Sports Al Dente

Whit Merrifield was fortunate not to be seriously hurt when a 95-mph fastball hit him in the head.

However, the Atlanta Braves second baseman is furious about the current state of pitching in Major League Baseball, expressing concern that it’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured or even killed.

“The way pitchers are throwing now, there’s no remorse or regard for throwing up and in,” Merrifield said after Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. “Guys are throwing as hard as they can and they don’t care where the ball goes.”

Merrifield was hit behind the right ear by a pitch from Jeff Criswell during the seventh inning of Atlanta’s 3-0 win.

Luckily, the ball seemed to hit Merrifield’s helmet slightly, but he still had to leave the game. He wasn’t in the lineup on Wednesday but expects to be back in a day or two after passing a concussion test and getting a clean result from a precautionary CT scan.

“I just took 95 right off the head,” he said. “I’m very lucky that it got me in a good spot.”

In another game, Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had to leave a game in Toronto after being hit on his left elbow by a pitch. Harper winced in pain and grabbed his elbow after being struck by a 92 mph fastball from right-hander Bowden Francis in the first inning on Wednesday.

Merrifield, who is part of MLB’s competition committee, said that pitchers need to face consequences for hitting batters. He planned to address the issue in a conference call.

“Without being over dramatic, that was my life on the line out there,” Merrifield said. “I’m sick of it. It’s happening way too much.”

The Braves have already had two players injured this season from being hit by pitches, and several others have had close calls.

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper left Wednesday’s game in Toronto after getting hit on the left elbow by a pitch.

Harper grimaced in pain and held his elbow after being hit by a 92 mph fastball from right-hander Bowden Francis in the first inning.

Harper continued to run the bases and play defense in the first and second innings.

Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit for Harper to start the third inning and took over at third base, with Kody Clemens moving from third to first base.

Harper is batting .282 with 26 home runs and 76 RBIs. The 31-year-old, who recently admitted to dealing with persistent wrist and elbow problems, is in his first full season at first base after right elbow surgery led to his move from right field.

Harper came back 160 days after having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on November 23, 2022.

Corey Seager was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday due to discomfort in his right hip, which could potentially end his third season with the Texas Rangers.

The decision was made before the Rangers’ final game against the New York Yankees. Seager did not play on Tuesday night after being the designated hitter in the first game of the series.

He also missed Friday’s opener against Oakland because of the hip issue. Manager Bruce Bochy mentioned that Seager has been experiencing soreness for about a month.

General manager Chris Young said the team did not have a final medical diagnosis to confirm that Seager’s season is over with 23 games left, but Bochy suggested that might be the case.

“It’s good that we are taking care of it,” Bochy said. “Get this done so he can heal up over the winter and be ready for next spring.”

Young, Bochy, and Seager noted that the decision to place him on the IL was influenced by Seager missing almost all of spring training after having surgery in January to fix a sports hernia.

When asked if he would play again this season, Seager responded with “I hope so,” but he was focused on the off season.

“You can’t miss two offseasons,” Seager said. “You’ve got to be healthy and get back into the work and get back into shape. Didn’t really have any buildup last year coming into the season. It’s something that you need to have.”

The Rangers share this concern after Seager’s delayed offseason due to the hernia surgery, which kept him out of most of spring training.

“The season went so long for a great reason,” Young said. “And then when Corey’s offseason training began, he felt the discomfort, and we were at a point in the offseason where it was late, by no fault of anybody’s, just the nature of the timing.”

“This year, if he’s dealing with an issue and we don’t know what it is yet, diagnosing it and understanding what it is, and then creating a rehab plan, whatever that may be, to ensure he has a normal offseason, is extremely important.”

Texas was 8 1/2 games behind the last AL wild card spot going into their final game against New York. Seager’s absence will give more playing time to Josh Smith at shortstop.

