AROUND THE HORN
MLB: Former Yankees star Joe Pepitone has filed a lawsuit against the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum seeking the return of the Louisville Slugger bat that Mickey Mantle used to hit his 500th career home run more than five decades ago. In an 11-page lawsuit filed this week in federal court in upstate New York, Pepitone also is seeking compensatory damages of at least $1 million. The bat is currently valued at over $500,000, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims that Pepitone agreed to lend the bat to the Hall of Fame “with the understanding and upon the condition that it would be returned to him at any time upon his request.”
Twins: Jorge Polanco hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Twins rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Tigers 9-4 Saturday. Alex Kirilloff also homered for Minnesota to put the Twins on the board in the sixth. Luis Arraez drove in two insurance runs with an eighth-inning single. “We play hard,” Arraez said. “That’s why we won the game today.” The Twins have won the first three games of the series against the Tigers, with one remaining before the All-Star break. For the second straight day, it took until the sixth inning for Minnesota to get on the scoreboard against Detroit. The Twins had a four-run sixth on Friday, then on Saturday they scored two in the sixth, three in the seventh and four in the eighth.
Rays: Brandon Lowe is finding his form heading into the All-Star break. Lowe homered twice and Mike Zunino also connected, helping the Rays beat the Blue Jays 5-2 on Saturday for their sixth consecutive win. Ryan Yarbrough (6-3) pitched five innings of two-run ball, improving to 5-0 in his last 12 appearances. The left-hander is 8-1 in 16 appearances against Toronto. Matt Wisler (one hit in 1 ⅔ innings) and Pete Fairbanks (1 ⅓ innings) combined for three innings before Diego Castillo finished the six-hitter for his 13th save. Rays relievers have given up two hits over 16 scoreless innings in the past three games. Lowe has four career multihomer games, including May 21 against the Blue Jays. “B-Lowe is really turning his season around,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. After hitting under .200 for a large part of the season, Lowe went 2 for 3 and raised his average to .208. Marcus Semien hit his 22nd homer for the Blue Jays, who have lost four of five.
Phillies: Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto will take over for injured San Francisco catcher Buster Posey as the National League’s starter in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Coors Field. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina earned his 10th All-Star selection, among 10 replacements announced Saturday by Major League Baseball. Molina was elected on the players’ ballot and filled the spot vacated when Posey was put on the injured list Friday, five days after his left thumb was bruised by a foul tip. Molina said later Saturday that he will also skip the All-Star Game to rest. Major League Baseball also said Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was injured and won’t participate, despite the fact that Betts played an entire nine innings on Friday night. Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson also earned selections from the players’ ballot, replacing Astros second baseman José Altuve and shortstop Carlos Correa.