American League notes
AL EAST Baltimore Orioles
To help their depleted rotation, the Orioles claimed RHP
Jorge Lopez off waivers from the Kansas City Royals and added him to the 60-man player pool. Lopez likely will be used to start and relieve.
The Orioles had been without ace LHP John Means (bereavement list) and also lost RHP
Kohl Stewart (opted out), LHP Ty Blach (Tommy John elbow surgery) and RHP Hector Velazquez (traded to the Houston Astros on July 29).
❚ When Pat Valaika and Pedro Severino hit back-to-back pinch-hit home runs Aug. 8, it made the Orioles the first team to do that since the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 3, 2018. It was the third time the Orioles have accomplished the feat.
Boston Red Sox
It’s not easy trying to replace a former Most Valuable Player, as RF Alex Verdugo is learning.
Verdugo is the key return piece in the trade that sent OF Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason. On Aug. 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays, he showed why by hitting two home runs and robbing a potential home run with a leaping catch in the ninth inning.
“I’m going out there and playing right field. I’m playing my game — I don’t think about Mookie,” Verdugo said. “I think he’s a great player, he did a lot for Boston, he’s going to do a lot for the Dodgers. I think about me being here and what I’m going to do and what I’m going to bring to this team.”
❚ Coming into the week, the Red Sox had been outscored in the first two innings 22-9.
New York Yankees
With Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list after straining his left hamstring, manager
Aaron Boone said he plans to “get a little creative” with the designated hitter spot.
Mike Ford served as the DH on Aug. 9, and Aaron Judge also has DH’ed this season. Keeping Stanton healthy will be a priority, too — he also strained his right calf in spring training after missing almost all of last season.
“We’ll continue to try (to) help him avoid these situations moving forward,” Boone said. “That’s going to be a process . ... There’s no doubt that I feel like physically, he’s in a much better place (than in 2019).”
❚ In the second game of the Aug. 8 doubleheader, Erik
Kratz became the second-oldest player (40 years, 54 days) to start at catcher for the Yankees. The oldest: Deacon McGuire (42 years, 321 days) in 1906.
Tampa Bay Rays
Winning three of four games against the New York Yankees over the weekend was an important step for the Rays.
They went 7-12 against the Yankees last season, the fifth consecutive year they lost the season series, and were outscored 96-56. Against all other opponents last season, the Rays were 89-54 (.644) with a plus-153 run differential.
“We know we can compete with anybody out there when we’re going well,” OF Austin
Meadows said. “We still have a decent amount of games.”
It was their first four-game series win vs. the Yankees since May 2015. The two teams meet six more times this season, all at Yankee Stadium.
❚ The Rays entered the week having scored multiple runs in an inning only eight times in their previous 99 innings after doing so seven times in the first 38 innings of the season.
Toronto Blue Jays
Looking for consistency in the lineup, manager Charlie Montoyo moved 2B Cavan Biggio into the leadoff spot and dropped SS Bo Bichette to the
No. 2 slot.
Earlier in the week, he moved RF Teoscar Hernandez into the third spot and dropped LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fourth and fifth, respectively, before moving Hernandez back to eighth two games later.
“I’m just trying to get something going on the top, then on the bottom, so I stretched it out,” Montoyo said. “That’s why Teoscar is hitting lower in the lineup, trying to get something going.”
❚ Bichette had a franchiserecord 73 hits in his first 55 career games, eight more than any other Blue Jays player (Junior Felix, 65).
AL CENTRAL Chicago White Sox
LF Eloy Jimenez’s defensive shortcomings could cause him to eventually become a designated hitter. However, the 23year-old wants to be known as a good all-round player.
The question of Jimenez’s longtime viability in the outfield came into question again Aug. 6 when he misplayed a flyball by the Milwaukee Brewers’ Christian Yelich into an inside-thepark home run.
Jimenez had minus-11 defensive saved as a rookie last season. His main value was at the plate: He hit .267 with 31 home runs and 79 RBI in 122 games.
“I try to be one of the best outfielders, not just one of the best hitters,” Jimenez said. “I want to be a complete player and a nine-inning player.”
❚ 2B Nick Madrigal separated his left shoulder in his fifth career game and went on the injured list. While expected to play again this season, he might have surgery in the offseason.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians sent RHP Zach
Plesac back to Cleveland on Aug. 9 after he violated team rules and Major League Baseball’s coronavirus protocols, a team official confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
Plesac was told to drive from Chicago, where the Indians were playing the White Sox, to Cleveland in a rental car and ordered to quarantine for at least three days. The source said Plesac went out in Chicago with friends the night before, following his win over the White Sox that afternoon.
The 25-year-old is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in three starts. ❚ Hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo became the second member of the coaching staff to opt out of the season, joining bench coach Brad Mills. Van Burkleo