and to change our game for the better. The power of our player membership, including our non Black teammates, coupled with the support of MLB and the Players Association, gives us the unique ability to create increased opportunities for the Black communities we care so much about.”