The Rangers promoted outfielder Sandro Fabian from Triple-A Round Rock to replace Seager. They made space for Fabian on the 40-man roster by moving right-hander Jon Gray (right foot) to the 60-day IL.

“I hate to say this, but it’s one of the positives of where we are in the standings in September,” Young said. “With an expanded roster, we get a chance to look at some players and evaluate who might make an impact in 2025 and beyond.”

Seager is batting .278 with 30 home runs and 74 RBIs in 123 games. He has hit 30 homers for the third season in a row since signing his $325 million, 10-year contract with Texas as a free agent.

After a brief spring training, Seager had only two homers and eight RBIs in his first 29 regular-season games. However, since May 3, the 30-year-old has batted .296 with 27 homers and 66 RBIs.

“As good as he is, you’ve got to be somewhat healthy to hit 30 home runs, especially given how he started,” Bochy said. “It was awful, and he’ll tell you that. For three months or so, he was healthy.”

Kyle Schwarber tied a major league record by hitting his 13th leadoff home run of the season. Kody Clemens and J.T. Realmuto also homered as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Wednesday, completing a two-game series sweep.

Cristopher Sánchez (10-9) struck out seven in seven innings for the NL East-leading Phillies (83-56), who have now won four games in a row and nine of their last 11.

A day after hitting three home runs, Schwarber connected for his fourth home run in seven at-bats. He drove a 1-0 pitch from right-hander Bowden Francis into the second deck in right field, matching Alfonso Soriano’s record.

“We all know when Kyle gets hot, man, it’s fun to watch,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. “We’re excited to be able to see that. I love seeing homers and him do that. It’s super impressive.”

The 416-foot shot was Schwarber’s 32nd home run of the season, and he tied Brady Anderson for ninth place with 44 leadoff homers. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson leads with 81.

“There’s a lot of talk about how he doesn’t steal bases, he doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that,” manager Rob Thomson said. “But he walks and he slugs.”

Schwarber went 2 for 3. He had a single in the second inning, struck out in the fifth, and was replaced by a pinch runner after walking in the eighth.

“That guy is special,” Francis said of Schwarber. “He’s hot right now. It’s like throwing to Vladdy.”

Harper left the game after being hit on the left elbow by a 92 mph fastball in the first inning. Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit for Harper to start the third inning and took over at third base, with Clemens moving from third to first.

“It was stiffening up a little bit but as of right now he’s fine,” Thomson said. “I think he could have continued on if we really had to.”

Clay Holmes will not be the Yankees’ automatic closer for now after he gave up a game-ending grand slam to the Texas Rangers, marking his major league-high 11th blown save of the season.

Manager Aaron Boone mentioned on Wednesday that the team will explore different options for the closer role, including Holmes, while still supporting the two-time All-Star following his rough performance.

Rookie Wyatt Langford’s grand slam came after a single by Carson Kelly and walks to Josh Smith and Marcus Semien, leading the Rangers to a 7-4 win on Tuesday night.

“In the short term, we’ll kind of just get a little creative with it,” Boone said before the series finale against the Rangers. “I feel like he’s throwing the ball really well in a lot of ways. Last night it was certainly a little off and they got to him. But the reality is he’s really not that far off from being the dominant guy we know he can be.”

Langford managed to hit a hanging 85.8 mph slider 407 feet down the left-field line after fouling off a full-count slider.

Holmes’ blown saves, which have occurred in 40 opportunities, are the highest for the Yankees since Dave Righetti had 13 in 1987, matching the team record set by Goose Gossage in 1983.

Boone had kept Holmes as the closer even after his previous blown save on August 18 against Detroit in Major League Baseball’s Little League Classic. Holmes had five scoreless outings with three saves before the loss to the Rangers.

“At this point in the season, where the race is and playoffs, it’s about winning,” Holmes said. “I think everybody’s on that same page. Whatever it takes for us to go out and win. Roles and definitions at this point, they are what they are.”

