AROUND THE HORN
Phillies: Bryce Harper had three hits against his old team, and the Phillies beat the skidding Nationals 5-3 Friday in a doubleheader opener for their 13th win in 15 games. Nick Castellanos drove in two runs and scored another for the Phillies, who improved to 12-2 under interim manager Rob Thomson. The Phillies’ 10-game winning streak against the Nationals is its longest against the franchise since 10 in a row against 1991 Montreal Expos.
Angels: Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo surgery for a right wrist injury and miss the rest of the season, the team announced Friday. Rendon reaggravated a previous injury to the wrist during Tuesday’s game against the Dodgers and has not played since. Rendon, 32, has played in 155 of the Angels’ 384 games during the first three seasons of the $245 million, sevenyear deal he signed before the 2020 season. Interim manager Phil Nevin said Thursday before the Angels began a three-game series at Seattle that Rendon seemed to be doing better and might be available to pinch-hit. Instead, he’ll have another season cut short by injury. Rendon batted .228 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 45 games this season. Last year, he was limited to 58 games and hit .240 with nine homers and 34 RBIs. His best season came in 2019 with the Nats when he was an All-Star and led the NL with 126 RBIs.
Cubs: The Cubs became the first team in 23 years to stop a losing streak of 10 or more game while ending an opponent’s winning streak of at least 10 games, beating the Braves 1-0 Friday to halt the Braves’ 14-game run. Rookie Christoper Morel hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, helping the Cubs stop a 10-game slide, their longest since 12 straight losses from last Aug. 5-16. The Braves’ 14 consecutive wins were the most for the Braves since their post-1900 record of 15 from April 16 to May 2, 2000. A pair of double-digit streaks had not ended in the same game since the Phillies beat the Astros on Sept. 15, 1999, ending the Phillies’ skid at 11 and the Brewers’ winning streak at 12. The Cubs had not won a game 1-0 since beating the Reds on May 28 last season.
Mets: Mets pitcher Tylor Megill won’t throw for four weeks because of a strained right shoulder while infielder Eduardo Escobar rejoined the team Friday after having hospital tests for an unspecified “non-workplace event.” Megill was put on the injured list for the second time this season, a day after he started against the Brewers. The NL East leaders already had aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer out with injuries.Mets manager Buck Showalter said Escobar was available off the bench for the series opener against the Marlins and likely would be back in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game. “He’s had quite the night — not working on a whole lot of rest, but finally got through with all the testing,” Showalter said. As he did Thursday, when he cited privacy laws, Showalter said he couldn’t discuss the symptoms that sent Escobar to the hospital with or any potential diagnosis. There were multiple reports that Escobar had issues with his vision and dizziness. Showalter said he was in constant contact with team trainers throughout Thursday night’s game against the Brewers before he exchanged texts with Escobar during the overnight hours.