AROUND THE HORN
■ Mets: Mets newcomer Rich Hill is expected to make his debut for the NL East leaders on Sunday when The Mets play the Blue Jays at Citi Field. Mets manager Luis Rojas said Hill would arrive at the ballpark before Saturday night’s game against the Blue Jays and throw on the side. The Mets acquired the 41-yearold left-hander in a trade with the Rays on Friday for veteran pitcher Tommy Hunter and minor league catcher Matthew Dyer.
■ Indians: Indians manager Terry Francona wasn’t in the dugout Saturday night for the Indians’ game against the Rays because of a lingering head cold. Francona conducted his pregame press conference at Progressive Field before being sent home by the team’s medical staff. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale managed the Indians.
■ Nationals: Nationals ace Max Scherzer was scratched from his start at Baltimore on Saturday night with what the team described as mild right triceps discomfort. Manager Dave Martinez said before the game that Scherzer had an MRI and it was “extremely clean” — he’s expected to make his next start. Jon Lester was starting Saturday in his place. Scherzer is 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 18 starts this season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner, who turns 37 on Tuesday, has been the subject of trade speculation as the Nationals continue to struggle. His absence now is another issue for the Washington rotation, which has been without Stephen Strasburg since early June because of lingering neck problems. On Friday, Martinez said Strasburg was still having neck discomfort, and the team was trying to figure out what the best course of action was for him going forward. The Nationals also put infielder Jordy Mercer on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday, with a left calf strain. Washington recalled infielder Carter Kieboom from Triple-A Rochester.
■ Braves: The Braves activated Ender Inciarte from the COVID-19 injured list on Saturday and designated him for assignment prior to the club’s game against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The 30-year-old outfielder had a .215/.276/.316 slash line over 52 games this season after posting a .190/.262/.250 line in 46 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
■ Astros: Third baseman Alex Bregman said Saturday he will return to action in the next couple of days on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land. Bregman has been out of action since straining his left quadriceps muscle while running the bases on June 16. “I’m going to go start playing baseball, which is good, and I’ll be back soon,” Bregman said.
■ Yankees: Rougned Odor’s two-run double highlighted a four-run rally in the eighth inning after his two errors helped Boston build an early lead, and the New York Yankees beat the Red Sox 4-3 on Saturday. Gleyber Torres added a go-ahead, bloop single for the Yankees, who posted just their third victory in 12 games this season against their longtime rivals. The Red Sox, who had won four in a row, put runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth before Aroldis Chapman struck out Kiké Hernández for his 18th save. It’s the first time the Red Sox have lost with a lead of more than two runs this season. “It’s a tough one,’” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “One of those that’s disappointing but we’ll move forward.”