Author: Ritik

Brendan Donovan hit a three-run homer, and Kyle Gibson pitched seven strong innings as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees 6-5 on Saturday, marking their first regular-season win at Yankee Stadium.

This was the Cardinals’ first victory in the Bronx since Tim McCarver hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the 1964 World Series, and Bob Gibson pitched a complete game in a 5-2 win. The Cardinals had been 1-7 at Yankee Stadium in the regular season before this game.

St. Louis took the lead with four runs in the third inning against rookie Will Warren (0-3). Nolan Arenado hit a tying RBI single before Donovan hit his 11th homer. This was his first three-run homer since July 23, 2023.

“Any day you hit a home run, I consider that a good day and to have a couple of people on base and to give us a little bit of breathing room, I think is good,” Donovan said after tying his career high in homers.

“Someone said that’s the first time we’ve won here in 60 years, which is pretty special for this organization. First time here, it’s a pretty cool place.”

Iván Herrera hit an RBI double in the sixth inning and later scored on a throwing error by Yankees catcher Austin Wells following a wild pitch by Mark Leiter Jr. Herrera reached base three times and hit a single in the third inning when Paul Goldschmidt was thrown out at the plate.

Gibson (8-6) allowed one run and five hits. After having his worst outing of the season on Monday against San Diego, he earned his first win since July 7 at Washington.

“Today was just about trying to clear my mind a little bit, not look at ERA, not look at last couple of outings and try to be focused on what I’m trying to do today,” Gibson said.

Max Scherzer is confident he has figured out the cause of a nerve issue that has kept him from pitching for a month. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is now ready to start rehab and hopes to return to the mound for the Texas Rangers.

Scherzer said on Saturday that changing his pitching mechanics has reduced the irritation of the triceps nerve, which was only affecting him while he was pitching. He completed a full bullpen session on Friday without experiencing any pain.

“I feel like I can overcome this, because there’s nothing wrong. … I don’t have an injury here. This was just nerve irritation,” Scherzer said. “I feel like I potentially have solved this, and now I can actually build back up.”

Even though the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers are focusing on 2025—having been 10 games back in the AL West as of Saturday night—40-year-old Scherzer said he definitely wants to pitch again this season and plans to continue pitching beyond this year.

“I’ve got to go out there and prove it,” he said. “And if I do, then, yeah, I definitely want to pitch next year. I said that coming in.

I came into this year thinking I was going to pitch next year, so nothing’s changed. Obviously, if I fail at this, you know, I’ve got to rethink, but I don’t think I’ll have to rethink. I think I’ve got to go out there and execute this.”

Scherzer is in the final year of his contract. The Rangers acquired him from the New York Mets in a trade last summer, with Scherzer opting in for this final year at $43.3 million, with New York paying $30.83 million.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Scherzer might be ready as soon as Monday to throw to hitters or participate in a rehab game.

“He’s got a different look about him because he thinks he’s got this cleared up with the arm issue due to the mechanical adjustment he made, so that’s what you like to see,” Bochy said.

Scherzer (2-4, 3.89 ERA), who still leads the majors in strikeouts, last pitched on July 30, when he left after 68 pitches and four innings in St. Louis.

That was just his eighth start since he began the season on June 23 after having offseason back surgery and then dealing with a nerve issue in his arm.

He went on the injured list after his last start due to shoulder fatigue. An MRI showed some inflammation, and Scherzer continued to have setbacks when he tried to get back on the mound.

“I passed every strength test, yet I still couldn’t throw a ball,” he said. “It was the nerve issue again in the triceps, so that kind of set off another chain of events, go see more doctors, had nerve tests.”

Scherzer said there was no nerve damage, and it was found that something must be pinching the nerve when he was trying to pitch. This led to a minor mechanical adjustment, similar to changes he has made during his 17-year major league career.

“It’s usually because of a performance thing,” he said. “I’ve never had my mechanics really cause an arm injury or cause a nerve irritation, and so that’s what was so perplexing to me.”

In his last home start on July 25, just two days before his 40th birthday, Scherzer struck out nine in six innings against the Chicago White Sox. This performance moved him past fellow three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander for 10th place on the all-time strikeout list.

Scherzer now has 3,405 career strikeouts, three more than Verlander, who leads in wins (260) and games started (561), while Scherzer has 216 wins and 456 starts.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have put veteran left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day injured list.

Kershaw, who left Friday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks after just two innings, was found to have a bone spur in his left big toe.

“There’s so much swelling, he can barely move around,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Saturday’s game.

Kershaw allowed three runs in the first inning, and with his early exit, the Dodgers used every reliever on their team except for Evan Phillips, who had pitched the previous two days.

The Dodgers brought up right-handed pitcher Ben Casparius from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Kershaw’s place.

“We need some coverage for tonight,” Roberts said, noting they won’t know exactly how long Kershaw will be out. “I don’t think the 15 days will cut into the buildup” of his stamina, Roberts said.

Kershaw, who did not pitch until July 25 due to offseason shoulder surgery, has a 2-2 record with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts this season. In his 17 seasons with the Dodgers, the 10-time All-Star has a 212-94 record and a 2.50 ERA.

Right-hander Joe Kelly was also put on the injured list by the Dodgers on Saturday. Kelly is dealing with right shoulder inflammation.

Kelly pitched 1 2/3 innings on Friday and gave up two earned runs on three hits. The 13-year veteran has a 1-1 record with a 5.20 ERA in 31 games this year.

To replace Kelly, the Dodgers selected right-handed pitcher Brent Honeywell’s contract for his second stint with the team this season. Honeywell had been designated for assignment on August 18.

Left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski is with the team, and with roster expansion on Sunday, he will be activated to start that game against Arizona.