Category: Major League Baseball (MLB)

Corbin Carroll homered twice, including a grand slam, and the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks overpowered the slumping Detroit Tigers 11-6 on Friday night.

Carroll’s grand slam capped a seven-run seventh. Emmanuel Rivera had two hits, scored three runs and knocked in another, while Geraldo Perdomo supplied two hits and drove in two runs. Ketel Marte scored two runs and drove in another.

Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (8-3) gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Jake Rogers homered twice for the Tigers, who have lost seven straight. Zack Short added two RBIs and Javier Baez chipped in a solo shot.

Detroit starter Michael Lorenzen (2-3) was charged with six runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Rivera led off the second inning with a single. A sacrifice moved him up, and Perdomo knocked him in with a single.

Detroit scored a run in the bottom of the inning when Kerry Carpenter singled, and Short knocked him in with a double. Short advanced to third on a groundout, but Kelly struck out the next two batters to leave him stranded.

The Tigers tied it in the bottom of the sixth. Nick Maton walked with one out and advanced to third on a Carpenter single. Short’s sacrifice fly brought in Maton.

Arizona regained the lead in the next inning. Christian Walker doubled to lead off the inning and Rivera followed with another double to bring him home. After a sacrifice, Jake McCarthy singled to score Rivera for a 4-2 lead. With two out, a single and catcher’s interference loaded the bases. Marte drew a walk to force in another run.

Carroll then smacked a 2-2 fastball from Will Vest over the left-field wall to give the Diamondbacks a seven-run lead.

The teams would exchange runs the rest of the way, with the Tigers getting two more in the bottom of the ninth.

–Field Level Media

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Vince Velasquez underwent season-ending elbow surgery Friday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Velasquez began his second stint on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation on May 28.

He was reinstated from the IL on May 27 to make a start at Seattle but allowed four runs on seven hits in two innings of a 5-0 loss to the Mariners.

Velasquez, 31, is 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA in eight starts in his first season with Pittsburgh after signing a one-year, $3.15 million deal in December.

He is 38-51 with a 4.88 ERA in 191 career games (144 starts) with five teams since making his MLB debut in 2015.

Also Friday, the Pirates recalled outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba from Triple-A Indianapolis and designated right-hander Chase De Jong for assignment.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox transferred left-hander Chris Sale to the 60-day injured list on Friday, further delaying the seven-time All-Star’s return from his latest setback.

Boston also activated outfielder Adam Duvall from the 60-day IL and optioned second baseman Enmanuel Valdez to Triple-A Worcester.

Sale, 34, was placed on the 15-day IL on June 2 with inflammation in his left shoulder. He is 5-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 11 starts this season, striking out 71 and walking 15 in 59 innings.

Since making at least 25 starts in each of his first three seasons with Boston from 2017-19, Sale’s career has been riddled with injuries. He missed all of 2020 after Tommy John surgery and made a total of 11 starts from 2021-22 due to rib and finger fractures.

Sale is 119-77 with a 3.08 ERA in 334 career games (254 starts) with the Chicago White Sox (2010-16) and Red Sox.

Duvall, 34, opened the season as Boston’s starting center fielder and was off to a hot start before landing on the 10-day IL with a fractured left wrist on April 10. He batted .455 with four homers and 14 RBIs in eight games before sustaining the injury while attempting a diving catch. He was shifted to the 60-day IL on May 6.

Valdez, 24, made his MLB debut on April 19 and is batting .234 with four homers, 11 RBIs and four stolen bases in 33 games.

The Red Sox also selected left-handed pitcher Joe Jacques to the major league roster and DFA’d left-hander Matt Dermody, who made his Boston debut and his first career start Thursday in a loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers claimed second baseman Nick Solak off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

The Tigers also reinstated outfielder Kerry Carpenter from the 10-day injured list.

Detroit optioned Solak to Triple-A Toledo after clearing room on the 40-man roster by transferring right-hander Spencer Turnbull to the 60-day IL.

Infielder Tyler Nevin was optioned to Toledo to make room for Carpenter on the 26-man active roster.

Solak, 28, was designated for assignment Tuesday after appearing in just one game for Atlanta. He is a career .252 hitter with 21 homers and 93 RBIs in 254 games with the Texas Rangers (2019-22) and Braves.

Carpenter, 25, landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain on April 29 after crashing into a wall while making a catch. He batted .217 with four homers and eight RBIs in 20 games before the injury.

Nevin, 26, batted .128 with one homer, four RBIs and 10 strikeouts in 16 games with the Tigers.

Turnbull, 30, is 1-4 with a 7.26 ERA in seven starts. He was placed on the 15-day IL last month with neck discomfort.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies reinstated reliever Jose Alvarado from the 15-day injured list on Friday.

The 28-year-old left-hander landed on the IL on May 10 with inflammation in his pitching elbow.

Prior to the injury, Alvarado posted a 0.63 ERA with no decisions and five saves in 14 appearances.

He has struck out 24 batters and walked none in 14 1/3 innings this season.

The Phillies optioned right-hander Connor Brogdon to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room on the roster.

Brogdon, 28, is 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA in 27 appearances this season. He has 26 strikeouts in 29 innings.

–Field Level Media

The Houston Astros placed outfielder Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day injured list Friday due to right oblique discomfort.

Alvarez will return to Houston for further evaluation, the team announced.

He aggravated an oblique injury on his final swing in the batting cage before exiting after his lone at-bat in Houston’s 3-2 setback to the host Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

“That’s a tough blow right there,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said following Thursday’s game. “We’ve just got to regroup and see how we’re going to get through this.”