The Yankees’ decision to use a closer-by-committee approach came as they are competing closely with Baltimore for the best record in the American League and the lead in the AL East. The Orioles were ahead by half a game at the start of the day.

Right-hander Jake Cousins has one save and a 2.73 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 30 innings. Luke Weaver, another right-hander, is second to Holmes in appearances with 54 and has finished seven games.

Left-hander Tim Hill has a 3-0 record and a 2.34 ERA in 27 relief appearances, though he has only 13 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Tommy Kahnle, a 35-year-old right-hander, has a career-best 2.00 ERA in 42 appearances.

“Trust a lot of guys,” Boone said. “Just how it matches up is kind of how we’ll go. And that’s how we’ll go into every night. I feel like there’s a lot of guys down there throwing the ball well and capable.”

Rookie Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, both starters coming off the IL, could be developed as closing options.

“Never say never,” Boone said. “The reality is probably someone’s going to go to the ’pen from the starting rotation at some point, and I wouldn’t rule out necessarily anyone.” Holmes spent some time in Boone’s office before the game.

The Chicago Cubs placed left-hander Justin Steele on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday due to tendinitis in his pitching elbow. This move came a day after Steele was removed from his start against Pittsburgh.

Right-hander Jorge López was also placed on the 15-day injured list because of a strained right groin.

Steele, whose IL placement is retroactive to Sunday, has a 5-5 record in 22 starts and 128 innings, and he leads Cubs starters with a 3.09 ERA.

“We’re hopeful, and Justin’s hopeful, that if he feels better quickly, we can make this be a minimum stay,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

López blew his first save in five opportunities this season on Monday, giving up four runs in the eighth inning of a 5-3 loss to the Pirates.

The 31-year-old has a 2.19 ERA in 22 games with the Mets and Cubs, who signed him on June 11 after he was released by New York.

López was also placed on the IL retroactive to Tuesday. In response, the Cubs recalled right-handers Jack Neely and Trey Wingenter from Triple-A Iowa.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will rejoin the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation next week after missing almost three months due to a right arm injury.

Yamamoto is scheduled to start on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium against the Chicago Cubs, as announced by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Wednesday.

The $325 million pitcher has recently made two rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City. With the Dodgers needing to see if Yamamoto can help them as they push for a World Series, they’re not waiting any longer to find out.

“I think the stuff will be there,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure about how the command is going to be, so I think the way we’re looking at it is we’re going to get four starts from him (before the playoffs), and if we can log four starts and build up volume, we’ll be ready to go beyond that.”

Yamamoto, 26, has been on the injured list since June 16 due to what the Dodgers initially called a right triceps injury. Roberts had earlier mentioned that the injury also involved a rotator cuff strain.

Before the injury, Yamamoto was having a strong first season in the majors, with a 6-2 record, a 2.92 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP over 14 starts. However, he left a game against Kansas City after just two innings and was placed on the injured list the next day.

Yamamoto didn’t pitch for about a month and has been working on rebuilding his arm strength since then. He threw two innings for Oklahoma City last Tuesday night, using 53 pitches.

The Dodgers have the best record in the majors after their win against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night, marking their 12th victory in 15 games. However, their rotation still faces significant concerns this year following pitching injuries that impacted their 100-win season last fall.

Yandy Díaz hit a two-run homer during an eight-run fourth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays went on to defeat the Minnesota Twins 9-4 on Wednesday night.

All eight runs came off Louie Varland (0-6), who was called up from Triple-A St. Paul to pitch after opener Ronny Henríquez.

Taylor Walls had a two-run single, and José Caballero added an RBI single in that inning. The Rays also scored from a couple of fielder’s choice grounders with the infield in and an errant pickoff throw by Varland.

“A lot happened,” Varland said. “It’s how it goes, I guess?”

Walls later added his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

The Rays were six games behind Kansas City for the final AL wild card spot before the game.

