AROUND THE HORN
Tigers, Guardians: The threat of thunderstorms and an ominous forecast postponed Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Guardians more than three hours before the first pitch. This is the fifth weather postponement for the Guardians at home this season.
Padres: Joe Musgrove pitched seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball to remain unbeaten, Manny Machado homered and the Padres beat the Giants 2-1 on Saturday. Jurickson Profar had two hits as the Padres extended their winning streak to three with their fifth win in six games. Wilmer Flores homered for the Giants, who lost their third straight after winning eight of 10. Musgrove (5-0) struck out four and walked three on 100 pitches. The Padres are unbeaten in his eight starts. “My main goal right now is just to get quality start after quality start,” he said. “I feel like with the offense we have and the defense behind us, if we can go six or seven (innings) with two or three or less (runs), we have a pretty good chance to win.” Taylor Rogers worked the ninth, pitching around Austin Slater’s leadoff single for his 16th save in 17 chances.
Phillies: Bryce Harper returned to the Phillies lineup as the designated hitter on Saturday after he missed the previous five games because of soreness from a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow. The reigning NL MVP hit third for the Phillies against the Dodgers and right-hander Mitch White. The 29-year-old Harper is batting .305 with nine home runs, 14 doubles, 27 RBIs and a .634 slugging percentage. He has been playing exclusively at designated hitter since injuring his arm on a throw from right field last month. He last played the field at Miami on April 16. “The last couple of days were tough for me,” Harper said before the game. “Woke up yesterday feeling good and today feeling better, as well.”
Astros: Justin Verlander had another splendid start to lead the Astros to a 2-1 win over the Rangers on Saturday night. Verlander (6-1) scattered six singles across six scoreless innings without a walk to earn his major league-leading sixth win. The 39-year-old righthander, who made his return from Tommy John surgery this season, tied a season high with eight strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 1.22, which also leads the majors. Yordan Alvarez had two hits, including the second triple of his career, and drove in a run to help the Astros take a 2-1 lead in this four-game series.
Blue Jays: Bo Bichette hit two home runs, pitcher Alek Manoah matched his careerhigh with eight innings, and the Blue Jays beat the Reds 3-1 on Saturday. Bichette’s first was solo home run off Reds right-hander Hunter Greene in the fourth, No. 50 of Bichette’s career, and added a two-run blast off Luis Cessa (2-1) in the seventh. All six home runs this season have tied the game or given the Blue Jays the lead. Greene allowed one run and four hits in six innings, walking two and striking out six. Manoah allowed one run and seven hits to snap a three-start winless streak.
Orioles: The Orioles have agreed to a $5.925 million, two-year contract with pitcher John Means, avoiding arbitration. Means is out for the season after Tommy John surgery. His salary was $593,500 last year. He originally asked for $3.1 million and the team offered $2.7 million for this season.