Betts off? Red Sox get a brief scare
BOSTON— Mookie Betts doesn’t seem to be badly hurt, so the Red Sox can focus on clinching the AL East at Yankee Stadium for the second time in three seasons.
Betts gave the team a scare when he injured his left side making two throws to home plate during a 4-3 win over the Mets on Sunday that cut the Red Sox’s magic number to two for their third straight division title.
“It kind of flared back up on the second throw. It’ll be fine. I’ll be ready to play,” Betts said.
The Red Sox have an 111⁄ game lead over the second-
Astros: Justin Verlander struck out 11 in seven solid innings as the Astros extended their AL West edge with a 5-4 victory over the Diamondbacks. The Astros lead the Athletics by 41⁄ { games in the division race. Verlander (16-9) matched his career high for strikeouts in a season with 269 — he passed teammate Gerrit Cole, who has 260, for most in the AL.
Yankees: Manager Aaron Boone said All- Star slugger Aaron Judge could return to the lineup this week during a threegame series against the Red Sox. Boone said Judge is “getting real close” to returning from a broken right wrist. Judge hit off a high-velocity pitching machine place Yankees and can clinch with one win during a threegame series that opens Tuesday.
“We’ve been looking at the standings and a lot of people have been talking about it for a month and a half,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Now, it’s right there.”
Betts, hitting .337 with 29 homers and 72 RBIs, caught a fly ball from Jeff McNeil in the sixth and threw home as Austin Jackson held at third. Wilmer Flores followed with another drive to right, and Betts unsuccessfully threw home as Jackson scored on the sacrifice fly.
Betts went down to one knee, before the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays and might face rehabbing Aroldis Chapman in a simulated game Monday or Tuesday.
Athletics: Khris Davis hit a grand slam in the ninth, but the A’s again came up short in a 5-4 loss to the Rays, falling for the second straight day at Tropicana Field. The Rays trail Oakland for the second wild card by seven games with 14 games left.
Brewers: Jesus Aguilar and Domingo Santana hit back-toback home runs to begin the ninth inning, but the NL wildcard leaders couldn’t complete the rally and lost 3-2 to the Pirates. The Brewers remained 21⁄ games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. and the three-time All-Star was stretching his left side and back as a trainer and Cora jogged to the outfield. Betts walked off slowly and was replaced.
Red Sox starter Chris Sale allowed one hit in three scoreless innings, lowering his AL-best ERA to 1.92 and extending his scoreless streak to 32 innings. He made his second start after a pair of trips to the disabled list caused by left shoulder inflammation.
The Mets’ Jacob deGrom gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings with 12 strikeouts and one walk, his baseball-best ERA rising slightly to 1.78.
Phillies: Cesar Hernandez gave the Phillies a fast start, homering on the first pitch from Jose Urena, but they couldn’t sustain it and missed a chance to move up in the playoff race. Peter O’Brien homered and drove in three runs as the Marlins won 6-4. The Phillies remained 61⁄ games behind the division-leading Braves with two weeks left. The Marlins ended a five-game losing streak.
Orioles: The Orioles sent nine men to the plate in their five-run first inning in an 8-4 victory over the White Sox that was the team’s 43rd this season. That means the Orioles can’t match the major-league record of 120 losses, set by the 1962 Mets.