Harper goes down in Giants-Nationals opener
Washington All-Star could face extended absence with knee injury · Red Sox defeat Yankees
Bryce Harper, the best all-around player in the National League and the main force in the Washington Nationals’ pursuit of their first World Series title, was carried off the field Saturday night with an apparent left knee injury.
Harper was running out a first-inning grounder to Giants first baseman Ryder Jones and stretched with his left leg to the bag, only to slip on the slick surface and collapse, his leg hyperextending and his foot sliding onto the dirt.
Harper went airborne and landed on his hands and immediately clutched his knee as fans at Nationals Park held their collective breath.
Harper needed help getting up and was carried off the field by hitting coach Rick Schu and trainer Paul Lessard, the Nationals’ postseason hopes resting largely on the All-Star right fielder.
As Harper was on the ground writhing in pain, Nationals manager Dusty Baker put both hands on top of his head and was seen several times shaking his head.
The base was slippery following a 3-hour, 1-minute rain delay.
Friday’s scheduled opener was postponed because of rain, so the first pitch of the series, Edwin Jackson to Denard Span, was delivered 27 hours late.
But there are worse things than waiting through rain delays and postponements.
In the first inning of the Nationals’ 3-1 victory, Harper stomped on a wet first base, his cleat slid, his left knee buckled and he went flying as if violently ejected from a moving vehicle.
The Nationals’ best hope is that Harper sustained nothing beyond a hyperextension. Anything worse would mean torn ligaments, and surgery, and a significant handicap in October for a team that should coast to its fourth NL East title in five years yet thus far has failed to advance beyond the best-of-5 NL Division Series.
And it would mean that Major League Baseball’s greatest stage would be deprived one of its most talented and recognizable players – one of few legitimate and marketable stars who resonate beyond casual fans of the game.
Harper entered the game ranked fourth in the NL in hitting (.326), fourth in on-base percentage (.419), third in slugging (.619) and second in OPS (1.034). Only the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon had scored more runs. He had 29 homers and was on pace to hit 41 while driving in 124.
(San Francisco Chronicle)
Red Sox 10, Yankees 5
Andrew Benintendi continued his spectacular month by hitting two three-run homers as Boston pounded New York.
Benintendi tied a career high with six RBIs by homering in consecutive at-bats off Luis Severino (9-5) when Boston scored five times in the third and fifth innings.
It was Benintendi’s third career multi-homer game. In his last eight games, he is batting .484 (15-for-31) with four homers and 11 RBIs after hitting .222 during July.
Blue Jays 7, Pirates 2
Chris Rowley has made the unusual transition from West Point graduate to a major league pitcher and allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings in Toronto’s victory over Pittsburgh.
The 26-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays in
2013 after he was not drafted before embarking on his US Army commitment.
Indians 3, Rays 0
Jay Bruce drove in his first two runs since joining Cleveland, helping his new team to a win over Tampa Bay.
Bruce had an RBI bloop double in the first inning and an RBI single in the sixth, accounting for the only RBIs for the Indians.
Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger (6-4) held the Rays to four hits in seven innings, striking out nine batters while walking only one.
Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 2
Brandon Drury’s two-run double keyed a four-run sixth inning that broke up Jon Lester’s pitching duel with Patrick Corbin, and Arizona ended a threegame losing streak by beating Chicago.
Corbin (9-11) was coming off two successive rough starts that included a 16-4 loss to Chicago in which he allowed eight runs in three innings.
On Saturday, he consistently shut down Cubs threats while scattering five hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings.
Cardinals 6, Braves 5
Paul DeJong and Randal Grichuk each homered to support Carlos Martinez’s six solid innings as surging St Louis edged Atlanta.
DeJong’s team-leading 17th homer in the bottom of the seventh finished the scoring for St Louis, which was held below eight runs for the first time since a 4-1 win on Aug. 5 in Cincinnati.
Royals 5, White Sox 4
Melky Cabrera hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and Kansas City held on for a win over Chicago.
Eric Hosmer also homered as Kansas City snapped a five-game losing streak. Jose Abreu hit two home runs to lead the White Sox. Leury Garcia drove in two runs for Chicago, which had its fourgame winning streak end.
Tigers 12, Twins 11
Justin Upton drilled a walk-off, tworun homer with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Detroit a comeback victory that snapped Minnesota’s six-game winning streak.
Mikie Mahtook lined a single to right-center field off reliever Matt Belisle (0-2) to start the ninth and Upton followed with his 22nd home run off a 2-1 fastball.
Detroit blew a 5-0 first-inning lead and trailed 11-6 in the seventh before mounting its comeback.
Marlins 4, Rockies 3
Giancarlo Stanton, who leads the majors in homers, drilled a tiebreaking, three-run shot to left field to lead Miami over Colorado.
Stanton has 41 homers, one short of the franchise season record set by Gary Sheffield in 1996. Stanton has 20 homers in the past 32 games.
Brewers 6, Reds 5 (10)
Eric Sogard scored on a 10th-inning wild pitch as Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Cincinnati.
The Brewers and Reds combined for six homers, with each side hitting three. Milwaukee’s Eric Thames tied it in the sixth with his team-leading 27th homer of the season.
Phillies 3, Mets 1
Aaron Nola stifled New York for seven innings, allowing one earned run and two hits while striking out eight in Philadelphia’s come-from-behind victory.
Nola (9-7) is one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, posting a 1.71 ERA in his last 10 starts.