Alvarez, 25, is hitting .272 with 17 homers and a majors-best 55 RBIs in 57 games this season.

The American League Rookie of the Year in 2019, Alvarez is batting .293 with 115 homers and 338 RBIs in 425 career games with the Astros.

Houston recalled catcher Cesar Salazar from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. Salazar, 27, went 2-for-14 (.143) in 10 games with the Astros earlier this season.

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Twins placed left-hander Caleb Thielbar on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right oblique strain.

The move was made retroactive to Tuesday, two days after he was reinstated from the 15-day IL following a stint with the same injury. He allowed one hit and threw 10 pitches in one-third of an inning in relief Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians.

In 12 appearances this season, the 36-year-old Thielbar is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA, two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Also on Friday, the Twins recalled right-hander Josh Winder from Triple-A St. Paul.

Winder, 26, allowed two runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning in his lone appearance for the Twins this season on April 30 against the Kanas City Royals.

He recently appeared in nine games for the Saints from May 7-June 3, posting a 2-1 record with two saves and a 6.60 ERA.

–Field Level Media

The Cincinnati Reds placed right-hander Graham Ashcraft on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left calf contusion.

Ashcraft, 25, was struck in the leg by a comebacker in the third inning of Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He took the loss in that game, falling to 3-5 with a 6.78 ERA through 13 starts this season.

The Reds recalled right-hander Ricky Karcher from Triple-A Louisville to fill Ashcraft’s spot on the active roster.

Karcher, 25, was a 13th-round draft pick by Cincinnati in 2017 and has not yet made his major league debut.

He is 2-2 with a 9.27 ERA and one save in 22 relief appearances this season at Louisville.

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays designated reliever Anthony Bass for assignment Friday amid continued backlash for sharing an anti-LGBTQIA+ post on social media.

The 35-year-old right-hander had been scheduled to catch the ceremonial first pitch from Pride Toronto activist leZlie Lee Kam before Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins to kick off the team’s fourth annual Pride Weekend.

Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said before Friday’s game that the decision was mainly baseball-related.

“There’s a myriad of variables,” Atkins said. “Performance is usually the driving one and performance was a large aspect of this decision. Distraction was a small part of it and something we had to factor in.”

In 22 appearances out of the bullpen this season, Bass posted a 4.95 ERA with no decisions.

Atkins said it wasn’t “a realistic option” for Bass to end up with one of Toronto’s minor league clubs.

Bass was booed by fans in Toronto in both of his appearances since sparking the controversy on May 29. The post he shared on Instagram, which had to do with the recent fallout experienced by Bud Light and Target after the companies’ ad campaigns showed support for the LGBTQIA+ community, described the sale of LGBTQIA+ merchandise as “evil” and “demonic.”

Bass apologized on May 30 and spoke to reporters about the situation on Thursday, saying he is “working hard” to educate himself but also saying he does not think the post was hateful.

“I do not,” Bass said. “That’s why I posted it originally. When I look back at it, I can see how people would view it that way and that’s why I was apologetic.”

He said he deleted the post because “it was the right thing to do” and he didn’t want it to be a distraction for the team.

“But I stand by my personal beliefs,” Bass said, “and everyone is entitled to their personal beliefs, right? Also, I mean no harm towards any groups of people.”

“My focus from the get-go should have been doing my job and being accepting of everyone’s decisions and views in life,” Bass added. “Through this process, I’ve learned that. Moving forward, I will definitely know better than to post my personal beliefs on my social media platforms.”

Atkins addressed the issue for the first time Thursday.

“I felt his apology and his accountability to be authentic or we would be talking about a different outcome, quite frankly,” Atkins said. “That was absolutely necessary for us to be together with how strongly we feel about the progress that has been made by the Toronto Blue Jays in this community.”

One day later, the Blue Jays decided to move on. Bass is 16-28 with a 3.91 ERA and 15 saves in 382 games (19 starts) with seven teams since making his MLB debut in 2011.

The Blue Jays reinstated right-hander Mitch White from the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move on Friday. He began the season on the IL with shoulder fatigue.

White, 28, is 3-10 with a 4.78 ERA in 48 games (22 starts) with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2020-22) and Blue Jays (2022).

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox designated pitcher Matt Dermody for assignment, hours after he made his first major league start in a loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday night, multiple outlets reported.

Dermody was called up from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday afternoon for the spot start and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in four innings in the 10-3 loss.

In his major league career, the left-hander has a 2-1 record with a 5.74 ERA in 31 games with the Toronto Blue Jays (2016-17), Chicago Cubs (2020, 2022) and Red Sox.

Signed to a minor league contract in January, Dermody didn’t have the smoothest time with the Boston organization. He was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in nine games (eight starts) at Worcester, and the Red Sox were criticized for his signing after a June 26, 2021, tweet came to light in which he said homosexuals “will not inherit the kingdom of God” but instead “will go to hell.”

He later deleted the tweet. Dermody was pitching in Japan then and his team, the Saitama Seibu Lions, issued an apology.

“I do regret the tweet in the sense that it came out hurtful and it hurt a lot of people,” Dermody said after Thursday’s game. “That’s the last thing I want to do is hurt people.

“A lot of people think that I’m against a certain group of people or whatnot. But I’m for everybody making it to heaven.”

Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said at the time that he decided to keep Dermody, 32, in the organization after a talk with the pitcher.

Because the Red Sox have not yet announced the Dermody transaction, they haven’t made a corresponding move.

–Field Level Media