Sale joins Koufax with 3 immaculate innings
BOSTON» Red Sox ace Chris Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers on record with three immaculate innings when he struck out the side against Minnesota on nine pitches Thursday night.
Sale was making his third start for Boston since returning from Tommy John surgery that also sidelined him for the entire 2020 season.
He struck out Nick Gordon, Andrelton Simmons and Rob Refsnyder on three pitches each. Refsnyder was fooled by a low slider and failed to check his swing on the final pitch.
Sale’s other immaculate innings came less than a month apart in 2019 when he did it against Baltimore on May 8 and Kansas City on June 5.
Koufax completed his immaculate innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers between 1962-64.
Betts back with Dodgers after missing 16 games with sore hip.
SAN DIEGO» The Los Angeles Dodgers activated outfielder Mookie Betts from the 10-day injured list, and he started in right field in a series finale against the San Diego Padres on Thursday night.
The Dodgers also recalled lefthander Darien Núñez and optioned infielder Gavin Lux and outfielder/infielder Matt Beaty to
Triple-a Oklahoma City.
Betts missed 16 games with right hip inflammation. The 2018 AL MVP while with Boston, Betts came into the game hitting .277 with 17 homers and 44 RBIS.
Núñez returns for his fourth stint with the club and is 0-1 with a 8.22 ERA in six games, including one start, this season.
Posey out of Giants’ lineup again, Belt on bereavement list. NEW YORK» All-star catcher Buster Posey was out of the San Francisco Giants’ starting lineup for the second consecutive game Thursday night because of discomfort in his left knee.
Posey was on the bench for the major league-leading Giants, but first baseman Brandon Belt was unavailable against the New York Mets after going on the bereavement list to attend his grandmother’s funeral.
Also, second baseman Donovan Solano was placed on the injured list with no reason given, which is how the Giants have been handling COVID-19 IL moves this season. San Francisco recalled catcher Chadwick Tromp and infielder Thairo Estrada from Triple-a Sacramento.
Phillies’ Hoskins out for season with abdominal tear.
PHILADELPHIA» Rhys Hoskins will miss the rest of the season with an abdominal tear that requires surgery, the
Philadelphia Phillies slugger announced Thursday.
Hoskins leads the Phillies with 27 homers and 71 RBIS, and the news is a major blow to the team’s playoff hopes. Philadelphia entered Thursday trailing firstplace Atlanta by five games in the NL East. Hoskins had been playing through an abdominal injury all season, but he aggravated it when he dove awkwardly for a ball at Washington on Aug. 5.
He spent two weeks on the injured list, returned to the lineup Sunday and hit two homers in a win at San Diego. He didn’t start again until Wednesday’s loss to Tampa Bay, during which he made a few plays in the field that further exacerbated the injury.