AROUND THE HORN
Reds: Pirates emergency C Josh VanMeter had a rough time in his first try behind the plate since he was a teenager, and the Reds took advantage to end a nine-game losing streak, beating the Pirates 9-2 in the opener of a doubleheader. Tyler Stephenson fouled a ball hard off VanMeter’s mask, then hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded double in the eighth inning that fueled a seven-run burst. Pirates starting C Roberto Pérez was helped off the field with a left hamstring injury after falling while rounding second base in the top of the eighth. inning. Backup C Andrew Knapp was ejected by plate umpire Will Little in the bottom of the sixth inning for chirping from the dugout.
Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw dominated over seven innings and the Dodgers beat the struggling Cubs 7-0 in the opener of a split doubleheader in Chicago. Freddie Freeman doubled three times and scored twice, helping the NL West leaders win for the 16th time in 21 games. Austin Barnes homered and drove in three runs.Kershaw gave up five hits, struck out two and walked one.
Twins: Jorge Polanco homered in the sixth inning and four Twins pitchers made it stand up, blanking the Athletics 1-0 and sending them to their eighth straight loss. Twins pitchers combined to strike out 15 while allowing just three hits. The Twins won again minus manager Rocco Baldelli, who is out with COVID-19. Polanco’s third homer of the season was a towering shot to the suites above the batter’s eye in center field and traveled an estimated 451 feet.
Blue Jays: George Springer and Raimel Tapia each drove in three runs in the first four innings against Shane Bieber, powering the
Pirates,
Blue Jays to an 8-3 win over the Guardians in the first game of a doubleheader. Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman worked 6 innings and allowed one run, striking out five. The right-hander issued his first walk of the season against his 137th batter, Franmil Reyes in the fourth. The Jays scored four runs in the second and three in the fourth off 2020 AL Cy Young winner Bieber, who gave up a career-high-tying seven runs in 3 innings.
Astros: Jose Altuve homered early, and Michael Brantley tripled in a two-run eighth to help the Astros run their winning streak to a season-best six games with an 3-2 win over the Tigers. The win was manager Dusty Baker’s 2,004th, passing Bruce Bochy (2,003) for 11th on the all-time list.
White Sox: Jose Abreu hit a go-ahead double in the 10th after his team tied it an inning earlier, helping the White Sox beat the Red Sox 3-1 at windy Fenway Park for their fifth straight win. Leury Garcia had two singles and a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth for the White Sox, who reached .500 for the first time since April 21. Rafael Devers had an RBI double for the Red Sox, who have lost 13 of 17.
Brewers: OF Andrew McCutchen has tested positive for COVID-19. McCutchen returned to the team hotel in Atlanta and was placed on the COVID19 injured list. The team recalled INF Mike Brosseau from Triple-A Nashville. Manager Craig Counsell says the 38-year-old McCutchen reported symptoms on Saturday. He is hitting .240 with two homers.
Sox: LHP Chris Sale has suffered a setback in his recovery from a fractured rib cage suffered in late February, according to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.