Major leagues:
Cincinnati dominated the Chicago Cubs 20-5 Thursday, the most runs the Reds have scored in 23 years.
They did it behind a combined 20 hits – including two home runs and five RBIs from Kyle Farmer – and got rookie pitcher Hunter Greene his first win since April 10.
A big third inning made the difference, one in which the Reds scored eight and chased Cubs starter Justin Steele (1-5). Matt Reynolds drove in two with a triple, and Tyler Stephenson and Albert Almora had two-run singles as Cincinnati batted around.
The Reds piled on four more runs off of Chicago shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who was called on to pitch the eighth.
Farmer and Nick Senzel had four hits total, while Brandon Drury, Tommy Pham and Albert Almora Jr. had three each.
The last time Cincinnati scored this many runs was at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, a 24-12 win.
Greene (2-6) was regularly hitting 100 mph earlier in the season, but topped out at 99.4 on Thursday. He threw 86 pitches through five innings, allowing five runs and seven hits while striking out six.
American League
Donaldson apologizes to Robinson family: Josh Donaldson has apologized to the wife and family of Jackie Robinson for referencing the pioneering Black baseball player in remarks that led to a confrontation with Chicago White Sox star Tim Anderson.
The New York Yankees third baseman was suspended for one game and fined on Monday by Major League Baseball. The league said Donaldson’s comment on Saturday was “disrespectful and in poor judgment.” Donaldson has appealed the discipline.
“First and foremost, I have the utmost respect for what Tim Anderson brings to the game of baseball,” Donaldson said in a statement Thursday issued through his agency, MVP Sports. “I stated over the weekend that I apologized for offending Tim and that it was a misunderstanding based on multiple exchanges between us over the years. My view of that exchange hasn’t changed and I absolutely meant no disrespect. In the past, it had never been an issue and now that it is, we have a mutual understanding.
“I would also like to apologize to Mrs. Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson family for any distress this incident may have caused. Jackie was a true American hero and I hold his name in the highest regard.”
Donaldson said after Saturday’s game that he twice called Anderson by “Jackie.” Robinson broke MLB’s barrier in 1947. Benches and bullpens emptied as tensions escalated.
Anderson has said Donaldson was “trying to provoke me” with the comment. White Sox manager Tony La Russa called Donaldson’s comment last weekend “racist,” adding, “That’s as strong as it gets.” Anderson agreed with La Russa: “Same, along that same line, yeah.”
Anderson, an All-Star and the 2019 AL batting champion who is among the leading Black voices in baseball, told Sports Illustrated in 2019: “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson … because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point to where I need to change the game.”
Yanks sign Carpenter: Matt Carpenter agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Yankees on Thursday, a week after he was released from the Texas Rangers’ minor league system.
Injury-hit New York also selected the contract of 31-year-old left-hander Manny Bañuelos from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before Thursday’s series opener at Tampa Bay. Bañuelos was in the Yankees’ minor league system from 2008-14 but never made it up to the big league club during that time.
Carpenter, 36, gets a contract paying a $1 million salary while in the major leagues and $200,000 while in the minors. A three-time All-Star with the St. Louis Cardinals, he hit .275 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 21 games for Round Round of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.