AROUND THE HORN
Yankees:
Yankees left fielder Andrew Benintendi went on the 10-day injured list Saturday with right wrist inflammation. Benintendi left in the third inning of Friday night’s 9-0 loss to the Rays after injuring the wrist on a swing. He shook his hand and immediately walked to the Yankees dugout. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Benintendi thought something popped on the wrist and that he had some finger numbness afterward. “We’ve got to get some more tests, more imaging and more opinions to kind of really narrow down exactly what it is,” Boone said. “There’s still some questions out there.” Benintendi had X-rays Friday night, and was scheduled for an MRI exam Saturday. CT scans are also planned. Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo had his timeframe pushed back in terms of resuming workouts after he had an epidural shot Thursday for lingering lower back pain. He had been scheduled to rehab Saturday and Sunday before resuming baseball activities Monday, but Boone said the slugger will have down days this weekend and hopefully ramp things up Monday. There was good news about three injured starting pitchers. Lefty Nestor Cortes, sidelined by a strained left groin, threw 45 pitches to hitters Saturday at the Yankees’ minor league complex in nearby Tampa, Florida. Boone expects Cortes to rejoin the rotation Thursday.
Rays: Rays shortstop Wander Franco is set to resume his minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Sunday. Franco, who went on the injured list July 10 with a right hamate bone injury that required surgery, played part of one game in mid-August for Durham but departed early due to hand soreness. The 21-year-old Franco will likely spent all of next week playing with Durham. He took on-field batting practice off a pitching machine Friday and Saturday. “This is definitely the best that I’ve felt since the injury and hope to continue well after this,” Franco said through a translator before the Rays played the Yankees on Saturday night, “Yesterday I took a lot of swings, so we wanted to see how I feel today.” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Franco feeling the way he does is “probably the most important thing.” Franco also missed 23 games earlier this year with a strained right quadriceps. He has a .260 average along with five homers and 23 RBIs over 58 games in 2022. Franco signed an $182 million, 11-year contract in November that includes a club option for 2033. The deal could be worth up to $223 million with incentives if the club option is exercised. Franco hit .288 with 18 doubles, five triples, seven homers and 39 RBIs in 70 games last year. He finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Astros: Lance McCullers Jr. continued to impress in his return from a forearm flexor strain, pitching into the sixth inning as the Astros finished off a 4-2 victory over the Angels on Friday night. In just fourth start this season, McCullers (2-1) was not as sharp as he would have liked yet gave up two runs on six hits in 5 innings. He had four walks and seven strikeouts. “I think if this is me with my stuff not crisp, I’m happy with it,” McCullers said.