Brewers hit back
Yelich, Smoak homer as Milwaukee rebounds from Friday’s shutout
Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak hit long runs, umpires intervened before a shouting match between the teams got too serious and the Milwaukee Brewers powered past the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday.
Without fans at Wrigley Field, players from both NL Central rivals could be heard shouting toward each other from their dugouts before the start of the fourth inning.
All-Star catcher Willson Contreras seemed to be barking the loudest from the warning track in front of the Cubs dugout, and several players from both sides popped out onto dirt near their benches. Umpires jumped in and calmed things down quickly before players could cross the foul lines.
In an in-game interview during the Brewers telecast, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said empty ballparks may create a new on-field dynamic.
“I think this is going to be part of this season,” Counsell said. “Both dugouts can hear each other and umpires can hear everything. There's talking that goes on in game you never hear with all the fans here. It's just part of the game.”
White Sox 10, Twins 3: Leury Garcia homered from both sides of the plate, helping Dallas Keuchel and the Chicago White Sox pound the Minnesota Twins.
Edwin Encarnacion hit a tworun drive as the White Sox bounced back nicely after losing 10-5 to the reigning AL Central champions on Friday night. Eloy Jimenez and James McCann also went deep on the second day of the pandemic-delayed 60-game season.
Keuchel allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his White Sox debut after agreeing to a $55.5 million, three-year contract in December. The veteran left-hander threw 73 pitches, 47 for strikes.