Yandy Diaz smashed a three-run go-ahead homer while Shane Baz impressed on debut as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 in MLB on Monday.
Trailing 2-0 at the bottom of the fifth inning with two on base, Diaz stepped up and sent Robbie Ray over the wall at left-center field.
Tampa Bay would not be headed from that point on, with Joey Wendle and Yandy Diaz adding further runs. Wendle also hit a solo home run, before Marcus Semien's two-run homer halved the deficit in the ninth inning.
Dietrich Enns held his nerve to close out the victory for the Rays but another pitcher grabbed plenty of attention as debutant Baz sent down five strikeouts in five innings.
The 22-year-old right-hander held the in-form Blue Jays to only two solo home runs across the first five innings and did not look out of place at majors level.
"It was like a dream-come-true type thing," Baz said. "When I got on the field, it just felt right."
Rays manager Kevin Cash added: "You're not going to see many more impressive outings against Toronto's lineup. So happy for him. He was awesome. Fun to watch."
Flying Cardinals make it nine straight
The surging St Louis Cardinals claimed their ninth successive victory, topping the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 after Nolan Arenado's first-inning two-run homer.
The victory, which marked Cards starting pitcher Jon Lester's 200th win of his majors career, keeps St Louis three games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the National League (NL) Wild Card race.
The Reds got past the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-5, with Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez hitting back-to-back home runs to turn the game.
Votto enjoyed his fourth multi home-run game for this season, as well as the 17th of his career.
Salvador Perez broke the record for most home runs in a season by a primary catcher, surpassing Johnny Bench's mark of 45, with a homer in the Kansas City Royals' 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.
Gary Sanchez's early homer along with a strong bullpen display helped the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 4-3.
Angels wings clipped again
Things have gone south for Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels in the second half of this season, managing only six hits and no runs in their 10-0 defeat to the Houston Astros. The Astros piled on eight runs in the final two innings, with Andrew Wantz and Jose Marte unable to stop a fourth straight loss.
Duvall creams monster home run
Adam Duvall provided a major highlight when he smoked a monster two-run home run in the Atlanta Braves' 11-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The HR travelled a projected 483 feet, per Statcast, going down as the fourth longest home run of the 2021 majors.
Monday's results
Kansas City Royals 7-2 Cleveland Indians
Miami Marlins 8-7 Washington Nationals
Cincinnati Reds 9-5 Pittsburgh Pirates
Detroit Tigers 4-3 Chicago White Sox
New York Yankees 4-3 Texas Rangers
Baltimore Orioles 2-0 Philadelphia Phillies
Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Toronto Blue Jays
St Louis Cardinals 5-2 Milwaukee Brewers
Kansas City Royals 4-2 Cleveland Indians
Houston Astros 10-0 Los Angeles Angels
Atlanta Braves 11-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Oakland Athletics
Cardinals at Brewers
The Cardinals will chase their 10th consecutive victory, which would reinforce their grip on the second NL Wild Card spot, when they face the Brewers in the second game of their four-game series.
Astros star Jose Altuve out indefinitely after fracturing thumb at World Baseball Classic
Houston Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a fractured right thumb at the World Baseball Classic and will require surgery, sidelining him indefinitely.
Astros general manager Dana Brown revealed the severity of the injury on Sunday, a day after Altuve was hit by a pitch from reliever Daniel Bard in the fifth inning of Venezuela’s 9-7 quarter-final loss to the United States.
The Astros said he will undergo surgery in the coming days, and they will then determine a prognosis for him.
There is no official timeline for when he will return, but it has been reported that similar injuries have sidelined players for eight-to-10 weeks.
A major part of Houston’s dominance over the last half-dozen years, the 32-year-old Altuve is coming off his eighth All-Star season.
In helping the Astros win the 2022 World Series, Altuve hit .300 with 28 home runs, 39 doubles, 18 steals and 103 runs while earning his sixth Silver Slugger Award and finishing fifth in AL MVP voting.
He won the 2017 AL MVP – the same year he helped the Astros win the franchise’s first World Series championship.
Among active players, Altuve ranks seventh in hits (1,935), eighth in doubles (379) and 12th in runs (986).
He is the second MLB All-Star to suffer a serious injury at the World Baseball Classic after elite New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz tore his patellar tendon, ruling him out for the entire season.
Mets pitcher Diaz expected to miss 2023 season after injuring knee in Puerto Rico celebrations
New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz is expected to miss the entire MLB season after suffering a serious knee injury while celebrating a Puerto Rico win in the World Baseball Classic.
Diaz left the field in a wheelchair after injuring his right knee while celebrating Wednesday's win over the Dominican Republic, with his team-mates visibly upset by the incident.
On Thursday, the Mets revealed Diaz – who penned a five-year, $102million contract with the team in the offseason – had undergone surgery after sustaining a complete patellar tendon tear.
"Edwin Diaz underwent successful repair of the patellar tendon in his right knee today," read an update from the team. "He is expected to begin a formal rehab program in about a week."
Earlier on Thursday, Mets general manager Billy Eppler suggested the closer – widely considered to be the best in the game – could be sidelined for around eight months, a timeline which would rule him out for the entire 2023 season.
Eppler noted some athletes have returned from similar injuries within a six-month timeframe, but added such cases were "more the exception than the rule".
Diaz took to social media to update his fans after the surgery, writing on Twitter: "To all my beloved fans, especially the Mets fans, I want to let you know that I am doing well and healing.
"I feel blessed and grateful for your support with messages and prayers, thank you very much! I can't wait to see you guys in NY again and play those trumpets."
Diaz injures knee as Puerto Rico celebrate WBC win over Dominican Republic
Celebrations for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic turned sour when pitcher Edwin Diaz hurt his knee after their victory against the Dominican Republic.
The New York Mets closer – widely considered to be the best in the game – eliminated the favourites for the competition as he struck out Teoscar Hernandez to complete a 5-2 victory.
In the ensuing celebrations, the players were jumping in a huddle before stopping once it became apparent that Diaz was injured.
His brother, Cincinnati Reds reliever Alexis Diaz, was in tears as medics attended to him, helping the 28-year-old from the field.
According to ESPN, the 28-year-old will undergo an MRI on Thursday, with sources fearing "the injury could keep Díaz out for a significant period".
"I didn't see it right away," Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina said. "I was hugging our coaches in the dugout, and when we looked up, Edwin was on the ground.
"I didn't know. I didn't know how to act, I didn't know what to say. It caught me by surprise. It sucks. When you see a guy that works so hard like Edwin, when you see him on the ground like that, it's just sad."
Center fielder Enrique Hernandez added: "It wasn't pretty much until we got to the infield dirt that we realised something had gone wrong.
"At the moment we didn't know who it was. When we got there, that's when we realised who it was. Obviously, aside from being the best closer in the game right now, and being a huge part of this team, [Diaz] is one of the glue guys in that clubhouse."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
