AROUND THE HORN
A 23rd Major League Baseball team has reached the 85% vaccination threshold for players and other on-field personnel, which allows relaxed protocols, but there were few additional vaccinations in the past week. Major League Baseball and the players’ association said Friday that 85.4% of tier 1 and 2 tier individuals had been fully vaccinated, up just 0.1% from the previous week, and 86.5% had received at least one dose, unchanged from the previous week. Tier 1 includes players, managers, coaches, team physicians, athletic trainers and strength and conditioning staff. Tier 2 includes ownership, front office staff, travel staff, head groundskeepers and ballpark operations staff. Once a team reaches 85% vaccinations among tiers 1 and 2, it has the option to apply loosened protocols to tier 2. There were no positive tests in the last week. There were 1,854 tests, down from 9,104 the previous week. So far this season, there have been 66 positive tests — 37 players, 29 staff — among 205,377 samples tested, a 0.03% positive rate. The positive tests are among 25 teams.
Phillies: Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola struck out 10 straight Mets batters Friday, tying a major league record that stood alone for more than five decades. Hall of Fame ace Tom Seaver fanned his final 10 hitters for the Mets in a 2-1 victory over the Padres at Shea Stadium on April 22, 1970. That mark for consecutive strikeouts held for 51 years until Nola whiffed Michael Conforto leading off the fourth inning in the first game of a doubleheader at Citi Field, which replaced Shea Stadium as the Mets’ home in 2009 on the same site in Queens. Featuring a nasty knuckle curve, Nola started and ended his streak with punchouts of Conforto, who came off the injured list Wednesday. With the late-afternoon crowd chanting his name, Pete Alonso halted the astounding run of Ks when he reached across the plate to poke a 1-2 slider inside the right-field line for a line-drive double.
Cubs: After Craig Kimbrel struck out pinch-hitter Will Smith to end the game, the Cubs’ closer was curious why catcher Willson Contreras celebrated with a biggerthan-usual fist pump. Fellow reliever Ryan Tepera then ran onto the field at Dodger Stadium and whispered in Kimbrel’s ear: “You have no idea what happened.” The Cubs’ fearsome bullpen had just teamed up with starter Zach Davies for the first combined no-hitter in franchise history — and none of the three relievers who followed Davies onto the mound had any idea they were pitching their way into history until after they finished. The four Cubs combined for the seventh no-hitter in the majors this year, matching the most in a season since 1900, as the Cubs blanked the Dodgers 4-0 Thursday night. The Dodgers drew eight walks, getting at least one from each opposing pitcher, but managed no other baserunners. The tension was palpable in the Cubs’ dugout, where Davies watched with trepidation after reluctantly agreeing with manager David Ross’ decision to pull him for a pinch-hitter after 94 pitches. Davies (5-4) issued five walks while scrapping through six spotless innings against the defending World Series champions. “I think every pitcher wants to continue in the game, regardless of his pitch count, but it worked,” Davies said.