“We want to fight for a wild card,” said Taj Bradley, who is starting for the Rays on Thursday. “We’ve got some stuff to do, some work to do. These games just feel more important.”

Carlos Santana hit his 20th homer during a four-run seventh inning for the Twins, who still hold the second AL wild card spot despite a 5-11 record since August 18.

“Over 16 games, you’re going to have stretches where you don’t play your best,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “It’s how you handled it.”

Minnesota’s Kyle Farmer also hit a solo homer in the seventh inning off Tyler Alexander (6-4).

Baldelli, who used to coach for Rays manager Kevin Cash, used an opener for the second time this season against the team that started it. Henríquez allowed one hit in a scoreless inning.

Baldelli said before the game that using an opener was “just to mess around” with Cash.

Minnesota third baseman Royce Lewis made his first career start and second appearance at second base as the Twins try to add more flexibility to their infield.

Jonathan Cannon pitched into the sixth inning, and the Chicago White Sox hit three home runs to end their 12-game losing streak with an 8-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

Nicky Lopez, Andrew Vaughn, and Dominic Fletcher all homered for the White Sox, who improved to 32-109 for the season. They need to go 11-10 in their remaining games to avoid tying the post-1900 record of 120 losses held by the 1962 New York Mets.

This was their third losing streak of at least 12 games this season—no other team had ever done that since 1900—but Lopez started the game with a homer, and the White Sox played much better than they did while losing the first two games of this series by a combined score of 22-3.

Cannon (3-9) allowed one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings.

“Good offensive game, great pitching,” said Chicago interim manager Grady Sizemore. “It was a fun one.”

Albert Suárez (7-5) gave up six runs and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings for the Orioles, who are still half a game ahead of the New York Yankees at the top of the AL East.

Gunnar Henderson hit a homer in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1, but the Orioles did not score again.

“We struck out way too many times,” said Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde. “I thought they forced the action offensively much better than we did. So, it was not a good night offensively.”

This was the second time this season that both teams led off a game with home runs, according to Sportradar.

The first instance was last weekend, when Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers homered in the top of the first and Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit an inside-the-park home run to start the bottom of the inning.

Jonathan India started Cincinnati’s nine-run first inning with a 436-foot home run, and the Reds easily won their second consecutive game against the Houston Astros, 12-5 on Wednesday night.

The Reds quickly took charge against Spencer Arrighetti (7-12), with India hitting his 11th career lead-off home run and his first since July 12.

Elly De La Cruz contributed with a double and a single in the first inning, driving in two runs and stealing his major league-leading 62nd base. Tyler Stephenson and Amed Rosario each added two RBIs during the big inning.

Arrighetti didn’t make it past the first inning, giving up six hits and walking three.

“I thought they were on all his pitches. They just were not fooled,” said Astros manager Joe Espada. “They took some really good swings on him. That’s one you want to put behind quickly and get ready for your next one.”

Reds starter Nick Martinez (7-6) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing four runs and six hits. He threw a season-high 107 pitches and struck out seven batters.

“I was gassed,” he said.

Brent Suter pitched the last 3 1/3 innings, giving up a run and three hits while striking out six for his first save and only the second of his career.

“I think I got my first one in ‘21. It’s cool,” Suter said. “I was feeling good. I had the slider, the changeup, and both fastballs. It was all kind of working today.”

The Reds have now won three games in a row and, following a 5-3 victory over Houston in the first game on Monday night, have won a series for the first time since taking two out of three from the Blue Jays from August 19-21.

Shota Imanaga was not upset when he was taken out after seven innings without allowing any hits and throwing 95 pitches.

“He actually didn’t know he had a no-hitter going at all, which is funny,” said Chicago Cubs manager Counsell.

Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge each pitched a perfect inning to complete the Cubs’ 12-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. This was the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.

“That’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him,” Counsell said. “It’s not fun to do, but when you’re prioritizing the player’s health and you don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, we want him to stay healthy.”

