DeGrom to 60-day IL, meaning more rehab
Jacob deGrom’s return for the AL Westleading Texas Rangers has been pushed back until at least late June after the two-time National League Cy Young winner was transferred to the 60day injured list.
DeGrom hasn’t pitched since April 28, when he exited early because of injury concerns for the second time in a span of three starts. He was placed on the 15-day IL the following day after an MRI showed inflammation in his right elbow.
General manager Chris Young said deGrom “hasn’t improved maybe as quickly as we had hoped” after five bullpen sessions since going on the IL. Another MRI and additional testing are planned for the 34-year-old righthander the Rangers signed to a $185 million, five-year contract last December.
The transfer to the 60-day IL makes June 28 the earliest he could be activated.
Manoah gets one out in rout
Corey Julks hit his first career grand slam, Brandon Bielak matched his career high by pitching 6„ innings, and the Houston Astros used a season-high 19 hits to beat the Blue Jays, 11-4, in Toronto.
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker hit solo homers and Jake Meyers added a two-run blast as the Astros won for the eighth time in 11 games. Houston has won 19 of 25.
Alejandro Kirk and Daulton Varsho hit solo home runs as Toronto had its four-game winning streak halted. Alek Manoah (1-7) failed to get out of the first in his seventh straight losing decision, retiring just one of the nine batters he faced.
Houston’s second hit of the game was Jeremy Peña’s bunt down the third base line. Manoah got down on his hands and knees and tried to blow the ball foul, leading plate umpire Scott Barry to immediately rule it fair.
Nola stellar for Phillies
Aaron Nola took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out 12, and Trea Turner homered twice among his four hits to lead the Phillies to their third straight win, 8-3, over the Tigers in Philadelphia.
Nola (5-4) fanned 10 and had faced the minimum through six. The ace righthander ran into trouble in the seventh when two batters reached on a walk and a fielding error. Nola still had two outs when he hung an 0-2 breaking ball to Nick Maton and the former Phillie crushed one into right to make it a 5-3 game.
It was the only hit allowed by Nola, who walked three. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his last 10 starts.
Arraez nosing around .400
Luis Arraez had three hits to raise his major league-leading batting average to .399 as the Marlins beat the Royals, 9-6, in Miami.
Arraez drove in two runs for the Marlins, who erased an early four-run deficit and won their fourth straight game. After going hitless in four at-bats Friday against Oakland, Arraez is 10 for 13 over the last three games.
Pujols gets back in game
Albert Pujols was hired Monday by Major League Baseball as a special assistant to Commissioner Rob Manfred. The retired slugger will consult on issues related to his native Dominican Republic, among other areas. He also will start work Tuesday as an MLB Network analyst . . . Stuart Fairchild and Tyler Stephenson hit solo home runs, and Andrew Abbott threw six scoreless innings in his major league debut to lead Cincinnati to a 2-0 win over visiting Milwaukee. The 24-year-old Abbott, the 2021 second-round draft pick from the University of Virginia, allowed just one hit, walked four and struck out six in 105 pitches . . . Andrew McCutchen’s tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning lifted Pittsburgh its sixth straight win, 5-4, and sent Oakland to its record-tying 15th consecutive road loss. The 15 straight defeats away from home matched the Athletics’ record set in 1986.