Major League Baseball and the players union still are committed to playing as many games as possible this season, but there have now been 33 games postponed because of positive coronavirus cases after an outbreak on the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals, whose games against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday and Sunday were postponed, have had three players and three staff members test positive over the past two days. The two teams, whose Friday game was also postponed, had a scheduled doubleheader Sunday, but the league said those games were also postponed.
The Cincinnati Reds swept the Detroit Tigers in a doubleheader Sunday, winning 4-3 and 4-0 in a pair of seven inning games. It was the first MLB seven-inning doubleheader after the teams were rained out Saturday. In the first game, Nick Castellanos homered twice for the Reds against his former team and Shogo Akiyama put the Reds on top with an RBI single in the seventh. In game two, Trevor Bauer pitched a complete game two-hit shutout to improve Cincinnati to 4-5.
Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez lined a walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday at Wrigley Field. The game-winner was Baez’s third career walk-off hit. The Cubs are 7-2 and host the Kansas City Royals for a two-game series starting Monday.
The Chicago White Sox scored seven runs in the seventh inning and cruised to a 9-2 win over Kansas City to complete a three-game sweep over the Royals. White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal went 4-for-5 for his first career hits and came inches away from a 5-for-5 day. The 23-year-old made his major league debut Friday and the 2018 first round pick had a pair of hitless games before breaking through Sunday. Chicago is now 5-4 and is above .500 for the first time since April of 2018.
The Indianapolis Colts placed star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton on the active/non-football injury list due to a hamstring injury Sunday. The injury is mild and was discovered as part of a physical as players reported to training camp, according to the IndyStar. The 30-year-old star wideout missed six games last year due to injury and caught 45 passes for 501 yards and five touchdowns in his worst statistical year since being drafted by Indianapolis in 2012. He can be taken off the active/NFI list as soon as he’s medically cleared.
The Indiana Pacers take on the Washington Wizards Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. Eastern from the NBA’s bubble in Orlando. Indiana is coming off a 127-121 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday, in which forward T.J. Warren scored a career-high 53 points, including nine 3-pointers. Warren’s outburst was the third-highest scoring performance in franchise history, and helped secure the tiebreaker over the 76ers. The Wizards’ playoff hopes are fading fast after a Sunday loss to the Nets.
Brad Keselowski battled Denny Hamlin all day Sunday and went on to win in the NASCAR Cup Series at the New Hampshire Motor Speedawy. Keselowski and Hamlin each won a stage and led for a combined 18 times at the mile oval as the Team Penske driver pulled away late for his third win this season. Martin Truex Jr. finished third, while Joey Logano came home fourth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.
