AROUND THE HORN
Blue Jays, Rays:
Benches cleared at the end of the seventh inning of the game Saturday between the Blue Jays and Rays when Jays pitcher Génesis Cabrera exchanged words with José Caballero and shoved the Rays shortstop. Tempers flared after Caballero, who had singled to drive in a run, continued around the bases on third baseman Justin Turner’s throwing error. Right fielder George Springer ran down the throw past first base and threw to shortstop Bo Bichette, who tagged Caballero out at third base for the final out of the inning. Cabrera, who was backing up third base, and Caballero came together as the play concluded and exchanged words. The Blue Jays reliever shoved the infielder and teammates spilled out of each dugout, but no punches were thrown. The scuffle came two innings after the Rays’ Randy Arozarena celebrated his solo homer by kissing his bat, doing a crossarm pose and then signing autographs for fans after returning to the dugout. Cabrera was ejected.
Braves: The Braves placed All-Star catcher Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained left oblique muscle.
Brewers: Rhys Hoskins drove in four runs, a day after his hard slide into Jeff McNeil caused dugouts to empty, and Yohan Ramírez was ejected for throwing behind the designated hitter’s back the Brewers’ 7-6 victory over the Mets on Saturday. Hoskins hit a two-run single in a threerun first inning, followed with a two-run homer in the third and singled and scored on a balk in the fifth by Luis Severino (0-1), who gave up a career-high 12 hits in his Mets debut. Ramírez’s first pitch to Hoskins in the seventh sailed well behind the right-handed hitter, who dropped his bat and glared at Ramírez as the reliever raced to pick up the ball, which caromed off the backstop. Ramírez was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett and given a standing ovation by fans. Hoskins walked against Jorge López. Mets closer Edwin Díaz pitched a perfect ninth in his first big league appearance since Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Oct. 9, 2022. Díaz missed last season after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating a win for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
Twins: The Twins put oft-injured infielder Royce Lewis on the injured list with what the club called “a severe quad strain” on Saturday, and the reigning AL Central champions are preparing to be without him for more than a month.
Rangers: Marcus Semien was told before he saw his first World Series ring how nice it was going to be. “They weren’t lying at all,” said the Rangers’ All-Star second baseman. Two days after unfurling the franchise’s first championship banner on opening day, the Rangers finished the celebrating by getting their rings in another pregame ceremony Saturday night before the second of a three-game opening series against the Cubs. The numbers of diamonds, sapphires, rubies and other stones cover a host of significant stats. There’s the perfect 11-0 postseason road record, an MLB first, and the 52 points of diamonds in the word “champions” represent the seasons the franchise has been in Texas since moving from Washington.