Imanaga (12-3) struck out seven batters and walked two, with 66 of his pitches being strikes.

A 31-year-old left-hander, Imanaga is in his first season with the Cubs after spending eight seasons in Japan. He hasn’t pitched an inning beyond the seventh this season and his highest pitch count is 103.

He needed 25 pitches to get through the second inning. He praised catcher Miguel Amaya, who took photos with the three pitchers after the game.

“Miggy studies the hitters, and there were a few occasions today where there was a specific pitch I wanted to throw, Miggy had a different sign, and I just trusted him and it worked out,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “I can’t thank him enough.”

Imanaga signed a $53 million, four-year contract in January. Chicago also paid a $9,825,000 posting fee to the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Central League.

“The way he works, the presence, the confidence that he shows up there, every pitch is with intention,” Amaya said. “He’s a grinder.”

Chicago’s last no-hitter before this one was by Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021.

The Cubs hadn’t pitched a no-hitter at Wrigley Field since Milt Pappas did it against San Diego on September 2, 1972. Pappas was one pitch away from a perfect game when umpire Bruce Froemming called ball four on a full-count pitch to Larry Stahl. Garry Jestadt then popped out.

This ended a streak of 4,147 regular and postseason games at Wrigley Field without a no-hitter, which was the second-longest for a team in one ballpark. The longest was held by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who never had a no-hitter in 4,773 games at Forbes Field from 1909 to 1970.

The Cubs celebrated when shortstop Dansby Swanson threw to first baseman Michael Busch for the final out on Oneil Cruz’s grounder, but their celebration was more subdued compared to other no-hitter celebrations.

Swanson wanted to stay in the game despite the lopsided score.

“He goes about his work the same every day, whether he’s had a good outing or a bad outing,” Swanson said about Imanaga. “He’s always wanting to get better.

He’s always doing the routine that he needs to do to be able to go back out again in five days and be able to pitch well. He’s always prepared. He has his own way of doing things and takes full pride and responsibility to do that.”

This was the fourth no-hitter of the season. The previous complete-game no-hitters were by Houston’s Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1, San Francisco’s Blake Snell at Cincinnati on April 2, and San Diego’s Dylan Cease at Washington on July 25.

Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Swanson each had three of Chicago’s 17 hits, with Swanson and Crow-Armstrong both ending a triple short of the cycle.

Xavier Edwards hit an RBI single in the 10th inning, leading the Miami Marlins to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

With an automatic runner on base, Griffin Conine moved to third on a groundout by Nick Fortes. Edwards then hit a soft line drive off Derek Law (7-3) that bounced into left field, giving Miami their first win of the season against Washington after losing eight times to them.

It was also Edwards’ first career walk-off hit, and he was celebrated with a bucket of ice water after the game.

“I will remember the bucket of ice water,” Edwards said. “It was cold, like getting out of a cold tub. Felt similar.”

Edwards had singles in his last two at-bats after not getting a hit in his first eight plate appearances since returning from the injured list on Tuesday. With two bases open, he thought he might be walked intentionally to set up a force-out situation.

“I’m glad that they pitched to me,” Edwards said. “The goal was just to get the run in any way that I could. So I’m glad that I did.”

John McMillon (1-1) pitched the top of the 10th to get the win in a game that drew a season-low 6,156 fans at LoanDepot Park.

The Marlins overcame a no-hit bid by Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore and were trailing 3-2 before Jake Burger’s tying single in the eighth inning.

Edwards and Connor Norby both hit two-out singles against Nationals reliever Jose Ferrer. Kyle Finnegan then replaced Ferrer and allowed Burger’s line drive to left field.

“I thought we were going to get no-hit there for a minute the way Gore was throwing the baseball,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “To come out of that with a win is awesome.”

The Nationals had erased a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the eighth inning against relievers Mike Baumann and Calvin Faucher.