Giants’ Bryant gets a warm welcome from Wrigley crowd
Kris Bryant drew a pair of standing ovations in his return to Wrigley Field, Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt homered in the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 6-1 on Friday for their fifth straight victory.
The Giants improved to a major league-best 91-50.
Bryant was traded to the Giants for two prospects at the July 30 deadline as the rebuilding Cubs unloaded marquee stars who were set to become free agents after this season. The 29-year-old got a standing ovation from the crowd of 29,439 during a pregame video tribute and again before his first inning at-bat. Bryant went 0 for 3 with a walk, run and struck out swinging twice.
METS 10, YANKEES 3 >> Rookie Tylor Megill struck out a career-high 10 in a career-long seven innings and the Mets took advantage of a string of mental and physical mistakes by the reeling Yankees.
PIRATES 4, NATIONALS 3 >> Ke’Bryan Hayes capped off a ninth-inning rally with an RBI single and Pittsburgh slipped past Washington.
BREWERS 10, INDIANS 3 >> Lorenzo Cain hit a grand slam to cap a six-run fifth inning, Eduardo Escobar homered from both sides of the plate and Milwaukee beat Cleveland to move closer to the NL Central title. Milwaukee’s magic number to win the division is nine and the Brewers (87-55) are 32 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.
ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 3 >> Cedric Mullins and Ryan McKenna homered off Robbie Ray and Baltimore ended Toronto’s season-high winning streak at eight.
TIGERS 10, RAYS 4 >> Miguel Cabrera got his ninth straight hit before the string ended, Jonathan Schoop launched a grand slam and Detroit beat Tampa Bay. Rays rookie shortstop Wander Franco extended his on-base streak to 39 games, then left in the first inning with tightness in his right hamstring. The 20-year-old Franco has the second- longest on-base run in major league history — Frank Robinson set the record of 43 in 1956.
BRAVES 6, MARLINS 2 >> Jorge Soler had a two-run single during a five-run fifth inning, Ian Anderson tied a career high with nine strikeouts and Atlanta beat Miami.
ROCKIES 11, PHILLIES 2 >> Elias
Díaz hit a grand slam, Germán Márquez pitched six shutout innings and Colorado continued to hurt Philadelphia’s playoff chances.
REDS 4, CARDINALS 2 >> Jose Barrero made the most of an unexpected start by doubling in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning, leading Cincinnati past St. Louis.
RED SOX’S SALE TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 >> Boston ace Chris Sale has tested positive for COVID-19 again, sidelining the left-hander while the Red Sox fight for positioning in the crowded AL playoff picture. Sale had been scheduled to start Sunday in Chicago against the AL Central-leading White Sox. The seven-time All-Star also had a mild bout with COVID-19 in January that required him to quarantine for two weeks.
NATIONALS PITCHER NOLIN SUSPENDED >> Major League Baseball suspended Washington Nationals starting pitcher Sean Nolin five games for intentionally hitting Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. Nolin, who was also fined an undisclosed amount, initially planned to appeal the suspension before agreeing to start serving it Friday night.
WHITE SOX ACTIVATE LYNN >> The Chicago White Sox activated All-Star right-hander Lance Lynn from the 10-day injured list. Lynn had been sidelined by right knee inflammation. The 34-yearold Lynn is slated to start Sunday.
SPECIAL GAME IN NEW YORK >> The Yankees and Mets are set for an emotional game in Queens on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the first time the Subway Series will overlap with Sept. 11.
Both teams will wear hats representing New York’s first responders, two years after Mets slugger Pete Alonso said the league rejected his proposal for specially designed hats doing the same. Alonso instead had custom cleats made for each of his teammates — without asking MLB for permission — and later donated his shoes to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Then-Mets manager Bobby Valentine will throw out the first pitch to thenYankees manager Joe Torre, and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza will be in attendance. Piazza hit a go-ahead homer for the Mets on Sept. 21, 2001 against the Braves in the team’s first game back at Shea Stadium.