AROUND THE HORN
▪ MLB: Former Yankees star Joe Pepitone has filed a lawsuit against the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum seeking the return of the Louisville Slugger bat that Mickey Mantle used to hit his 500th career home run more than five decades ago. In an 11-page lawsuit filed this week in federal court in upstate New York, Pepitone also is seeking compensatory damages of at least $1 million. The bat is currently valued at over $500,000, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims that Pepitone agreed to lend the bat to the Hall of Fame “with the understanding and upon the condition that it would be returned to him at any time upon his request.” ... Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” on Broadway, will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Coors Field.
▪ Twins: Jorge Polanco hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Twins rallied from a fourrun deficit to beat the Tigers 9-4 Saturday.
▪ Rays: Brandon Lowe is finding his form heading into the All-Star break. Lowe homered twice and Mike Zunino also connected, helping the Rays beat the Blue Jays 5-2 on Saturday for their sixth consecutive win.
▪ Phillies: Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto will take over for injured Giants catcher Buster Posey as the National League’s starter in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Coors Field. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina earned his 10th All-Star selection, among 10 replacements announced Saturday by Major League Baseball. Molina was elected on the players’ ballot and filled the spot vacated when Posey was put on the injured list Friday, five days after his AL at NL, 6:33p.m. left thumb was bruised by a foul tip. Molina said later Saturday that he will also skip the All-Star Game to rest. Major League Baseball also said Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was injured and won’t participate, despite the fact that Betts played an entire nine innings on Friday night.
▪ Nationals: Father to a pair of big league starting pitchers, Willie Ross made a crucial save at a ballgame in San Francisco on Saturday. Ross, dad of veteran pitchers Joe and Tyson Ross, performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking fan during a game between the Giants and Nationals, dislodging bits of a hot dog to clear the woman’s airways. Ross is a pediatrician at Stanford Hospital. He was at the park to see the Nationals, for whom Joe Ross plays. Tyson Ross is a right-hander with the Rangers. Willie Ross was watching the game in a lower box when he noticed the female fan choking. Relying on his training in ER medicine, Ross hustled over to check on the fan, who was unable to talk. He helped dislodge the food that was trapped in the woman’s throat and was cheered by fans sitting nearby.
▪ Giants: All-Star Brandon Crawford had three hits, including his 18th home run, and the Giants thumped the Nationals 10-4 on Saturday. Anthony DeSclafani had six strikeouts and pitched three-hit ball over six scoreless innings to win his 10th for the Giants. Thairo Estrada added four hits and two RBIs. Darin Ruf doubled and scored twice.
▪ Athletics: Jed Lowrie hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning after an earlier home run and the Athletics went on to beat the Rangers 8-4 on Saturday. The A’s won for the third time in their last nine games.