AROUND THE HORN Yankees:
Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman is back from the injured list after missing nearly a month due to a leg infection he sustained from a tattoo. The AL East-leading Yankees activated Chapman on Friday before a threegame series at Milwaukee. activated Sunday.
Braves: Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies was reinstated from the injured list and recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett ahead of the weekend series against the Phillies. Albies batted eighth in Friday’s game against the Phillies. He missed 81 games after fracturing his left foot in an at-bat on June 13 against the Nationals and needing surgery. “It feels awesome to be here,” Albies said. “Everything feels normal.” The two-time All-Star hit .333 in 27 at-bats with a homer and six RBIs during his rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. He was hitting .244 with eight homers and 33 RBIs in 62 games before the injury.
Mets: Sandy Alderson has achieved one of the goals he set upon his return to the Mets. “The Mets are far more respected than they have been in recent years,” he said Friday, a day after announcing he will resign as team president and become a senior adviser when a successor has been selected. Now 74, Alderson was the Mets’ general manager from 2010-18 and stepped down after being diagnosed with cancer. He returned as team president in November 2020 when Steven Cohen bought the Mets from the Wilpon and Katz families. “Family’s important,” Alderson said. “I haven’t been on a summer vacation for four years. The fact that
I’ve never been to Yosemite and I lived in California for 25 years, it’s somewhat telling. No that I have this strong desire to go to Yosemite or Lake Tahoe or the Catskills for that matter. Anyway I’m looking for a little different cadence, I guess is the right word.”
tt Chapman hit two home runs, George Springer added a three-run shot and the Blue Jays maintained their position in the AL wild-card race, beating the Orioles 6-3 on Friday night. Chapman went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs to help the Blue Jays (82-63) win for the fifth time in six meetings with the Orioles. Adley Rutschman hit a two-run home run and Gunnar Henderson added a solo shot for the Orioles (75-68). The Orioles were unable to gain ground on the three leading wild-card contenders, Blue Jays, Rays and Mariners. The Blue Jays improved to 34-17 when hitting two or more home runs, bouncing back from an 11-0 loss to the Rays on Thursday.
Guardians: Pinch-runner Ernie Clement raced home from second base on a wild pitch in the eighth inning for the go-ahead run and the AL-Central leading Guardians rallied for a 4-3 win over the Twins on Friday night in the opener of a crucial five-game series. Clement ran for Josh Naylor, who led off the eighth with a single and took second on Oscar Gonzalez’s single. Jhoan Duran’s 2-1 pitch to Andrés Giménez bounced in front of catcher Gary Sánchez and went back to the screen on the fly. Sánchez couldn’t find the ball initially and Clement rounded third and slid headfirst, beating Sánchez’s throw.